INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES AND A CAREER AS A GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRIST

The population of the United States is aging. Currently people over the age of 65 years constitute 13% of the general population. By 2050 this number will rise to about 25% of the population. As the population ages, the number of older adults with mental illness will also rise. Available data indicates that there are inadequate numbers of trained geriatric psychiatrists in United States to care for older adults with mental illness. The additional burden for services in the future on an already strained healthcare system can lead to catastrophic failure of the system. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) constitute almost half of the work force of geriatric psychiatrists. The IMGs have had successful career as clinicians, educators, academics and researchers in geriatric psychiatry. In this symposium we will enumerate the unique challenges faced by the IMGs and strategies on enable them to integrate into the mainstream geriatric psychiatry workforce. We will review the roles of IMGs as private practitioners, educators, academicians and as researchers. We will also discuss how organizations like the AAGP can play a greater role in attracting larger number of IMGs to join the geriatric psychiatry workforce and also the AAGP. This will enable greater access to care for the older adults with mental illness and maintain the success of AAGP in being the national organization for geriatric psychiatry clinicians in the United States.