OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: A mail survey was conducted in 1988-1989 to study
the professional activities of U.S. psychiatrists. Data from the 19,431
active respondents are reported. RESULTS: Nineteen percent of the
psychiatrists were women, an increase from the 17% reported in 1982. The
median age of the respondents was 50 years. Nearly one-third of the
respondents expressed interest in each of the following areas of
subspecialization: adolescent psychiatry, substance abuse, geriatrics, and
consultation-liaison psychiatry. More than one-fifth reported formal
fellowship training in child/adolescent psychiatry. The psychiatrists
worked an average of 48 hours per week--two-thirds in direct patient
care--in an average of 2.3 different settings. The proportion of
psychiatrists reporting private practice as their primary work setting
showed a marked decline from 53% in 1982 to 45% in 1988. There was an
increase from 4% in 1982 to 11% in 1988 in those whose primary work setting
was a private psychiatric hospital. The typical caseload was over 60
patients, with roughly half that number seen each week. For inpatients
treated, the two most common diagnoses were affective disorders and
schizophrenic disorders. In a typical week psychiatrists treated about
one-half of their outpatients with individual psychotherapy; three-fifths
of these were also treated with medications. The average net income for
psychiatrists working 35 hours or more per week was $99,850 for men and
$73,174 for women. CONCLUSIONS: Major trends evident from this study are
subspecialization, medicalization, privatization, feminization, and
organizational diversification.
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