Geriatric Medicine Guide

Older adults are the fastest-growing group of patients you will care for, and the most complex. Are you ready for them?

An 84-year-old with confusion, a fall, and twelve medicines. A frail patient whose infection shows up as "just not herself." A family asking what matters most when time is short.

Older adults rarely fit the textbook. Diseases present atypically, medicines cause as many problems as they solve, and the best care depends on understanding the whole person, not just the diagnosis.

This Guide gives you a clear, structured way to think about and care for older patients. It moves from the foundations of ageing to the geriatric syndromes, common conditions in later life, and care across every setting, all in plain, practical language you can use at the bedside.

Inside, you'll learn how to:

• Understand the ageing body and why older patients present, respond and recover differently
• Perform a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, step by step
• Prescribe safely and deprescribe with confidence, reducing medication harm in complex regimens
• Recognize and manage the geriatric syndromes: frailty, sarcopenia and falls; delirium and dementia; depression, anxiety, sleep and behavioral symptoms; continence, skin, nutrition and swallowing
• Treat common conditions in later life: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bone, joint and kidney problems, and neurological, sensory, respiratory and infectious disease
• Guide patients safely through hospital care, rehabilitation and transitions of care
• Lead with prevention, ethics and compassion, including palliative and end-of-life care
• Find answers fast with a built-in quick reference section

Why readers choose this guide:

• Practical, not overwhelming: 12 focused chapters in 4 logical parts
• Person-centered: keeps what matters most to the patient at the heart of every decision
• Interprofessional: written for nursing, medical and pharmacy learners alike
• Clinically relevant: connects assessment, syndromes, prescribing and care settings into one coherent approach

This book is for:

• Nursing, medical and pharmacy students on geriatrics rotations or courses
• New graduates and early-career clinicians caring for older adults in hospitals, clinics and care homes
• Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals who want a reliable, readable reference
• Experienced clinicians looking for a concise refresher on modern geriatric care

Every older patient deserves a clinician who sees the whole person. This book will help you become that clinician: confident, thoughtful and ready to deliver safer, kinder care.