Sharon Ostfeld-Johns: Creating a New Tool

by AFAR

When I first went to shadow a geriatrician this summer, it wasn’t the clinical aspects of my experience that were the most memorable. I did witness an excellent clinician balancing a myriad of concerns for the patients that made up his afternoon appointments. I saw his kindness and openness, and how important it was to the patients to tell me how wonderful he was, and about the health problems he had helped them with or seen them through. But the most memorable part was witnessing a situation in which the research aspect of my MSTAR program could help…

READ MORE

Maria Brown: Witnessing Memory Loss

by AFAR

Twenty-first birthday, wedding day, the birth of one’s first-born child, these are moments we all hope we will never forget. Unfortunately and sadly, some do. I arrived in Baltimore for the MSTAR program not knowing exactly what to expect. I had previously been exposed to geriatrics, though only in a small way. I came with most of my clinical experience in pediatrics and family practice, but still very open to expanding my interests to geriatrics and care of the older population. My first clinical experience was today, working with a doctor in the memory clinic. The day&rsquo…

READ MORE

Irina Perjar: Osteoarthritis Research Experiences

by AFAR

My primary focus this summer is the relationship between hand osteoarthritis (OA) and certain serum and urine biomarkers that might prove useful in predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring OA. As an MSTAR scholar, I am currently working with Dr. Joanne M. Jordan and Dr. Amanda E. Nelson of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The current gold standard in determining the state of an individual’s joints is radiographs, which are sometimes not particularly sensitive and can only detect joint damage after it has occurred. Biomarkers would be a welcome addition to a…

READ MORE

Caitlin Biedron: Multidisciplinary Teams

by AFAR

As an MSTAR scholar working at Detroit Medical Center, I have had the opportunity to shadow geriatric fellows and attending physicians during their morning rounds this summer. This first-hand exposure to geriatric medicine has provided me with a much better understanding of the difficulties facing elderly patients, as well as the multidisciplinary approach that is needed to effectively address them. The following three examples highlight some of these complex issues, including functional status, delirium and dementia, and elder abuse. While rounding in the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit at Detroit Receiving Hospital, I saw an elderly patient that was…

READ MORE

Suvi Neukam: Enabling Healthy Behaviors

by AFAR

This is Suvi Neukem's second entry. Read her first MSTAR Diary to learn about how she began her summer experience. With mere seconds left on the red-flashing-hand, I arrived to the other side of La Jolla Village Drive. From the safety of the curb I turned around and saw the rest of my group in mid-cross walk. Not equipped with the gait speed of an active 26 year old, the elder adults I was with struggled to make it across the six-lane road in the 30 seconds that the signal allowed. Exacerbating the observation was the fact that this was a…

READ MORE