Ageing is a biopsychosocial process: physical function, cognition, mood, social support, and care structures interact and jointly shape health, resilience, and independence in later life. This Summer School offers medical and health-related students a compact, research-oriented introduction to modern geriatric medicine and health services research at Jena University Hospital.

The core focus is how “biopsychosocial hallmarks of ageing” can be assessed, measured, and interpreted in real-world geriatric care. Participants will be introduced to key geriatric assessments and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and will receive a practical introduction to psychometric concepts (e.g., scale properties, reliability, missing data) and basic statistical analysis of geriatric datasets. A major emphasis is placed on clinical interpretation: how can assessment results inform patient-centered care, vulnerability profiling, and care planning?

The course combines clinical exposure with structured scientific work. Depending on language skills and prior experience, students will either contribute to supervised assessment-based clinical observation or work with curated anonymized datasets and case vignettes. This enables meaningful and scientifically equivalent participation for both German-speaking and international students. Typical topics include function and mobility, frailty, psychosocial burden, quality of life, and care pathways in older adults.

Designed as a one-week intensive format for small groups (1–2 students), the Summer School allows close supervision and direct interaction with the geriatric team. By the end of the week, participants will present a short data-based project, including methods, results, and a clinical/health services interpretation. The program is particularly suited for students interested in geriatrics, patient-centered outcomes, health services research, and the interface between clinical medicine, measurement science, and data analysis.