Dataset Information

The unknown profession: a geriatrician.

ABSTRACT: The term "plastic surgeon" is oddly uninformative, although it seems likely that most people know what plastic surgeons do. How well can a sample of individuals encountered on the street describe what geriatricians do? To answer this question, we strolled through downtown Baltimore's Inner Harbor, armed with a video camera and picture identification cards to ask the following question: "What is a geriatrician?" Two of us (PA, JY), from the Johns Hopkins Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, surveyed a convenience sample of people aged 18-80. To further enhance this survey, a video of the interviews was produced (available in online version of article). We entered this exercise having recently joined the ranks of geriatricians-prepared to improve the health and quality of care of our elderly patients. Our naive excitement at entering this noble specialty was trampled by the reality that virtually no one we interviewed knew what a geriatrician was. Answers like, "somebody who works for Ben and Jerry's ice cream" were amusing but at the same time typical and sobering. This simple survey reveals a distressing gap in the public's knowledge of the field of geriatrics and the need for better understanding of its importance to public health and individual health. After all, if people do not know what a geriatrician is, how can they support the growth of geriatrics or seek care from us?

SUBMITTER: Campbell JY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3793249 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The unknown profession: a geriatrician.

Campbell Jean Y JY Durso Samuel C SC Brandt Lynsey E LE Finucane Thomas E TE Abadir Peter M PM

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 20130125 3

The term "plastic surgeon" is oddly uninformative, although it seems likely that most people know what plastic surgeons do. How well can a sample of individuals encountered on the street describe what geriatricians do? To answer this question, we strolled through downtown Baltimore's Inner Harbor, armed with a video camera and picture identification cards to ask the following question: "What is a geriatrician?" Two of us (PA, JY), from the Johns Hopkins Division of Geriatric Medicine and Geronto ...[more]

PMID: 23350990

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPerioperative medicine services for older surgical patients are being developed across several countries. This qualitative study aims to explore geriatricians' perspectives on challenges and opportunities for developing and delivering integrated geriatrics perioperative medicine services.MethodsA qualitative phenomenological semi-structured interview design. All geriatric medicine departments in acute public hospitals across Australia and New Zealand (n = 81) were approached. Interviews were conducted with 38 geriatricians. Data were analysed thematically using a framework approach.ResultsGeriatricians identified several system level barriers to developing geriatrics perioperative medicine services. These included lack of funding for staffing, encroaching on existing consultative services, and competing clinical priorities. The key barrier at the healthcare professional level was the current lack of clarity of roles within the perioperative care team. Key facilitators were perceived unmet patient needs, existing support for geriatrician involvement from surgical and anaesthetic colleagues, and the unique skills geriatricians can bring to perioperative care. Despite reporting barriers, geriatricians are contemplating and implementing integrated proactive perioperative medicine services. Geriatricians identified a need to support other specialties gain clinical experience in geriatric medicine and called for pragmatic research to inform service development.ConclusionsGeriatricians perceive several challenges at the system and healthcare professional levels that are impacting current development of geriatrics perioperative medicine services. Yet their strong belief that patient needs can be met with their specialty skills and their high regard for team-based care, has created opportunities to implement innovative multidisciplinary models of care for older surgical patients. The barriers and evidence gaps highlighted in this study may be addressed by qualitative and implementation science research. Future work in this area may include application of patient-reported measures and qualitative research with patients to inform patient-centred perioperative care.

Project description:BackgroundLebanon boosts one of the highest pharmacists to population ratios globally (20.3/10,000). Yet, workforce analysis elicited serious concerns with the distribution, practice environments and regulation of Lebanese pharmacists. Recent workforce data shows that the profession has been majorly destabilized with hundreds of pharmacists closing their pharmacies or losing their employment. Proper planning for the future of the pharmacy profession in Lebanon necessitates a deeper understanding of the current challenges and the necessary policy and practice recommendations. The aim of this study is to examine stakeholders' perspectives on the current pharmacist workforce challenges and the necessary measures to support the profession.MethodsThe research team carried out a series of semi-structured interviews with twenty-one key stakeholders within the pharmacy profession in Lebanon. We categorized stakeholders according to their experience as policy makers, practitioners, academicians, and media experts. The interview guide included questions about workforce trends, labor market challenges and recommendations for improvement. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically.ResultsFour major themes emerged from this study: the oversupply of pharmacists in Lebanon, the demand supply imbalance, poor regulation of the pharmacy practice, and the difficult practice environment. There was a consensus among interviewees that the oversupply of pharmacists is due to the poor workforce planning and weak regulatory framework, combined with the easy integration of foreign-trained pharmacists into the labor market. The lack of coordination between the educational and practice sectors is further widening the demand-supply gap. Interviewees further revealed that the regulatory policies on pharmacy practice were outdated and/or weakly enforced which increases the risk of unethical practices and erodes the image of pharmacists in the society. With respect to the practice environment, there is an ongoing struggle by Lebanese pharmacists to maintain profitability and exercise their full scope of practice.ConclusionThe poor pharmacy workforce planning and regulation is significantly weakening the pharmacy profession in Lebanon. A concerted effort between the various stakeholders is necessary to enhance workforce planning, regulate supply, optimize the integration of pharmacists into work sectors of need, and improve the financial and professional wellbeing of pharmacists in Lebanon.

Project description:Mental well-being (MWB) and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) continue to be critical within the veterinary profession but there is less information regarding how professional associations around the world tackle these issues. A mixed-method study including an international online survey in English (n = 137 responses via snowball sampling), fourteen interviews, and two webinars was used to identify the availability and impact of MWB and DEI support programs for veterinarians. Survey results showed that more veterinary organizations designated MWB and DEI challenges (54%, n = 43/79 and 58%, n = 45/78, respectively) as a key priority area than veterinary clinics (26%, n = 15/57 and 33%, n = 19/57, respectively). Whereas, MWB support programs were available in a moderate number of mainly English-speaking countries, DEI support programs were available in only a few countries and focused primarily on specific groups, with an unknown impact due to their recent implementation. Universally, survey respondents believed activities for specific groups, such as MWB webinars, training, and awareness campaigns, as well as MWB/DEI helplines and DEI peer-to-peer support programs had a high impact (median 3.5-4/5) yet were underemployed by both veterinary organization and veterinary clinics. Further feedback from respondents during focused interviews indicated that requiring initial and continuing training as well as tailored group activities would be most beneficial to improve MWB/DEI throughout the veterinary professional career. There are many areas of the intersection between MWB and DEI that remain to be elucidated in the future studies. Having a sufficient sample size, improving accessibility, and addressing varying cultural perceptions are the main challenges, as seen in our study. To truly address MWB and DEI disparities, change is also needed in veterinary workplace culture and environment. In conclusion, raising awareness for an inclusive profession, including increasing openness and acceptance to enhance DEI and destigmatizing MWB challenges, is needed to ensure a thriving, modern veterinary profession.

Project description:BackgroundThe Malaysian Allied Health Profession Act (Act 774) regulates the practice of allied health practitioners in Malaysia, with two described professions viz. allied health profession (AHP) and profession of allied health (PAH). While AHPs have been clearly identified by the law, comprehensive implementation of the act requires development of specific criteria in defining any profession as PAH in the Malaysian context. Hence, the research aims to explore and identify the criteria for defining such professions for healthcare policy direction in Malaysia.MethodsThis research utilised two methods of qualitative research (document review and focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 25 participants from four stakeholders (higher education providers, employers, associations and regulatory bodies). Both deductive and inductive thematic content analysis were used to explore, develop and define emergent codes, examined along with existing knowledge on the subject matter.ResultsSixteen codes emerged from the FGDs, with risk of harm, set of competency and skills, formal qualification, defined scope of practice, relevant training and professional working within the healthcare team being the six most frequent codes. The frequencies for these six codes were 62, 46, 40, 37, 36 and 18, correspondingly. The risk of harm towards patients was directly or indirectly involved with patient handling and also relates to the potential harms that may implicate the practitioners themselves in performing their responsibilities as the important criterion highlighted in the present research, followed by set of competency and skills.ConclusionsFor defining the PAH in Malaysia, the emerged criteria appear interrelated and co-exist in milieu, especially for the risk of harm and set of competency and skills, with no single criterion that can define PAH fully. Hence, the integration of all the empirically identified criteria must be considered to adequately define the PAH. As such, the findings must be duly considered by policymakers in performing suitable consolidation of healthcare governance to formulate the appropriate regulations and policies for promoting the enhanced framework of allied health practitioners in Malaysia.

Dataset Information

The unknown profession: a geriatrician.

Publications

The unknown profession: a geriatrician.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets