Careers Portal

Geriatric Medicine

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First Year Trainee Headcount*
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Advanced Trainee Headcount*
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New College Fellow Headcount*
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Specialist Headcount*
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Median Age*
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Headcount Over 65 Years Old*
*WA figures sourced from NHWDS & MET

Diverse and complex role: The role of a geriatrician is highly varied, with a primary focus on enhancing the quality of life for older adults. Often working with patients who have multiple chronic conditions and complex social circumstances, you will face frequent diagnostic and management challenges. Solutions are typically reached through thoughtful discussions involving you, the patient and/or their family, and the multidisciplinary team.

 Work across a range of settings:

  • Community or hospital-based clinics
  • In-reach services to residential care facilities
  • Home visiting services
  • Hospital settings, including:
    • Acute care
    • ED in-reach services for older adults
    • Perioperative care
    • Subacute care and rehabilitation.

 Key responsibilities often include:

  • Conducting comprehensive assessments of older adults across different settings, such as clinics, emergency departments, and inpatient wards
  • Supervising junior doctors and medical students
  • Collaborating closely with multidisciplinary teams.
  • Holistic, patient centred approach: You should have a strong focus on the overall wellbeing of the patient, considering not just their medical needs but also their social and functional circumstances.
  • Team oriented: Success in this field requires being highly skilled in working as part of a multidisciplinary team, where collaboration is key to providing comprehensive care.
  • Flexible career path: Geriatric medicine offers the flexibility to focus on either outpatient or inpatient care, depending on your interests.
  • Acute care focus: In larger centres, hospital-based work is increasingly oriented towards acute care for older adults, offering opportunities to manage complex, fast-paced cases.
  • Duration: 36 months full-time equivalent training.
  • Core geriatric experience: At least 24 months must be dedicated to core geriatric medicine.
  • Diverse training sites: You’ll need to train across multiple sites to ensure a broad range of experiences.
  • Key geriatric domains: Training covers essential areas, including movement disorders and falls, cognitive decline, acute care of the elderly, perioperative care, and rehabilitation.
  • Growing demand: The rapidly expanding older adult population has significantly increased the need for geriatric medicine, resulting in a rise in shared-care models within hospitals.
  • Aging population: As the population continues to age, the prevalence of conditions affecting older adults will rise, further driving demand for specialised geriatric care.
  • Innovative care models: Emerging models of care that focus on supporting older adults to remain in their homes will create new opportunities and increased demand for geriatricians.