Dramatis personae

I thought it might be useful to list our various medical and social services personnel - for reference. I might come back and update this particular post as time goes by.

Dr Cranium – Geriatrician	Gentlemanly and popular. It was he who broke the news that dad had Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Mandible – Proctologist	Avuncular. Got the run around when dad complained of constipation which seemed to be nothing more than not eating.
Dr Femur – General Practitioner	Cheerful, well-liked by dad. Gets things done.
Dr Anvil – Vascular Surgeon	Has only ever uttered 16 words in his entire life (nine of which were 'no'). Respected by other doctors.
Dr Patella – General Practitioner	Cheerful, trusted by mum, but not apparently by the social services. Very happy to make house calls.
Dr Radius – Opthalmologist	Appears always to be in a bad mood. As a result of which may no longer be getting our business.
Dr Humerus – Psychogeriatrician	Young and considered something of a star by the social services. Next to impossible to contact.
Dr Sacrum – Dentist	Helpful when needed, though this appears to hardly ever be the case.
Dr Sternum – Opthalmologist	Has looked after mum OK. May get to deal with dad too.
Dr Ilium – Cardiologist	Assured but socially shy. Turned dad into a bionic man with a pacemaker.
Dr Tibia – Dermatologist	Quite elderly, but smoothe and ready to chat.
Lana – Case Manager	Cares about mum and dad, but seems unable to provide someone mum really trusts. Has lately seemed to be losing her composure.
Pauline – Careworker extraordinaire	Left work to look after her own family (and demented mother). Appears to have been irreplacable.
Gail – Careworker now also gone	Never quite filled Pauline's rather large shoes. Had trouble finding mum's soft spots.
Gail – Day Care Centre Manager	Tried perhaps too hard to get mum involved, but does a great job of looking after dad on Wednesdays. Brisk and old world in style.
Sophie – Aged Care Assessment Team	The person who decides whether mum and dad are in need of low care (they are) or high care (probably not yet). Extremely gentle in manner.
Diana – Aged Care Assessment Team	Says little, but says what matters. A person I can work with.
Nancy – Sydney Home Nursing Service	Bright and clear thinking. Someone I can work with.
Patrice – Sydney Home Nursing Service	Stubborn and self-important with flashes of a pleasant personality which she does her best to hide. Has made a bad impression on us from day one.
Alison – Careworker	Sneaks into the house while mum is being entertained elsewhere, and leaves it sparkling.
Carol – Careworker	Does the Friday evening meal for mum and dad. Seems great.
Jennifer – Careworker	Does the Monday evening meal for mum and dad. Also seems great.

Comments

1. On Wednesday 15 November 2006, 18:09 by Gail Rae Hudson

Why do you think Dr. Patella isn't trusted by social services?

Also, I don't know whether this applies in Australia, but I recently read two articles, one in the New York Times and one over at MedScape (through my free subscription as a doctor) which spoke about geriatrics medicine suffering a lack of people going into this field, despite, the NYT article mentioned, the fact that geriatricians of all stripes report consistently higher job satisfaction than any other medical practioners. I'm not really surprised at this circumstance. The reasons seem obvious:

1. Probably appears to be less monetarily promising, in part, in the U.S., anyway, because of Medicare payments, which are considered woefully inadequate by physicians, and in part because of the belief that the older people get, the less you can do for them. Interestingly, the book "Sick to Death" mentions that, for the normal person, most of one's professional health care happens in the latter decade or two of one's life.

2. Resistance to the possibility of watching all your patients die.

3. Not having any more idea about "what to do with old people" than the rest of us and fearing being asked for advice on this.

I am impressed by all the medical and social services stand-by staff, though; and by your succinct characterization of each.

Fading from Memory

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