11. Home visit program:
It is expected that the Fellow will conduct a minimum number of home visits to the homes of patients whose care he/she has had a part in arranging. A member of the faculty will precept the resident in this function. The Fellow will assure that the care rendered through the home visits is coordinated with the other providers of care (especially the appropriate home nursing service).

12. Geropsychiatry:

The geriatric psychiatry rotation will include patient care in both the inpatient and outpatient arenas. Some supervised time will be spent consulting on patients in nursing homes. Some time will be spent on the inpatient geriatric psychiatry service both evaluating and treating elderly patients hospitalized with acute psychiatric illnesses under the supervision of a geriatric psychiatrist. An outpatient geriatric psychiatry clinic is available for additional training. Geriatric psychiatrists will supervise the Fellow in all sites.

Rotation Schedule

Month 1* Acute hospital rotation

Month 2 Geriatric psychiatry rotation (inpatient)

Month 3 Elective

Month 4 Acute hospital rotation

Month 5 Rehab Medicine at New England Rehabilitation Hospital (NERH)

Month 6 Rehab Medicine at NERH

Month 7 Rehab Medicine at NERH

Month 8 Acute hospital rotation

Month 9 Geriatric psychiatry rotation (inpatient)

Month 10 Elective

Month 11 Geriatric psychiatry (outpatient)

Month 12 Acute hospital rotation

*Fellows will need to arrive one week prior to the beginning of rotation to attend orientation.

Research

A distinguishing feature of the Geriatric Fellowship is its Association with the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, (CORE) at Maine Medical Center. The Associate Director of CORE, Dr. Neil Korsen, is also the Research Director for the Geriatrics Division. Through this relationship, there are multiple opportunities for the Geriatric Fellow to engage in research activities pertinent to geriatrics.

The Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Maine Medical Center is the Health Services Research arm of the MMC Research Institute. Much of the research done at CORE involves analysis of large databases, including the Medicare database and a database of injuries created by funding from the Centers for Disease Control. Publications from investigators at CORE frequently relate to geographic variations in care and to the relationship between volume and outcomes of care. Investigators at CORE also produced the Dartmouth Atlas of Cardiovascular Health Care. In addition to the research activities at CORE, personnel at CORE also provide support for attendings, fellows, and residents at MMC in research design and statistical analysis. At present, Dr. Korsen and Geriatric Fellow Dr. Richard Marino are using the injury database to assess suicide in the elderly.