Education
"Today, there are approximately 34 M people over the age of 65 in the United States; by the time the 2000-01 entering class graduates in 2004, that number will have increased by over a million. Whatever area of specialization these graduates choose to pursue, it is likely that they will care for significant numbers of elderly patients. It is crucial then, that medical schools provide students with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills they will need to competently care for older people."
As evident from the above quotation, there is an urgent need for increased gerontology/geriatric content in the undergraduate medical school curriculum. At UTMB, this task has been undertaken by The Sealy Center on Aging and the Office of Educational Development and obtaining recognition by key medical school administrators of the importance of increasing student exposure and competency in the treatment and management of conditions prominent in the older population.