Geriatric Education Center (GEC)
Sponsor:
The UAB GEC is sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration and
affiliated with the Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging (CCHA), the Center for Translational Research
on Aging and Mobility, Southeast Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine, School
of Medicine, and the Birmingham/Atlanta VA GRECC.
Purpose:
The UAB GEC provides geriatric training opportunities and outreach activities aimed
at improving quality of life for older adults. The UAB GEC serves as the educational
arm of the UAB CCHA, and sponsors/co-sponsors interdisciplinary and discipline-specific
educational programs with an emphasis on cultural competency and health literacy
for faculty, practitioners, and students from multiple health care professional
disciplines. The UAB GEC also supports educational programs for older adults and
community-based programs.
Programs:
- Faculty Scholars Program (FSP) supports the training and retraining
of faculty and preceptors in geriatric topics (themes). This program is targeted
to improve healthcare quality in the following areas: advanced illness, frailty,
care coordination, symptom management, and medication management. FSP scholars will
learn geriatric content emphasizing health literacy and cultural competency issues.
This program provides the training necessary to incorporate culturally and linguistically
sensitive geriatric principles into the scholar’s coursework and clinical programs.
- Geriatric Noon Lecture Series with Family Medicine is held every
other month on the 3rd Wednesday. Channing R. Ford, MPA, MA, and Gwen Williams are
the coordinators.
- Geriatric Scholar Program is an interactive faculty development
program for nurses. A year long experience, each scholar completes a total of 12
hours hands-on clinical experience with an additional 28 hours of web-based material.
Kellie Flood, MD and Linda Jones, MN, CRNP, DNP are the coordinators.
Related Programs:
- Insight on Aging, the CCHA newsletter is published two times per
year providing updates on research, education, and service activities of CCHA faculty.
The newsletter reaches an audience of more than 3000 professionals in gerontology
and geriatrics and leaders of programs for older adults throughout the nation. Patricia
Sawyer, PhD, editor, Denise Goska, associate editor.
- Scientific Seminars are held Fridays at noon, September through
May. These interdisciplinary seminars feature formal research presentations and
work-in-progress by nationally prominent gerontologists as well as CCHA faculty and
trainees. Basic science topics are usually featured the first Friday of every month.
Clinical, behavioral and public policy issues are covered in the other sessions.
The seminars provide opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and feedback.
Lesa Woodby, PhD, provides leadership for the seminars. Ellen Durham is the coordinator.
- Clinical Geriatric Medicine Conferences is an interactive faculty
development program for nurses. A year long experience, each scholar completes a
total of 12 hours hands-on clinical experience with an additional 28 hours of web-based
material. Kellie Flood, MD and Linda Jones, MN, CRNP, DNP are the coordinators.
- Geriatric Medicine Journal Club provides opportunities to discuss
developments in geriatrics and gerontology with an interdisciplinary audience. The
club meets on the third Tuesday each month, September through May. Andrew Duxbury,
MD, provides leadership for the journal club. Marcia Green is the coordinator.
- Clinical Case Conferences provide opportunities to discuss developments
in geriatrics and gerontology with an interdisciplinary audience. The conferences
are held at noon, on the first Tuesday of each month, September through May. Andrew
Duxbury, MD, is the coordinator.
- GRECC Continence and Mobility Journal Clubs are held on the first
and third Tuesdays of each month. Patricia Goode, MD, Marcas Bamman, PhD, and Cynthia
Brown, MD, MSPH are the coordinators.
Other educational activities include:
- Interdisciplinary conferences on the Basic Biology of Aging
- Mobility
- Caregiving
- Genito-Urinary disorders
- Research issues in aging
- The geriatric medicine fellowship
- Geriatric medicine block month rotations for residents in internal medicine, family
medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology
- Geriatric medicine medical student interest group
- Medical Student Scholar Week Electives
- A Program to Enhance Medical Student Training in Geriatrics
- Research Electives for Medical Students
Opportunities for Faculty Involvement:
Faculty interested in providing leadership for development of geriatric educational
programs or in participating in established programs are needed.
Primary Contact Person:
Cynthia Brown, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Director, Geriatric Education Center
201 CH-19
Birmingham, Alabama 35294-2041
(tel) (205) 934-9261
GEC Leaders and Key Staff:
- Angela G. Rothrock, Ph.D., Associate Director, GEC and UAB Geriatric Education Manager
- Patricia Sawyer, Ph.D., Associate Director, GEC
- Elizabeth Kvale, M.D., Associate Director, GEC
- Channing Ford, M.P.A., M.A., Program Manager, GEC
- Peter Bosworth, M.B.A., Administrator, GEC
Associated Faculty:
- Marcas Bamman, Ph.D. and Cynthia Brown, M.D., M.S.P.H., Mobility Journal Club Coordinators
- Ellen Durham, Coordinator, Scientific Seminars
- Andrew Duxbury, M.D., Medical Director, UAB Geriatric Clinic
- Patricia Goode, M.D., GRECC Associate Director, Clinical Programs
- Marcia Green, Coordinator, Block Month Rotations/Journal Club
- Richard Sims, M.D., Chief, Geriatrics, Birmingham VA Medical Center
- Lesa Woodby, Ph.D., GRECC Associate Director/Education and Evaluation