Geriatrics

Aging

Students will be expected to describe and support patients in the following aspects of aging:

• physiologic changes with age
• seniors, family, and society
• frailty
• mobility

health care

Students will be able to describe effective principles of: care of the elderly polypharmacy transitions of care palliative care

Students will be expected to describe and demonstrate the appropriate use of: comprehensive geriatric assessment mini mental status exam brief cognitive rating scale competency assessment mobility and balance assessment transfers

 

 

 

 

Clinical Presentations

Students will be able to describe atypical presentation and to evaluate, create a differential diagnosis for, and initially manage:

• acute confusion
• shortness of breath
• falls
• memory loss

Conditions and Diseases

Students will be able describe the pathophysiology of, diagnose, and manage the following conditions and diseases:

• dementia
• delirium
• depression
• Parkinson's disease
• diabetes
• congestive heart failure
• urinary incontinence

Cases and Questions

Students will be expected to complete and understand the following cases and questions:

 

Cases

• 10 dementia mini-cases
• Alton Simmons (delerium)
• Bill Cormier (dementia)
• Alice Chalmers (falls, fracture)
• Floyd Realton (competency)

 

 

 

Questions   (hover over underlined word for answer)

 

1. Why are the following medications poor choices for use in the elderly? Give alternatives. (more information)

• amitriptyline   answer
• meperidine   answer
• metoclopramide   answer
• benztropine ( for EPSE for haloperidol)   answer
• NSAIDS   answer

 

2. What are the side effects for the following medications?

• warfarin   answer
• omeprazole   answer
• ACEi   answer

 

3. List the 'geriatric giants' of atypical disease presentation in seniors.

answer   (more information)

 

 

4. What are the components of the comprehensive geriatric assessment?
answer   (more information)

 

 

5. An 80 year-old woman weighing 50 kg has a serum creatinine of 140. What is her creatine clearance? answer   (more information)

An 90 year-old man weighing 70 kg has a serum creatinine of 190. What is his creatine clearance? answer

 

 

6. What is the life expectancy of a 75 yo male in Canada and 85 yo female in Canada?

answer   (more information)

 

 

 

7. Name four signs of an upper motor neuron lesion.
answer   (more information)

 

 

8. What is the mechanism of action for donepezil, used for treating Alzheimer's disease?

answer   (more information)

 

 

9. What are the recommended treatments for CHF?
answer   (more information)

 

 

10. Describe the NYHA classes of congestive heart failure

 

 

 

Mr Johanneson, a 82 year-old man, describes difficulty lying flat on his back while sleeping due to his shortness of breath.

What is the term for this condition?

A: dyspnea
B: hypopnea
C: apnea
D: orthopnea
E: paradoxical nocturnal dyspnea

answer   more information