Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

An evaluation of a sustained senior mentor program for medical students.

Ratner ER, Kilaberia TR, Englund J, Fink HA. An evaluation of a sustained senior mentor program for medical students. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. 2022 Jul 1; 43(3):418-428.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

Background/Objective Medical student geriatrics education using community-based volunteer older persons, known as a Senior Mentor Program (SMP), began decades ago. Though these programs have been described and evaluated against curriculum objectives, the full breadth of students'' learning from SMPs has not been reported. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using content analysis of reflections of Year 2 medical students submitted during a single visit home-based SMP. Written reflections of 102 randomly selected students from 2016-2018 were inductively coded and grouped into themes. Older persons from the SMP site assisted in coding and quotation selection. Results We discerned six themes from the evaluation of student reflections: student insight, interview and exam, social community, challenges with aging, strengths (responses to challenges), and physical infrastructure. Conclusion A single home visit with older adults enables pre-clinical medical students to learn about multiple positive aspects of aging.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.