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Innov Aging
Innov Aging
innovateage
Innovation in Aging
2399-5300 Oxford University Press US 

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1793
igaa057.1793
Abstracts
Session 5075 (Symposium)
AcademicSubjects/SOC02600
Age-Friendly University Initiative Applied to Health Professions Education Programs
Gugliucci Marilyn  
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Biddeford, Maine, United States
2020 
16 12 2020 
16 12 2020 
4 Suppl 1 Program Abstracts from The GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”548 549
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.2020This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Abstract
Opportunities for health professions (HP) education programs to make a mark in the Age Friendly University (AFU) initiative abound. Key approaches are introduced, and insights for mounting these efforts are discussed, for HP education programs based on the AFU global network initiative and the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) that offer HP education, have various options to establish and enhance gerontology/geriatrics competence and confidence for their students. AFU guiding principles applicable to HP education allow health gerontology faculty to be catalysts to promote and integrate the AFU guiding principles within their program’s existing curriculum. This can contribute to their institution’s readiness to apply for the AFU designation, advance the institution’s age friendliness, and/or set up the program to apply for the AGHE Program of Merit (POM) for Health Professions Programs. All prepare future HP professions providers to improve older adult health care. Part of a symposium sponsored by Directors of Aging Centers Interest Group.