MISSION VIEJO : Program for Elderly, Young Doctors Begins

A UC Irvine doctor has begun an experimental program involving a group of young doctors and elderly patients in an attempt to bridge the generation gap.

About 23 medical students are mingling with residents of Heritage Pointe retirement home in Mission Viejo for a series of lectures and small group discussions this month on ethics and medical issues for senior citizens.

“The elderly have prejudices about young physicians,” said Dr. Jerome Tobis, 79, a professor emeritus specializing in geriatric studies at UCI. And, he said, “there are many negative factors that influence doctors’ attitudes toward the elderly.”

Funded by a $10,000 state grant, the course will expose students to “people living in a retirement community and help them become more sensitive to the needs and the potential of the elderly,” Tobis said.

Tobis said some physicians don’t like to deal with senior citizens because those doctors “have an inherent fear about death, and seeing elderly persons reminds them of their own mortality.”

Retirees often come into their physician’s office “suspecting that a young doctor isn’t sympathetic, isn’t going to listen to them. Doctors can threaten their autonomy.”

The first step to defuse suspicion between the generations will be a get-acquainted dinner at the retirement home. Later, sessions will be held at UCI on subjects such as elderly abuse and death and dying.