Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

European postgraduate training in geriatric medicine: data of a systematic international survey

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

High-quality education and training standards in geriatric medicine are important to develop the profession of geriatric medicine. The objective of the study was to give a structured update on postgraduate specialty training in geriatric medicine throughout Europe to assess the need for further developments in postgraduate education.

Methods

The study was performed as a cross-sectional structured quantitative online survey with qualitative comments. The survey content covered organization, content and educational aspects of specialty training in geriatric medicine in European countries. After piloting, the questionnaire was sent to experts in geriatric medicine with a special interest in postgraduate training who are members of one of the following organizations; European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), European Academy for the Medicine of Aging (EAMA), and European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS).

Results

Respondents to the survey represented 31 European countries. Geriatric medicine is recognized as an independent postgraduate specialty in 61.3 % (19/31) and as a subspecialty in 29.0 % (9/31) of the countries. In 5 of the 31 countries geriatric medicine is not recognized at all. Nearly all countries offering postgraduate training in geriatric medicine have written, competence-based curricula covering different learning domains. 20/31 countries (64.5 %) have some kind of specialist assessment.

Discussion

The survey tries to give an actual condensed picture of postgraduate specialty training in geriatric medicine across Europe. Results show a consistent improvement in the recognition of geriatric medicine as independent specialty over the last decade. Continuous development of specialty training in geriatric medicine is required to medical address the public health needs of an aging population. Competence-based educational models including adequate forms of assessment should be targeted throughout Europe. To emphasize the importance of postgraduate geriatric training, it should be a mission to harmonize training standards across Europe.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rachel B, Grundy E, Robine JM et al (2013) Ageing in the European Union. Lancet 381:1312–1322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. European Commission. Eurostat database. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tps00025&language=en. Accessed 4 Feb 2015

  3. Barnett K, Mercer SW, Norbury M et al (2012) Epidemiology of multimorbidity and implications for health care, research, and medical education: a cross-sectional study. Lancet 380(9836):37–43

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Michel JP, Huber P, Cruz-Jentoft AJ (2008) Europe-Wide Survey of teaching in geriatric medicine. J Am Geriatr Soc 56:1536–1542

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hastie IR, Duursma SA (2003) Geriatric Medicine Section of the European Union of Medical Specialists. Geriatric medicine in the European Union: unification of diversity. Aging Clin Exp Res 15:347–351

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Singler K, Sieber CC, Biber R et al (2013) Considerations for the development of an undergraduate curriculum in geriatric medicine. Gerontology 59:385–391

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Salomon JA, Wang H, Freema MK et al (2012) Healthy life expectancy for 187 countries, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden Disease Study 2010. Lancet 380(9859):2144–2162

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Stähelin HB, Beregi E, Duursma SA et al (1994) Teaching medical gerontology in Europe Group of European Professors in Medical Gerontology (GEPMG). Age Ageing 23:179–181

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. European Commission: European innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=active-healthy-ageing. Accessed 5 Feb 2015

  10. European Commission: eHealth and ageing http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/ehealth. Accessed 5 Feb 2015

  11. Arai H, Ouchi Y, Yokode M et al (2012) Toward the realization of a better aged society: messages from gerontology and geriatrics. Geriatr Gerontol Int 12:16–22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Dall JL (1994) The greying of Europe. BMJ 309(6964):1282–1285

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Wells JS, Norman IJ (2009) The ‘greying’ of Europe—reflections on the state of nursing and nurse education in Europe. Nurse Educ Today 29:811–815

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Mazotti L, Moylan A, Murphy E et al (2010) Advancing geriatrics education: an efficient faculty development program for academic hospitalists increases geriatric teaching. J Hosp Med 5:541–546

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Anderson LW, Krathwohl DR (eds) A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. 2000 Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-8013-1903-7

  16. Bloom BS, Engelhart MD, Furst EJ et al Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. 156. Handbook I: cognitive domain. David McKay Company, New York

  17. McGaghie WC, Miller GE, Sajid AW et al (1978) Competency-based curriculum development in medical education. World Health Organization, Switzerland

    Google Scholar 

  18. Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA (2010) Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet 376(9756):1923–1958

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Krathwohl DR (2002) A revision of bloom’s taxonomy: an overview. Theory Pract 41(4):212–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hazzard WR (2004) I am a geriatrician. J Am Geriatr Soc 52:161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Diachun L, Van Bussel L, Hansen KT et al (2010) “But I see old people everywhere”: dispelling the myth that eldercare is learned in nongeriatric clerkships. Acad Med 85:1221–1228

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Goeldlin AO, Siegenthaler A, Moser A et al (2014) Effects of geriatric clinical skills training on the attitudes of medical students. BMC Med Educ 14:233

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Koh GC, Merchant RA, Lim WS et al (2012) The knowledge-attitude dissociation in geriatric education: can it be overcome? Ann Acad Med Singap 41:383–389

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Tullo ES, Spencer J, Allan L (2010) Systematic review: helping the young to understand the old. Teaching interventions in geriatrics to improve the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of undergraduate medical students. J Am Geriatr Soc 58:1987–1993

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Harden RM, Stevenson M, Downie WW et al (1975) Assessment of clinical competence using objective structured examination. BMJ 1:447–451

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Carraccio C, Englander R (2000) The objective structured clinical examination. A step in the direction of competency-based evaluation. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 154:736–741

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Wass V, Van der Vleuten C, Shatzer J et al (2001) Assessment of clinical competence. Lancet 357(9260):945–949

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Karani R, Lepzig RM, Callahan EH et al (2004) An unfolding case with a linked Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): a curriculum in inpatient geriatric medicine. J Am Geriatr Soc 52:1191–1198

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Kern DE, Thomas PA, Hughes MT (2009) Curriculum development for medical education: a six step approach, 2nd edn. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all experts involved into the survey and also would like to express their thanks for support provided from the European Scientific Societies in the field of geriatric medicine. Names and affiliations of respondents are provided in Table 4.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biomedicine of Aging, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, 90408, Germany

    Katrin Singler

  2. Department of Geriatrics, Klinikum Nuremberg, Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg, Nuremberg, 90408, Germany

    Katrin Singler

  3. Geriatric department, Nykobing Falster Hospital, Nykobing Falster, Denmark

    Ellen Astrid Holm

  4. School of Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Thomas Jackson

  5. EAMA, European Academy for the Medicine of Ageing, De Pintelaan 185, 1B2 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Gillian Robertson

  6. Dept. of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, General Hospital, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria

    Eva Müller-Eggenberger

  7. Department of Geriatrics and Curriculum Development, University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 15, Graz, Österreich

    Regina Elisabeth Roller

Authors
  1. Katrin Singler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ellen Astrid Holm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thomas Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gillian Robertson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Eva Müller-Eggenberger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Regina Elisabeth Roller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katrin Singler.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The corresponding author, Katrin Singler, confirms that for all co-authors there exists NO conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study does not not contain animals or human participants.

Informed consent

For this type of study a formal consent was not required.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Singler, K., Holm, E.A., Jackson, T. et al. European postgraduate training in geriatric medicine: data of a systematic international survey. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 741–750 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0416-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0416-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation