19% of US Psychiatrists Are Over the Age of 65

Nineteen percent of US psychiatrists are over the age of 65, compared with 12 percent of other physicians; 30 percent of psychiatrists and 20 percent of other physicians are over the age of 60. The median age of psychiatrists is in the mid-50s.

There is a growing divergence between increasing demand and shrinking supply of psychiatrists. Psychiatrists less available today for providing integrated psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Even in their role simply as medication managers in split treatment, most psychiatrists in private practice seem accessible only to affluent, full-fee patients outside managed care.

Australia is currently experiencing widespread shortages of psychiatrists. The changing nature of the workforce and increasing demand mean that these shortages are unlikely to ease.

While Australian psychiatrists have previously been predicted to retire at age 70, data indicates that the majority (62 per cent) remain in the workforce beyond that point. Psychiatrists retire later than the general population in general and many do not expect to retire at all. Psychiatrists may choose to keep working well into old age. Fears about losing their professional role, letting patients down, and the inability to find a replacement to take over their practice contribute to a psychiatric career that extends into the seventh and eighth decade.