Here - American Geriatrics Society

P OSTER
A BSTRACTS
other age group (Krisberg 2005). One way to prepare future physicians
for increased demand may be to better integrate geriatrics education
into medical school. The study’s objective was investigate
whether taking a geriatrics elective class improves first-year medical
students’ perceptions and knowledge of geriatrics.
Subjects were 18 first-year medical students, 8 of whom had enrolled
in a 4-month geriatric elective class. Surveys were administered
to students within 1 month of the first class session. The surveys assessed
students’ interest in and comfort level with elderly patients
and included a modified version of Palmore’s Facts on Aging Quiz, a
validated geriatrics knowledge assessment survey (Fabiano 2005).
These surveys will be administered again to students within 1 month,
and again 1 year after the completion of the elective.
There was no significant difference between knowledge survey
scores for geriatrics elective (GE) and non-geriatrics elective (non-
GE) students; the average score was 13.9±0.5 out of 25. On a scale of
1-10 (1 being least and 10 being most interested), GE students’ average
geriatrics interest was 7.4±0.7, which was significantly higher than
that of non-GE students, 4.3±0.4 (p