Here’s My Business Card

One of the words on my business card is ‘Gerontology.’ 

 

Interestingly, to me, is the fact that I don’t think I have ever been asked about that ‘qualification.’  I don’t know whether people do not know what the word means, or whether they think it is some spurious attribution or pseudo-science, or whether it conjures up some negative inevitability they would rather not think about. 

 

I do, indeed, have a certificate in gerontology from my nationally accredited university that certifies that I have successfully fulfilled the course requirements, field work, and practicum associated with the study of aging.  I’m glad I took the course of classes even though I have never pursued a career or remunerative work in the field. It will (and already has) prepare me for my future much more than pediatrics ever will. 

   

Gerontology (broadly) addresses the normal aging processes—biological, sociological, and psychological; geriatric medicine, by contrast, deals with the abnormal—illnesses, diseases, and treatment.  The goal of gerontology is ‘To add life to years—not just years to life.’ (Gerontological Society of America) 

Why did I choose to undertake such a subject?  Since I, like you, am aging I was curious about what I was getting into.  Like many things, there is a need to understand how and why we age, and why we die, and what, if anything can we do about it.  In case you have missed it, thoughtful people have observed that we are in an extraordinary growth of aging populations throughout the world.  If the trend continues, and if we are unprepared for it, we may have a calamity on our hands. The political, ethical, social, psychological, and familial implications of aging are enormous.  We no longer have the luxury of ignorance on this issue.

Our changing demography necessitates we have an informed public.  And you and I are part of that.  Perhaps I should have put that on my card: ‘Part of the aging public.’

Think about it.