Education & Training
With a focus on interprofessional education (IP), the Arizona Geriatric Education Center reaches health sciences students, professionals and faculty.
Our educational and training goals are to develop and sustain competency-based IP geriatric education for health care learners across the continuum of care, providing older adults with evidence-based high-quality, safe, and culturally competent care towards optimal health outcomes and well-being.
Student programs include: academic programs and courses, clinical training, IP senior/mentor program, and the infusion of geriatrics into course curriculum.
Health Professionals are continually supported with a variety of geriatric CE opportunities including: geriatric grand rounds, a compendium of online IP geriatric
resources, residencies and fellowships, training workshops, on-site clinical education, conferences and much more.
Health Professions Faculty In order to educate their students in geriatrics we provide assistance with infusing geriatrics into course curriculum and a Faculty Scholar’s in Aging Training Program as well as many continuing education opportunities.
Regular AzGEC educational programs are listed below. We encourage you to monitor our “News & Events” page for additional educational offerings.
Studies in Aging Program This interprofessional academic program within the University of Arizona provides health professions students with the knowledge in gerontology and geriatric care they will need to provide care for Arizona’s growing population of older adults. The Program provides students with a choice of:
- 7 unit Foundational Certificate In Geriatric Care
- 15 unit Certificate in Gerontology
- 12 unit PhD Minor
Elder Care: Interprofessional Provider Sheets This compendium of engaging single page, practical, evidence-based Provider Fact Sheets synthesize key concepts in common geriatric syndromes and common diseases in older adults. Replete with screening and assessment tools and treatment gems, these sheets reinforce sound geriatric practice in an approachable format. Provider Fact Sheets are reviewed annually by an interprofessional team of editors including: an Informationist who is Board Certified in Family Practice and Geriatrics, and an Internist who is Board Certified in Geriatrics.
Continuing Education Geriatric Education is just a click away! Health Care professionals can view current or archived geriatric lectures, any of a number of one-page Interdisciplinary ElderCare Provider Sheets on essential geriatric topics or the latest information from peer-reviewed journals on our Geriatrics & Gerontology Library webpage.
Interprofessional Senior Mentor Program (IPSMP)
A program of the University of Arizona the IPSMP increases student exposure to healthy older adults, allowing them to get to know an older adult in a more positive way and reducing stereotypes about aging. This out-of-classroom experience increases geriatric knowledge and adds breadth and depth to the geriatric content in current health sciences curriculum, improving the way future health professionals will care for older adults.
Faculty Scholar’s in Aging IP Training Program To improve geriatric knowledge in health professions faculty and the comfort level needed to teach geriatrics, this 1 year/160 hour program provides IP AzGEC faculty who work one-on-one with IP faculty on a flexible schedule that will accommodate their needs.
Professional Certificate in Aging Services Coming Soon! This 60 hour, interprofessional, online Certificate Program provides working professionals with the knowledge they will need to serve older adults in any of the many fields of aging with a flexible schedule to accommodate their needs. Core Modules include: Health of the Body and Mind, Aging & Society, Elder Law, Financial Issues & Communication. To complete the certificate students will have a choice of an on-site Internship or Elective Modules such as: Meaningful Recreation & Marketing to Seniors.
Geriatric Mini-Fellowship This 36 to 120 hour program gives health professions faculty in nursing, social work, pharmacy, public health and medicine a chance work on an interprofessional team while learning evidence-based best practices along with geriatric care management, cultural competency, and health literacy to ensure optimal care for their older patients.
Palliative Care Fellowship A one-year fellowship focused on evidence-based practice in the care of older adults with advancing complex chronic conditions. Also incorporated are interdisciplinary team training, care management, cultural competency, and health literacy.
Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) Program Held on one weekend each summer at a resort in Tucson, this training program joins incoming chief residents with nurses, pharmacists, social workers and others to learn the principals of clinical teaching and the importance of a working knowledge of geriatric care. Learning is paired with the importance of collaboration between and among disciplines/specialties as attendees are encouraged to bring their families and given free-time to get to know each other.
Interprofessional Senior/Mentor Program Nursing, pharmacy, medicine and public health students discover the realities of aging as they are paired with active older adults in this 1-2 year program. Learning activities take place in interdisciplinary groups as well as one-on-one with the senior/mentor pairs.
Geriatrics Section, U of A College of Medicine The Geriatric Section is dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life of older persons, through excellence in medical education, expansion of medical knowledge through research, and the provision of the highest quality of care.
Resources This page of linked resources contains Arizona, Federal, National, Geriatric Education Centers and accessible online Published Materials for easy access to the latest geriatric information.
For more information about any of these educational programs please contact Lisa O'Neill at (520) 626-5804 or loneill@aging.arizona.edu.