Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program

The Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program (GGEAR) is a state funded program located in the Office of Academic Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore. GGEAR, initiated in 1987, was funded in order to better prepare Maryland's health care professionals to care for frail, older individuals and to sponsor research projects which will ultimately produce interventions on behalf of this population.

In order to promote this overall mission, GGEAR regularly sponsors educational outreach programs for health care professionals and caregivers; interprofessional clinical education for health care professional students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and supports opportunities for interprofessional research among faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Interprofessional Educational Opportunities for Health Professional Students Interested in Aging:

Several short-term, interprofessional educational classroom and training opportunities are available to students attending the Schools of Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Geriatric Imperative Minimester (GIM)
GIM is a one week long course scheduled each January which offers a review of current clinical, policy and research trends in the field of aging. Presentations are made by faculty, national and regional leaders in the field of aging and family caregivers. Lectures, case simulations, panel discussions and videos are the teaching methodology utilized during the week. Field trips are taken to exemplary health care sites such as continuing care retirement communities, adult medical day care centers, and to observe an intergenerational program implemented at area nursing homes. Each site chosen provides care through interprofessional team planning.

Contact: Reba Cornman, GGEAR Director, 410-706-4327, rcornman@umaryland.edu.

Geriatric Assessment Interdisciplinary Team (GAIT)
GAIT is a project funded by the University System of Maryland Redeployment Grant System and is located in rural Maryland at the Western Maryland Area Health Education Center (Cumberland, Md.) and the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (Cambridge, Md.). A series of two day rotations brings students from the six University of Maryland, Baltimore Schools, Towson University's Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Disorder Departments, Frostburg State University's Departments of Social Work and Psychology, and Salisbury State University's Department of Social Work. Students are introduced to the comprehensive geriatric assessment and the fundamentals of interprofessional collaboration through both didactic and clinical sessions. A variety of sites are used throughout Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Each site is chosen because it emphasizes the benefits of interprofessional collaboration in caring for frail older individuals.

Contacts:
Reba Cornman, 410-706-4327, rcornman@umaryland.edu.

Terri Socha, GAIT Coordinator, Western Maryland Area Health Education Center: 301-777-9150x107, tsocha@allconet.org.

Audrey Wahl, GAIT Coordinator, Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center, 410-221-2600,  esahecgait@yahoo.com

Continuing Education and Educational Outreach Programs

GGEAR cosponsors conferences throughout the state of Maryland with state agencies, county agencies, and private non-profit associations serving the elderly as well as with the Western Maryland and Eastern Shore Area Health Education Centers. Conferences are sponsored for health care professionals and family caregivers. GGEAR has been a member of the Washington, D.C. Geriatric Education Center Consortium (WAGECC) since December, 1996.

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