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ABSTRACT
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.
Acknowledgments
Barry Edelstein, Amy Fiske, Greg Hinrichsen, Erlene Rosowsky, and Susan Whitbourne provided feedback on earlier survey drafts. The authors thank the directors of clinical training who distributed the survey and participants who completed the survey.
Funding
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs and from the VA Boston Healthcare System. This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the VA Boston Healthcare System and New England GRECC. Dr. Naik is supported in part by the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (#CIN 13-413) at Michael E. DeBakey VAMC.