Effects of an inpatient geriatrics rotation on internal medicine residents’ knowledge and attitudes

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a geriatrics-focused acute medicine inpatient rotation and the presence or absence of a geriatrician as attending physician on knowledge about and attitudes toward older patients and the field of geriatrics. DESIGN: Randomized trial. INTERVENTION: A 4-week acute care inpatient internal medicine rotation at a university-affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center; experiences included caring for acutely ill, older medical patients, interdisciplinary team meetings, geriatrics-based noon conferences, interaction with geriatrics-trained nurse practitioners, and a syllabus of readings on geriatric medicine. PARTICIPANTS: Postgraduate year 1, 2, and 3 internal medicine residents were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) the intervention with a geriatrics-trained internist attending (n=44); (2) the intervention with a non-geriatricstrained internist attending (n=25); or (3) no exposure to the intervention (n=24). INSTRUMENTS: Knowledge was assessed using a 35-item test. Attitudes were evaluated using a 24-item questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no differences among the three groups of residents in pretest knowledge (p=.971, analysis of variance). There was a significant difference in the changes in scores from the pretest baseline among the three groups (group 1=.030, group 2=.051, group 3=−.009;p=.039). Both groups assigned to the intervention showed significant improvement in knowledge (p=.011); the presence or absence of a geriatrics-trained attending physician did not alter the results. Resident attitude scores were generally positive and did not change after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: An intensive integrated acute medicine rotation in geriatrics improved residents’ knowledge of geriatric medicine. The presence of a geriatrics-trained attending physician was not necessary for this improvement. Residents’ attitudes toward geriatric medicine and their geriatrics education were generally positive and were not influenced by this experience.