A four-year $2 million grant from the Reynolds Foundation to the School of Medicine will fund a series of initiatives aimed at producing a new generation of doctors better able to diagnose and treat health issues of the elderly. The grant comes on the heels of a $100,000 award to USC from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for geriatric medical education.
"These two grants move us up in terms of being leaders among medical schools in geriatric education," said Paul Eleazer, a professor in internal medicine and geriatrics at the medical school and principal investigator of the project. "We were one of only 10 schools to receive the Reynolds grant and among 20 to receive the AAMC grant."
As part of the grant, 15 USC medical school faculty members will develop specific expertise in their respective disciplines in caring for older patients. After their development period, these faculty will develop medical student and resident education modules. In addition, practicing physicians will be invited to continuing education conferences focused on geriatric care.
During the four-year period of the grant, it's expected that 525 medical students, 152 residents, and 80 community-based physicians will receive specialized training in geriatric care.
The education modules will cover topics such as:
• end-of-life care, cultural issues in aging, interviewing the older patient, and elder abuse
• special considerations for physical exam in older persons
• physiology of aging and preventive health
• pre-operative and post-operative assessment and care of older patients
• depression and mental status evaluation of older patients.
While USC's medical school has been a leader in offering geriatrics as a specialty, Eleazer said, medical students in all disciplines will benefit from having specialized training to understand geriatric medical needs.
The push to educate medical students about the nuances of geriatric health care is being driven by changing demographics: South Carolina's 60 and older population is expected to reach nearly 1.3 million by 2025. Nationwide, the number of Americans 65 and older is expected to hit 70 million by 2050.
"Just as the health issues for children are different from adults, the medical needs of older people are different," Eleazer said. "There are some diseases that are unique in older people. In addition, many of the illnesses seen in middle aged adults, such as congestive heart failure and breast cancer, are managed or treated differently in older people.
"Their psychosocial issues are more complex, too, and physicians must be aware of these differences to provide quality care."
