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Thanks Carol - this really is exciting news.
My two cents - I hope the medical schools, doctors, etc. help guide those considering geriatric medicine. What I mean is, it takes a particular personality to work with the elderly. My mom, a nurse for many, many years has always been drawn to caring for the elderly whether through her work or caring for her parents and now some elderly friends. She has a way about her that really keeps them going (if you know what I mean), laughing and positive. They truly look forward to seeing her.
Anyway, I hope this in some way is part of the consideration and teaching of this specialty.
All the best, sue
That, of course, is the real crux of the matter. Not everyone is good at working with aging people. However, with some, it's just not understanding and once they learn more, they can be good. Minding Our Elders is used in some colleges, and when I talk with students they tell me how they used to be afraid of aging and elderly people, but once they worked with them, they realized what a joy and challenge it can be.
There are those who just shouldn't do it, however, and hopefully they will be pointed in different directions. One problem is huge however - doctors aren't paid as well to keep people comfortable as they are to do "prodecures." This must change - but will it? We'll watch and wait.
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This is such good news! I have not been looking forward to getting old as it has always appeared that doctors and attendants really looked through the elderly--not at them. I hope all doctors in training will learn to treat the person, not the patient. Thanks for the good news!
Leah
Nice to hear from you, Leah.
Yes, it's about time. I never felt my parents were well understood - as people - by many of their physicians. Finally, reality is settling in. Let's hope the "trend" continues.
Carol