Geriatrics: Highlights of the Last 50 Years

The Future of Geriatrics

“…By the mid twentieth century pediatric hospitals have become the norm for high quality care for children. During this time, 2 major texts on geriatric medicine by George Day (1848) and Ignatz Nascher (1914) were published, and there was a variable introduction of old age homes (3,4). Marjory Warren, after working at the workhouse next to the West Middlesex County hospital, argued for the need of special units for geriatric medicine in hospitals.…”

A Debatable Top Ten Papers in Geriatric Medicine List

“…There was none between my top ten shown in Table 1 and the 17 “classic papers” selected by Pignolo ( 2 ) ( Table 3 ), while only seven papers appeared on both my shortlist and the 59 papers referenced by Morley in his highlights of the last 50 years of geriatrics. ( 1 ) Of course, part of the attraction of “best ever” lists is the endless debate they engender. I generally showed greater interest in prototypes or preliminary models rather than the end products.…”

“…Aside from the intrinsic interest of the topic, it also represented an opportunity to introduce a new generation to some of the hard-won lessons of the past. Others have published on work they felt represented significant contributions to the care of older persons, ( 1 , 2 ) but not for this particular audience. Although about children and not young professionals, Plato (429?–347 B.C.E.)…”