Nursing centers do not control the training of their attending physicians, although they can and should retain the services of a geriatrician as medical director, if there is one available. In the absence of a geriatric specialist, a nursing center should request that its medical director take specialized continuing medical education (CME) credits that relate to geriatric medicine and specifically to post-acute and long term care. AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (www.PALTC.org), and its various state and regional chapters, are excellent sources of such education and training, both in person and online, for physicians, nurse practitioners, and others.

Some nursing centers and chains have written a requirement for a certain number of such educational hours annually into the medical director’s contract, or an expectation that the medical director complete the Core Curriculum in medical direction, obtaining a CMD (certified medical director) certification through the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM, www.ABPLM.org).

The Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA, www.GAPNA.org) and the American Geriatrics Society (www.americangeriatrics.org) are other excellent resources for education specific to the geriatric population and their care.