Pre-Clerkship Observerships to Increase Early Exposure to Geriatric Medicine

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To foster interest in geriatric care, the Queen's Geriatrics Interest Group (QGIG) collaborated with the Division of Geriatric Medicine to arrange a Geriatrics Pre-Clerkship Observership Program. METHODS Forty-two pre-clerkship medical students participated in the program between October 2013 and May 2014. Participants were paired with a resident and/or attending physician for a four-hour weekend observership on an inpatient geriatric rehabilitation unit. The program was assessed using: (1) internally developed Likert scales assessing student's experiences and interest in geriatric medicine before and after the observership; (2) University of California Los Angeles-Geriatric Attitudes Scale (UCLA-GAS); and (3) narrative feedback. RESULTS All participants found the process of setting up the observership easy. Some 72.7% described the observership experience as leading to positive changes in their attitude toward geriatric medicine and 54.5% felt that it stimulated their interest in the specialty. No statistically significant change in UCLA-GAS scores was detected (mean score pre- versus post-observership: 3.5 ± 0.5 versus 3.7 ± 0.4; p=.35). All participants agreed that the program should continue, and 90% stated that they would participate again. CONCLUSIONS The observership program was positively received by students. Structured pre-clerkship observerships may be a feasible method for increasing exposure to geriatric medicine.