Perceptions of psychiatry of old age amongst psychiatry registrars in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perceptions of psychiatry registrars of their training experience in Psychiatry of Old Age (POA), and whether factors such as clinical exposure and stage of training correlate with these perceptions., METHOD: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) registrars were surveyed in September 2009. Demographic information, POA exposure and responses to 14 statements related to registrar experience were collected., RESULTS: From 978 surveys sent, 226 responses were complete enough to be analysed. Themes that emerged included a high level of enjoyment of a POA rotation, favourable views of supervision, the challenging nature of managing medical co-morbidities and concerns regarding the teaching of cognitive assessment. In general, type or duration of POA exposure and demographic variables were not correlated with a significant difference in perceptions of the field., CONCLUSION: These data may be useful in addressing a shortfall of trainees in POA, which has implications for the health of older Australasians. It may inform service providers and the RANZCP of factors that could be modified or optimised to encourage registrars to consider subspecialty training in the area.