03/18/2015
OPPF consider psychiatry campaign - another great success!
The Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation once again held its "Consider Psychiatry" campaign as part of the recent Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association Annual Psychiatric Update, Tomorrow's Psychiatry Today, which was held on March 15, 2015 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.
The Consider Psychiatry campaign is aimed at inviting Ohio medical students, especially those early in their education when a positive experience is likely to have the greatest impact, to attend the annual psychiatric update. Members of the OPPA cover the cost of one or more students to attend the meeting and serve as their "sponsor and mentor" for the day. Quite often, this one day experience is just the beginning of a longer term mentoring relationship.
In 2015, there were 35 medical students who attended the meeting.
At a time when more than 55% of psychiatrists in the US are over 55, it is critical that we, as psychiatrists, identify opportunities for medical students to experience the practice of psychiatry outside the formal educational offerings. The percentage of medical students choosing residency in psychiatry declined years ago and the number of psychiatry residents has remained essentially flat over the past two decades despite steady increases in the population and the number of medical students and physicians.
There is an urgent need to address the shortage of psychiatrists, and our OPPF is addressing this with Consider Psychiatry, a campaign to recruit medical students to psychiatry, which is made up of two components:
- Support and mentor a medical student to attend the OPPA’s Annual Psychiatric Update; and/or
- Make a tax-deductible contribution of $650 (in lump sum or $65 per month for 10 months) to the OPPF in honor of the 65th Anniversary of the OPPA to help us launch a more formalized recruitment program for Ohio medical students.
In recognition of your support, your name will be displayed on a “virtual wall” on the OPPF website and other publications. Please consider investing to encourage a brighter future for psychiatry and persons living with psychiatric disorders in Ohio.
Let this project be part of our legacy.