Geriatric Medicine Fellowship

The Geriatric Medice Fellowship aims to do the following:

• train the fellow in treating and managing geriatric patients across the continuum with a deep understanding of geriatric principles;
• teach the science of aging and longevity, comprehensive multi-domain geriatric assessment, principles of rehabilitation, psycho-social supports, nutrition, etiquette of geriatric pharmacology, geriatric psychiatry and ethics in a culturally centered way;
• teach the basics of research methodologies and the wider impact of aging in communities and its interface with the economics of medicine; and
• create a cohort of geriatric experts in central Pennsylvania who cater to an aging Pennsylvania community and connect the clinician with community resources and facilitate the best interdisciplinary care for older adults with the other disciplines of social work, pharmacy and post-acute care networks.

Applications are only accepted through ERAS in accordance to the NRMP Specialties Matching Service policies and schedules.

Refer to the official AAMC ERAS fellowship website for details.

For informal inquiries, contact the program.

Virtual Tour

Penn State Health

Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system serving patients and communities across 29 counties of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to improve health through patient care, research, education and community outreach.

In December 2017, the system partnered with Highmark Health to facilitate creation of a value-based, community care network in the region. The shared goal of Highmark and Penn State Health is to ensure patients in the community are within:

• 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider
• 20 minutes of Penn State Health specialty care
• 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care facility

Learn more about Penn State Health

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital (left), Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (center) and Penn State Cancer Institute (right)

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

500 University Dr., Hershey, Pa., 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

• The health system’s 647-bed flagship teaching and research hospital
• The only medical facility in Pennsylvania accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level I (highest-level) trauma center
• Dedicated surgical, neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma and medical intensive care units
• Accredited Life Lion critical-care transport providing more than 1,100 helicopter and approximately 750 ground ambulance transports per year
• More than 1,300 faculty members and more than 650 residents and fellows
• Approximately 29,000 admissions, 73,000 emergency department visits, 1.1 million outpatient visits and 33,000 surgical procedures annually
• Designated as a Magnet hospital since 2007

Learn more about Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

600 University Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)

• An eight-story, 263,000-square-foot-facility built in 2013 and expanded in 2020
• 146 licensed pediatric beds, 18 acute care beds and a 56-bed neonatal intensive care unit
• Level IV (highest-level) neonatal intensive care unit
• Level I quaternary (highest-level) pediatric intensive care unit
• Level I (highest-level) pediatric trauma center designation
• Intermediate care unit
• Dedicated pediatric operating rooms
• More than 150,000 pediatric outpatient visits and approximately 5,000 pediatric patient discharges annually

Learn more about Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

Welcome to Hershey

More About Hershey

Interested in learning more about living and working in Hershey, Pa.? See details here:

• Benefit and stipend information
• Virtual tour
• GME policies
• Wellness resources
• More about Penn State Health and its locations
• Application and visa requirements

Wellness, including emotional, spiritual, social and physical health, is a crucial component to training and to becoming a professional, compassionate and resilient physician. Self-care is a skill which must be continually practiced and reinforced. Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health are committed to addressing wellness among residents and fellows, with multiple resources readily available.

Institutional resources

• Visit BeWell – a health program designed to support Penn State Health employees
• See Penn State College of Medicine wellness resources here
• Employee Health Care Concierge and Case Management Service
• Partners in Medicine
  Moving to a new city with your family does not have to be stressful. Our residency program has assisted many significant others with finding employment. There is also a GME-Wide Partners in Medicine (PIM) group that offers networking opportunities as well as various social and community oriented activities.
• The Doctors Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine

Graduate medical education resources

• See resident and fellow wellness resources here

Institutional Resources

Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine celebrate, embrace and support the diversity of all patients, faculty, staff, students and trainees.

Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In keeping with this, Penn State Health has an active Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with various programs, networks and resource groups, including:

• Talks and lectures on diversity, equity and inclusion through the Inclusion Academy
• Regular events on topics such as eradicating racism and creating a culture of inclusiveness
• Many Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs), including:
  • Disability Business Employee Resource Group
  • Interfaith Business Employee Resource Group
  • LGBTQ+ Business Employee Resource Group
  • Military and Veterans Business Employee Resource Group
  • Multicultural Business Employee Resource Group
  • NextGen Business Employee Resource Group

Learn more about the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Learn more about the College of Medicine’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Belonging

Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

The vision at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to provide culturally excellent health care and research for an increasingly diverse U.S. population. The Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education was formed to help meet that goal.

Learn more about the Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education

Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

In addition, the institution does not tolerate discrimination, biases, microaggression, harassment or learner mistreatment of any kind, and any concerns are immediately addressed by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment.

Learn more about the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment

Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows
The Network of Under-represented Residents and Fellows (NURF) is a group of diverse residents and fellows representing all specialties. NURF’s goal is to promote cultural diversity in the residency programs through community involvement, mentorship with diverse faculty, professional networking and support for the recruitment of diverse medical students into the residency programs.

NURF is sponsored by the Penn State College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Office and the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Learn more information about NURF

Schedule and rotations are adapted to individual fellow interests. The fellow will have valuable rotations through the following sites:

• Lebanon VA Medical Center
• Oak Hill Village for long-term care
• Hospice of Central Pennsylvania
• Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center transitional care unit

In addition, geriatric fellows will care for diverse patient populations in a variety of other settings: other nursing homes; the continuity clinic based at Penn State Health’s East Campus in Hershey; Dementia Clinic with Dr. Rollin Wright; Harmony at Hershey with Dr. Leah Ross; as part of the inpatient consult team; and more. Telemedicine is incorporated throughout all rotations as applicable.

Electives in Rheumatology, Neurology, ALS, Department of Aging, Medical Director and pain/drug addiction medicine may also be chosen.

The fellow will participate monthly in two Geriatric didactic series: Current Topics in Geriatrics and Geriatrics Core Curriculum. The fellow is assigned to present at these at least 1-2 times per year, including at least one journal club. This diverse didactic experience not only supports the geriatric fellow’s education, but also provides opportunities to present, evaluate others and discuss relevant articles.

Some topics include:

• Care of the veteran
• Inclusiveness
• Health systems science
• Spirituality
• Bereavement
• Self-care

Dedicated research time is also allotted at a minimum of two weeks, but is flexible and easily able to be increased depending on personal interests and goals. There is also protected didactic time for these sessions, the Geriatric Core Curriculum, quality improvement activities and asynchronous learning.

The geriatric fellow will have a multitude of academic and professional resources available to them through Penn State Health. Some resources include:

• Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education
• Health Systems Science Academy
• Clinician-educator track
• Harrell Health Sciences Library

The geriatric fellow will get a chance to collaborate with house staff from the following areas:

• Internal Medicine Residency
• Trauma Surgery
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy
• Pastoral Services
• Fellows and students from other departments throughout the hospital