Meeting the geriatric workforce shortage for long-term care: opinions from the field

This article seeks to raise awareness of workforce issues among geriatricians in caring for the increasing number of older Americans with disabilities who will need long-term care. Using a snowball sampling technique, telephone or in-person interviews were conducted with 10 geriatricians to obtain providers' perspectives of the challenges of having an adequate supply of qualified physicians working in Texas nursing homes. Speaking from experience (these geriatricians had an average of 15 years of work experience in nursing homes), the geriatric experts reflected upon reasons for choosing (or not) geriatric medicine; reasons for choosing (or not) to work in nursing homes; and the status of geriatrics in the United States. To meet the increasing demand for nursing home services, the findings of this article suggest strengthening support for the geriatrician workforce. Specific recommendations for training the next generation of geriatricians are presented.