Creating a teaching geriatric service: ten important lessons.

The restructuring of The Medical Service at the Weill/Cornell campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, coupled with funding from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to strengthen physicians' training in geriatrics, enabled the creation of a geriatrics inpatient team and a 17-bed Acute Care for Elders unit. It has also allowed a program to be designed that exposes residents to the fundamental principles of geriatric care, offers them opportunities to follow older patients in multiple venues, and provides a chance to enhance their skills and gain experience in interdisciplinary care. In creating the service, a number of mistakes were made, but a few lessons were also learned in the process. After a brief description of the program, 10 lessons that highlight the pitfalls and potential of an inpatient geriatrics teaching service are shared.