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Contact: Media Relations Officer, 202-828-0041,
Hartford Foundation Awards AAMC $2.6 Million Grant to Enhance Geriatric Programs at Medical Schools
Washington, D.C., December 20, 1999--Through a four-year, $2.6 million grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation in New York City, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) will work to enhance the gerontology and geriatric curricula at U.S. medical schools beginning in the fall of 2000. The Hartford Foundation funding will allow the AAMC to support selected medical schools in their continuing efforts to provide medical students with the necessary sskills to deliver high quality, compassionate care to the nation's burgeoning elderly population, and to effectively handle the complex issues associated with end-of-life care.
"As our population ages, the new generation of physicians must be particularly skilled in caring for the elderly," said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. "To meet this demand, the topic of geriatrics must be represented in a more coherent and comprehensive manner in the curricula of all U.S. medical schools."
According to the 1999 AAMC Curriculum Directory, 122 of the nation's 125 medical schools require geriatrics as a part of their regular course work. Despite the presence of geriatrics in the curriculum of most medical schools, almost one-third of recent graduates perceived their instruction in the care of the elderly to be inadequate. In addition, as many as one-fourth of all medical school graduates thought that instruction in specific topics related to geriatrics-death and dying, elder abuse, and home health care-was inadequate.
Concerns about the adequacy of medical school training in gerontology and geriatrics were also raised at a 1995 National Forum on Geriatric Education and Training, sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. To address these concerns the forum participants recommended:
· All medical students should receive gerontologic and geriatric education during the preclinical years, with a formal curriculum in all relevant disciplines.
· Increase the curricular requirements for all medical students in geriatrics in both preclinical and clinical training, including care for elderly patients in acute and chronic settings, under the supervision of trained geriatricians.
Many of the objectives of the new grants program mirror the recommendations put forth in the AAMC's Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP), which is part of the Association's ongoing effort to identify attributes that all medical students should possess upon graduation. To date, three MSOP reports have been released, the most recent of which examines communications skills, spirituality, and end-of-life care.
AAMC to Issue RFP in January
In January 2000, the AAMC's Division of Medical Education will issue a Request for Proposals soliciting grant submissions from U.S. medical schools to participate in the "Enhancing Geriatrics in Undergraduate Medical Education" program. The competition will be conducted in two rounds, each of which will fund 10 schools, for a total of 20 two-year grants. Schools will receive a maximum of $100,000 ($50,000 per year) to design an integrated, four-year curriculum in gerontology and geriatrics.
The U.S. medical schools that receive a grant from the AAMC will develop and implement curricula that address a number of areas, including: normal aging; the diagnosis and management of medical conditions often associated with the complex nature of delivering care to elderly; end-of-life care; the economics of geriatric health care; and the social and ethical dimensions of elderly care. The grantees will employ a variety of educational strategies, such as small group learning exercises, technology applications, real and simulated patients, and varied clinical venues. Information learned by the grantees will be disseminated to all U.S. and Canadian medical schools through the AAMC Annual Meeting, academic publications, workshops, poster sessions, and other professional meetings.
The John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc., of New York City is a private philanthropy established in 1929 by John A. Hartford. Mr. Hartford and his brother, George L. Hartford, both former chief executives of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, left the bulk of their estates to the Foundation upon their deaths in the 1950s. Prior to 1979, the Foundation primarily supported clinically-oriented biomedical research projects. Since 1979, the Foundation has focused its support on improving the quality and financing of health care and enhancing the capacity of the health care system to accommodate the nation's growing elderly population. The majority of the Foundation's current grantmaking relates to enhancing geriatric research and training, and integrating and improving health services for older adults.
For more information on the Hartford Foundation grant, please contact the project director, M. Brownell Anderson, associate vice president in the AAMC's Division of Medical Education, at mbanderson@aamc.org.
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The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies representing nearly 88,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.
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