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The Nursing Home and Training in Geropsychiatry
Author(s) -
JACOBSON SEYMOUR B.,
JUTHANI NALINI
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1978.tb05387.x
Subject(s) - medicine , nursing homes , training (meteorology) , nursing , medline , gerontology , physics , meteorology , political science , law
Athough the elderly have a higher incidence of mental illness than other groups, their need for psychiatric services is not being met adequately. This situation could be improved by providing psychiatrists with a broader education in aging and more extensive supervised experience in treating mentally ill old people at an early stage of their training. The Bronx‐Lebanon Hospital established a program for this purpose in cooperation with the Daughters of Jacob Geriatric Center. Second‐year residents in psychiatry are given regular assignments, under supervision, in this multiservice nursing home. They become knowledgeable about the aging process, gain a better understanding of the effect of physical, emotional and social factors on mental health in late life, and acquire a special competence and greater interest in treating the mentally ill aging. The success of the program suggests its value as a means of encouraging psychiatrists to take a more active and responsible role toward the aging.