Geriatrics Recruitment Resources

at Boston University Medical Center

Program Overview

Boston University Medical Center has developed a unique faculty scholarship program to address the shortage of geriatrics-oriented health care providers and faculty, and to train academic faculty from various disciplines to teach geriatrics.

The program recruits clinician-educators from subspecialties, such as general internal medicine, family medicine, medicine subspecialties, surgical subspecialties, emergency medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

The goals of the program are to:

• attract outstanding physicians who are not geriatricians to careers as geriatrics-oriented faculty
• provide clinician-educators with the clinical and scholarship skills necessary to become effective leaders, providers, and teachers of geriatric medicine
• help faculty acquire the credentials needed for promotion and retention.

Program Operations

Four to six faculty scholars are accepted into the program each year. Recruitment methods include electronic distribution about the program to department chairs and section chiefs, personal contact and meetings by CoE directors, and alumni recruitment. Targeted faculty are those who have the necessary clinical and scholarship skills to become effective teachers of geriatric medicine.

The year-long program is divided into two parts:

For nine months, participants spend one half day a week in structured educational experiences. Scholarly skills for clinician- educators are taught in four modules designed specifically for the training of future faculty in geriatrics-related activities. These include Geriatrics Content, Clinical Teaching, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Health Care Systems. Scholars are also assigned a geriatrics advisor to oversee and help them develop a clinical, educational, administrative, or research project during the year.

The remaining three months of the year are devoted to developing the scholarly project and to precepted clinical visits with Geriatrics Section faculty members.

Geriatric Medicine, Oncology, Psychiatry, and Dentistry fellows also participate in the four modules in conjunction with the faculty scholars. This structured experience complements the fellows’ clinical training and equips them with the fundamental skills necessary for an academic career.

Staffing Requirements

The program is supported by two administrative staff (35% total time), the director and two codirectors (30% total time), and 16 faculty members from geriatrics and other relevant disciplines.

Program Costs and Funding Sources

Each scholar receives financial support for 10% of his or her time, supported in part by the Hartford Foundation CoE grant and other sources, such as the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, and in part by scholars’ academic/clinical units.

Process and Outcomes Data

Through 2008, 54 faculty members have completed the program. Each module session is evaluated and, in addition, faculty scholars complete pre- and post-program evaluations of their knowledge and skills in each topic. The evaluative results from the first nine years of the program indicate that the program is effective in improving scholars’ clinical and teaching skills in relation to older adults. Scholars also have assumed new clinical, research, and leadership roles in geriatrics.

Implementation Lessons

• Sustained funding is required to provide such a training program.
• A critical mass of graduates and a track record helps to build momentum and create a continued source of trainees.
• A diverse group of faculty scholars by discipline coupled with fellow participation makes a rich learning environment.
• Although the components of the program sound quite disparate, together they create a composite curriculum that all trainees value.
• A robust evaluation strategy facilitates continued improvement.

Available Materials

Tools/Resources

• Sample schedules for each of the four modules

Publications

• Faculty development in geriatrics for clinician-educators: A unique model for skills acquisition and academic achievement
  Levine, SA, Caruso, LB, Vanderschmidt, H, Silliman, RA, Barry, PP
  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
  2005;53(3):516-21

For More Information

Rebecca A. Silliman, MD, PhD
Chief, Geriatrics Section
Boston University Medical Center
88 E. Newton Street, Robinson 2
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 638-8383
rsillima@bu.edu

Download the program as a PDF file