What if you don't like Geriatrics??

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dj_smooth

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I recently completed an elective in FP and really enjoyed, but I still don't really like doing health care for the elderly. I'd much rather do ob and peds, but in reality what FP out there really is able to ignore that population, espeically if going rural?? I like the practicality of FP because your knowledge base is so broad, but it also scares me that I wouldn't be able to handle really sick children. It seems that most FP residents aren't bothered much by geriatrics, but I really dread going in to see Mrs. Jones that is 88 with a huge list of meds and endless PMHx. Is FP not for me then?? Thoughts and criticisms are more than welcome.

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you are going to get elderly pts in whatever you choose to do. people are living longer thanks to preventive medicine and advancing technology. so get ready! not to mention the baby boomers are aging and will put a strain on the u.s. health system soon. the good thing about fp is you can tailor your practice to whatever you want. dont want to see complicated elderly pts then send them to the geriatrician. its as simple as that. fp is great in that sense. very flexible. i know fp docs who have been in practice for a long time and are slowing down their practice so dont see peds or ob pts anymore. you can do as much or little as you want. so i would say DONT rule out fp b/c you dont like the geriatric part. but, at the same time you wont be able to refer all your elderly pts out. for the most part elderly pts are great. they are usually very appreciative and love you to death. there are exceptions sure, but all in all they are cool. whatever you do dont do IM if you dont like geriatrics. internists see a ton of old people. not to mention very few have personalities and are very uptight people.
 
IF you really hate Geriatrics, I would say you should either do pediatrics or ob. You could do FP or IM and then do adolescent medicine, which would be pretty cool. You'd have to be in a more urban environment though.
 
like smurf said -- you can refer out the complicated patients. isn't that what fp's do in general?
 
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