Four practice opportunities for new grads

Psychology students and recent grads say they're anxious about their future careers, but the opportunities are out there, Nabil Hassan El-Ghoroury, PhD, said at APA's Annual Convention. At a session Saturday on the future of psychology practice, El-Ghoroury outlined several growing opportunities for psychologists, including:

• The aging population. Baby boomers are living longer, creating a demand for more services in geropsychology and neuropsychology. Also, psychologists are among those retirees, opening up positions for the next generation of practitioners.
• The nation's diversifying demographics. Culturally competent services are a growth area as the nation becomes more ethnically and racially diverse. As a result, bilingual psychologists are in hot demand. "I have no shame in saying that my ability to speak Spanish is the reason I got my job," said El-Ghoroury, who is a pediatric psychologist at an Ohio county hospital.
• Military service members need psychologists' services. With so many returning from war with post-traumatic brain disorder and traumatic brain injuries, "the VA is hiring big time," said El-Ghoroury.
• A greater interest in autism. Thanks to the passage of the Combating Autism Act of 2006, the federal government is spending $1 billion to better understand and treat autism. "This offers psychologists a real possibility of working on autism in the health or education systems," he said.

The session was sponsored by APA's Board of Professional Affairs.