Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship - guide?

[McNaughton]

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Hi,
I am a child psychiatry fellow....and am curious to know more about forensic psychiatry as a career option after child fellowship. Anyone with experience in forensic psychiatry..hopefully can answer few questions for me --

1. why choose forensic psychiatry?

2. Is it a good option after child fellowship?

3. Why we psychiatrists have to work with population involved in legal justice?

Hope someone can spare some time to kindly guide me.

Thanks

 

[TexasPhysician]

I think forensic psychiatry is very interesting, but my alternative career path would be as an attorney.

In my experience knowing 4 child forensic psychiatrists, there is a very limited market for them that is hard to break into. You have to market yourself very well.

Of the 4, 1 is doing forensics at about 15 hours/week steadily. She markets herself well and is willing to adjust her schedule 100% to accommodate clients' and attorneys' schedules.

The other 3 despite a few years of trying rarely see forensic cases. They admit that they enjoyed their fellowship/knowledge, but they also admit that it has been a lost year of good wages.

These are just 4 experiences of child forensic boarded people, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[notdeadyet]

In my experience knowing 4 child forensic psychiatrists, there is a very limited market for them that is hard to break into. You have to market yourself very well.

From my experience talking to the forensic CAP folks, the meat and potatoes of their niche is custody, custody, custody, which is extremely unappealing work for many (danger aside).

 

[gibits]

Child forensics can do Juvie hall as well. I'm pretty sure I'd shoot myself before I did that but some seem to like it.

 

[notdeadyet]

Child forensics can do Juvie hall as well. I'm pretty sure I'd shoot myself before I did that but some seem to like it.

True, but any child psychiatrist can do that. Forensics doesn't spend a lot of time on corrections work.

I suppose you'd be a value add for competency hearings and NGRI at the juvenille level, but I'd question how much of your life this would be.

 

[whopper]

I've already written about this extensively. Instead of retyping it all (and I don't have the time to do that) look it up on because it's all still there.