Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Geriatrics
Center on Aging
Medical Student Geriatric Experiences
Senior Mentor Program
Pairing Active Seniors with Medical Students to Enhance Provider-Patient Communication
The voluntary Senior Mentor Program at the University of New Mexico pairs students in health
care fields with active adults 65 and older, providing an opportunity for future health care
providers to learn more about communicating with older adults and about the health issues that
are of concern to them. It also allows the students to interact with seniors on a social level
and to dispel stereotypes about aging.
The students and their Senior Mentors meet 3 times between October and May to develop a social
relationship and discuss assigned health-related topics. The meetings take place in the mentors’
homes or other mutually agreed-upon locations, and normally last 1-2 hours each. The total time
commitment per academic year is about 15 hours.
For more information, contact: Lloryn Swan, 272-4837 (1-5 p.m.),
or Peggy Allen, 272-0823.
Geriatric Practical Immersion Experience (PIE)
The Geriatric PIE Experience is part of the required 9 week community-based clinical experience
for students during the summer after their first year of medical school. Students are required to
complete geriatric didactic materials which focus on functional assessment and a cultural interview
with elderly patients, then to put into practice what they learned by completing functional
assessments and cultural interviews within their PIE clinic experience.
Perspectives in Medicine (PIM)
5 week Electives for 2nd and 3rd year students:
- Physician Home Visits in the 21st Century. As the frail elderly population increases, access
to medical care for these individuals will continue to be more of a problem. With a combination of
case based discussions, site visits, and computer based learning, this elective explores the role
of physicians who provide consultations at home for this group of seniors. We will explore how
effectively elderly patients can be cared for in their own homes when access to regular clinic
based care becomes difficult. We will also look at the types of residential facilities available
to our seniors. A complimentary module using an online interactive case based program which
covers many aspects of home health care with a multidisciplinary approach will also supplement
the discussions and site visits.
- Care Beyond Cure. This elective will introduce the students to therapeutic approaches for the
assessment and treatment of common end-of-life symptoms: pain, dyspnea, fatigue, anxiety, cachexia,
nausea/vomiting, constipation, delirium, death rattle, depression, and terminal angst. In addition,
the students will have the opportunity to interact with interdisciplinary hospice staff and
patients/families to learn about non-drug interventions that are used to care for the dying.
- Geriatric Medicine Ambulatory Clerkship. An elective rotation within the required Phase III
Ambulatory Clerkship. It is designed to provide students with an advanced ambulatory rotation
focused on the UNM Core Competencies: medical knowledge, patient care, communication skills,
ethics and professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based care. The Geriatric
Medicine Ambulatory Clerkship will provide students with an opportunity to provide comprehensive care to
elderly patients and families in multiple settings. This clerkship will emphasize the continued
management of the elderly patients and the complex medical, social, and ethical issues that arise
in this type of care. Learning occurs through direct patient care and through a close working
relationship with the physicians and other team members working with older patients. Students will be
able to expand their knowledge and skill in diagnosis and treatment approaches to the older patient,
with an emphasis on complex multi-system problems. Additional areas include functional assessment,
multidisciplinary and team care, the effects of environment on function and understanding the
importance of developing preferences and setting goals of care with the patient and family. In
addition, students will have both practical and didactic exposure to the field of end-of-life care.
In the 4th Yr. Geriatric Elective (one month) students participate in a multidisciplinary approach
to comprehensive geriatric assessment with a team of health care professionals (physicians, nurse
practitioners, social workers, pharmacists, psychologists, etc.) Team members together evaluate and
manage multiple complex medical, functional, psychosocial and caregiver problems faced by the rapidly
expanding population of frail, elderly patients.
Students complete geriatric assessments in geriatric evaluation clinics at the Senior Health Center
(two clinics weekly), and participate in the care of patients in the nursing home setting. Students
accompany an attending on home visits to care for fragile homebound elderly patients. Students have
an opportunity to attend subspecialty clinics in palliative care memory disorder, geriatric neurology,
and neuropsychology evaluation clinic. Weekly Geriatric Interest rounds, with presentations by residents,
fellows and attending physicians, are held.
