Introduction
There is a scarcity of geriatricians in the United States, which is a severe problem in the public health sphere due to the increased number of older adults and the lack of healthcare professionals who specialize in this sphere. This tendency started years ago and might aggravate shortly. Paula Span explores the topics connected with older adults and geriatrics in the United States in the series of articles “The New Old Age” published in the New York Times. She writes that the United States is experiencing a significant lack of healthcare professionals who specialize in caring for older adults whose number is growing faster than the number of newly educated professionals entering the field (Span, 2022). Therefore, the existing demographic situation explains the vital need of geriatricians that the current educational system cannot satisfy, which is a relevant problem in the American public health system.
Discussion
In general, geriatrics is not successful in attracting new medical professionals due to the comparatively low prestige of the specialization among most Americans and down payment due to health insurance issues. According to Span’s report, geriatrics care find it challenging to locate such a specialist due to the growing shortage of such professions regardless of the fact that many older adults might benefit from this decision (Span, 2022). At the same time, the American government has planned the improvement this situation. For instance, the federal model predicts that the United States will require 33,200 geriatricians in 2025 to provide care for elderly patients (Span, 2020). There are currently around 7,000 geriatricians practicing in the United States, and around half of them engage in full-time physical activity (Span, 2020). In other words, there is much work to do in caring for older adults, and the government should participate in it actively to achieve positive change.
As the baby boomer generation in the United States ages, the number of graduate fellowship programs that train geriatricians and are financed by Medicare has not increased with the demand for such programs. For example, according to a study conducted in 2018, the last decade was marked by a significant increase in the number of fellowship programs for specialists in geriatrics. In particular, the number of programs increased from 182 to 210 during this period, and the results in the sphere improved significantly at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year (Span, 2020). Aldis Petriceks defines the existing situation in geriatrics as “stagnation” (Petriceks & Stern, 2021). It means that the demand for geriatricians is significantly higher than their current number, which illustrates the need to promote change.
One of the reasons why the field has not expanded significantly over the years is that geriatrics does not appeal to a large number of residents. This is one of the reasons why the discipline has not grown considerably. According to data provided by the American Geriatrics Society, 384 available positions for graduate fellowships in the field of geriatrics went unfilled in 2019 (Span, 2020). This figure does not include works in the field of geriatric psychiatry.
Another reason the region is not successful in luring inhabitants is that geriatricians receive pay far lower than that of other experts. According to the findings of the Medical Group Management Association, the total remuneration for geriatricians in the year 2018 was, on average, $233,564. In comparison, anesthesiologists have been paid twice as much, and the incomes of cardiologists and radiologists have topped $500,000 (Span, 2020). The financial component is essential in the promotion of the profession. It is easier and therefore more justified for graduates to work with patients whose expanses are covered by health insurance like Medicare. It allows them to pay the student loan quicker, which is critical thing for the graduates of medical colleges where payment for education is high (Span, 2020). This data shows that inequality in payment harms the profession’s popularity, making it less prestigious among graduates. At the same time, geriatricians report higher levels of career pride than most other experts, according to a survey conducted in 2009 that covered 42 different clinical specialties (Span, 2020). Thus, the sphere of geriatrics has significant potential for subsequent development.
It is essential to emphasize the duties that geriatricians have to understand the specifics of their work. Geriatricians are medical practitioners who specialize in treating patients 65 years of age or older. These physicians help their patients discover and coordinate treatments for their various needs and impairments, help them maintain control of the medications they require, and aid their patients in making decisions regarding what is best for their health and quality of life. According to a model developed by the federal government, an estimated thirty percent of persons over the age of 65 require the services of a geriatrician. Nancy Lundebjerg, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Geriatrics Society, states that older persons who are at least 85 years old or those individuals who have more than three
chronic health concerns require the assistance of a geriatrician (Span, 2020). This information illustrates the idea that there is a vital need for specialists who know how to care for older adults and to meet the needs of this population.
Healthcare professionals and pharmacists may help address the gaps in care for elderly individuals. At the same time that leaders in the region are trying to figure out how to recruit more physicians, they are also looking into adopting different ways to cover gaps in care for elderly patients. It is possible to describe the work of geriatricians as the attempts to improve the quality of life of older adults using different social and medical institutions (Span, 2020). In this capacity, geriatricians educate fitness structures and other types of establishments. According to Lundebjerg, understanding the needs of older patients is even more important than a similar approach in working with other demographic groups due to the vulnerability of this population (Span, 2020). Nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), therapists, and pharmacists should acknowledge the need to find an individual approach to older adults.
Conclusion
To conclude, geriatrics or caring for the older adult population is among the priorities for the American government and the public healthcare system in the United States. The government must introduce new educational programs to prepare specialists in geriatrics due to the demographic situation in the United States and the current lack of healthcare professionals who work in this sphere. The critical detail is that specialists who care for older adults should do everything possible to understand this demographic group’s needs and satisfy these individuals’ desires. The emphatic and person-centered approach to geriatrics might improve the level of care for older adults significantly. Providing the aging adult population with high-level care is crucial in building a just and equal society where all vulnerable categories of people are protected and their needs are recognized.
References
Petriceks, A. H. & Stern, T. A. (2021). Mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and the evaluation of patients who present with a concern about cognitive decline. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord.23(5): 20f02852. Web.
Span, P. (2020). Older people need geriatricians. Where will they come from? The New York Times. Web.
Span, P. (2022). Sizing up the decisions of older adults. The New York Times. Web.