Geriatric Patients are Different

In 1981 I was an Internal Medicine intern rotating through a community hospital in New Jersey.  My job was to carry out the day-to-day patient care under the direction of the private docs.  I will never forget the first experience that showed me that geriatric...

How Much do Medical Residents Know about Pressure Ulcers?

The Answer:  Not as much as nurses!! This past weekend I presented a new study on how much medical residents know about pressure ulcers at the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, FL.  In our research we tested medical doctors in...

Pressure Ulcer Prevention Lacking in High Risk Patients

A major study published in The Gerontologist has shown that pressure ulcer prevention measures are lacking in high risk patients.  A research group based in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine studied...

Ping Pong, Aging, and the Disuse Syndrome

On a trip to Australia this past November I had the opportunity to visit with and photograph the oldest professional ping pong player in the world.  98 year old Dorothy DeLow lives in a well kept home nestled in a suburb of Sydney.  She demonstrated her ability to...

Shakespeare, the Diversity of Aging, and the Need for Geriatrics

The plays of William Shakespeare written in the sixteenth century reflected the culture and opinions of his time.  In Shakespeare’s day, life expectancy was in the 30’s, and Shakespeare himself lived to the old age of 52.  In contrast to today’s population, very few...