ISC: Healthy Aging and Quality Dying

School of Medicine

Regardless of specialty choice, all physicians will encounter aging and death among their patients, family members, and selves. In the Healthy Aging and Quality Dying ISC, students will take care of both aging and dying patients in a variety of settings ranging from inpatient geriatric wards, outpatient geriatrics primary care clinics, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and selected subspecialty settings. Didactics will delve into the foundational sciences of the epidemiology of aging, the physiology of aging and its clinical implications (e.g. falls, delirium and cognitive impairment, immune senescence, drug selection/dosing), communication skills, ethics at the end of life, systems-based care, and behavioral sciences in order to answer meaningful clinical questions. By expanding knowledge in these foundational sciences through small group discussions, case studies, and simulation exercises, students will be better equipped to slow down the aging process of their patients, prevent iatrogenic events in older adults, and improve quality of life based on what is most important to their patients.