Open AccessGeriatric Emergency Care in Canada: Present and Future
Author(s) -
Nancy Shi,
Anamika Mishra
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
uwomj/medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-8274
pISSN - 0042-0336
DOI - 10.5206/uwomj.v89i2.10537
Subject(s) - geriatric care , triage , preparedness , feeling , geriatrics , emergency department , medicine , geriatric psychiatry , population ageing , medical emergency , burnout , nursing , population , family medicine , psychology , psychiatry , political science , social psychology , environmental health , law , clinical psychology
With the growing senior population in Canada, geriatric emergency care becomes an emerging field of importance in medicine. This article will provide an overview to the current state of geriatric care in the emergency department (ED) in Canada by reviewing recent peer-reviewed literature. Although emergency medicine (EM) physicians have a series of sophisticated triage tools and algorithms, Canadian EM residents report feelings of ill-preparedness to treat geriatric patients in ED. High levels of burnout and frustration have been reported by EM staff including physicians and nurses regarding their attitudes towards elderly patients in the ED. The article concludes with several areas to focus on in order to improve geriatric EM in Canada, such as more efficient resource allocation, geriatric exposure in EM resident training, and room for respectful mutual decision-making between EM physicians and the elderly patient and their families.