The Last Socially Acceptable Prejudice (AGEM Sponsored)

Discrimination in healthcare has long been prevalent in the US. Woman, persons of color, economically disadvantaged and those who identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community to name a few have suffered considerable morbidity and mortality as a result of healthcare inequities and outright discrimination. Despite ongoing efforts within the health care field, emergency medicine and medical education to identify and remedy many such discriminatory practices, ageism remains a seemingly acceptable prejudice that is rampant in our Departments and Hospitals. Through case-based learning, this session will define ageism and, most importantly, ensure the learner is able to recognize prejudices against older adults, the consequences of such biases and ways to avoid ageist practices, the “last” socially acceptable prejudice. At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to quickly and easily recognize ageism in emergency medicine, describe the health consequences associated with ageism and implement ways to avoid ageism when caring for older adults.

Presenters:

Phillip Magidson, MD, MPH, FACEP, FACP

Authors

Phillip Magidson, MD, MPH, FACEP, FACP

Johns Hopkins University

I'm an emergency medicine physician and geriatrician with a special interest in geriatric emergency medicine and acute care of older adults. I received my medical degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC and completed a combined emergency medicine/internal medicine residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD followed by a geriatric fellowship at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, also in Baltimore, MD. Currently, I'm on faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with dual appointments in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. Although I spend the bulk of my clinical time in the emergency department, championing the care of older adults, I actively practice inpatient internal medicine and inpatient geriatric consultation.