Grant targets older patient care

raining doctors to care for the special needs of older patients is the focus of a $1.9 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Robert McCann, chief of medicine at Highland Hospital and associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, is the principal investigator for the program.

Among the initiatives: greater focus on care for the aging as part of physician education; partnerships with community physicians who treat older patients; and house calls by young doctors, enabling them to see firsthand the challenges aging patients face in their own homes.

"The fastest-growing portion of the population is people over 85 years old," says McCann. "This work is something that most people have a vested interest in. We'll all become older--if we're lucky--and we'll all want physicians as capable and attentive as possible."

The funding will enhance the medical school's Double Helix curriculum--a mix of science and clinical experience cited nationally as an effective way to train future doctors. Students will have increased interaction with doctors who specialize in geriatrics, especially important considering the booming population of older Americans and the current shortage of geriatricians.

"Many students have had important and meaningful interactions with grandparents or other older persons in their lives, and they may be interested in geriatrics," McCann says. "But since there are so few geriatricians, many students don't have role models or mentors to show them how fulfilling it can be to work with older patients. We hope to provide those role models."

Part of the grant will go toward enhanced interaction with community physicians who care for aging patients in Rochester. The medical school will encourage information sharing through short conferences in which doctors can learn from each other's experiences, and where medical students can take advantage of the knowledge and experience these doctors bring to geriatric patient care.

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