An accomplished health care professional based in Oregon who has been in the field for 35-plus years, Victoria Deeks serves as a nurse practitioner at Peak Medical Clinic Klamath Falls in Roseburg. Throughout her career, Victoria Deeks has specialized in geriatrics, a medical discipline focused on treating the elderly.
According to recent statistics, the number of geriatric physicians entering the workforce is not enough to meet the growing demand. Current estimates predict that within the next five years, more than 33,000 geriatricians will be needed to serve the elderly patient population in the United States, but only 7,000 such doctors are working nationwide now. And only half of those have full-time medical practices.
There are several reasons why the geriatric field is not seeing growth. Last year, more than 33 percent of fellowship positions in geriatrics didn’t get filled - that’s more than 130 slots left open. But why aren’t graduate fellows interested in these positions? Researchers say it mainly comes down to the money. Geriatricians typically make less than half of what physicians in other specialties earn, such as cardiac medicine or radiology. If the current trend of low interest continues, the focus will likely shift to geriatricians serving as experts who train physicians and other staff in primary settings in the intricacies of geriatric medicine.
According to recent statistics, the number of geriatric physicians entering the workforce is not enough to meet the growing demand. Current estimates predict that within the next five years, more than 33,000 geriatricians will be needed to serve the elderly patient population in the United States, but only 7,000 such doctors are working nationwide now. And only half of those have full-time medical practices.
There are several reasons why the geriatric field is not seeing growth. Last year, more than 33 percent of fellowship positions in geriatrics didn’t get filled - that’s more than 130 slots left open. But why aren’t graduate fellows interested in these positions? Researchers say it mainly comes down to the money. Geriatricians typically make less than half of what physicians in other specialties earn, such as cardiac medicine or radiology. If the current trend of low interest continues, the focus will likely shift to geriatricians serving as experts who train physicians and other staff in primary settings in the intricacies of geriatric medicine.
