Rotation Schedule
The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at Summa Health is a 12 month clinical fellowship with fellows rotating on monthly basis. You can view our sample schedule or find additional information about each rotation below.
Acute Rehabilitation
This rotation allows fellows to gain experiences in acute rehabilitation medicine as they work with rehabilitation specialists, physical/occupational/speech therapists. During this rotation, fellows will also participate in acute drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Cardiology / Chronic Disease Management
This rotation allows fellows to work with specialists such as cardiology, endocrinology, or pulmonology to learn about managing chronic illness as people age. Fellows will work one-on-one with specialists in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Community Resources
Early in the fellowship, fellows have their community resources rotation where they meet with local organizations that assist in providing care for geriatric patients and their families. Some resources include the Area Agency on Aging, Adult Protective Services, Summit County Health Department, Direction Home, and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Elective Month
Fellows are given one month of elective time. They can choose to spend the whole month with one service or spend time with a few departments to enhance their skills in desired areas. Some electives that fellows have completed in the past include geriatric gynecology, hospice or palliative care, wound care, business administration, ophthalmology, and dermatology. Electives can be designed to fit the specific interests of the fellow.
Geriatric Psychiatry
During this rotation, the fellows work directly with geriatric psychiatrist in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit
This rotation allows fellows to gain experience in Geriatric Post-Acute Care and the Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit model. Fellows will assume leadership of an interdisciplinary team in the management of common medical diagnoses in the older adult and learn more about discussing care plans and end of life issues with GRU patients.
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
This rotation prepares fellows to work with patients with palliative care needs and discuss end of life issues with patients and their families. Fellows will learn about pain and symptom management, and gain experience providing psychosocial and spiritual support to patients.
Inpatient Geriatric Consults
This rotation prepares fellows to be consultants to surgeons, psychiatrists, neurologists, podiatrists, and primary care physicians in a community hospital. Fellows also gain experience coordinating care delivered by multiple health professionals such as physicians, nurses, social workers, dieticians, and rehabilitation experts in the assessment and implementation of treatment.
Long Term Care
This rotation will allow fellows to gain expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of the acutely- and chronically-ill and frail older adult patients. Fellows will learn about addressing clinical and ethical dilemmas produced by illnesses in the long-term care setting, patients’ rights, and recourses available to patients and families. Fellows will also have some additional experience working with the inpatient consult service to build upon skills acquired earlier in the fellowship.
Neurology and Movement Disorders
This two month rotation will prepare fellows to evaluate, diagnose, and treat older adults with neurologic disorders, cognitive dysfunction associated with normal aging, neurodegenerative disorders, cerebrovascular disease, and other neurobiological disorders, as well as movement disorders.
Summa House Calls
This rotation prepares fellows to identify patients appropriate for home-based primary care and conduct independent home visits. Fellows will learn effective management of common medical problems in homebound patients, assess caregiving needs, describe benefits of home care, and provide community resources to support patients and families.
Continuity
Fellows have continuity experiences 2 half-days per week for the entire twelve month fellowship, in addition to 1 half-day of research per week.
- Senior Health Center (CSH): Fellows spend one half-day per week in the outpatient geriatric assessment office.
- Long Term Care (LTC) and Summa House Calls (SHC): Fellows spend one half-day per week alternating between seeing long term care patients and house calls patients.
- Research: Fellows have one half-day of research each week to work on research projects, journal clubs, and case conferences.
Call Schedule
Fellows are on call one weekend per month. Fellows should take call with each attending physician throughout the academic year. Fellows must also take call for one holiday.