Competency-Based Test of Inpatient Geriatric Management Skills

Abstract: Competency-based test of inpatient geriatric management skills grading admission orders for a standardized case.

Assessment of a student or resident's clinical skills in the care of the hospitalized elderly patient requires evaluation of applied knowledge measured in discrete competencies. This assessment grades the student on admission orders based on history, physical, and laboratory assessment of a standardized patient. It is designed to evaluate actual clinical behavior in the inpatient setting. The test assesses selected competencies from the Minimum Geriatric Competencies for Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Residents. Management of geriatric syndromes in the hospital setting occurs in the milieu of inter-current medical illness, co-morbid conditions, and need to prevent iatrogenic complications. As such, this assessment also incorporates competencies of hospital medicine from The Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine.