Grant Opportunities

Geriatric Academic Career Award

Program Guidance: Program Requirements

On this page

• Statutory Service Requirement
• Requirements for the Applicant
• Requirements for the Agreement with the Institution
• Requirements for the Career Development Plan
• Dissemination of Outcomes

A. Statutory Service Requirements
Prior to submitting an application for this Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA), individuals must have a signed agreement or certification stating that such an agreement will be signed with an accredited school of allopathic or osteopathic medicine. The agreement must set forth the terms and conditions of the Geriatric Academic Career Award. This agreement with the school must permit the individual to serve as a full-time member of the faculty (as determined by the school), for not less than the time provided under this award.

As provided by Section 753(c)(5) of the Public Health Service Act, an individual who receives an award under this subsection shall provide training in clinical geriatrics, including the training of interdisciplinary teams of health care professionals. The provision of such training shall constitute at least 75 percent of the obligations of such individual under the award.

In Fiscal Year 2007, the amount of the GACA will be approximately $64,153. The 75 percent of obligations referred to in the statutory service requirement means 75 percent of the amount of the faculty member's effort that would be covered by $64,153.

B. Requirements for the Applicant
BHPr will review the application for applicant requirements. The applicant must:

• Meet the eligibility requirements; and
• Submit a completed application package including the applicant's agreement with an accredited school of allopathic or osteopathic medicine (the Institution) and a Career Development Plan

C. Requirements for the Agreement with the Institution
BHPr will review the application for applicant's full-time appointment at the institution. The agreement with the Institution must demonstrate that the Institution will:

1. Appoint the applicant as a full-time faculty member for not less than the duration of the award period;
2. Commit to support the work of the applicant as required under this award's service requirements for each year for which the participant serves as a faculty member;
3. Agree to verify the participant's continuous service as a full-time faculty member at intervals deemed appropriate by the responsible Federal program official;
4. Provide assurance that the applicant is an integral part of the school's clinical, research and academic programs, and assist in identifying a faculty mentor for the applicant;
5. Allow sufficient access for the applicant to organizational infrastructure to impact curricula;
6. Encourage other school staff as appropriate to collaborate productively with the awardee; and
7. Develop and/or maintain partnerships with community-based organizations (such as managed care sites, rural health organizations and community health centers) that can provide high quality experiences that would not otherwise be available to the applicant.

D. Requirements for the Career Development Plan
The career development plan must include:

1. Career goals of the applicant and their relationship to the intent of the award which is to train others in clinical geriatrics, including training of interdisciplinary teams;
2. Career development objectives of the applicant with proposed dates by which these objectives will be achieved;
3. Specific plans for meeting the objectives including opportunities for the applicant to:
   (a) Meet the statutory service requirement;
   (b) Interact and learn from other clinician educators as well as other program participants at both the local and national levels;
   (c) Obtain the necessary pedagogical experience to facilitate further development, as an academician;
   (d) Engage in research and/or publication;
   (e) Become productive within national professional societies; and
   (f) Address HRSA's Cultural and Linguistic Competence related objectives.
4. A description of how the success of the career development plan will be measured and evaluated by the applicant and the mentor.

E. Dissemination of Outcomes
If an award is made, copies of any materials published or otherwise disseminated should include the following acknowledgement and disclaimer:

This project is/was supported by funds from the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), under grant number and title for $ (specify grant number, title and total award amount). The information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by the BHPR, HRSA, DHHS or the U.S. Government.