Fellowship in Geriatric Medicine

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 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.

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)

• Three blocks of Skilled Nursing Facility and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Nursing and Therapy Center Brighton
• Two blocks of inpatient care at the Mass General Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS)
• One block of Palliative Care at Mass General Inpatient Pall Care consult service
• One block of Home Care in the different home-based care programs available at Mass General
• One block of Geriatric Psychiatry at Salem Hospital
• 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 of elective rotation

Longitudinal Rotations

• Geriatric primary care and consultation panel: Weekly clinic at the Geriatric Medicine practice
• Nursing Home panel: Monthly 1-day session at Marquis, North End nursing home

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 (September through June)
• Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics Grand Rounds
• Department of Medicine Grand Rounds

Fellows also participate in:

• Monthly Journal Clubs
• Monthly Case Discussions
• Quarterly seminars on
  • Quality Improvement
  • Clinical Teaching
  • Communication
  • Leadership
• Develop poster/abstract to present at national or local meeting
• 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
• Mid-year Geriatric objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Fellows will participate in this inter-institutional educational activity with colleagues from other local geriatric fellowship programs
• Attend the Harvard Medical School Geriatric Review Course
• Attend the American Geriatric Society Annual Meeting

Our fellows will 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

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 Research 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 will partner 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

Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics

Candidates interested in pursuing additional training in Research and Education can apply for the VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics. This post-specialty 2-year program offered by the Veterans Affairs’ Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) provides additional training in Geriatrics Education and Research 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 fellowship year. For additional information please contact our program coordinator.

Current Fellows

Meenakshi Dagar, MBBS
mdagar@mgh.harvard.edu

Meenakshi Dagar received her medical degree from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences in India. She completed her internal medicine residency at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, MD in 2014. She received several out-patient attending of the year awards as an Assistant Professor of IM at the University of Arizona. Her key interest lie in preventative medicine, bioethics, advanced care planning and cost-effective care for patients.

Melissa P. D’Souza, MD
mpdsouza@mgh.harvard.edu

Melissa D’Souza received her Medical Degree cum laude from St. George's University in Grenada in 2017. She completed her Internal Medicine residency in 2020 at Albany Medical College and Hospital Centre, Albany, NY. Her main interests are in creating systems to help aid in disease prevention and progression, by incorporating multidisciplinary teams into outpatient geriatric clinics.

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
  
  • Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program
  • Medical Director, Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS)
• Matthew Russell, MD
  
  • Clinical Director, Geriatric Medicine section
  • Medical Director, Mass General Geriatric Medicine
• Juan Carlos Nunez Medina, MD
  
  • Mass General Geriatric Medicine. Geriatric Primary Care. GIFTS Program Attending
• Masaya Higuchi, MD
  
  • Mass General Geriatric Medicine. Geriatric Primary Care. Harvard Medical School Preceptor for 3rd Year Primary Care Experience. Board Member, Mass General Primary Care Operation Improvement. Fellow Primary Care Clinic
• Chuck Pu, MD
  
  • Mass General Hospital, Complex Care Team, McGovern Services. Mass General GIFTS Attending. Medical Director Mass General Brigham Center for Population Health, overseeing Care Continuum, Post Acute Care Programs (Mass General Brigham SNF Network, Mass General Brigham SNF Waiver Program, Transitions Care Program, Advanced Home Programs (Hospital at Home, Mobile Obs, CHF Telemetry) and Mass General Brigham Hospice Network)
• Deborah Lee, MD
  • Mass General Geriatric Medicine. Geriatric Primary Care & Consultations
• Warren Backman, MBBS
  
  • Mass General Geriatric Medicine. Geriatric Primary Care & Consultations

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 will offer two fellowship positions through the National Matching Program (NRMP®) each year starting July 1.

Please submit the following application materials via ERAS portal by August 15:

• 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®
• September 1: Application deadline (we do not review applications submitted after this date)

• Program starts reviewing applications mid-August. Interviews conducted September through October. To abide by public health recommendations regarding limited travel and continued social distancing, and for the health and safety of applicants and program staff, this year all interviews will be conducted via live video-conferencing with our program leadership and faculty. 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