title: Geriatric education. Part I: Efficacy of a mandatory clinical rotation for fourth year medical students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the curriculum of a mandatory, fourth-year geriatrics clerkship and assess its impact on medical students' knowledge of geriatric medicine and attitudes toward the elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  One group, before/after trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York.
  
  
  METHODS
  Entire fourth year class of medical students (n = 127).
  
  
  METHODS
  Four-week-long clinical geriatrics clerkship.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pre- and post-rotation: test of knowledge; Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) attitude scale; Modified Maxwell-Sullivan attitude scale; questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy percent of students found the rotation to be educationally valuable; however, only one-third of students would have taken the clerkship had it not been required. Mean geriatric knowledge score increased by 18.7% (P less than 0.001). Mean ASD attitude score did not change significantly (130.5 +/- 19.2 pre-rotation versus 126.6 +/- 18.8 post-rotation, P = 0.15), but students started the rotation with a neutral attitude. Over 90% of students agreed they would welcome elderly into their future practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If a national curricular goal is to improve medical students' knowledge of geriatric medicine, required rather than elective rotations may be in order.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, New York.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jutagir
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tideiksarr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology