The Department of Medicine at NYU Long Island School of Medicine offers a one-year Geriatric Medicine Fellowship that provides fellows high-quality clinical and academic experiences to graduate as expert geriatricians. Fellows gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to provide expert care for a wide range of older adult populations, including functionally independent community dwellers, frail nursing home residents, and acutely ill hospitalized patients.

The fellowship program, led by Lucy O. Macina, MD, FACP, has been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) since its inception in 1990.

Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program aims include training physicians in the following competencies:

• attain the knowledge of geriatric medicine through clinical experience and didactic sessions so that upon completion of the fellowship, fellows will be competent to provide comprehensive care to older patients and pass the geriatric certifying examination
• attain skills in clinical geriatric medicine to provide excellent care in the inpatient, outpatient, nursing home, and home settings
• learn how to provide transition of care to elderly individuals as they move from various healthcare settings by working with interprofessional teams, and to advocate for improvement in healthcare systems to provide for cost-effective care to the elderly
• learn how to monitor and improve the practice of medicine by participating in quality improvement activities
• attain attributes of honesty, integrity, and respect for people of all ethnic, cultural, religious, and gender backgrounds
• learn how to plan ahead, balance duties of life and work, and work in a collegial manner with other physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and administrative staff
• develop skills to appropriately communicate with patients and families about their health and treatment, and to develop skills in discussions related to end-of-life and goals of care

Our expert and highly dedicated faculty, who regularly present at national and state meetings and hold leadership positions in various academic geriatric organizations, provide close supervision and mentoring in all clinical settings. In addition to certification in geriatric medicine, our core faculty also hold board certifications in clinical pharmacology and hospice and palliative medicine, which translates to a rich educational experience for fellows. Our attending faculty to fellow ratio is 2-to-1.

Geriatric clinical pharmacology, neuropsychology, hospice and palliative medicine, and clinical ethics are integrated into the academic structure. Fellows also work closely with a neuropsychologist to learn how to perform cognitive assessments. Our teaching staff includes a certified geriatric pharmacologist and a licensed social worker specializing in geriatric medicine. Palliative experiences include training with hospice- and palliative-certified physicians and nurse practitioners, and a licensed social worker specializing in palliative care.

Our one-year curriculum focuses on gaining comprehensive clinical skills in a number of settings. We provide outpatient experiences in neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation, as well as training in wound care, urology and urogynecology, and skilled nursing facility medical directorship. Graduates of our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship have pursued a variety of careers including as medical directors, private practitioners in a range of settings, geriatric hospitalists, and geriatric academics, as well as pursued additional subspecialty training.

Learn more about the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship from our alumni.

Clinical Training

Your clinical training takes place at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island and other skilled nursing home and outpatient settings. Our fellowship offers both primary care–based and subspecialty-based geriatric medicine, preparing you for your choice of diverse career paths. Fellows are active participants, functioning as a junior attending or primary physician on most rotations. You rotate through a wide array of geriatric care services:

• inpatient service, providing care to hospitalized older adult patients as primary hospital care providers and through geriatric medicine consults
• outpatient practice, including home visits, in addition to the weekly continuity clinic
• skilled nursing facility for subacute rehabilitation and long-term care
• geriatric psychiatry, with a focus on the consultation–liaison service
• palliative and hospice care, including home hospice visits
• physical medicine and rehabilitation, focusing on neurophysiatry and musculoskeletal physiatry in both outpatient and inpatient settings
• neurology, focusing on neurologic conditions prevalent in older adults, such as movement disorders, strokes, and seizures, in the outpatient setting
• optional electives in palliative care, wound care, and nursing home medical directorship

Palliative Care Elective

The palliative care elective is a specialized educational experience that provides additional palliative training. In addition to the one-month inpatient palliative/home hospice rotation that all fellows receive, fellows who choose the palliative care elective have an additional two-week palliative experience. The additional experience includes one week at Calvary Hospital and one week focused on the inpatient hospice/inpatient palliative care unit with an affiliated hospice agency.

Wound Care Elective

The wound care elective is a focused educational experience that provides specialized wound care training with the NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island Wound Healing team. Fellows spend two weeks with the team focusing on topical wound care treatments, debridement (at the bedside and in the operating room), and hyperbaric treatments. In addition to wound care management, fellows are trained on wound care risk assessment and multifaceted approaches to improve wound healing.

Nursing Home Medical Directorship Elective

The nursing home medical directorship elective is a specialized experience beyond the traditional nursing home experiences in the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship. Fellows spend two weeks at an affiliated skilled nursing facility with a certified medical director. This rotation focuses on administrative nursing home duties in a large nursing home environment that provides complex care including hemodialysis and many other specialty care services on-site.

Didactic Training

The Geriatric Medicine Fellowship offers an extensive academic and didactic curriculum. Fellows attend conferences including Geriatric Ground Rounds, journal club, board review, and core conferences. In these conferences, fellows receive the latest updates in treatments related to the care of older adults, hear from faculty and guest speakers, prepare articles for presentation, and learn how to approach patient care with a team-based problem-solving approach.

Fellows also participate in multidisciplinary conferences and series. Among them is the Alzheimer’s case conference, which includes physicians, nursing, and social work staff from neurology, psychiatry, geriatric medicine, home care, and other fields. Our neuropsychology series, presented by a neuropsychologist, addresses the role of neuropsychology testing in diagnosing dementia and other cognitive disorders. Regional leaders in nursing home medical directorship roles also present to fellows.

Fellows are encouraged to participate in the biannual educational meetings of the New York Medical Directors Association and the educational meetings of the Metropolitan Area Geriatrics Society. All fellows are involved with teaching medical students, interns, and residents from NYU Long Island School of Medicine.

Research Opportunities

Numerous research opportunities are available to our fellows. You may join an ongoing research project or develop your own with faculty mentoring. Faculty and fellows have published in many journals including the Annals of Internal Medicine, Clinical Geriatrics, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

We provide support for fellows to attend geriatric conferences. Fellows have presented their research at national conferences including the American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Directors Association, and Society of Geriatric Cardiology.

Learn more about our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship research projects.

How to Apply

We accept applications through the Electronic Residency Application Services (ERAS) and participate in the National Resident Matching Program, also known as The Match. Your application must include the following items:

• a common application form
• your CV
• a personal statement
• a transcript from your medical school
• scores from the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA)
• a valid Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certificate, if applicable
• scores from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
• your visa status
• three letters of recommendation

Four fellowship positions are available each year.

Contact Us

For more information about our Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, please contact the director, Lucy O. Macina, MD, FACP, at lucy.macina@nyulangone.org or 516-663-4640.

You may also contact Jennifer Brown, academic coordinator of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, at jennifer.brown2@nyulangone.org.

Learn more about graduate medical education programs at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, including our commitment to diversity, and access information for house staff such as benefits, policies, and services.