Geriatric Medicine Jobs
Geriatricians are doctors who specialise in treating the elderly. They are experts in geriatric conditions, which involve age-related, and often co-morbid and accumulated, injury or disease, including falls, frailty, limited mobility, incontinence, wounds, medication management, cognitive decline and palliative care. Geriatricians make a robust assessment of the elderly patient to understand their pathology, and their psychosocial and physical needs. They educate their patients and liaise with other specialists to formulate care plans. They can identify reverse pathologies in acute clinical cases and prescribe treatments which weigh up the risk of complications or future functional decline. They may run a stroke unit or service. Geriatricians are important in providing leadership and continuity of care between providers. They can undertake assessments of elderly people moving into nursing homes so that staff can care for them appropriately. They can support patients and their families in the transition to geriatric palliative care, and they provide advice to other primary care and community health practitioners. Geriatricians have undertaken foundation, core and approximately 4 years of specialist training. They have attained a CCT in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine, and specialty registration with the GMC. They can subspecialise in stroke medicine. At this senior level, Geriatricians train junior doctors, provide clinical leadership and lead multidisciplinary teams. They are also often involved in research and education.
Registrars (Geriatric Medicine) are registered doctors who have completed their medical degree, foundation and core training. They can apply for specialty registrar positions, or positions at ST3+ level, and broaden and refine their scope of practice and gain experience, skills and competency in their chosen area of medicine. Registrars are very important members of the integrated and multi-disciplinary health care team. They have increasing responsibility for patient care, oversee and support junior doctors and staff, participate in professional development activities and continue to receive important guidance, training, and support from senior staff. Registrars who want to pursue a career in Geriatric Medicine can undertake specialised training in Geriatric Medicine and Internal Medicine (IM) stage 2, a minimum four-year JRCPTB programme. At this level, Registrars work under Geriatricians and develop skills and clinical expertise in providing medical care and support to geriatric patients, and managing and improving their health and quality of life.
Nurses who work in nursing homes, including respite residences, and other community or in-home settings, provide high quality, person-and family-centred nursing care to elderly and frail residents, who may have dementia, complex clinical needs, rehabilitation needs post illness or injury, or are approaching the end of their life. Nurses are involved in admission, care planning and evaluation. They provide clinical nursing care, manage and administer medications, and keep accurate and comprehensive documentation regarding resident care. They provide integrated health care to assist residents/individuals with their daily needs and support their quality of life. They educate caregivers and work together with families, management, and health providers, and within multidisciplinary teams. Nurses working in this area may be involved in palliative care and connecting families to spiritual and support services. They may be responsible for training and supervising junior Nurses and teams of support staff. Employers usually request that Nurses are registered with the NMC, and there are roles available for different levels of experience – please refer to the Nursing section for more information.