Chances of Matching in Psych

Started by Myopic Med
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Myopic Med

Myopic Med

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Hi everyone! I'm a third year student. I'm interested in Psych and FM, but more so in Psych. My COMLEX level 1 score was extremely weak and I am not a strong candidate, so I think my chances are basically shot for Psych, even though it may/may not be rumored to be one of the less competitive specialties. Would it make more sense to apply to all FM programs or to apply to a combination of both? I would be satisfied with being an FM resident, but I feel more strongly inclined to working in Psychiatry, as I really enjoy both the academic and clinical (outpatient and inpatient) aspects of the field.
 
Myopic Med said:
Hi everyone! I'm a third year student. I'm interested in Psych and FM, but more so in Psych. My COMLEX level 1 score was extremely weak and I am not a strong candidate, so I think my chances are basically shot for Psych, even though it may/may not be rumored to be one of the less competitive specialties. Would it make more sense to apply to all FM programs or to apply to a combination of both? I would be satisfied with being an FM resident, but I feel more strongly inclined to working in Psychiatry, as I really enjoy both the academic and clinical (outpatient and inpatient) aspects of the field.
Click to expand...
Why shoot yourself down before you even try? Psych, while it can be very regionally competitive, overall is not super competitive. You almost certainly can get something if you actually have a legit interest in psych.
 
Myopic Med said:
Hi everyone! I'm a third year student. I'm interested in Psych and FM, but more so in Psych. My COMLEX level 1 score was extremely weak and I am not a strong candidate, so I think my chances are basically shot for Psych, even though it may/may not be rumored to be one of the less competitive specialties. Would it make more sense to apply to all FM programs or to apply to a combination of both? I would be satisfied with being an FM resident, but I feel more strongly inclined to working in Psychiatry, as I really enjoy both the academic and clinical (outpatient and inpatient) aspects of the field.
Click to expand...

Audition at mid to low tier places where you have an interest in doing residency. Work hard, don't be a d-bag, be friendly to the residents, express your interest to the PD. Profit.

Worse case, FM is always there for scramble.
 
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*bump*

I'm interested in Psych and FM as well - got a score in 470-490 range. Any chance to match psych with this score?
 
Myopic Med said:
U

Under 500. I have horrendous test taking anxiety.
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Sorry to bring this up, but for those with any knowledge, does anyone know the new average COMLEX I score after the score re-adjustment. It seems as if everyone I know scored significantly lower than their COMSAEs - understandably not the best predictor. But it seems as if cracking 500 is a lot more difficult now than it was in the past. May just be the people I know, but most scored sub-500 with a few mid-500's in there; everyone pretty surprised with how low their scores were.

Also, will traditional AOA programs know about this readjustment. Seems like the AOA kind of screwed the Class of 2020, since it seems the curved everyone's scores downwards. Not sure how they'll interpret this
 
We can’t help much with a qualitative description of “my score was weak” but look at nrmp to get an idea

Scores don’t seem as important considering the score curve isn’t very steep. Aka show interest in it and be able to talk to people and have a score that doesn’t say “I can’t read” and you should be fine
 
nowaysanjose said:
Geez why is psych so hot right now?
Click to expand...

Cause of lifestyle.

A lot of the students I have met ALWAYS tote the 30-40 hour workweeks and $250,000-$300,000 starting salaries.

It's in huge demand.

Chuck some pills at the poor patient.

Doesn't work?

Try another.

Deal with side effects.

Occasionally get spit on or threatened or punched in the face or leg by your schizophrenic or bipolar patient.

Profit.

Don't be fooled... not everybody can do this type of work and many of the young millennials who seem to have a "$udden calling for mental health" are doing it for the lifestyle.

Psych is a field that is really easy to be a ****ty doctor in. But if you are actually compassionate about mental health and do it the "right" way... whatever that is... your work will be noticed.

Thank god that the field cares more for fit because the last thing this nation needs is a bunch of more pill pushers and less behavioral therapy and modification.
 
QueenJames said:
Cause of lifestyle.

A lot of the students I have met ALWAYS tote the 30-40 hour workweeks and $250,000-$300,000 starting salaries.

It's in huge demand.

Chuck some pills at the poor patient.

Doesn't work?

Try another.

Deal with side effects.

Occasionally get spit on or threatened or punched in the face or leg by your schizophrenic or bipolar patient.

Profit.

Don't be fooled... not everybody can do this type of work and many of the young millennials who seem to have a "$udden calling for mental health" are doing it for the lifestyle.

Psych is a field that is really easy to be a ****ty doctor in. But if you are actually compassionate about mental health and do it the "right" way... whatever that is... your work will be noticed.

Thank god that the field cares more for fit because the last thing this nation needs is a bunch of more pill pushers and less behavioral therapy and modification.
Click to expand...

I hope it’s still fit>boards when I get to the match....


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
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NecFasc92 said:
Says the person with the 600+ comlex...LOL
Click to expand...

But no usmle [emoji26]

Edit: I wasn’t trying to imply I was unhappy with my comlex - i am very happy. But I’m just anxious at my lack of usmle and how things are gonna play out in the 2020 match.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
QueenJames said:
Cause of lifestyle.

A lot of the students I have met ALWAYS tote the 30-40 hour workweeks and $250,000-$300,000 starting salaries.

It's in huge demand.

Chuck some pills at the poor patient.

Doesn't work?

Try another.

Deal with side effects.

Occasionally get spit on or threatened or punched in the face or leg by your schizophrenic or bipolar patient.

Profit.

Don't be fooled... not everybody can do this type of work and many of the young millennials who seem to have a "$udden calling for mental health" are doing it for the lifestyle.

Psych is a field that is really easy to be a ****ty doctor in. But if you are actually compassionate about mental health and do it the "right" way... whatever that is... your work will be noticed.

Thank god that the field cares more for fit because the last thing this nation needs is a bunch of more pill pushers and less behavioral therapy and modification.
Click to expand...

So. Starting salary is more like 150-180. Which in all truth is lower end of the scale of the pay. So expecting psych to be the full dermatology type of life isn't realistic.

Likewise psych isn't about pill pushing. Most of it has to do with dealing with the interface between your patient and society. In psych hospitals your job is pretty heavily associated with law, social workers, etc. Outpatient it's a lot of making calls and determining whether your patient is truly suicidal, needs immediate care for their psychotic symptoms, or whether you can manage them in your office right now.

It's really easy to be a ****ty doctor in just about every field. It's really unfair to single out psych when there are an abundance of other fields where the doctors have far less motivation to stay on top of changes in the field, literally manage conditions that are frequently as severe as psychosis and probably have greater morbidity due to poor patient-doctor interactions, and generally have a lot less times where they need to make severe calls like baker acting or involuntarily hospitalizing them.
 
If you have less than 500 and no USMLE, you better have shown dedication to the field and auditioned if you want to match
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
So. Starting salary is more like 150-180. Which in all truth is lower end of the scale of the pay. So expecting psych to be the full dermatology type of life isn't realistic.

Likewise psych isn't about pill pushing. Most of it has to do with dealing with the interface between your patient and society. In psych hospitals your job is pretty heavily associated with law, social workers, etc. Outpatient it's a lot of making calls and determining whether your patient is truly suicidal, needs immediate care for their psychotic symptoms, or whether you can manage them in your office right now.

It's really easy to be a ****ty doctor in just about every field. It's really unfair to single out psych when there are an abundance of other fields where the doctors have far less motivation to stay on top of changes in the field, literally manage conditions that are frequently as severe as psychosis and probably have greater morbidity due to poor patient-doctor interactions, and generally have a lot less times where they need to make severe calls like baker acting or involuntarily hospitalizing them.
Click to expand...

Look I totally agree with you Celty.

My delivery could have been more polite and PC... but goddamn you should see some of the students in the pursuit of psych this year.

MUCH different than the applicant pool I met when I first began med school.

When I ask them about mental health and how they got interested in Psych... ALL OF THEM have mentioned the "bomb lifestyle.." and "Just push pills and maintain them" rhetoric.

It's really painful/scary to see how mental health will change if Psych lets many of these types of people in that field.

I would LOVE to enter psych but I just can't do it.

I've dealt with depression, anxiety, PTSD my entire life after life events. I know what it is like to get over these things without medication and lifestyle changes.

Hell.. I still deal with the ramifications of these things daily.

But having THESE type of people treating people with Bipolar, Schizo, Cluster disorders, Mania...?

It's not right and I pray that psych lets solid individuals into the field and advance it.
 
QueenJames said:
Look I totally agree with you Celty.

My delivery could have been more polite and PC... but goddamn you should see some of the students in the pursuit of psych this year.

MUCH different than the applicant pool I met when I first began med school.

When I ask them about mental health and how they got interested in Psych... ALL OF THEM have mentioned the "bomb lifestyle.." and "Just push pills and maintain them" rhetoric.

It's really painful/scary to see how mental health will change if Psych lets many of these types of people in that field.

I would LOVE to enter psych but I just can't do it.

I've dealt with depression, anxiety, PTSD my entire life after life events. I know what it is like to get over these things without medication and lifestyle changes.

Hell.. I still deal with the ramifications of these things daily.

But having THESE type of people treating people with Bipolar, Schizo, Cluster disorders, Mania...?

It's not right and I pray that psych lets solid individuals into the field and advance it.
Click to expand...

Yah. I know a few psychiatry hopefuls who honestly worry me significantly.
 
Myopic Med said:
Hi everyone! I'm a third year student. I'm interested in Psych and FM, but more so in Psych. My COMLEX level 1 score was extremely weak and I am not a strong candidate, so I think my chances are basically shot for Psych, even though it may/may not be rumored to be one of the less competitive specialties. Would it make more sense to apply to all FM programs or to apply to a combination of both? I would be satisfied with being an FM resident, but I feel more strongly inclined to working in Psychiatry, as I really enjoy both the academic and clinical (outpatient and inpatient) aspects of the field.
Click to expand...
I know someone that matched very well with a 480/513, so like, don't sell yourself short. But have a backup plan, psych is very hot right now
 
QueenJames said:
Look I totally agree with you Celty.

My delivery could have been more polite and PC... but goddamn you should see some of the students in the pursuit of psych this year.

MUCH different than the applicant pool I met when I first began med school.

When I ask them about mental health and how they got interested in Psych... ALL OF THEM have mentioned the "bomb lifestyle.." and "Just push pills and maintain them" rhetoric.

It's really painful/scary to see how mental health will change if Psych lets many of these types of people in that field.

I would LOVE to enter psych but I just can't do it.

I've dealt with depression, anxiety, PTSD my entire life after life events. I know what it is like to get over these things without medication and lifestyle changes.

Hell.. I still deal with the ramifications of these things daily.

But having THESE type of people treating people with Bipolar, Schizo, Cluster disorders, Mania...?

It's not right and I pray that psych lets solid individuals into the field and advance it.
Click to expand...
Psych does a very good job of filtering these people out, hence why you'll notice that a good number of very highly scoring individuals failed to match
 
Drrrrrr. Celty said:
So. Starting salary is more like 150-180. Which in all truth is lower end of the scale of the pay. So expecting psych to be the full dermatology type of life isn't realistic.

Likewise psych isn't about pill pushing. Most of it has to do with dealing with the interface between your patient and society. In psych hospitals your job is pretty heavily associated with law, social workers, etc. Outpatient it's a lot of making calls and determining whether your patient is truly suicidal, needs immediate care for their psychotic symptoms, or whether you can manage them in your office right now.

It's really easy to be a ****ty doctor in just about every field. It's really unfair to single out psych when there are an abundance of other fields where the doctors have far less motivation to stay on top of changes in the field, literally manage conditions that are frequently as severe as psychosis and probably have greater morbidity due to poor patient-doctor interactions, and generally have a lot less times where they need to make severe calls like baker acting or involuntarily hospitalizing them.
Click to expand...
Residents in my program are getting offers of 250k+ daily for outpatient gigs. Anyone accepting less than 200k is a fool unless they're in academics
 
QueenJames said:
Look I totally agree with you Celty.

My delivery could have been more polite and PC... but goddamn you should see some of the students in the pursuit of psych this year.

MUCH different than the applicant pool I met when I first began med school.

When I ask them about mental health and how they got interested in Psych... ALL OF THEM have mentioned the "bomb lifestyle.." and "Just push pills and maintain them" rhetoric.

It's really painful/scary to see how mental health will change if Psych lets many of these types of people in that field.
Click to expand...

Don't worry. The bad pill pushers with bad scores will just be replaced by bad pill pushers with good scores. Homeostasis.
 
Mad Jack said:
You should be thrilled, you're getting 90k extra out of your future career than you thought lol
Click to expand...

It's all relative. I'm not thrilled that psych is still the lowest paying specialty (minus primary care/peds) and will always be the lowest paying 4 year specialty.
 
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QueenJames said:
Cause of lifestyle.

A lot of the students I have met ALWAYS tote the 30-40 hour workweeks and $250,000-$300,000 starting salaries.

It's in huge demand.

Chuck some pills at the poor patient.

Doesn't work?

Try another.

Deal with side effects.

Occasionally get spit on or threatened or punched in the face or leg by your schizophrenic or bipolar patient.

Profit.

Don't be fooled... not everybody can do this type of work and many of the young millennials who seem to have a "$udden calling for mental health" are doing it for the lifestyle.

Psych is a field that is really easy to be a ****ty doctor in. But if you are actually compassionate about mental health and do it the "right" way... whatever that is... your work will be noticed.

Thank god that the field cares more for fit because the last thing this nation needs is a bunch of more pill pushers and less behavioral therapy and modification.
Click to expand...
Hey man I will happily push pills while you do some freudian psychoanalysis on my schizos. We can make this work for both of us!
 
QueenJames said:
Look I totally agree with you Celty.

My delivery could have been more polite and PC... but goddamn you should see some of the students in the pursuit of psych this year.

MUCH different than the applicant pool I met when I first began med school.

When I ask them about mental health and how they got interested in Psych... ALL OF THEM have mentioned the "bomb lifestyle.." and "Just push pills and maintain them" rhetoric.

It's really painful/scary to see how mental health will change if Psych lets many of these types of people in that field.

I would LOVE to enter psych but I just can't do it.

I've dealt with depression, anxiety, PTSD my entire life after life events. I know what it is like to get over these things without medication and lifestyle changes.

Hell.. I still deal with the ramifications of these things daily.

But having THESE type of people treating people with Bipolar, Schizo, Cluster disorders, Mania...?

It's not right and I pray that psych lets solid individuals into the field and advance it.
Click to expand...

This is why I and a lot of residents that I have met get super annoyed when a fresh third year student says that I want to go into this set specialty. The reality is that you don't know crap. The whole calling is just bs for some alternative reason.

The right way is to be open minded, learn to be a physician, and let the dice rolls from there.
 
NecFasc92 said:
Medscape is absolute crap. I don't know a single physician who reports their salary accurately on it. And unless you go into academics, they use mgma sooo.... I did enjoy the splash of hubris there.
Click to expand...
How many do you know that respond to MGMA?

MGMA tracks employer salaries, so it misses the large number of private practice people in fields like psych. It also overestimates the salaries of employed positions that require a premium vs private practice like neurology, which many hospitals must bring on board to stay functional at rates that the PP market couldn't sustain.
 
Current pgy 2 psych resident. Psych right now is hot right now. Very good time. If you put in the hours, you can make some serious coin. One attending I work with that moonlights at the hospital I am at and covers for nursing homes during the day is making over 500k a year. 222k + 300k= 522k a year.
 
DrRedstone said:
Mostly because people see the hours and not the emotional beating a psychiatrist takes day in and day out.
Click to expand...
I've got to say, I can take at least 30 minutes of schizophrenic craziness before I start becoming bored with the repetition. Its fascinating, and sad at the same time. They latch onto the very behaviors that are most likely to make their condition worse and insist on doing more of it (avoiding meds etcs). I actually enjoy it.
 
[QUOTE="Candidate2017, post: 20152089, member: 805814"
Worse case, FM is always there for scramble.[/QUOTE]

🙁
 
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