Holveck Casandra A, Wick Jeannette Y
University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
Consult Pharm. 2018 Mar 1;33(3):130-138. doi: 10.4140/TCP.n.2018.130.
With a population that is increasingly "gray," our nation faces a shortage of primary care providers who specialize in geriatrics. The number of geriatricians per 10,000 adults older than 65 years of age has decreased steadily since 2000. Health care providers from all disciplines (medicine, nursing, and pharmacy) tend not to choose geriatrics as a specialty area. Some are intimidated by the complexity of caring for elderly patients with geriatric syndromes and multiple morbidities. Others, who have little exposure to geriatrics in their undergraduate and graduate programs, are simply unaware of the personal and professional rewards associated with practice in geriatrics. Some choose to pursue more lucrative career paths. Regardless, geriatrics is a rewarding area of specialty, and pharmacists can pursue additional training to become specialists. Few pharmacy curricula offer intense exposure to geriatrics and elder health care. Numerous ways exist for pharmacists to help close the geriatric care gap.
随着我国人口老龄化程度日益加深，我们国家面临着老年医学专科初级护理人员短缺的问题。自2000年以来，每万名65岁以上成年人中的老年医学专家数量一直在稳步下降。所有学科（医学、护理和药学）的医疗保健人员往往都不选择老年医学作为专业领域。一些人因照顾患有老年综合征和多种疾病的老年患者的复杂性而望而却步。另一些人在本科和研究生阶段很少接触老年医学，根本不知道从事老年医学工作所带来的个人和职业回报。有些人选择追求更赚钱的职业道路。无论如何，老年医学是一个有意义的专业领域，药剂师可以接受额外培训成为专家。很少有药学课程能让学生深入接触老年医学和老年保健。药剂师有很多方法可以帮助缩小老年护理差距。
