Teaching Residents: Applying Clinical Frameworks to Older Adults

Residency is a critical period for educating physicians about the care of older adults. To make learning meaningful and impactful, instructional planning for resident education must consider such contextual factors as the learners’ experiences, prior geriatric instruction, interests, and career goals. Effective geriatric pedagogy during residency training requires that teaching must not only accommodate the individual learners’ needs but also account for the available preceptors, clinical settings, and interprofessional team members that a site has to offer. Despite this inherent diversity of learners and variability of program resources, using a standardized clinical framework can increase the likelihood that trainees acquire the basic skills necessary for delivering competent care to older persons. Published curricula and rotation guides exist to help organize these efforts. Teaching schema such as The Geriatrics 5Ms, a functional history framework, or the Wisconsin Star Method can assist resident physicians in recognizing the most important concepts of geriatrics and addressing these with greater confidence. These resources are also easily adaptable across clinical settings.