Supervising Committee

Specialist Advisory Committee in Geriatric Medicine (SAC).

Definition of Specialty

Geriatric medicine is concerned with the clinical, social, preventative, remedial and rehabilitative aspects of health and illness in aged people.

General Principles of Training

The trainees should develop:

1. a knowledge of normal ageing processes for the purpose of differentiating them from the illness induced disability;
2. an ability to assess disability and devise appropriate management to reduce such disability or its impact on the aged person, typically using an interdisciplinary approach;
3. an ability to use available resources for rehabilitation;
   
4. an understanding that intervention in the life of an aged person should always be preceded by a comprehensive assessment of that person's overall functioning;
   
5. an understanding of the impact of physical illness, psychological illness, social and environmental factors on the health of an aged person;
   
6. balanced judgement in the application of investigations and therapeutic procedures in the care of aged patients;
   
7. an understanding of the role of preventative approaches for aged people;
   
8. an ability to manage long term disability and to care for the dying.

The body of knowledge that needs to be gained and applied lies largely within the scope of general medicine and its subspecialties with important and substantial contributions from the areas of neurodegenerative disorders, clinical pharmacology, psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine and palliative care. In addition to gaining experience in general medicine and the related science of clinical epidemiology, it is necessary for trainees to develop knowledge of:

• the sociological and demographic aspects of ageing in our society;
  
• the psychological and physical aspects of human ageing;
  
• the special features of illness presentation in aged people with regards to the common clinical syndromes such as confusion, falls, incontinence, impaired mobility and iatrogenic disorders;
  
• the function and organisational aspects of the range of extended care services available for the care of dependent aged people;
  
• administration and management relevant to delivering medical services to aged people;
  
• educational methodology, research and statistical skills and quality assurance skills;
  
• medical ethics pertaining to aged patients.

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