title: [Geriatrics - an interdisciplinary challenge].
abstract: The care of elderly patients will continue to challenge the healthcare system over the next decades. As a rule geriatric patients suffer from multimorbidities with complex disease patterns, and the ability to cope with everyday life is severely reduced. Treatment is provided by a multiprofessional geriatric team, and the primary goal is improvement of functional status, quality of life in the social environment and autonomy by employing a holistic approach. In Germany geriatric care is provided by physicians from various medical specialties (e.g. general practitioners, internists, neurologists and psychiatrists). In the training for the subspecialty clinical geriatrics, these specialties enjoy equal rights. Recent efforts to establish a qualification as physician for internal medicine and geriatrics have initiated a discussion to make the suitability for qualification as a geriatrician dependent on the medical specialty. Geriatric patients benefit from multidisciplinary cooperation. Neurologists possess great expertise in the treatment of patients with dementia, depression, delirium, consequences of degenerative spinal cord diseases and vertebral bone fractures, stroke, Parkinson's syndrome, epileptic seizures, vertigo and dizziness, neuropathies, lesions of peripheral nerves and in the multimodal therapy of pain. To function in a position of responsibility in a geriatric department, neurologists need skills in general internal medicine. These are acquired either on a geriatric ward or during specialization as a neurologist by full time secondment to large neurological or interdisciplinary intensive care units.
authors.affiliation: Geriatrisches Zentrum, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Göttingen-Weende, An der Lutter 24, 37075, Göttingen, Deutschland. rnau@gwdg.de.|Institut für Neuropathologie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Deutschland. rnau@gwdg.de.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nau
authors.affiliation: Geriatrisches Zentrum, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Göttingen-Weende, An der Lutter 24, 37075, Göttingen, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Djukic
authors.affiliation: Zentrum für Geriatrie, Neurogeriatrie und Neurologische Frührehabilitation, Evangelisches Krankenhaus Gesundbrunnen, Hofgeismar, Deutschland.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wappler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000639:trends; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D005544:Forecasting; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000639:trends*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000639:trends; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends; D000070516:Intersectoral Collaboration; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009462:Neurology / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Dementia; Depression; Internal medicine; Medical specialities; Neurology