5 Careers in Geriatrics

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the health care industry will grow about 22 percent through the year 2016, adding 3 million jobs to the medical field. Much of that growth is driven by the aging population and their greater need for health services.

Geriatrics focuses on the general health and age-related diseases of the elderly, looking not only at biological changes that people go through as they age, but the social and psychological issues they face as they get older. Treatments must take advanced age into account as a risk factor. Perhaps more than with any other age group, careful listening and a grasp of quality of life issues are paramount for anyone considering a career in this specialized branch of medicine and related services.

In a guide to geriatrics careers prepared by the American Geriatrics Society, Dr. David Solomon, the former director of the UCLA School of Medicine's Center on Aging, called this field of medicine "the most challenging and exciting area of patient care."

"The patients are the most ill, most complex, and the most dependent on our skills and wisdom for their persistence as independent living people," Solomon wrote. "The opportunities for research in geriatrics are essentially unlimited."

Medical services will have increased focus on the elderly

As the population ages, the need will increase for many medical professionals who work with the elderly. Some career areas that have particular impact on the well-being of elderly patients are:

Nursing
Overall employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 23 percent through 2016, in part driven by the increasing emphasis on preventive care and the growth of the aging population, according to the BLS. Nurses, nursing aides and nurse practitioners, who work with the elderly and their families in home health services will see even greater growth in their sector of the nursing profession.

Physical therapy
According to the BLS, the elderly population will drive growth in the demand for physical therapy services through the next decade. In addition to age-related, chronic conditions that require therapeutic services, the baby boomers will increase the demand for cardiac and physical rehabilitation. "Job opportunities should be particularly good in acute hospital, rehabilitation and orthopedic settings, where the elderly are most often treated," states the BLS.

Pharmacy
The BLS also predicts job opportunities for pharmacists will grow by 22 percent in the coming decade, in large part because of the increasing number of older patients who require more prescriptions than younger people. Increasingly, pharmacists are called upon to counsel patients on their prescriptions and drug therapy programs. Also influencing growth in the field are rapid scientific advances that are making more drug products available and the coverage of prescriptions under more insurance plans, including Medicare.

Social work
Geriatrics social workers provide counseling, referral services and case management to older patients with ongoing medical problems. That mirrors the work they would do as social workers to children or younger adults, but with a specialized approach to working with the elderly. If a patient has several medical conditions, that may require the social worker to work with more medical personnel. The unique concerns of an elderly patient remaining as independent as possible would be one area specific to a geriatrics career in social work.

Allied health
There are as many as 100 occupational titles for the geriatrics health professionals who assist doctors, nurses and dentists, from dental hygienists to opticians to radiology technicians. As with the medical personnel they support, they must be well-versed and trained in the needs of an older population within their overall career preparation. Geriatrics care relies on teamwork among the network of nurses, physicians, therapists and home health aides, to name a few, who may work with the same elderly patient at any one time.