Psychiatric manpower: an overview

There are approximately 25,000 to 30,000 psychiatrists in the United States, some 17,000 of whom are in actual clinical practice. As part of an overview of psychiatric manpower, the authors show the distribution of psychiatrists by state and present population-per-psychiatrist ratios. In discussing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHospital & community psychiatry Vol. 30; no. 11; p. 749
Main Authors Langsley, D G, Robinowitz, C B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.1979
Subjects
Aged
Child
Community Mental Health Centers
Foreign Medical Graduates
Hospitals, Psychiatric
Hospitals, State
Humans
Income
Mental Health Services
Professional Practice
Psychiatry
Schools
United States
Workforce
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Summary:There are approximately 25,000 to 30,000 psychiatrists in the United States, some 17,000 of whom are in actual clinical practice. As part of an overview of psychiatric manpower, the authors show the distribution of psychiatrists by state and present population-per-psychiatrist ratios. In discussing the distribution of psychiatrists in various work settings, they note that the decreasing percentages of psychiatrists in community mental health centers may be related to such factors as the large number of non-hospital-based centers, growing antimedical attitudes in centers, and psychiatrists' inclination to work in a setting similar to their training site. They believe that federal and state support should be increased for university-affiliated psychiatric training programs based in settings where psychiatrists are needed: state hospitals, VA hospitals, community mental health centers, and similar facilities. Such an approach would result in the recruitment and retention of greater numbers of psychiatrists in public service settings.
ISSN:0022-1597
DOI:10.1176/ps.30.11.749