Aquifer Geriatrics

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The 26 virtual patient cases in Aquifer Geriatrics provide the national online curriculum for medical and health professions students, in collaboration with the American Geriatrics Society.

Overview

Aquifer Geriatrics (webGEMs) helps students learn the principles of geriatric medicine and integrate these principles into the care of their patients. With a range of cases spanning many specialties, the content stands alone as an educational tool or enriches an existing curriculum.

As life spans increase, it becomes even more vitally important to understand the kind of health care our patients need as they age. It’s critical for health care providers to understand the unique health circumstances and preferences that come with aging so they can work in collaboration with one another—a critical asset since more than half of older Americans are managing two or more chronic conditions.

Key Features

  • Created for educators, by educators, as the American Geriatrics Society national online curriculum for medical and health professions students.
  • Available for institutional subscription or for direct purchase by individual subscribers
  • Students discover the physiological, psychological, and functional changes that occur with aging and the multifaceted aspects of geriatric care
  • Cases are function-focused and incorporate common diseases in older adults
  • Proven pedagogy that standardizes experiences—overcoming geography, seasonality, and accessibility
  • Evidence-based, peer-reviewed, and continuously updated content
  • A wealth of source material—including embedded assessment questions and full references—in each case
  • Delivered via the Aqueduct learning management system, which includes user management tools, easy reporting on student progress and course usage, plus tools for creating custom courses to match a specific curriculum

Course Content

Our cases were developed through a collaborative effort with authors from 35 different institutions. Topics covered include medication management, dementia, osteoarthritis, pain management, hospitalization, and many more.

Curriculum Integration

The course is ideal for use within a geriatrics, internal medicine, or family medicine clerkship. Individual cases can be integrated into another clerkship or clinical training with an emphasis on neurology, psychiatry, emergency medicine, or OB/GYN. With Aqueduct, it’s easy to combine these cases with another course to build a custom curriculum.

Case List

Geriatrics 01: 85-year-old woman using anticoagulants

Geriatrics 02: 85-year-old woman with hypoglycemia

Geriatrics 03: 88-year-old woman with urinary incontinence

Geriatrics 04: 85-year-old woman with dementia

Geriatrics 05: 79-year-old woman with agitation

Geriatrics 06: 85-year-old woman with delirium

Geriatrics 07: 78-year-old man with depression

Geriatrics 08: 86-year-old man and elder abuse

Geriatrics 09: 82-year-old woman and functional status and home safety

Geriatrics 10: 72-year-old man and sexuality in older adults

Geriatrics 11: 75-year-old woman with neck pain

Geriatrics 12: 78-year-old woman and falls

Geriatrics 13: 75-year-old man and 80-year-old woman, prognosis and screening for older adults

Geriatrics 14: 88-year-old woman with dementia and feeding issues

Geriatrics 15: 75-year-old man with abdominal pain

Geriatrics 16: 87-year-old man with low back pain

Geriatrics 17: 86-year-old woman with pneumonia

Geriatrics 18: 83-year-old woman with urinary tract infection

Geriatrics 19: 70-year-old man with urinary concerns

Geriatrics 20: 79-year-old man with severe pain and low health literacy

Geriatrics 21: 70-year-old woman and the psychological, social, and spiritual needs in geriatric care

Geriatrics 22: 74-year-old man and hazards of hospitalization: geriatric patient safety in the acute care setting

Geriatrics 23: 70-year-old woman and hazards of hospitalization: transitions of care and discharge planning for geriatric inpatients

Geriatrics 24: 78-year-old woman with pressure injuries

Geriatrics 25: 85-year-old man and restraints

Geriatrics 26: 78-year-old man and cultural competency in geriatric care

Aquifer Geriatrics Course Board

  • Senior Director: Rosanne Leipzig, MD, PhD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
  • Editor-in-Chief: Kate Callahan, MD (Wake Forest School of Medicine)
  • Teaching and Learning Leads:
    • Mandi Sehgal, MD (Florida Atlantic University)
    • Paul Eleazer, MD (University of Utah)
  • Assessment Lead: Ravishankar Ramaswamy, MD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mt.Sinai)
  • Associate Editors:
    • Lauren Gleason, MD (University of Chicago)
    • Chandrika Kumar, MD (Yale University)
    • Laura Perry, MD (University of California, San Francisco)
    • Becky Powers, MD (University of Texas)
    • Amit Shah, MD (Mayo Clinic, Phoenix)
    • Quratulain Syed, MD (Emory University)

The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise to nearly 24 percent from 15 percent.
Fact Sheet: Aging in the U.S.: Population Reference Bureau

Testimonials

“Aquifer Geriatrics allows students to experience the nuances of medical cases outside the clinical setting, and reinforces important concepts that students can integrate into their practice. I felt more confident in my ability to care for older adults after completing the Aquifer Geriatrics cases.”

Thuan Ong, MD, MPH, Clinical Faculty, University of Washington

“Aquifer Geriatrics addresses many of AAMC Geriatric Medicine ­Competencies, making selection of cases hard. What a great problem to have though! Tracking whether the assigned modules have been completed is incredibly useful. Incorporating the modules’ teaching points into a discussion helps to emphasize the learning points further and extend the classroom effect.”

Third-Year Medical Student