Preparing Veterans Health Administration Psychologists to Meet the Complex Needs of Aging Veterans

Abstract

Background: There are significant workforce shortages for geriatric mental health care. The imbalance is particularly pronounced in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) due to the large number of aging veterans receiving care. Workforcebased educational programs are needed to train existing clinicians to meet the mental health needs of aging veterans. Observations: This article describes an expansion of the Geriatric Scholars Program to train VHA psychologists to care for aging veterans. The multicomponent program includes an introductory course and opportunities to apply geriatric knowledge and skills through quality improvement initiatives. The Geriatric Scholars Program-Psychology Track evolved to incorporate ongoing specialized elective learning opportunities for scholars. A webinar series extends the educational programs to reach the entire VHA workforce. Conclusions: The Geriatric Scholars Program-Psychology Track represents a longitudinal educational approach to training VHA psychologists in clinical geropsychology. Other community-based organizations can use this model to construct and implement similar programs.