The papers address how geriatric & hospice/palliative care education can be integrated into existing efforts by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).
The research evaluated existing literature on educational milestones within geriatrics as well as hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) for emergency medicine (EM) physicians. These milestones were compared to the ABEM Model and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) that guide EM education/certification. The studies found that while a small number of geriatric and HPM milestones fail to map onto the ABEM Model and KSAs, the vast majority of milestones do.
This indicates that increasing geriatric and HPM education for EM physicians supports existing training goals. Moreover, the published geriatric and HPM milestones provide a framework for these educational efforts.
Dr. Daniel Markwalter is a Clinical Assistant Professor for the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine and the UNC Palliative Care & Hospice Program.
You can access the papers that were recently published in eScholarship via these links:
Integrating Hospice and Palliative Medicine Education Within the American Board of Emergency Medicine Model
Conclusion: The majority of HPM-EM competencies are included in the current EM Model and KSAs, and correspond to knowledge needed to be competent in EM. Programs relying on the EM Milestones to plan their curriculums may miss training in symptom management and care for patients at the end of life or who are on hospice.
Integration of Geriatric Education Within the American Board of Emergency Medicine Model
Conclusion: All but one of the geriatric EM competencies mapped to the current EM Model and KSAs. The geriatric competencies correspond to knowledge at all levels of training within the KSAs, from beginner to expert in EM. Educators in EM can use this mapping to integrate the geriatric competencies within their curriculums.