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One of the results of
modern civilization is the increase in the number of
old aged which is interesting but a little scary. Over
the past 20 years the world has experienced an increased
interest in the phenomena of aging, and this started
when the United Nations considered the year 1983 as
the year for studying the problems of the elderly, all
over the world. This was the same year that the geriatric
medicine specialty started in Egypt as an idea that
came true 2 years later when Ain Shams University Hospitals
established the first Geriatric medicine unit in Egypt.
The Egyptian National Census had shown increased prevalence
of old aged where the prevalence increased from 5.1%
in 1950 to 6.27% in 2006, and it is expected to reach
11.5% in 2025 and to increase to 20.8% in 2050. This
means that, 20 million Egyptians will be categorized
as elderly by that time, which is a big number that
resembles a full nation in some parts of the world.
Geriatrics and the Gerontology Department at the Faculty
of Medicine, Ain Shams University, is the only academic
and clinical department in the Egyptian teaching hospitals
and probably all around the Middle East. The Department
is a pioneer in being the first department to offer
a Master degree and Doctoral degree in Geriatric Medicine,
connected to a specialized residency program and clinical
training courses.
The Department started in 1982 as a day care unit, providing
services to the elderly patients of the medical and
psychiatry department, then development and growth occurred
where an outpatient clinic was established and with
the efforts of the newly joined doctors the Department
was established in 1994, after 12 years of tremendous
effort.
Many Professors with different specialties joined the
department: Professors of neuropsychiatry, internal
medicine, and community medicine and they all interacted
with professors and administrators of the faculty and
in collaboration with the University of Minnesota in
the United States, to develop the first academic and
clinical curriculum for training physicians in this
new specialty in Egypt. A large number of physicians
joined the department and many managed to have Master
degree and also medical doctoral degree (MD) after a
tough academic and clinical training, and in time more
services were developed in the department including
geriatric intensive care unit in 2000, and an osteoporosis
unit in 2002. The physicians of the department of geriatrics
are now running all the services provided by the department,
after adequate professional training. By now there are
more than 50 physicians working in the department with
positions and titles of assistant professors, consultants,
lecturers, and residents fulfilling the residency program.
In addition the department has trained and graduated
many physicians who are working now in the Ministry
of Health in Egypt and in some Arab countries. Establishing
a stable system and advocating the specialty led to
training of new generations of geriatricians and spreading
the department mission locally and regionally.
The main objective of the department
is to achieve the best possible quality of life and
the highest degree of independence for old age group
strata that is characterized by physiological decline
in organ reserve, co-morbid medical conditions, polypharmacy
and atypical presentation of diseases, delaying disease
diagnosis in addition, to social and psychological changes.
All of this makes the elderly prone to impaired quality
of life and increases the need for such a specialty.
The scope of the department
involves three main domains; education, research, and
services. The department involves 23 inpatient plus
10 ICU beds, an osteoporosis Unit, and daily outpatient
clinic. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is being
carried out through a multidisciplinary team including
geriatricians, nurses, social workers, physiotherapists,
psychologists, dietician, and speech therapist. In addition
to the care offered to the patient, family and caregiver
education and psychological support is offered by the
team.
The main scope of the department is to prepare qualified
specialists. The department is the only one in the Egyptian
universities offering Diploma, master degree, and medical
doctoral degree in Geriatric medicine. The academic
education is tightly connected to the clinical training
and experience. With the ongoing residency training
program, there are several training and educational
courses offered by the department for non-geriatricians
in Egypt to increase awareness of the trainees by geriatrics
and services needed for the elderly. The department
is also involved in the teaching process of the undergraduates
and introduced the first undergraduate course in geriatrics
in Egypt to promote skills of handling elderly patients,
and to spread knowledge about geriatric medicine and
gerontology. The curriculum includes Introduction to
Geriatric Medicine, Physiological age related changes,
Comprehensive geriatric assessment, Atypical presentation
in elderly, and the main geriatric medicine domains;
Delirium, Dementia, Urinary incontinence, Pressure ulcers,
Osteoporosis, and Falls
Postgraduate residency program and courses aim to produce
a certified qualified specialist, and consultant efficient
enough to share effectively in the Egyptian health system.
The curriculum being taught for the postgraduate course
includes basic sciences related to geriatrics, together
with clinical practice, management and skills. Also
some courses are designed for physicians of the Ministry
of Health, nurses and caregivers.
Much research was carried out by the department covering
varying fields of geriatric medicine and published in
varying national, regional and international journals.
And still ongoing research is being carried out to study
the old aged population and their needs.
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