Bio

Dr. Cours is a clinician educator in Geriatric Medicine at Stanford University, providing primary care for older adults and serving as a geriatric medicine consultant at Stanford Hospital. As Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit, she leads specialized care for hospitalized older adults to optimize outcomes. She is also the Geriatric Section Director for Age-Friendly Health Systems, leading clinical and strategic efforts to advance age-friendly, evidence-based care across hospital settings and overseeing quality-improvement initiatives, including a delirium-reduction program. Dr. Cours leads a personal and professional development program for geriatrics fellows that prepares them for the transition to independent practice. In addition, she participates in the Foundations of Academic Clinical Excellence and Transformation (FACET) Faculty Development Fellowship and the Clinician Educator Scholars (CE Scholars) Program, which develop clinician expertise in ecosystem awareness, quality improvement, education, and clinical informatics through mentored initiatives that culminate in publishable work and career growth.

Clinical Focus

  • Internal Medicine
  • Geriatric Medicine

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Geriatrics Faculty of the Year Award, Stanford Division of Primary Care and Population Health (2024)
  • Gold Humanism Honor Society, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2018)

Professional Education

  • Fellowship: Stanford University Geriatric Medicine Fellowship (2022) CA
  • Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine (2022)
  • Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (2021)
  • Residency: UCSD Internal Medicine Residency (2021) CA
  • Medical Education: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2018) NY
  • Undergraduate Education, Stanford University, Human Biology (2013)

Contact

  • Academic
    acours@stanford.edu
    Department: Med/Primary Care and Population Health Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Stanford Senior Care 211 Quarry Rd Ste 402 MC 5995 Palo Alto, CA 94304 (650) 721-2227 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Hyperkyphosis and mortality risk in older men: The osteoporotic fractures in men study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Cours, A., Huang, M., Fink, H., Ensrud, K. E., Schousboe, J. T., Katzman, W., Schneider, D., Lane, N. E., Cawthon, P., Kado, D. M. 2022

    Abstract

    INTRODUCTION: Hyperkyphosis commonly affects older people but is not widely acknowledged as a clinically actionable problem, especially in men. There are several techniques to quantify kyphosis including the blocks and Cobb angle measurements. This study includes both kyphosis measures to investigate whether older men with accentuated kyphosis may be at increased mortality risk.METHODS: Men aged ≥65years (N=5994) were recruited to participate in the MrOS prospective cohort study from 2000 to 2002 (baseline). Our primary cohort included 2931 enrollees (mean age 79.3years; SD 5.2) who underwent blocks-measured kyphosis from 2006 to 2009. Our secondary cohort included 2351 participants who underwent radiographic Cobb angle measurements at baseline. Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to determine association between kyphosis and all-cause mortality while adjusting for prevalent radiographic vertebral fractures, bone mineral density, incident fractures, gait speed, timed chair stands, self-reported health, alcohol use, medical co-morbidities, and physical activity.RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 8.3 (SD 3.2) years, 1393 participants died in the primary cohort. In this group, compared to men with 0-1 block kyphosis, increasing blocks-measured kyphosis was associated with increased mortality (HR: 1.26-1.53, p trend <0.001). With addition of prevalent vertebral fracture to adjusted models, the association remained significant in participants with severe kyphosis (3+ blocks-measured). Similarly, with addition of chair stand performance the association remained significant for 4+ blocks kyphosis. Walking speed did not attenuate the association of kyphosis and mortality. In the secondary cohort, there were no significant associations between radiographic Cobb angle kyphosis and mortality.CONCLUSIONS: Increasing blocks-measured kyphosis was associated with a greater risk of mortality in older men, indicating that hyperkyphosis identified on physical exam should be considered a clinically significant finding that may warrant further evaluation and treatment.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/jgs.18100

    View details for PubMedID 36307923

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3346-3058