ABIM Geriatric Medicine case studies
ABIM Geriatric Medicine · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Geriatric Medicine Certification Examination is a subspecialty examination offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine for internists seeking board certification in the care of older adults. This page is an independent study resource: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ABIM, and candidates must confirm eligibility and complete registration through ABIM's Physician Portal. The ABIM Geriatric Medicine case studies are 5 cases and about 3,219 words.
1Recurrent Nighttime Falls in an 84-Year-Old Taking Three Sedating Drugs
An 84-year-old woman has fallen twice in six weeks, both times at night while walking to the bathroom. She lives alone in a second-floor walk-up and uses a cane indoors.
713 words, about 4 min2Postoperative Agitation in a Man With Mild Baseline Forgetfulness
An 82-year-old man is admitted with a displaced femoral neck fracture after a mechanical fall and undergoes hip hemiarthroplasty. His wife says he had been "a little forgetful" for two years but managed his own medications and finances with reminders.
667 words, about 3 min3A Daughter Requests a Feeding Tube in Advanced Dementia
An 89-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer disease is hospitalized for the second time in six months with aspiration pneumonia. She has been bed-bound for a year, speaks only a few words, does not recognize her daughter, and needs full assistance with bathing, dressing, and toileting.
621 words, about 3 min4Anticoagulation After Falls in a 90-Year-Old With Atrial Fibrillation
A 90-year-old man with permanent atrial fibrillation comes for follow-up. His CHA2DS2-VASc score is 6 (age, hypertension, diabetes, prior TIA, heart failure) and HAS-BLED is 3.
615 words, about 3 min5Urgency Incontinence After an Anticholinergic Failure
A 78-year-old woman reports leaking urine with urgency four to six times a day and getting up to void three times a night. She wears pads day and night and has stopped attending her bridge group.
603 words, about 3 min