Im considering doing psych for residency but i'm concerned that I wont be competitive. I'd love some advice

[Chlorophyll Oracle]

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I'm close to starting my third year at a US MD school. I got a 235 on step 1 which seems to be okay. I have 1 research project trending towards publication unrelated to psych and one poster presentation related to psych but no publications. My only volunteer experience in med school is some mentoring and a few hours helping disadvantaged people get medication discounts.

I'm stuck between doing IM and Psych and I would kinda like to be prepared for both options through my 3rd year as I settle on a decision.

My question boils down to, how important is psych related research and psych volunteering? Should I start as soon as possible or is it not particularly important and nothing urgent? Also do you believe my average step 1 score will hold me back since I know psych is getting more and more competitive each year.

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you very much!

Edit: I probably should add, a very important thing to me is to stay in my metro area. I plan to have a family with my wife and want to be near our family. There are about 6 psych programs within driving distance of where we are meaning that my odds are tougher since I really dont want to expand nationwide. Your comments so far have certainly boosted my confidence though which I really appreciate!

 

[jbomba]

I'm close to starting my third year at a US MD school. I got a 235 on step 1 which seems to be okay. I have 1 research project trending towards publication unrelated to psych and one poster presentation related to psych but no publications. My only volunteer experience in med school is some mentoring and a few hours helping disadvantaged people get medication discounts.

I'm stuck between doing IM and Psych and I would kinda like to be prepared for both options through my 3rd year as I settle on a decision.

My question boils down to, how important is psych related research and psych volunteering? Should I start as soon as possible or is it not particularly important and nothing urgent? Also do you believe my average step 1 score will hold me back since I know psych is getting more and more competitive each year.

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you very much!

You're extremely competitive for psych.

 

[docksan]

I'm close to starting my third year at a US MD school. I got a 235 on step 1 which seems to be okay. I have 1 research project trending towards publication unrelated to psych and one poster presentation related to psych but no publications. My only volunteer experience in med school is some mentoring and a few hours helping disadvantaged people get medication discounts.

I'm stuck between doing IM and Psych and I would kinda like to be prepared for both options through my 3rd year as I settle on a decision.

My question boils down to, how important is psych related research and psych volunteering? Should I start as soon as possible or is it not particularly important and nothing urgent? Also do you believe my average step 1 score will hold me back since I know psych is getting more and more competitive each year.

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you very much!

235 on Step 1 is not "average". Focus on step 2. You'll be fine for Psych as long as you show interest and you really care about doing it. Consider a combined IM/P program if you like both.

You're even okay for medicine. You shouldn't be worried about this yet as a rising M3.

 

[Bartelby]

I agree, do well on your clerkships and apply to a range of programs and your odds of matching psychiatry are very good.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

I don't recommend a combined program. You will end up practicing one or the other. Just make up your mind and go forward. You are a good candidate, and 6 local programs is a good thing, but do be wider in your application strategy. Maybe that will include IM positions or maybe not. Only you can determine location vs specialty priorities.

 

[NickNaylor]

Psych volunteering is not important. Psych-related research specifically is not important, and depending on the programs you apply to, any kind of research may be relatively unimportant but is always a nice plus. Your listed experiences are pretty solid as-is, but more is always better.

I don’t think you have anything to worry about, depending on your aspirations and assuming things don’t go off the rails before you apply. The limited geographic area may make things more difficult, depending on how competitive the local programs are. You may want to consider applying to additional programs, even if that’s not your preference. Is it better to go somewhere that may not be your ideal geographic choice or not match?

 

[J ROD]

I agree with the above. Score is competitive. Not sure what metro area you are talking about but 6 is not many. I would strongly advise to apply to at least a dozen programs. And that assumes you do well on rest of issues at above level. Also, Step 2 is becoming more and more important. For Psych, I would not worry about research or volunteering. Focus on clerkships and Step 2. Also, in psych, you need to make people comfortable during your interview and have emotional intelligence. Agree would not do both IM/Psych. I went to a place that had both and glad I decided last minute not to do it. You basically have to chose and those that were combined I feel are not as good with the psych in general. We got more psych than they did. Spent more months on inpatient. Had to do night float on psych. etc. I personally do not regret doing psych. I also manage most medical issues on my inpatient floors but I have help if I feel I need it or just do not want to deal with it. Finish strong and don't focus too far ahead. It is a marathon.....

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I agree with the above. Score is competitive. Not sure what metro area you are talking about but 6 is not many. I would strongly advise to apply to at least a dozen programs. And that assumes you do well on rest of issues at above level. Also, Step 2 is becoming more and more important. For Psych, I would not worry about research or volunteering. Focus on clerkships and Step 2. Also, in psych, you need to make people comfortable during your interview and have emotional intelligence. Agree would not do both IM/Psych. I went to a place that had both and glad I decided last minute not to do it. You basically have to chose and those that were combined I feel are not as good with the psych in general. We got more psych than they did. Spent more months on inpatient. Had to do night float on psych. etc. I personally do not regret doing psych. I also manage most medical issues on my inpatient floors but I have help if I feel I need it or just do not want to deal with it. Finish strong and don't focus too far ahead. It is a marathon.....

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised at how much medicine we did on my inpatient psych. It definitely resolved my concern that I would never get to do any of that again.

 

[deleted1100659]

my program is about 2 hours from a fairly large city, and the city itself is moderately sized. University program. you would be competitive.

if anything, try to show on your application "why psychiatry". That seems to really help if someone can read your app and understand easily why you chose the field.

 

[futuredo32]

If you are considering medicine and psych, I would strongly suggest applying to an IM/Psych program. I wish I would have done IM or FP instead of psychiatry and though I have learned to accept psych, IM/Psych or FP/Psych would give you the option to do either or both. Agree with showing "why psychiatry" on your application. Even if you don't use psych and do IM, you will have numerous patients with psychiatric illnesses and won't have to refer them our, if you opt to be a psychiatrist, that extra IM knowledge will help.

 

[Splenda88]

If you are considering medicine and psych, I would strongly suggest applying to an IM/Psych program. I wish I would have done IM or FP instead of psychiatry and though I have learned to accept psych, IM/Psych or FP/Psych would give you the option to do either or both. Agree with showing "why psychiatry" on your application. Even if you don't use psych and do IM, you will have numerous patients with psychiatric illnesses and won't have to refer them our, if you opt to be a psychiatrist, that extra IM knowledge will help.

Psych is one of the specialties in medicine I thought you either love it or hate it for the most par, and there is nothing in between. I have done IM, maybe it's a case of the grass is greener...

 

[futuredo32]

Psych is one of the specialties in medicine I thought you either love it or hate it for the most par, and there is nothing in between. I have done IM, maybe it's a case of the grass is greener...

Maybe for some people. I like it but don't love it. I would have preferred the variety in FP or IM and they see a lot of patients with psych problems. I liked most of my rotations except OB/Gyn and I think that was because the residents and attendings were awful, radiology, anesthesiology and ICU. I have ADHD (untreated) and I had a hard time focusing on having multiple things going on with so many patients in the ER so that was out and I lack fine motor skills, so surgery was out. I read about medicine as much as I read about psychiatry.

 

[quiet pines]

To answer your original question, psych experience in whatever form is just as important, or more important, than scores. Get more psych experience if you can.

 

[hallowmann]

I wouldn't do IM-Psych just because you can't decide between the two. If you genuinely like something in the arena that uses both sets training (e.g. Med-Psych unit staffing, Addiction, or even purely CL) or want to pursue primary care but with good psychiatric training it may be a reasonable option, but doing it because you can't decide is an easy way to anticipate switching categorical mid-training and then you take a limited spot from someone who might actually have wanted it, mess with your program's schedule, and waste your own time.

I would like to gently push pushback against the assertion that combined training will lead to "only practicing one", because most recent data doesn't really show that. Sure the majority will identify one as the majority of work done, but the respondents (if asked) explicitly state that they use both of their training, and maintenance of dual board certification for the majority of graduates points to this as well. I believe the assertion is based on a selective interpretation of the data.

As for the statement that they aren't as well trained, this varies wildly by program. Many programs have you complete just as many required rotations in psychiatry as categorical residents. The only thing reduced is often the number of electives, because you are often using the other specialty to fill elective or required medicine months. I would not go to a combined program that didn't have you doing psych night float when the categorical residents did, that just seems stupid.

 

[michaelrack]

combine med/psych docs generally lack significant psychotherapy training, but otherwise are excellent psychiatrists. Their medical skills depend on what they do after training is done. If they actively practice IM, those skills will be maintained