Geriatrics Fellowship Program Information
 

The elderly are rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, being more ethnically diverse and living longer than at any time in history. By the year 2030, those aged 65 and older are expected to increase to 20 percent of the total population. Most growth will occur in those aged 85 and older. As people live longer, the numbers of people with disabilities, living in nursing homes, living alone and enduring a greater burden of chronic disease will only increase. In the United States we have built a superb system to care for acute medical problems, but our management of chronic disease is far less sophisticated. Family physicians, with a history of successfully caring for those with chronic illness, are positioned to help redesign our health services to deal with the increasing numbers of elderly. There is no better time than now to pursue advanced training for family physicians interested in improving their skills in caring for our seniors.

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Swedish Family Medicine initiated its Advanced Training in Geriatrics program in July 2000, as only the fourth program in the nation to open a community hospital-sponsored geriatrics fellowship.  This 12 month fellowship experience prepares family medicine physicians to be leaders in the practice of comprehensive, compassionate, cost-effective geriatric care.  This program also highlights leadership and academic skills to prepare graduates to be teachers of geriatrics in academic and community settings. 

Fellows receive training in the continuum of care for elderly patients through experiences in acute, ambulatory, community and long term care settings. This includes longitudinal experiences in geriatric continuity clinic, geriatric consultation clinic and family medicine clinic, as well as nursing home experiences in both sub-acute and long-term care.  During the year, fellows also take care of geriatric patients on the inpatient family medicine service, as part of the acute rehab service at the Cherry Hill campus, and as part of an intensive one-month rotation in Geropsychiatry. 

The training year also focuses on developing the academic skills of the fellows through a variety of experiences.  Fellows provide didactic lectures to family medicine residents, clinical staff, and community audiences over the course of the year.  Throughout the year, they also participate in teaching and precepting family medicine residents in both inpatient and outpatient settings.  Each fellow is eligible to apply for the University of Washington Faculty Development Fellowship, designed to prepare family physicians for careers in academic family medicine.

A few medical students applying for family medicine residency programs already have geriatrics in their hearts.  Some combination of life experience, work, and medical school exposures has convinced them that they want to focus on excellence in caring for our growing population of elders. Swedish Family Medicine is the first program to implement a Geriatric Track combining residency training in family medicine with a geriatric fellowship year. The future of geriatrics is here, now, at Swedish Family Medicine. If you are a medical student who believes you want to enhance your skills and knowledge in caring for the elderly, you should consider the Geriatric Track of our Swedish Family Medicine Residency Program.

The Geriatrics residency track is a four-year training track that promotes leadership skills and geriatric expertise alongside traditional family medicine training. Each year, up to two first-year residents (R1s) are selected for the track through the National Residency Matching Program.  These R1s then begin a longitudinal experience whereby they are trained as traditional family physicians over three years and then participate in an R4, or fellowship, year. The fellowship year provides in-depth training in geriatrics. Throughout the four years, these residents are taught leadership skills that will be fundamental for the next generation of family physician leaders.

After completion of the third year of the geriatric track, residents will become eligible to sit for the American Board of Family Medicine exam. Passage of this exam confers all the rights and responsibilities of an attending family physician.  Upon receipt of board certification in family medicine and after completion of the final year of the four-year track, residents qualify to sit as well for the Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Geriatric Medicine exam. This jointly administered exam of the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine recognizes the special skills attained in advanced geriatric training. Thus, upon graduation, fellows will be board-certified family physicians and hold CAQs in geriatrics.

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• Director of Advanced Training in Geriatrics

• Diplomate of American Board of Family Medicine

• Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine

Dr. Haymon is the Director of the Geriatrics Fellowship program. She joined the Swedish Family Medicine residency faculty after completing the Advanced Training in Geriatrics Program. She teaches geriatric assessment and long-term care and behavioral science. In geriatrics she excels in end of life communication.

Dr. Ainsworth joined the Swedish Family Medicine residency faculty after practicing full-spectrum family medicine at a local community health center. She had previously completed the Advanced Training in Geriatrics Program.  She teaches geriatric assessment and long-term care. Her additional interests are leadership training and political advocacy.

Dr. Babineau completed the Advanced Training in Geriatrics fellowship in 2006 after completing her family medicine residency at Swedish in 2005.  Dr. Babineau is very happy to be back at the residency as faculty since May 2009. In addition she has continued her work as home visit geriatrician at Elderplace. Her interests include geriatrics, behavioral health, and women’s health.

• Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services at Swedish Medical Center, Providence Campus

• Diplomate of American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Dr. Campbell has years of private practice experience in Seattle. Her interests include geriatric rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury and spinal-cord injury. She runs the nationally renown Swedish Cherry Hill Wound Care Clinic.

• Director of Geropsychiatric Services, Highline Community Hospital Health Care Network

• Diplomate of American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

• Diplomate in Geriatric Psychiatry

Dr. Patamia directs the one-month geropsychiatry rotation in the fourth year of the geriatric track. He originally trained in North Carolina at Duke University.

• Director of Swedish Home Health and Hospice

• Diplomate of American Board of Internal Medicine

• Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine

Dr. Younger directs the home health and hospice experience in the program. He completed a geriatric-medicine fellowship at the University of Washington and serves as the medical director of the Swedish Hospice.

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Fellows will receive a salary of $70,000, 15 working days paid vacation, and five days of educational leave with a $5000 CME budget. Paid membership in the American Geriatrics Society is included.

Swedish Medical Center provides health insurance for fellows and their families, as well as life, disability, and dental insurance. Sick leave accumulates at the rate of one day per month of full employment. Free parking and meal allowance are provided.

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