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Abstract
During a geriatrics/gerontology curriculum designed to develop positive attitudes toward older adults, promote understanding about the psychosocial aspects of normal aging, and provide experience with intergenerational communication, students in a combined BA/MD degree program participated in learning activities that focused on interacting with and interviewing older adults. This article describes medical students' performance during an intergenerational interview, examines differences between students' self-assessments and evaluators' ratings of students' performance, and presents statistical relationships among communication apprehension, situation anxiety, competence, and performance. Data analysis indicates that the majority of students demonstrated competent intergenerational interviewing skills during their standardized communication assessment. The discussion elaborates on the study findings, acknowledges limitations, and addresses practical implications of the study.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Association of American Medical Colleges Geriatrics Curriculum Development Program, which partially supported this research.
A previous version of this article was presented to the Commission on Communication and Aging of the National Communication Association, Miami Beach, FL, November 2003.
Notes
1Students enter the program directly after high school and complete both a BA and MD degree in approximately 6 years. Although clinical and liberal arts education are incorporated throughout the 6-year curriculum, at this stage of their education students have been introduced to clinical medicine but have not received formal instruction in clinical skills such as medical history taking.