Mini Medical School registration open for 2024 program

From 2010 to 2020, the number of Sacramento-area residents aged 65 or older grew at the fastest rate in 130 years. Research shows that most older adults want to live independently for as long as possible.

For more than 20 years, community members have looked to UC Davis Health experts and the health system’s Mini Medical School to help them do that. The annual program is part of UC Davis Health’s commitment to older adults through its nationally recognized Healthy Aging Initiative.

The 2024 program promises to deliver again. Interested participants can register online beginning at 10 a.m., Nov. 7, 2023. Once signed up, participants will receive webinar links via email. The classes begin on Feb. 3, 2024. All sessions begin at 9 a.m. and end around 11:30 a.m.

“Since moving all our presentations online, we have been able to open up this incredible opportunity to more people from more areas around California and beyond,” explained Katren Tyler, an emergency physician and the Mini Medical School’s program director. “This year’s lineup continues our focus on the key areas that approach aging in an age-friendly way: mobility, medication, mental sharpness and what matters to individuals in their later years.”

Tyler says chronic conditions and their complexity do increase with age. But some researchers have found there’s also strength that comes with aging, which busts the stereotypes of growing old that once seemed pervasive. Some research even suggests that people get happier the older they get.

When we can connect with our patients, families and community members outside of a clinical space, we can view the challenges from a different perspective and see what’s possible rather than where we are limited.—Rebecca Boxer, chief, Division of Geriatrics, Hospice and Palliative Medicine

“I’ve dedicated my life to caring for older adults and the many challenges they face when aging,” explained Rebecca Boxer, chief of UC Davis Health’s new Division of Geriatric, Hospice and Palliative Medicine. “When we can connect with our patients, families and community members outside of a clinical space, we can view the challenges from a different perspective and see what’s possible rather than where we are limited.”

A full list of presentation topics for 2024 can be found on the website. Experts from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing are featured across the four weeks of instruction.

Mini Medical School classes will be online via Zoom. Classes are free and open to the public. Participants can attend all sessions or pick the ones that interest them most.