Updated Geriatrics Competencies for Graduating Medical Students: Training Physicians to Provide Age-Friendly Care

Andrea Wershof Schwartz; Mandi Sehgal; Catherine M P Dawson; Lisa J Granville; Becky B Powers; Amit A Shah; Amy M Sullivan; Rosanne M Leipzig

doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000005958

Updated Geriatrics Competencies for Graduating Medical Students: Training Physicians to Provide Age-Friendly Care

Acad Med. 2024 Dec 23. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005958. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Andrea Wershof Schwartz¹, Mandi Sehgal², Catherine M P Dawson³, Lisa J Granville⁴, Becky B Powers⁵, Amit A Shah⁶, Amy M Sullivan⁷, Rosanne M Leipzig⁸

Affiliations

¹ A.W. Schwartz is associate director for clinical innovation, New England Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Boston Healthcare System; associate professor of medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School; and associate professor of epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2076-6068.
² M. Sehgal is geriatric medicine fellowship program director, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, Florida, and clinical affiliate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Raton, Florida; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4436-7854.
³ C.M.P. Dawson is geriatrician and education researcher, New England Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Bedford, Bedford, Massachusetts, and assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatrics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5823-8471.
⁴ L.J. Granville is professor and associate chair, Department of Geriatrics, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida.
⁵ B.B. Powers is associate professor and geriatric medicine fellowship program director, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and associate director for graduate medical education, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, Texas; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1573-8481.
⁶ A.A. Shah is the George M. and Kristen L. Lund Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Scottsdale, Arizona, and assistant professor of medicine, Division of Community Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona; ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9312-5424.
⁷ A.M. Sullivan is associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1020-3197.
⁸ R.M. Leipzig is professor and vice chair emerita, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

PMID: 39752580
DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005958

Abstract

Purpose: Medical student education in geriatrics is a critical need for every doctor-in-training as the population ages, with fewer than 7,000 geriatricians, and older patients, who now approach 20% of the U.S. population, having unique health care needs. This study presents the updated competencies in geriatrics for graduating medical students, framed by the Geriatrics 5Ms (Mind, Mobility, Medications, Multicomplexity, and What Matters Most).

Method: From 2019-2022, a working group of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) drafted the updated medical student geriatrics education competencies, using a modified Delphi approach.The working group reviewed the literature, conducted an initial survey of working group members, and drafted and refined proposed updates to the competencies. The 27 resulting competencies were disseminated as a national survey to geriatrics experts and medical school education deans. Following the national survey, the competencies were updated and presented at the 2021 AGS Annual Scientific Meeting and open to public comment before they were finalized.

Results: The 27 updated geriatrics competencies for medical students included several new competencies, such as a focus on health equity, frailty, deprescribing, and patient priorities. A total of 211 respondents completed the national survey, including geriatrics experts (187/398, response rate: 47.0%) and education deans (24/191, response rate: 12.6%). All 27 proposed competencies met the predetermined threshold of 70% cumulative agreement, with a range of 93.0% (174/187) to 100% (187/187) among geriatrics experts and 87.5% (21/24) to 100% (24/24) among education deans.

Conclusions: The updated Geriatrics Competencies for Graduating Medical Students met with broad agreement among the geriatrics experts and medical school education deans who responded to the national survey. By focusing on the Geriatrics 5Ms, the competencies highlight key knowledge and skills graduating medical students need for the first day of internship to be prepared to deliver age-friendly care to older adults under their care.

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