contactsand avoidedisolation.Hemonitoredhisbones
andteethandweight.Andhemadesuretofindadoctor
whohad thegeriatricskills tohelphimhold onto an
independent life.
IASKEDCHADBoult,thegeriatricsprofessor,whatcould
bedonetoensurethatthereareenoughgeriatriciansfor
thesurgingelderlypopulation.“Nothing,”hesaid.“It’s
toolate.”Creatinggeriatricspecialiststakestime,andwe
already have far too few. In a year, fewer than three
hundreddoctors willcompletegeriatricstraininginthe
United States, not nearly enough to replace the
geriatricians going into retirement, let alone meet the
needsofthenextdecade.Geriatricpsychiatrists,nurses,
andsocialworkersareequallyneeded,andinnobetter
supply. The situation in countries outside the United
States appears to be little different. In many, it is worse.
Yet Boult believes thatwe still havetime for another
strategy:hewoulddirectgeriatricianstowardtrainingall
primarycaredoctorsandnursesincaringfortheveryold,
insteadofprovidingthecarethemselves.Eventhisisa
tallorder—97percentofmedicalstudentstakenocourse
ingeriatrics,andthestrategyrequiresthatthenationpay
geriatricspecialiststoteachratherthantoprovidepatient
care.Butifthewillisthere,Boultestimatesthatitwould
bepossibletoestablishcoursesineverymedicalschool,
nursing school, school of social work, and
internal-medicine training program within a decade.
“We’ve got todo something,” hesaid. “Life forolder
people can be better than it is today.”