Most stressful careers?

[ClinPsycMasters]

I don't know where to post this, so I would appreciate it if mod moves it to its right location, if this is not it.

Two comparisons, one general, one specific:

When you think about mental health careers, can you rank them in terms of how stressful they are? I had a discussion with a clinical social worker about who has the more stressful job, in terms of emotional stress (and related somatic symptoms or physical disease), considering a typical day at work, particular patient populations we deal with, etc. We can also include psychiatrists here, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurse, etc.

More generally speaking, what about other occupations? I found a few different rankings (reliability and validity?) that ranked mental health/social services occupations as stressful even though the ranking included other highly stressful jobs like that of a police officer.

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[Manicsleep]

Regarding the first part I would break it down like this.

1) Location, Location, Location: What is the environment. Outpatient, inpatient, day hospital, suburbs, inner city etc. Psych ER of inner city in a large metropolitan would be high on my list.

2) Workload

3) Responsibility: This breaks down 2 ways. The most stress is usually for the people in the trenches. Interns, nurses, LCSWs etc. When the stuff really hits the fan however, the guys on top really feel it.

I would say its tough to beat a sleep deprived intern at a busy psych ER in a major metropolitan hospital with limited resources at 2 in the morning on your 30 hour shift when there are several people waiting on you and the wards are acting up with personality disordered patients.

 

[docma]

Having actually done the psych ER as an intern and in early career I would say that it can be high adrenaline--but not necessarily high stress--as you are almost never the "only and final decider" on a disposition--and your shift is usually over after 8 hours and you can relay the "baton" to the next staffer. And in those jobs you actually often feel quiet effective on some days, just not all days..and the work can be sad.

I think the worst-stress jobs are management/administration, where you have multiple decisions affecting multiple others and limited resources that can change due to external funding--plus acute clinical decisions at times when you are the "buck stops here person". If you add in a high acuity setting (eg: prison or pricey private inpatient where people can be litigious), I think you have a "worst case stress scenario).

Ultimately, a lot of the key re: stress is learning how to keep your own balance in whatever job and how to differentiate what is under your control and your responsibility and what is not.

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

Personally this is what I think, starting with the least stressful and working my way to the most stressful job:

psychiatrist<clinical psychologist<social worker

If you work in ER, you'll be stressed, that's for sure. So both an ER psych and social worker have to deal with tremendous stress. However, social workers generally have more stress as they have to deal with some really scary situations, like child abuse, and they don't get paid much.

 

[psychmama]

Ultimately, a lot of the key re: stress is learning how to keep your own balance in whatever job and how to differentiate what is under your control and your responsibility and what is not.

I really agree with this. This is probably the most important thing I've learned on internship.

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

Stress is a personal thing. Careers in these fields are highly variable. I don't think this is a comparison that can be made.

Though I mostly agree with you, I still think that if we narrow it down to particular work settings and patient population, we could make some informed guesses.

We could consider various theories regarding occupational stress, looking at decision making latitude, control, demands, etc.

Social work, generally speaking, comes across as the most stressful one, imo.

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

Yes, I think you are right. I was thinking of traditional social work. I have been considering going into social work myself because you can do psychotherapy, open your own private practice, teach, and make decent money with just your masters. Can not do that with clinical psych. I really do not want to go for a PhD in clinical psych. And I do not want to deal with too much stress at work either, seeing how my personal life is rife with stress presently. I assume one gets training in the traditional areas of social work in a masters program but once you graduate, you have the freedom to customize your practice to suit your goals and personality.

 

[jdawgg]

Yes, I think you are right. I was thinking of traditional social work. I have been considering going into social work myself because you can do psychotherapy, open your own private practice, teach, and make decent money with just your masters. Can not do that with clinical psych. I really do not want to go for a PhD in clinical psych. And I do not want to deal with too much stress at work either, seeing how my personal life is rife with stress presently. I assume one gets training in the traditional areas of social work in a masters program but once you graduate, you have the freedom to customize your practice to suit your goals and personality.

Psychotherapy can be extremely stressful even with clients who are better off. If you're looking for a job in mental health that isn't stressful you wont find it.

 

[ClinPsycMasters]

Stress is a personal thing. Careers in these fields are highly variable. I don't think this is a comparison that can be made.

Psychotherapy can be extremely stressful even with clients who are better off. If you're looking for a job in mental health that isn't stressful you wont find it.

Well, it's all relative, right? It's one thing to deal with violent and entitled parents and terribly abused child in the middle of night--and for little pay I might add--and another to relive patient's past trauma in a comfortable chair in your office. Stress is ubiquitous. Careers in business, law enforcement, and medical field are also stressful, as are repetitive computer jobs, clerical duties, emotionally and physically taxing jobs in service based industries, etc.

I have a background in psychology and I do like to work in a helping capacity, have people contact, and do meaningful work. So I'm looking at my options, focusing in particular on work-related stress but also income.