Building a psychiatry portfolio...

[TheaterOfTheme]

Hello all,

I am an OMSI and put a good deal of effort, from the start of medical school, into landing a clinical research gig in psych for the summer. However, despite quite a few great leads, nothing has come to fruition as of yet and I am not expecting anything to change at the moment. I am not interested in doing research in any other field (my heart wouldn't really be in it, and its not about just checking a box for me). I am currently a board member of my school's psychiatry club, but I would really like to continue laying a path that demonstrates my interest in psychiatry--the main reason I am in medical school.

Anyways, I am wondering what the collective thought is on things like 1-2 week psych 'summer experiences'? I may do one of those regardless of its residency application benefit. Will I likely find more opportunities while out on rotations to either publish or somehow be involved with psychiatry on an intellectual level? I guess I'm finding it a bit hard to go along with the idea that I won't really have much contact with anything psychiatry related until my third year of medical school. I am just hoping a wise soul may have some good suggestions!

Thanks a lot,
ToT

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[darknecrosforte]

Hi fellow WesternU student.

Just make sure you get the OliveView psych rotation 3rd year and apply to an advanced psych elective like Emergency Psych or whatever. Maybe do one of the prison rotations (FM or IM3). Psych is one of the most DO friendly specialties and heavily prioritizes "fit" and "your interest" so the pressure to "perform" is lower.

Read Carlat's "The Psychiatric Interview" (gunner mode) by the time you do the Psych clerkships and be familiar with psychopharm. These are pretty easy to fit into the clown fiesta nature of DO curriculum.

 

[FlowRate]

Carlat's "The Psychiatric Interview"

Highly recommended. Not even a gunner thing to do, it's useful even if just to learn more about talking to patients.

 

[NickNaylor]

I have a hard time seeing how a 1-2 week program could be immensely useful in any meaningful way, but if it's something that you're interested in and want to explore, go for it.

 

[NontradCA]

Portfolio? lolwut

That aside, I agree with NickNaylor. 1-2 weeks is just a waste of time in my opinion. You could seek summer opportunities at academic institutions and hope to get LORs out of it. Other than that, focus on doing well on your classes and USMLE. The latter will have the greatest impact on getting a residency where you want. If you're looking at California programs knowing people and a high USMLE are super important.