Training for Research and Teaching in Geropsychology: Preparing the Next Generation of Scholars and Educators

Development and evaluation of a national careers in aging webinar series for psychology trainees

Trainees may be interested in careers in aging but unfamiliar with career options, leading to a shortage in the geriatric workforce. In response to needs identified at a national geropsychology training conference, a multisite faculty group developed a six-session webinar series about careers in geropsychology, detailing career options in six unique settings. Each webinar session featured a moderated discussion with a panel of four professionals currently employed in the career of interest. The webinar was advertised to clinical and counseling psychology trainees with a potential interest in age-related careers, with evaluation of the series primarily including trainees from graduate programs, clinical internships, and postdoctoral fellowships. Participants rated their attitudes and beliefs about each career option at pre- and post-discussion. On average, each webinar session was attended by 48 individuals (SD = 12, range = 33-60). At baseline, attendees reported significantly more interest in careers in clinical practice compared to other careers, and interest in university settings increased from pre- to post-discussion. Across all six sessions, participants reported increased understanding of training experiences that would be helpful in pursuing that specific career. Findings point to the feasibility and utility of webinars for enhancing interest and confidence in pursuing careers in aging.

Building the Geropsychology Workforce: A National Survey and Virtual Conference Define Critical Obstacles and Steps Forward

The number of psychologists prepared to work with older adults falls far short of the demand. In the face of perceptions of a worsening geriatric workforce shortage, we describe the process of developing and implementing a national virtual conference aimed at generating solutions. A preconference survey (n = 174) found fewer applicants than desirable for aging-targeted graduate student, trainee, clinician, or academic positions (58.6%) and decreased student interest in aging (43.7%), with downstream consequences of filling age-targeted positions by those without aging backgrounds (32.3%), difficulty securing funding for aging-related positions (28.7%), and loss of aging-related positions (27.0%). Two fifths (40.7%) felt these problems have worsened as compared to 5 years ago. Qualitative responses provide detailed perspectives on these barriers and strategies generally and in particular as relates to racial and ethnic diversity and academic geropsychology. During a 2-day conference, attendees developed and prioritized strategies. Following a postconference survey to ascertain interest in volunteering, seven work groups were formed that have made progress on these issues. A virtual conference provides an inclusive, cost-effective, and fruitful opportunity to discuss workforce concerns in geropsychology and to generate numerous ideas to promote positive change.

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

Quality improvement (QI) work is increasingly necessary to ensure healthcare is delivered safely, efficiently, and equitably. As geropsychologists play an increasingly vital role in healthcare service delivery for older adults, it is imperative that they develop professional competence in QI, yet there is little formal QI training aimed at geropsychologists or to graduate students pursuing geropsychology. This article aims to elucidate the importance of QI education and training in geropsychology. In line with the Pikes Peak model for training in professional geropsychology, we outline QI knowledge and skills competencies for geropsychology training and suggest a rubric for integrating QI education into academic and clinical training from graduate school to professional practice. We provide recommended readings that geropsychology educators can read to become familiar with QI or use as part of a syllabus. Finally, we offer some recommendations for how current and future geropsychologists can be leaders in quality improvement work.

Advancing Your Confidence as an Educator (ACE): An Academic-VA Partnership to Enhance Educator Skills and Improve Attitudes About Careers in Aging

Previous research suggests some psychologists may not consider academic careers because of doubts about their teaching competency, and this is especially true for psychologists interested in aging (i.e., geropsychologists). To enhance competencies in the practice of education, we developed a webinar series, Advancing Your Confidence as an Educator, to bolster skills and attitudes toward teaching and improve attitudes about careers in aging. Seven hour-long webinars addressed key skills in developing and executing courses and professional presentations, and 2 panel sessions addressed attitudes toward teaching by featuring early- and later-career professionals discussing their paths to and satisfaction with jobs as educators. Attendance across the highly interactive sessions was robust (M = 50). Evaluation data suggest the webinar was effective in meeting educational needs. To promote sustainable impact, the webinars are archived and freely available online. Challenges in marketing and evaluation arose, but overall, this effort is one way of cultivating a more vigorous interest and self-confidence in teaching.

What geropsychology trainees think geropsychologists do and what we actually do: A mixed-methods Study

A shortage of individuals in academic geropsychology positions further perpetuates the shortage of clinicians trained to meet the needs of the aging population. Barriers to recruiting geropsychology trainees into academia and what attracts trainees into career paths within geropsychology are not understood. The current mixed-methods study examined 1) geropsychology trainees' (n = 28) knowledge and attitudes toward work in clinical or academic positions and 2) professional geropsychologists (n = 67) activities, career expectations, ideal activities, and work/life balance. We asked geropsychology trainees to estimate the amount of time their supervisors spent in clinical, research, education, and administrative activities, and professional geropsychologists reported how they currently spent their time in these same activities. We conducted qualitative interviews asking geropsychology trainees about experiences in academic or clinical settings and geropsychologists about career expectations, opportunities, and work/life balance. Geropsychology trainees had less accurate estimates of academic work time compared to clinically focused work time. Trainee interviews revealed negative perceptions of the university system, including bureaucracy, low salary, and perceived workload. Professional geropsychologists reported high agreement between actual and ideal work time with some individual differences. Each group discussed work-life balance, based on career stage or work setting. Interventions for recruiting more geropsychology trainees into academic jobs are discussed.

Geropsychology career pipeline perceptions

OBJECTIVE

Using the framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory, this study aimed to ascertain attitudes and perceptions of geropsychology career paths, given the present notable geriatric workforce shortage.

METHODS

An online survey was developed iteratively and disseminated through various modalities (i.e., internet, email, word-of-mouth). Participants included 28 predoctoral and 76 professional geropsychologists (N = 107; age M = 39.18, SD = 12.05). The sample was largely female (72%), non-Hispanic White (89%), and has or was working towards their PhD (82%).

RESULTS

Results delineate attractive and unattractive aspects of common career options (academic, clinical Veterans Affairs [VA], clinical non-VA), and assessed the hypothetical proclivity and feasibility of switching between academic and clinically focused careers. The results found gender (women vs. men) and career stages (predoctoral vs. professional) to be significant contributors to career perceptions.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study advances past literature by unveiling potential avenues to ameliorate this workforce shortage within both clinical and academic fields in geropsychology.

Workforce Analysis of Psychological Practice With Older Adults: Growing Crisis Requires Urgent Action

As the proportion and sheer number of older adults in the United States continues to increase, we need to plan for their behavioral health care. Access to accurate data about current workforce characteristics in psychology can provide essential information to inform workforce planning. In this paper, we present results of the American Psychological Association's Center for Workforce Studies survey of psychologists, with a focus on older adults. Participants (N = 4,109) were doctoral psychologists identified through state licensing boards. Only 1.2% of those surveyed described geropsychology as their specialty area, although 37.2% reported seeing older adults frequently or very frequently, most often from the specialties of rehabilitation psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and clinical health psychology. Frequent providers of aging services were more likely to be older, nonethnic minority, working in independent practice as their primary work setting, and self-employed as compared to other respondents. In addition, frequent providers of services to older adults were more likely to be in practices colocated with medical professionals and to accept Medicare as payment. Low reimbursement rates were cited as a reason for not accepting Medicare by those who did not. There was strong interest in further education in aging from all psychologists in areas including adjustment to medical illness/disability, depression, bereavement, dementia, anxiety, psychotherapy, and caregiver stress. The results of this survey suggest a continued urgent need to train psychologists across subfields in foundational geropsychology competencies that all psychologists should possess to be prepared for the rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population of older adults.

Come, join, lead: Attracting students to careers in aging and promoting involvement in gerontological societies

Geriatric educators face the challenge of attracting more clinicians, scientists, and educators into geriatrics and gerontology, and promoting involvement in gerontological societies. A survey of psychologists (N = 100) examined factors that attract students in clinical/counseling psychology to practice with older adults, as well as experiences in organizational service. For 58%, interest in aging began at the undergraduate level, but for others interest developed later. About one half cited academic exposure such as mentorship (51%), research (47%), or coursework (45%) as sparking interest, along with family (68%) or work experience (61%). Involvement in professional organizations lags (58%), in part owing to misperceptions about what those activities require. A continued targeted effort at the undergraduate and graduate level is essential to attract students to careers in aging. To preserve vital professional organizations, enhanced outreach may be useful to dispel myths about service and encourage engagement.

The Big Shortage: Geropsychologists Discuss Facilitators and Barriers to Working in the Field of Aging

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.

Psychosocial Treatment Options for Major Depressive Disorder in Older Adults

Late-life depression (LLD) is a public health concern with deleterious effects on overall health, cognition, quality of life, and mortality. Although LLD is relatively common, it is not a normal part of aging and is often under-recognized in older adults. However, psychotherapy is an effective treatment for LLD that aligns with many patients' preferences and can improve health and functioning. This review synthesized the current literature on evidence-based psychotherapies for the treatment of depression in older adults. Findings suggest that active, skills-based psychotherapies (cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] and problem-solving therapy [PST]) may be more effective for LLD than non-directive, supportive counseling. PST may be particularly relevant for offsetting skill deficit associated with LLD, such as in instances of cognitive impairment (especially executive dysfunction) and disability. Emerging treatments also consider contextual factors to improve treatment delivery, such as personalized care, access, and poverty. Tele-mental health represents one such exciting new way of improving access and uptake of treatment by older adults. Although these strategies hold promise, further investigation via randomized controlled trials and comparative effectiveness are necessary to advance our treatment of LLD. Priority should be given to recruiting and training the geriatric mental health workforce to deliver evidence-based psychosocial interventions for LLD.