Home visits in geropsychiatry fellowship training.

Abstract

The psychiatric home visit is an effective intervention for elderly patients who otherwise would not receive mental health services. Home visits also have potential to be useful for training. Here, the current practice of home visits in geropsychiatry fellowship programs is examined. The directors of 55 current geropsychiatry fellowships in the United States were sent a 13-item questionnaire regarding the use of home visits for training. Of the 51% of programs responding, 57% provide a formal home-visit experience for fellows. Respondents commented favorably regarding the educational value of home visits, but raised concerns about funding this time-intensive clinical activity. Training programs in geropsychiatry can benefit from the inclusion of home-visit programs. A description of a recently established home-visit program illustrates the feasibility of such an enterprise when developed as a collaboration between a teaching hospital and an appropriate community agency. This arrangement provides training for fellows and allows the agency to provide broad mental health services.