2. Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
  3. Education & Training

Education & Training

Our Educational Mission

The aim of the Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine is to foster excellence in geriatric and palliative medicine education for health care professionals and the community, with a focus on the principles of Age-Friendly Health Systems.

The Division offers a comprehensive, leading curriculum in geriatric and palliative medicine for McGovern Medical School students, Internal Medicine residents, Geriatric Medicine fellows, Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellows, and learners from multiple disciplines rotating through the Division.

Medical Student Education

We aim to equip all graduating McGovern Medical School students with fundamental skills in Age-Friendly health care, interprofessional collaborative practice, geriatric medicine, and palliative medicine.

All students complete a required one-week Geriatric and Palliative Medicine rotation during the MS3 year. During the MS4 year, students may further tailor their education through:

  • Advanced Patient Care Selective (APC; sub-internship) rotations
  • Geriatrics elective rotations
  • Palliative medicine elective rotations
  • Clinical experiences across a variety of sites

Additional educational opportunities include Blue Book electives in geriatrics, palliative medicine, and social connections; a Geriatric and Palliative Medicine scholarly concentration; and research opportunities through MSTAR, the Summer Medical Student Research Program, and across the longitudinal medical school continuum.

Resident Education

We prepare all Internal Medicine residents at McGovern Medical School to deliver competent, compassionate, and Age-Friendly care in diverse clinical settings throughout their training.

Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit

  • All interns complete at least two weeks on the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit at Memorial Hermann Hospital–TMC, where they learn foundational principles of geriatric medicine and Age-Friendly care.
  • Residents return to the ACE Unit as upper-level residents to further develop skills in medical leadership and interprofessional team-based care for older adults.

Palliative Care Consult Service

  • The MHH–TMC inpatient palliative care consult service serves as a core clinical training site for residents.
  • Through a longstanding partnership with the Internal Medicine Residency Program, PGY-1 through PGY-3 residents complete structured consult rotations focused on symptom management, serious illness communication, and interprofessional care delivery.
  • The service also provides clinical training opportunities for residents in Neurology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Radiation Oncology.
  • Additionally, the LBJ geriatric and palliative medicine consult service serves as a core clinical training site for Internal Medicine and Family Medicine residents and Geriatric Psychiatry fellows.

Didactic Education

  • Foundational geriatric and palliative medicine education is reinforced through ambulatory rotation didactics, the inpatient noon conference series, and a signature Serious Illness Communication Workshop that prepares residents to conduct family meetings and lead goals-of-care discussions with confidence and skill.

Fellow Education

Geriatric Medicine Fellowship
Since July 2008, the Division has offered a robust Geriatric Medicine Fellowship for physicians trained in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine who seek additional training to become board-eligible geriatricians. The fellowship is a one-year clinical program with opportunities for enhanced focus on research, quality improvement, and education.

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Since July 2012, the Division has offered a robust Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship for physicians trained in multiple specialties, including Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and others. This one-year clinical fellowship prepares physicians to become board-eligible in hospice and palliative medicine, with additional opportunities in research, quality improvement, and education

UTHealth Houston Institute on Aging
The Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine works closely with the Institute on Aging at UTHealth Houston (external link) to advance its educational mission. This partnership includes shared educational offerings, conferences, and collaborative projects, with many Division faculty serving as Core Faculty within the Institute.