Biomaterial Database

The Senior Mentor Program at Duke University School of Medicine. 2006

Mitchell Hefflin

Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3003, Durham, NC 27710, USA. hefli001@mc.duke.edu

The Duke University School of Medicine has a unique curriculum in which students complete basic sciences in year 1 and clinical clerkships in year 2, making way for an entire year of independent study in year 3. Into this compact curriculum, education in geriatrics has been successfully introduced through focused exercises and activities strategically integrated in all four years. The most popular of these educational strategies is the Senior Mentor Program (SMP), through which second year students meet with a senior volunteer from the community. In addition to improving students' knowledge and skills in geriatric assessment, a central goal of the SMP is to increase students' appreciation for the heterogeneity of health and function among the older adult population. Students meet one-on-one with their senior mentor to practice communication skills and performance of key components of geriatric assessment. Afterward, students convene in small groups with division faculty to debrief. Successful implementation of the program has required a combination of rigorous logistical management and communication with key stakeholders. The program has spawned a number of different benefits beyond the curriculum, including faculty development in teaching skills and enhanced relationships with individuals and agencies from the community. We aspire to continue to improve the structure and content of the program to reflect the socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of the community and to offer students a longitudinal experience.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008611	Mentors	Senior professionals who provide guidance, direction and support to those persons desirous of improvement in academic positions, administrative positions or other career development situations.	Mentorships,Mentor,Mentorship
D009657	North Carolina	State bounded on the north by Virginia, on the east and Southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Georgia and South Carolina, and on the west by Tennessee.
D009936	Organizational Innovation	Introduction of changes which are new to the organization and are created by management.	Organizational Change,Change, Organizational,Innovation, Organizational,Changes, Organizational,Innovations, Organizational,Organizational Changes,Organizational Innovations
D010817	Physician-Patient Relations	The interactions between physician and patient.	Doctor-Patient Relations,Doctor Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relationship,Doctor Patient Relation,Doctor-Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relationships,Physician-Patient Relation,Relation, Doctor Patient,Relation, Doctor-Patient,Relation, Physician Patient,Relation, Physician-Patient,Relations, Doctor Patient,Relations, Doctor-Patient,Relations, Physician Patient,Relations, Physician-Patient,Relationship, Physician Patient,Relationships, Physician Patient
D011287	Prejudice	A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.	Anti-Semitism,Islamophobia,Anti Semitism,Anti-Semitisms,Islamophobias,Prejudices
D002982	Clinical Clerkship	Undergraduate education programs for second- , third- , and fourth-year students in health sciences in which the students receive clinical training and experience in teaching hospitals or affiliated health centers.	Clerkship, Clinical,Clerkships, Clinical,Clinical Apprenticeship,Clinical Clerkships,Apprenticeship, Clinical,Apprenticeships, Clinical,Clinical Apprenticeships
D003479	Curriculum	A course of study offered by an educational institution.	Curricula,Short-Term Courses,Course, Short-Term,Courses, Short-Term,Short Term Courses,Short-Term Course
D004504	Education, Medical, Undergraduate	The period of medical education in a medical school. In the United States it follows the baccalaureate degree and precedes the granting of the M.D.	Medical Education, Undergraduate,Education, Undergraduate Medical,Undergraduate Medical Education
D005853	Geriatrics	The branch of medicine concerned with the physiological and pathological aspects of the aged, including the clinical problems of senescence and senility.	Gerontology
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man