Economic constraints, effects of retrenchments in federal health policy,
and increased competition for resources are challenging all sectors of
academic medicine. Departments of psychiatry are at particular risk during
this era for reasons including the lack of a sound research and research
training base in many psychiatry departments; the small number of students
entering the field and implications therein for the availability of
residency slots in psychiatry; and patterns of allocating resources within
academic medical centers which, combined with biases in reimbursement
policy toward cognitively based specialties, threaten the economic strength
of psychiatric departments. A conceptual model based on marketing
principles is proposed to aid in identifying and capitalizing on the unique
strengths of the field.
Abstract Teaser