Aging U.S. population faces shortage of geriatricians
March 26th, 2008From the Austin American-Statesman:
As the baby boom generation reaches old age, Americans will face a serious shortage of doctors specially trained to treat the elderly.
That’s the warning of the American Geriatrics Society, which predicts that by 2030, when there could be 80 million people 65 and older, the nation will need about 26,000 more geriatricians than are likely to be available.
Geriatricians are family care physicians or internists who have advanced training in the care of the elderly.
Unlike other doctors, whose primary goal often is to find and treat a disease, geriatricians aim at improving their patients’ quality of life, allowing them to function independently as long as possible.
… Lower pay and a perception that working with the elderly is not as glamorous as being a surgeon are among the reasons so few geriatricians are produced each year …
So where are all the doctors going? Dermatology. See New York Times story – The price of beauty: For top medical students, appearance offers an attractive field
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on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 7:04 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, elderly, medicine.
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