Home visits in geropsychiatry fellowship training.
OBJECTIVE
The psychiatric home visit is an effective intervention for elderly patients who otherwise would not receive mental health services. Home visits also have potential to be useful for training. Here, the current practice of home visits in geropsychiatry fellowship programs is examined.


METHODS
The directors of 55 current geropsychiatry fellowships in the United States were sent a 13-item questionnaire regarding the use of home visits for training.


RESULTS
Of the 51% of programs responding, 57% provide a formal home-visit experience for fellows. Respondents commented favorably regarding the educational value of home visits, but raised concerns about funding this time-intensive clinical activity.


CONCLUSIONS
Training programs in geropsychiatry can benefit from the inclusion of home-visit programs. A description of a recently established home-visit program illustrates the feasibility of such an enterprise when developed as a collaboration between a teaching hospital and an appropriate community agency. This arrangement provides training for fellows and allows the agency to provide broad mental health services.
Roane
David M
DM
Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY 10003, USA. droane@bethisraelny.org
Teusink
J Paul
JP
Wortham
Jennifer A
JA
D000368:Aged; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires