Geriatric Psychiatry Program Didactics
There are a diverse variety of didactics aimed to complement the clinical and research experiences of the program rotations. The major ones are listed below.
Didactic Curriculum
Course Directors: Sibel Klimstra, MD and Nahla Mahgoub, MD
Faculty experts in each topic are selected to teach relevant course components.
In a weekly 1.5 hour protected time block, fellows participate in an interactive didactic curriculum during which critical concepts are taught. The Didactic Curriculum is based on both current geriatric psychiatry textbooks and published Practice Guidelines in geriatric psychiatry, as well as key research articles in the field. There is also a special emphasis on leading papers published by faculty from within the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Evidence-based geriatric psychiatry and an evidence-based skill set are taught. Special research strengths of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry are emphasized.
There is a Required Reading Packet of selected articles to accompany each of the didactic seminars.
Geriatric Academic Seminar
Course Director: George Alexopoulos, MD
The purpose of this weekly seminar is to review and critically analyze clinical and research topics within geriatric psychiatry. All phases of geriatric psychiatry research development are open for discussion. Topics are wide-ranging, from the biology of geriatric disease syndromes to services research. The seminar will periodically include a Journal Club-style format to teach critical appraisal skills of the geriatric psychiatry literature.
Geriatric residents learn about research career development, critical thinking regarding literature review, the development of clinical and research ideas including ethical considerations, how to properly formulate hypotheses and develop methods to test them, and how to synthesize results and then draw reasonable conclusions from the data. Residents also learn firsthand how research ideas and new knowledge can then impact clinical aspects of the field. In addition, they gain valuable exposure to cutting edge ideas within the geriatric psychiatry field.
Outpatient Clinical Case Conference
Course Director: Barnett S. Meyers, MD
This weekly teaching seminar is an outpatient-based multidisciplinary clinically oriented conference. Geriatric residents present challenging outpatient clinical cases to expert geriatric psychiatry discussants. The primary objective is to achieve an in-depth knowledge of outpatient geriatric psychiatry diagnosis, differential diagnosis, etiologic and treatment principles from the biopsychosocial perspective. Psychodynamic psychotherapy principles and individual psychotherapeutic techniques pertinent to outpatient practice are also discussed. In addition, Dr. Sirey is a national expert in Stigma and Psychiatric Illness in the geriatric population and the course will emphasize geriatric clinical issues within this context.
Grand Rounds (Sept-June)
Course Directors: Sibel Klimstra, MD and Margo Benjamin, MD
This weekly course presents topical issues in psychiatry delivered by local and visiting professors of national repute in their given areas of specialization. The primary objective is to update the psychiatric community on new advances and current research techniques in treating psychiatric disorders.
Inpatient Clinical Case Conference
Course Director: Balu Kalayam, MD
This weekly teaching seminar is a unit-based multidisciplinary clinically oriented conference. Geriatric residents present challenging inpatient clinical cases to expert geriatric psychiatry discussants within the hospital. Patients may be interviewed during the conference. The fourth Wednesday of each month is reserved specifically for pharmacological management issues.
Medical Staff Meeting
Chaired by: Virginia Susman, MD, Associate Medical Director
Fellows are invited to attend monthly Medical Staff Meetings to gain exposure to and education in Hospital Administration. A broad variety of administrative issues relating to hospital psychiatry are discussed. Residents learn how hospital issues pertinent to geriatric psychiatry interface with other areas of psychiatry, psychology and medicine.
Monthly Program Director’s Meeting: Sibel Klimstra, MD
Unit 2S- Room 225
Chaired by: Sibel Klimstra, MD, Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Training Director
You will jointly meet with the Program Director to review on an ongoing basis your experiences in the geriatric psychiatry residency. These meetings will be informal and may include collective formative feedback on your educational progress.
Teaching
Fellows have the opportunity to teach extensively to both junior NYPH psychiatry residents and Weill-Cornell medical students.
Fellows teach bi-weekly seminars on core principles in geriatric psychiatry to the PGY-I NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell adult psychiatry residents and the Weill-Cornell medical students rotating on one of the Geriatric Inpatient Units.
On the Geriatric Inpatient Unit, fellows teach Weill-Cornell psychiatry clerkship students and evaluate them on their clinical performance including interview and history skills, chart documentation, case presentations, diagnostic skills and basic treatment planning ability.
Fellows have the opportunity to participate as an oral examiner in the Weill-Cornell psychiatry clerkship. During the last week of the required clerkship, all students undergo a boards-style one-on-one examination. As an examiner, fellows will have the experience of assessing, grading and giving feedback to the student.
Quality Assurance Committee Meeting
Chaired by: Steve Roth, MD, JD
Each resident participates as a member of the hospital-wide Quality Assurance Committee. Residents are assigned geriatric psychiatry patient case reviews. Residents learn how to conduct a quality-assurance investigation, to prepare an appropriate report and to make reasoned recommendations for interventions to improve patient care quality.
Scholarly Work
Residents are strongly encouraged to write and publish a paper during the residency year. Although this is not a program requirement for graduation, scholarly writing is a critical skill for an academic geriatric psychiatrist and will be emphasized. Due to the limited time frame of a one-year program, co-authorship with a senior investigator is suggested. Each resident should anticipate selecting a mentor early in the year to initiate this process.
