At present geriatric psychiatry is not officially recognized as a sub-specialty within psychiatry in Spain. Training on this subject is currently included in the syllabus of general psychiatric training. Training in some aspects typical of old age psychiatry, such as dementia, are studied as part of postgraduate programs developed by different institutions. In 1998 we created the Master of Science (MSc) degree and the Postgraduate course in Psychogeriatrics as a collaborative project developed by the department of psychiatry at Autonomous University of Barcelona and Sagrat Cor Hospital, based in Martorell near Barcelona. The latter is one of the hospitals belonging to the Catholic congregation of Hospitalary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The MSc in Psychogeriatrics takes place along two academic years and is aimed at medical and psychological graduates. The Postgraduate Course on Psychogeriatrics lasts for one year only and is addressed mainly at nursing, social work and occupational therapy graduates. Both the MSc and the Postgraduate Course have not only theoretical but also practical contents. The theoretical syllabus embraces all subjects in old age psychiatry and is clinically orientated and goaled towards acquiring diagnostic and management skills on the mental disorders of the aged person. The theoretical program is closely related to the practical contents on which students practice on when attending the psychogeriatric unit at the hospital’s quarters. One of the MSc degree’s main objectives is to promote a global view of mental disorders in the elderly with attention to their causes, diagnosis, prognosis, outcome and treatment. It also addresses the complexities of clinical care including ethical and legal difficulties in everyday practice. So far, four generation of students have completed the MSc and five have completed the Postgraduate course. Students with a medical background tend to be psychiatrists, geriatritians and general practitioners. Most students have a concurrent clinical job that is related with the care of the elderly. Although currently both degrees are presence-based, we are now developing a distance-based version to allow registration, on a partial attendance and internet basis, by those living in distant Spanish or Latin American regions. All together, nearly 100 students have now completed our courses. Both the MSc and the Postgraduate course have been held under the auspicious of the Spanish Society of Geriatric Psychiatry and Psychogeriatrics (Sociedad Española de Gerontopsiquiatría y Psicogeriatría).
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