Global survey on geriatrics in the medical curriculum

The report concludes that most of the health care systems in existence are not prepared to provide adequate care to a much larger older population despite population ageing predictions. But it is not enough to develop education in old age care corresponding to the growing elderly population. Responsibility to guarantee the optimum in health care at all stages of the life course is an ethical imperative. Therefore in-depth training in old age care, as well as a life course perspective, is necessary at the undergraduate level as well as at the postgraduate level.

A plan must be developed, especially in developing countries to cope with the fast growing population numbers that are coupled with a lack of training in old age care.

This task is not easily accomplished, as teaching geriatric medicine should be implemented in the very near future, but with a minimum use of financial and human resources. Bureaucratic obstacles can be avoided in many countries. Most of the developing countries are not tied down to national curricula or objectives, and therefore have the opportunity to more easily adapt local curricula to changing needs. For an overall coverage, improved and quality controlled faculty-spanning approaches are needed.

A political approach, as is seen in European countries, is possible and desirable. Nevertheless, the outcome may not be the same in countries without countrywide objectives or curricula. A higher efficiency could be achieved through local approaches, e.g. through the involvement of medical students associations and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) [adapted from authors]