Geriatric Medicine Fontana - Curriculum

The Kaiser Permanente Fontana Fellowship is a teaching program that provides residents with a variety of challenging learning environments, comprising of grand rounds, conferences, and weekly lecture series. The fellowship also partners with UCLA to offer an optional Intensive Course in Geriatric Medicine. The program’s conferences and their frequency include:

Academic skills development sessions are held periodically with the program director. Geriatrics fellows conduct bedside and clinical rounds with other trainees, and fellows present didactic talks to their peers, faculty, and house staff at a weekly fellow conference. In addition, formal and informal conferences by fellows are given during their rotations at the clinical sites.

Intensive careers are equally emphasized as a goal of fellowship training.  Learning to teach and exposure to academic administration are viewed as vital to fellowship training, and there is strong emphasis on teaching skills such as learner-centered techniques, small groups, precepting, feedback, role play, and curriculum development. Teaching responsibilities of fellows include: house staff in acute hospital, teaching nursing home, clinics, and home care settings. The fellow also will serve as consultant to the rotating third-year Family Practice residents who have an inpatient geriatric service.

In addition to the program’s breadth of learning environments, challenging research opportunities are funded by the department of GPCC at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Bernardino County, with assistance from Academic Affairs and the Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

Clinical Experiences

Fellows receive both Inpatient and Outpatient experience. For the Inpatient program, Geriatric medicine consults will be provided on an as-needed basis; fellows work with Geriatric Medicine faculty to provide acute consults and assistance with discharge planning and/or skilled admission criteria. For the Outpatient program, fellows participate in Geriatrics clinic where they have the opportunity to provide consultation services and primary care.

Call schedules vary from one to three days/nights, averaging one week every six weeks.  This is a beeper call only that is taken from home.  Coverage includes SNF and NH patients. During selective  rotations may include Palliative Care patients, and Hospice patients. The program offers strong support from its attending physicians, supervision and precepting from faculty mentors.

Rotation Schedules by PGY:

• Hospice/Palliative Care (4 weeks)
• Core Geriatrics Rotation/Skilled Nursing (16 weeks)
• Geriatric Psychiatry (4 weeks)
• Hospital Geriatric Consultation (4 weeks)
• Internal Medicine Subspecialties (4 weeks)
• Outpatient Geriatrics (once a week)
• Longitudinal Family/Internal Medicine Clinic half day a week.
• Long Term Custodial patient continuity
• Chronic Population Managment (2 weeks)
• Acute Wound Care (4 weeks)
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Alternate Living Sites
• Elective (2 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

Serving the Community

Fellows have numerous opportunities to provide community service. Current faculty members give lectures and work with various community agencies that support the senior population.