Health

Doctor Offers Advice on Choosing a Geriatric Physician

Listen to Dr. Allman's discussion:

Being a good geriatric physician requires a unique mixture of knowledge, focus, and expertise, according to Richard Allman, M.D., director of the UAB Center for Aging.

"First of all, a geriatrician needs to be the best adult medicine specialist that he or she can be," Allman says. "Older adults tend to have multiple medical problems, and take multiple medications. So when they come to a doctor's office, they're likely to have a long and complex medical history. So a given symptom might require a very astute assessment in order to figure out what's causing that problem.

"Very often, in geriatrics, it's not a specific symptom such as shortness of breath or swelling of the legs, but simply the complaint, 'I'm not able to do the things I could do six months ago.' The patients might say they can't walk as well, stand as well, dress themselves, or bathe like they did before. And it's up to the geriatrician to figure out whether the symptom is related to a joint problem, to depression, to a heart problem, lung problem, or a multitude of these factors. Or is it related to some medication they're using?"

But the physician's diagnosis is only part of the solution, says Allman: "A good geriatrician not only needs to know how to communicate well and interact with the family members who are caring for the older adult; he or she also needs to know how to utilize and work with the other medical professionals who are part of the team-psychologists, social workers, nurses-people who are out in the field doing home health.

"A good geriatrician also has to know about the very best places that provide the particular type of care that the older adult needs. Could they be best cared for in their home, in an assisted living facility, a specialized Alzheimer's unit, a nursing home, a rehabilitation facility, or a hospital? It's the geriatrician's job to put together a plan that best garners all those resources to make life the best it can be for the older patient.

"Helping someone to improve their functioning and their quality of life so that they can remain independent and autonomous is very rewarding, and very satisfying. In fact, there are research studies that look at the level of satisfaction in various medical careers, and geriatricians are one of the more satisfied groups. Their career is never boring, and they're making a real difference every day in people's lives."

A downloadable audio file of Dr. Allman's article is also available.