Geriatric Medicine in Sweden

Introduction

Geriatric medicine has been a recognized speciality since 1969 in Sweden. In December 2005 it was decided that geriatrics could remain as a specialty of its own and not, as had been suggested at that time, to become a subspecialty of Internal Medicine.

Delivery of geriatric services

Geriatric Medicine in Sweden is mostly a hospital speciality. Many geriatric clinics have an out-patient unit which is often specialized for i.e. osteoporosis, dementia (memory clinics), stroke or general geriatrics. Patients can be referred from primary care. However, there are no specific geriatric services in primary care.

Geriatricians from geriatric clinics are in many instances delivering medical and geriatric care to nursing homes for the elderly.

Only in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, there are private Geriatric Medicine clinics, but almost all medical care and especially geriatric care in the country is financed publicly.

Postgraduate training

After basal medical training (21 months of internship usually without Geriatric Medicine) most trainees in Geriatric Medicine start a programme that last for at least five years. The different parts of this program are usually the same for all trainees in the country. The fulfillment of the curriculum requirements is assessed during the programme and when the head tutor determines that the trainee has acquired sufficient knowledge and skills according to preset goals the trainee becomes a certified specialist after a central screening procedure.

The curriculum is in concordance with the UEMS – Geriatric Medicine Section training programme. A final specialty examination is today voluntary. A system for accreditation visits at all the training institutions has been in function for some years.

Research in Geriatric Medicine

There are six chairs in Geriatric Medicine located in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmoe, Linkoping, Uppsala, and Umea. All the Departments of Geriatric Medicine are active in research and in Malmo and Gothenburg the research is mainly epidemiology in geriatrics and gerontology, in Umea clinical geriatrics (i.e. falls, delirium) and in Stockholm, Uppsala and Linkoping dementia research.

Organization

• The board consists of approximately ten members and the president.
• The SGF is represented at the EUGMS full board
• Information and guidelines are also regularly placed on the website of SGF.

Scientific Meetings

Since 2005 a yearly meeting “Geriatriskt Forum” is held.