Older and wiser

If the rigours of crisis care, community geriatrics, and academic work left me weary, an afternoon in the outpatient clinic would always lift my spirits. Although some elderly patients advised me not to get old (saying that it was not much fun), most would delight me with their humour, resilience, wisdom, and patience. I was impressed by their individuality, their remarkable devotion to care giving, and their contributions to the cohesion of the local community. It occurred to me that they were the healers; I was the patient.

My joy in being a geriatrician often puzzled my colleagues and non-medical friends, who considered the specialty worthy but dull and depressing. Perhaps some feared their own mortality or worried about decrepitude, disability, dementia, and dependence. All would have read newspaper headlines warning of the demographic time bomb, grey hordes, silver tsunamis, and portents of intergenerational warfare.

Journalistic clichés about the negative …