Geriatric medicine Specialty Profile

Geriatricians are responsible for the medical management and psychosocial care of the elderly, and are increasingly in demand due to the ageing of the population. They work as part of multidisciplinary teams in both inpatient and outpatient, hospital and community settings to improve the quality of life for older people and their families. These specialists are exposed to a very broad range of medical problems encompassing specialties such as neurology, psychiatry, rheumatology, urology, rehabilitation and palliative care (to name but a few). They are experts in managing problems that are common in elderly patients such as cognitive impairment, falls and incontinence. As geriatric patients commonly have a number of co-morbid conditions for which they are prescribed several medications, geriatricians have considerable knowledge about drug effects and interactions, as well as the variations in clinical pharmacology that accompany ageing.

Read more...

 

Geriatric medicine Training Program

Training Program

Advanced training is overseen by the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) in geriatric medicine. A comprehensive guide to the vocational training program is available from the RACP website in the advanced training section of the Requirements for Physician Training handbook.... more

Application process

Trainees are currently required to apply to individual hospitals or hospital alliances for positions and then to the SAC for prospective approval.... more

Length of Training

Advanced training in geriatric medicine requires a minimum of 3 years, including a 2 year period of core training and one year of non core training typically devoted to research or gaining further experience in a specialized area of geriatrics.... more

Cost of Training

See Physicians - Cost of Training... more

Availability/Competition for training positions

Geriatrics currently has the second most advanced physician trainees of all the adult internal medicine subspecialties. There is a shortage of geriatricians throughout Australia, and requirements for geriatric services are rising. Advanced training positions are readily available.... more

Flexibility in Training

See Physicians - Flexibility in Training... more

Geriatric medicine Workplace

The workplace

Geriatricians are leaders of multidisciplinary teams which seek to provide holistic care of the elderly. Their work includes individual patient care, team leadership, and often a component of administration and/or research, and takes place in acute hospitals, sub-acute care and... more

The doctor-patient relationship

Geriatricians can form long term relationships with patients and their families, who are often very grateful for the holistic care they receive which may contrast with their experiences with other specialists. Although the patient population is (by definition) elderly, and... more

Intellectual content

Due to the wide range of medical practice included within geriatrics, all the medical sciences are relevant to this specialty. The areas of neurodegenerative disease, clinical pharmacology, and psychiatry in particular contribute to the body of knowledge required.... more

Medical indemnity

Medico-legal issues are not a major influence on this specialty. Use our risk category tool to see what risk category is assigned to this specialty.... more

Lifestyle and Practice Options

Geriatric medicine is a specialty in demand, and specialists have controllable work hours. At the most recent survey, average work hours for full time specialists was 50.9 hours (significantly less for females), and part time work was common at an... more

News Archive

 

btn return to topReturn to top