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Geriatric Specialists

By Beth Janicek

Geriatric specialist plays important role in aiding the aging population who need specialized medical care. America needs to work to expand people coming into this field especially with our growing elderly population. According to the New York Times, a new program is allowing medical students to experience life as a nursing home patient by living in a nursing home for two weeks. Students are given a 'diagnosis' of an ailment and are expected to live as someone with that condition does. They must learn how to navigate a wheelchair around the small rooms, be helped to and from the bathroom, and sleep through night checks just like every other resident.

Dr. Marilyn Gugliucci, the director of geriatrics education at the medical school said that nursing homes in the region were willing to participate and students were willing to volunteer. Rita Morgan, administrator of the Sarah Neuman Center for Healthcare and Rehabilitation said,

'My motivation is really to have somebody from the inside tell us what it's like to be a resident.'

Geriatric specialists hope that this program will help generate interest in the profession. Due to the fact that medical schools and residencies require little to no geriatric training and because it is among the lowest paying fields, Geriatrics is one of the most underrepresented fields in medicine. According to the American Geriatrics Society, in 2005 there was one geriatrician for every 5,000 people over 65, and by 2030 that ratio is expected to increase to one for every 8,000 patients. In 2007, only 253 of 400 fellowships were filled, and only 91 of the physicians graduated from medical school in the United States.

Ms. Murphy, a medical student at the University of New England who participated in this program initially thought that nursing homes were scary. Her first few days at the nursing home included filling out paperwork, undergoing a full-body mole and sore check, eating pureed foods, and being raised out of bed with a lift. She said,

'At times I felt really lonely and got depressed. Sometimes it was an emotional roller coaster, up and down, up and down.'

Ms. Murphy realized that many of the patients cried because they knew that they would most likely never live anywhere else, or because they missed family and their old life. This program solidified her desire to work with older people, and she believes that the lessons she learned will make her become a better doctor.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on August 27, 2009 (boomark / email).