Older Age for Every Training Stage: Confessions of a Geriatric Psychiatrist

Abstract

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, individuals 60 or older will make up 20% of the US population, with about 15% experiencing mental disorders.(1) Unfortunately, the number of geriatric psychiatry fellows has dropped by 55% between 2022 and 2021.(2) Furthermore, the number of Black and Latinx fellows who graduate from a geriatric psychiatry program remains in the single digits.(3) This statistic is concerning given the increasing proportion of aging Black, Latinx, and Asian adults.(4) This session aims to share insights from psychiatrists of varying levels of training on strategies to improve diversity, recruitment, and retention within the field of geriatric psychiatry.Citations1. World Health Organization. (2017, December 12). Mental health of older adults. World Health Organization. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults2. Conroy, M. L., Yarns, B. C., Wilkins, K. M., Lane, C. E., Zdanys, K. F., Pietrzak, R. H., Forester, B. P., & Kirwin, P. D. (2021). The AAGP Scholars Program: Predictors of Pursuing Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Training. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry: official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(4), 365–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2020.07.0123. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education data ... - ACGME. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2022, from https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/publicationsbooks/2020-2021_acgme_databook_document.pdf4. U.S. Census Bureau. Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census. Retrieved August 28, 2022 from https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html