This process, referred to as health care going to community, is not too difficult for general medicine. However, psychiatric services, especially geriatric psychiatric services, face a great and rapidly increasing demand. China has 15,000 psychiatrists, one-quarter of the number in the USA, although the population is six times bigger. Among these 15,000 psy-chiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists number no more than 100. Almost all psychiatric hospitals are isolated, both geographically and academical-ly, from comprehensive general hospitals.
Most psychiatric hospitals have yet to establish geriatric wards.
What I really want to say is, you always can do something to change the place around you. Although I had been working in a geri-atric ward in Beijing for almost four years, I had a stronger interest in psychopharmacology, partly because pharmaceutical companies were more generous than governmental foundations if you happened to do some research related to their products. The four months I spent in Normanby House, St. George s Hospital, Melbourne, became a turning point in my life. I know how a geriatric team works and what great achievements this work can bring. I brought back thousands of new ideas, mixed with the bright sunlight and the smell of the fresh green grass of Australia.