Geriatrician
Geriatricians are specialist physicians who work out what is treatable in older patients living with frailty, dementia and several conditions at once, and what will keep them living independently.
- Median salary*
- $208,000
3.7%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 340
13.3%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +12%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 45/wk
+5h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- In shortage
national
Geriatricians are specialist physicians who look after older people, particularly those living with frailty, dementia and multiple chronic illnesses. Most work in public hospitals, where they lead multidisciplinary teams, with some sessions in residential aged care, community health or private consulting rooms. The role differs from a general physician's in its focus on function and independence: whether someone can keep living at home is often the question that shapes the plan.
How much do geriatricians earn?
The median full-time salary for a geriatrician is $208,000 per annum, before tax, up $42,900 since 2018.
Pay for geriatricians varies more by setting than by specialty. Public hospital staff specialists are paid on a state enterprise agreement, where the scale steps up with years of service, while visiting medical officers and private practitioners bill for the sessions they deliver and cover their own practice costs. On-call duties and after-hours work usually attract loadings on top of the base.
What does a geriatrician do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Assessing older patients who arrive with frailty, falls or confusion, and working out what is treatable
- Reviewing long medication lists and stopping drugs that are causing more harm than good
- Diagnosing and managing dementia, delirium and cognitive decline
- Running family and team meetings to agree a care plan, including whether someone can go home
- Advising surgical and medical teams on falls prevention, rehabilitation and discharge planning for older patients
What skills do geriatricians need?
Employers look for patient care and support, clinical assessment and treatment, medication management, backed by Cerner Millennium electronic medical record fluency and strong empathy and interpersonal care.
Specialist skills
- Patient care and support
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Medication management
- Care planning and coordination
- Health education and advice
Software and tools
- Cerner Millennium electronic medical record
- InterRAI assessment instruments
- MoCA cognitive screening
- PACS medical imaging viewer
- Best Practice or similar practice software
General skills
- Empathy and interpersonal care
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 340 people work as geriatricians in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 12% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a geriatrician?
Here's the path most geriatricians take, step by step.
- 1Complete a medical degree
This is a five or six year undergraduate program, or a four year graduate entry course if you already hold a degree. Clinical placements in hospitals and aged care are part of the degree, and they are the first chance to see whether you enjoy working with older patients.
- 2Finish internship and residency
A year of hospital internship gives you general registration with AHPRA. The resident years that follow rotate through general medicine and its subspecialties, and you apply for physician training during this time.
- 3Complete basic training in adult medicine
Basic training with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians runs about three years, with written and clinical exams along the way. It builds the broad internal medicine foundation that geriatric practice depends on.
- 4Undertake advanced training in geriatric medicine
Advanced training takes a further three years of accredited positions, including terms in aged care, rehabilitation and community services. Finishing it makes you eligible for fellowship of the RACP.
- 5Register as a specialist
Vocational registration with AHPRA recognises you as a specialist geriatrician. From there you might take a public hospital staff specialist post, or build a mixed week of hospital, aged care and private consulting sessions.
Ready to apply as a geriatrician?
Whether you're working toward becoming a geriatrician or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a geriatrician move to?
We don't list lateral moves for geriatricians: leaving means a full new qualification rather than a career move, and the realistic routes in are covered under how to become one.
Who works as a geriatrician?
The typical geriatrician is 47 years old; 56% are men, 72% work full-time, and full-timers average 45 hours a week.
- 47
- Median age
- 44%
- Female share
- 72%
- Full-time
- +5h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a geriatrician?
Geriatric medicine is a slower, more consultative kind of hospital work than acute specialties. Days are built around ward rounds, outpatient clinics, family meetings and case conferences, with the pace set by how quickly a patient's function and social situation can be understood rather than by the next emergency. It suits doctors who like untangling several problems at once and are comfortable with the fact that some of them can be managed but not cured.
What people like
- Time to understand the whole patient. The specialty builds in longer appointments, so you can ask about the home, the carer and what the person actually wants from treatment.
- Teams that include everyone. You work alongside nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and pharmacy, and the plan that comes out of a case conference is usually better than any single clinician's.
- Decisions that keep people at home. Stopping one medicine or arranging a home care package can be the difference between a discharge home and a permanent move into care.
- Shaping how aged care services run. Geriatric services are still being designed in many hospitals, so there is room to set up clinics, falls programs and aged care liaison roles.
What people find hard
- Conditions that don't get better. Frailty and dementia progress, and much of the work is about slowing decline and protecting quality of life rather than curing.
- Arguing for limited beds and services. You will often be making the case for rehabilitation beds, home support or an aged care place in a system where demand runs ahead of supply.
- Meetings and documentation. Family conferences, discharge summaries and liaison with aged care providers take a large share of the week.
- On-call duties. Many geriatricians join the general medical on-call roster, which brings evening and weekend shifts alongside clinic work.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ geriatricians?
Hospitals (public and private) employs the largest share of geriatricians, followed by Specialist medical services.
Top employing industries
- 1Hospitals (public and private)
- 2Specialist medical services
- 3Residential aged care
- 4Community health services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace geriatricians?
This is one of the least exposed specialties in medicine, because the core of the job is a long conversation and examination with a patient who is frail, may be confused, and often cannot describe their own situation clearly. Prescribing software that flags risky drug combinations, imaging viewers and draft discharge letters speed up parts of the work, and tools such as InterRAI assessments and cognitive screening structure the rest, but the judgement about what a person can manage at home stays with the geriatrician.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Comprehensive assessment of a frail patientTaking the history from the patient and the family, checking cognition, gait and falls risk, and working out which problems are treatable happens face to face over a long appointment.30%low
- Medication reviewInteraction checkers and prescribing software flag risky combinations, but deciding what to stop in someone taking ten medicines is a clinical judgement about that patient.25%moderate
- Case conferences with family and the care teamAgreeing a plan with a patient's daughter, the ward nurse and an occupational therapist depends on reading the room and handling disagreement, which software cannot do.25%low
- Discharge letters, referrals and documentationDictation and drafting tools can generate most of a discharge summary or clinic letter from the notes, leaving the geriatrician to check, correct and sign it.20%high
Common questions about becoming a geriatrician
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do geriatricians earn?
Geriatricians earn a median of $208,000 per year before tax. What you take home depends on your setting and seniority, since public hospital staff specialists are paid on state enterprise agreements while private and visiting medical officer work is billed by session.
How do you become a geriatrician?
You need a medical degree, at least a year of hospital internship, basic physician training and then advanced training in geriatric medicine with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, followed by vocational registration with AHPRA. From the start of a medical degree to fellowship, the path usually stretches well past a decade.
Are geriatricians in demand?
Geriatricians are currently in shortage nationally, and employment across the specialty is projected to grow 12% over the decade to 2035. The work sits mainly in public hospitals and aged care services, so new posts follow health service funding and the number of older patients moving through the system.
Will AI replace geriatricians?
No, though parts of the work are changing. Software that flags drug interactions, reads scans and drafts discharge letters already saves time, but a comprehensive geriatric assessment depends on talking with a patient who may be confused or hard of hearing, examining them, and judging what they can manage at home. No system can hold a family meeting or take responsibility for a discharge decision.
What other jobs can a geriatrician move into?
General physicians earn $10,400 less than geriatricians and share most of the clinical ground, since both manage complex chronic illness in hospital inpatients. Resident medical officers bring recent hospital experience and foundational clinical skills, though the move into geriatric medicine means completing specialist training rather than stepping straight across. Many geriatricians also build a mixed week, combining public hospital sessions with private consulting rooms or regular work in aged care.
Do geriatricians work long hours?
Full-time geriatricians average around 45 hours a week, and many take part in the general medical on-call roster, which adds evening and weekend shifts. Outpatient clinics, rehabilitation rounds and aged care sessions are more predictable, so it is often possible to shape a working week around teaching or research.
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- General Physician
- Resident Medical Officer
- Diabetes Educator
- Medical Oncologist
- Respiratory Physician
- Paediatrician
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