At a crossroads

[4EverBluDevils]

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I'm a post-bacc. I did well in my math prereqs. Now I'm doing badly in my first course (Bio). I find that this doesn't come naturally to me AT ALL (I'm liberal arts/politics). I dread studying and I'll be lucky if I get a C. But psychiatry to me is the perfect career. It's the apex of the mental health system and the nexus to other medical fields, especially physicians (for example the link between thyroid problems and depression). You do everything a psychologist does but can also prescribe meds which have a huge impact. Also psychology schools are just as competitive, except it is harder to get hired as a psychologist. And to be frank, salary is important. I can't see going to school for 6 years to get a PhD to be making 70K.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm at a crossroads. I thought about the army as a solution. If I join the army it will be easier to get into med school. Of course, the army program may be competitive and I would still have to fair reasonably in pre-med stuff. Any other suggestions?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It is important to really look at what you want to do as a career, as clinical psychology and psychiatry are very different fields. Psychologists have more of a research focus, studying pathology, and they handle the assessment needs in mental health. Psychiatrists don't do the same thing in this regard, as they focus more on meds management and differentiating medical issues with psychological issues. They both can do therapy with the proper training, but psychiatry really doesn't focus on this area as much.

During your clinical psychology training you can receive specialized training (neuro, health, etc) that may meet your needs, though maybe not. A psychiatrist is a physician first. A clinical psychologist is a scholar-practitioner first. You could always go MD/Ph.D.....but that is an entirely different discussion.

-t

 

[whopper]

Agree with Therapist4change.

Can you drop the bio class and take it over?

 

[imari]

I agree with what everyone else has said. While I'm just a first year and can't give you all that much advice, I can share with you my experience, because I was in a similar situation. I was a psychology major, and after taking psychobiology and loving it, I decided to try going to medical school. After my first set of exams in chemistry and physics, I was ready to give it up. It didn't come easily to me at all, and I was feeling out of place and frustrated. Give yourself time, get tutoring and definitely do some volunteering to try and find out if medicine is really what you're interested in. But if you continue to find that you absolutely hate all your science classes, maybe you need to reconsider your plans. Also, consider PA/NP programs. You can still have an impact with less training and good pay.

 

[4EverBluDevils]

I've decided to meet with the professor and find out if it's still possible to get a C, if not I will drop the class and go back into it knowing that I need to work twice as hard. I would rather slog through this and not get into med school than look back 10 years later and wonder if I could have gotten in. I am mostly certain that I want a career in mental health and I think psychiatry is the best for me. But I will also explore psychiatric nursing. Thanks a bunch.

 

[nitemagi]

You can always explore psychology as well. If your predilection is towards mental health, that's always an option.

 

[Solandri]

I was very much in your situation a few years ago. I was going through undergrad as a Cognitive Science major and decided I wanted to go into medicine. Well, at first I was aiming for Pharmacy but then changed my mind. Struggled with Bio and Chem when I was taking them together in the same semester, ultimately had to drop Chem but I was better for it. Knew more about the class when I retook it and learned how I had to study for the hard science classes.
Anyway, I'm also looking towards Psychiatry as a specialty.
Good luck!

 

[solumanculver]

Hey,
I'd just like to comment that joining the army won't help you get into medical school at all. If you've already been accepted to a medical school the army can pay for it via an HPSP scholarship, but the army has no impact on the admissions process itself.

Well, as a former active-duty enlisted soldier and current national guard officer, my advice about the army is this: Only join the army if you really want to be in the army. If you try to use the army as a means to an end, you'll be disappointed.