Journal of general internal medicine
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Comparative Study
Use of a geriatric home visit experience to teach medical students the functional status assessment.
Functional status measures strongly predict hospital outcomes and mortality, yet teaching of these measures is often missing from medical schools' curricula. To address this deficiency, we developed a Geriatric Home-based Assessment (GHA) module for third-year medical students. The module was composed of a workshop and two to three home visits. ⋯ Our GHA module was effective in improving students' knowledge and proficiency in the functional status assessment. "Hands on" experiences like the GHA allow students to develop a solid foundation for assessing functional status and mobility.