The big shortage: Geropsychologists discuss facilitators and barriers to working in the field of aging.

Abstract

Geropsychology is a vibrant field of scientific study, pedagogy, and clinical practice, and the need for more geropsychologists will only expand as the population ages. This study involved in-depth, semi-structured telephone interviews with 30 clinical geropsychologists about their training and current work. Qualitative coding of interviews was undertaken using an inductive coding approach. Results revealed four major themes: factors influencing entry into the field of geropsychology, the rewards of being a geropsychologist, competing demands on time and money, and barriers to involvement in leadership. These results suggest some possible points of intervention to attract people to the field of aging and promote their professional development and success.

Australian psychologists' perceptions on their role in end‐of‐life care of older adults

“…It was suggested greater development opportunities would reduce ageism and would stimulate greater interest in working within EOL care. This is consistent with previous research (Davison et al, 2017) where a large proportion of psychologists have had no professional experience with elderly patients (Merz et al, 2017). Generally, participants believed that psychologists may need more training in detecting the signs of and working with elder abuse and needed greater familiarity with the ethical guidelines for working with older adults from the APS.…”

“…Clinical exposure to older clients and relevant training in geropsychology correlated with greater involvement with older populations. Similarly, personal experiences with older people and exposure to older clients during training experiences were very influential for practitioners choosing geropsychology career paths (Merz et al, 2017). Financial and time resources were reported to constrain the development of leadership roles in geropsychology, with the authors concluding that providing mentorship is essential for recruiting and maintaining clinicians, teachers, and researchers in the field of ageing and psychology.…”

Healthcare Quality Improvement Competency: A Clinical and Training Imperative for Geropsychology

“…Although there may be perceived barriers to publishing QI work, QI may be a more feasible alternative than traditional research for clinical geropsychologists who wish to remain active in conducting and publishing works of scholarly inquiry. Clinical geropsychologists, as well as clinical psychologists in other specialties, generally experience low research productivity due to clinical demands (Merz et al, 2017;Smith & Thew, 2017). QI offers clinical geropsychologists an opportunity to not only use their clinical skills but also their knowledge and skills in scholarly inquiry and scholarly writing.…”

Geropsychology career pipeline perceptions

“…In contrast, exposure to older adults is an important factor in increasing interest in geriatrics, partially by increasing an understanding of normative aging patterns and thereby challenging embedded ageist beliefs (Gendron et al, 2016; Merz et al, 2018). Higher career commitment to geriatric work has been connected to (1) motivation, (2) a formal gerontological education, and (3) direct personal (e.g., family) and professional (e.g., practicum) exposure (Gendron et al, 2016; Merz et al, 2017; Woodhead et al, 2013). Importantly, professionals who ultimately decide to work with older adults describe the work as highly rewarding and fulfilling (Merz et al, 2017).…”

“…Higher career commitment to geriatric work has been connected to (1) motivation, (2) a formal gerontological education, and (3) direct personal (e.g., family) and professional (e.g., practicum) exposure (Gendron et al, 2016;Merz et al, 2017;Woodhead et al, 2013). Importantly, professionals who ultimately decide to work with older adults describe the work as highly rewarding and fulfilling (Merz et al, 2017).…”