Psych and International Work

[JMD]

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Hey all,
I was just curious if anyone on this board knows of people who have done overseas (as in underdeveloped countries) psych/medical work.

I'll be starting 3rd year in about 2 weeks and at this point I'm leaning towards Psych (my intention since deciding on medical school). On the other hand, I've always wanted the option to do medical work overseas for a month out of each year or something like that. Will going into psych still allow me to do this in any way? Any stories about psychiatrists utilizing their skills in disaster settings or maybe in an HIV clinic, etc. etc.?

Thanks for any replies.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Hey all,
I was just curious if anyone on this board knows of people who have done overseas (as in underdeveloped countries) psych/medical work.

I'll be starting 3rd year in about 2 weeks and at this point I'm leaning towards Psych (my intention since deciding on medical school). On the other hand, I've always wanted the option to do medical work overseas for a month out of each year or something like that. Will going into psych still allow me to do this in any way? Any stories about psychiatrists utilizing their skills in disaster settings or maybe in an HIV clinic, etc. etc.?

Thanks for any replies.

I know of residents who have arranged away electives in India and in Ireland.
You could probably find some way to work it out with your program. I also frequently see ads for locum tenens work in New Zealand! (Thinking seriously about that someday!)

Many psychiatrists will work in a kind of "on-site consultation-liason" role in HIV clinics, Women's clinics, Oncology clinics, etc. for some portion of their clinic time, especially in large academic centers.

 

[JMD]

Sorry, I should have been a little clearer. I meant HIV clinics in places like Africa or working in a village in South America... medical mission kind of stuff. It's usually family med, surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, etc. that you see doing this kind of work. It's tough to see how a psychiatrist would fit in in one of these situations. Just wondering if there is anyone out there who has put a twist on their psych skills or retained enough of their "medicine" skills from school/residency to utilize them in a medical mission setting.

New Zealand sounds great though... wouldn't mind doing that for a few years either.

For now I should probably stop worrying about my plans for 8 years from now and worry about studying for the Step 1 I have to take in a few days 🙁 .

 

[PsychMD]

A couple of years ago I enjoyed reading this book:

Of Spirits and Madness : An American Psychiatrist in Africa
by Paul R. Linde

It is about a contemporary (modern trained) psychiatrist from SF going to practice in Zimbabwe.

 

[snowinter]

Hi JMD,

I think about doing international work too when choosing my field. (although I dont think i'm going into psych--but you never know) I would say that you can certainly help with psych issues abroad. Of course, you probraly need more help with any language barrier unlike other specialties of say --fixing a cleft palate , or helping with vaccinations. But, I think psych coudl be very helpful in post-atmosphere of disaster areas and public awarenss issues in genearl. You might also help train or dialogue with local mental health workers who would have a better grasp on the language --and potentially better grasp on english.

I was reading the dotorswithoutborders homepage-- and their were some quotes from psychiatrists who had gone abroad as well.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders-usa.org/volunteer/field/mentalhealth.cfm

good luck with you future career & good luck on step 1!

snowinter (i'm a third year btw-- deciding on a career too)

 

[DrIng]

I must say that people in New Zealand would love being described as a third world country... 🙂

 

[OldPsychDoc]

I must say that people in New Zealand would love being described as a third world country... 🙂

I raised NZ in the context of International, not the context of Third World.

Heck, if you want Third World, try the Indian Health Service in South Dakota!