The fellowship program, sponsored by the Department of Internal Medicine, accepts a maximum of two new fellows per year. Applicants must be board-certified or -eligible in internal medicine or family practice and must be eligible for licensure in California in order to receive an appointment as a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis. Foreign nationals must have a training visa valid or renewable for the anticipated fellowship period at the time of application. The UC Davis Geriatrics Fellowship is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Graduates of the program will be eligible for the certifying exam in geriatric medicine, co-sponsored by the ABIM and AAFP.

We currently offer a one-year fellowship designed for physicians planning a career in clinical geriatrics. As a small program, the UC Davis Geriatrics Fellowship places an emphasis on the development of in-depth knowledge and exper-tise in Alzheimer disease and related dementias, while providing a broad exposure to the assessment and management of other geriatric syndromes. For the entire year, fellows spend 2 full days in the Alzheimer Disease Center (ADC) at UC Davis Medical Center and at the Martinez VAMC. In the ADC, fellows have an opportunity to work in an interdiscipli-nary environment that includes neurologists, a geriatrician, a geriatric psychiatrist, a neuropsychologist, and a social worker. The UC Davis ADC is part of a state-wide consortium of academic institutions collecting data on patients with dementia, and trainees will be exposed to its research activities.

Although most applications come from individuals completing their residencies, we welcome applications from prac-ticing physicians who are involved in resident education and wish to increase their knowledge and expertise in geriatric medicine, or who want to expand their involvement in the primary care of the frail elderly.

Our small fellowship unequivocally emphasizes training over service.

One year is a very short time to acquire all the knowledge and skills of a geriatrician, and thus it is not feasible to offer a true research experience in the first year. At the present time, the fellowship cannot guarantee funding for a second or third year devoted to research. Nevertheless, all fellows take an intensive, one-week introduction to clinical epi-demiology and study design early in the first year. For those interested in pursuing a career in public health or academia, this course provides the background to write grant applications for a research fellowship funded by organizations like the Hartford Foundation and the American Federation for Aging Research. The Fellowship Director and a mentor selected from the UC Davis SOM faculty will assist the fellow in preparing the grant application. Applications generally are due in the late autumn of the first year. During most of the year, the fellowship allots a half-day per week to self-study. This can be used in conjunction with electives, or can be devoted to an optional scholarly project, most often a review article or meta-analysis.

The clinical core of the geriatrics fellowship consists of longitudinal primary care experiences in the UC Davis Geriatrics Clinic, the Mather VA Geriatrics Clinic, and the teaching nursing home. In addition, each fellow spends 2 days per week in the Alzheimer Disease Center clinics. Other core experiences include palliative care and pain medicine, hospital-based home care, inpatient consultation, geriatric psychiatry, and the Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care.

To enhance the fellow’s knowledge base and clinical skills, a variety of longitudinal electives are available, depending on the fellow’s interest and room in the schedule. Electives include Osteoporosis Clinic, geriatric urology and urogy-necology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, geriatric dermatology, and geriatric rheumatology. The length of rotations can vary, and electives can be customized to meet specific training needs.

Available educational conferences include a geriatrics journal club, a weekly health services research journal club and seminar series, a weekly Alzheimer’s Disease journal club, weekly Internal Medicine Grand Rounds, and a weekly pre-clinic geriatrics seminar.

UC Davis Medical Center is one of five University of California teaching hospitals. As the primary clinical education site for the UC Davis School of Medicine, and the only area provider of many medical services, the medical center is an integral part of the health and well-being of Northern Californians.

UC Davis Medical Center is located on 140 acres in central Sacramento, three miles from the state Capitol, and 20 miles from the main UC Davis campus. The university established the medical center in 1973 to support the clinical and research missions of the then new UC Davis School of Medicine. Licensed for 528 beds and fully accredited, UC Davis Medical Center is the region's only Level I comprehensive adult and pediatric trauma center.

Sacramento, California’s capital city, sits at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, whose flood plains form California’s fertile Central Valley. With a metropolitan area of over 1 million, Sacramento boasts great cultural and ethnic diversity, with numerous recreational opportunities in the arts, theater, and fine dining. Sacramento is home to the Sacramento Kings basketball team and the Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball team. The Mondavi Center on the UC Davis campus is the region’s premier state-of-the-art performing arts center, hosting world-famous musicians, orchestras, ballet and dance groups, and theatrical productions. Both San Francisco to the west, the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east, and the Napa and Sonoma valleys to the north-west can be reached in less than two hours. Sacramento is considered one of the nation’s most integrated, multi-ethnic cities, resulting in a richly diverse patient population at UC Davis Medical Center.

Fellows receive a salary and benefits package that is in line with a PGY-4 resident. Compared to urban areas like San Francisco or Los Angeles, Sacramento’s cost of living is moderate.

Applications are available online through ERAS. For assistance with application requirements, please contact the Program Assistant, Julia Hamilton. You are also welcome to contact the Program Director, Dr. Calvin Hirsch.