Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine
Introduction - Learning about ageing and the appropriate management of older patients is important for all doctors. This survey set out to evaluate what medical undergraduates in the UK are taught about ageing and geriatric medicine and how this teaching is delivered. Methods – An electronic que...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2010
|
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1236/ |
| _version_ | 1848790566928646144 |
|---|---|
| author | Gordon, Adam Blundell, Adrian G. Gladman, John R.F. Masud, Tahir |
| author_facet | Gordon, Adam Blundell, Adrian G. Gladman, John R.F. Masud, Tahir |
| author_sort | Gordon, Adam |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction - Learning about ageing and the appropriate management of older patients is important for all doctors. This survey set out to evaluate what medical undergraduates in the UK are taught about ageing and geriatric medicine and how this teaching is delivered.
Methods – An electronic questionnaire was developed and sent to the 28/31 UK medical schools which agreed to participate.
Results – Full responses were received from 17 schools. 8/21 learning objectives were recorded as taught, and none were examined, across every school surveyed. Elder abuse and terminology and classification of health were taught in only 8/17 and 2/17 schools respectively. Pressure ulcers were taught about in 14/17 schools but taught formally in only 7 of these and examined in only 9. With regard to bio- and socio- gerontology, only 9/17 schools reported teaching in social ageing, 7/17 in cellular ageing and 9/17 in the physiology of ageing.
Discussion – Even allowing for the suboptimal response rate, this study presents significant cause for concern with UK undergraduate education related to ageing. The failure to teach comprehensively on elder abuse and pressure sores, in particular, may be significantly to the detriment of older patients. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:14:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-1236 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:14:39Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-12362020-05-04T16:29:00Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1236/ Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine Gordon, Adam Blundell, Adrian G. Gladman, John R.F. Masud, Tahir Introduction - Learning about ageing and the appropriate management of older patients is important for all doctors. This survey set out to evaluate what medical undergraduates in the UK are taught about ageing and geriatric medicine and how this teaching is delivered. Methods – An electronic questionnaire was developed and sent to the 28/31 UK medical schools which agreed to participate. Results – Full responses were received from 17 schools. 8/21 learning objectives were recorded as taught, and none were examined, across every school surveyed. Elder abuse and terminology and classification of health were taught in only 8/17 and 2/17 schools respectively. Pressure ulcers were taught about in 14/17 schools but taught formally in only 7 of these and examined in only 9. With regard to bio- and socio- gerontology, only 9/17 schools reported teaching in social ageing, 7/17 in cellular ageing and 9/17 in the physiology of ageing. Discussion – Even allowing for the suboptimal response rate, this study presents significant cause for concern with UK undergraduate education related to ageing. The failure to teach comprehensively on elder abuse and pressure sores, in particular, may be significantly to the detriment of older patients. Oxford University Press 2010-02-22 Article PeerReviewed Gordon, Adam, Blundell, Adrian G., Gladman, John R.F. and Masud, Tahir (2010) Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine. Age and Ageing, 29 (3). pp. 385-388. ISSN 0002-0729 http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/afq011 doi:10.1093/ageing/afq011 doi:10.1093/ageing/afq011 |
| spellingShingle | Gordon, Adam Blundell, Adrian G. Gladman, John R.F. Masud, Tahir Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title | Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title_full | Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title_fullStr | Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title_short | Are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? Results from the National Survey of Undergraduate Teaching in Ageing and Geriatric Medicine |
| title_sort | are we teaching our students what they need to know about ageing? results from the national survey of undergraduate teaching in ageing and geriatric medicine |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1236/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1236/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1236/ |