The Maryland Plan: The Rest of the Story

Since 1976 the Maryland Plan, a statewide initiative sponsored jointly by the University of Maryland and the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration, has recruited more than 200 university-trained psychiatrists into Maryland's state hospitals and community mental health centers. Although the plan's goals and strategies have been well publicized, no comparable joint state-university recruitment program has been launched outside of Maryland. The authors describe the conditions in Maryland that made successful collaboration possible, including a large and stable university residency program, attractive incentives available for the university from the state, a favorable economic climate, a crusading spirit, and psychiatric authority in the central office of the mental hygiene administration.