The SCAN Foundation

“As the ‘silver tsunami’ prepares to hit the U.S. health care system, some officials worry that there aren’t enough professionals who have been properly trained to work with the unique needs of these senior patients,” according to a May 12, 2010 story by Kaiser Health News. As a result, “the Partnership for Health in Aging [PHA], a coalition of more than 20 organizations dealing with care of seniors, released a set of 23 skills that all health care professionals - doctors, dentists, nurses, social workers and others - should have by the time they graduate.”

Health care professionals, when working as students “get virtually no training in seniors’ special needs, the partnership said.” It’s important to understand that “[o]lder people are not just big children,” said Dr. Todd Semla, the chair of the PHA and the American Geriatrics Society.” The seniors “present health problems and metabolize medications differently than other age groups. For instance, an 80-year-old woman with pneumonia might have milder symptoms than a 40-year-old. Older adults may even have a lower-than-normal temperature, instead of a high fever.” The coalition report, “Multidisciplinary Competencies in the Care of Older Adults at the Completion of the Entry-level Health Professional Degree,”offered examples of important basic skills health workers should have. Those skills include the ability to: “Advocate to older adults and their caregivers interventions and behaviors that promote physical and mental health, nutrition, function, safety, social interactions, independence, and quality of life; Identify and inform older adults and their caregivers about evidence-based approaches to screening, immunizations, health promotion, and disease prevention; and Assess specific risks and barriers to older adult safety, including falls, elder mistreatment, and other risks in community, home, and care environments.”