National Doctor’s Day

March 30th is designated as National Doctor’s Day, and it’s meant to bring attention to the role physicians play in our lives. They’re especially important to those living in Maryland’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities who need more attention because of their health conditions and age. There were about 209,000 practicing primary care physicians in the U.S. in 2010, according to research by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Primary care physicians are considered those working as family physicians and general practitioners, general internists, general pediatricians and geriatricians. Of the 624,434 physicians in the country who spend most of their time in direct patient care, slightly less than one-third are specialists in primary care. Every nursing home is required to have a medical director. Often, a nursing home also assigns a doctor to care for residents. Most work part-time and are contracted to do the work. One type of specialist is a geriatrician who works in a sub-specialty of internal medicine. It’s one of the few medical specialties in the country whose numbers are shrinking while the need for their services increases, ranking at the bottom of the specialties that internal medicine residents choose to pursue, according to the New York Times. A geriatrician is a physician who is certified in internal or family medicine and who has additional training in the care of older adults. They provide clinical care and are able to navigate the many psychological and social problems that often plague our aging population. Today there are about 7,000 geriatricians practicing in the country. The American Geriatrics Society estimates that to meet the demand of our future, older population, we will need at least 6,250 additional geriatricians between now and 2030, or about 450 more a year than the current

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