Workforce Issues in Psychiatry

Abstract

In The Almost Thirty Years that I have been involved in College activities the subject of workforce, its mass, density and distribution have appeared as major problems in the field of psychiatric health care. I intend to suggest today that the problem is essentially insoluble and then, paradoxically, to offer some suggestions towards finding solutions to the grossest and most obvious difficulties. Before proceeding it is probably desirable that I spend a few minutes talking about psychiatry itself, the need for these services and the current demography of the services which attempt to meet this need.