Overview

The mission of the geriatric medicine fellowship is to foster the development of inquisitive, compassionate physicians who advocate for the health and well-being of older adults through clinical practice and leadership.

Geriatric medicine training at Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency is specifically designed to:

  • Provide comprehensive and diverse training in inpatient consultations, outpatient consultations, primary care, home based care, and residential and long-term care.
  • Support development of leadership skills in providing care for older adults, in patient safety, and in quality improvement.
  • Equip fellows to work in an interdisciplinary team to promote best practices around the care of older adults.
  • Prepare fellows to facilitate complex conversations including advance care planning, serious illness conversations, and shared decision making.

MDFMR’s Geriatric Medicine Fellowship was accredited by the ACGME in 2003 and graduated its first fellow in 2004. We are approved for four positions and generally train two to four fellows per year.

Description

The curriculum is devised to provide geriatric medicine fellows with comprehensive training across the continuum of care. It aims to develop competency in outpatient and inpatient consultative care as well as in the delivery of primary care to older adults in the outpatient clinic and home-based, long-term care and rehabilitative care settings.

Structure

The curriculum is structured as a combination of block and longitudinal experiences with didactic opportunities interspersed throughout.

Teaching Opportunities

Our geriatric medicine fellows have multiple opportunities to solidify their new knowledge-base and skills by teaching other learners. Our core family medicine program supports pre-doctoral education, so we routinely have medical students training with us. Most months a family medicine resident is rotating with our program. Fellows are expected to serve as role models and participate in the geriatrics education of our learners.