The geriatrician shortage is real — but caring for older adults is becoming everyone’s job. One of the challenges I come across as a geriatrician-hospitalist isn’t at the bedside — it’s what comes after. I’ll manage a patient’s geriatric syndromes at the hospital — dementia, frailty, the falls that keep bringing them back — and […]
Why we need geriatric expertise more than ever Read More »
The answer is older than at any point in recorded history — more and more of the patients we care for are older adults. It sounds like a simple question: how old are we, as a population — all of us, together? The answer turns out to be older than at any point in recorded
How old are we, as a population? Read More »
Deciding when an older adult should stop driving is one of the hardest conversations in geriatric care — and one case in particular reminded me why we can’t avoid it. As physicians, our goal is to make a positive difference in our patients’ lives. Whether we succeed depends on many things, but when we do
Assessing driving in older adults Read More »
Dementia presents in many ways beyond forgetfulness — here are some common examples of how it shows up in the hospital, and how the care team can recognize and respond to each. When most people think of dementia, they picture memory loss as the first sign. Memory problems are indeed one of the most common
How dementia shows up in the hospital Read More »
Falls in older adults are one of the most common geriatric syndromes we see in the hospital. A fall is a landing on the ground or a lower level without meaning to. More than one in four older adults falls each year, and not all falls lead to hospitalization — but the ones that do
Falls as a geriatric syndrome: rarely just mechanical Read More »
