3172 Rising student numbers—using a comprehensive geriatric assessment exercise to educate surplus students?

Abstract

Introduction As medical student numbers rise, clinicians are under increasing pressure to provide high quality teaching. To increase Geriatric medicine representation within the undergraduate curriculum, fourth-year students from the University of Glasgow attending Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) are given the opportunity to participate in an ‘Older People’s Services Float (OPS) week’. Clinical Teaching Fellows (CTFs) and Clinical Development Fellows (CDFs) support students to undertake a condensed version of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). Students assess patients from the perspective of various Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) members. The ‘CGA’ is then presented in a simulated ‘MDT meeting’. This promotes self-directed learning and teamwork while alleviating pressure on clinical teams to deliver teaching. Methods The ‘OPS Float week’ was integrated into the medical student timetable over 15 weeks, with 3 students rotating each week. Anonymised quantitative and qualitative feedback was collected using a questionnaire. This included a combination of Likert scales and free text boxes. Results Data was collected from twenty-eight students. Overall, the feedback was positive. Seventy-five percent (75%) of students reported that they ‘strongly agree’ the exercise improved their knowledge of how to undertake a CGA. Eighty-two percent (82%) reported that they strongly agree the exercise has improved their understanding of the different roles within the MDT. An example of the qualitative data collected includes: ‘Really good. . .Definitely made me think more holistically about the patient and identify areas in a patient’s life that could make a real difference to their care’. Conclusion The introduction of the ‘OPS Float week’ has successfully enhanced the learning experience of medical students by offering valuable insights into Older People’s Services, the CGA process and working within an MDT. The model also presents a practical approach to addressing the challenges of increasing student numbers while continuing to provide high quality medical education.