I was talking to a neurologist about careers and he explained it like this " Psychiatry is too wishy-washy for neurologists, and neurology is too much hard science for psychiatrists."
Yes. My family was actually very supportive. They thought that psychiatry fit my personality very well... possibly because my previous preference was for pathology (mostly because I didn't like anything else and I hadn't done a psych rotation yet), and they didn't think that I'd be well-suited for spending all of my time in a lab.
I agree here too. Although I was lucky enough to have a supportive family, if they had threatened to disown me if I'd chosen to be a psychiatrist, I probably wouldn't have gone into psychiatry. Although I love psychiatry, I love my family more... even if they were to say something silly and nonsensical like this.
I would definitely care if my parents disown me. That would really, really hurt. I mean yeah that would make them crap parents, but it would be emotionally traumatizing that the two people who are supposed to love me no matter what could easily abandon me just for picking a certain career path. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can say "eh whatever, I don't need my parents, F what they think" but I'm not one of them. In my culture (and many others), family is everything. I think its hard to pick career (or anything else) over family. I mean after this many years of schooling and all that effort, I'd probably pick psychiatry but it wouldn't be a very fulfilling life without the support and love of my family. Which is why I think it's great we are having a discussion on how we can change the perception of psychiatry and help our families better understand why psychiatry can be a great choice for someone.
I doubt most people's parents would actually disown someone for picking psychiatry, they would just be super unhappy about it and spend all their energy trying to get their kid to change their mind. Arkhangeloid, if you do decide on psych, just give your parents a lot of time
I would definitely care if my parents disown me. That would really, really hurt. I mean yeah that would make them crap parents, but it would be emotionally traumatizing that the two people who are supposed to love me no matter what could easily abandon me just for picking a certain career path. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can say "eh whatever, I don't need my parents, F what they think" but I'm not one of them. In my culture (and many others), family is everything. I think its hard to pick career (or anything else) over family. I mean after this many years of schooling and all that effort, I'd probably pick psychiatry but it wouldn't be a very fulfilling life without the support and love of my family. Which is why I think it's great we are having a discussion on how we can change the perception of psychiatry and help our families better understand why psychiatry can be a great choice for someone.
I doubt most people's parents would actually disown someone for picking psychiatry, they would just be super unhappy about it and spend all their energy trying to get their kid to change their mind. Arkhangeloid, if you do decide on psych, just give your parents a lot of time
Having rotated at several different hospitals associated with several different academic programs (I did a lot of away electives and the like), I think that this is largely institution-dependent. Psychiatry is more well-respected at some institutions than others. At my current institution, psych has a reputation for being very neuroscience-oriented (since our department does a lot of basic science research... we're second only to IM in total research dollars secured by any one department at the institution, despite being at a very research-heavy school and having fewer faculty members than many other departments). There are some institutions where psych has developed a very different reputation for a variety of reasons.
Hell, I was talking to a Chinese MD/PhD student the other day, and the topic of our impending arranged marriages came up haha.
As "love marriages" (as they are called in India) go against ours.
I mean, nobody's asking you to get one yourself. But I figure that you might as well understand and respect the institution, because you chose to enter a field full of people who practice it.
You must not have read the entire thread. The OP's parents' concerns have been resolved and they are now on board.
+1. It's largely a cultural thing, but the idea that you should "forget your family and do what you want" doesn't jibe with a person who WANTS to make their family happy. If my family was vehemently opposed to psych, I probably would have been happier as an ED doctor who has a good relationship with his family. As in other areas of life, you have to weigh the pros and cons of every option. If I like another specialty slightly less than psychiatry but it doesn't have the blaring con of compromising a relationship that's important to me, then I'd be happy to pick my second-favorite specialty.
How do your parents have a "stake" in the specialty you choose? Once again, are you "perceiving" that your father would disinherit you over a specialty decision? The match is something out of your control and you nor your father get to decide how it works. It is you and only you that will have this career and will be going to this job for the rest of your life.
The same ones who believe that true career success is achieved through GPAs and standardized test scores at the expense of what are considered more "soft" factors. No career works like that, not even medicine.
