Geriatrics Fellowship
Program by the Numbers
1
Program Year
25
Years Program Experience
3
Training Sites
Program Aims:
- Train geriatricians who understand key principles of geriatric medicine and the health care system and are able to apply them to achieve a high level of quality of care and patient safety.
- Faculty supervision and one-on-one teaching (15+ Geriatric Medicine faculty)
- Local and multi-site fellows’ conferences, mortality conferences, Grand Rounds, intern conferences, oral exam, journal club, health care financing and board preparation
- Prepare geriatricians to manage older vulnerable patients with diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds:
- Provide continuity of care across multiple settings
- Utilize team-based care and community resources to care for sub-populations of older adults
- Cultivate future leaders in academic and clinical geriatrics.
- Participate in innovative delivery models of care
- Submit an abstract to the annual American Geriatrics Society meeting
- Complete a Quality Improvement project: UT Southwestern’s Clinical Safety and Effectiveness program
- Teach students, junior trainees and team members
Overview of the UTSW Geriatric Fellowship Program
The fellowship is based in the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and its affiliated hospitals, the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center and Parkland Hospital.
- Application Process
Application Process
- Interested fellowship candidates should apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
- Based on a preliminary review of complete applications, interviews will be offered to selected applicants in September and October.
- Formal written offers of a training position are extended after the match date in December.
- Our Fellowship Program welcomes applicants with J-1 visas. UT Southwestern does not sponsor H1-B visas for clinical trainees.
International Applicants
Recognizing that some of our most talented applicants are not permanent residents, we are committed to recruiting qualified international trainees. UT Southwestern accepts permanent residents or J-1 ECFMG sponsored visas. Unfortunately, the medical school does not sponsor H-1B visas.
- Salaries and Benefits
Salaries and Benefits
Fellowship Year Program Year Salary Fellowship Year 1 PGY4 $76,493 Fellowship Year 2 PGY5 $80,521 - About the Program
The one-year primary care track program encompasses acute care, ambulatory care, community care, and long-term care. Second-year positions are available for those interested in pursuing academic medicine and/or research careers. Our fellows have the opportunity to serve an across-the-board geriatric population, including the medically underserved and minority communities.
The fellowship, conducted in conjunction with the accredited UT Southwestern residency program in Internal Medicine, exceeds the training eligibility requirements for the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine.
2024-25 Geriatric Fellows Dr. Abeera Azam and Dr. Fatima MahmoodThe Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at UT Southwestern was initiated in 2000. Within our nationally ranked Division, it offers a unique and challenging training experience focused on key principles of Geriatrics. Fellows work closely with dedicated faculty in multiple healthcare systems including at the University, the Dallas VA Medical Center and a large safety net hospital. The comprehensive curriculum utilizes expert faculty and a high faculty to fellow ratio to promote a robust learning and teaching environment. We emphasize patient safety and quality, innovative models of care, and cultivate future leaders in academic and clinical Geriatrics. This structured curriculum includes electives to allow each fellow to explore their specific interests and equip them to achieve their future career goals. Fellows play an integral role in our Division's mission to provide excellent patient care and educate medical students and junior trainees. The innovative delivery sites and models of care in our program include Ambulatory Care, Assisted Living, Home-Based Primary Care, Hospice, Long Term Care, Geriatric Assessment, Perioperative Care with the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health, known as the POSH program and the Acute Care of the Elderly, ACE Unit that has been nationally recognized in our Magnet designated University Hospital. This hospital is also a Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders, NICHE, recognized hospital. Graduates from our program have successfully entered diverse careers including acute care, post-acute care, ambulatory care, home-based primary care and research in both academic and community settings.
- Curriculum
Didactics
- Weekly Board Review
Fellows attend our weekly geriatric board review series which occurs for one hour - Journal Club
All fellows attend Journal Club which occurs twice a month at 8am on Fridays. - Monthly Geriatric Grand Rounds
- National Meetings
We encourage and provide support for all fellows to attend a national geriatric meeting such as AGS, AMDA, or AAHCM.
Continuity Experiences
- Geriatric Care Clinics
Each fellow is assigned to one of our Geriatric Medicine Clinic locations for the entire year. Locations include Geriatric Care Clinic at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Parkland Geriatric Clinic on Butler street. Clinic meets weekly for 1/2 day each. - Nursing Home
Fellows make monthly visits following a panel of long-term care patients at our VA Nursing home, Community Living Center. The fellows will learn how to provide inclusive care of elderly patients in the nursing home and will actively participate in care decisions. - Home-Based Primary Care
Fellows make home visits to a panel of patients under the supervision of Geriatric Medicine faculty. The Fellows will learn how to provide medical care in the home setting to a diverse population of elderly patients by establishing home assessment skills. With the increasing need for medical care in various settings, the fellows will learn about the social and environmental issues that affect medical care during their home care rotations. - System-Based Experiences
One week of each month will be dedicated to learning about innovative models of care, quality improvement, and patient safety. Fellows will attend monthly interdisciplinary home-based primary care team meetings discussing patient safety issues, and event reporting. Fellows will also attend the Acute Care Elderly (ACE) unit meetings to learn about hospital-based systems. Rest of the week will focus on Quality improvement project of fellows’ choice.
Competencies
- Weekly Board Review
- Goals & Objectives
The goals of the UT Southwestern Medical Center Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program are:
- To educate physicians
- To provide elderly patients with the best possible care using expertise in clinical skills by fostering the development of a strong medical foundation based on current literature and basic science research
Fellows will have four longitudinal rotations and 12 monthly block rotations.
Longitudinal Rotations
- Ambulatory Clinics
- Long-Term Care
- House Call Program
- System Based Practice
Block Rotations
- Inpatient Geriatric Consult
- Palliative Care/Ethics
- Neurology
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R)
- Geropsychiatry
- House Calls
- Nursing Home
- Two Electives
- Structure
The Geriatrics Medicine Fellowship Program is designed so that each fellow has the opportunity to achieve the knowledge, professional attitudes, and practical experience required of a physician caring for the elderly patient. Each fellow will be closely supervised by trained faculty during the year-long fellowship.
Fellows will gain experience teaching nurses, allied health personnel, medical students, and residents in both a formal and an informal setting. Close association with Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Geropsychiatry accredited training programs at UT Southwestern give geriatrics fellows an unparalleled opportunity to round out their training.
Throughout the year, fellows will treat elderly patients with a variety of chronic illnesses. They will see patients in an acute-care hospital (William P. Clements University Hospital), in a long-term care institution (Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center), in an ambulatory care setting (various outpatient clinics).
Longitudinal clinical experience with patients is an integral part of the program. At the beginning of the fellowship year, fellows will rotate at
- Dallas VA Medical Center, where they will be assigned nursing home patients for whom they will have primary responsibility throughout the ensuing year. These patients will be chosen with respect to medical, ethnic, and social diversity to ensure a well-rounded experience.
- UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Geriatric Clinic home based primary care patients, where they will be assigned patients, they will follow throughout the year
- UT Southwestern Medical Center Geriatric Care Clinic (GCC), where they will be assigned a panel of office-based practice patients to follow all around the year
In addition, throughout the year fellows will rotate in one-month blocks in the following services:
- Acute inpatient and consult service
- VA Nursing home at their Community Living Center (CLC)
- Geropsychiatry
- Neurology
- Palliative care and ethics
- Home-Based Primary Care
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Two elective rotations
On the educational front, fellows attend an eight-week core lecture series that covers key topics from normal aging processes and geriatric syndromes, to health maintenance, to the molecular basis of aging. Speakers are drawn from the Geriatrics faculty, Internal Medicine faculty, basic science researchers and allied healthcare professionals. Throughout the year, fellows attend a monthly journal club, as well as the weekly Geriatrics Grand Rounds series.
What our fellows have to say
Fatima Mahmood, M.D.
“I chose geriatrics because of my profound admiration for this population. I find great fulfillment in listening to my patients' stories and learning from their diverse experiences. The geriatric fellowship at UTSW has offered me comprehensive clinical and academic training, emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to caring for older adults. With the global demographic steadily shifting toward an aging population, this training has equipped me with the skills and expertise needed to excel in my career and meet the growing needs of this”
Abeera Azam, M.D.
“ I believe it takes a village to care for the older adults. A comprehensive training is needed to manage the complex medical, cognitive and psychosocial issues related to the geriatric population. I chose UTSW as it provides an outstanding and collaborative one year experience, preparing us for the real world challenges and giving a solid base in different clinical settings”
Contact Us
Division of Geriatric Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75390-8889
Phone: 214-648-9012
Fax: 214-648-2087
Email
Program Director
