AAMC Submits Statement on
Efforts to Improve Geriatrics Education
March 15, 2002 - The AAMC March 13 submitted a statement
for the record to the Senate Special Committee on Aging in
response to a Feb. 27 hearing the committee held on the critical
shortages in geriatric care. In convening the session, the
seventh in a series of hearings on long-term care the committee
has held during the 107th Congress, Committee Chair John Breaux
(D-La.) noted the "shortage of geriatric-trained health
care workers is not only a threat to an increasing number
of elderly Americans, but also to the economic health of our
nation."
The AAMC's statement outlined some of the activities underway
at the undergraduate and graduate levels to increase the number
of geriatricians being trained. The statement highlighted
an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation in New York
City, working with the AAMC, that has awarded in the last
two years a total of $4.8 million to 40 medical schools to
enhance their gerontology and geriatrics curricula. Each institution
has received up to $50,000 a year, totaling $100,000 over
the course of the two-year grant. Each school offers a fully
integrated curriculum spanning the four years of undergraduate
medical school education. This is critical because it reinforces
the relevance and importance of geriatrics and the care of
the elderly throughout the curriculum, rather than limiting
such information to a single course. The institutions provide
medical students with the necessary skills to deliver high
quality, compassionate care to the nation's burgeoning elderly
population, and to handle effectively the complex issues associated
with end of life care.
The AAMC also called upon the Congress to provide adequate
funding for a number of federal initiatives, including the
Title VII geriatrics education centers (GECs) and other geriatric
training programs, the VA's Geriatric Research, Education
and Clinical Center (GRECC) program, and student loan repayment
programs such as the National Health Service Corps.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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