Legal requirement to practice psychiatry

[deleted736562]

I was looking at the legal requirements to practice psychiatry and I'm unsure about this. It seems like legally you need to have a medical license from the state you practice in. Do you also need to be board certified/board eligible? Or is the latter usually seen as a requirement from employers to employ you?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Sushirolls]

MD/DO/MBBS + state specific minimum of post graduate years to be elgible for a license + active medical license = do what you want*

*naturally within reason, training, experience, scope, etc but in theory anything you want

Psychiatry is a term granted to those who have completed a Psychiatry residency. Board certification is not required nor needed to use that term.

Board certification is nothing more than a feather in your hat, a gold star on the wall, an extra 'at a boy' to say job well done. However, some employers and insurers are daring to make this a new metric of entry, which is complete bovine scat.

 

[deleted736562]

MD/DO/MBBS + state specific minimum of post graduate years to be elgible for a license + active medical license = do what you want*

*naturally within reason, training, experience, scope, etc but in theory anything you want

Psychiatry is a term granted to those who have completed a Psychiatry residency. Board certification is not required nor needed to use that term.

Board certification is nothing more than a feather in your hat, a gold star on the wall, an extra 'at a boy' to say job well done. However, some employers and insurers are daring to make this a new metric of entry, which is complete bovine scat.

Thanks for the answer. Does the term "psychiatry" have any legal ramifications on your practice? i.e can you actually practice psychiatry without finishing psychiatry residency if you have an active state medical license?

 

[el_duderino]

I'm interested in hearing more about this. I imagine that hanging up a sign saying you're a psychiatrist is legally fine as long as you have an active medical license, but you'd be opening yourself up to lawsuits by having no particular training in it. Which makes me wonder about other specialties like anesthesia or even radiology or surgery.

 

[MBBSMOM]

Thanks for the answer. Does the term "psychiatry" have any legal ramifications on your practice? i.e can you actually practice psychiatry without finishing psychiatry residency if you have an active state medical license?

I know one person who didn’t finish psychiatry residency and calls themself a psychiatrist. Stephanie Waggle is one example she was terminated after the second year. To be employed as a psychiatrist at a hospital/Cmhc you need to finish residency and be board certified. Typically a medical license is unrestricted though. There are internists and FM doctors who claim to practice dermatology. If you opened up your own clinic you could practice “psychiatry” except you wouldn’t be allowed to advertise yourself as a psychiatrist typically.

 

[Sushirolls]

Thanks for the answer. Does the term "psychiatry" have any legal ramifications on your practice? i.e can you actually practice psychiatry without finishing psychiatry residency if you have an active state medical license?

My understanding is some one who stops short at 3 years and 11 months of psych residency cannot use the term Psychiatrist in the letter head or advertisement, but they can say things like 'psychiatric practice' or the delivery of 'psychiatric focus' etc. Psychiatry is the field/topic/specialty, but Psychiatrist the label/rank/title.

I believe each state has their own nuances as to how this is enforced.

If some one bails on psych residency 3 years thru, they could go open their own practice and say, "I'm Dr PGY-III Awesome, and I focus my practice on the Psychiatric Specialty." Or conversely, Dr PGY-III Awesome could practice primary care and state "I am a general practitioner focusing on Internal Medicine"

Since this is all at the level of physician and likely under a state medical board (or osteopathic board), one likely needs to call the board up and reference the individual and advertisement. I suspect they'll have a quick answer.

 

[Animal Mother]

There is a young provider at the hospital in my hometown who only completed one year of internal medicine and is advertised as a psychiatrist. She is one of only two inpatient doctors in the city.

 

[Splenda88]

Thanks for the answer. Does the term "psychiatry" have any legal ramifications on your practice? i.e can you actually practice psychiatry without finishing psychiatry residency if you have an active state medical license?

I worked with a physician who was treating exclusively psych patients. Everyone thought he was a psych doc, and called him psychiatrist, but the guy was a FM doc.

 

[AD04]

There is a young provider at the hospital in my hometown who only completed one year of internal medicine and is advertised as a psychiatrist. She is one of only two inpatient doctors in the city.

Does she do inpatient psychiatry? I thought all hospital needed physicians to be BE / BC. What's the story? Rural?

 

[Mass Effect]

I know one person who didn’t finish psychiatry residency and calls themself a psychiatrist. Stephanie Waggle is one example she was terminated after the second year. To be employed as a psychiatrist at a hospital/Cmhc you need to finish residency and be board certified. Typically a medical license is unrestricted though. There are internists and FM doctors who claim to practice dermatology. If you opened up your own clinic you could practice “psychiatry” except you wouldn’t be allowed to advertise yourself as a psychiatrist typically.

You don't need to be board certified, just board eligible.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I worked with a physician who was treating exclusively psych patients. Everyone thought he was a psych doc, and called him psychiatrist, but the guy was a FM doc.

I’d report that to the medical board. It’s actionable in my state.

 

[Splenda88]

I’d report that to the medical board. It’s actionable in my state.

I was not a even in med school at that time, and even if I were, I don't think I would have reported him if he was not hurting people.

 

[Mass Effect]

I was not a even in med school at that time, and even if I were, I don't think I would have reported him if he was not hurting people.

You'd never know if he was or not.

 

[Splenda88]

You'd never know if he was or not.

True...

 

[downwithDTB]

I’d report that to the medical board. It’s actionable in my state.

FM docs can certainly treat mental illness... wouldn't he have to be representing himself as a psychiatist to run afoul of the board? Just because others are confused...

I'm sure that this is state specific... I've read the term "psychiatist" in my state laws but can't find a definition. Do you happen to have a link to the Texas law or board rule that defines when a physician can call themselves as psychiatist/surgeon/ect.

 

[Animal Mother]

Does she do inpatient psychiatry? I thought all hospital needed physicians to be BE / BC. What's the story? Rural?

Yeah, pretty rural. I just went to the hospital's website to look and can't find her anymore. She must have left. It looks like they have a couple other people now, and they are advertised like this: "AD04, MD. Specializing in: Psychiatry"

So I guess the hospital isn't technicallly calling them psychiatrists, but seems pretty much the same.

 

[Sushirolls]

Does she do inpatient psychiatry? I thought all hospital needed physicians to be BE / BC. What's the story? Rural?

You don't NEED to be BC/BE. That is simply a rule SOME (most?) hospitals have for getting privileges. There are some hospitals that don't have those rules, but privileges are granted based upon the credentials committee and signed off by the med director and/or hospital CMO. They also have the ablility to make exceptions. These things can be fluid.

 

[Taddy Mason]

I currently have one attending who did 0 training in the Western Hemisphere but has practiced as an attending psychiatrist in an academic position for several decades without issue and is very well respected in his particular area of interest within psychiatry. I’m also aware of a dermatologist and general surgeon in my home state who also have 0 training in the Western Hemisphere but have been granted licenses and practice in their respective fields without issue. So basically it’s contingent on whatever the criteria is for individual state medical boards.

Granted the above mentioned physicians are exceptional cases and are all very well recognized in their respective fields, but nonetheless if you’re licensed as a physician/surgeon in most states you can practice the full scope of medicine but have fun dealing with insurance or the legal ramifications if you fu(k up.

 

[PikminOC]

MD/DO/MBBS + state specific minimum of post graduate years to be elgible for a license + active medical license = do what you want*

*naturally within reason, training, experience, scope, etc but in theory anything you want

Psychiatry is a term granted to those who have completed a Psychiatry residency. Board certification is not required nor needed to use that term.

Board certification is nothing more than a feather in your hat, a gold star on the wall, an extra 'at a boy' to say job well done. However, some employers and insurers are daring to make this a new metric of entry, which is complete bovine scat.

Many employers and insurers have already made BC a new metric of entry.

 

[Mass Effect]

Many employers and insurers have already made BC a new metric of entry.

I just completed a job search and on-boarding and didn't run across a single employer or insurer who required BC. Only BE.

 

[Sushirolls]

BE expires after a few years. You have a window. Complete residency, then you have a few years grace to pass the exam to lock it down. Miss the window, it might close permanently or you have to jump thru a large amount of hoops to open it up again.

 

[Mass Effect]

BE expires after a few years. You have a window. Complete residency, then you have a few years grace to pass the exam to lock it down. Miss the window, it might close permanently or you have to jump thru a large amount of hoops to open it up again.

True, but that window is pretty large. One of the attendings at my former hospital (in med school) was 10 years out and still BE. He may have gotten a waiver, I don't know, but he said he was never required to take it but wanted to leave that job for a teaching job and needed to be BC for that.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

As long as you have an MD/DO and an active medical license, you can technically practice whatever you want. It usually ends up being more about what your malpractice carrier is actually going to cover or if you can get privileges in a hospital system...

Someone could certainly say that they "specialize in psychiatry" just like they could say they "specialize in dermatology". Don't know about actually saying if they're a "psychiatrist" or "dermatologist" though, although I bet you'd actually have to bring it up to the medical board for anyone to actually do anything about it.

 

[michaelrack]

Just Google "name of your state " limits on physician advertising