Do you recommend psychiatry?

[montecristo15]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi Everyone!

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology and sociology. I am a rising junior and have not done any pre-med requirements. I have been back and forth on whether to do a Clinical PhD or an MD. Does anyone recommend doing a post-bacc and then medical school? I understand that I will be taking out a fair amount of loans for both.

Are there any particular post-bacc programs that anyone would recommend? Math and science have not been my strengths so I would really need a program that is small and supportive.

Thank you!

 

[Juan Solo]

Hi Everyone!

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology and sociology. I am a rising junior and have not done any pre-med requirements. I have been back and forth on whether to do a Clinical PhD or an MD. Does anyone recommend doing a post-bacc and then medical school? I understand that I will be taking out a fair amount of loans for both.

Are there any particular post-bacc programs that anyone would recommend? Math and science have not been my strengths so I would really need a program that is small and supportive.

Thank you!

Most people do a post-bac if they need to improve the science pre-req grades that received in undergrad or if they never took those classes to begin with. If you intend to take those classes and do well in them then you may not need to do a post-bac.

 

[beBrave]

Hi Everyone!

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology and sociology. I am a rising junior and have not done any pre-med requirements. I have been back and forth on whether to do a Clinical PhD or an MD. Does anyone recommend doing a post-bacc and then medical school? I understand that I will be taking out a fair amount of loans for both.

Are there any particular post-bacc programs that anyone would recommend? Math and science have not been my strengths so I would really need a program that is small and supportive.

Thank you!

Being a former Clinical Psych PhD student, I would advise you to consider that while a Clinical Psych program is cheaper than Med school, it is still expensive and many programs fill up quickly as they literally only take the very best. Some programs may have as few as a Dozen students per year. I would recommend that you focus on doing well in your current classes before considering any Post Bach work. I received feedback from Clinical Psychologist actually working in the field and they pretty much convinced me to switch. It takes a minimum of five years to become a Clinical Psychologist (you have to complete a dissertation and many people take more than a year to complete it which that fifth year is typically used for).

Both Psychologist and Psychiatrist can conduct research. Becoming an MD is a much safer road, it's not an easy path but if you suddenly realize during third year rotations that you don't like working in the Psych department, then you can try something else. You don't want to be 2 -3 years or more into your Clinical Psych program unable to back out because you are too far in.

 

[Goro]

What does your heart rell you?

Hi Everyone!

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology and sociology. I am a rising junior and have not done any pre-med requirements. I have been back and forth on whether to do a Clinical PhD or an MD. Does anyone recommend doing a post-bacc and then medical school? I understand that I will be taking out a fair amount of loans for both.

Are there any particular post-bacc programs that anyone would recommend? Math and science have not been my strengths so I would really need a program that is small and supportive.

Thank you!

 

[TriagePreMed]

I was also in this same dilemma. I double majored in the same subjects. Ultimately, for me it came down to my ability to be an independent practitioner and be able to treat my patients as I thought was best, medically or psychosocially. If you get a PhD and work alongside MD/DO psychiatrist, be ready to just be a glorified nurse. The psychiatrist will lead the treatment. Sure, he'll listen to you, but they still manage the game.

 

[beBrave]

The psychiatrist will lead the treatment. Sure, he'll listen to you, but they still manage the game.

This sums it up very well.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Hi Everyone!

I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology and sociology. I am a rising junior and have not done any pre-med requirements. I have been back and forth on whether to do a Clinical PhD or an MD. Does anyone recommend doing a post-bacc and then medical school? I understand that I will be taking out a fair amount of loans for both.

Are there any particular post-bacc programs that anyone would recommend? Math and science have not been my strengths so I would really need a program that is small and supportive.

Thank you!

Any reason why you aren't just extending undergrad by a year or so to complete the requirements?

 

[Psychonergic]

I spent the major part of undergrad preparing for a career in professional psychology. I applied one cycle with no love, then applied a second cycle and was put on a waiting list. At that same time, I met a psychiatrist, took a course and shadowd them, and consequently removed myself from the waiting list. Neurobiology never ceases to amaze me, and I have high hope for the future of psychiatric treatment. Plus, I'm worried about the over-saturation of psychologists and the internship crisis - two things that my faculty mentors did not inform me of. Good luck with your decision!

 

[beBrave]

I spent the major part of undergrad preparing for a career in professional psychology. I applied one cycle with no love, then applied a second cycle and was put on a waiting list. At that same time, I met a psychiatrist, took a course and shadowd them, and consequently removed myself from the waiting list. Neurobiology never ceases to amaze me, and I have high hope for the future of psychiatric treatment. Plus, I'm worried about the over-saturation of psychologists and the internship crisis - two things that my faculty mentors did not inform me of. Good luck with your decision!

OP, coming from the insurance industry, I'll put it this way; Psychiatrist can prescribe medication which can lead to shorter and fewer visits so the industry will favor the Psychiatrist over the Psychologist.

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

Psychiatrist can prescribe medication which can lead to shorter and fewer visits so the industry will favor the Psychiatrist over the Psychologist.

As someone who actually works in the field with people suffering from chronic psychiatric conditions:

Shorter visits + Psychiatric medications without proper support != more efficacious treatment.

As a side note to address OP have you ever had any interaction with actual psychiatrists? I'd highly recommend it.

I've actually met one psychiatrist that made the switch from psychiatrist to psychologist because she did not like how impersonal psychiatry felt and felt the job could be described, not to ruffle the feathers of the easily offended/ego-sensitive and n=1, as being a glorified drug dealer (to be fair she had immigrated from Eastern Europe and didn't have a license but still said she had no desire to practice even if given the opportunity).

I think psychiatry is fascinating field myself but as I said you should interact with a few psychiatrists to actually get a feel for the field and see if it is for you. It also isn't uncommon for therapists to get the NP designation to Rx meds for their patients if you feel that is important. Also Lousiana and New Mexico give psychologists prescription privileges.

 

[beBrave]

As someone who actually works in the field with people suffering from chronic psychiatric conditions:

Shorter visits + Psychiatric medications without proper support != more efficacious treatment.

As a side note to address OP have you ever had any interaction with actual psychiatrists? I'd highly recommend it.

I've actually met one psychiatrist that made the switch from psychiatrist to psychologist because she did not like how impersonal psychiatry felt and felt the job could be described, not to ruffle the feathers of the easily offended and ego-sensitive and n=1, as being a glorified drug dealer (to be fair she had immigrated from Eastern Europe and didn't have a license but still said she had no desire to practice even if given the opportunity).

I think psychiatry is fascinating field myself but as I said you should interact with a few psychiatrists to actually get a feel for the field and see if it is for you. It also isn't uncommon for therapists to get the NP designation to Rx meds for their patients if you feel that is important. Also Lousiana and New Mexico give psychologists prescription privileges.

When I was a Psych student trying to decide if I should pursue medicine, I was worried that Psychiatrist were essentially all about medication management and that they would literally approach everything from a Medical (medication needed) perspective; I can safely say that there are good Psychiatrist and there are bad Psychiatrist; the same goes for Psychologist as well. An NP program usually requires a" BSN degree from an approved, accredited school". I thought about all of these things before switching. A minimum of five years for a degree in Clinical Psychology, 2 years of Post Doctoral training and then another 2-3 years completing a BSN (if OP doesn't switch to a BSN program now) before going on to complete an NP program which takes roughly 2 more years. Psychiatry requires 4 years of Med school and a four year residency.

 

[Balantidiumcoli]

When I was a Psych student trying to decide if I should pursue medicine, I was worried that Psychiatrist were essentially all about medication management and that they would literally approach everything from a Medical (medication needed) perspective; I can safely say that there are good Psychiatrist and there are bad Psychiatrist; the same goes for Psychologist as well. An NP program usually requires a" BSN degree from an approved, accredited school". I thought about all of these things before switching. A minimum of five years for a degree in Clinical Psychology, 2 years of Post Doctoral training and then another 2-3 years completing a BSN (if OP doesn't switch to a BSN program now) before going on to complete an NP program which takes roughly 2 more years. Psychiatry requires 4 years of Med school and a four year residency.

In my experience the vast majority of psychiatrists were pretty heavily bound to do nothing but managing medications. In an acute setting, they'd get their ~15 minute interaction with a patient, ask the staff to run a few psychometric batteries, talk with the nurses and ultimately decide if the current medication regimen is effective or needs to be changed (a lot of the immediate medical care outside of psychiatry was actually handled by staff PAs and NPs).

Psychiatrists play a crucial role in the treatment, make no mistake about that. You need the psychiatrist to make sure that the pharmacology is correct so that acute patient alpha who was formerly jabbering nonsense about being the second coming of Christ and taking craps in his hospital room shower is more stable and can gain at least some functionality back. Taking patient behavioral histories into account, making sure that you aren't going to have a cross rxn with other meds and making sure you don't give some poor fellow tardive dyskinesia (among other things) in and of itself is a full time job.

Tx 1 not working? Up the dose. Still not working? Up the dose. Still not working? Change the med. It's nowhere near that simple but that is a component of a psychiatrists job where Sx management can take more precedence over getting to really know the nitty gritty of the patients they're treating (that's mostly left to the therapists, case managers and nurses).