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Originally Posted by Villages PL
Have we been lulled into complacency by those who would model themselves after a fictional doctor and say, "trust us, we know what's best for you?"
In last Sunday's Daily Sun there were about 12 questions or points that the new doctors had to measure up to. Things like, "were they good students in medical school and would they relate or interact well with other doctors and patients." Do they enjoy or love their work? It seemed as though the questions covered all the bases.
But there's no indication that anyone is asking this all important question: Do you (or will you) like working with patients who are old and sickly. How do you feel about old people in general? Do you value them? Would you look upon a 90 year old patient as having a future, or would you look upon that person as having lived long enough already? As a family doctor, what do you know about the special needs of the elderly? You haven't specialized in Geriatrics, so what makes you think you will know everything that you need to know to provide the best possible care?
A doctor could have had the best grades all through medical school and that still wouldn't make him or her a geriatrician. In order to become a doctor one must have a superb memory but but a GP can't remember something that hasn't been learned in the first place. Specialties exist for a reason but will we be told we can have any specialist we need as long as it's not a geriatrician?
I propose that each clinic have at least one geriatrician. We have been told that what's new about these clinics is that they will put the patient first, rather than money or the welfare of the attending GP. If they really meant it, why shouldn't they provide doctors who are specially trained to care for those who have reached an advanced age?
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I believe these facilities are based on the Mayo and Cleveland clinics. So, I'm not concerned about what name they use. I would guess that any doctor considering on working in these Villages facilities would realize that the patients would be older.