Medical students reflect on ageism in health care
The AAMC highlights the School of Medicine’s senior mentor program, which connects M1s with older adults in the community and sheds light on how doctors can better care for this population.
Jesse Dahringer, Class of 2026, meets with her senior mentor, Alice Warner. (Photo by Skip Rowland)
Studies show that about 20% of adults over the age of 50 report having experienced age discrimination in a health care setting, and the national shortage of fellowship-trained geriatricians is projected to reach a deficit of nearly 30,000 by 2030.
Tracey Gendron, chair of the Department of Gerontology at the VCU College of Health Professions and director for the Virginia Center on Aging, said that ageism and the fear of getting older factor into the declining interest in geriatric medicine.
“We’ve pathologized aging,” she said. “Part of the issue is that ageism drives our understanding of aging as being focused on our bodies. We don’t talk as much about decline and growth, and the real opportunities as we age to have different milestones and different contributions.”
A recent article published by the Association of American Medical Colleges highlights the VCU School of Medicine’s senior mentoring program, which is part of the longitudinal geriatrics course that spans all four years of the M.D. curriculum. This program matches each M1 with an adult who’s aging in place independently, and the pairs meet independently throughout the year. Leland “Bert” Waters, Ph.D., director of the Virginia Geriatric Education Center, noted that programs like this offer valuable insight for students who “tend to only see frail elders in the hospital setting,” because only a small percentage of older adults need long-term care.
Two Class of 2029 students, Kayla Emond and Sara Levy, shared their experience with the program. Both students said that getting to know their senior mentors has shifted how they view aging, both for their future patients and for themselves.
“He was honest with us about how you have to be realistic with yourself,” Emond said of her mentor. “Aging is the one constant in your life. Yes, with aging you have limitations, but it also opens more doors for you.”
