How competitive are non-psychology majors for psychiatry residencies?

[Gauss44]

...compared to psychology majors?

If everything else was equal (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

If the non-psychology major had slightly better stats (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

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[Holmwood]

...compared to psychology majors?

If everything else was equal (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

If the non-psychology major had slightly better stats (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

Your college major would have virtually no bearing on your likelihood to get into a psychiatry residency. That may be good news or bad news, depending on your situation.

 

[235009]

Picking a college major based on how it'll look on your residency application? Congrats on reaching the pinnacle of neuroticism.

Your goal should be to get into a US MD school then as long as you're an average student you should have your pick of psych programs as it is one of the least competitive specialties.

 

[Whatyousay]

I don't think the psych residents that I've rotated with even remembered their undergrad majors.

 

[Holmwood]

Picking a college major based on how it'll look on your residency application? Congrats on reaching the pinnacle of neuroticism.

Your goal should be to get into a US MD school then as long as you're an average student you should have your pick of psych programs as it is one of the least competitive specialties.

I don't think it's overt neuroticism. Maybe just lack of information on what matching entails. Most pre-meds don't look that ahead into residency specifics (well at least I didn't, hee hee.)

Ditto on your last point.

 

[235009]

I don't think it's overt neuroticism. Maybe just lack of information on what matching entails. Most pre-meds don't look that ahead into residency specifics (well at least I didn't, hee hee.)

Ditto on your last point.

My point was that you shouldn't worry about the specifics of the residency match while you're in college nor should you try to plan for it

 

[911 Turbo]

Am I in a troll thread? Why would your college major affect your chances at a residency?

 

[Law2Doc]

...compared to psychology majors?

If everything else was equal (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

If the non-psychology major had slightly better stats (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

Absolutely not. Residencies don't care about your undergrad major. More than that, some Psychiatrist interviewers would find pretty much anything BUT psychology more interesting to talk about in an interview. So no don't try to game the system via an undergrad major. You will be wrong.

Also bear in mind that psych isn't one of the more competitive fields. if you have good step scores and good evaluations, you are going to be in the drivers seat.

 

[DarknightX]

ummmm, pysch is pretty much the easiest residency to get into, so it doesn't matter what your major is.

 

[DermViser]

ummmm, pysch is pretty much the easiest residency to get into, so it doesn't matter what your major is.

 

[Gauss44]

Picking a college major based on how it'll look on your residency application? Congrats on reaching the pinnacle of neuroticism.

Your goal should be to get into a US MD school then as long as you're an average student you should have your pick of psych programs as it is one of the least competitive specialties.

No, your assumption is incorrect. I'm a college graduate. Thanks for the insult.

 

[Gauss44]

My point was that you shouldn't worry about the specifics of the residency match while you're in college nor should you try to plan for it

Much better. I would still argue, that planning and thinking ahead are good things to do.

 

[Gauss44]

Absolutely not. Residencies don't care about your undergrad major. More than that, some Psychiatrist interviewers would find pretty much anything BUT psychology more interesting to talk about in an interview. So no don't try to game the system via an undergrad major. You will be wrong.

Also bear in mind that psych isn't one of the more competitive fields. if you have good step scores and good evaluations, you are going to be in the drivers seat.

Thanks for all the helpful information.

Don't fall for MeatTornado's negative rumors. He made up the part about "choosing a major" and "worrying." I am a college graduate researching this topic, not an undergrad, etc.

 

[Gauss44]

Am I in a troll thread? Why would your college major affect your chances at a residency?

Psychology and psychiatry are pretty closely related IMO. Showing an early interest in a specialty helps, or so I've been told.

 

[Gauss44]

I don't think the psych residents that I've rotated with even remembered their undergrad majors.

That's sad.

 

[Gauss44]

ummmm, pysch is pretty much the easiest residency to get into, so it doesn't matter what your major is.

Almost every pre-med psychology major that I've countered says that they want to do psychiatry.

 

[Holmwood]

Question.

Would a publication during undergrad working with psychology faculty benefit you in anyway for matching. That's the one merit of choosing psychology as it is easier to secure faculty research within your major.

 

[DarknightX]

Almost every pre-med psychology major that I've countered says that they want to do psychiatry.

Go look at the average Step 1 score for psych.

It's on the low end in terms of competitiveness. Not trying to be mean, but it's not ortho, derm, or plastics.

 

[DarknightX]

Question.

Would a publication during undergrad working with psychology faculty benefit you in anyway for matching. That's the one merit of choosing psychology as it is easier to secure faculty research within your major.

Psych is not difficult to match into, if you have a pulse and pass step 1, you'll find a spot.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Psychology and psychiatry are pretty closely related IMO. Showing an early interest in a specialty helps, or so I've been told.

Nope. Major in whatever you want.

But if really want to major in something similar to Psychiatry, I recommend double majoring in black box pharmacology and placebology.

 

[Goro]

Chill. While I disagree a lot with Meat, his answers were spot on, and most people in posting questions in the is thread are pre-meds. Until someone IDs themselves as a non-trad or a graduate, I always take them to be still in college.

And, hold very still while I bring the knife out, the naivete of your question was something I'd expect from someone in the very early years of their UG education, not from someone who has been a member of this board for nearly two years.

Thanks for all the helpful information.

Don't fall for MeatTornado's negative rumors. He made up the part about "choosing a major" and "worrying." I am a college graduate researching this topic, not an undergrad, etc.

 

[Holmwood]

Psych is not difficult to match into, if you have a pulse and pass step 1, you'll find a spot.

Maybe I should extend my question to... will any publication during undergrad have bearing on more competitive matches?

Not that I'm interested in those, but just out of curiousity.

 

[NickNaylor]

I haven't taken so much as psych 101 at any point in my educational path. I know nothing about psychology.

I'm going into psych.

 

[NickNaylor]

Nope. Major in whatever you want.

But if really want to major in something similar to Psychiatry, I recommend double majoring in black box pharmacology and placebology.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Thumbs down it all you want. The psychiatrists I've worked with commented heavily on the black box magic and placebo effects of marketing with regard to many psych meds, especially the antidepressants.

 

[NickNaylor]

Thumbs down it all you want. The psychiatrists I've worked with commented heavily on the black box magic and placebo effects of marketing with regard to many psych meds, especially the antidepressants.

But to suggest or imply that that is the majority of psychiatric practice is naive. Psychopharm is certainly "mysterious" in a lot of ways in that the MOAs aren't known (largely because the disease processes themselves aren't known) but that is only one aspect of psych practice. Not sure what you're saying about anti-depressants as the SSRIs in particular are pretty effective.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Psychology and psychiatry are pretty closely related IMO. Showing an early interest in a specialty helps, or so I've been told.

Helps what? A potted plant could match into psychiatry. No one cares what you did in college and what your major was.

Psychology that you learn in college and psychiatry are at most peripherally related.

 

[Instatewaiter]

No, your assumption is incorrect. I'm a college graduate. Thanks for the insult.

Whoopdi frickin do. You're still a pre-med telling a resident how med school and residency works... Your insight is no different than that college student you are trying to distance yourself from.

 

[235009]

No, your assumption is incorrect. I'm a college graduate. Thanks for the insult.

So you're asking about something you can't change. Even better!

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe I should extend my question to... will any publication during undergrad have bearing on more competitive matches?

Not that I'm interested in those, but just out of curiousity.

Publication in med school matter much much much more than anything in undergrad, so you still might list it, but wont get enough bang for your buck for it to be described as important. Honestly, if you want to match into psych, good rotation evaluations in your third year of med school and a decent step 1 score will put you in the drivers seat.

 

[toutou]

I haven't taken so much as psych 101 at any point in my educational path. I know nothing about psychology.

I'm going into psych.

Totally did not expect psych from you. Lol from reading all your posts I pictured a DR guy.

 

[NickNaylor]

Helps what? A potted plant could match into psychiatry. No one cares what you did in college and what your major was.

Psychology that you learn in college and psychiatry are at most peripherally related.

Assuming a plotted plant could get through medical school...

 

[DermViser]

Assuming a plotted plant could get through medical school...

Apparently if you didn't strive to go to Hopkins for IM (which is worshipped there) for residency and go into Cardiology for fellowship as he did, you're the equivalent of a potted plant in medicine. Didn't you get the memo?

You're worth nothing in medicine apparently, unless you're sticking stents and unclogging arteries in patients.

 

[DermViser]

Totally did not expect psych from you. Lol from reading all your posts I pictured a DR guy.

Why?

 

[Instatewaiter]

You're worth nothing in medicine apparently, unless you're sticking stents and unclogging arteries in patients.

Quoted for truth.

 

[DermViser]

Quoted for truth.

and for hubris.

 

[Instatewaiter]

and for hubris.

Oh I'm sorry. Not everyone has the moral fortitude to sell out and be a dermatologist.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Oh I'm sorry. Not everyone has the moral fortitude to sell out and be a dermatologist.

Zing.

 

[DermViser]

Oh I'm sorry. Not everyone has the moral fortitude to sell out and be a dermatologist.

It isn't "selling-out" if you actually like the subject matter in question (hard for you to imagine, I know). What about the people going for Rads, Anesthesiology, Path, PM&R, Allergy, etc.? Pretty sure you knew what the lifestyle of a cardiologist entailed beforehand.

 

[Instatewaiter]

It isn't "selling-out" if you actually like the subject matter in question (hard for you to imagine, I know). What about the people going for Rads, Anesthesiology, Path, PM&R, Allergy, etc.? Pretty sure you knew what the lifestyle of a cardiologist entailed beforehand.

Keep telling yourself you didnt sellout. Were the lifestyle and pay different, your interest in rashes and acne would magically disappear. Your sellout and my attitude toward it are independent of either my pay or hours. I had the ability to do derm and it was such a vile concept that I could not stomach it

 

[DermViser]

Keep telling yourself you didnt sellout. Were the lifestyle and pay different, your interest would evaporate magically. Your sellout has nothing to do with either my pay or hours.

Yeah, bc all Derms who come out are making 400K. Some people like the visual diagnostic nature of a specialty - who then naturally go for Derm or Rads. Sorry, that's hard for you to grasp.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Yeah, bc all Derms who come out are making 400K. Some people like the visual diagnostic nature of a specialty - who then naturally go for Derm or Rads. Sorry, that's hard for you to grasp.

Keep telling yourself whatever you need to sleep at night

 

[Aerus]

Keep telling yourself whatever you need to sleep at night

So this is how malignant personalities start off - as pretentious self-righteous jerks who look down on all other medical fields but their own.

 

[DermViser]

Keep telling yourself whatever you need to sleep at night

You're right ALL Derms are making 400 K in private practice regardless of location. Congrats.

 

[DermViser]

So this is how malignant personalities start off - as pretentious self-righteous jerks who look down on all other medical fields but their own.

Which is further amplified by going to Hopkins.

 

[DermViser]

I had the ability to do derm and it was such a vile concept that I could not stomach it

Yeah, uh huh. But apparently you can stomach doing & reading cardiac imaging and stents.

 

[heartsink]

...compared to psychology majors?

If everything else was equal (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

If the non-psychology major had slightly better stats (grades, USMLE, relevant research, etc.), would the psychology major be picked (most of the time, all of the time, some of the time)?

The correct answer is get started on that second degree and do it right this time

 

[Mad Jack]

Am I in a troll thread? Why would your college major affect your chances at a residency?

I did my undergrad in neurovascular surgery and I'm certain it'll pay off.

 

[Ismet]

Let's keep the discussion civil and courteous, please.

 

[Holmwood]

Oh I'm sorry. Not everyone has the moral fortitude to sell out and be a dermatologist.

I am happy that you chose to go with a profession you're passionate about rather than the profession that has a good pay relative to training years.
Maybe you're just angry because compensation is continuing to decrease for cardiologists (who knows what their future salary will become).
Dermatologists aren't the people you should be angry with though. I really hope our country takes better care of our specialists in the future. : (