Surveying Knowledge Gaps for a Post-Acute Care (PAC) Curriculum Taught by Geriatrics-trained Core Internal Medicine Program Faculty for Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residents Learners

Preventable errors in care transitions for the elderly are responsible for up to one third of costly hospital readmissions. The 2009 Institute of Medicine sentinel report outlined a critical need to expand geriatrics competencies in residencies caring for the vulnerable elders. While the 2010 published set of core competencies for geriatrics aligns with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission directives, training in geriatrics competencies during residency is still lacking. We surveyed our IM/FM residents (Internal Medicine/Family Medicine residents) to help formulate a customized geriatrics curriculum with dedicated clinical exposure and emphasis on teaching communication across care transitions, health care systems, discharge destinations, and their level of care for the hospitalized elderly.