A Proposal to Address the Workforce Shortage in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Drs. Findling and Stepanova¹ end their Commentary on the workforce shortage in child and adolescent psychiatry with the following statement: “We should use our field's rich traditions and unique insights to establish new ways of doing more for the youths we are honored to serve” (p. 301). They rightly state that “we are proud of our field being able to provide a comprehensive family-centered approach to pediatric mental health care, which often requires substantial time and effort” (p. 301). Unfortunately, they do not specify what a child and adolescent psychiatrist can add to a “comprehensive family-centered approach,” which, more often than not, should be provided by a well-educated family medicine practitioner or pediatrician. Another recent study addressed the recruitment problem in child and adolescent psychiatry² and recognized the emotional stresses during child and adolescent psychiatry training.