I'm hoping to get answers to a few questions about working in psychiatry. Without going into to many details, I'm in my mid-20's, currently in a master's program for a different medical profession, and worked in child psychiatry research before grad school. I like my master's program, but am finding that I am most passionate about working with children with psychiatric disorders and that's not something I can do with the degree. I've already taken the prerequisites for medical school, but want to make sure this is the right choice because it is obviously a big decision.
- Do you have opportunities to be creative in your job or is it mostly structured?
- How difficult is it to get a job at an academic medical center in psychiatry?
- Is it possible to be involved with research or developing programs and still have work/life balance?
- Are there opportunities in the training process to personalize it to your interests (for example, could I spend time working with children since this is my main interest prior to starting a fellowship in child psych)?
- For women in this field - is having children toward the end of med school or in residency doable (and by doable I mean, can you do this while still enjoying your family)?
- Do you have opportunities to be creative in your job or is it mostly structured?
- How difficult is it to get a job at an academic medical center in psychiatry?
- Is it possible to be involved with research or developing programs and still have work/life balance?
- Are there opportunities in the training process to personalize it to your interests (for example, could I spend time working with children since this is my main interest prior to starting a fellowship in child psych)?
- For women in this field - is having children toward the end of med school or in residency doable (and by doable I mean, can you do this while still enjoying your family)?
