Addressing Disparities in Geropsychiatry Education: Lessons Learned from 2020

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, numerous disparities in both geriatric mental health care and geriatric mental health education emerged as challenges for medical educators. Many of these disparities were known prior to the onset of pandemic, including unequal access to geriatric psychiatry educators and clinical experts across the country, as well as limited opportunities for clinical experiences in geriatric psychiatry for medical students and residents. Indeed, the Institute of Medicine Report of 2012, “In Whose Hands: The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults”, had identified the current and projected gaps in geriatric mental health training to meet the needs of an aging population. Since 2020, additional gaps and disparities have been recognized that adversely affect the ability to adequately develop and train the next generation of geriatric psychiatrists, as well as geriatrics-informed general psychiatrists and primary care physicians. The year 2020 also brought to the fore, issues of racism and ageism, both of which may not have been adequately addressed before in geropsychiatry education. Yet, racism and ageism are both now more clearly understood as key factors affecting the lives of elders and adding to disparities in geriatric mental health care. At the same time, the challenges of the pandemic led to new innovations in both the delivery of geropsychiatry education and the content of the education strategies that will help to mitigate disparities for patients and trainees. This symposium will address 3 key areas related to disparities in geropsychiatric education and will share important insights that should inform future approaches to geropsychiatry education. Dr. Susan W. Lehmann will present on: “’In Whose Hands?’: Where are we today?” In her talk, Dr. Lehmann will discuss the 2012 Institute of Medicine Report that described the deficiencies and disparities in geriatric mental health education identified in 2012, and she will provide an update 10 years later about what has changed since the report, and what remains to be done. She will specifically talk about geographic disparities in opportunities for training and the impact of these disparities on the mental health care of older adults. Dr. Lehmann will discuss the need for professional organizations to focus on national approaches to advocacy and change. Dr. Kirsten Wilkins will present on: “Challenges and Opportunities: Preparing the Next Generation of Geropsychiatry Trainees”. In her talk, Dr. Wilkins will discuss disparities in health care that were exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and which negatively impact geropsychiatry education. She will address the clinical care training challenges presented by unequal access to telemedicine for elders, as well as the challenges of incorporating virtual care into the geropsychiatry curriculum for trainees. Dr. Wilkins will also address the national reckoning on race and racism that emerged during 2020 and its impact on older adults and the learning environment for geropsychiatry trainees. She will discuss the implications for geropsychiatry educators in preparing trainees to be leaders in eliminating the deleterious effects of racism and ageism for older adults. Dr. Michelle Conroy will present on: “Innovations and opportunities within geriatric psychiatry education: lessons learned from the COVID-19” pandemic. She will discuss innovations in geropsychiatry education that were developed during the Covid-19 pandemic in response to identified disparities, and lessons learned for educators that should continue into the future. In particular, she will describe a number of successful new outreach programs, didactics, and educational products developed by geropsychiatry educators in AAGP.