Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program

Additional Training Opportunities

Geriatric-Palliative Combined Fellowship

We are proud to offer a new, two-year training program integrated with the UPMC Division of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and in collaboration with the UPMC Palliative and Supportive Care Institute. Our goals are to:

• increase fellows’ exposure and expertise in managing the overlap of geriatric and palliative care
• prepare dually trained fellows for academic careers and leadership in both fields

The disciplines of palliative and geriatric medicine overlap in many aspects that pertain to care of the frail elderly at end of life, including an integrated approach to the patient’s physical and psychosocial needs, and provision of care across the continuum of healthcare settings. Professionals caring for seniors at the end of life need expertise in palliative care, and palliative care specialists need expertise in issues specific to care of the elderly.  UPMC is among a handful of programs in the United States that offers dual training, and we are an ideal setting in which to provide it, having nationally recognized programs in both fields and ample institutional support to develop academic leaders.

Fellows in dual training will complete the requirements for both fields in an integrated fashion. They will meet core competency requirements in 18 months and will have 6 months of elective time built into their schedule for professional development and scholarly work. This will include coursework toward a Master’s degree in either medical education or in clinical and translational research. After completing the two-year clinical program, they are eligible for certification in both palliative and geriatric medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine. They may choose to continue their training with a final year of preparation for careers in academic medicine.

Interrupted Training of Hospitalists

This program is designed for hospitalists interested in developing additional skill in managing complex elderly. Graduates will be uniquely equipped to become institutional leaders, able to help design and provide high-quality, geriatric-focused care for the older patients who already fill half of adult hospital beds.

Two fellows split the usual one-year training over a two-year period. This enables each to train for six months and serve as a hospitalist for six months at a time, allowing fellows to attend continuity clinics and their longitudinal nursing home site while cross-covering their patient panel with their training counterpart. Fellows also attend geriatric division conferences, core geriatric medicine lectures, and educational activities at the VA GRECC. During their six-month hospitalist blocks, they are paid as a hospitalist and maintain a hospitalist schedule, with flexibility during non-service weeks to focus on scholarship and professional development.