geriatric fellow reporting to chief

Geriatric Medicine Fellowship

A one-year clinical program

Diverse clinical rotations at premier public teaching hospital

Multidisciplinary approach in all settings

Broad-based faculty committed to senior care

In-patient, ambulatory, nursing home, and community care rotations

ACGME accredited with commendation

About the Program

About Our Program

Rapid growth in the American senior population is creating a new demand for specialists in geriatric medicine. The one-year Geriatric Medicine Fellowship prepares internists and family physicians to be leaders and experts in clinical practice with the elderly. Our fellowship was founded in 1999. Our program has been continuously accredited by the ACGME. We intentionally recruit physicians from underrepresented-in-medicine (UIM) communities.

Curriculum

About Our Curriculum

The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship provides clinical education in caring for elderly patients. Fellows learn theoretical and practical aspects of senior care, enabling them to serve as consultants to other physicians and to excel in their own clinical practice. Our fellows and faculty share a passion and commitment to our elderly population.

Our physicians work in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment. The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship provides ample opportunity for hands-on training, teaching residents and medical students, and developing a well-rounded framework for geriatric care.

Additional training through adult protective services

Our fellows partner with Hennepin County Adult Protective Services. Fellows serve as medical consultants to county caseworkers as they investigate individuals reported to the Adult Protection program as potential victims of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. During home visits, fellows identify the urgency of the individual's medical situation and capacity for medical decision-making.

Didactics

Didactic Opportunities

Hennepin Healthcare offers numerous didactic experiences in Geriatric Medicine. In addition to these activities, we encourage fellows to develop a project for presentation at a national or regional scientific meeting, or for publication. We provide full financial support to attend the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society.

Weekly Conferences

  • Geriatrics Grand Rounds and Department of Medicine Grand Rounds
  • Journal Club
  • Core Curriculum Conferences
  • Multidisciplinary Clinical Case Presentation Conferences
  • Geriatric Psychiatry and Rehabilitation Medicine Conferences

Other Opportunities

Hennepin Healthcare Biomedical Ethics Committee

  • Fellows participate in case and didactic discussion on a variety of issues
  • Held monthly

Quality Improvement Initiatives

  • Fellows are mentored in developing quality improvement projects related to their patient care panel

Research Opportunities

  • Ongoing opportunities for fellows to participate
  • Topics include the epidemiology of dementia and delirium; educational and clinical outcomes of consultative initiatives in adult protective services for vulnerable adults; palliative care clinical outcomes; diabetic management in long-term care settings; and more.
Faculty

About Our Faculty

A shared commitment to exceptional senior care unites our faculty—and our fellows. Our large and collaborative staff take a hands-on approach to teaching. All core faculty hold positions at Hennepin Healthcare and the University of Minnesota.

The Geriatric Medicine faculty have served as national and international leaders in academic and specialty organizations. Dr. Kerzner is a past president of the Association of Specialty Professors and former International Accreditation Site Visitor for geriatric medicine fellowship programs.

Program leadership

Dr. Lawrence J. Kerzner, Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and Program Director and Preceptor for Ambulatory Clinic, Home Care and Vulnerable Adult/Protective Services, Biomedical Ethics at Hennepin Healthcare; Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Dr. Emily Escue, Preceptor for home visits, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Dr. Thomas J. Klemond, Preceptor for home visits and palliative medicine. Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Dr. Anne M. Murray, Associate Program Director for Research, Hennepin Healthcare; Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Dr. Kerry Sheets, Preceptor for long term care, sub-acute rehab, and HIV and Aging Clinic. Assistant professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota

Rotation Schedule

About Our Rotations

Geriatric Medicine fellows follow an assigned panel of patients throughout the year, providing consultation services to inpatient physicians when their primary care patients are hospitalized.

We offer focused rotations in dementia evaluation, geriatric psychiatry, inpatient geriatric consultation, palliative care, Parkinson’s disease, and movement disorders, rehabilitation medicine, stroke, urogynecology, bone metabolism clinics and HIV and Aging Clinic.

Rotations take place at Hennepin Healthcare and affiliated healthcare facilities, providing experience at:

  • Comprehensive geriatric primary care and consultative clinics
  • Nursing facilities incorporating long-term care, sub-acute, and rehabilitation care
  • Specialty clinics including dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and bone and mineral metabolism
  • Acute inpatient rehabilitation
  • Geriatric Psychiatry
  • Acute general hospital geriatric medicine in-patient consultation and palliative care services

Affiliated sites

Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center
Fellows rotate in geriatric psychiatry and dementia evaluation at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. The VA Medical Center is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of patient care services with state-of-the-art technology, as well as education and research.

Struthers Parkinson’s Center
Fellows rotate in Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders at Park Nicollet Struthers Parkinson’s Center. The National Parkinson Foundation designated the Struthers facility as a center of excellence. Its interdisciplinary, team-based approach to treatment has served as an innovative model for care since 1978.

What Sets Us Apart?

Commitment to exceptional senior care.

Our faculty and our fellows share a passion for all aspects of geriatric medicine. Fellows learn the latest knowledge and skills in senior care in an energetic, interdisciplinary environment. Graduates find our program intensely personally rewarding.

Vulnerable adult experience.

Hennepin Healthcare physicians gain valuable insights by collaborating in one of the country’s first geriatric medicine-adult protection law enforcement partnerships, designed to protect at-risk seniors. Fellows serve as medical consultants to Hennepin County caseworkers as they investigate individuals reported to the Adult Protection program as potential victims of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.

Diverse patient population.

Our program structure enables our physicians to care for the full spectrum of senior populations, including healthy elders, frail elderly, those who are cognitively impaired, and those with a terminal illness. Training includes specialized experience in Parkinson’s disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, end-of-life and palliative care training, biomedical ethics, and more.

Multi-site rotations.

Geriatric Medicine fellows gain hands-on clinical experience in a range of environments, with a strong focus on outpatient care. Rotations include a nursing facility, ambulatory geriatrics clinics, and in-patient experiences, as well as community and home care settings. This well-rounded training prepares our graduates for leadership positions in senior care facilities, for clinical practice, or as teaching faculty.

Leadership opportunities.

From day one, fellows undertake leadership roles in a variety of situations, including teaching residents and medical students, participating in Hennepin Healthcare’s Biomedical Ethics committee, providing guidance in vulnerable adult protection teams, and training to serve as geriatric medicine consultants to other physicians.

Application Requirements

Applications may be accepted from physicians who have completed an ACGME-accredited internal medicine or family medicine residency and are board-certified or eligible, or who will successfully complete their residency by the start of fellowship.

Requirements

Your application must include:

  • Minimum of two letters of recommendation sent directly from the writer
  • USMLE scores
  • Personal statement

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or possess a valid visa. Hennepin Healthcare sponsors the J1 visa only.

Process

  1. Submission: Submit your application through the Electronic Resident Application System (ERAS). Applicants who are currently enrolled in a Hennepin Healthcare residency or fellowship program should contact the program director for specific requirements.
  2. Scoring: Our program does not require a minimum score. Each application will be evaluated on the following criteria:
    • Enthusiasm toward geriatric medicine
    • Leadership and teaching potential
    • USMLE scores
    • Letters of recommendation
    • Personal interview
  3. Interviews: Applicants who meet a score threshold will be invited for interviews. We hold interviews on a rolling basis as we receive applications.
  4. Medical Specialties Matching Program (MSMP) – Our Program participates in the Medical Specialties Matching Program.

About Our Facility

The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship is based at Hennepin Healthcare, one of the premier public teaching hospitals in the country. Our campus in Downtown Minneapolis spans five city blocks and houses in-patient and ambulatory services, our Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, numerous specialty clinics, and our ambulatory senior care clinic.

Contact

Alysia Wood

Fellowship Coordinator

612-873-3013
[email protected]

Hennepin Healthcare
701 Park Avenue, G2.246
Minneapolis MN 55415

contact photo only lawrence kerzner md

Lawrence J. Kerzner, MD FACP, AGSF

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