The declining number of U.S. medical students choosing psychiatry as a specialty will exacerbate what the A.P.A. already calls a shortage of psychiatrists, according to a report from the National Resident Matching Program. U.S. News reports today that, according to the APA, about half of the 50,000 psychiatrists in the U.S. are over the age of 55, and many will soon retire.
It appears that psychiatry (the coventional model) is dying.
And based upon its track record (causing more harm than good for the vast majority), it seems unlikely that the public is ready to rush to its aid to provide life support.
Let the old model die.
Let some new models take hold… models of recovery and hope!
Duane
Report comment
Maybe this is connected with books like Anatomy of an Epidemic, The Emperor’s New Drugs, and many more by Moncreiff, Bentall, Angell, Breggin, Healy … information about Open Dialogue’s non-drug success with psychosis … on and on.
The A. P. A claims there are so many exciting developments in psychiatry, but maybe the graduating doctors realize that psychiatry always says that – always pointing to the great discovery that is just around the corner – and see a conflict between the rosy predictions and the mixed (at BEST) results that are being documented for psychiatry’s current remedies.
Psychiatry is justifiably nervous about its reputation among doctors for being quasi-scientific. For very very good reason.
Report comment