Americans are growing older, living longer and more likely to have health concerns. This reality is the driving demand for health care workers who specialize in caring for older patients, also known as geriatricians. As the baby boomers age – those born between 1946 and 1964, career opportunities will increase for geriatric health care workers ("ExploreHealthCareers.org"). The reason being, by 2030 more than one-fifth of Americans – 70 million individuals – will be over the age of 65 ("ExploreHealthCareers.org"). Therefore, due to this projected increase in the number of older Americans, in the next 15 years an estimate of approximately 30,000 geriatricians will be in need to accommodate the older population (“With aging population”). To meet
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In 2013 there were about 1,300 geriatric educators and 400 geriatric medical researchers in the United States (Brittain, " Many Geriatrics, Few Geriatricians"). The number of needed geriatric educators and researchers was about 1,450 in 2009 (Brittain, "Many Geriatrics, Few Geriatricians"). The distribution of teachers and researchers among the 145 medical colleges in the United States are dramatically imbalanced. Therefore, the opportunity for all medical students to get geriatric training is restricted. Not enough teachers to educate students in this area, means meeting the need of geriatricians in the coming decades are simply unattainable. Medical schools that are lacking geriatric departments should integrate full departments dedicated to geriatrics, including qualified staff and a full …show more content…
In contrast, every medical school in Great Britain and 19 of Japan’s 88 medical schools have such a department (Barry, O'Neill). In comparison to other countries, it is apparent that America falls behind when it comes to prioritizing geriatrics in medical schools. Plus, the geriatric curriculum at over three quarters (109) of the United States medical schools is offered as an elective, not a required field of study (Brittain). If the decision to take geriatrics holds as much value as a student deciding whether to take a history or a music course, it is obvious how one can overlook the subject. If electives are the only training and/or information a student can rely on, then it’s impossible to develop qualified individuals with expertise in the field. Imagine a surgeon only relying on one form of training to perform surgery, one would certainly feel unprepared and
In 2013 there were about 1,300 geriatric educators and 400 geriatric medical researchers in the United States (Brittain, " Many Geriatrics, Few Geriatricians"). The number of needed geriatric educators and researchers was about 1,450 in 2009 (Brittain, "Many Geriatrics, Few Geriatricians"). The distribution of teachers and researchers among the 145 medical colleges in the United States are dramatically imbalanced. Therefore, the opportunity for all medical students to get geriatric training is restricted. Not enough teachers to educate students in this area, means meeting the need of geriatricians in the coming decades are simply unattainable. Medical schools that are lacking geriatric departments should integrate full departments dedicated to geriatrics, including qualified staff and a full …show more content…
In contrast, every medical school in Great Britain and 19 of Japan’s 88 medical schools have such a department (Barry, O'Neill). In comparison to other countries, it is apparent that America falls behind when it comes to prioritizing geriatrics in medical schools. Plus, the geriatric curriculum at over three quarters (109) of the United States medical schools is offered as an elective, not a required field of study (Brittain). If the decision to take geriatrics holds as much value as a student deciding whether to take a history or a music course, it is obvious how one can overlook the subject. If electives are the only training and/or information a student can rely on, then it’s impossible to develop qualified individuals with expertise in the field. Imagine a surgeon only relying on one form of training to perform surgery, one would certainly feel unprepared and