Geriatrician Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a Geriatrician. Feel free to use our Geriatrician job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a Geriatrician.
Who is a Geriatrician?
Geriatricians provide medical care, counseling, and treatment for the elderly and other aging adults. Geriatricians have offices or practices that cater to the needs of older patients. While a geriatric doctor is primarily a physician, many of the duties associated with the job go beyond basic medical care. Geriatric doctors often assist elderly patients with their end-of-life care. They may be more concerned about patient comfort than finding definitive cures. Geriatric doctors will often involve relatives and other health professionals in the care of a patient.
Geriatricians work exclusively with the elderly. Geriatricians are primarily concerned with the quality of life and functional abilities of their patients, regardless if they have to address multiple chronic diseases or medical issues. Geriatricians can also advise seniors on alternative living arrangements and help them decide when they are no longer medically safe to live alone. Geriatricians also advise families and patients on the end of life.
Geriatricians are more experienced than other doctors in dealing with conditions and diseases that can accompany old age. Geriatricians also work with patients who are taking a variety of medications. They create drug regimens that prevent drug interactions.
Understanding how aging impacts the body’s health is one of the most important tasks of a Geriatrician. Senior citizens and those over 65 have the most difficult health problems of any age group. Traditional remedies for common ailments become less effective as our bodies age and become frailer. There is a greater chance that multiple things can go wrong at once, and the body’s natural defenses decrease. Geriatric medicine focuses on adapting traditional treatments to patients nearing the end of their lives.
A lot of the work of a geriatric doctor is focused on pain management. A Geriatrician will visit a patient to assess their health and discuss possible ways to ease the patient’s pain. For many older patients, the main focus is on healing and restoring normal health. But comfort is often more important for them.
Minor ailments are often treatable, even for the elderly. Geriatric doctors have to be more cautious with patients suffering from more severe conditions, such as cancer and organ failure. Aggressive treatment methods that were appropriate for youth might not be suitable for an elderly patient. The body gets older and has a harder time getting back on its feet.
Geriatricians also have to manage mental health. Many elderly people are affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Family members can also be affected by the mental decline. Geriatric doctors must be able to treat and mitigate the negative effects of mental degeneration and must often spend considerable time giving information to family members. Geriatricians often have a list of family and mental counselors that they can refer to.
These are the basics. However, the daily tasks and undertakings of geriatric doctors vary depending on their practice. Geriatric doctors may work in local practices that cater to the needs of the elderly. Others are specialists in the family or general practices, or on staff at hospitals and hospice care centers. However, regardless of where they work, all geriatric doctors work to comfort, heal, treat, and support the elderly body.
For a growing population of older adults, the US is facing a shortage of Geriatricians. The American Geriatrics Society estimates that we require approximately 20,000 Geriatricians to address the needs of older adults. We currently have 7,300 geriatricians.
Many older adults have complex medical needs. They may have multiple medical conditions and be able to use different medicines. They are more likely to be frail and have fallen, as well as to have heart disease or dementia.
Geriatricians are skilled in managing people with multiple conditions. Some specialize in specific areas such as rehabilitation and dementia.
A comprehensive assessment should be done by a geriatrician if you’re seeing one. This will help them to understand your mental and physical condition as well as your social life.
Different careers in geriatrics include:
- Geriatric nurse practitioner
There are many roles in nursing. These include delivering and supervising direct care, managing case management, setting up quality assurance procedures, and creating nursing practice standards. Advanced training allows nurse practitioners to perform tests, prescribe medications, diagnose and treat certain diseases, and work with older people and caregivers to make care and treatment decisions. There are many types of nurses who work in different settings: hospitals, clinics/health systems, private practice, research facilities, etc.
- Geriatric Pharmacist
A pharmacist is not only trained to prepare and dispense medication but can also help people understand the different treatment options available and how to care for patients when they are using them. Geriatric pharmacist specialists have special expertise in the care and management of older adults. They are often part of healthcare teams and work as consultants. Geriatric pharmacists can also be found in leadership roles at skilled nursing facilities and assisted living sites. No matter where they practice, pharmacists play an important role in the provision of senior care and are experts on medication-related information for their healthcare team.
- Geriatrician Assistant
Physician assistants (PAs) are healthcare professionals who work in a team with doctors and other healthcare providers. Special training is required for PAs to work alongside their interprofessional colleagues to diagnose and treat specific illnesses. They also perform physical exams, prescribe medication, take medical histories, and order and interpret laboratory tests.
Geriatrician Job Description
Below are the Geriatrician job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a Geriatrician job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a Geriatrician include the following:
- Diagnosing and treating illnesses
- Referring patients and specialists
- Monitoring side effects of medication.
- Assessing the risks associated with medications
- Giving attention to patients’ mental and physical health.
- Providing lifestyle and medical advice.
- Assisting in the management of ICU and general medical patients and offering medical consultation to surgical patients.
- Generating reports and analyzing different healthcare issues to improve the health maintenance of patients admitted to the hospitalist service,
- Reducing conflict, communicating better, and creating mindfulness-based awareness workshops to help parents improve their family relationships,
Qualifications
A four-year undergraduate degree is required for geriatricians. Then, they must go on to medical school and then a three-year residency. This usually involves internal or family medicine. After residency, the physician can either continue to practice or apply for a fellowship in geriatric medicine.
Training
After two years of Foundation training, trainees complete two years of Core Medical Training. They rotate through a variety of specialties before obtaining the MRCP and applying for geriatrics.
Five years of specialty training is required for geriatrics and general medicine. It covers the grades ST3 through ST7.
Rotating between hospitals is a common practice for trainees to be able to complete the geriatric or general medical curriculum. An additional year of experience as a stroke fellow is required to obtain subspecialty certification in stroke medicine. A year of experience or research in another area of expertise can count toward five years of specialist training.
Essential Skills
- Understanding the aging process
As we age, many changes take place in our bodies, including physical, mental, psychological, as well as spiritual. Geriatricians need to be able to recognize these changes and offer the right support.
Gerontology training, for example, examines the effects isolation and loneliness have on seniors and provides tools to encourage social interaction, even in the face of common obstacles like restricted mobility, chronic conditions, and mental illness.
It is also important to know the effects of losing a spouse, transitioning into retirement, dealing with a degenerative condition, and other experiences that are common with growing older.
These issues and challenges will help you to be more able to offer meaningful support that improves the quality of life for seniors in your care.
- Promotion of physical and emotional well-being
How can you encourage an elderly person to exercise and eat healthily? What is the relationship between depression and aging?
Did you know that many older adults experience loss of appetite, decreased senses of taste and smell? What can you do to approach nutrition when your patient doesn’t want to eat?
Elderly patients require a special toolkit and knowledge to help them achieve physical and emotional well-being.
Each patient is unique. To ensure that each patient in your care can thrive, you must anticipate and adapt to any roadblocks.
- Recognize common geriatric issues
As they age, adults face many common health problems. The aged are more likely to experience conditions such as dementia, depression, and heart disease.
The National Council on Aging reports that around 80 percent of the aged have at most one chronic disease, while 68 percent have more than one.
Geriatricians must be able to recognize the common symptoms and characteristics of geriatric issues. This awareness fosters empathy and allows caregivers to provide the support that is specific to each patient’s needs.
- Critical thinking and keen observation
Geriatricians people need to be able to quickly and accurately spot any changes in their health and make a report. They need to be able to observe, document, and communicate well with others in the health care system.
Elderly patients can save their lives by recognizing a change in their behavior, habits, and health quickly. Early intervention can save lives by prompt identification
- Verbal & non-verbal communication skills
How can you communicate with an elderly person who is hearing or has lost their speech? What about patients with limited vision or memory loss?
Understanding the subtleties of non-verbal and verbal communication is a key skill for elderly care workers. Trust is an essential element in any care plan. Strong communication builds trust.
- Assessment tools for geriatric health
A model for holistic health assessment is a common component of gerontology training. Caregivers must have a framework to evaluate an older person’s functional abilities, cognitive and mental health, as well as their social and economic circumstances.
A basic screening tool or checklist can help you identify problems and create a care plan to address them.
Are there warning signs that a patient may have a mental disorder? Are they at high risk of falling or having balance problems? To determine if support is required, what questions should you ask?
Special training can be beneficial for everyone, from social workers and home care aides to nurses and doctors.
How to Become a Getriacian
Step 1: Get a Bachelor’s degree
Geriatricians must have a bachelor’s degree. However, no particular degree is required to be admitted to medical school. The Association of American Medical Colleges recommends taking courses in English, biology, and organic chemistry to help meet the requirements for medical school admission.
Future geriatricians may choose to major or minor in science-related fields, while others might pursue unrelated degrees.
Step 2: Graduate from Medical School to become a Geriatrician
To apply to medical school, you must pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). This exam is open to juniors in college. It includes multiple-choice questions on areas like problem-solving or science.
You can apply to any medical school after passing the MCAT. Geriatricians in the future should look into schools that specialize in geriatrics, or fields related to aging patients such as neurology or oncology.
The first four years in medical school will be comprised of classwork, labs, and clinical work. The majority of the coursework is done in the first two years. The last two years are reserved for clinical rotations. This is when students may choose to specialize.
Step 3: Licensing & Geriatrician Fellowship
All geriatricians and all other people who wish to practice medicine in the United States must pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination. A medical student must pass three parts of the exam to become a licensed geriatrician.
A geriatrician can complete an internal medicine residency after passing the licensing exam. The residency is usually completed at a hospital or clinic with a medical school. The residency lasts for approximately three years and allows geriatricians to work in a variety of medical specialties such as neurology, cardiology, and geriatrics.
Geriatrics fellowships last for between one and two years after a residency. They are held at a clinic or hospice, nursing home, or other geriatric-related health facilities. Geriatrics fellowships allow physicians to receive hands-on training, participate in clinical research, and train medical students and residents.
Step 4: Continued Education
To renew their medical licenses, physicians, including geriatricians must participate in continuing education.
Geriatricians might be able to find continuing education opportunities through American Medical Association or work with industry organizations and healthcare facilities that offer training in specialized fields.
Board certification in geriatric medicine is also possible for geriatricians. This certification, while not required, helps geriatricians to demonstrate their expertise in this field.
Where to Work as a Geriatrician
Geriatricians work in healthcare facilities, private or group practices as well as hospitals/health systems, academic centers, and other research settings.
Geriatrician Salary Scale
The average salary for a Geriatrician in the United States is $178,942 per annum.