Early Clinical Exposure to Geriatric Psychiatry and Medical Students' Interest in Caring for Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Klara Pokrzywko, Susana Gabriela Torres-Platas, Petal S Abdool, Marouane Nassim, Trent Semeniuk, Yara Moussa, Ghizlane Moussaoui, Chloe Leon, Wayne Baici, Michael Wilkins-Ho, Paul Blackburn, Jess Friedland, N P Vasavan Nair, Karl Looper, Marilyn Segal, Tricia Woo, Marie-Andrée Bruneau, Tarek K Rajji, Soham Rej
Author Information
Klara Pokrzywko: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal; Department of Psychiatry (KP, MAB), University of Montreal, Montreal. Electronic address: klara.pokrzywko@umontreal.ca.
Susana Gabriela Torres-Platas: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Petal S Abdool: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (PSA, CL, WB, TKR, SR), Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Marouane Nassim: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Trent Semeniuk: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (TS, JF, NPVN), Douglas University Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal.
Yara Moussa: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Ghizlane Moussaoui: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Chloe Leon: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (PSA, CL, WB, TKR, SR), Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Wayne Baici: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (PSA, CL, WB, TKR, SR), Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Michael Wilkins-Ho: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (MWH, PB), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Paul Blackburn: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (MWH, PB), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Jess Friedland: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (TS, JF, NPVN), Douglas University Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal.
N P Vasavan Nair: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (TS, JF, NPVN), Douglas University Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal.
Karl Looper: Department of Psychiatry (KL, MS), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Marilyn Segal: Department of Psychiatry (KL, MS), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal.
Tricia Woo: Division of Geriatric Medicine (TW), St. Peter's Hospital, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Marie-Andrée Bruneau: Department of Psychiatry (KP, MAB), University of Montreal, Montreal.
Tarek K Rajji: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (PSA, CL, WB, TKR, SR), Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Soham Rej: Geri-PARTy Research Group, Department of Psychiatry (KP, SGTP, MN, YM, GM, SR), Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal; Division of Geriatric Psychiatry (PSA, CL, WB, TKR, SR), Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto.
OBJECTIVE: In the next 25 years, the population aged 65 and older will nearly double in many countries, with few new doctors wishing to care for older adults. The authors hypothesize that early clinical exposure to elderly patient care could increase student interest in caring for older adults during their future career. METHODS: The authors conducted a pragmatic medical education randomized controlled trial (RCT) at the Jewish General Hospital and the Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. Third-year medical students undergoing their mandatory 16-week half-time clerkship rotation in psychiatry were randomly assigned to the equivalent of 2-4 weeks of full-time exposure to clinical geriatric psychiatry (n = 84). RESULTS: Being randomly assigned to geriatric psychiatry exposure (n = 44 of 84) was associated with increased "comfort in working with geriatric patients and their families" at 16-week follow-up (59.1% versus 37.5%, χ (1) = 3.9; p = 0.05). However, there was no significant association found between geriatric psychiatry exposure and change "in interest in caring for older adults," or change in "interest in becoming a geriatric psychiatrist." CONCLUSION: The results of this pragmatic education RCT suggest that exposing third-year medical students to 2-4 weeks of geriatric psychiatry did not increase their interest to care for older adults or become a geriatric psychiatrist. However, it did increase their comfort level in working with older adults and their families. However, more research is necessary to identify potential interventions that could inspire and increase medical student interest in caring for older adults as part of their future careers.
