The UCSF clinical training program in geriatric medicine is a 12-month experience designed for physicians who have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited residency in internal medicine or family practice. Those who complete the clinical fellowship will be eligible for the ABIM/ABFP examination for the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine. Many clinical fellows have chosen to stay beyond the clinical year to pursue advanced training leading to academic careers in research and/or clinical education.

The clinical opportunities allow fellows to explore both the depth and breadth of geriatric medicine through longitudinal primary care experiences and block rotations in a variety of clinical settings. The fellowship is based at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC), but utilizes a wide variety of academic and community based programs for clinical training. San Francisco is home to an ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse population of elders, and boasts many innovative aging programs, making it an ideal location for clinical geriatric training.

An on campus long-term care facility at the SFVAMC provides fellows with experiences in long-term, post-acute and palliative care. Fellows provide longitudinal ambulatory primary care at both the SFVAMC and community-based sites precepted by UCSF geriatrics faculty. Block rotations include inpatient hospital-based geriatric and palliative care consultation, geriatric psychiatry, neurology, rehabilitation medicine and housecalls along with an experience in medical direction. Community partnerships with On Lok Senior Health, The Jewish Home for the Aged, North of Market Senior Services, the Over Sixty Health Center, Laguna Honda Hospital, and Lakeside Senior Services provide exposure to an assortment of care delivery models.

Direct clinical teaching is supplemented by weekly core curriculum, palliative care and ambulatory lecture series, journal club and geriatrics grand rounds. The curriculum includes core material in geriatrics and gerontology, teaching and educational scholarship, critical review of the medical literature, and diversity and ethnogeriatrics. Fellows are expected to produce a scholarly project in collaboration with faculty.