Geriatric Medicine

The Department of Geriatric Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University was established in 1988 and is a comprehensive department integrating medical care, teaching, scientific research, and rehabilitation. It is an authorized site for conferring master’s and doctoral degrees in geriatric medicine and a mobile postdoctoral research station; a National Health Commission Key Clinical Specialty in Geriatric Medicine; a standardized training base of the National Health Commission for geriatric specialists; a national clinical drug-trial base in geriatric diseases; a Ministry of Health model ward for quality nursing; the West China–Chongqing Subcenter of the National Clinical Medical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases; a National Health Commission Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Advanced Cognitive Impairment; an out-of-Beijing teaching and practical training base of the Chinese Nursing Association for specialist geriatric nurses; a key discipline of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission; a key medical discipline of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission; the Chongqing Clinical Quality Control Center for Geriatric Medicine; a demonstration base for implementing clinical nutrition in the Department of Geriatric Medicine; a Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Center for geriatric diseases with a modifier that is not reliably interpretable as written in the source; and a Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Specialized Nursing in Geriatric Diseases, among others. It serves as the chairing institution of the Chongqing Geriatric Medicine Alliance and the Chongqing Geriatric Nursing Alliance, and as the chairing institution for the Geriatric Disease Professional Committee of the Chongqing Hospital Association, the Geriatric Nursing Professional Committee of the Chongqing Nursing Association, and the Geriatric Health Care and Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the Chongqing Gerontology Society. The discipline places great emphasis on clinical care for geriatric diseases, scientific research, discipline development, and talent cultivation, and is an important training base for high-level professionals in geriatric medicine in Southwest China and nationwide. Its reputation places it in the first echelon in Southwest China, and it has been included multiple times in the “Fudan National Ranking of Geriatric Medicine Specialties.” For many years, the department has adhered to practicing medicine with integrity and providing high-quality services, and has received honors including the national titles “Youth Civilization Unit,” “Women’s Civilization Demonstration Post,” and “National Quality Nursing Service Ward”; the titles “Model Post for Female Employees Making Outstanding Contributions” and “Advanced Ward for Quality Nursing Services” from the Chongqing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions; and the titles “Quality Service Window” and “Humanistic Department” from the Chongqing Municipal Health Bureau, among others. The Department of Geriatric Medicine has three wards: acute disease diagnosis and treatment (Yuanjiagang Campus), medium- and long-term chronic disease management (Qinggang Campus), and diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases (Jingwei Campus). It has general geriatric wards and VIP wards to meet the healthcare needs of patients with differing requirements. It currently has 146 beds and 84 in-service staff members, including 4 professors, 8 staff members holding associate professor and/or associate chief physician titles, 4 associate chief nurses, and 14 staff members with intermediate professional titles; 14 holders of doctoral degrees and 16 holders of master’s degrees; 1 person selected for a municipal-level talent program; 1 second-level talent under Chongqing Municipality’s “322 Key Talent Project” (the source repeats “Chongqing Municipality” in this designation); 3 supervisors of doctoral students; and 6 supervisors of master’s students. The department specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of common geriatric diseases and difficult and complicated cases, and has long provided medical, nursing, and health-maintenance services to foreign nationals and people from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. It has developed distinctive strengths in geriatric endocrine and metabolic diseases, geriatric neurological and psychological diseases, geriatric cardiovascular diseases, geriatric infections and critical illnesses, geriatric syndromes and wellness care, and perioperative management of geriatric diseases. It offers such distinctive technologies as the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults; comprehensive geriatric assessment and diagnosis and treatment integrating medical care, rehabilitation, and elderly care; multidimensional assessment and intervention for frailty and sarcopenia; mcfDNA-based early diagnosis and monitoring of bloodstream infections in older patients; and implementation of enteral and parenteral nutrition under complex conditions. Year-round, it operates general geriatric outpatient clinics, expert outpatient clinics, and special-service outpatient clinics, as well as subspecialty outpatient clinics for osteoporosis, frailty and sarcopenia, geriatric infections, geriatric endocrinology, geriatric memory impairment, and comprehensive geriatric assessment; these clinics are staffed by experts with extensive clinical experience. The department has advanced and comprehensive medical equipment, including multifunctional monitors, continuous blood-glucose monitors, 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic and blood-pressure monitors, defibrillators, a computer-based cognitive-function assessment, analysis, and training system, osteoporosis treatment equipment, a biofeedback neurological-function restoration therapy system, upper- and lower-limb active and passive exercise rehabilitation machines, a low-frequency electrical stimulation device for swallowing neuromuscular function, a bladder nerve and muscle electrical stimulation device, an ultra-low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation system, a computer-based aphasia assessment and treatment system, an arteriosclerosis detector, noninvasive ventilators, infrared therapy devices, a bionic pulsed electromagnetic-field osteoporosis treatment system, and other advanced monitoring and treatment equipment. The department has consistently upheld the human-centered service philosophy, “Respect the elderly in one’s own family and extend that respect to the elderly of others; provide professional care for a healthy later life,” and continues to work tirelessly toward the goal of enabling everyone to enjoy “a healthy life in old age” as soon as possible.