Medical Education and Interest in Geriatrics

We used a standardized questionnaire and case simulation to assess medical students' and physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and prior experience with the elderly. Results indicate that positive attitudes were not related to seeking out the elderly as patients or interest in geriatrics; interest in seeing elderly patients in the future varied by educational level and gender, and interest in specializing in geriatrics was highest in the first year of medical school. Women were more interested than men in treating elderly patients in the future and in specializing in geriatrics. Treating elderly patients and interest in specializing in geriatrics were positively correlated with experience with well elderly people, exposure to clinical geriatrics in education, and having a role model. Results suggest options for increasing the number of health care professionals working in geriatrics.