Is Psychiatry considered a primary care specialty?

[Krisss17]

It is a specialty I am interested in and was just curious if it falls in the line of a primary care specialty. LECOM-E has a 3-year primary care program and was curious if one was interested in psychiatry if they could go this route (assuming of course accepted).

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[michaelrack]

It is a specialty I am interested in and was just curious if it falls in the line of a primary care specialty. LECOM-E has a 3-year primary care program and was curious if one was interested in psychiatry if they could go this route (assuming of course accepted).

Psychiatry is not a primary care specialty. If you are interested in doing both primary care and psychiatry, you should consider doing a 5 year Medicine/psychiatry or Fam Pract/psychiatry combined residency program.

 

[peppy]

Most of the time, Primary Care refers to general Internal Medicine, general Pediatrics, or Family Practice. Sometimes ob/gyn or Emergency Medicine are also included since they see a lot of primary care issues too.
Personally, I would recommend avoiding these programs that require you to commit to a specialty before you've done your rotations. Seeing what a specialty is like from actually rotating in it can totally change your perspective on things. You might end up like me and discover that while you love primary care in theory, you hate what primary care is like in the real world.

 

[notdeadyet]

Most of the time, Primary Care refers to general Internal Medicine, general Pediatrics, or Family Practice. Sometimes ob/gyn or Emergency Medicine are also included since they see a lot of primary care issues too.

This really depends on the program. Any that goes so far as to consider EM a primary care specialty would very probably consider psych primary care as well.

NHSC, for instance, which requires payback in primary care, allows for psyc.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding these programs that require you to commit to a specialty before you've done your rotations.

Amen to that. I personally think that programs that dangle cash to folks not even yet in medical school to commit to a field of practice is dangerously close to exploitive.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

..
Amen to that. I personally think that programs that dangle cash to folks not even yet in medical school to commit to a field of practice is dangerously close to exploitive.

You mean like the US military? 😀

 

[masterofmonkeys]

primary care generally means that EVERYONE needs their services at some point (med, family, peds). Ob/gyn argue that they are primary care based on the fact that for roughly 50% of the population they are a necessity. Good argument.

Given that psych issues attend up to 20-30% of the population at some point in their life, it could be (weakly) argued that psych is a primary care specialty

In the sense that I don't think anyone else has any business treating psych issues other than psychiatrists and psychologists, I would argue that we should be considered the primary level of care for psychiatric issues.

 

[Taurus]

No, it's not considered primary care, but unfortunately it pays like it is.

 

[notdeadyet]

You mean like the US military? 😀

Like their HPSP scholarship, yes. Or like the National Health Service's NHSC program.

I wonder if they offer four year undergrad scholarships to graduating high schoolers with the requirement that the recipient goes into a specific field.

 

[carlosc1dbz]

No, it's not considered primary care, but unfortunately it pays like it is.

Is this because its not very procedural?

 

[wagonwheel]

No, it's not considered primary care, but unfortunately it pays like it is.

Actually according to the NHSC, it is a primary care specialty (look at the drop down menu for discipline).

http://nhscjobs.hrsa.gov/Search_HPOL.aspx

This only counts for general adult psychiatry. Not child, geriatric or addictions.

 

[st2205]

Though this thread is a couple years old:

The NHSC includes psychiatry as primary care. LECOM's primary care pathway does not. In any case, it's kind of disappointing that another school (somewhere in Texas) is offering the same pathway. I can only imagine this trend continues. I think it's also a subtle disparagement to primary care, suggesting that "such-and-such isn't important in primary care" as if a monkey could do the job. If anything, a PCP would need more exposure to other aspects of medicine much more than anyone super-specialized, in my opinion. With the trend of changing primary care to a less-specialized field (more mid-levels), we should be upping the standards -- not lowering them.

 

[Manicsleep]

Though this thread is a couple years old:

The NHSC includes psychiatry as primary care. LECOM's primary care pathway does not. In any case, it's kind of disappointing that another school (somewhere in Texas) is offering the same pathway. I can only imagine this trend continues. I think it's also a subtle disparagement to primary care, suggesting that "such-and-such isn't important in primary care" as if a monkey could do the job. If anything, a PCP would need more exposure to other aspects of medicine much more than anyone super-specialized, in my opinion. With the trend of changing primary care to a less-specialized field (more mid-levels), we should be upping the standards -- not lowering them.

👍

 

[surftheiop]

Like their HPSP scholarship, yes. Or like the National Health Service's NHSC program.

I wonder if they offer four year undergrad scholarships to graduating high schoolers with the requirement that the recipient goes into a specific field.

Most states do this for teachers, they give you a full ride in college for X years of teaching in the state

 

[notdeadyet]

Most states do this for teachers, they give you a full ride in college for X years of teaching in the state

I've never heard of a state doing this. I'd be interested in seeing a link or two.

Lots of states do loan reimbursement for teachers. When you graduate and go on to work as a teacher, portions of your loan are wiped out each year.

That's very different animal from what I described: signing a binding agreement to work in a particular field as you graduate high school.

 

[surftheiop]

I've never heard of a state doing this. I'd be interested in seeing a link or two.

Lots of states do loan reimbursement for teachers. When you graduate and go on to work as a teacher, portions of your loan are wiped out each year.

That's very different animal from what I described: signing a binding agreement to work in a particular field as you graduate high school.

http://www.cerra.org/teachingFellows

We have binding teacher scholarships it in South Carolina, I'm not really sure what goes in other states

 

[J ROD]

it is not by my definition....it is a specialty that just pays the least or close to it.....

Peds, IM, and FM.....

 

[notdeadyet]

http://www.cerra.org/teachingFellows

We have binding teacher scholarships it in South Carolina, I'm not really sure what goes in other states

Well, I stand corrected. God bless SC...

That said, you can leave the program and not become a teacher if you want, and just repay the loans (which you can continue to defer while a student). Doing that would be a trick with the Army...

 

[Suenya]

I've never understood why, but psych is often considered primary care in terms of regulations, etc. I'm pretty sure some of the deals where you owe less/ get loan reimbursement for service, often either call psych primary care or are primary care + psych. One of the state schools I applied to had such a plan for primary care, which was considered IM, Peds, Family and Psych.

 

[smq123]

Actually according to the NHSC, it is a primary care specialty (look at the drop down menu for discipline).

http://nhscjobs.hrsa.gov/Search_HPOL.aspx

This only counts for general adult psychiatry. Not child, geriatric or addictions.

Actually, I believe the NHSC does allow its scholars to specialize in pediatric/adolescent psych.

 

[J ROD]

Actually, I believe the NHSC does allow its scholars to specialize in pediatric/adolescent psych.

you are correct....🙂

 

[wagonwheel]

Actually, I believe the NHSC does allow its scholars to specialize in pediatric/adolescent psych.

This is great to know. Thanks for the correction!