School of Medicine

My original intent of this independent study project was to experience and map the interdisciplinary avenues in which older individuals receive mental health care at UCSD and in the San Diego community. I designed my own rotation where I rotated through Senior Behavioral Health Program at the UC San Diego Hillcrest Medical Center, the UC San Diego Senior Intensive Outpatient Program at Hillcrest, the VA outpatient geopsychiatry clinic, MARC (Memory, Age and Resilience Clinic which provides Geriatric Psychiatry, Geriatric Medicine, Neuropsychology testing and social work assessments), and SNF visits with geriatric medicine. I also spent a day with the social work of Senior Behavior Health and two days at the Glenner Center's senior day program. I attended geriatric psychiatry weekly didactics and a demnetia caregivers support group. To augment my experience, I read Chicken Soup for the Soul: living with Alzheimer's & Other Dementias: 101 Stories of Caregiving, Coping, and Compassion. To convey my experiences best, I will tell the stories of patients who I cared for and followed through different levels of car/interdisciplinary fields and patients who exemplified important topics in geriatric care. I will weave into these stories literature review and current guidelines of practice when relevant.