Elder Hypertension Project
University of Nebraska College of Medicine
As a required component to the M1 Integrated Clinical Experience core, M1 students visited assisted living facilities to provide blood pressure screening and to provide educational materials on health care maintenance. The purpose of this exercise was to introduce students to healthy aged earlier in their medical education, thereby improving attitudes toward the elderly.
1.) Introduce 1st year medical students to positive role models of aging. 2.) Provide basic training in blood pressure evaluation and the unique problems of hypertension in the elderly. Learners should be able to: 1. Perform BP screening on older adults. 2. Take dietary, exercise and hypertension information from older adults. 3. Understand normal and abnormal blood pressures for elders. 4. Understand some of the social/physiologic/economic/dietary factors of aging and blood pressure control. 5. Gain insight into both healthy and pathologic aging.
Best implemented in 1st year of medical school in a classroom environment, followed by a visit to an assisted living facility.