Here - American Geriatrics Society

P OSTER
A BSTRACTS
medical students, which include fall risk assessment. We describe an
innovative method of teaching fall risk assessment using the Meals on
Wheels (MOW) community program.
METHODS: During an intense one week geriatric rotation, 3rd
year students perform a fall risk assessment on a MOW client in their
home. The evaluation includes: history of falls, fear of falling, medication
review, visual acuity, Get-up and Go test, Mini-Cog, and brief
home safety evaluation. ADLs and IADLs are also obtained. 4 of the
8 recommended competency domains are covered in this experience.
A Geriatrics attending reviews the assessment and provides relevant
teaching. Students provided anonymous feedback on the MOW fall
risk assessment on a scale of 1-10 (10=best). Using a retrospective prepost
survey we assessed the self-reported change in the students’ confidence
and perceived competence in elements of fall risk assessment.
RESULTS: In the class of 2012, 110/124 completed the in-home
fall risk assessment. 14 students did not complete it due to logistical
problems. Students rated the MOW fall risk assessment highly (mean
of 7.26 (of 10)). Students commented that it was a unique, “eye opening
experience” to see the depth of need and the services available
and enjoyed the novel opportunity for learning outside of the typical
hospital setting. 60/110 (54%) completed the retrospective survey.
Results on confidence in performing individual tasks are presented in
the Table. 51% of students also report having assessed fall history
since this rotation.
CONCLUSION: The innovative MOW fall risk assessment experience
efficiently teaches 4 of 8 competency domains with minimal
faculty effort, was well received by medical students, and resulted in
much improved confidence in elements of fall risk assessment. Our
MOW falls risk assessment could easily be adopted by most medical
schools.
Percentage of students who reported moderate to very high confidence/competence
BEFORE and AFTER the MOW fall risk
assessment
A73
Evaluation of Medical Student Training and Attitudes towards
Geriatrics at Wuhan Medical School.
S. M. Shi, R. Sherer, I. Morgan, H. Dong, B. Cooper. University of
Chicago - Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
Supported By: Pritzker School of Medicine via Summer Research
Program
Geriatrics is an emerging field in China, with no national certification
or formal specialty training presently. In the past decade,
China has prioritized shifting the delivery of primary care for urban
populations to community health centers (CHCs) rather than larger
public hospitals. The ease of access, closer proximity, and lower outof-pocket
costs make CHC care a more favorable alternative over
sub-specialty care in tertiary hospitals for many elderly. Thus geriatrics
training has become an increasing imperative to effective delivery
of primary care in CHCs. We evaluated faculty and student attitudes
towards geriatrics, and investigated whether a new CHC
Clerkship experience at Wuhan University affected student opinions.
We also explored the delivery of health care in local community settings,
particularly to the elderly.
Students at Wuhan University Medical School were surveyed, as
well as elder care givers at the QingShan Community Health Center.
A total of 18 pilot CHC clerkship students (‘Pilot’) were surveyed,
with questions regarding their perceptions of geriatrics as well as
judgment on current exposure to geriatrics during clinical and preclinical
training. Parallel surveys were administered to 41 fourth year
medical students who did not participate in the pilot (Control). ‘Elderly
patients’ were defined as age over 60 years.
In general, more CHC students reported that their medical
school training, both courses and clinical, prepared them for work
with the elderly. None of these differences were statistically significant
(Mann-Whitney test, no P values