Sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this program is a unique, interdisciplinary two-year fellowship for clinician-educators in geriatric medicine, dentistry and psychiatry is proposed that combines the strengths of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. This intensive two-year training program will capitalize on the rich clinical, research and educational environments of these two leading health care institutions and prepare trainees to lead academic institutions in the transformation that is imminently needed for the care of a rapidly aging population. As a result of this training, fellows in each discipline will be able to work within a health care team and coordinate a comprehensive health care plan for frail, older adults that addresses multiple medical illnesses, cognitive and mental health disorders and oral health needs. As academic leaders working with colleagues in other disciplines, graduates will 1) model ideal interdisciplinary patient care, 2) propagate geriatric health care through sought-after teaching programs, 3) collaborate on and translate the newest research into effective geriatric care models, and 4) create and lead geriatrics clinical and educational programs in each discipline. In addition to achieving these clinical and academic goals, graduates will represent the diversity of society and specifically contribute to redressing unmet health care needs of underserved populations.
