Can you be a psychiatrist and still be respected in med circles?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
DrFelix

DrFelix

The Doctor
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Messages
59
Reaction score
8
Members don't see this ad.
I am suffering with mental illnesses. I find them very fascinating and interesting to say at least. I am a pre-med student (Just two years for appearing to AIPMT, which is the Indian version of MCAT) I know it's a bit early to think of specialization, but still...I am interested in organic diseases as well as psychiatric diseases. I find the brain fascinating. I find psychiatry very interesting. I have read the first two chapters of Biological Psychology, 12th edition and psychiatry seems to be my cup of tea. There's only two things that make me torn between pathology and psychiatry.

  1. In pathology, you help people with all sorts of diseases (cancer, AIDS, etc. etc. and not just limited to mental diseases) and I can't say the same for psychiatry. I want to treat people with schizophrenia as well as cancer (or at very least common cold, flu, etc.)
  2. I've heard that psychiatrists are not respected in the medical circles. That they are looked down upon. I don't want to be looked down upon. (I am not a janitor or a hairstylist, I am a doctor!) Is it true? For example, does a psychiatrist get as much as respect as an internist or a diagnostician? I don't want to live my life hearing arrogant comments passed on me by the doctors of organic diseases.
Thanks in advance.
 
In the states pathologists get dumped on by other clinicians quite often.

I would say do yourself a favor and stay away from psychiatry. Last thing anyone needs is another psychiatrist worrying about being respected, instead of their patients.

Sent from my SM-G900V using SDN mobile
 
Moving thread to pre-allo, as the psychiatry forum is for topic pertaining to psychiatrists/psychiatry residents.

1) Reading a psychology textbook is not what psychiatry is about. Go shadow a psychiatrist, see what they do, see if that's something you'd like to do.

2) I don't think you understand what a pathologist does. You won't be treating common colds, you won't be treating cancer...you may be analyzing tissue specimens and diagnosing or staging cancer, but you won't be treating the patients themselves. You won't be treating mental illness as a pathologist.

3) If psychiatry ends up being your passion, who cares about reputation. You're doing work that is important to you and is helpful to others, and it doesn't matter what some surgeon thinks.

4) Look into Family Medicine. That seems to be more in line with what you're thinking.

5) Focus on being pre-med right now and getting into med school. Shadow doctors and do your research about what different kinds of doctors do. And don't commit yourself to something until you've experienced it, not just reading a textbook.
 
DrFelix said:
I am suffering with mental illnesses. I find them very fascinating and interesting to say at least. I am a pre-med student (Just two years for appearing to AIPMT, which is the Indian version of MCAT) I know it's a bit early to think of specialization, but still...I am interested in organic diseases as well as psychiatric diseases. I find the brain fascinating. I find psychiatry very interesting. I have read the first two chapters of Biological Psychology, 12th edition and psychiatry seems to be my cup of tea. There's only two things that make me torn between pathology and psychiatry.

  1. In pathology, you help people with all sorts of diseases (cancer, AIDS, etc. etc. and not just limited to mental diseases) and I can't say the same for psychiatry. I want to treat people with schizophrenia as well as cancer (or at very least common cold, flu, etc.)
  2. I've heard that psychiatrists are not respected in the medical circles. That they are looked down upon. I don't want to be looked down upon. (I am not a janitor or a hairstylist, I am a doctor!) Is it true? For example, does a psychiatrist get as much as respect as an internist or a diagnostician? I don't want to live my life hearing arrogant comments passed on me by the doctors of organic diseases.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
It's tough in terms of deciding... If you do a great job and know that you deserve to be respected as a psychiatrist then you'll be fine. However just make sure you're happy with whatever you do, then the opinion of others won't matter.
 
I know at least 2 classmates who are bent on going into psych. Honestly, it seems like a great lifestyle. It's definitely for a certain select few personality types.

Once you get into school, you'll stop asking questions like this. You'll just have opinions about other specialties based on your own experience. What other people think won't matter to you.
 
Thank you to each and everyone of you for providing me helpful replies.

MLT2MT2DO said:
In the states pathologists get dumped on by other clinicians quite often.

I would say do yourself a favor and stay away from psychiatry. Last thing anyone needs is another psychiatrist worrying about being respected, instead of their patients.

Sent from my SM-G900V using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
I am sorry if I sound like someone who cares more about one's own reputation than his patients, but growing up in an environment like I did certainly affects your state of mind.

Ismet said:
Moving thread to pre-allo, as the psychiatry forum is for topic pertaining to psychiatrists/psychiatry residents.

1) Reading a psychology textbook is not what psychiatry is about. Go shadow a psychiatrist, see what they do, see if that's something you'd like to do.

2) I don't think you understand what a pathologist does. You won't be treating common colds, you won't be treating cancer...you may be analyzing tissue specimens and diagnosing or staging cancer, but you won't be treating the patients themselves. You won't be treating mental illness as a pathologist.

3) If psychiatry ends up being your passion, who cares about reputation. You're doing work that is important to you and is helpful to others, and it doesn't matter what some surgeon thinks.

4) Look into Family Medicine. That seems to be more in line with what you're thinking.

5) Focus on being pre-med right now and getting into med school. Shadow doctors and do your research about what different kinds of doctors do. And don't commit yourself to something until you've experienced it, not just reading a textbook.
Click to expand...

Thanks for moving the thread.

1) I understand psychology and psychiatry are two different things. I never said they were the same. I am sorry if I wasn't clear. 🙂

2) I know a pathologist isn't an oncologist, but I thought diagnosing patients is helping them?

3) That's inspiring, thanks. I asked my mother and she thinks it's a stigma to be associated with mental illness. I do not know how correct she is, but if it does end up being my career, as long as I am making people's lives better, who cares about reputation anyway. Karma is not reputation.

4) Thanks, I will do some research on Family Medicine.

5) I will certainly try my best for pre-med, and everything after it.
Pacna said:
I know at least 2 classmates who are bent on going into psych. Honestly, it seems like a great lifestyle. It's definitely for a certain select few personality types.

Once you get into school, you'll stop asking questions like this. You'll just have opinions about other specialties based on your own experience. What other people think won't matter to you.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think I should more look after my patients than what others think of me. Very helpful advice. Thanks. 🙂 (I am a little better man now.)

Pacna said:
I know at least 2 classmates who are bent on going into psych. Honestly, it seems like a great lifestyle. It's definitely for a certain select few personality types.

Once you get into school, you'll stop asking questions like this. You'll just have opinions about other specialties based on your own experience. What other people think won't matter to you.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the valuable suggestion.
 
DrFelix said:
Thank you to each and everyone of you for providing me helpful replies.


I am sorry if I sound like someone who cares more about one's own reputation than his patients, but growing up in an environment like I did certainly affects your state of mind.



Thanks for moving the thread.

1) I understand psychology and psychiatry are two different things. I never said they were the same. I am sorry if I wasn't clear. 🙂

2) I know a pathologist isn't an oncologist, but I thought diagnosing patients is helping them?

3) That's inspiring, thanks. I asked my mother and she thinks it's a stigma to be associated with mental illness. I do not know how correct she is, but if it does end up being my career, as long as I am making people's lives better, who cares about reputation anyway. Karma is not reputation.

4) Thanks, I will do some research on Family Medicine.

5) I will certainly try my best for pre-med, and everything after it.

Yes, I think I should more look after my patients than what others think of me. Very helpful advice. Thanks. 🙂 (I am a little better man now.)


Thanks for the valuable suggestion.
Click to expand...


Of course you'll be helping patients in some capacity no matter what field you go into, but from your post it just didn't seem like you had a full understanding of HOW you'd be helping them as a pathologist (i.e. the comment about the common cold, flu, treating mental illness, schizophrenia, etc).
 
I wanted to say I want to help people with AIDS/cancer etc. as a psychiatrist (something not possible I suppose.) But yeah, I think being a psychiatrist is stil helping people a ton and perhaps even saving lives.
I wanted to say that I wanted to treat people of organic diseases as a pathologist also.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, you're going to catch **** from every other specialty about your specialty. Some obviously get it worse than others but you need to go into what's going get you out of bed in the morning or in the middle of the night. Worrying about what other people are to think about your practice is pointless at the end of the day. Each specialty has value despite what others say. Choose what interests you.
 
You sound like you might be intrested in a med/psych residency or psychosomatics. From my understanding (just a student sharing what I've found through research so take it with a grain of salt), med/psych people have the ability to work with people with comorbid psychiatric and diseases like you mention that an internist would treat and work in the interface of the two areas. I've also heard of some clinics who do psychiatric services for those who have chronic other medical conditions and I assume that this might fall into their area of expertise. Also from my understanding, psychosomatics isn't treating other non-psychiatric diseases exactly, but they often help assess whether patients in the hospital for other diseases might have a psychiatric component.
 
Madeline25 said:
You sound like you might be intrested in a med/psych residency or psychosomatics. From my understanding (just a student sharing what I've found through research so take it with a grain of salt), med/psych people have the ability to work with people with comorbid psychiatric and diseases like you mention that an internist would treat and work in the interface of the two areas. I've also heard of some clinics who do psychiatric services for those who have chronic other medical conditions and I assume that this might fall into their area of expertise. Also from my understanding, psychosomatics isn't treating other non-psychiatric diseases exactly, but they often help assess whether patients in the hospital for other diseases might have a psychiatric component.
Click to expand...
I did some research in psychosomatics and I liked the field. Thanks. Mental diseases are very powerful and I think they can ruin people's lives, or even worse, end them. As a psychiatrist, I think helping people with mental illnesses is like helping people with organic diseases like an internist.
 
DrFelix said:
I wanted to say I want to help people with AIDS/cancer etc. as a psychiatrist (something not possible I suppose.) But yeah, I think being a psychiatrist is stil helping people a ton and perhaps even saving lives.
I wanted to say that I wanted to treat people of organic diseases as a pathologist also.
Click to expand...

Lots of people with "AIDS/cancer etc" suffer from depression so you can still help these people as a psychiatrist, just sayin'


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Every specialty dumps on the others. Don't pick based on a perceived pecking order. Just do what you want, someone is going to think you are an idiot no matter what. You will also insist on <insert specialty> are all *****s.
 
I have never understood people disrespecting psych. If anything I have heard most docs saying that they could never do the job but that it is an essential job. Maybe the problem is that the required rotation is inpatient and scary as hell.

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using SDN mobile
 
Psychiatry is extremely respected. It's an awesome field, and I think you should go talk to some physicians about the field, psychiatrists and non-psychiatrists. Seriously, psychiatry is amazing, and in another life, I absolutely would have picked it as my specialty.


Large dogs
 
It's got a pretty nice lifestyle and can be high paid, especially if you work in the prison system. If you want to do child psych, you can start fellowship a year early. I don't hear too much dumping on psych in general.
 
kavorca said:
It's got a pretty nice lifestyle and can be high paid, especially if you work in the prison system. If you want to do child psych, you can start fellowship a year early. I don't hear too much dumping on psych in general.
Click to expand...
Is it quite difficult to get into prison jobs?
 
yanks26dmb said:
Is it quite difficult to get into prison jobs?
Click to expand...

To my knowledge, prison jobs tend to be very uncompetitive. Lower pay and people don't want to work with the population. There are psych people who would know better though
 
DrFelix said:
I don't want to be looked down upon. (I am not a janitor or a hairstylist, I am a doctor!)
Click to expand...

Janitor checking in.

Being employed in a subservient role teaches you a lot more about people, self control, and yourself than many others do. You may not necessarily get much respect, and sometimes you get treated badly. You are at the patrons every beck and call, and will often be asked to do anything and everything because you're the low man on the totem pole. It is a very humbling and sometimes embarrassing experience for which the OP will have to use his/her imagination.

I have never looked down on any profession and that's why.

If I were on an adcom id certainly not look down upon, but give recognition in the admissions process to someone who has spent time dealing with real people and real situations in a job like this over some well off kid that has spent his/her time checking requirement boxes and doesn't know the difference between psychiatry and pathology.
 
Last edited:
ProspectiveKidd said:
Janitor checking in.

Being employed in a subservient role teaches you a lot more about people, self control, and yourself than many others do. You may not necessarily get much respect, and sometimes you get treated badly. You are at the patrons every beck and call, and will often be asked to do anything and everything because you're the low man on the totem pole. If you tell them it isn't your job you're even more of a low life. It is a very humbling and sometimes embarrassing experience for which the OP will have to use his/her imagination.

I have never looked down on any profession and that's why.

If I were on an adcom id certainly not look down upon, but give recognition in the admissions process to someone who has spent time dealing with real people and real situations in a job like this over some well off kid that has spent his/her time checking requirement boxes and doesn't know the difference between psychiatry and pathology.
Click to expand...
I never said being a janitor or hairstylist is necessarily bad. I just meant psychiatrists are sometimes treated very low like they're janitors or hairstylists, as if they are not MDs.
 
kavorca said:
Every specialty dumps on the others. Don't pick based on a perceived pecking order. Just do what you want, someone is going to think you are an idiot no matter what. You will also insist on <insert specialty> are all *****s.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I think this piece of advice will be useful for me throughout my lifetime.
 
raiderette said:
I have never understood people disrespecting psych. If anything I have heard most docs saying that they could never do the job but that it is an essential job. Maybe the problem is that the required rotation is inpatient and scary as hell.

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
Indeed, people who have very low sanity tend to be scary as hell. Rolling back and forth, grinning with a malicious smile, malice in eyes, death threats etc.
 
tantacles said:
Psychiatry is extremely respected. It's an awesome field, and I think you should go talk to some physicians about the field, psychiatrists and non-psychiatrists. Seriously, psychiatry is amazing, and in another life, I absolutely would have picked it as my specialty.


Large dogs
Click to expand...
Thank you for your valuable suggestion. I will pick psych as my field.
occams_razor said:
Lots of people with "AIDS/cancer etc" suffer from depression so you can still help these people as a psychiatrist, just sayin'


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
And also possibly de-addict them of tobacco, cigs etc? My mom is addicted to tobacco like my aunts and I think I would be helping them by not letting the cancer begin its life in the first place.
kavorca said:
Every specialty dumps on the others. Don't pick based on a perceived pecking order. Just do what you want, someone is going to think you are an idiot no matter what. You will also insist on <insert specialty> are all *****s.
Click to expand...
So it's normal for every doctor to criticize other doctors' specialty?
 
Thanks folks, after I get into med school, I will be picking psych as my field, unless another specialty steals my heart.
 
DrFelix said:
Thank you for your valuable suggestion. I will pick psych as my field.

And also possibly de-addict them of tobacco, cigs etc? My mom is addicted to tobacco like my aunts and I think I would be helping them by not letting the cancer begin its life in the first place.

So it's normal for every doctor to criticize other doctors' specialty?
Click to expand...

Yes. It's a normal human mechanism that allows us to achieve higher social status relative to others. It's also a persuasion method - if I can make you think that another field is awful, you're more likely to go into my field. This happens outside of medicine quite frequently as well.


Large dogs
 
DrFelix said:
Indeed, people who have very low sanity tend to be scary as hell. Rolling back and forth, grinning with a malicious smile, malice in eyes, death threats etc.
Click to expand...

As someone who is also very interested in psych and who has been working at a psych facility for almost two years now, be careful not to make generalizations like this.
 
Thanks for the advice.
mcatjelly said:
As someone who is also very interested in psych and who has been working at a psych facility for almost two years now, be careful not to make generalizations like this.
Click to expand...
 
DrFelix said:
Indeed, people who have very low sanity tend to be scary as hell. Rolling back and forth, grinning with a malicious smile, malice in eyes, death threats etc.
Click to expand...


I've been working in a psych clinic for 8 months and although we have some strange patients come in, none of them seemed like they wanted to inflict physical harm to me or any of the staff. Sure, some bipolar or schizophrenic patients may act odd when they run out of medicine but none of the ones I met with were physically aggressive. Most patients I see who are off of meds just seem more irritable, manic, depressed, or a combination of those.

The only violent patient I worked with was when I was a nursing assistant helping a Vietnam veteran suffering from dementia. However, some of that may be attributed to PTSD.
 
memory tcells said:
I've been working in a psych clinic for 8 months and although we have some strange patients come in, none of them seemed like they wanted to inflict physical harm to me or any of the staff. Sure, some bipolar or schizophrenic patients may act odd when they run out of medicine but none of the ones I met with were physically aggressive. Most patients I see who are off of meds just seem more irritable, manic, depressed, or a combination of those.

The only violent patient I worked with was when I was a nursing assistant helping a Vietnam veteran suffering from dementia. However, some of that may be attributed to PTSD.
Click to expand...

I agree with your sentiment but it doesn't sound like you work inpatient. 😛
 
memory tcells said:
I've been working in a psych clinic for 8 months and although we have some strange patients come in, none of them seemed like they wanted to inflict physical harm to me or any of the staff. Sure, some bipolar or schizophrenic patients may act odd when they run out of medicine but none of the ones I met with were physically aggressive. Most patients I see who are off of meds just seem more irritable, manic, depressed, or a combination of those.

The only violent patient I worked with was when I was a nursing assistant helping a Vietnam veteran suffering from dementia. However, some of that may be attributed to PTSD.
Click to expand...
As a person myself suffering from dementia, I can relate to the patients. It's interesting to note that. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Can I still go to Med School with an Engineering Undergrad?
Replies
14
Views
975
FlowRate
FlowRate
A
  • Locked
Would this be a valid activity I can include on my application?
Replies
5
Views
802
AJS59
AJS59
P
If you could go back and tell yourself anything before your first med school interview what would it be?
Replies
9
Views
2K
pablo213
pablo213
F
What’s the Latest Date I Can Submit AMCAS and Still Make the First Batch?
Replies
18
Views
10K
FrontierThesis
F
D
Would it still be worth it to apply to Alice Walton now?
Replies
1
Views
1K
chilly_md
chilly_md
Top