The findings were used to gain lifestyle information to guide future activities of a grant project and to form the basis for health education needs assessment and programming for the seniors. Several predominant lifestyle themes were identified and fifteen health education needs were established. Focus groups were found to be an effective tool for collecting information from older adults and served to sensitize health professionals to many aspect of the elders lives. If these programs are to counteract the persistent shortages of geriatric-care personnel, it is important to listen to the concerns of these educators. This article presents feedback from educators in several disciplines regarding common issues involved in training geriatric-care personnel.
Adequate funding remains a key ingredient for successful programs.
Results from this study can contribute to the development strategies of support for training the diversity of service providers that are required to meet the needs of the growing number of older adults in our society. Abstract Geriatric medicine is still a young branch of medical education and includes a comprehensive view of the patient as one of the fundamentals. When assessing medical students at the end of a three week geriatric clerkship, a colloquium model was chosen and has proven satisfactory over several years. The objective was to evaluate the knowledge acquired and the students' ability to cope with comprehensive problems of elderly patients. More than any other kind of assessment, the colloquium provides and opportunity to evaluate students' knowledge in a way that will also outline and summarize common geriatric principles.