Geriatric Medicine Rotations

As a Wake Forest School of Medicine resident, there are several opportunities for exposure to Geriatric Medicine. Our faculty participate regularly in didactic aspects of the residency program, and they are available to support you in any clinical or research interest in Geriatrics.

Goals of the rotation experience include:

  • Experience and apply the geriatric, "function-first" approach to care across the continuum of inpatient and outpatient settings.
  • Perform appropriate cognitive, functional, and psychosocial assessments of older adults.
  • Demonstrate appropriate care for patients with multiple co-morbidities as well as a variety of geriatric syndromes such as polypharmacy, dementia, depression, urinary incontinence, and gait instability/falls.

There are two structured rotations in Geriatric Medicine that are supported and supervised by experienced faculty:

Acute Care for the Elderly

This rotation is designed for upper-level (second or third year residents to hone skills in the expert inpatient care of older adults in a interprofessional team setting. The ACE unit rotation offers an intensive experience in the acute care of complex, multi-morbid patients.

Residents gain expertise in

  • Care transitions
  • Patient/family communication
  • Leading the professional teams

Ambulatory Geriatrics Experience

Interns in the Internal Medicine Residency Program or Fourth Year Medical Students rotate through this experience, which introduces first-year residents to the essentials of ambulatory and community based care for older adults.

This includes:

  • Ambulatory Primary Care Clinic
  • Geriatrics Consultation
  • Memory Assessment Clinic
  • House calls
  • Nursing home-based subacute care
  • Long-term care
  • Assisted living

Additionally, interns in this rotation may participate intransitions of care activities

Electives

There are several electives available to residents requiring further clinical experience in geriatrics or to do dedicated research in aging. Residents should contact the geriatrics house staff liaison to arrange these rotations.