Within Geriatric Medicine you are always working as part of a multidisciplinary team and have lots of close interactions with other allied health professionals. In my experience, this means plenty of opportunity for discussion and shared decision making with colleagues, as well as being able to gain knowledge and learn from others’ expertise. This also creates a very supportive environment to work in.
From the Greek: Syn: together & kopein: to cut – referring to a block in blood supply from the body to the brain, most often due a drop in systemic blood pressure. It is defined as (1) temporary and transient (2) a form of loss of consciousness…
As an FY1 in hospital, you will come across lots of patients with dementia. They often have multiple problems requiring longer hospital stays, higher morbidity & mortality. Dementia is a syndrome describing chronic and progressive failure of higher cognitive functions (e.g. memory, planning, emotional control), affecting daily functioning. Types and presentation Knowing the subtype &
Fragility fractures in the elderly As a junior doctor on call, in geriatrics or in orthopaedics – you will frequently look after frail and elderly patients with multiple co-morbidities admitted with fragility fractures providing input on their pre & post-operative care. Fragility fractures are fractures that result from mechanical forces that would not ordinarily result
In this article, we will present several common scenarios involving Parkinson’s disease (PD) that you might face on the ward or on call. We will not go into too much detail about the pathophysiology of the disease – as fascinating as it is. This is more of a quick practical guide, on how to deal
Patients may live or be discharged to a wide variety of social care settings and understanding these is important for any foundation doctor. This can help you have conversations with patients and their families about the services the patient may already have in place on admission or will have on discharge. If you’re looking to
It is important for junior doctors to understand what the discharge planning process involves so you can have an active role in multidisciplinary team meetings. This article focuses on discharging home with an appropriate package of care but discharge planning also involves discharging to different types of homes (which is discussed in another article). Introduction
What is frailty? In simple terms, frail patients lack physiological reserves, and it takes more for them to bounce back after an insult. Contrary to common beliefs, frailty is not an inevitable part of ageing. It does not necessarily imply multiple comorbidities, although these often co-exist. There is a growing body of evidence about the
Dying is a natural process and unfortunately, something that we all come across in our daily jobs, including whilst on call. Despite this, very little time is dedicated during our training towards managing the dying patient. Instead, all the focus is upon saving and resuscitating the patient. The question is though, what do we do
Acute confusion, otherwise known as delirium, is very common in hospitals: 20-30% on medical wards, and between 10-50% of those that have surgery develop delirium. Types of Delirium Hyperactive – agitated, delusions, hallucinations, aggression Hypoactive – harder to spot – lethargy, psychomotor retardation, excessive sleeping, inattention – often misdiagnosed as depression Mixed Predisposing factors Previous
