Educational Programs

The Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine remains a national leader in geriatric medicine and care, ranked as the #1 hospital for 2010 and #2 geriatrics education program in 2011 by U.S. News & World Reports. The Department is a leader in geriatric and palliative care medical education with mandatory medical student clerkships and large fellowship programs.

Geriatrics Education

The required 12-week third-year integrated geriatrics-internal medicine clerkship is the most highly ranked in the school. An elective rotation in geriatrics is also available for first or second year medical students. We consistently have 10-12 summer students who do geriatric research projects through the Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) program. All residents in Mount Sinai's internal medicine residency program are taught about the care of hospitalized older patients by geriatrics faculty. The Department provides twelve noon conferences yearly, and a geriatric assessment clinic weekly in the internal medicine residents' ambulatory practice. We sponsor a noontime geriatrics lecture and a Grand Rounds series at the VA. Additionally, we offer two highly subscribed "Students as Teachers" and "Residents as Teachers" electives that utilize geriatrics content for teaching these learners how to teach.

In 2010 we were awarded a Bureau of Health Professions Geriatric Physician and Dentist Training grant, which expanded our educational influence into the geriatric psychiatry fellowship and the dental residency.

Our junior faculty have been extremely successful in pursuit of the few available medical educational career development awards. In 2010, six of our current junior faculty received Geriatric Academic Career Awards, as did four of our former fellows who are now at other institutions. Seven of our junior faculty also successfully competed for John A. Hartford Geriatric Academic Center of Excellence Scholar awards.

For more information on Geriatrics Education, contact Jennifer Reyes, 212-241-8670

Palliative Care Education

The prestigious Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute program is ensuring all students and trainees who pass through Mount Sinai's teaching programs will graduate with firm grounding in pain and symptom management, doctor-patient communication, and the skills necessary to support patients and families throughout the course of illness. These skills encompass a broad range of care settings including hospital, home, nursing home, and hospice.

The education of students, house staff, and fellows on the core precepts of palliative medicine is accomplished through bedside teaching, rotations on the clinical service, and a case-based lecture series. All third year medical students participate in a one-week clinical rotation in palliative medicine during the 12-week Integrated Internal Medicine-Geriatrics Clerkship. A one-month clinical palliative care rotation is a requirement for all hematology-oncology and geriatric fellows.

We offer elective rotations for medical students, house staff, and nurse practitioners. The Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute also offers a unique palliative medicine fellowship designed to meet the career goals of physicians from a wide range of backgrounds who are interested in a career in academic Palliative Medicine. Those physicians, nurses, social workers, and clergy complete their training but would like to spend clinical time with our interdisciplinary palliative care team can participate in our Visiting Scholars Program. Our annual courses offer external learners an opportunity to learn and review the core concepts of palliative medicine.

For more information about Palliative Care Education, contact Diane Maguire, 212-241-8830.