In little more than 20 years, the number of people in the United States over the age of 65 will grow from 35 million to almost 72 million, and the number of people over 85 is expected to increase from more than 5 million to nearly 21 million by 2050. In Tennessee, the aged population is expected to grow from about 12 percent to 26 percent in the next two decades. As the population ages, its healthcare demands will continue to increase, but Tennessee has only 95 physicians trained to care for the unique needs of the older population. In response to this health concern, the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Office of the Dean announces the launch of a new physician-education Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program. This program will offer advanced training for physicians in caring for specific needs of the elderly.
“Medical schools and residency programs across the country offer little formal education in geriatric medicine,” said Ronald Lands, M.D., Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director, and Associate Professor, Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, UT Graduate School of Medicine. “Some academicians believe it is not possible to train enough geriatric-specialty physicians to adequately meet the predicted needs over the next 2-3 decades. Having a geriatric fellowship on this campus should enhance geriatric education, so students in all disciplines, as well as practicing physicians in any specialty, can benefit directly and indirectly from its presence,” he said.
Historically, about two-thirds of the physicians completing residency and fellowship programs at the UT Graduate School of Medicine stay in East Tennessee to establish medical practices. This fellowship program, then, will benefit the region by providing specially-trained local physicians who are able to meet the demands of the increasing elderly population.
The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program differs from the traditional disease-based, procedure-oriented model of training by examining a specific population with its unique needs. Fellows in the program will become competent in theories of aging; diseases of the aged; and preventive medicine, including nutrition and exercise. They will learn to function as members of interdisciplinary teams with multiple health professionals. They will study topics of special interest to the elderly, including cognitive impairment, depression, falls, elder abuse and geriatric pharmacology and rehabilitation. Additionally, physician fellows will manage patients in a continuum of settings from the acute care hospital to long-term-care settings, assisted living, home care and hospice. They will study economic, ethical and legal issues pertinent to the aging population.
The one-year program will start on July 1, 2009, and applications from physicians now are being considered. Physicians who want more information about the fellowship and the UT Graduate School of Medicine can visit http://gsm.utmck.edu/internalmed/fellowships.htm.
“The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program is the third new subspecialty education program initiated by the UT Graduate School of Medicine in just over one year, bringing the total of fellowship programs we offer to 12,” said James J. Neutens, Ph.D., Dean. “Our impact on the healthcare of the region is great, as we train physicians in subspecialties including geriatric medicine, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease and others. Together with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, we form the area’s only academic medical center, and as such, we take seriously our responsibility to listen and respond to the needs of the community.”
Fellowship programs provide licensed physicians with concentrated experience in subspecialties, such as geriatric medicine and cardiovascular disease. Subspecialties require 1-4 years of fellowship education in addition to the 9-14 years of medical education required to complete medical school and the subsequent residency period.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 12 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.
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