Attitudes, experiences, and interest in geriatrics of first-year allopathic and osteopathic medical students.

A cross-sectional survey was designed to assess interest in geriatric medicine of allopathic and osteopathic medical students and to determine whether their career interests were related to past experiences with and current attitudes toward older adults. The study was conducted at an allopathic and osteopathic medical school with 231 first-year medical students. Experiences with elderly people were measured using survey questions assessing amount and quality of experiences with grandparents, as well as experiences caring for, volunteering with, or having a paid position working with older adults.