Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Medical Students

In 2001 the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine was one of the early recipients of a Donald W. Reynolds grant to enhance geriatrics education at Weill Cornell Medical College. This award allowed faculty the time to focus on stimulating educational experiences using creative and innovative teaching methods. Some of the core topics covered in the geriatrics curriculum include: effective communication between physicians and older adults; the importance of avoiding ageism in the medical encounter; how assessing function can enhance independence and improve quality of life; the impact of chronic illness on the individual and their family; and living well with disability and the importance of practicing humanistic medicine (transitional care, interdisciplinary team, and geropharmacology).

Many of our faculty act as formal and informal mentors to medical students and are more than willing to provide guidance to those interested in pursuing geriatrics and palliative care as their area of interest. Click on the links below to learn more about the diverse educational approaches offering unique research and learning opportunities to our medical students:

Clinical

Geriatric Medicine Elective

Fourth-year students have an opportunity to interact with older adults in a variety of settings, including:

  • The hospital (in our Acute Care for Elders Unit and through our Consultation Service)
  • Center on Aging, our ambulatory practice 
  • Home environments though our House Call program 
  • A nursing home

Additional areas that may be explored include geriatric psychiatry, neuropsychiatric testing, rehabilitation medicine, palliative medicine and hospice. The student will participate in Geriatrics Team meetings and will be expected to prepare and deliver a lecture to the geriatrics faculty and staff. We attempt to individualize the experience for the student as much as possible.

This elective is only open to students from Weill Cornell Medical College and former MSTAR/Adelman Scholars.

Longitudinal Experience to Advance Patient Care (LEAP)

A collaborative effort with faculty from a variety of different departments and disciplines creates opportunities for students to be paired with patients and follow them over their entire four years in medical school. The LEAP program offers students an opportunity to conduct home visits on patients of all ages, often accompanied by geriatric faculty member.

The goals of this course are to allow students:

  • A close pairing of basic science and clinical experience early in their education 
  • To see disease processes evolve over time
  • To learn the art of relationship building with patients and colleagues 
  • To appreciate the complexities and challenges patients face within the health care system.

The Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine plays an important role in the LEAP curriculum development and clinical mentoring of students as the four-year process unfolds. Home visit program students have the opportunity to spend an afternoon with geriatric faculty as they make their scheduled home visits together.

Didactics

Geriatric Lectures

In their foundational science courses, first- and second-year medical students receive lectures on topics such as communication and the older patient, functional assessment, and chronic disease management. During their Primary Care Clerkship, students are provided with didactic sessions on such areas as dementia, urinary incontinence, falls, and elder abuse and neglect.

Research

Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Summer Scholars (GPS) in Aging Research Program*

The Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Summer Scholars in Aging Research Program (GPS) is an 8-week program that combines a mentored research project with clinical experiences, didactics, and community activities related to geriatrics and palliative medicine. Student research should be related to aging or palliative medicine but may be clinical, basic science, or health services research. Mentors may be in any field as long as the project is related to geriatrics or palliative care. Scholars present their work in an oral presentation to the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, a poster presentation at WCM’s Medical Student Research Day, and a poster or oral presentation at the American Geriatrics Society national conference.

Important learning opportunities outside of the research project include

  • Clinical experiences in inpatient geriatrics, inpatient palliative care, outpatient geriatric primary care, and house calls
  • Weekly sessions for GPS students, which include journal clubs, didactics about aging-related topics, and research updates on summer projects
  • Weekly geriatrics division didactics
  • Visits to the New York City Elder Abuse Center; long-term care and assisted living facilities; and a palliative care hospital

Program dates: June 10, 2024 through August 2, 2024 

Application due: March 1, 2024. Please email Brittney Parillon (bcp4001@med.cornell.edu) for an application and discuss your application with us before submitting.

For more information, please contact:

GPS 2023

 

Summer Scholars Program in Aging 2022

GPS 2022

Summer Scholars Program in Aging 2020

summer scholars 2020

(Top Left to Right) Vee Phongtankuel, MD, Amy Shaw, MD, Daniel Restifo
(Middle Left to Right)  Gabriel Rabb, Ilan Palte, Linh Nguyen
(Bottom Left to Right) Diana Jaber, Quincy Leon, Steven Pan

Summer Scholars Program in Aging 2019

Summer Scholar Program in Aging 2019
From left to right: Anthony Palillo, Fatima Nathalie Morales, Yushan Pan, Carrie Sha, Nicholas Vernice

Summer Scholars Program in Aging 2018

Class 2018

From left to right: Sarah Dion, James Gang, Tatiana Requijo, Ivan Guan, Anurag Goel, Maria Minor, Max Morin

2020 › 2019 › 2018 › 2017 › 2016 › 2015  ›  2014  ›  2013  ›  2012 ›  2011 ›  2010 › 2009 ›  2008 ›  2007 ›  2006 ›  2005 ›  2004 › 2003 ›  2002 ›  2001 ›  2000 ›  1999 ›  1998 › 1997 ›  1996 ›  1995

Special Interest in Aging

Geriatric Interest Group (GIG)

Established in 1999, GIG is an enthusiastic group of medical students who are interested in the aging population for a variety of reasons. The students in GIG recognize that:

  • Older adults are a diverse and interesting group of people; many are creative, intelligent and vibrant "successful agers" who have and continue to lead meaningful lives and can share their wisdom about living with chronic illness and the importance of resiliency.
  • The population is becoming increasingly older. In fact, people age 85 years and older are the fastest growing segment of the total US population.
  • They need to learn more about this growing population because no matter which area of medicine a medical student pursues, older adults will be among their patient population (even pediatricians must consider grandparents caring for their grandchildren).

GIG meets at various points throughout the academic year to discuss topics related to aging. Previous sessions have included:

  • A talk by a 93-year-old sex therapist on sexuality and aging.
  • Screening an award-winning documentary on aging relationships and activities in nursing home.
  • Discussing research opportunities in geriatrics and aging-related fields.
  • A diverse panel of experts on palliative care (physicians, nurse, social worker and pastor).
  • Doing physical diagnosis on patients at a nursing home.
  • Gundy, the dog (and his owner), talking about pet therapy on the Acute Care for the Elderly inpatient unit.
  • Learning about the various opportunities in geriatric medicine (e.g., academics, research, long-term care policy, private practice)
  • Learning about the MSTAR and Adelman summer scholars opportunities, shared by previous student recipients

Area of Concentration in Geriatric Medicine

Focus: The Area of Concentration (AOC) in Geriatric Medicine will offer students a broad exposure to the field of Geriatrics through core didactic lectures as well as participation in a variety of clinical experiences.

Significance: The demographic imperative of a rapidly aging population has made Geriatric medicine an increasingly important area of study. Geriatrics embraces the medical and psychosocial issues challenging older adults with particular focus on function, maximizing quality of life while living with chronic illness .Geriatrics is a rich area of study that affords students the opportunity to explore areas such as neurodegenerative disorders, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry, pharmacology and palliative medicine. Exposure to the interdisciplinary approach to patient care that incorporates social work, OT, PT, psychiatry and other makes Geriatrics a unique learning experience for students.

Goals and Learning Objectives:

  • To understand the common Geriatrics syndromes and how they impact on the quality of life of older adults
  • To identify the components of a functional assessment and appreciate its importance in caring for older adults
  • To recognize and begin to distinguish between the common causes of cognitive decline (depression, delirium and dementia) by demonstrating use of the MOCA (Montreal cognitive Assessment tool) and GDS (Geriatric Depression Scale)
  • To appreciate the diversity in aging population and to avoid ageist attitudes
  • To appreciate the importance of working within a multi-disciplinary team
  • To appreciate the importance of obtaining advanced directives

Contact Faculty:

Area of Concentration in Palliative Medicine

Focus: The Area of Concentration (AOC) in Palliative Medicine will encompass care didactics, experiential teaching activities and clinical exposure, and a scholarly project in Palliative Medicine culminating in peer-reviewed dissemination. This AOC will prepare students to be leaders in palliative care throughout the continuum.

Significance: Palliative care is interdisciplinary medical care focused on the prevention and relief of suffering: to provide the best quality of life for patients at any stage of illness, as well as to attend to the needs of their families. Palliative care is not just end of life care, and is not dependent on a patient's prognosis. Rather, it is offered in conjunction with curative and all other appropriate forms of medical treatment. It concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms through formal assessment of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of seriously ill patients and their families, and addressing all of these areas.
Palliative care thus accesses the personhood of the patient - the total human being rather than just the disease. One key aspect of this is the development of communication skills, which are essential for the practice of palliative care. Palliative care teams have extended meetings with patients and families to discuss their treatment, which is increasingly a rarity in medicine today. This promotes patient-physician communication and also well-developed interdisciplinary communication. Ultimately, nurturing skills in palliative care is essential for all physicians, whatever subspecialty they practice.

Goals and Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the conceptual framework of palliative care throughout the continuum of illness.
  • Demonstrate ability to apply palliative care principles by participating in experiential educational activities and classical exposures with structured feedback.
  • Applying research methodology, develop structured research project in palliative medicine that will result in oral and/or written dissemination on a local, regional or national level.

Contact Faculty:

Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medicine New York, NY