The program is linked with the University of Florida Geriatric Education Center, Center for Gerontological Studies, and the VA Medical Center's Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. Emphasis is placed on comprehensive longitudinal care, including all levels of care. Training settings include acute care and ambulatory sites, a teaching nursing home, and consultation services. Patient management is assisted by fellows becoming members of interdisciplinary teams. Experience in research is essential in fellowship training.
Didactic instruction is provided in research design and analysis.
Elective courses may be taken in biostatistics and statistical methods. Fellows select a research mentor in their first year. Research projects are tailored to each fellow's individual needs and may be clinical, laboratory, psychosocial, epidemiologic, health services, or policy oriented. Close collaboration between fellow and mentor permits the development and execution of a research project and acquisition of expertise in a particular area, i.e., geropharmacology, exercise physiology, immunology, cerebral blood flow, memory disorders. Fellows are provided with courses in educational theory, design, and evaluation.