Geriatric Interdisciplinary Fellowship Training (GIFT)
The Geriatric Interdisciplinary Fellowship Training (GIFT) program, in it’s fifth year at
Meridian Health, is an 8 week summer fellowship that offers medical, nursing and pharmacy
students an opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team to plan, deliver and evaluate care
to older adults across the continuum of services in an award winning health system in central NJ.
Students will be provided with experiences in a state of the art “Acute Care of the Elderly”
(ACE) Unit in a community hospital, will rotate through a university teaching hospital, a subacute unit, adult day care, home care, long term care and private practice settings. Under the
guidance of board certified geriatricians, geriatric pharmacists and geriatric advance practice
nurse, and geriatric clinical nurse scholars, the medical, nursing and pharmacy student will have
the opportunity to practice selected professional skills and procedures, participate in evidenced
based initiatives and quality improvement activities. An additional 2 hours per week will be
scheduled for professional seminars and team conferences.
A primary goal of the program is to encourage students to pursue a career in gerontology, thus,
qualified students with an interest in working with the older adult patient population are
particularly encouraged to apply.
Students participating in the GIFT program will receive training in a superb academic
environment with a commitment to providing the best care for older adults. Participants will be
scheduled to work 26 hours a week including two hours of lectures/group work. Students will be
paid an hourly stipend for participation in the program. The program is from June 2 to July 25,
2014 (Monday-Friday, no weekends).
Requirements
The program is open to nursing students (completed junior year), medical students and pharmacy
students (3rd and 4th professional year) actively enrolled in a professional training program.
Applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.2 and a demonstrated interest in
working with older adults.
To apply, visit www.meridianhealth.com and go to the recruitment tab. Search for Geriatric
Summer Fellowship and submit an online application. Interviews (telephone or in-person) will
be scheduled for March. Also send resume and letter of interest to Dr. Katie Militello, PharmD,
Dept of Pharmacy at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, 1954 State Route 33, Neptune, NJ
07753. You may also email your letter and resume to kmilitello@meridianhealth.com
Applications are due by February 28, 2014.