Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Website!
Since 1978, our comprehensive training program, led by a dedicated, and highly skilled faculty, has prepared over 140 trainees with the clinical experience, medical education skills, research expertise, and leadership development, needed to advance the next generation of healthcare for older adults.
We take pride in ensuring that each graduate of our program is fully equipped to provide exceptional patient care, lead educational initiatives, and shape the future of geriatrics in a variety of settings. Our fellows go on to impactful careers in academic medicine and private practice, working in geriatric outpatient settings, specialized hospital inpatient units and geriatric consult services, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) centers, and patients’ homes. Many serve as medical educators, medical directors, program developers, researchers, consultants, and advocates both nationally and internationally.
A Robust and Dynamic Training Experience
Our curriculum offers a well-rounded foundation in clinical geriatrics while providing hands-on experience in quality improvement, interprofessional collaboration, and medical education. Fellows train alongside nurse practitioners, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, dietitians, case managers, and specialist colleagues to inform care decisions and enhance the quality of life for older adults. We are committed to training the next generation of geriatric educators, ensuring our graduates are well-prepared to teach and mentor future healthcare providers.
Leadership & Research Opportunities
We emphasize leadership development, equipping fellows with the skills to take on administrative, teaching, advocacy, and policy-making roles in geriatrics. Fellows engage in scholarly projects, including medical education, health systems innovation, and age friendly research supported by our Division of Geriatrics faculty.
Our Training Sites & Academic Resources
Fellows train primarily at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in addition to community nursing facilities. Located on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus in University City, West Philadelphia, our fellows have access to unparalleled academic resources, mentorship, and groundbreaking clinical research spanning multiple disciplines.
Recent Program Achievements:
- Development of innovative curricula in medical education and faculty development, preparing fellows to become future leaders in geriatric education.
- Expansion of quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving care of older adults.
- Increased opportunities for fellows to present at national conferences, publish research, and engage in interdisciplinary collaborations.
- Strengthened partnerships with community-based aging organizations to enhance patient-centered care and advocacy efforts.
At Penn Medicine, we are committed to excellence and innovation in geriatric care. We look forward to learning more about you and your potential to join us as a future leader in Geriatric Medicine!
Message from the Director
Thank you for your interest in the Geriatric Fellowship Program of the University of Pennsylvania.
Geriatrics is ultimately about compassion. It is about learning to see suffering and moving towards it. Regardless of where a patient is at (physically or emotionally), the goal is to meet them there. Training in geriatrics is therefore training in compassion.
The clinical year is focused on learning about taking care of individual patients and the systems of care that affect them. Whether it is healthy aging, multimorbidity, dementia, or end of life care, fellows will train in managing complex older adults with skillful simplicity to help them live the best lives they can. Fellows will train with a large faculty in the care of the older adult in the
hospital, office, post-acute, long-term care and home-based settings.
The goal of this academic fellowship program is to produce geriatricians who will scale compassion for the older adult at a systems level through health system leadership, innovative research and education. For those interested in further training to prepare for an academic career, there are opportunities to have second and third years focused on education, quality improvement and health leadership, research and areas of clinical focus. Many of these opportunities include getting a certificate or master's degree.
In order to care for the incredibly diverse population of older adults who each have their own individual story, this requires us to have physicians who can deeply connect to each story. Please consider applying for our fellowship program. I would love to welcome you into the community of geriatricians.
Joshua Uy, MD