Didactics and Training Pathways

didactics and professional development

Fellows participate in regular teaching activities of the Division, including: journal club, research seminars, and Grand Rounds (see samples on YouTube).

In addition, fellows have their own weekly didactic series which is shared with the geriatric psychiatry fellows to cover board review, participate in the West Coast Most Difficult Case Conference, monthly Professional Development Series, monthly regional ECHO-Geriatrics, and can participate in other geriatrics and palliative medicine conferences.

All fellows participate in leadership training locally and through national curricula, social determinants of health training, and attend national conferences such as the American Geriatrics society meeting.

Quality Improvement Training

Fellows receive training and mentorship in Quality Improvement. Fellows complete a QI project in an area of their interest. Fellows have ample opportunities to pursue areas of interest including QI committees on a hospital, nursing home, or system wide level, and can take advantage of a diverse set of QI training opportunities available at UW.  Fellows are encouraged to take part in the extensive/cross-departmental QI opportunities available through the nationally recognized Housestaff Quality and Safety Committee. Quality Improvement Training encompasses the following.

• Diverse quality improvement opportunities in hospital, ambulatory, long term care and other settings

• QI scholarship

• Formal QI training including QI methodology and root cause analysis

Education Training

Fellows are trained and mentored in medical education principles and teaching techniques. Fellows interact with trainees on most rotations and have ample opportunities to take part in elective teaching experiences and curriculum development. Education training opportunities include:

• Bedside/clinical teaching of students, residents, interdisciplinary team members

• Optional large group, small group/case based teaching with students

• Community teaching

• Education classes and faculty development courses through the Department of Bioinformatics and Medical Education available for interested fellows

• Opportunity to be a part of the Center for Leadership in Medical Education for training and mentorship

• Opportunities available through our Northwest Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Center

Research Opportunities

Fellows have many opportunities to get experience with research. Some fellows pursue an advanced fellowship either within our Division or outside. We have a VA advanced fellowship in Geriatric Medicine as well as a non-standard training program advanced research fellowship. Prior fellows have pursued a Health Services Research and Development Fellowships at the VA, as well as a variety of affiliated training grants. Research areas include the entire breadth of geriatrics, gerontology, and palliative medicine including basic sciences, clinical research, epidemiology, medical education, health services, dementia and neurosciences and more.

Special Training Courses

The University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health have set up special training courses for research fellows. These include formal course work in biostatistics, clinical epidemiology, study design, and, for laboratory research oriented fellows, molecular and cell biology. These courses are intended to strengthen the knowledge base of fellows as they begin their research careers.

Fellows interested in clinician teacher careers have a variety of courses, workshops, and training programs in medical education available to them through the University of Washington and the Center for Leadership and Innovation in Medical Education.

Fellows may take a limited number of credit hours per semester for free through the University of Washington Tuition Exemption program.  Fellows may also choose to pursue a degree such as an MBA or MPH via the University of Washington.