Geriatric Education and GEDA Requirements

Interested in seeking Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation and curious as to what education is needed to apply? A physician champion / medical director is required for all levels of an accredited Geriatric ED. During the application process, this physician champion / medical director must demonstrate focused training in geriatric emergency medicine that provides added expertise in the emergency care of older adults and added ability to teach other physicians and advanced practice providers how to improve this care. This training requirement must be demonstrated through coursework:

1. focused on geriatric specific syndromes and concepts (e.g., atypical presentation of disease, changes with age, transitions of care) relevant to emergency medicine,
2. focused on clinical issues nearly exclusive to geriatric ED patients (e.g., end of life care, dementia, delirium, systems of care for older adults), or
3. discussing issues common to all ED patients but focused on the unique factors found in older adults (e.g., trauma in older adults, cardiac arrest care for the geriatric patient).

Qualifying training courses may be in-person, web based or equivalent provided through or led by an authoritative resource. So where can one find these courses? Resources include the Online Learning Center, Geri-EM.com, GEDC webinars.