The Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has been awarded a grant from the Hamburg Fund of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHC) to train faculty in mentoring medical students who wish to become geriatricians. The grant is for $30,000 per year for five years.

“There is a pressing need to increase the number of physicians trained in geriatrics,” said Neil Resnick, M.D., chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Health System. “We believe that the power of close and nurturing mentorships is the key to fostering interest in the care of older adults. We have been fortunate to have faculty who are committed to these principles and who have maintained continued involvement with our medical students. This will act as a model program, the reproduction of which could address the overwhelming needs of our aging society.”

The grant will be used to develop faculty mentorships, support the participation of a coordinator for student training, and fund outside speakers, seminars, and an annual Student Geriatric Award.

The mentorship program, called the JHC-Hamburg Geriatric Teaching Fellowship, will be codirected by Andrea Fox, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, and Evelyn C. Granieri, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, who recently was awarded the 2001 Dennis W. Jahnigen Memorial Award from the American Geriatrics Society for excellence in teaching.

“This grant will help us to increase and improve mentorships in geriatrics,” said Granieri. “With this support from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, we will develop a group of geriatricians unique in this country, doctors who are trained specifically to mentor trainees and whose goal is to increase the number of physicians who share the commitment of providing optimal care to older adults.”

The Division of Geriatric Medicine was recently named a national Center for Geriatric Excellence by the Hartford Foundation.