Training in Geropsychiatry-Impact On Resident’s Subsequent Career

Abstract

Graduates from a psychiatric residency program who had previously completed extensive training in geriatric psychiatry and were now in practice completed a questionnaire regarding their post-residency career choices. Results revealed that 4% of the graduates listed geriatric psychiatry as an area of specialization. Of the patients currently treated by the graduates, patients over age 51 accounted for 19% of their clinical practice. The impact of the training program in geriatric psychiatry on subsequent careers, and the applicability of this questionnaire for monitoring the career of graduates from other training programs, is discussed.