This document provides an overview of geriatrics physical therapy responsibilities. It defines geriatrics as the branch of medicine focusing on healthcare for the elderly. It discusses the history of geriatrics, differences from adult medicine, geriatric specialties, common medical conditions, employment outlook, and achievements in geriatric physical therapy research and practice. The goal is to promote health and prevent/treat diseases and disabilities in older adults.

1. Geriatrics -PTA responsibilities
PTA 100
Troy Metzinger
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2. Objectives
• Define geriatrics
• History of geriatrics
• Differences between adult and geriatric medicine
• Types of geriatric specialties
• Geriatric giants
• Surgical geriatric specialties
• Medical conditions
• Salary Data
• Employment outlook
• Achievement in geriatric physical therapy research and
practice.
• Conclusion
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3. Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health care
of the elderly. It aims to promote health and to prevent and treat
diseases and disabilities in older adults.
• There is no set age at which patients may be under
the care of a geriatrician. Rather, this is determined
by a profile of the typical problems that geriatrics
focuses on.
• People over the age of 65 make up one of the fastest
growing segments of the population of many
industrialized nations. The variation in health, daily
function, cognition, social roles, and living conditions
among these older adults requires that allied health,
medical, social service, social science, health
education, health management, and movement
science professionals develop the competence to
address the unique needs of this age group.
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4. History of Geriatrics:
• “The Cannon of Medicine” written by Abu Ali Ibn
Sina in 1025
• Arabic physician, Ibn Al-Jazzarr Al-Qayrawani
(898-980), addressed sleep disorderss and another
one on forgetfulness and how to strengthen
memory
• The first modern geriatric hospital
• "Father" of Geriatrics, Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher
• "Mother" of Geriatrics, Dr. Marjorie Warren
• Most pressing issue facing geriatrics is the
treatment and prevention of delirium
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5. Differences between Adult and
Geriatric medicine
• Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on
health care of the elderly. It aims to promote health
and to prevent and treat diseases and disabilities in
older adults. The term geriatrics differs from
gerontology which is the study of the aging process
itself.
• Disease is a medical condition where an abnormal
condition impairs bodily function impairs bodily
functions whether it is physically or psychologically.
• Functional ability, independence and quality of life
issues are of greater concern to geriatricians, than to
physicians of adults.
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6. Geriatric Specialities
• Geriatric psychiatry or psychogeriatrics (focus on dementia,
delirium, depression and other psychiatric disorders).
• Cardiogeriatrics (focus on cardiac diseases of elderly)
• Geriatric nephrology (focus on kidney diseases of elderly)
• Geriatric Rehabilitation (focus on physical therapy in elderly)
• Geriatric oncology (focus on tumors in elderly)
• Geriatric rheumatology (focus on joints and soft tissue disorders
in elderly)
• Geriatric diagnostic imaging
• Geriatrics dermatology(focus on skin disorders in elderly)
• Geriatric subspeciality medical clinics (As Geriatric
Anticoagulation Clinic Geriatric Assessment Clinic, Falls and
Balance Clinic, Continence Clinic, Palliative Care Clinic, Elderly Pain
Clinic, Cognition and Memory Disorders Clinic)
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7. Medically Treatment Issues
• Treating an elderly patient is filled with complications with the
major difference of treating a geriatric patient is that treating an
elderly person sometimes needs to have a guardian or healthy
proxy make the medically decision required for the situation or
treatment required. The issues of power of attorney, privacy, legal
responsibility, advance directives and informed consent must
always be considered in geriatric procedure
•
• Geriatric pharmacotherapy(medications)
• Issues with medications often need to be addressed with the
elderly because of the multiple over the counter medications and
herbs as well as those medications prescribed by their physician.
Many of the drugs that are taken by the elderly have many
contraindications with other medications they may be taking and
react in an adverse way to other medications.
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8. • The presentation of disease in elderly
persons may be vague and non-specific and
may also be a secondary symptom to the
actual cause of the issue. Description of the
disease itself may be the patient not being
able to verbalize or explain the symptoms
due to confusion or delirium caused by the
disease itself.
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9. Elderly Disease and the
Geriatric Giants
• Elderly disease and the geriatric giants
• Immobility
• Instability
• Incontinence
• Impaired intellectual memory functioning
• Elderly care
• Delirium
• Multiple medications
• Impaired vision
• Impaired hearing
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10. Surgical specialties directly related to
geriatrics
• Orthogeriatrics (close cooperation with orthopedic surgery )
• Geriatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Geriatric Urology
• Geriatric General Surgery/Trauma
• Geriatric Gynecology
• Geriatric Ophthalmology
• Geriatric Anesthesia (focuses on anesthesia & perioperative care of
elderly)
• Geriatric Intensive Care Unit: (a special type of intensive care unit
dedicated to citically-ill elderly)
• Geriatric Nursing (focuses on nursing of elderly patients and the aged).
• Geriatric Nutrition
• Geriatric Occupational Therapy(part of Geriatric Rehabilitation)
• Geriatric Pain Management
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
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11. Medical conditions
• Dementia.
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Heart disease*
• Osteoporosis
• Parkinson's disease
• Sleep disorders
• Stroke
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12. Geriatric Psychology
• As society continues to age and more information
becomes clear as to the way the body reacts to time
and the abuse the body takes over time the treatments
of aging and its diseases will become more efficient
and effective. The process of developmental learning
as we age from childhood to adulthood and to the
elderly stages of development has begun theories of
how the brain reacts to those learned processes or
experiences.
• The experience of physical activity not only proves to
be physically helpful but mentally the mylen sheaths
continue to be activated in brain and thicken, showing
to show a delayed onset of dementia.
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13. The College of St. Catherine
Physical Therapist Assistant Program
• June 2007
• Employment/Salary Data:
Reported Range of Current Hourly Salaries:
Full time Geriatrics = $17.50 – $22.50
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14. EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK FOR
PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANTS
• Employment of physical therapist assistants expected to grow much faster
than the average through the year 2010
•
• The large baby-boom generation is entering the prime age for heart
attacks and strokes
•
• Medical developments should permit an increased percentage of trauma
victims to survive, creating added demand for therapy services.
•
• “Physical therapist assistant is listed in the Top 100 Occupation List as
number 69th , with a 41.1% increase anticipated between 2000-2010
•
• Job outlook for physical therapist assistants is described as “Very Good”
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15. Minimum Geriatric Competencies
• Cognitive and behavioral disorders
• Medication management
• Self-care capacity
• Falls, balance, gait disorder
• Atypical presentation of disease
• Palliative care
• Hospital care for elders
• Health care planning and promotion
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16. Awards in geriatric physical therapy
• Adopt-A-Doc Program
• Clinical Educator
• Clinical Excellence
• Consumer Brochure Contest for Students
• Distinguished Educator
• Entrepreneurial Loan
• Excellence in Research
• Fellowship for Geriatric Research
• Joan M. Mills; Outstanding Service
• Lynn Phillippi; Advocacy
• Outstanding PTA
• Previous Award Recipients
• Student Award for Research
• Student Membership Award
• Volunteers in Action
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17. Conclusion
• As the population ages, so does the need for
those trained in the specialized care of the
elderly patient as it applies to the physical
therapy and its treatments required for
quality of life and independent living
activities
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18. • ^ GERIATRICSFOR-SPECIALISTS INITIATIVE (GSI)
• ^ Increasing Geriatrics Expertise in Surgical and Medical Specialties
• ^ Howell, Trevor H. (January 1987), "Avicenna and His Regimen of
Old Age", Age and Ageing 16: 58–9, doi:10.1093/ageing/16.1.58,
PMID 3551552,
http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid
=3551552
• ^ Howell TH (1972). "Avicenna and the care of the aged".
Gerontologist 12 (4): 424–6. PMID 4569393.
• ^ Pitskhelauri GZ, Dzhorbenadze DA (1970). "[Gerontology and
geriatrics in the works of Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (on the 950th
anniversary of the manuscript, Canon of Medical Science)]" (in
Russian). Sov Zdravookhr 29 (10): 68–71. PMID 4931547.
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