Confused about going into psychiatry

[ENS]

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I am really stumped! I'm highly considering going into child/adolescent psychiatry because of my major interest in that particular group and the psycho-social issues involved. In addition, I think I will have more control of my life as a psychiatrist considering that I want to have a family one day. The big issue that I'm having is that I feel like I'm going to be detaching myself from general medicine. I don't enjoy being on the floors, so IM is out. I was thinking about Peds or FM, but it's too broad. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MD2b20004]

I am really stumped! I'm highly considering going into child/adolescent psychiatry because of my major interest in that particular group and the psycho-social issues involved. In addition, I think I will have more control of my life as a psychiatrist considering that I want to have a family one day. The big issue that I'm having is that I feel like I'm going to be detaching myself from general medicine. I don't enjoy being on the floors, so IM is out. I was thinking about Peds or FM, but it's too broad. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

Psychiatry is an awesome field, almost a hidden secret. You may not make as much as a surgeon, but you will have unlimited opportunities (example: Work at Mental Health Complex with those really screwed up, private practice, University setting, etc... I love psychiatry, if you ever get bored of it, you can always (if you have the stamina do another residency and be dual boarded). Also look to see if there are any Psyc/Meds, Psyc/family medicine joint residencies. That could be a good alternative as well but an extra year or two of residency.

 

[dara678]

what in particular worries you about detaching yourself from general medicine? all the psych attendings i know are really knowledgable about their medicine stuff. they have to, because sometimes they are the first persons to notice a particular condition, and also because they see these patients for years and years, often more frequently than the GP!

anyways, though i'm not going into psych, after seeing it up close i would say go for it! it's an awesome field. it's SUCH a big difference to see someone being completely functionally debilitated -- depressed, psychotic, or whatever -- to being and feeling well and being an active member of society. it's highly rewarding i think -- especially with teens, who don't take so long to detox and who present with the first symptoms of bipolar/depression/schizophrenia (meaning that you can prevent long-term, severe disease). 🙂

 

[ndspider]

We need more Psych doctors.
So when I want to get teh C(r)ack heads out of the ER I can send them to you guys for an "assesment."
Who cares, you don't need a definitive diagnosis! Just diagnosis them with something as long as they aren't bothering me.
In fact, pump them up with lithium too! Medicare will foot the bill.
🙂
Just kidding

 

[ghostfoot]

Go for the "child/adolescent psychiatry" if that's what you want to do. Don't let the cognitive dissonance about detatching from general med get in your way. Sleep on it & do what you want to do.

 

[ENS]

Go for the "child/adolescent psychiatry" if that's what you want to do. Don't let the cognitive dissonance about detatching from general med get in your way. Sleep on it & do what you want to do.

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I shouldn't care or worry about what anyone else thinks. Now a 4th year, I feel like it's crunch time to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up. I don't if any of you feel that way. If I'm still unsure, I might end up doing a transitional year.

 

[mzeroapplicant]

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I shouldn't care or worry about what anyone else thinks. Now a 4th year, I feel like it's crunch time to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up. I don't if any of you feel that way. If I'm still unsure, I might end up doing a transitional year.

There is a bit of an element of separation from medicine if you think about it. If you're a psychiatrist and you meet someone who asks you what you do, you would say "I'm a psychiatrist". In contrast, I think a neurologist or an OB/GYN would be just as likely to start out with "I'm a doctor", and then would answer any followup questions.

But ultimately, just stick to whatever job you'll like the most, the money is going to be good regardless of speciality, and ultimately you'll probably care about what your colleagues think of you more than the larger medical community, and your family will be happy as long as you're happy with what you do. Unless it's really necessary for your career goals, I'm not sure going for the extra residency in another speciality is worth it, doing child and adolescent is already going to add on a couple years and you've got to start making money at some point. It's not worth two years of your life just to have the title and the feeling of being closer to the medical community.