Madeleine A Becker1, Mark V Bradley2, Cristina Montalvo3, Sara S Nash4, Sejal B Shah5, Marie Tobin6, Paul H Desan7. 1. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Department of Integrative Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. 2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY; Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Electronic address: cristina.montalvo@bmc.org. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 6. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago IL. 7. Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a national shortage of psychiatrists with subspecialty fellowship training, and many fellowship positions are unfilled. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a survey of US psychiatry residents to better understand the motivation to pursue fellowship training and to determine any specific factors that were particularly influential in choosing a fellowship in consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. METHODS: Online surveys were distributed electronically to US general psychiatry residents through the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training list server. RESULTS: A total of 219 questionnaires were completed. Interest in fellowship declined during residency training. Most important factors in consideration of fellowship training were lifestyle (89%), finances (69%), and academic opportunities (63%). Specific influential factors were residency experiences, attending staff as a role model, and medical school experiences. Most important discouraging factors were extra training time, financial concerns, and belief that fellowship training was not necessary. Only 30% of residents had outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences. Few residents belonged to any subspecialty organization or attended any subspecialty meeting. Residents interested in C-L psychiatry fellowships had lower expectation of increased salary than other residents. Outpatient practice settings were seen as preferable over inpatient settings by most residents. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this survey suggest that enhancing consultation psychiatry exposure in medical school and residency with strong role models, outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences, facilitating subspecialty organization membership and meeting attendance, emphasizing academic opportunities of fellowship training, and improving remuneration for fellowship-trained psychiatrists might be important factors that could improve recruitment into C-L psychiatry and other psychiatric fellowships. Published by Elsevier Inc.
BACKGROUND: There is a national shortage of psychiatrists with subspecialty fellowship training, and many fellowship positions are unfilled. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a survey of US psychiatry residents to better understand the motivation to pursue fellowship training and to determine any specific factors that were particularly influential in choosing a fellowship in consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. METHODS: Online surveys were distributed electronically to US general psychiatry residents through the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training list server. RESULTS: A total of 219 questionnaires were completed. Interest in fellowship declined during residency training. Most important factors in consideration of fellowship training were lifestyle (89%), finances (69%), and academic opportunities (63%). Specific influential factors were residency experiences, attending staff as a role model, and medical school experiences. Most important discouraging factors were extra training time, financial concerns, and belief that fellowship training was not necessary. Only 30% of residents had outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences. Few residents belonged to any subspecialty organization or attended any subspecialty meeting. Residents interested in C-L psychiatry fellowships had lower expectation of increased salary than other residents. Outpatient practice settings were seen as preferable over inpatient settings by most residents. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this survey suggest that enhancing consultation psychiatry exposure in medical school and residency with strong role models, outpatient C-L psychiatry experiences, facilitating subspecialty organization membership and meeting attendance, emphasizing academic opportunities of fellowship training, and improving remuneration for fellowship-trained psychiatrists might be important factors that could improve recruitment into C-L psychiatry and other psychiatric fellowships. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Entities:
Keywords:
consultation-liaison psychiatry; fellowship; graduate medical education; recruitment; specialization