AGS, Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative, and Beeson and MSTAR Scholar Heather Whitson Featured in
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS), Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative funded by the Hartford Foundation, and Beeson and MSTAR scholar Dr. Heather Whitson was recently featured in an U.S. News and World Report article on the shortage of geriatrically trained doctors to meet the demands for the care of older adults.
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS), Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative funded by the Hartford Foundation, and Beeson and MSTAR scholar Dr. Heather Whitson was recently featured in an U.S. News and World Report article on the shortage of geriatrically trained doctors to meet the demands for the care of older adults.
“We are not prepared as a nation. We are facing a crisis,” says Dr. Heather Whitson, associate professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina and a Beeson and MSTAR scholar. Nancy Lundebjerg, chief executive officer of AGS, added that the shortage “means that people who really need the services of a geriatrician won’t necessarily have access to that kind of expertise. That’s probably true right now across the country.”
However, there are initiatives currently that seek to begin remedying the shortage. The Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative, for example, helps medical specialists develop the tools and knowledge they need to care for older adults. Last year, the initiative worked with surgeons to release guidelines on post-operative delirium. Emergency medicine physicians spearheaded an effort to define the elements of a geriatrics-friendly emergency department. The initiative has led to about 100 “champions” nationwide, with many conducting research on age-related aspects of their specialties.
For the full article from U.S. News and World Report, click here.