Letter from the Fellowship Director

Thank you for visiting our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship website. The Department of Family and Community Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College offers postgraduate training in Geriatric Medicine through a one-year clinical Fellowship. At completion of one year, the Geriatric Fellowship graduate may sit for the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatrics. Individuals interested in advanced research training may apply for an additional year through the Primary Care Research Fellowship.

Candidates must have completed an ACGME accredited three-year residency in either Family Medicine or Internal Medicine prior to Fellowship. The Jefferson Geriatric Fellowship is fully accredited by the ACGME and is recognized for excellence in clinical programs.

In the Division of Geriatric Medicine, we share the mission of improving the lives of life of older persons by partnering with all patients, all families and all communities.  Our clinical opportunities span the Jefferson Health system and the Philadelphia region.  During the year, you will have the opportunity to see patients in multiple care settings including Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Jefferson Methodist Hospital, the suburban Hill at Whitemarsh Retirement Community and the urban Watermark Retirement Community. You will use telemedicine platforms and home visits to provide care to vulnerable communities where they live.  We are confident that the experience you will get from our exceptional faculty in these diverse settings will prepare you for a successful career in the dynamically changing world of Geriatric Medicine.

Fellows work closely with fellowship-trained geriatricians with certificates of added qualification (CAQ) in Geriatrics throughout the year. Geriatric faculty supervise fellows in long-term care, outpatient practice, multidisciplinary geriatric assessments, home-visits, the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit, and a hospital-based consultation service. Fellows also receive training with specialists in the areas of geriatric psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, rheumatology, urology, uro-gynecology, and neurology. Elective time is available for fellows with additional areas of interest and our faculty are always available for mentorship and career guidance.

The Geriatric Fellowship curriculum emphasizes both longitudinal & block experiences.  Fellows assume the role of primary care provider for their patients and are given opportunity to follow their patients' progress over time. Clinical experience is supplemented by weekly seminars in which case discussion and didactic instruction ensure that Fellows meet learning objectives of the curriculum. Geriatric Fellows are exposed to the administrative concerns of a geriatrician by participating in medical director's groups and multidisciplinary team meetings. The Department of Family Medicine provides a core curriculum for all Fellows in: teaching, administration, grant writing, professional writing, statistics, and research.  There are ample opportunities for teaching residents, medical and interprofessional students throughout the fellowship.

The Geriatric faculty at Jefferson are committed to enhancing the lives of older adults through an individualized, multidisciplinary approach which emphasizes function and optimal quality of life. The Geriatric faculty love having the opportunity to train individuals with a similar commitment and we welcome your interest.

If you have additional questions, please email me directly at Kristine.Swartz@jefferson.edu.

Sincerely,

Kristine Swartz, MD
Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director