University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center

GERIATRICS

If you want to succeed, ask three old people.
– Chinese Proverb

Background
New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino elders in the United States at 28.6%. New Mexico also has the second largest percent of American Indians over 65 years of age.  While the white non-Hispanic elderly are expected to grow by 93%, older “minority” status persons will grow by 328%.  Hispanic elderly are expected to grow by 555%, non-Hispanic blacks by 160%, American Indians by 231%.  Our goal in Geriatrics is to maximize the quality of an older adult’s life, to maintain independence and function, and to provide culturally-sensitive health care to all seniors in the community to those in long-term care (nursing home).  The Dept. of  Family and Community Medicine is actively involved in geriatric education and health care of New Mexico’s diverse senior population.

Resident Curriculum
All UNM Family Medicine residents receive both a one month rotation in geriatrics and continuity experiences. During their month rotation, residents go to a variety of outpatient and inpatient sites including a Alzheimer’s Association meeting, the Veteran’s Affairs Extended Care Floor, the UNM Senior Health Clinic and home visits.  As part of their continuity experience, the residents follow long term care (nursing home) patients and have older adults in their clinics for whom they can do home visits.  For more information on this aspect of the curriculum, contact Dr. Sally Bachofer at sbachofer@salud.unm.edu

Geriatric Fellowship

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico offers an ACGME-accredited Fellowship in Geriatric Medicine.  The Geriatric Fellowship Program provides subspecialty training in geriatrics to physicians who are board eligible or certified in internal medicine or family medicine.  The fellow completing the one-year fellowship will be eligible for the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine.  During this year, the fellow develops the clinical skills, judgment, demeanor, and professional ethics necessary to provide the highest quality of patient care to the elderly.  The fellow completing two years has the opportunity, in addition to the above, to engage in a research project which would lead to publication.  For details about the fellowship, see our website or contact Dr. Suzanne Pinon at SPinon@salud.unm.edu.

Other Programs in Geriatrics

• Geriatric Education Center

The New Mexico Geriatric Education Center (NMGEC) is dedicated to improving the health care of American Indian elders through the education and training of health care providers. NMGEC programs are designed to enhance the ability of health care professionals to deliver geriatric and culturally appropriate care. Working in partnership with the Indian Health Service (IHS), the New Mexico Veterans Healthcare System, the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA), New Mexico Indian Council on Aging, and statewide consortium members, the NMGEC benefits from close interaction with American Indian communities.  The Center also offers an Interdisciplinary Certificate Program is for all health care professionals with an interest in Geriatrics. The certificate requires 20 hours of core courses in geriatrics and 20 hours of elective courses/workshops to complete the program for a total of 40 hours in geriatrics.  They also provide an annual Summer Geriatrics Institute in June, which is a three day.  For more information, contact Darlene Franklin, Associate Director at  dfranklin@salud.unm.edu.

• Center on Aging

UNM Center on Aging and the UNM Division of Geriatrics have created an educational infrastructure that is penetrating all levels of medical education and it is using existing networks to provide geriatric education to physicians and practices statewide.  This interdepartmental program has been actively involved with the medical student curriculum, including the Senior Mentor Program.

The Senior Mentor Program pairs community-dwelling healthy active seniors with medical students, enhancing their learning about successful aging through their personal relationships.  The Center on Aging also supplies lecturers and geriatrician consultants to the family medicine residency programs in New Mexico, the New Mexico Chapter of the AAFP educational programs and other programs statewide.  The UNM Center on Aging has been reinvigorated by support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Geriatric Medicine Training Initiative.  For more information, contact the Center on Aging at CenteronAging@salud.unm.edu.