Meeting the Physical Therapy Needs of the Baby Boomers: Curriculum Development for Physical Therapy Continuing Education and Residency Programs to Encourage More Geriatric Clinical Specialists

The medical profession overall, including physical therapy, has insufficient geriatric specialists to meet the upcoming needs of the baby boomer generation. The geriatric clinical specialist (GCS) is a physical therapist who has voluntarily prepared for an examination to confirm their skills as a geriatric clinician, There are currently only 684 GCS in the United States. This project examines the reasons behind the lack of geriatric specialists, and through a survey methodology establishes the educational needs of clinicians to help them prepare for the GCS examination. A curriculum has been developed, analyzed by peers and is presented as either the didactic portion of a residency program or a series of continuing education courses designed to help transition new graduates and current clinicians into geriatric clinical specialists.