• Elizabeth Eckstrom, Sima S Desai, Alan J Hunter, Elizabeth Allen, Craig E Tanner, Linda M Lucas, Carol L Joseph, Marnie R Ririe, Melanie N Doak, Linda L Humphrey, and Judith L Bowen.
• Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, L475, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA. eckstrom@ohsu.edu
• J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Jul 1; 23 (7): 1053-6.

Introduction/AimsInternists care for older adults and teach geriatrics to trainees, but they often feel ill-prepared for these tasks. The aims of our 1-day Continuing Medical Education workshop were to improve the knowledge and self-perceived competence of general internists in their care of older adults and to increase their geriatrics teaching for learners.SettingTwo internal medicine training programs encompassing University, Veterans Affairs, and a community-based hospital in Portland, OR, USA.Program DescriptionCourse faculty identified gaps in assessment of cognition, function, and decisional capacity; managing care transitions; and treatment of behavioral symptoms. To address these gaps, our workshop provided geriatric content discussions followed by small group role plays to apply newly learned content. Forty teaching faculty participated.Program EvaluationParticipants completed 13-item multiple-choice pre- and post-workshop geriatric knowledge tests, pre- and post-workshop surveys of self-perceived competence to care for older adults, and completed an open-ended 'commitment to change' prompt after the intervention. Knowledge scores improved following the intervention (61% to 72%, p < .0001), as did self-perceived competence (11 of 14 items significant). Seventy-one percent of participants reported success in meeting their commitment to change goals.DiscussionA 1-day intervention improved teaching faculty knowledge and self-perceived competence to care for older patients and led to self-perceived changes in teaching behaviors.

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