Geriatrics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Geriatrics, including details on old age, psychiatry, depression, medicine.

The effect of a 12-month longitudinal long-term care rotation on knowledge and attitudes of internal medicine residents about geriatrics.

Baum EE, Nelson KM

Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Affiliated Hospitals at Canton, Canton, OH.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if participation in a 12-month longitudinal long-term care (LTC) rotation resulted in improved knowledge and attitudes about geriatrics. DESIGN: Longitudinal study with paired measurements. SETTING: A community LTC facility and a university-affiliated, community-based internal medicine residency program. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-seven internal medicine residents who participated in the rotation from 1997 through 2004. INTERVENTION: The internal medicine residents attended nursing home (NH) rounds one half day per month for 1 year, during which time they participated in a case-based interactive lecture on a core geriatric topic and rounded on their assigned patients. MEASUREMENTS: Knowledge was assessed using a 70-item test. Attitudes were evaluated with a 28-item, 5-point Likert scale (1 = least positive, 5 = most positive). RESULTS: The percent correct responses on geriatric knowledge pretest was 47% (95% CI = 45.2% to 48.8%) and on the posttest it was 57.5% (95% CI = 55.3% to 59.6%) (t = 8.180, df = 67, P < .001). The pretest total attitude score was 3.6 (95% CI = 3.6 to 3.7), with a posttest score of 3.7 (95% CI = 3.7 to 3.8) (P < .001). The difference in this total was accounted for mainly by the significant changes in the attitude subscales in educational preparation (pretest 3.6 [95% CI = 3.5 to 3.8]; posttest 3.8 [95% CI = 3.7 to 3.9] [P < .001]), general attitudes (pretest 4.0 [95% CI = 3.9 to 4.1]; posttest 4.2 [95% CI = 4.0 to 4.3] [P = .006]), and therapeutic potential (pretest 3.7 [95% CI = 3.5 to 3.8]; posttest 3.8 [95% CI = 3.7 to 3.9] [P = .048]). CONCLUSION: A longitudinal LTC rotation is an efficient and effective way to systematically provide internal medicine residents their core knowledge and experience in geriatrics.

Published 9 February 2007 in J Am Med Dir Assoc, 8(2): 105-9.
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