CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF AGING
AND HEALTH 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
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TRANSFORM CURRICULUM

1983

Curriculum Grants in Medicine

2001-2005 The need for more geriatrics content in the medical school curriculum is compelling, but making that change is challenging. The four years of medical education are already strained by the constant pressure to keep required curriculum up to date. New material must be clinically relevant and compete for time and attention in core offerings.

The Hartford Foundation awarded $5.2 million in grants to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to provide funding to 40 medical schools. These schools developed a variety of programs to improve attitudes toward older patients and equip medical students with the knowledge to effectively treat older patients.

In 2005, the Foundation provided a three-year grant to the AAMC to continue to encourage the spread of geriatrics education and to make available the products developed under the prior awards. Part of the funding was used to transfer Hartford-funded educational tools to a geriatrics education Web site created by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation (www.POGOe.org).

The Reynolds Foundation built on the Hartford Foundation’s investments with $80 million in funding for 40 medical schools to transform their geriatrics education.

The AAMC survey of all graduating medical students demonstrated a rapid rise in perceived competence in the care of older patients and satisfaction with geriatrics education at medical schools that received curriculum grants.


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