Academic geriatrics in Singapore

Abstract

Singapore is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world. The proportion of adults aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 8.7% to 20% over the next 20 years. The country has developed various strategies to meet the needs of this increase in older adults. There is an acute shortage of geriatricians and a need to train more healthcare workers to care for older adults. Geriatric medicine is a relatively new specialty, and a small number of geriatricians have been tasked with providing an increasing load of clinical service, education, and research. Hence, there is a need to develop a cohesive structure of support for faculty development and retention, advanced specialty trainee recruitment, leadership in medical education, research, and clinical service to care for the rapidly aging population. In addition, geriatric medicine is primarily a hospital-based specialty in Singapore. There is still opportunity to collaborate and improve the academic and practice integration of geriatric medicine into primary care and intermediate and long-term care where it is most needed. © 2011, The American Geriatrics Society.