Patients

[OrangeCat]

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What behaviors/personalities would describe in a typical and especially "difficult" patient? I'm interested in seeing what everyone would describe as a typical patient and one who is considered "difficult". Also, if you could have an ideal patient, describe.

I'm almost finished with my Bachlor's, I'm Philosophy and Pre-Heath, with a minor in Biology. I'm interested in becoming a psychiatrist.

 

[Regnvejr]

A "difficult" patient is the one who has the nerve to not respond to the medications/treatments as the books tells us they should respond. 😀

 

[silas2642]

A "difficult" patient is the one who has the nerve to not respond to the medications/treatments as the books tells us they should respond. 😀

I was always under the impression that it was the cluster B's that you guys considered the difficult patients. I remember one of our lecturers said that if you're interviewing a patient and you suddenly have the urge to get up, walk across the room, and strangle the person, then you should consider a cluster B diagnosis.

 

[Thorazine]

for me, as a soon-to-be intern, difficult patients are the ones who are very close to my age. i tend to identify and empathize a little too much with them.

 

[Regnvejr]

I was always under the impression that it was the cluster B's that you guys considered the difficult patients. I remember one of our lecturers said that if you're interviewing a patient and you suddenly have the urge to get up, walk across the room, and strangle the person, then you should consider a cluster B diagnosis.

Ah, counter-transference, the best diagnostic tool you got for diagnosing Axis II disorders. The patients having had a rotten life and reacting to it, that really is more a cause for compassion. Carl Rogers has this concept of "Unconditional Positive Regard" for the patients. Makes treating them a lot easier.. And cluster B actually can be improved.

My view of what is "difficult is not how difficult the patient is, but rather how well the treatment works.

 

[OrangeCat]

I was just wondering what I might be getting myself into, especially with different types of patients. And whether I could handle it. I think I'm definitely interested in psychiatry, but don't know what a typical patient would be like.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

I was just wondering what I might be getting myself into, especially with different types of patients. And whether I could handle it. I think I'm definitely interested in psychiatry, but don't know what a typical patient would be like.

When I started my 3rd year clerkship that was THE question I felt I needed to answer for myself--"Will I like working with these patients? Can I handle it?" I don't think anything we can say here will answer that question for you. If you don't want to wait until MS3 year to figure this out, look for some paid work or volunteer opportunites in the field and give it a try.

 

[silas2642]

I was just wondering what I might be getting myself into, especially with different types of patients. And whether I could handle it. I think I'm definitely interested in psychiatry, but don't know what a typical patient would be like.

All I know about med school is that a lot of people start med school thinking that they're going to go into one field and then wind up in another. I don't know what the consensus is in this board, but I sort of feel that if you're going to go into med school thinking ONLY psych and that's it, then you're going to be miserable for a pretty good portion of the time.

I went to med school thinking that I might want to go into psychiatry, I primarily went to medical school to become a physician and to learn medicine-- so I think that you should make the decision to go to med school and pursue a career as a doctor based on whether or not you want to practice medicine rather than psychiatry. Think broader first. Because if you get to your third year clerkships and decide that you hate psych along with everything else in medicine, you are in trouble.

 

[zenman]

There is no "typical" patient 🙁