Uninformed generalizations about a certain group are the basis of prejudice, and in my case, my attitudes could be construed as being ageist in nature. Some studies have indicated that medical students perceive older people as being dull, disagreeable, inactive, and economically burdensome. Medical educators are attempting to identify the source of age bias and devise means with which to address it. Interactions with the elderly in and out of the classroom help students understand the needs of the elderly and could prevent them from developing ageist attitudes. KU does not pretend to be a model for geriatric education.
Efforts here are probably typical of other institutions, where age-sensitive curricula are evolving.
For example, our program recruits older people in the community to join students in small-group discussions on aging. Courses in physical diagnosis and pharmacology also devote special sections to caring for older patients. In addition, a new faculty position in physiology funded by the Center on Aging ensures that topics on aging are incorporated into the basic science curriculum. For example, we learned in a discussion of cultural roots of ageism that before the 16th century, for example, most people did not know their exact age. By the mid-16th century, people began inferring social position from age.