The Division of Aging is dedicated to improving the clinical care of older patients, facilitating innovation with state-of-the-art research, and educating the next generation of geriatricians and geriatric researchers.
The Division of Aging plays a major role in teaching geriatric medicine to numerous learners at BWH, including internal medicine residents, Harvard Medical School (HMS) geriatric fellows, and practicing providers. Our educational efforts support residents and fellows across the Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine; Medicine; Orthopedic Surgery; and Surgery. Our geriatricians also teach the providers (nurses and physicians) across the institution how best to care for the older adult patient population.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Block Rotation
The BWH Division of Aging rotation is approximately 7.5 weeks, centered on the geriatric co-management experience. Morning rounds with the fellows happen daily, and they are provided with a curriculum in inpatient geriatric co-management. A teaching course session on clinical reasoning happens weekly as well. During this course difficult cases are provided to challenge the fellows to examine their approach to patient care and to think critically about the clinical decisions they make. There is also a session on polypharmacy and deprescribing. In addition, two rotators are also selected as continuity fellows to join in geriatric co-management in primary care one day per week for the full academic year.
The fellows will learn the skill of performing comprehensive geriatric assessments with formal frailty, cognitive and functional assessments and subsequently practice how it will modify standard care as an integrated team member of their co-management service. Fellows are also expected to deepen their knowledge and serve as a clinician teacher for the house-staff and the nursing staff. They teach geriatric principles to rotating residents on the service and house staff who request consults.