Geriatric Medicine Training and Practice in the United States at the ...

Table 6.12 Fellowship-Trained Geriatricians, (1990-1998 Cohort) Personal Characteristics
Respondents Percent 2
Category Characteristic (n=490) 1
Gender Male 243 50
Female 247 50
Ethnicity African American 19 4
Asian 124 26
Caucasian 290 61
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 4 1
Hispanic/Latino 36 8
Native American 2 0.4
Medical United States 293 60
School Puerto Rico 10 2
Location Foreign 186 38
Residency Specialty Family Medicine 84 17
Internal Medicine 400 82
CAQ Geriatric Medicine 384 80
Fellowship 1990-1992 120 25
Completion Period 1993-1995 152 31
1996-1998 218 44
1 Frequencies do not total 490 in every case due to missing data.
2 Percentages do not total 100% in every case due to rounding.
Source: Medina-Walpole, Barker, Katz, et al., 2002
Table 6.13 Fellowship-Trained Geriatricians, (1990-1998 Cohort) Career Decision-Making
Category Factors Influencing Respondents Percent 2
Decisions (n=490) 1
Three Most Societal Needs 204 42
Important Non-Medical Experience 189 39
Factors Range of Medical Problems 176 36
Multidisciplinary Specialty 168 34
Residency Experience 152 31
Better Career Prospects 90 18
Medical School Experience 72 15
Family/Personal Life Style 69 14
Research Opportunities 65 13
Academic Opportunities 58 12
Community/Hospital Aspects 56 11
Teaching Opportunities 55 11
Timing of Prior to/During Medical School 129 26
Career Decision During Residency 256 53
During Career 98 20
Role Model/Mentor Influence 233 48
1 Frequencies do not total 490 in every case due to missing data.
2 Percentages do not total 100% in every case due to rounding.
Source: Medina-Walpole, Barker, Katz, et al., 2002
institutional support such as department money or clinical revenue
was reported by 4 of the 8 programs as a source of support for
second-year fellows.
Survey of Graduates
of Geriatric Medicine
Fellowship Programs
Geriatric Medicine
Fellowship Graduate
Career Choices
The University of Rochester recently
conducted a survey of 1990-1998 allopathic
graduates of FP and IM geriatric medicine
fellowships (Medina-Walpole, Barker, Katz et
al., 2002). The survey goals were to: 1)
determine the timing and most important
factors in physicians’ decisions to pursue
careers in geriatric medicine; 2) document
core elements and experiences of fellowship
training; 3) identify current professional
activities and practice settings; and 4)
examine the relationship between length
of training and overall academic career
development opportunities. Responses were
received from 490 of the 787 (62%) subjects
in the final survey database. Comparison of
responders and non-responders revealed
that women were more likely to respond
than men (67% versus 58%) and that year
of fellowship completion was not associated
with response rate. The majority (80%) (392
of the 490 respondents) had completed two
or more years of fellowship training. A
notable increase in the number of one-year
fellows occurred in the period 1996-1998,
coincident with the change in requirements
for CAQ eligibility.
Table 6.12 lists selected respondent
characteristics. Median age at fellowship
completion was 34 years. The majority
trained in internal medicine sponsored
fellowships (82%) and received CAQs in
geriatric medicine (80%).
Career Decision Making
for Geriatric Medicine
Fellows
Respondents were asked to select the three
most influential factors for their decision to
choose a career in geriatric medicine (Table
6.13). The most frequent response was
“societal needs for more physicians to care for the elderly” (42%).
Over half of the respondents made their career choice during
residency training, and 26% made the decision before or during
their medical school training. Almost half (48%) stated they had
been influenced by a role model or mentor.
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