Geriatrics

ELEC615 / PMDN 611

Department
Internal Medicine

Clinical or Non-Clinical Course
Clinical

Physician Assessed Patient Facing
Yes

Prerequisites
Completion of Phase 2 Internal Medicine Clerkship

Goal
Students work one-to-one with the individual assigned geriatric attending and will participate in the evaluation and care of elderly patients in the hospital and ambulatory care setting. In the ambulatory setting the student will perform the appropriate history and physical examination including the mental status exam and identify key management strategies and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the care of the geriatric population. In the inpatient setting, the student will perform the appropriate history and physical examination and will formulate plans based on the history and physical examination. The student will also identify some of the key illnesses in the elderly, focusing on some of the atypical presentations of common diseases.

Objectives
At the end of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Describe the functional implications of aging organ systems.
  2. Describe the key illnesses in the elderly, focusing on geriatric presentation of common disease processes like urinary tract infection, pneumonia, depression, myocardial infarction, thyroid dysfunction, and acute abdomen.
  3. Describe common geriatric syndromes including falls, polypharmacy, pressure wounds, delirium, dementia, osteoporosis, and incontinence.
  4. Demonstrate skills at performing an adequate history from a geriatric patient with special emphasis on physical and mental functioning.
  5. Demonstrate skills at performing a mental status examination to evaluate memory loss or confusion in an elderly patient.
  6. Practice interdisciplinary approach to management of elderly patients.
  7. Demonstrate respect to older patients and make efforts to preserve their dignity.

Method of Assessment

  • Standard Clinical 2wk Elective Evaluation - Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
  • Standard Clinical 4wk Elective Evaluation - Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail

Additional Methods

Course Director
Larry Lindahl, MD

Course Coordinator
Ashley Finney
afinney@uic.edu
309-840-7268

Location
SFMC

Setting
Outpatient
Inpatient

Night Call
No

Laboratory
No

Weekends
No

House Staff
Yes

Number of Learners per Block
2

Duration
2 or 4 weeks

Who is this elective available to
M4s (in Phase 3)

Blocks Available
All except winter break.