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Biomedical subjects

M S Vernon

Publications and source records attributed to M S Vernon.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Designing and evaluating an episodic, problem-based geriatric curriculum.

BACKGROUND: Medical school geriatric training has been directed primarily at improving students' attitudes and knowledge about elderly patients. This study evaluated a clinical problem-based geriatric course for medical students. METHODS: The two-semester geriatric course was presented to 136 second-year medical students. Faculty taught students about clinical reasoning in ambulatory geriatrics using written cases, patient-actors, literature reviews, lectures, and discussions. At the end of the course, students' clinical activity was evaluated using audiotaped interviews with standardized geriatric patients. A questionnaire examined students' knowledge, attitudes, and their evaluation of the course. RESULTS: All 136 students completed the post-course standardized patient interview, and 105 (77%) completed questionnaires. Students rated the course favorably and had high confidence scores for ability to assess geriatric problems. Students' knowledge increased during the course compared to a precourse examination (P less than .05). Evaluation of post-course standardized patient interviews revealed that students who scored higher on the knowledge test tended to ask more psychosocial questions during the interview (r = 0.38). Students who scored higher on the attitude test spent more time eliciting patients' feelings during the interview (r = 0.38). Those with lower scores on the attitude test spent more time asking factual, nonpsychosocial questions (r = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: A clinical problem-based geriatric course for preclinical medical students can be successful in improving students' knowledge. Attitudes and knowledge effect the questions a student asks during the medical interview.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1989

Urinary incontinence in the elderly.

Although often unreported, urinary incontinence is a common problem confronting primary care physicians caring for the elderly. Most patients with urinary incontinence can be cured or improved through proper diagnosis and management. Many incontinent patients can be treated based on history, physical examination, and simple laboratory and bedside testing. Efforts are currently underway to determine the best method for selecting patients who require referral for urologic evaluation and urodynamic testing. Behavioral therapy, drugs, and surgery, alone or in combination, will result in marked improvement for many patients. For others, careful attention to environmental support may minimize the impact of incontinence. An optimistic and enthusiastic attitude on the part of the treating physician is important in improving patient compliance with long-term therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Training and validating the use of geriatric simulated patients.

After presenting four patient roles during an audio-taped final examination of 68 second-year medical students' interview skills, seven geriatric simulated patients evaluated the interview skills of the students. Reviews of randomly-selected audiotapes revealed that the patients were highly consistent and accurate in their evaluations, indicating that geriatric simulated patients may be an untapped resource for medical training.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

The aging eye. A family physician discusses some inevitable changes and suggests methods for dealing with them.

The aging eye undergoes a variety of structural and physiologic changes that can impair vision and cause functional disability. Among the changes are backward displacement of the eye into the orbit, thickening and yellowing of the lens, decrease in pupil size, increase in laxity of the lids, and accumulation of waste products in the retina. The specific diseases of the eye that occur with aging include macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and sudden vision loss. Preventive care both in old age and earlier in life may help forestall ocular changes and the subsequent morbidity and mortality they cause. Environmental changes to accommodate visual change can be important in accident prevention and in improved functioning and quality of life.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Short-term training in geriatrics: an alternative for family medicine?

BACKGROUND: Family medicine has responded to the need for training in geriatrics by creating geriatric fellowships and by including geriatric education in residency and medical school curricula. Fellowships, in particular, require extensive time commitment by participating physicians. METHODS: We developed a 1-month geriatric training experience for academic family physicians. We surveyed previous participants in this short course to determine their subsequent level of activity in geriatrics, whether they had become certified in geriatrics, and other information about their academic experience in geriatrics. RESULTS: Eighty-one percent of graduates of this 1-month course had passed the geriatrics certification examination, compared to only 56% nationally. Graduates of the program were active as geriatric program directors and teachers of geriatrics, but there was limited activity in research or other scholarly activities related to geriatrics. CONCLUSION: Intensive short-term training in geriatrics meets some but not all of the needs for academic competency and productivity in geriatrics.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗