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Didactics and Rotations

The top-ranked geriatric medicine fellowship (subspecialty residency) program at Saint Louis University provides comprehensive exposure to the full range of practice settings and clinical scenarios seen in older adults, with an emphasis on clinical medicine and quality improvement.

Didactics

Fellow Lecture Series
A core conference weekly lecture series is designed for the fellowship and covers important topics in geriatrics at the fellow level. This lecture series also offers the fellows a chance to sit down with faculty to discuss difficult patient care issues, see additional care locations (such as the Alzheimer's Association and PACE), and participate in Journal Watch (a review of the most recent important articles in the geriatrics literature).
Geriatric Medicine and Internal Medicine Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds are held weekly on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. at the medical center. Fellows participate alongside the faculty to learn from local and regional experts and discuss topics related to the care of older adults. 

Internal Medicine Grand Rounds: are held weekly on Friday morning from 7:30-8:30 am. Each departmental grand rounds presentation is sponsored by one of the divisions and all internal medicine faculty, residents, and students are invited to attend. The geriatric medicine division typically sponsors two to three presentations a year.

CME is offered for both. 

 Journal Club

Journal Club is held once monthly in the evening. A faculty member hosts a dinner in his/her home and both fellows and faculty present a relevant, timely article for group discussion.

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
 Each first-year fellow is required to complete the OSCE, usually held in February. The skills observed include cognitive testing, depression screening, medication management, and communication. 
Scholarly Projects
Fellows are required to complete a QI/QA project with faculty mentoring. Additional scholarly activity is encouraged and a second unaccredited year is available for completion of research projects.  

First Year Clinical Geriatrics Rotation Schedule

Rotation Length Site
 
Inpatient Geriatric Consultation 6-8 Weeks SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
Home Care Monthly Longitudinal Experience City of St. Louis
VA Clinics 2-4 Weeks VA Saint Louis Health Care System
Skilled Nursing/Post-Acute Care 12 Weeks Life Care Center of St. Louis and NHC Healthcare Maryland Heights
Long-Term Care Monthly Longitudinal Experience NHC Healthcare Maryland Heights 
Office-based Geriatrics Weekly Longitudinal Experience SLUCare Doctor's Office Building and/or Des Peres Senior Service Clinic
Geriatric Psychiatry Four-Six Weeks SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
Rehabilitation Four-Six Weeks VA Saint Louis Health Care System
Pain and Palliative Care Four-Six Weeks SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and VA Saint Louis Health Care System
Elective Four Weeks Varies
Conference/Vacation Three Weeks N/A
 

Second Year Focused Tracks

The division of geriatric medicine may offer a second unaccredited year for a strong fellow who desires additional training in the following:

  • Clinician-Educator 
  • Clinical Research
  • Medical Direction and Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement (QAPI)

*Rotation specifics are subject to change.