Fellowship Programs
Geriatrics Fellowship Program
Welcome to the UC Davis Geriatrics Fellowship Program in Sacramento, CA. Our innovative fellowship is designed to prepare fellows for excellence in clinical care, teaching, scholarship, research, quality improvement, and health care administration. Our goal is to mentor fellows toward a leadership role in the field of geriatrics.
The fellowship takes place at a multitude of sites and settings, and skills gained varies according to the goals of that rotation. Rotational sites endeavor to integrate essential concepts across core competencies to develop well-rounded fellows. Settings in which these skills are cultivated include:
- UC Davis Health, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA (Healthy Aging Clinic and UC Davis Medical Center)
- Sacramento VA Medical Center (Acute Care for Elders inpatient consult service, GeriPACT geriatric primary care clinic, multidisciplinary outpatient Geriatrics Consult and Memory Clinics, Home-Based Primary Care, Home Care Coordination, and Hospice and Palliative Care)
- Martinez VA Medical Center (Community Living Center/Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care, Hospice and Palliative Care)
There are required regular core curricular seminars, journal clubs, and other didactic sessions dedicated to the acquisition of the skills demanded of future geriatrics leaders. These activities also aim to enhance the fellows’ pedagogical and scholarship skills. A scholarly project is required of each fellow. Research skill development is optional but recommended and is fostered through guided mentoring of individual research projects. Faculty advisors guide fellows at all stages of a project, from defining the question of interest to preparing and presenting the findings.
Teaching medical students, residents, and peers is an integral component of our fellowship program. Fellows receive special training in the educational pedagogy of clinical teaching in general and specifically as it relates to geriatrics. Faculty also work with fellows to optimize their clinical teaching skills. In addition, administrative skills and quality improvement skills are developed through graded responsibilities in clinical and teaching programs as well as participation in quality improvement projects. Furthermore, adequate unstructured time is allocated throughout the fellowship for scholarly work. The optimization of this time, which can be tailored to meet fellows’ individual education goals, can be coordinated in conjunction with the program director.
Fellows are the leaders of tomorrow. The field of geriatrics is growing and needs a group of passionate and committed leaders to help it grow and develop into a robust medical sub-specialty. To this end, fellows receive ongoing intense mentoring to help further develop their professional portfolio and leadership skills, thereby equipping them with the requisite skills to shape the field of geriatrics and its future.
Alia Tuqan, M.D.
Geriatrics Program Director
About Us
Mission
To train expert geriatric medicine specialists who will develop and deliver expert and innovative person-centered care that helps older adults safely navigate and transition through health care systems, maintain independence and dignity, and experience improved quality of life and well-being.
Aims
- To train clinically outstanding, curious, and compassionate geriatricians who understand the key principles of geriatric medicine and the health care system and are able to apply them to achieve a high level of quality of care and patient safety.
- To produce committed leaders who will innovate and provide excellence in clinical care, education, systems design, quality improvement, scholarship, research, and health care administration within geriatric medicine and in the care delivered to older adults.
- To prepare geriatric medicine fellows for a successful career by balancing life, work, resiliency, and wellness.
- To uplift diversity, equity, and inclusion within all aspects of the educational and clinical environment in the field of geriatric medicine.
Site Key:
1 – University of California, Davis Medical Center
2 – Mercy Medical Group -- Sacramento
3 – VA Northern California Medical Center -- Sacramento
4 – Veterans Affairs Medical Center -- Martinez
5 – University Post-Acute Rehab
Vacation: 4 weeks taken in 1–2-week blocks
UC Davis Health
The UC Davis site has core experiences for the fellows in the multidisciplinary Healthy Aging Clinic (HAC), the Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Services, and the Geriatric Emergency Department. The HAC is a multidisciplinary, full-service clinic with geriatric faculty, cognitive neurologists, and geriatric psychiatry faculty educators.
Mercy Medical Group
Scheduled half-day sessions with geriatricians in an interdisciplinary geriatrics clinic; fellows also have the opportunity to make home and nursing home visits with physicians and APPs.
VA Northern California
- Sacramento
Fellows rotate on the inpatient geriatric consult service, in the geriatric outpatient clinics, on the inpatient psychiatry ward, on the palliative care inpatient and outpatient services, and in the home-based geriatric primary care and coordination of care services. Fellows also have their weekly geriatric continuity clinic based at this site. There is geriatric faculty supervision on site for supervision during business hours, and availability by phone at all other times. - Martinez
Fellows learn principles of post-acute and rehabilitative care as well as inpatient hospice at this facility. There are dedicated rotations working at the Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care (CREC) and the Community Living Center (CLC) on the Martinez VA Campus. The CLC/CRC is a 120-bed extended care facility that offers subacute, rehabilitation, restorative, palliative, respite and transitional care. It also operates a neurocognitive unit, subacute unit, and a 23-hour bed program in support of post-procedural ambulatory care services.
University Post-Acute Rehab
Fellows have their long-term care continuity experience at this community-based nursing home
Healthy Aging Clinic in Midtown
Click here to learn more about the Healthy Aging Clinic.
Home Care Coordination – Home visiting program caring for medically complex geriatric veterans recently discharged from the hospital who require intensive case management of medical and psychosocial issues to avoid potential rehospitalization. Fellows learn and work with an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurse
Home-Based Primary Care - Healthcare services for veterans who are typically home-bound, might be isolated, and might have complex social situations. A long-term service with home visits involving an interdisciplinary team including a physician or advanced practice provider, social work, rehabilitation services, behavioral health, nutrition and pharmacy as appropriate.
Acute Care of Elders - Interdisciplinary inpatient geriatrics care with a focus on mobility, polypharmacy and delirium prevention.
CLC (Community Living Center) and CREC (Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care) - Skilled Nursing Facility care, short-term and long-term patients. Services including physical rehabilitation, cardiopulmonary and neurologic rehabilitation, IV therapies, wound care, and an inpatient hospice unit.
Geriatric Consult and Memory Clinic - Scheduled half-day sessions in geriatrics, pychiatry and neurology
Alia Tuqan, M.D.
Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
Rebecca Boxer, M.D., M.S.
Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Huey Lin, M.D.
Health Sciences Clinical Professor
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Joanne Seibels, M.D., M.B.A., M.S.P.H.
Associate Physician
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Umanga Sharma, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
VA Northern California
Anakha Nambiar, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
VA Northern California
Vivek Singh, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
VA Northern California
Margarita Sotelo, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
VA Northern California
Ashkan Javaheri, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor
Dignity Health
We have two positions for academic year 2025-2026. The positions are filled through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Candidates may start their application process through ERAS in June. Applications will be released for review to us beginning July 15, 2024. Interview dates will be in late August through October.
For full consideration, please submit your application and supporting materials by mid-August. Applications completed after that date may not receive a full review.
Required application components to include in your Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application
- Personal Statement
- Medical school transcript
- USMLE/COMLEX transcript
- Medical school Dean's Letter (MSPE)
- Two (2) letters of recommendation from physicians who have served in a direct supervisory capacity
- One (1) letter of recommendation from either your residency program director or from a division head or department chair
All applicants must also register for the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
Notice: The deadline for receipt of all application materials is September 1; applications received after that date may not be reviewed.
Example of the how to apply is here: How to Apply Internal Medicine Residency Program | Department of Internal Medicine | UC Davis Health
Eligibility
We offer fellowship opportunities for individuals who have completed an Internal Medicine or Family Medicine Residency in the United States or Canada by the time they enter the fellowship-training program. The residency program must be accredited by ACGME or RCPSC/CFPC programs in Canada. Candidates must be board certified or eligible in their respective Boards and must possess a California medical license before the start date of the fellowship program.
A J-1 visa is required for foreign nationals interested in the UC Davis Geriatrics Fellowship Program.
Salary and Benefits
The University provides competitive salaries for fellows. In addition, the University provides health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and professional liability insurance, for the fellows (and their family members when appropriate). Fellows receive 20 vacation days a year.
Contact Us
If you have any programmatic or administrative questions, please contact:
Kavita Narayan
Fellowship Coordinator, Geriatrics
kdnarayan@ucdavis.edu
Past Fellows
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Arti Bhukhen, M.D. |
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Faris Kamal, M.D. |
Current Fellows
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Kinza Sultan, M.D. |
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Beatriz Marron, M.D. |
