Careers in Geriatrics and Gerontology Are Booming

As the “baby boomer” demographic ages, there will be more of a demand for workers that specialize in working with older individuals. Thus, in future years, careers in the gerontology and geriatrics professions will grow. Gerontology, itself, involves studying how the aging process affects people from a physical, mental, and social perspective. On the other hand, geriatrics involves studying both the prevention of disease and its treatment in older individuals. Further, careers that cater to services – whether these services are financial, fitness or health-related services – will grow as well in the near future.

Some of the careers with aging as a focus include:

Geriatric Nurses

Geriatric nurses are registered nurses or registered practical nurses that offer specialized nursing services for older individuals. In other words then, these types of nurses educate older people and their families regarding disease prevention, personal safety issues, and can also access cognitive health in older people. In addition, they watch out for both the physical and mental diseases that are more common in an aging population group.

Geriatric Social Workers

In general, social workers help individuals with personal issues, family issues and relationship problems. Geriatric social workers essentially perform the same duties except that their specialty involves helping older individuals and their families. In other words then, geriatric social workers work to increase the quality of life for older individuals and to help both them and their families lead more proactive lifestyles. More specifically, geriatric social workers, can aid individuals and families dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, assist with issues that arise with the loss of a loved one, work as an advocated for a patient’s rights, and much more.

Personal Support Workers

With an increasing number of seniors living in or choosing to live in their own homes, there comes a need for people to help them with the tasks of day-to-day living – if required. As such, there will be an increased demand for Personal Support Workers or PSWs. In essence, Personal Support Workers help older individuals with a number of tasks that include aiding individuals with baths and personal hygiene needs, performing housekeeping tasks, doing grocery shopping, meal preparation, social support and other important tasks.

Due to an increased aging population, there will be a corresponding need for people that specialize in geriatric and gerontology careers that help this age group.