I'm wondering if you feel going through medical school was worth it for psychiatry. Would you do it again? Does this job ever get repetitive and tedious over time or does it continue to be intellectually challenging and interesting? And working in the mental health field, have you encountered any other professions that would be equally stimulating?
Worth it?
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You'll get as many answers to these questions as psychiatrists you ask.
For me, though there are hard days, and going through medical training was tough, I can say I've never been bored. It has always been challenging and interesting so far. The field is always progressing and changing, for the better I hope.
It's not repetitive or tedious, and always remains challenging.
I don't know for sure I'd do it again, if I got to start over all the way back as a high school grad. I might make other choices differently, and choose a less stressful profession that would be equally interesting.
However, things being what they are I am proud to call myself a psychiatrist and have no significant regrets. I like my colleagues, who are almost all good, hard working professionals and people, though imperfect as I am.
I hope I have genuinely helped a few people along the way had I not been here, and that's my daily goal.
Financially speaking, everyone's situation is different. It's been worth it to me compared to my past careers.
In medical school, I was nearly persuaded to be a neurologist, pediatrician, or specialize in infectious disease. These are all fascinating fields to me. At the end of the day psychiatry was better for me for a number of reasons such as patient contact, lifestyle, practice options, reimbursement, etc.
For me, though there are hard days, and going through medical training was tough, I can say I've never been bored. It has always been challenging and interesting so far. The field is always progressing and changing, for the better I hope.
It's not repetitive or tedious, and always remains challenging.
I don't know for sure I'd do it again, if I got to start over all the way back as a high school grad. I might make other choices differently, and choose a less stressful profession that would be equally interesting.
However, things being what they are I am proud to call myself a psychiatrist and have no significant regrets. I like my colleagues, who are almost all good, hard working professionals and people, though imperfect as I am.
I hope I have genuinely helped a few people along the way had I not been here, and that's my daily goal.
Financially speaking, everyone's situation is different. It's been worth it to me compared to my past careers.
In medical school, I was nearly persuaded to be a neurologist, pediatrician, or specialize in infectious disease. These are all fascinating fields to me. At the end of the day psychiatry was better for me for a number of reasons such as patient contact, lifestyle, practice options, reimbursement, etc.
Thank you for the response. Can anyone else offer their perspective? By my last question, what I mean is have you been exposed to any other careers in the mental health field that seem as interesting and fulfilling or is psychiatry the only way to go in your opinion?
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Just started 3rd year of residency here.
Worth it? Yes, I think so.
Would I do it again? Yes.
Does it get repetitive? I don't think so. Talk to me in 20 years, haha.
Other Mental Health Fields? Well, I think psychiatry offers the best training to diagnose and treat mental health problems medically. That is, the other mental health clinicians are lacking key pieces of information about differential diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses. See the thread on here about medical causes for more info. If you want to do therapy, we may not be the way to go. If you want to own your own business, there may be better ways, although we're the most sure-fire way to reach a top pay bracket with this.
Let's analyze (briefly) the other options:
- PA: doctor-lite. Shorter track, less money. Limited ability to own your own practice or practice how you want. Not bad if you're ok doing what the doctor wants and having them make $$$ off your work. Essentially doing the same work for less money. Advantage of being able to switch specialties easily, although that will be more limited in the future.
- NP: Noctor. Shorter track, less money. Limited ability to own your own practice or practice how you want...except in certain states where it's noctor=doctor. Perhaps not a terrible option, but I think, honestly, in a lot of ways that Medical school is an easier path. Nursing school is hard too, and in many ways more cutthroat than medical school. You typically have to work as a nurse for a while before you can get into NP school, which would SUCK more than ANYTHING we have to do, IMO. Also, a lot of people don't get in and give up and just keep working as a nurse. Ugh.
- PhD-level therapist: Super-therapist. Lots of school. Also, in some ways, harder than med school. LOTS of papers and writing. Internship is paid about half of what ours is. Missing the medical piece of things.
- Lower-level therapist (i.e SW, etc): Easiest route, but most limited. No medical. Less therapy training. If I had to do it over again, in my personal situation, I would have given a little more consideration to this option. ONLY because I went to medical school later in life, and this would have gotten me done MUCH faster and I could've still owned my own business (my goal) and just hired psychiatrists as employees. That being said, I actually ENJOY being a psychiatrist, which I wouldn't be as an MSW-level therapist. So, I still think med school was worth it.
I should add that I thought med school was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I met some amazing friends and had a great time, despite the hard parts. Residency has been ok too. I really like my classmates, we have parties and get-togethers all the time, and although it's been harder at certain times (i.e. night call, medicine, ugh), it hasn't been all THAT bad, and it's looking up now.
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It was worth it for me but I don't think it will be for most people. What it is IMHO is you will not have a life for about 6 out of 8 years. During the two years where you can have a life, it's going to be in-between the intervals where you don't have one. What am I talking about? Last year of residency, several months in the last two years of mesdchool.
One could argue that delayed gratification is often worth it. IMHO when we're talking about 10% of your entire life-that's something very extreme.
The only way this can be mentally tolerable is if you like what you're doing, and the training to become a psychiatrist is very different from the job of being a psychiatrist. Most psychologists I know didn't go to the route of being an MD or DO because they couldn't do classes such as biochemistry or O-Chem. Even when one finishes those, you will have several classes that still have no direct bearing on psychiatry and they will be the majority of your coursework for years.
One could argue that delayed gratification is often worth it. IMHO when we're talking about 10% of your entire life-that's something very extreme.
The only way this can be mentally tolerable is if you like what you're doing, and the training to become a psychiatrist is very different from the job of being a psychiatrist. Most psychologists I know didn't go to the route of being an MD or DO because they couldn't do classes such as biochemistry or O-Chem. Even when one finishes those, you will have several classes that still have no direct bearing on psychiatry and they will be the majority of your coursework for years.
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I'm wondering if you feel going through medical school was worth it for psychiatry.
I felt it was. I feel having that strong medical/physiological background really helps, but I also try to keep up on non-complicated general medicine, neuro, and consult stuff. Med school is what you make of it--work hard, play hard. I think I had some of the craziest nights out as a med student and/or resident.
Would you do it again?
At this point in my life, I would say yes, but at the same time if you asked me a year ago I am not sure i would agree.
Does this job ever get repetitive and tedious over time or does it continue to be intellectually challenging and interesting?
Depends what you do. Right now I work in an outpatient setting where everything seems to be an adjustment disorder, V code, or personality disorder. This gets boring and burns you out fast. However, I am allowed to take on therapy cases if I chose, sometimes see ward patients or consults. In a clinic with more complex cases or an inpatient unit with sicker patients I think I would enjoy it a lot more. I also think then when my current contract is up I will do a fellowship or try to look more at research options or academia. There's a lot you can do with the MD and the residency.
And working in the mental health field, have you encountered any other professions that would be equally stimulating?
I work with psychologists, LPCs, LCSWs, Psychiatrists, NPs, and interact with other medical specialties. I am biased, but I feel I had really good training along the way and have a lot more tools given that I can prescribe meds, order labs, etc. My therapy background is decent (not the best, but I feel comfortable with CBT, PE, supportive). I have no knowledge of testing, which is something psychologists do and my research background isnt the greatest, but if I had gone to a different residency i might be better. I personally cannot see myself doing any of the other jobs in my clinic/ward. I had considered other medical specialties, but as far as mental health is concerned, I am very satisfied with the different opportunities I have because I went to medical school.
I felt it was. I feel having that strong medical/physiological background really helps, but I also try to keep up on non-complicated general medicine, neuro, and consult stuff. Med school is what you make of it--work hard, play hard. I think I had some of the craziest nights out as a med student and/or resident.
Would you do it again?
At this point in my life, I would say yes, but at the same time if you asked me a year ago I am not sure i would agree.
Does this job ever get repetitive and tedious over time or does it continue to be intellectually challenging and interesting?
Depends what you do. Right now I work in an outpatient setting where everything seems to be an adjustment disorder, V code, or personality disorder. This gets boring and burns you out fast. However, I am allowed to take on therapy cases if I chose, sometimes see ward patients or consults. In a clinic with more complex cases or an inpatient unit with sicker patients I think I would enjoy it a lot more. I also think then when my current contract is up I will do a fellowship or try to look more at research options or academia. There's a lot you can do with the MD and the residency.
And working in the mental health field, have you encountered any other professions that would be equally stimulating?
I work with psychologists, LPCs, LCSWs, Psychiatrists, NPs, and interact with other medical specialties. I am biased, but I feel I had really good training along the way and have a lot more tools given that I can prescribe meds, order labs, etc. My therapy background is decent (not the best, but I feel comfortable with CBT, PE, supportive). I have no knowledge of testing, which is something psychologists do and my research background isnt the greatest, but if I had gone to a different residency i might be better. I personally cannot see myself doing any of the other jobs in my clinic/ward. I had considered other medical specialties, but as far as mental health is concerned, I am very satisfied with the different opportunities I have because I went to medical school.
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Briefly, I’m very satisfied with psychiatry. The “is it worth it” question becomes a stronger yes with time and the memory of med school / residency misery fades. My pager no longer gives me a startle response and even though the ultimate responsibility always goes up, the grinding labor of cranking out billing is somewhat mollified.
As far as other mental health fields that may come close, not that I have seen. Everyone has a boss, and most people I know don’t covet their bosses’ job that much. MDs do have a lot of ultimate say in both treatment planning and care policy. We are ultimately held responsible for care so when it comes to a line in the sand, we often prevail. It is similar in other fields of medicine. Doctors write the orders, nurses follow them, BSWs or such work on discharges as determined by the team. In mental health, nurses and LCSWs may have therapy to offer with a little more independence, or even an independent case load, but we still call the shots when we feel an issue is important enough.
As far as other mental health fields that may come close, not that I have seen. Everyone has a boss, and most people I know don’t covet their bosses’ job that much. MDs do have a lot of ultimate say in both treatment planning and care policy. We are ultimately held responsible for care so when it comes to a line in the sand, we often prevail. It is similar in other fields of medicine. Doctors write the orders, nurses follow them, BSWs or such work on discharges as determined by the team. In mental health, nurses and LCSWs may have therapy to offer with a little more independence, or even an independent case load, but we still call the shots when we feel an issue is important enough.
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Psychiatry has matured me. I've learned much more about the human condition, and my own limitations and capabilities. It's only been 2 years in residency so far, but it's been truly enlightening. I see life with more depth than before, and I only wish all people had a deeper understanding of the struggles 99% of people face every day.
So no regrets here. Medical school was worth it. My hardest years of residency are now behind me. Life is looking very nice right now as I start my third year.
Throw a rock in the air and where it lands a job awaits you. Every day is fascinating, rewarding, frustrating, a chance to make a spiritual connection with a patient. There is art to the profession. You hear the craziest most intimate stories. You will make a good living (and avoid insurance companies if you wish). You serve a vital role in the community helping those abandoned by the rest of society. And at the end of the day you help improve lives directly, and patients and families thank you. Hard to ask for more.
So no regrets here. Medical school was worth it. My hardest years of residency are now behind me. Life is looking very nice right now as I start my third year.
Throw a rock in the air and where it lands a job awaits you. Every day is fascinating, rewarding, frustrating, a chance to make a spiritual connection with a patient. There is art to the profession. You hear the craziest most intimate stories. You will make a good living (and avoid insurance companies if you wish). You serve a vital role in the community helping those abandoned by the rest of society. And at the end of the day you help improve lives directly, and patients and families thank you. Hard to ask for more.
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To be a psychiatrist, you must have an MD/DO and this is not just some BS requirement. As a physician, you must be able to work with other physicians and nurses and be able to see the whole picture. E.g know how their Parkinson's disease is going to influence your choice of a psychotropic medication, their metabolic status, etc.
It's just that until you become a psychiatrist-at least for me, you don't see how it all comes together, and the other fields ar every different. I guess it could be like training to be an art restorationist when you love the art aspect. You have to take years of chemistry and organic chem classes, and you're taken away from the art.
A problem with today's society is market forces have pushed doctors to simply treat a problem. E.g. the guy can't sleep--the doc just gives him a sleeping pill because docs usually make money per patient, not for the time spent. So instead of spending 20 minutes telling them about sleep hygiene or ruling out sleep apnea---bam, sleeping pill prescription. Patient seen and done in 2 minutes instead of what should've been a 20 minute education session on why a pill shouldn't be given first. It's also IMHO contributing to the problem of physicians being the cause of prescription medication addictions.
If a person if of the above-limited mindset, then no, one doesn't need all the medical education, but then they will be a piss-poor psychiatrist, and unfortunately plenty of psychiatrists (among several other doctors) are of this type.
A criticism I have of the psychiatric curriculum is it needs more aspects of psychology placed into it such as psychometric testing, sensation and perception, physiological psychology, abnormal psychology, psycho-endocrinology, among plenty others. Just to give you an example, I know plenty of psychiatrists that have no idea that oxytocin has a pharmacologic effect on emotions. Our education is limited to what we have available to us as FDA-approved treatments.
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