TAKING A STAND AGAINST AGEISM THROUGHOUT MEDICAL TRAINING FRAMEWORK, AN AGS INITIATIVE

Sponsored by the Education Committee and the Teachers Section 
Moderator: Colleen Christmas, MD 
Ageism is stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s age, and in healthcare includes the implicit biases of providers and internalized beliefs of older patients. The implicit and explicit biases of clinicians can impact clinical practice, leading to medical decisions based on stereotypes and prejudices. Clinicians specializing in caring for older adults need to adopt the critical role of identifying, mitigating, and teaching about ageist stereotypes and behaviors among colleagues and learners in the clinical setting. Learning Objectives: (1) identify how ageism education embedded in medical education can change learner attitudes and combat bias against older adults and improve clinical care; (2) describe strategies for incorporating curricula about ageism into pre-clinical and clinical years of medical school, as well as residency training, and fellowship; (3) evaluate the impact of these strategies used to incorporate ageism education into the stages of medical training as well as how these strategies might mitigate the attitudes and behaviors developed throughout training that are biased toward older adults; and (4) discuss ways participants will amplify awareness of bias toward older adults and incorporate ageism education into their programs.