Geriatrics was not spontaneously recognized as a special branch of medicine; like pediatrics, it met with slow response. When Abraham Jacobi gave the first course in pediatrics in 1859, it was coolly received; the medical profession had to wait thirty-seven years for a textbook on diseases of infancy and childhood. The word geriatrics was coined by Nascher in 1909, and five years later he completed a textbook on diseases of old age, which went through a second edition in 1916. It was then that Nascher decided to enter the Public Welfare Department of New York City and suggested that I carry on; with his help and advice, this seemed possible.

老人科不是自然而然地被认为是医学的特殊分支。像小儿科一样，它反应迟钝。1859年，亚伯拉罕·雅各比（Abraham Jacobi）开设了儿科第一门课程时，它得到了冷落。医学界不得不等待三十七年才能获得一本有关婴儿期和儿童期疾病的教科书。老年医学一词是纳舍尔（Nascher）在1909年创造的，五年后，他完成了一本有关老年疾病的教科书，该教科书在1916年进行了第二版。那时，纳舍尔决定进入纽约市公共福利局，建议我继续；在他的帮助和建议下，这似乎是可能的。