Geriatric Physician Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for a geriatric physician job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a geriatric physician. Feel free to use our geriatric physician job description template to produce your own geriatric physician job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a geriatric physician.
Who is a Geriatric Physician?
The term “geriatrician” is also used to refer to a geriatric doctor. Geriatrics, often known as geriatric medicine, is a field of study that focuses on providing healthcare to the elderly. Its goal is to improve health by identifying, diagnosing, and treating illnesses and disabilities in older people. Geriatric physicians are medical professionals with a focus on caring for elderly patients, many of whom have complicated medical conditions. An internist who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation of illnesses in the elderly is known as a geriatric physician. They have specialized knowledge of the ageing process.
Geriatric patients are treated by this professional in a variety of settings, including nursing homes, hospitals, offices, and long-term care facilities. They put a lot of emphasis on keeping you functional and assisting you in maintaining your standard of living. Geriatricians collaborate with family members and are aware of their roles as caretakers. Geriatricians can serve as a point of contact for a group of medical professionals, monitoring complicated drug interactions and prioritizing care for patients who may be coping with several diseases. Unique physical, cognitive, emotional, and social obstacles come with ageing. Elderly patients are advised by geriatricians on how to stay engaged, connected, and healthy as well as how to handle changes in their personal, professional, and living circumstances. They might also be able to assist you in overcoming unfavourable ageing stereotypes that could harm your general health. According to studies, patients can experience lower health results when medical professionals and patients have unfavourable attitudes toward ageing.
Geriatricians have licensed physicians with extensive training in medicine. Doctors who desire to specialize in geriatric medicine must first become board-certified in internal medicine or family medicine after graduating from medical school, completing residency requirements, and obtaining a state license to practice medicine. They must also pass the Geriatric Medicine Certification Examination and undergo a geriatric medicine residency at an authorized facility. General practitioners and internists are capable of meeting the medical demands of elderly patients because of their education, training, and even experience. However, it’s not uncommon for these healthcare professionals to refer patients to a specialist, who is frequently referred to as a geriatrician when the issue has already grown too complex, advanced, or challenging.
Geriatricians have the same training as internists and family practitioners. He or she completes a four-year undergraduate program, which need not be connected to the major. A medical license, which is required in every state, can be obtained once the student completes additional four years of medical school. The following step, residency, might take up to three years. A minimum of one or two years of fellowship training are necessary to specialize in geriatric medicine. You need to have the fortitude to carry out well-informed treatment regimens if you want to be a successful geriatric physician. The achievement of wellness objectives is ultimately what will make a great geriatrician successful.
Geriatric Physician Job Description
What is a geriatric physician job description? A geriatric physician job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a geriatric physician in an organization. Below are the geriatric physician job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a geriatric physician job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
Geriatric physicians are responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:
- Ensure that patients’ needs for pain management are satisfied, particularly through recommending medications and controlling the use of other pain reduction techniques.
- Identify the therapeutic needs of the patient and develop a plan of action, which may involve advising physical therapy, occupational therapy, or other forms of treatment.
- Place an order for, analyze, and review diagnostic tests like X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and blood tests.
- Give prescriptions for drugs to treat long-term diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleeplessness.
- Examine patients who have serious medical issues that need to be treated right away, and issue treatment orders.
- Give tips on diet, exercise, disease prevention, and other health-related issues.
- Perform exceptional cases of surgery, such as knee or hip replacements.
- Inform patients about their illnesses and recommended treatments.
- Ensure that patients receive all the care they require by coordinating with other doctors or specialists.
Qualifications
- A degree in medicine.
- A medical in geriatrics that has been officially recognized.
- Must be board-certified and have a track record of treating the elderly.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication abilities.
- Motivated by the achievement of wellness-related goals.
- Devoted to promoting autonomous life.
- Intelligent, dependable, and emotionally capable.
- Steadfast adherence to relevant medical standards.
Essential Skills
- Communication skills: Since geriatric doctors frequently have to explain medical facts to patients and their families, communication skills are another crucial trait to possess. Explicitly stating diagnosis, available treatments, and prognosis are examples of this. For the sake of ensuring that their patients receive the finest care, geriatric doctors must also collaborate with other medical experts, such as nurses and other doctors. Families of elderly people must comprehend complicated ideas like cognitive and functional decline and frequently make difficult judgments about setting treatment objectives. The attending doctor must interact with patients’ family members in a considerate manner that takes into account both the patient’s values and his or her knowledge.
- Empathy: Understanding and sharing other people’s emotions is called empathy. Empathy is a powerful tool that geriatric doctors frequently utilize to establish rapport with their patients and make them feel at ease throughout operations. Additionally, doing so can help them gain the trust of their patients, which will enable them to give the finest care possible.
- Time management skills: You may efficiently manage your calendar and set priorities for your daily tasks by using time management abilities. prioritize your responsibilities and ensure that you have the time to finish them, it’s crucial to remember that as a geriatric doctor, you may visit a lot of patients during the day. During patient appointments, you could also need to manage your time, therefore it’s crucial to arrive on time and end your appointments.
- Multitasking: Geriatric doctors frequently have a busy schedule since they may need to see a lot of patients quickly. To do this, they may need to multitask because they may need to see patients, look over patient files, make phone calls, and complete paperwork all at once. Geriatric doctors can better manage their time and give their patients the greatest treatment if they can multitask.
- Medical expertise: Knowledge of medicine brings about medical expertise. The best care for patients can be given by an aged doctor if they have a thorough understanding of medical techniques, treatments, and medications. In addition, they might need to understand how to handle urgent circumstances and other challenging ones. This can assist them in keeping their patients safe and giving them the proper care.
- Observation & critical thinking skills: Caretakers who work with the elderly must be able to recognize changes in health and report on those changes promptly and correctly. This entails careful observation, regular recording, and effective communication with other healthcare team members. It can mean the difference between life and death for an elderly patient to quickly notice a change in behaviour, habits, or health. Early intervention is a result of prompt identification, and this can save lives.
- Gerontology training: A paradigm for holistic health evaluation is typically included in gerontology training. Geriatricians require a trustworthy framework for assessing an older person’s functional capacity, physical health, cognition and mental health, and social conditions. For spotting issues and creating a care plan that takes into account daily requirements and difficulties, even a simple screening tool (or checklist) can be very beneficial.
- Patience & Compassion: Geriatrics practitioners need a great bedside manner in addition to all the technical abilities and specialized knowledge required to provide efficient care for aged patients. They must be prepared to provide emotional support as well as calmly listen and reply with compassion. This holds not only for the patient but also for their family members, who must deal with a loved one’s failing health and eventual demise. Working in this sector requires a lot of sensitivity to all of these difficulties as well as the ability to connect and establish trust.
How to Become a Geriatric Physician
Step 1. Acquire a bachelor’s degree.
The initial stage in pursuing higher education to become a geriatric physician is earning a bachelor’s degree. Although Geriatric Physicians take a variety of undergraduate courses, candidates should also take the prerequisite courses listed by the American Association of Medical Colleges, which are usually required by medical schools. Along with written and oral communication classes, these courses cover biology, physics, and chemistry. Students would benefit from taking career- and advanced education-focused steps throughout their undergraduate degree, such as joining pre-med organizations, finishing community service at health care facilities, shadowing doctors in their chosen field of study, and preparing for the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test). Candidates should apply to medical school before they graduate, preferably with a focus on their field of interest. Medical school requires a four-year commitment and results in either an M.D. or D.O., an advanced degree in the medical field.
Step 2. Conclude a medical school program
Future geriatric medical professionals spend the first year of medical school mostly in the classroom learning material and enrolling in courses in anatomy, histology, pathology, biochemistry, psychology, and ethics, all of which prepare students for Objective Structured Clinical Exams. The second year of study is more clinically oriented while the student is still in the classroom. Students in their third and fourth years begin clinical rotation when they are introduced to the care and treatment of the elderly as well as a wide range of prospective specialities, including psychiatry.
Step 3. Conclude a Residency
It is advisable for medical school graduates to finish their four-year residency in a geriatric speciality after graduation. Future medical professionals should apply to internal medicine residencies with geriatric tracks since geriatrics are typically considered to fall under the purview of internal medicine. To be eligible to sit for a licensing exam and practice medicine, geriatric practitioners must complete a residency program. The majority of future geriatric physicians finish an internal or family medicine primary care residency after graduating from medical school. You can learn more about this area of medicine by enrolling in one of these residencies that may offer geriatric programs. Internal medicine, emergency care, and palliative care are just a few of the many areas that are commonly covered during an internal medicine or family medicine residency. The average length of these residencies is three years.
Step 4. Obtain a license and acquire board certification
Each state has its licensing criteria, and doctors must take a state exam in each one they intend to practice medicine in. The completion of one’s residency in the state where one intends to practice is regarded as essential. To practice medicine in any state, doctors must first complete a distinct set of requirements before taking the test. Before they can start practising medicine, physicians—including geriatric physicians—must pass a license examination. After finishing medical school and a residency program, you can sit for the license exam. Check with your state’s medical board after passing the licensing exam to discover if there are any extra conditions you need to satisfy before you can start practising medicine. The ability to demonstrate your knowledge of geriatric health care can be more effective with board certification than without it. Typically, a geriatric doctor’s examination and evaluation are part of the certification procedure. You can become board certified in geriatric medicine if you satisfy the certification requirements and pass the test. To maintain your knowledge of clinical standards, medical professionalism, and best practices for geriatric medicine, you will likely need to do ongoing professional development activities.
Step 5. Complete a Fellowship in Geriatrics Medicine
To practice geriatric medicine, clinicians must complete a one-year post-residency fellowship. Physicians should make sure the fellowship they are interested in is approved by the American Board of Internal Medicine and will both qualify and prepare them to appear for the subspecialty examination. The core curriculum is largely the same, even though fellowships vary depending on whatever institution an aspirant doctor chooses. Long-term care and rehabilitation, acute hospital care, outpatient primary care, assessment, palliative care, and home care are all areas that strong fellowships will expose participants to and give them experience in. It is possible to take the Geriatrics subspecialty exam if you are a doctor who has completed a fellowship and is board certified in internal medicine.
Where to Work as a Geriatric Physician
Geriatric doctors can work in a range of environments, including group and private practices, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, veteran hospitals, and both short-term and long-term inpatient facilities. Healthcare facilities like hospitals and clinics may contain them. Additionally, they are involved in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and facilities for assisted living. Some have dabbled in research and are employed by organizations that conduct anti-ageing research. Some doctors who specialize in geriatrics choose to train as geriatric rheumatologists or geriatric nephrologists. In addition to writing books that offer insight into their job as doctors, geriatric physicians may also educate, present diagnostic research at conferences, serve as evaluators for boards and professional bodies, and teach.
Geriatric Physician Salary Scale
Medical professionals including those with extensive training in geriatrics often have substantial incomes. In Nigeria, the average monthly salary for a geriatrics physician is 596,000 NGN. From 310,000 NGN to 912,000 NGN are the salaries offered. The American Medical Group Association estimates that practising geriatric physician makes a median annual salary of $187,600. Their pay may fluctuate depending on several variables, including their company and region. For instance, geriatric physicians who start their private clinics may be able to determine their fees, which can enable them to make more.