Abstract
The purpose of this research paper is to outline the impact and solutions that the shortage of geriatricians within geriatric medicine has had on health care. From the findings, the research has shown that with the shortage, patients do not receive the best possible care that they need and also solutions in which are being implemented by Congress and schools to increase the number of students that enter into geriatric medicine. The findings also show the reason why geriatric medicine is still struggling to gain the same momentum as other lucrative specialties such as cardiology, neurology, and internal medicine. By understanding these implications, the nation can work to find a way to combat this issue head on and make sure that older
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From more focused lucrative specialties like cardiology, neurology, and dermatology that do not need extra encouragement to be joined, geriatric medicine is the specialty that is struggling to keep up with patient demands. Geriatric medicine is getting smaller as the need for this specialty is still increasing, and soon the shortage will become more critical as the population of elderly patients continue to age (Hafner, 2016). According to Olivero (2015), with the current shortage of geriatricians still growing it will soon start to threaten to jeopardize the health of many older patients (Olivero, 2015). This issue needs to be studied because if no change comes then it will start to cause a decline in the population of the elder. If older patients do not receive the proper healthcare it will affect their health in a negative way. The shortage of geriatricians is seen as a crisis by this nation and the United States is not ready to face the issue head on as of now (Olivero, 2015). Currently within the United States, there are about 7,000 geriatricians that are currently practicing and it is estimated that by 2030 the nation will need more than 30,000 geriatricians practicing to provide care to the 30 percent of the population of Americans that are over the age of 65 (Jaffe, …show more content…
The data that was used from the sources and my own personal experience show that geriatric medicine is a specialty medicine that is struggling to keep up and affects the health care industry in different ways. The shortage of geriatricians is at a national level and the sources point that out and show solutions to the problem that the nation is facing. This research paper will focus on how the shortage of geriatricians has impacted the health care industry and solutions to fix the national level problem. My own personal internship experience is relevant to this research paper because, I volunteer at Masonic Homes which is a care facility for the elderly and I have seen how the shortage of geriatricians is affecting the health care
University of California (2006). An Aging U.S. Population and the Health Care Workforce: Factors Affecting the Need for Geriatric Care Workers. University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies.
This paper will review the many aspects of long-term care problems and many challenges there are within Long-Term care. We will look at rising costs within long-Term Care, patient abuse, will look at the quality of life, shortages of nurses and demand that the elderly are putting on the medical field. The type of care that Long-Term Care had been giving to its patients and the changes within Long-Term Care.
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate and discuss healthcare vulnerabilities of the elderly rural population in Baker County, Florida and describe how the nursing profession can address these problems. Rural health has been a complex and multifaceted challenge for government and healthcare practitioners. The elderly who live alone in the county suffer from low socioeconomic status, low health literacy rates, declining cognitive and physical health and lack of healthcare facilities. The health status of this vulnerable group is impacted by rural culture and social values, healthcare policy and funding affecting rural healthcare facilities, distance and lack of transportation, and health literacy.
Something has to be done now to prevent health care institutions from feeling the burden of losing the baby boomer nurses. Not enough has been done and the solutions presented have only been short-term. The health care system will not just be losing nurses, but clinical and institutional knowledge, as well experience (). Younger nurses will lack this knowledge and experience. They need mentoring from the baby boomer nurses and that needs to start now. With the mentoring the young nurses will feel confident (). When the baby boomer nurses retire, young nurses aren’t the only ones who will feel their loss, but the patients as
One article stated that over the year’s specialty areas will concentrate on areas that are more cost-effective. These areas would consist of cancer, heart and neuroscience, cogitating the aging of the baby boomers. Care for cardiovascular patients will always be continual because people are still eating fried foods. Oncology services are rising due to patients being diagnosed with cancer. Our communities are seeing an increase of aging within the population and organizations are not set up for this ‘tsunami’ of patients. The service lines that will remain to be widespread are connected to the aging population—cardiovascular, arthritis, and sports injuries, as the baby boomers stay active longer. “The increasing scope of the continuum of care,
There are profound effects of ageism that can be harmful to a patient’s overall health. Ageism can cause physicians to consistently treat older patients unequally compared to younger adults. Unequal treatment can be divided into the under-treatment of symptoms and the over-treatment of symptoms. The imbalance in how a physician would treat a geriatric patient is ageist because the older adult is not getting fair treatment in every case. Under-treatment and over-treatment are different; however, they are both equally as harmful to a patients health.
African American senior citizens face a health care crisis too. They have worked all of their lives to secure retirement, but their retirement has been threatened because of the rising cost of long-term medical care. Insurance companies have failed to provide affordable long-term care, protection that most senior citizens need. This lack of long term care and affordability has been a serious problem for the health care system. In some cities, the shortage of hospital beds is so serious that it is common for patients to stay in emergency rooms before they can be admitted to an inpatient room (Drake 109). More than one thousand hospital beds are occupied by people who could be better care for in nursing homes or through home health care (Drake 110). Of the disabled elderly 1.3 million reside in nursing homes (Drake 10). These patients are unable to perform two or more of the basic activities of daily living without assistance.
I believe that geriatric care will emerge to be one of the most sought after specialty in nursing. Unfortunately, “there is a severe and sustained shortage
Regardless of the best attempts of medical professionals and educators to increase the workforce over the past, shortages are anticipated in every health care profession. The estimated supply of workers fails to meet the need related with population growth and aging of the population. With the continuous necessity for medical services for the millions who are projected to sign up for Medicaid and the federal and state insurance exchanges, the labor force shortages could become devastating.
The U.S. population is getting older: the Census Bureau reported the population of people less than 45 years old dropped from 65.6% in 2000 to 60.5% in 2010. While the percent of people 65 years and over increased by 15% between 2000 and 2010 (US Census, 2011, p.2). Age is associated with increased health care demand. Over 56% of people 65+ and 65% of people 75+ make four or more visits to health care professionals. While only 31% of people 18-44 years old make four or more visits (US Census, 2012, table 166). In 2000, people over 65 years old visited the hospitals three times more than the general population, and people over 75 years old visited the hospitals four times more than the general population (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003, p.8). Therefore, due to the fact that ageing population brings about an increasing demand for health care, With the population getting older and thus increasing demand for health care, the US needs to increase the supply of health care professionals.
Although there is evidence from many studies that disability rate is declining in the U.S.2, the rapid expansion of the oldest-old age group will continue to pose health care challenges for future generations. Disability prevalence rates are very high in the oldest-old3 and even reached 97% in centenarians4. These high rates of disability will have a tremendous financial impact in the future as people living with disability have much higher health care expenditures5.
The long-term care system consists of an integrated continuum of many institutional and non-institutional providers who deliver extended care when needed. Long-term care providers deliver a variety of care to individuals with chronic, mobility and/or cognitive impairments/limitations. These providers include: nursing facilities, sub acute care, assisted living, residential care, elderly housing options and community based adult services (Pratt, 2010). A great majority of these providers are already taking care of the many baby boomers that are present today and will be present in the future. “Baby boomers” are individuals who were born between the years 1946-1964. Since 2011, every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 years old (Pratt, 2010). This
... to combat this issue that faces aging in America. Care need to be the top quality administered from all medical professionals. This will make customers of healthcare feel at ease with coming to them for help. If more aging customers are utilizing healthcare, then this will provide them with the fundamental knowledge of how to properly take care of them and most importantly dispel myths about the elderly. To meet the future demands of the aging population, policymakers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders are going to need to take action in order to build a high-qualified workforce. Making it affordable to students and substantial enough for teachers is key for the future medical professional. Hopefully in the future for aging Americans, many of these problems in this healthcare system will be resolved and the ones that aren’t will be pacified to a minimal.
As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
Today, world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will be accounted for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term and health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents. In addition, declining birthrates may cause people to have less familial care and support as they age. To be able to provide the necessary care for senior citizens government funded long term care insurance program is needed.