Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine

Background: The older population is rapidly increasing in India. We aimed to understand the perception of graduate medical students toward geriatric medicine services, which might aid in future geriatric curriculum planning. Materials and Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional questionnaire...

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Main Authors: Zeba Fatima, Telagamsetti Sesha Sai Lahari, Aditi Pandey, Sankha Shubhra Chakrabarti, Upinder Kaur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of the Indian Academy of Geriatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiag.jiag_32_25
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author Zeba Fatima
Telagamsetti Sesha Sai Lahari
Aditi Pandey
Sankha Shubhra Chakrabarti
Upinder Kaur
author_facet Zeba Fatima
Telagamsetti Sesha Sai Lahari
Aditi Pandey
Sankha Shubhra Chakrabarti
Upinder Kaur
author_sort Zeba Fatima
collection DOAJ
description Background: The older population is rapidly increasing in India. We aimed to understand the perception of graduate medical students toward geriatric medicine services, which might aid in future geriatric curriculum planning. Materials and Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey that was conducted in a major tertiary university hospital in North India. Final-year graduate medical students and medical interns were included in this survey after obtaining written informed consent. Results: One hundred and fifty-two medical students (91 final year and 61 interns) were interviewed. The majority (90.8%) were aware of the existence of geriatric health services (GHS). One hundred and forty-nine (98%) agreed to the need for a separate GHS. The important reasons, as per the students, were physiological differences (40%), multimorbidity (22.4%), and atypical clinical presentations in older persons (20.4%). The majority (70.8%) of students had poor knowledge of the role of a pharmacologist in GHS. One hundred and thirty-seven (90.1%) students had poor awareness of medical institutions providing geriatric residency programs. Nearly two-thirds of the students were willing to join such programs, but it was the least preferred clinical choice. Fewer job prospects (46.1%) and lack of public awareness (19.2%) were the most common reasons for unwillingness. Conclusions: Revisions are needed in the teaching curriculum of Indian medical students with an emphasis on a multifaceted approach to older persons’ health care. The career prospects of students pursuing the subject should be strengthened.
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spelling doaj-art-6bf6b7e09c18486a882d6a56020a4fdf2025-08-20T02:42:42ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of the Indian Academy of Geriatrics0974-34050974-24842025-04-0121211011510.4103/jiag.jiag_32_25Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric MedicineZeba FatimaTelagamsetti Sesha Sai LahariAditi PandeySankha Shubhra ChakrabartiUpinder KaurBackground: The older population is rapidly increasing in India. We aimed to understand the perception of graduate medical students toward geriatric medicine services, which might aid in future geriatric curriculum planning. Materials and Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey that was conducted in a major tertiary university hospital in North India. Final-year graduate medical students and medical interns were included in this survey after obtaining written informed consent. Results: One hundred and fifty-two medical students (91 final year and 61 interns) were interviewed. The majority (90.8%) were aware of the existence of geriatric health services (GHS). One hundred and forty-nine (98%) agreed to the need for a separate GHS. The important reasons, as per the students, were physiological differences (40%), multimorbidity (22.4%), and atypical clinical presentations in older persons (20.4%). The majority (70.8%) of students had poor knowledge of the role of a pharmacologist in GHS. One hundred and thirty-seven (90.1%) students had poor awareness of medical institutions providing geriatric residency programs. Nearly two-thirds of the students were willing to join such programs, but it was the least preferred clinical choice. Fewer job prospects (46.1%) and lack of public awareness (19.2%) were the most common reasons for unwillingness. Conclusions: Revisions are needed in the teaching curriculum of Indian medical students with an emphasis on a multifaceted approach to older persons’ health care. The career prospects of students pursuing the subject should be strengthened.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiag.jiag_32_25agingclinical pharmacologycurriculum designgraduate medical educationhealthcare reforms
spellingShingle Zeba Fatima
Telagamsetti Sesha Sai Lahari
Aditi Pandey
Sankha Shubhra Chakrabarti
Upinder Kaur
Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
Journal of the Indian Academy of Geriatrics
aging
clinical pharmacology
curriculum design
graduate medical education
healthcare reforms
title Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
title_full Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
title_fullStr Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
title_full_unstemmed Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
title_short Awareness of Geriatric Services among North Indian Graduate Medical Students – Insights for Planning Training in Geriatric Medicine
title_sort awareness of geriatric services among north indian graduate medical students insights for planning training in geriatric medicine
topic aging
clinical pharmacology
curriculum design
graduate medical education
healthcare reforms
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jiag.jiag_32_25
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