Leonard J C
Br Med J. 1976 May 29;1(6021):1335-6. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6021.1335.
Geriatrics has consistently failed to attract enough staff, and hence geriatric units often cannot provide a full service for the elderly. Meanwhile beds in general medical units may be blocked by elderly patients. This division between geriatric and medical units is arbitrary and wasteful. There are no clinical processes or techniques unique to geriatrics, which is probably why the specialty is unattractive; few doctors want to confine their attention only to the elderly. Geriatrics as a separate specialty should therefore be largely abandoned and the care of the elderly reintegrated into general medicine.
老年医学一直未能吸引到足够的工作人员，因此老年医学科室往往无法为老年人提供全面的服务。与此同时，综合内科的床位可能会被老年患者占用。老年医学科室与内科之间的这种划分是武断且浪费资源的。老年医学并没有独特的临床流程或技术，这可能就是该专业缺乏吸引力的原因；很少有医生愿意只关注老年人。因此，老年医学作为一个独立的专业应基本被摒弃，对老年人的护理应重新纳入普通医学中。
