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Department of Geriatric Medicine Electives
Contact: Misty Yee
(808) 523-8461 or mistyy@hawaii.edu
1. GERIATRIC AND PALLIATIVE MEDICINE:
Coordinator: Kamal, Masaki, MD
Location(s): Kuakini Medical Center and various inpatient/outpatient/nursing home facilities in Honolulu
Objectives:
Geriatric Medicine
- Understand the differences between normal aging and disease; that many older people live active, independent
lives and demonstrate remarkable problem-solving behavior; the great variability in mental and physical functioning
with increasing age; and the differences between chronological and physiologic aging.
- Be knowledgeable about pharmacology in older people: appropriateness, dosing, adverse effects, compliance,
costs, errors, forms of preparations, and drug-drug interactions.
- Be familiar with social and demographic issues in the aging population with a special emphasis on cultural
differences; and health care costs and financing with an emphasis on cost containment mechanisms and their effects
on older people.
- Demonstrate skills in diagnosing and treating the major medical and psychiatric illnesses of late life;
prioritizing treatment needs based on the severity and urgency of the problems, paying special attention to the
adverse outcomes inherent in multiple drug regimens; communicating with older adults; evaluating geriatric medical
problems including atypical presentations of illness in older patients; and providing a comprehensive patient assessment,
including medical, psychiatric and social aspects, working with an interdisciplinary team.
Palliative Medicine
- Understand that the care of the seriously, chronically, and terminally ill is one of the fundamental goals of medicine.
- Value the principles of patient centered medical care.
- Value communication skills as the basic tool for reaching desirable health outcomes.
- Be knowledgeable about the dying trajectories and basics of prognostication; physical and psychological changes of active
dying; basic steps in sharing bad news and death pronouncement; philosophies of hospice and palliative care.
- Demonstrate skills in choice among common pain medications; using a checklist to analyze symptoms; underlying physiology
and treatment of nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, cachexia, anorexia and asthenia; and treating the terminal respiratory syndrome.
Method(s):
This four-week elective provides medical students with a balanced overview of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine in the outpatient,
inpatient, home care and nursing home settings. A variety of instructional methods will be utilized, including clinical experiences
and didactic sessions. The clinical placements for the Geriatric Medicine experiences will be provided at several teaching sites
including Kaiser Permanente, Kuakini Medical Center, The Queen’s Medical Center, VA, and several nursing homes on Oahu. The clinical
experiences for the Palliative Medicine experience will be provided at Kaiser Permanente, Hospice Hawaii, the Pain & Symptom Management
Program at The Queen’s Medical Center, and St. Francis Hospice. Students will receive one half-day per week of Geriatric Medicine
didactic seminars covering core geriatric topics and one half-day per week of Palliative Medicine didactic sessions.
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated by their preceptors based upon the following parameters: basic science and clinical science knowledge,
problem-solving ability, clinical skills, professional comportment (attitude, behavior, motivation and interest, communication skills
and ability to work with others).
2. GERIATRIC MEDICINE RESEARCH ELECTIVE:
Coordinator: Kamal, Masaki, MD
Location(s): Kuakini Medical Center
Objectives:
By the end of this elective, the student will be able to
- Develop and complete a research project in the field of epidemiology of aging
- Demonstrate the knowledge of basic principles of epidemiology and statistics
Method(s):
- The student must submit a research proposal that is acceptable to the Department of Geriatric Medicine’s Research Committee.
The proposal will include background information, hypothesis, methods, and significance of the project. If necessary, the student must
submit an IRB application. The student will be expected to present their research findings to the department. In addition, the student
will be expected to either present their research findings at the Hawaii Chapter American College of Physicians (ACP) meeting, or submit
a manuscript to a journal for publication, or both.
- The student must complete the NIH web-based tutorial on "Human Subject Protection for Researchers", and submit a copy of the completion
certificate to the Department of Geriatric Medicine.
- Credit will be given for full-time research for 4 to 8 weeks of effort as a Unit 7 elective, as pre-arranged by the student and mentor.
One week credit is equivalent to approximately 40 hours of work. It is possible that some of the research work will be performed during
other stages of the student’s JABSOM matriculation, but only the actual Unit 7 time spent will receive Unit 7 credit.
- Research mentors must have a faculty appointment with the JABSOM, and must be recognized by the Department of Geriatric Medicine’s
Research Committee as being an active participant in research. The Research Committee will have final authority in approving research
mentors.
- Final approval for this elective will be given by the Chair of the Department of Geriatric Medicine, based on recommendations from the
Research Committee.
Evaluation:
- The student will be expected to complete the elective evaluation form to the Department of Geriatric Medicine.
- The mentor will be asked to complete an evaluation form for the student, based on effort, productivity and the final presentation.
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