Message from professor
The Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics at Nagoya University was established in 1979, making it one of the first geriatrics departments to open in Japan. The department has traditionally trained future leaders in (1) the practice of holistic geriatric medicine, (2) research to advance the field of geriatrics, and (3) community-level geriatric medicine, while bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to learn from each other.
In modern medical practice, results of large randomized controlled studies are considered to be the most important evidence. However, the patients that geriatricians routinely see are often excluded from large randomized controlled studies—they are frail older people with declining physical, cognitive, and organ function, as well as multiple co-morbidities. In clinical practice, a broad knowledge of a variety of evidence is needed, and a comprehensive approach that crosses organ systems should be taken when treating geriatric patients. As geriatricians, we must always consider multiple angles when determining whether or not the evidence from studies is directly applicable to treating our patients—we must not only know the evidence itself, but also have a deep understanding of its origin, purpose, and limitations, and we should always be thinking about how to apply the evidence in practice. Also, when providing holistic treatment to patients with multiple comorbidities and other problems, we are often asked to prioritize the person’s lifestyle and personality in the treatment we select, which again requires thinking carefully. Treating and caring for elderly adults also requires broad wisdom based on practical experience, which is not the same as evidence. In our department, we hope to foster many geriatricians with knowledge, wisdom, and the ability to think.
There are still many problems that must be solved in geriatric medicine. It is a field that demands not only that we consider multiple medical angles, but also that we combine the strengths of professionals across many disciplines to generate research results that address these problems. In our geriatrics department in Japan, where the population is aging faster than the rest of the world, our mission is also to disseminate our research results internationally in order to advance the field of geriatrics on a global level. Of course, we do not conduct research simply for its own sake; it is also important that we apply our findings back to everyday medical practice.
We hope that many prospective students, doctors, and researchers will get to know our department, join us, and experience the true joy that is geriatric practice, while also getting to globally disseminate research results that advance the field of geriatrics.
Message from professor Hiroyuki Umegaki
The Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics at Nagoya University
