A Survey of Geriatric Psychiatry Fellows and Program Directors: Specialty Choice, Program Choice, and Program Quality

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Medical Education
• Physician Recruitment

Background:

• Geriatric psychiatry is a critical need specialty.
• Understanding factors influencing fellowship choice is key to improving recruitment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing physicians' decisions to pursue geriatric psychiatry fellowship training.
• To gather insights from both fellows and program directors.
• To inform strategies for enhancing recruitment into this specialty.

Main Methods:

• Surveys were distributed to fellows and program directors of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited programs.
• A 5-point Likert scale was used to assess and rank various factors influencing fellowship choice.
• Data were collected from program directors and fellows identified through the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) listserv.

Main Results:

• High clinical quality of faculty and national reputation of the fellowship were top-ranked factors by both groups.
• Fellows highly valued proximity to family (79%) as a significant factor in their program selection.
• Workload, salary, and visa issues were ranked as low-priority factors by fellows.

Conclusions:

• Family and cultural considerations are highly valued by trainees in fellowship selection.
• The core values of a training program significantly influence physician choices.
• Structural changes incentivizing training and enhancing program quality are recommended to boost geriatric psychiatry fellowship recruitment.