Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program

About the Fellowship

Our purpose is to train the next generation of geriatricians that can understand the physical, psychological, social, and environmental needs of the aging person, and that will become proficient in providing them with the best possible care that meets their needs in the multitude of care settings.

The one-year clinical fellowship program focuses on the care of patients ages 65 and older across the continuum of health care settings. This includes caring for patients in ambulatory, acute, sub-acute and home settings. Fellows will become skillful at collaborative care by working in an interdisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and geriatric case managers.

Fellows will engage in learning through different curricular activities and develop teaching and leadership skills through one-on-one mentorship. Fellows will have the opportunity to teach patients, families, medical residents and students. This all resonates with the aims of Mass General to deliver the very best health care in a safe, compassionate environment; to advance care through innovative research and education; and to improve the health and well-being of the diverse communities we serve.

Candidates interested in pursuing additional training in geriatric research or medical education are eligible to apply to the Second Year Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program through our affiliation with the Veterans Affairs’ Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs). This second year provides additional training under the guidance of faculty from the VA Boston Division of the New England GRECC and Harvard Medical School. Geriatrics fellows may apply during their clinical fellowship year. For additional information please contact our program coordinator.

Clinical Experience

Fellows will learn expert care of older patients across the continuum of care supervised by Geriatric Medicine faculty from Mass General and affiliated sites.

Block Rotations (4 weeks)

• Two blocks of inpatient care at the Mass General Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS)
• One block of ambulatory care at the interdisciplinary Geriatric Medicine Clinic at Mass General
• One block of Skilled Nursing Facility and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Nursing and Therapy Center Brighton
• One block of Palliative Care at Mass General Inpatient Pall Care consult service
• One block of Geriatric Psychiatry at North Shore Medical Center
• One block with the Mass General Dementia Care Collaborative
• One block at Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
• One block of Specialty clinics at Mass General
• One block at VA Bedford Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) unit
• One block at VA Brockton Community Living Center (CLC)
• Two blocks of elective rotation / vacation

Longitudinal Rotations

• Geriatric Primary Care Clinic: Weekly clinic at the Mass General Geriatric Medicine Clinic
• Geriatric Consultation Clinic: Monthly clinic session at the Mass General Geriatric Medicine Clinic
• Nursing Home panel: Monthly half-day session
• Home Care: Monthly hald-day sessions 

Curriculum

The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship curriculum was designed using a competency-based framework to teach and evaluate based on the Curricular Milestones for Graduating Geriatric Fellows proposed by the American Geriatric Society.

Didactic Activities

Weekly activities include:

• Didactic sessions
• Core Didactic Conferences (2 hours weekly in July and August)
• Geriatric Medicine Conference (1 hour weekly September through June)
• Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics Grand Rounds (1 hour weekly September through June)
• VA Geriatric Grand Rounds (1 hour weekly)
• Department of Medicine Grand Rounds (1 hour weekly September through June)

Fellows also participate in:

• Monthly Journal Clubs
• Weekly Case Discussions
• Quarterly seminars on
  • Quality Improvement
  • Clinical Teaching
  • Communication
  • Leadership
• Develop poster/abstract to submit at national or local meetings
• Develop, implement, evaluate and present a quality improvement project
• Prepare a presentation under faculty mentoring to give at the Division’s Grand Rounds at the end of the academic year
• Prepare a presentation under faculty mentoring to give to a lay audience at the Geriatric Medicine Virtual Town Hall
• Mid-year Geriatric objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)
• Attend the Harvard Medical School Geriatric Review Course (optional)

Our fellows also have the opportunity to participate in the innovative cross-specialty courses offered by the Mass General Brigham Centers of Expertise

These include:

• Global and Community Health
• Health Policy and Management
• Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
• Medical Education

For additional information about the MGB Centers of Expertise, visit the site and watch their video.

Additional Educational and Professional Development Resources for Our Fellows

• Harvard Medical School Countway Library
• Mass General Treadwell Library
• Mentoring and career advising opportunities within the Mass General Brigham community
• Massachusetts Medical Society membership
• American Geriatric Society (AGS) membership 6 months prior and during the fellowship year including reimbursement for attending the annual AGS conference
• Online access to the AGS Geriatric Review Syllabus (GRS) board certification study guides'
• Online access to the AGS CoCare: Ortho® Educational curriculum

Scholarship Opportunities and Research

In 2019, Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH joined the team as the inaugural Minaker Chair in Geriatrics and Director of Research for the Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics. An expert in advanced illness and multimorbidity, Dr. Ritchie brings a wealth of clinical and research experience to the Division and the Department of Medicine at Mass General. She also established a Center for Aging and Serious Illness (CASI) in the Mongan Institute. The Center is designed to bring together researchers across Mass General who will focus on improving the well-being of older adults and enhancing the lived experience of those with advanced illnesses applying methods from intervention, implementation, population health, and health policy research. The Center partners with Mongan Institute investigators and researchers across Mass General, and the Boston community as a whole, to find innovative solutions to health-related challenges that an increasing number of older adults will face in the years to come.

During the fellowship, there will be various opportunities to get involved in research projects. Depending on the interest, fellows can discuss interests with the program director who will help identify feasibility, resources and mentoring.

There are many different areas in which fellows can get involved with research projects, including:

• Geriatric Oncology
• Ortho-Geriatrics
• Geriatric Cardiology
• Dementia
• Geri-ED

Current Fellows

Linsey Barker, DO
lebarker@mgh.harvard.edu 

Linsey received her bachelor's degree in Psychiatry from The College of the Holy Cross. Prior to attending medical school in her home state of Maine at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, she participated in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Oakland, CA. There, she worked at a non-traditional high school for 18-25-year-olds running the food pantry, organizing school outings, and aiding in the school's Shakespeare productions. She also worked as a private tutor teaching mathematics and sciences to high schoolers in Connecticut. She completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, MA, followed by an additional year as Chief Resident. During her residency, she participated in the Primary Care Leadership Pathway and proudly accepted the award for Excellence in Palliative Care. She is thrilled to be continuing her education in Geriatric Medicine at MGH, where she hopes to hone her skills in providing individualized medical care to older adults and continuing her training in medical education.

Catherine Lumb, MD
clumb@mgh.harvard.edu

Catherine received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. She later attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. She stayed at UAB for a residency in internal medicine which she will complete in June 2022. During residency she took a special interest in health care disparities and enjoyed working at a local free clinic for patients with uncontrolled diabetes.

She is interested in continuing to work with underserved communities and expanding access to care for all patients through home visits. She also has a strong interest in medical education for both students and residents.

Julia Gallagher, MD
jgallagher0@partners.org 

Julia has served as the Medical Director of the Home Based Palliative Care (HBPalC) Program since its inception at MGH and has helped to grow the program from a localized pilot into a robust, comprehensive program serving MGB patients across the greater Boston metro area. Julia has always been passionate about Geriatric care and is very excited about the opportunity to further expand her clinical skillset. Since the onset of the pandemic, she has joined and enriched our Geriatrics team in their patient care meetings and has helped to support various Geriatric initiatives in the Division.

Mass General Faculty

• Sharon Levine, MD, AGSF
  
  • Section Chief, Geriatric Medicine
• Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH
  
  • Director of Research, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine
  • Director, Mongan Institute Center for Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Esteban Franco Garcia, MD, AGSF
  
  • Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program
  • Medical Director, Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS)
• Matthew Russell, MD
• Masaya Higuchi, MD, MPH, AGSF
• Chuck Pu, MD
• Deborah Lee, MD
• Warren Backman, MBBS
• Kathryn Hanley, MD
• Sevdenur Cizginer, MD, MPH
• Elizabeth Linderberger, MD

Application Requirements

Requirements to apply for our ACGME-accredited Geriatric Medicine Fellowship include:

• Applicants must have completed residency in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine successfully and in good standing prior to the start of their fellowship
• ABIM or ABFM board-certified or board-eligible
• Completion and passing of all three USLME steps prior to the start of the fellowship
• Applicants with H-1B or J-1 visa are accepted. A valid ECFMG certificate for all foreign medical graduates is required
• The accepted applicant must obtain a full or limited Massachusetts Physician license (limited license if on a visa)

How to Apply

The Massachusetts General Hospital Fellowship Program in Geriatric Medicine will be processing applications through the Electronic Residency Application (ERAS) Fellowships system. Only applicants who have completed a 3-year residency in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine at an ACGME-accredited residency program will be considered.

We offer two fellowship positions each academic year through the National Matching Program (NRMP®).

Please submit the following application materials via ERAS portal:

• Curriculum vitae
• A personal statement describing the applicant's interest in and commitment to a career in geriatric medicine
• Three or four letters of recommendation, one of which should be from the applicant's department head, program director or division chief
• USMLE transcript

Timeline

• Early June: Applications accepted via ERAS®
• Program starts reviewing applications in late July and starts sending invitations by mid-August
• September 1: Application deadline (we usually fill all interview spots by this date)
• Interviews are conducted on Fridays September through October. Interviews will be conducted via live video-conferencing. Applicants will meet with our program leadership, faculty and current fellows. No candidates (even local) will be interviewed in person
• Early December: Match results released
• For more information about the Match process, please visit the NRMP® website