by Tim Gieseke MD, CMD

Chair Education CALTCM

One of my hospitalist friends is moving from a many year focus on Hospitalist medicine to Post-Acute and Long Term Care Medicine (PA-LTC).  This year AMDA (American Medical Directors Association) changed its name to AMDA- The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, in recognition of the multidisciplinary approach required for optimal patient outcomes. The easy answer to my friend's question then is to go to newly minted AMDA, PA-LTC's Core Curriculum for the CMD certificate in San Diego this November. (Part of the Core Curriculum can now be done online.)(click here for more information.)  

However, if that isn’t possible, I have found a number of resources quite helpful.  

Joining AMDA-PAC-LTC (www.amda.com) provides free access to the regulations, weekly electronic newsletter, public policy work, and their 2 journals, JAMDA and Caring for the Ages.  In addition, for members, access at a discount to multiple clinical practice guidelines and tools becomes available.  These are now available electronically, so they are accessible by mobile physicians at work by laptop or IPAD or Android tablets.  In addition, the annual meeting in March is a great way to recharge your batteries for this challenging work, to meet like-minded committed educators and practitioners, and to be challenged by presentations that may seem tangential at first, but surprise you by how practice altering they can be.  For about the last 8 years, a prescription can be purchased from PROlibraries (www.prolibraries.com) of all 70 presentations of each year’s meeting.  This web site has an excellent search engine which I’ve used for efficiently addressing clinical questions arising from my LTC work.  This is the web site which also provides access to my webinars that AMDA provides members throughout the year.  

Joining CALTCM (California Association of Long Term Care Medicine; www.caltcm.org) has similar benefits.  We too have an electronic newsletter (the WAVE) and a valuable annual meeting, but our focus is more state and community focused.  We partner with many organizations in our state to provide practical information affecting the care of your patient.  Membership also provides access to the digital presentations at our annual meeting.  Our past WAVE issues are also available on the web site and easily accessible.  

Finally, I have enjoyed the work of AGS (American Geriatrics Society; www.americangeriatrics.org).  Their weekly electronic newsletters have helpful white papers addressing LTC issues.  JAGS (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) is a member benefit.  In addition, their Health in Aging web site (www.healthinaging.org) has helpful patient education centered on common geriatric issues.  Members now have ready built “GeriatricsCareOnline” resource of their library of materials from AGS with free resources like the power points for last Springs AGS annual meeting, assessing driver safety, geriatric gem tools, and making ERs friendly for geriatric patients.  This is where my electronic version of Geriatric Review Syllabus, Version 8 resides.  I use this for focused study.  In addition, I have purchased the 66 teaching slides on the GRS, which can be customized for in-services applicable to multiple settings.  I also recommend the 2 apps.  IGERIATRICS (free) has Beers Criteria, Cultural Navigator, Psych Consult, Immunization Guide, A.Fib Management, and Falls guidelines.  For a small price “Geriatrics At Your Finger Tips” is available providing easy access to many resources that help us supplement memory based bedside care.  

As American health care moves more toward accountable coordination of care, health professionals who specialize in LTC will find a niche worth “mining”.  Like palliative care, I predict specialty recognition in LTC in the not too distant future.  

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