Geriatricians Essay

Submitted By Owenbrown
Words: 858
Pages: 4

Career Research Paper Rough Draft "The baby boomers will soon add 75 million people to the already vast elderly population, [and] would be self-destructive for our society not to nurture the growth of geriatrics [with only] about 45 percent of positions [that] are filled" (Libow). There are millions of elders whom need care from a patient, and caring geriatrician. There will always be a need for geriatricians, since there are always people. Not only are they always going to be needed, says Barberotta, "the US will need an additional 3.5 million geriatricians to support the new elderly.” As society and people change and grow, geriatricians will help and care for more elderly, and be with them in their few, and sometimes tragic, final years. Geriatricians are the "most satisfied among physician specialties"(Barberotta), and are paid well doing what they love. Geriatrics are "intellectually demanding [, yet an] exciting nature of the field” (Libow). The geriatric force needs "knowledgeable, skilled, competent professionals to care for people with complex chronic conditions" (Libow). Geriatricians need traits such as “dexterity, communication skills, empathy, leadership skills, and be detail orientated” (Physicians and Surgeons). Because the new wave of geriatricians will soon utilize more advanced technology to help improve their work, geriatricians will deliver positive affects for society by providing care for the elderly, innovating new ways of delivering better results, improve the lives of the old with intense care, faster and easier ways of treatment, and patient happiness.
While making a huge impact on elder’s lives and their health, this geriatric assistance comes at a cost, high enough to where some cannot pay, some forced to bankruptcy. Some critics, mainly physicians and geriatricians, have come to notice that some elders are not able to pay for their medical needs. Laura D’ Andrea Tyson, an American economist and former Chair of the US President Council of Economic advisers, has come to find that “fifty percent of the elderly had no to little insurance at all” (Tyson). Even though there are programs to help with this, programs like “Medicare covers only about fifty percent of total health care spending by the elderly” (Tyson). More and more elderly are not getting the proper medical insurance they need; therefore they are not getting the proper treatment they require. More and more people are becoming elderly, many without family or friends, and they cannot support themselves. Without proper medical insurance “those needing nursing homes or other extensive continuous care, the cost can be substantial” (G.A.D.R.). Families take huge impacts from supporting the ones that they care most dearly about. Some of the elders that need care need “their families [pay] for almost twenty five percent” (G.A.D.R.). This creates an even bigger problem, not only for the elder getting the support, but for the family that is supporting them. With families paying this much out of their pocket, they barely have enough to support themselves. This issue will have a greater impact on larger families, due to the amount of people they have to support. Even with these programs that try to help aid with the financial issues, they are not doing enough because more and more families are being forced into bankruptcy from supporting the people in their