Tuesday, 19 August 2003: 09:00-10:30 | |||
S032 Where is the Geriatric Psychiatry in Psychiatry Training? An International Perspective | |||
| Recruitment of adequate numbers of geriatric psychiatrists may be the most important challenge facing geriatric psychiatry currently. Reports have consistently underscored the striking imbalance between the demographic need for a larger supply of geriatric specialists on the one hand, and trends in the numbers of faculty, clinicians, and trainees on the other (1-3). There will be a need not only to train sub-specialists but also generalists with sufficient skill to care for geriatric patients with mental health problems. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in adults over age 65 is expected to increase as the population ages and the ranks of the “oldest old” (those 85 and older) swells. Geriatric psychiatry, although increasingly well established internationally at the society level is still struggling to be consistently integrated into general psychiatric training and recognized as a credentialed subspecialty throughout the world. Factors that may contribute to this include competition for training with other subspecialties of psychiatry, lack of clear definition of the role of geriatric psychiatry in distinction from geriatric medicine or neurology as well local service delivery and political issues. This symposium will focus on the current status of geriatric psychiatry training within the context of psychiatry. Presenters will discuss the current integration of geriatric psychiatry into general psychiatry residency training as well as the status of advanced / subspecialty training in geriatric psychiatry in the countries that they represent. The unique perspectives of geriatric psychiatry training in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Latin America and the United States will be discussed. References 1. Reuben DB, Bradley TB, Zwanziger J, et al: The critical shortage of geriatrics faculty. J Am Geriatr Soc 1993; 41(5):560 569 2. Small GW, Fong K, Beck JC: Training in geriatric psychiatry: Will the supply meet the demand? Am J Psychiatry 1988: 145:476 478 | |||
| Chair: | Susan Lieff | ||
| S032-001 Geriatric Psychiatry Training in Canada and the US Susan J. Lieff | |||
| S032-002 Geriatric Psychiatry Training in Latin America Jorge Calderon | |||
| S032-003 Training in Geriatric Psychiatry in Hong Kong, SAR, PR China Helen, Fung Kum Chiu | |||
| S032-004 Geriatric Psychiatry Training in Australia and New Zealand Brian Draper | |||
| S032-005 Geriatric Psychiatry Training in the Netherlands Thea J. Heeren | |||
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