Since 1981, our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program has trained over 155 physicians who are now practicing as geriatricians in a variety of settings across the country. We are proud to have trained many geriatricians who serve as leaders in our field and have achieved successful careers.
Led by Director, Dr. Kahli Zietlow, we are a one-year, ACGME-accredited, fellowship training program. We believe our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship is among the best training programs in the nation, offering robust clinical experiences across several models of care.
Our fellows train within diverse settings, including community care, university facilities, and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. We serve a diverse patient population with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Fellows work with and learn from world-renowned faculty and interprofessional team members, all focused on delivering high-quality care to older adults. Our fellows benefit from a collaborative culture and access to the outstanding support systems and resources provided through the University of Michigan Medical School and University of Michigan Health.
In addition to our comprehensive clinical experiences, fellows will engage in a didactic curriculum that builds throughout the year. It begins with an intensive “Boot Camp” covering core geriatric topics and expands to include advanced topics, clinical management challenges, nuanced discussions of current events relevant to geriatrics, and more. Fellows will also attend monthly research conferences, development sessions on educational skills, DEI conferences, and a monthly series of didactics in collaboration with palliative medicine and hospice fellows.
We are dedicated to promoting individual career growth and wellness. Recognizing that a year passes quickly, we are committed to fostering mentorship and working towards individualized career goals throughout the fellowship. Fellows have ample opportunities to establish mentorship relationships and are provided academic time to work on personal development projects, which may involve traditional research, quality improvement, or exploring a specific clinical interest. We invite alumni panels to speak to fellows about job searching and board review, and all fellows receive funding to attend a major national conference. Additionally, we are committed to fellows’ wellbeing, offering ample mental health and wellness resources through the University, dedicated didactic time to ensure learning is a top priority, and embedding quarterly wellness activities throughout the year.
GME Program Administrator
The University of Michigan Geriatric Fellowship currently utilizes the Medicine Subspecialty Match, which is part of the National Residency Match Program for trainee selection. We strongly encourage applicants to submit applications through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS), along with all supporting documents.
Program Requirements
- Three years of Internal Medicine or Family Medicine residency at an ACGME approved institution
- ECFMG certification for foreign medical graduates
- Current curriculum vitae
- Three letters of recommendation
- Personal statement reflecting commitment to Geriatric Medicine
- No minimum USMLE score requirement, but we do appreciate receiving copies of your scores
- The University of Michigan GME utilizes the list of Medical Schools Recognized by Medical Board of California for eligibility in our fellowship program
Michigan Medicine will host all fellowship interviews virtually as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has recommended.
We participate in J-1 visa programs, but require that you reside in the United States; we do not consider those living abroad.
We are committed to equipping each fellow with the necessary tools they need to excel as experts and leaders, and empowering them to advance patient care, research, and education in geriatric and palliative medicine.
The University of Michigan offers highly competitive salaries and generous benefits to our fellows and advanced trainees. Trainee salary will be commensurate with that of a House Officer at an equivalent level of training based on the HOA contract.
Care at Home
- Site: Post-Acute Care Services
- Description: During the Care at Home rotation, fellows will experience multiple models of care delivered in the home setting including Patient Monitoring at Home and House Calls. Fellows will provide acute medical care and perform geriatric assessments in the home. This experience provides unique insight into how the living environment affects the provision of optimal medical care, with the goal of maintaining patient function and independence at home.
- Site Director: Soumya Rangarajan, MD
- Duration: 0.5 months
Community Living Center (CLC) Rotation
- Site: Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare
- Description: CLC is a post-acute rehabilitation center that serves the VA healthcare system. Fellows will develop management plans that address both the rehabilitation and medical needs of complex, recently hospitalized veterans, incorporating input from a multi-disciplinary team. Fellows will also observe wound care rounds, participate in interdisciplinary team rounds, observe rehabilitation specialists, and learn about medical directorship during their CLC rotation.
- Site Director: Caroline Vitale, MD
- Duration: 2 months, divided into two blocks
Turner Clinic for Healthy Aging
- Site: East Ann Arbor Health and Geriatrics Center
- Description: Fellows will have two experiences at the Turner Geriatrics Clinic and the Geriatrics Center Ambulatory Subspecialty Clinics. They will have a weekly half day of continuity clinic and will care for a panel of older adults for geriatric primary care. Fellows will have a single continuity clinic preceptor throughout the year and this preceptor often serves as an important mentor for fellows. Fellows will have access to exceptional clinic support staff, including social workers, pharmacists, care managers, and nurses, who help to manage this complex patient population. Additionally, fellows will spend a total of two months rotating with various subspecialists who care for older adults. Subspecialty clinic experiences include rheumatology, cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, wound care, urogynecology, geriatric psychiatry, cognitive disorders, and neurologic movement disorders.
- Site Director: Melanie Zuo, MD
- Duration: 2 months, divided into two blocks plus a half-day weekly for continuity clinic
Geriatric Inpatient Consult Team (GICT) Rotation
- Site: University of Michigan Hospital
- Description: The GICT is a multidisciplinary team that provides consultative services under the direction of the supervising geriatric attending. A dedicated social worker and nurse practitioner round daily and the service supports a multitude of learners. Fellows see patients across all units of the hospital and provide recommendations to the consulting teams. Fellows will encounter several geriatric syndromes, including dementia, delirium, trauma and falls, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and more.
- Site Director: Rachel Denny, DO
- Duration: 2 months, divided into two blocks
Geriatric Psychiatry
- Site: Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare
- Description: Fellows will provide evaluation and consultation of older adults requiring psychiatry services, including management of acute psychiatric crises as well as management of chronic psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Fellows will also learn about the structure and management of mental health services within the VA healthcare system.
- Site Director: Stephen Aronson, MD
- Duration: 1 month
Home-Based Primary Care Rotation
- Site: Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare
- Description: During the VA Home-Based Primary Care rotation, geriatric medicine fellows will have the opportunity to observe several aspects of care provided in the home setting for a variety of home-bound and multi-morbid older adults. This experience provides unique insight into features of the living environment affecting the provision of optimal medical care, with the goal of maintaining patient function and independence at home. Fellows will have the opportunity to accompany physicians and other disciplines (RN, PT, PharmD, Psychology, SW, RD) to observe geriatric assessments, home safety assessments, medication reconciliation, cognition and functional status assessments within the home setting.
- Site Director: Erika Fulop-Cristiu, MD
- Duration: 1 month
PACE Rotation
- Site: Huron Valley PACE
- Description: Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Model of Care is a model of care that serves dually-eligible older adults who are nursing-home eligible. PACE prioritizes personalized care delivery while promoting aging in place. While on their PACE rotation, fellows will see a diverse panel of patients, attend interdisciplinary rounds, learn about PACE medical directorship, and have the opportunity to attend home visits.
- Site Director: Marjorie Almeda, DO
- Duration: 2 weeks
Palliative Care Consults
- Site: Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare
- Description: Fellows will round on a multidisciplinary team that provides consultative services for veterans hospitalized at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital. Fellows will develop several skills, including a nuanced understanding of opioid management (e.g., opioid conversions, prescribing of partial agonists), symptom management in chronic and life-limiting illnesses, goals of care discussions, and end-of-life symptom management.
- Site Director: Rachel Denny, DO
- Duration: 1 month
Post Acute and Long-Term Care
- Site: Evangelical Home at Saline
- Description: Evangelical Home – Saline houses both a post-acute and long-term care facility. Fellows will spend one month in the post-acute care facility, providing care for complex, recently discharged older adults. Additionally, fellows will maintain a panel of eight long-term care patients, for whom they will serve as primary care providers for the year. Fellows will round on their long-term care cohort monthly. Fellows will also participate in interdisciplinary rounds, wound care, and have an opportunity to participate in quality improvement.
- Site Director: Jennifer Beal, DO
- Duration: 1 month
We offer a robust didactic curriculum that encourages critical thinking and life-long learning. Thursday afternoons are protected for fellows’ didactics to ensure educational content is delivered in a setting free from clinical interruptions. A non-exhaustive list of didactic experiences include:
- Core Topics: As the name implies, fellows are taught core geriatric medicine topics by expert faculty.
- Board Review: We provide a bi-weekly board review series in the latter half of the academic year. We utilize interactive Q&A software to promote fellowship engagement. All board review content aligns with that covered in the Geriatric Review Syllabus.
- Trending Topics in Geriatrics: Fellows will prepare and summarize one to two articles or studies relevant to geriatrics that are identified through non-academic outlets, such as news media, GeriPal or other relevant podcasts, social media, etc. We discuss not only the content, but critically assess how the content is portrayed through the popular media source.
- Interprofessional Case Conference: Fellows present complex cases to a team of various health care professionals, including geriatricians, physical and occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, social workers, case managers, nursing staff, and more. The case is analyzed through an interdisciplinary lens.
- Geriatrics Clinical Conference: Our division’s “grand rounds.” This is a weekly opportunity for fellows, faculty, advanced practice providers, social workers, students, house staff and more to learn together. Topics range from core clinical concepts to leadership and development, medical education, DEI and more. We host a wide variety of internal and extramural speakers. Fellows will also lead a journal club and present on a topic of their choice during the year.
- Research Seminars: Hear about ongoing aging research happening at the University of Michigan in monthly seminars, led by our division chief, Dr. Lona Mody.
Fellows will also have access to a variety of top-tier clinical and research conferences available through the Department of Internal Medicine, Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center, and greater opportunities available through the University community.
Fellows will participate in a quality improvement (QI) project during the year. Fellows and faculty identify a group project in the long-term, post-acute, or clinic setting. Past projects include deprescribing insulin in nursing homes, improving accurate blood pressure capture in clinics, and implementing a coaching program in a weight loss clinic. Some fellows may choose to pursue an independent QI project or other scholarly projects and will receive ample support to do so.
Many faculty members are involved in clinical, translational, and educational research and welcome trainee partnerships and the opportunity to mentor. All fellows have academic time built into their year to support their scholarly endeavors. Fellows are encouraged to submit abstracts describing their work to a major national conference (e.g., the American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting). The program will provide funds and time off to allow each fellow to attend one such conference during their fellowship year.
The absolute truth is that doing this fellowship was the best decision ever. I so much appreciate having trained at Michigan Medicine and having graduated to practice geriatrics. It is amazing to feel this sense of practice experience and confidence in my expertise. I might not like everything about my job, but I love what I do... can't thank you enough.
VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics (AFiG)
For physicians who have completed their clinical year of geriatric medicine, geriatric psychiatry, and/or palliative medicine fellowship training, there is an opportunity for up to two additional years of academic training in geriatrics, sponsored by the Ann Arbor VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC). The goal of this advanced geriatrics fellowship is to develop outstanding academic clinician educators, clinical innovators, aging researchers, and health care system leaders with vision and knowledge, who are committed to leading the care of older adults in the 21st century.
This VA fellowship provides outstanding geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry research training, interdisciplinary educational opportunities, and advanced clinical and program administration learning opportunities. Fellows have the flexibility to personalize the curriculum based on their interests, and can further their development toward careers as researchers, clinician educators, and/or medical directors. If fellows are interested in this additional training, they should plan to apply in the fall of their first year of fellowship.
Research Training in Biogerontology Program
Fellows interested in research in the fields of gerontology and aging are encouraged to apply for the Research Training in Biogerontology (T32) Program. Accepted applicants will receive a salary commiserate to their PGY level of training, as well as additional financial support to pursue a master’s degree and travel to one national conference annually.
This program is supported by the National Institute on Aging and will support trainees’ growth as aging scientists committed to aging research. This pathway supports your growth through a number of possible research career pathways, including clinical research, basic science research and biology of aging, health services research, translational research, and pragmatic trial research for persons with dementia.
The Department of Internal Medicine (DOIM) Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine is committed to creating and cultivating a diverse and inclusive community that provides our faculty, learners, and staff with the opportunities and support they need to thrive. Visit the DOIM Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Well-Being to learn more.
The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status.
We recognize the importance of acknowledging and speaking out against all forms of racism, ageism, discrimination, and bias within our institutions, communities, and society. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is also critically important for the GME community to prioritize holistic and unbiased recruitment and selection of applicants to ensure a diverse workforce and community of medical providers.
Program and divisional leadership are required to attend the Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence (STRIDE) workshop. Additionally, all faculty and staff in the Department of Internal Medicine are required to undergo training on unconscious bias. Content on DEI is prioritized within the didactic curriculum and several sessions are devoted to the intersection of DEI and aging. We also encourage and facilitate fellows’ participation in Geri-A-Float, a national teaching series for geriatric fellows emphasizing topics promoting health equity.
Fellows will have opportunities to get involved with House Officer Development Programs and the Office for Health Equality and Inclusion. Additionally, the Department of Internal Medicine has developed the IMPOWER (Inspiring Medicine to Promote Opportunities for Well-Being, Equity, and Diversity) Council to ensure our department promotes a compassionate and welcoming environment across all departmental activities. The IMPOWER Council welcomes trainee involvement. Fellows also have the opportunity to volunteer with Wolverine Street Medicine.
We strive to provide trainees with a diverse training environment. Fellows will train in a variety of University, Veteran Affairs, and community settings to ensure access to patient care that spans socioeconomic and geographic borders, preparing graduates to care for the aging population in any setting. Lastly, we are committed to having hard conversations and finding the time to allow trainees to participate in events and activities that matter to them and us, supporting both diversity and inclusivity.
We believe that trainee wellness is critically important for developing a compassionate workforce, well-poised to care for an aging population. Our program offers didactic sessions on topics such as burnout, suicide prevention, empathy, and resilience.
Quarterly, instead of didactic sessions, our program supports camaraderie-building activities outside of the hospital. Examples of past activities include trips to the apple orchard or spending an afternoon volunteering at Food Gatherers.
We maintain a policy for relieving trainees who feel excessively fatigued to ensure safe patient care. House staff at the University of Michigan also receive competitive benefit packages that include four weeks of vacation, ample sick leave, parental leave, and caregiver support for those caring for children or elderly dependents. Additionally, fellows have access to the following resources:
- Office of Counseling and Workplace Resilience: The Office of Counseling and Workplace Resilience serves the mental and emotional health needs of Michigan Medicine faculty and staff. They provide free and confidential counseling, consultation, coaching, and debriefing services. They also offer programs designed to reduce burnout and compassion fatigue and to foster resilience.
- House Officer Mental Health Program: Michigan Medicine's House Officer Mental Health Program has been providing mental health services to house officers since 1996. They support house officers through this significant, rewarding, and often stressful stage of life, conducting over 70 new evaluations annually. They treat a broad spectrum of mental health needs, including depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, ADHD, stress management, interpersonal difficulties, and work-life balance issues.
Fellowship
Geriatrics and Hospice/Palliative Care
Internal Medicine
Expand your career trajectory in a high-volume academic medical center that also supports and excels in a wide range of basic science, translational and clinical research programs.
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