Geriatrics Fellowship Curriculum

Our one-year geriatrics fellowship program emphasizes leadership, scholarly activity, and research. The core curriculum for the protected academic time includes leadership skills, research skills, quality improvement, and evidence-based medicine in the areas of geriatric and palliative care. Limited departmental support may be available to help you attend national conferences.

Each rotation will last a minimum of four weeks and take place at the following locations: Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, LVH–17th Street, LVH–Muhlenberg, Fleming Memory Center, LVPG Family Medicine–Hamburg and EverTrue Luther Crest.

Outpatient Care

During this longitudinal experience at LVPG Family Medicine–Hamburg, you will learn to evaluate patients considering psychosocial and economic factors, as well as medical components, to gain a more complete understanding of aging patients and their families. You will assume the role of primary care physician for a panel of patients, attend team meetings, participate in ambulatory sessions and supervise medical students and family medicine residents. You will also be involved in quality improvement projects.

Nursing Home Care

Working at EverTrue Luther Crest will allow you to see that nursing home care involves more than doing rounds and attending to the daily medical needs of patients. During two four-week blocks, you will care for patients who have multiple organ-system complications requiring follow-up inquiry, repeated exams and considerable assessment and analysis. You will work with patient caregivers and family members. You will also attend conferences and seminars. 

Palliative Care/Hospice

During this four-week rotation, you will aid in the provision of patient-centered care for seriously ill hospitalized and ambulatory patients. Working as part of an interdisciplinary team, which includes palliative care fellows and advanced practice clinicians, you will become more confident in providing care to terminally ill/end-of-life patients, learn to lead family meetings focused on end-of-life care goals, and gain familiarity with state law as it relates to end-of-life decisions.

Psychiatry Service

The Consultative Liaison Psychiatry Service will focus specifically on psychiatric issues among elderly patients. During this four-week rotation, you will perform psychiatric evaluations and diagnostic assessments and develop medication and behavioral treatment plans for inpatients. Didactic sessions will focus on the psychiatric interview, performing a mental status evaluation, managing the behavioral disturbances of dementia and learning about the major classes of psychotropic medication.

Consult Service

During two four-week blocks, you will care for patients who have multiple organ-system complications requiring follow-up inquiry, repeated exams and considerable assessment and analysis.

Fellows have 15 days of paid time off and five days continuing medical education, both of which can be taken anytime, except during inpatient consult months.