Med school if main interest is psych?

[piernas]

Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get your option of something I have been struggling with…I graduated with my BA 2004 and have been working in medical research for the last 3 years (2 years in a neuroscience lab, 1 year in a clinical dept). I have always thought I would go on to medical school someday, but have found I dislike some aspects of clinical medicine. Working in my clinical position for the last year, I have found that I am really only interested in psychology and psychiatry, and not the other disciples. I am just not sure if I should be going to medical school without much of an interest in the other specialties (the thought of doing IM, FM sounds so unappealing to me!). I have been considering other options…PhD or MA in Clinical Psychology, but still unsure. Any advice on how to gain some clarity?

Thanks,

P.

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[marie337]

I'm a fourth year medical student, so keep my perspective in mind. But, I would suggest thinking about what you want out of your career. I've talked with several clinical social workers and psychologists who regret not going to medical school. They wish that were able to prescribe medications and to be able to treat all aspects of their patients' problems. That being said, if you have absolutely no interest in clinical medicine then the time spent studying general medicine might not be worth it to you. Medical school can be very taxing even for students who love it. I think you need to make a list of your career goals and decide if having a medical degree is necessary to accomplish those goals.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I was in that spot about 6 years ago, and I chose Clinical over Med School. Although I preferred the academic part of med school, the applied training and lifestyle did not fit my career goals (though the psychiatry lifestyle seems to be pretty nice from what I've seen).

A friend of mine gave me some great advice that I'll paraphrase, "a psychiatrist is a physician first, so if you don't like the nuts and bolts part of being a physician, it really will be a grind to get to the point where you can do what you want." Obviously people still do it, but once I took some time to look at what I wanted to do with my training, the choice for me was pretty clear.

I still have an academic interest in things like neuro, pharmacology, etc....but I've found I can meet that need on the research end, as the day to day work isn't what I wanted.

 

[silas2642]

Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get your option of something I have been struggling with…I graduated with my BA 2004 and have been working in medical research for the last 3 years (2 years in a neuroscience lab, 1 year in a clinical dept). I have always thought I would go on to medical school someday, but have found I dislike some aspects of clinical medicine. Working in my clinical position for the last year, I have found that I am really only interested in psychology and psychiatry, and not the other disciples. I am just not sure if I should be going to medical school without much of an interest in the other specialties (the thought of doing IM, FM sounds so unappealing to me!). I have been considering other options…PhD or MA in Clinical Psychology, but still unsure. Any advice on how to gain some clarity?

Thanks,

P.

Hey there,

with my limited experience I would say that you should defiitely be wary before entering medical school if you don't like any other aspects of medicine other than psychiatry. I went into medicine being pretty certain that I would be a psychiatrist, and thus far I haven't changed my mine, but as another poster has already stated, you're a physician first and a psychiatrist/specialist second. I think that if you want to be a good psychiatrist you are going to have to be good at all aspects of being a good physician and not just the mind/brain.

Med school and residency is going to be extremely difficult for you if you don't like other aspects of medicine because so much of it is other aspects of medicine. At my school, psychopathology is 6 weeks out of the first two years. That's it. The rest of my pre-clinical years are spent learning everything else. Some if it will probably be useless, but some of it won't.

It's a huge step, so definitely think it over. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Kluver Bucy]

Hey there,

with my limited experience I would say that you should defiitely be wary before entering medical school if you don't like any other aspects of medicine other than psychiatry. I went into medicine being pretty certain that I would be a psychiatrist, and thus far I haven't changed my mine, but as another poster has already stated, you're a physician first and a psychiatrist/specialist second. I think that if you want to be a good psychiatrist you are going to have to be good at all aspects of being a good physician and not just the mind/brain.

Med school and residency is going to be extremely difficult for you if you don't like other aspects of medicine because so much of it is other aspects of medicine. At my school, psychopathology is 6 weeks out of the first two years. That's it. The rest of my pre-clinical years are spent learning everything else. Some if it will probably be useless, but some of it won't.

It's a huge step, so definitely think it over. Good luck with your decision.

I was in a similar mindset as the OP, and I partially agree with the last post. I wasn't into, and struggled with, internal medicine, OB GYN, and peds (but, surprisingly, I really enjoyed surgery, and ER). Residency is primarily psych, though, and medical school changes you so much that at that point, that you're savoring what little medicine you get in residency.

If you're like me, and it sounds like you are, med school will be tedious, but residency will be relatively enjoyable.

 

[piernas]

Hi,

Thanks for all of your responses. I guess the things that are still drawing me to medical school are that my main interests are neuroscience (have experience in imaging research) and pharmacology. I sometimes wonder if I would enjoy being a MA/PhD focusing on therapy, and would probably go the route of academics and research. Although with the state of grant funding right now…

Things that make me nervous about medicine are the lifestyle (I agree, I probably wouldn’t be very happy in medical school or being an intern…but maybe I could push through?) and the debt. I guess I do need to sort out my career goals, but I feel like I keep percolating around with the same issues.

P.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Hi,

Thanks for all of your responses. I guess the things that are still drawing me to medical school are that my main interests are neuroscience (have experience in imaging research) and pharmacology. I sometimes wonder if I would enjoy being a MA/PhD focusing on therapy, and would probably go the route of academics and research. Although with the state of grant funding right now…

Things that make me nervous about medicine are the lifestyle (I agree, I probably wouldn’t be very happy in medical school or being an intern…but maybe I could push through?) and the debt. I guess I do need to sort out my career goals, but I feel like I keep percolating around with the same issues.

P.

Apply MD/PhD, get med school paid for, and go into radiology?

 

[masterofmonkeys]

I'm a research-minded dude, and I've known I wanted to be a shrink of some sort back in high school.

Ultimately I chose med school over clinical psychology. I felt that the 4 year investment (and house-sized) debt was worth it to be able to have the freedom and professional opportunities (both clinical and research). For good or for bad, MD often means more than PhD.

Unlike you, though, I quite enjoy clinical medicine, and if someone told me i couldn't do psych tommorrow, I could name at least 5 specialties that I would find intellectually, personally, and professionally rewarding.

med school still sucked since i spent a lot of time learning about things only peripherally related to what i want to do.

 

[Kluver Bucy]

Apply MD/PhD, get med school paid for, and go into radiology?

LOL. Sage wisdom. That's what will probably happen.

 

[rpkall]

Hi,

Current 4th year here, applying to psych residencies with the plan of doing child and adolescent eventually...

I was a psych major in college, and always was interested in the field, but I also had some curiosity about basic science and the other fields of medicine--and I chose to go to med school rather than do neuropsych or clinical psych PhD, mainly for the experience. Somewhere in my brain, I always knew it would be the right thing to do to get a medical education--to have the experiences of assisting in surgeries, delivering babies, and trying my hand at a few minor procedures. Not to mention the anatomy dissections are really fun.

The other thing I thought was important was getting a really good neuroscience background, which you can do in med school (1st/2nd year neuro courses, neuroanatomy, and clinical medicine electives in neuro and psych). Ultimately, thoughts and feelings have their genesis in the brain, which is biological, and med school gave me a unique perspective in that respect that I feel most clinical psychologists don't have. That's not to say that they don't learn the neuroscience and pharm to some degree, but they have to try harder to get good experiences and teaching in that stuff, whereas in med school, mentors knowledgable in that stuff kind of fall in your lap.

Anyway, feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss further.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[whopper]

I was in the same boat. I was a psychology major & loved it & wanted to go into psychiatry becuase I was liking the psychopharm & physiological aspects the most.

I caution you if you are of the Meyers Briggs type that hates physical science or biology classes. Psychology while it is a science, is a social science, & the mindset is very different from other sciences. If you are of the type that hates physics & biochemistry, you'll hate medschool.

That doesn't mean you can't do it--heck I'm in that category above. Just that you'll hate medschool for years. Its not healthy to be put into a position where you'll hate what you're doing for years. Especially when what you're doing is very intense--one of the most intense programs I think that can ever be done minus perhaps being a Navy Seal among a few other high extreme jobs.

While you're in medschool, very little will be stuff that's directly related to psychiatry. It will however later become important because you will have times as a psychiatrist where your medical knowledge in non-psychiatric areas can save the day. It'll just take you a few years of getting your butt kicked before you see the picture to be able to appreciate it. I didn't until residency.

For me it was worth it, but I had to take a year off to decompress & live what I felt was a normal life again.

If you're of the type that breezes through these types of classes, then by all means go through medschool with no hesitation. I've noticed though from personal experience that those that love the social sciences often times are not of the type that enjoy the physical & biological sciences.

 

[sasevan]

I was in the same boat. I was a psychology major & loved it & wanted to go into psychiatry becuase I was liking the psychopharm & physiological aspects the most.

I caution you if you are of the Meyers Briggs type that hates physical science or biology classes. Psychology while it is a science, is a social science, & the mindset is very different from other sciences. If you are of the type that hates physics & organic chemistry, you'll hate medschool.

That doesn't mean you can't do it--heck I'm in that category above. Just that you'll hate medschool for years. Its not healthy to be put into a position where you'll hate what you're doing for years. Especially when what you're doing is very intense--one of the most intense programs I think that can ever be done minus perhaps being a Navy Seal among a few other high extreme jobs.

While you're in medschool, very little will be stuff that's directly related to psychiatry. It will however later become important because you will have times as a psychiatrist where your medical knowledge in non-psychiatric areas can save the day. It'll just take you a few years of getting your butt kicked before you see the picture to be able to appreciate it. I didn't until residency.

For me it was worth it, but I had to take a year off to decompress & live what I felt was a normal life again.

If you're of the type that breezes through these types of classes, then by all means go through medschool with no hesitation. I've noticed though from personal experience that those that love the social sciences often times are not of the type that enjoy the physical & biological sciences.

Wow! This sounds just like me. 🙁

To the OP:

In 2004 I was finishing my psychology residency when I discovered (to my dismay) that given my appreciation of psychopharmacotherapy and my conviction that RxP were not going to be extended for the most part or anytime soon to PhD/PsyD that I needed to go back to school to become a psychiatrist. Today is 2008 and I'm in my second year of medical school. I'm glad I chose as I did but it has been a struggle since I've had to develop new study habits to help me compensate for my modest interest and aptitude for the physical sciences. In other words, I loved psychology and found it relatively easy while at most (so far anyway) I've only liked medicine and have found it very, very hard.

On the other hand, however, every year of med school is more clinical than the one before and so I'm finding every year a lot more interesting and a little less hard. Also, remember that your exposure to patients with psychological disorders will not be limited to the psychiatric rotations. In my experience, almost every patient that I've seen in my Internal Medicine/HIV Sub-Specialty preceptorship is also being treated for mental health/substance abuse issues.

IMHO, If you believe that you want to be able to provide the full scope of psychiatric therapeutic interventions with your patients and gain the most comprehensive understanding of physical/psychological functioning then go to med school. It won't always be interesting and it will never be easy (and first year will be HELL) but in the end it is the sacrifice that you need to make. But it's one that will be worth it, both for the sake of your future patients and for the kind of professional practice that you want.

Best of luck.

 

[piernas]

Hi,

Thanks again for all of your responses! I was a psychology major, but have completed almost all my science pre-requisites (minus a semester of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry). I guess I am still learning more towards med school because I am not much of the Meyers Briggs type, as Whopper said. As said, love the pharmacology and neuroscience. I guess I am just a bit hesitant due to the grueling nature of med school and residency. My family/friends/free time are important to me, and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my relationships. I guess I am just not quite convinced that any career is worth the sacrifice that med school and residency seem to demand. Momentarily pondered doing a NP/PA program, but then I think I would regret not going to med school. Oh, I don’t know… I feel like I am all over the place (MD, PhD, PA/NP?)

I ran into one of my old work colleagues last week (a psychiatrist) and he is going to let me follow him for a day or two in both an inpatient and outpatient environment. Maybe that will help with the decision making…

P.

 

[Encephalopathy]

It does suck at times, but it's still totally doable. Kinda sounds like you'd regret it later if you didn't try. You're not gonna lose any family or friends because you spend every fourth night in a hospital for a year, right? And psych is a relatively less competitive field, meaning you don't have to work quite as hard during med school as some of your colleagues. There were some rotations that I hated every minute of - but in retrospect, it is cool to have seen it.

 

[whopper]

I guess I am still learning more towards med school because I am not much of the Meyers Briggs type, as Whopper said. As said, love the pharmacology and neuroscience. I guess I am just a bit hesitant due to the grueling nature of med school and residency

Wierd eh? I meet so many people who did very well in Biochem & Organic Chemistry.

I meet so many people who love neuroscience, physiological psychology, & psychoparmacology.

Yet so few people that like both.

I'm a Meyers Briggs ENTJ. I was actually told that this type is the type that hates medschool by Timothy Brigham, Ph.D. who is a Dean at Thomas Jefferson Medical School. The guy has done research on what types like & don't like medschool, and methods to improve teaching in medical school.

http://www.nemours.org/department/ncml/staff/brigham-timothy.html
I'm wondering if this same type has an attraction to psychology & psychiatry.