Army Psychiatry

[chemist157]

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It seems like of any field in which one would be at a disadvantage at having completed a military residency, Psychiatry would be among the top. The treatment is dependent, to an extent, on the context-the world in which the patient lives and works which is considerably different than civilian. Not the biological treatment but counseling, etc. Anyone have any thoughts to this? Would an Army trained Psychiatrist be at a disadvantage once separated and practicing in the civilian world?

 

[NavyFP]

It seems like of any field in which one would be at a disadvantage at having completed a military residency, Psychiatry would be among the top. The treatment is dependent, to an extent, on the context-the world in which the patient lives and works which is considerably different than civilian. Not the biological treatment but counseling, etc. Anyone have any thoughts to this? Would an Army trained Psychiatrist be at a disadvantage once separated and practicing in the civilian world?

None of my Psychiatry friends have had difficulty transitioning.

 

[IgD]

I was a Navy psychiatrist. I'm going through the transition right now. In the Navy I treated mostly depression/anxiety where as in the civilian world I'm seeing patients with psychosis/bipolar so I've had to learn some new skills. A lot of that might be the type of environment where I am. I think generally speaking the military training programs are very well rounded and provide a high quality of education. My experience there was equal emphasis on psychotherapy and med management. In the civilian world, my observation is there is more focus on med management. The military tends to be obsessive-compulsive about details so I benefited a lot from having to type paperwork, present to attendings and interact with military commanders. Feel free to PM me or write more if you have any other questions.

 

[bogatyr]

I would think that you'd see a lot of young enlistees having their first psychotic episode (schizophrenia, bipolar, etc.), considering their age and the stress and so forth. Did you?

 

[IgD]

I would think that you'd see a lot of young enlistees having their first psychotic episode (schizophrenia, bipolar, etc.), considering their age and the stress and so forth. Did you?

Yes but in the civilian world there is more focus on treating the chronically ill.