Personal Statement

[painballer27]

I just finished my first draft of my personal statement for psychiatry residency application. Would anyone be willing to read it and give feedback?

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[Cath Up]

Post history reveals your goals appear to be 1) becoming a pain specialist and 2) making a lot of money. After the process of med school, I cannot fault you for either one, but boy would it be a waste of training if you pursued psychiatry because it's an easier residency, just to do pain. I think PMR can be about as strenuous as some psych residencies. What is turning you away from that? Or are you dual applying?

 

[painballer27]

Post history reveals your goals appear to be 1) becoming a pain specialist and 2) making a lot of money. After the process of med school, I cannot fault you for either one, but boy would it be a waste of training if you pursued psychiatry because it's an easier residency, just to do pain. I think PMR can be about as strenuous as some psych residencies. What is turning you away from that? Or are you dual applying?

Yes, I do have an interest in pain medicine and pursuing a pain fellowship. However, I also have enjoyed my experience in psychiatry. To me, it seems like I should do a residency in something that I like regardless of fellowship options, and I would rather be a psychiatrist than an anesthesiologist at the end of the day if I did not do a pain fellowship for whatever reason. It has less to do with ease of residency, and more to do with what I enjoy. Same for PM&R. I do think PM&R is interesting, and I may dual apply, but unfortunately, it has been difficult for me to get much experience in the field.

Edit: There are practical considerations as well. Yes, all else equal, making more money is preferable to making less. Also, I know very little about the job market in PM&R. I know that for psychiatry, it is currently very good and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, so I view that as a significant positive of psychiatry. As I said above, it is important to do something you enjoy, but I also know that there are other factors that must be considered. For example, lots of my friends enjoy emergency medicine and are applying to it, but I'm not sure how happy they'll be with that decision a few years down the road with the current state of that field.

 

[Cath Up]

Yes, I do have an interest in pain medicine and pursuing a pain fellowship. However, I also have enjoyed my experience in psychiatry. To me, it seems like I should do a residency in something that I like regardless of fellowship options, and I would rather be a psychiatrist than an anesthesiologist at the end of the day if I did not do a pain fellowship for whatever reason. It has less to do with ease of residency, and more to do with what I enjoy. Same for PM&R. I do think PM&R is interesting, and I may dual apply, but unfortunately, it has been difficult for me to get much experience in the field.

Edit: There are practical considerations as well. Yes, all else equal, making more money is preferable to making less. Also, I know very little about the job market in PM&R. I know that for psychiatry, it is currently very good and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, so I view that as a significant positive of psychiatry. As I said above, it is important to do something you enjoy, but I also know that there are other factors that must be considered. For example, lots of my friends enjoy emergency medicine and are applying to it, but I'm not sure how happy they'll be with that decision a few years down the road with the current state of that field.

Solid reasoning. Glad you've given it some thought- certainly more than an average student in my experience. Best of luck! I'm an MS4 graduating in a couple days, matched community psychiatry, had some academic interviews. Happy to edit your PS if you think that would be helpful, but no worries if you're looking for attendings or experienced residents.

 

[painballer27]

Solid reasoning. Glad you've given it some thought- certainly more than an average student in my experience. Best of luck! I'm an MS4 graduating in a couple days, matched community psychiatry, had some academic interviews. Happy to edit your PS if you think that would be helpful, but no worries if you're looking for attendings or experienced residents.

Honestly, if you would that would be great. Could be good to have someone who has recently gone through the process. I'll send it over.

 

[psyspy]

Yes, I do have an interest in pain medicine and pursuing a pain fellowship. However, I also have enjoyed my experience in psychiatry. To me, it seems like I should do a residency in something that I like regardless of fellowship options, and I would rather be a psychiatrist than an anesthesiologist at the end of the day if I did not do a pain fellowship for whatever reason. It has less to do with ease of residency, and more to do with what I enjoy. Same for PM&R. I do think PM&R is interesting, and I may dual apply, but unfortunately, it has been difficult for me to get much experience in the field.

Edit: There are practical considerations as well. Yes, all else equal, making more money is preferable to making less. Also, I know very little about the job market in PM&R. I know that for psychiatry, it is currently very good and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, so I view that as a significant positive of psychiatry. As I said above, it is important to do something you enjoy, but I also know that there are other factors that must be considered. For example, lots of my friends enjoy emergency medicine and are applying to it, but I'm not sure how happy they'll be with that decision a few years down the road with the current state of that field.

I would not say it's unlikely to change in the foreseeable. Midlevel providers are still greatly increasing in number. And multiple attendings here have said this bullish Psych market will not last forever.

 

[jbomba]

I would not say it's unlikely to change in the foreseeable. Midlevel providers are still greatly increasing in number. And multiple attendings here have said this bullish Psych market will not last forever.

Of course it will change. All things change. That said, I remember hearing the same stuff over a decade ago when I was a pre med still. I don't think anyone has a better idea today than they did then about when this change will occur.

 

[splik]

Of course it will change. All things change. That said, I remember hearing the same stuff over a decade ago when I was a pre med still. I don't think anyone has a better idea today than they did then about when this change will occur.

The outlook for psychiatry was very different then. Psychiatry was a pretty poorly paid specialty over a decade ago. There weren’t many psych NPs and psychiatrists were not losing their jobs to psych NPs. There were very few positions where psychiatrists were primarily being paid to rent out their license to nominally “supervise” or collaborate with multiple NPs. In recent yrs there has been a renaissance in psychiatry in terms of the number of students going into the field, and substantial increase in compensation at unsustainable rates. So it would be false to suggest that we are in a similar situation as 10 or more years ago. Nonetheless, it is certainly true we cannot predict what will happen which is why it is best to choose what you love/find most tolerable rather than trying to predict the market. However, I would still caution those looking at the current market and sssuming that will continue as history tells us otherwise. Basically we are currently back in the 1970s which was followed by 30+ not so good years for our field.

 

[Ellomate]

The outlook for psychiatry was very different then. Psychiatry was a pretty poorly paid specialty over a decade ago. There weren’t many psych NPs and psychiatrists were not losing their jobs to psych NPs. There were very few positions where psychiatrists were primarily being paid to rent out their license to nominally “supervise” or collaborate with multiple NPs. In recent yrs there has been a renaissance in psychiatry in terms of the number of students going into the field, and substantial increase in compensation at unsustainable rates. So it would be false to suggest that we are in a similar situation as 10 or more years ago. Nonetheless, it is certainly true we cannot predict what will happen which is why it is best to choose what you love/find most tolerable rather than trying to predict the market. However, I would still caution those looking at the current market and sssuming that will continue as history tells us otherwise. Basically we are currently back in the 1970s which was followed by 30+ not so good years for our field.

mid-level encroachment is everywhere tho.
EM is in panic mode, CRNA gaining more strength every year (there's also Anesthesia Assistant [AA] which seems equivalent to CRNA), I have a PCP appointment w/ an NP (So FM), and NP hospitalist already becoming a thing.
So while in isolation, psych looks doom-and-gloom, but what is the prospect of psychiatry in relative to those specialties mentioned above?
If one had choices from IM, FM, Peds, Psych, PMnR, EM, Anesthesia and other low to mid-tier specialties, would you still caution someone going into psych?