Psych residency after fm

[Leonardsean]

I Intended to do Psychiatry after medical school, but due to medical issues didn't qualify for the match in my 4th year of Med school. I wound up doing an osteopathic TRI (they were ok with me being off schedule).The following year I applied for combined IM/ psych and straight psych residencies... and didn't match. I decided to progress from the TRI to their family med residency. I hope to transition to psych afterwards. Would there be any problems with this? Too many residency years? Would it be possible to match (after finishing fm) as a 2nd year psych resident? Any insight would be appreciated.-- Sean

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[northernpsy]

A LOT of people switch into psychiatry from other fields. I personally know an IM doc and a pediatrician who switched to psych after being attending docs for a number of years.

I'm not sure what the current rules are about residency credit but as of a few years ago the ABPN did not give any credit for osteopathic training. However I think that having a background in FM would be a huge asset for a psychiatrist since a lot of psych patients' medical issues get overlooked or neglected with the way our system is. You could be a rock star at C/L psychiatry.
For those kinds of reasons (plus just having shown you can complete a training program competently) I think many psych programs would consider a candidate who finished an FM program in good standing to be highly attractive, to the point that I believe it probably would mitigate concerns about residency funding being used up.
Come over to the Psych forum on this site and hang out with us!

 

[keifernny2]

Possible, sure, but you may have funding issues finding your spot.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[gutonc]

Possible, sure, but you may have funding issues finding your spot.

Stop it. The "funding issue" is a red herring.

OP, just go for it.

 

[<L>]

Do it.

 

[needachange2017]

The real question is do you really want to spent 4 more of ur finite amount of years in residency?

I personally think you should just move on; psych just wasn't meant to be.

 

[northernpsy]

One positive to doing an FM->Psych switch is that that psychiatrists often seem to keep working late in life since psych is not very physical. I think it's worth it to do a second residency if it means you may potentially still be able to enjoy interesting and rewarding work when you're in your 70s and 80s rather than trying to endure a specialty you don't like much for the minimum of time until you can retire.

 

[bashwell]

To be fair, FM isn't very physical, or at least doesn't have to be. I've seen FM docs in their 70s and 80s too.

However, I agree if OP really can't stand FM or really loves psych, then it's OP's life, and if OP wants to go for psych, then sure why not go for it. You only live once. No regrets.

 

[northernpsy]

To be fair, FM isn't very physical, or at least doesn't have to be. I've seen FM docs in their 70s and 80s too.

However, I agree if OP really can't stand FM or really loves psych, then it's OP's life, and if OP wants to go for psych, then sure why not go for it. You only live once. No regrets.

I definitely agree with you that staying in FM for the long haul is feasible if you actually do like it. I guess I was just taking it for granted that OP must not be enjoying FM much if he is thinking of switching as an attending. Switching as an attending does seem a bit more drastic than trying to switch during training.
If the OP were thinking of trying to start over in something like a surgical residency then I might be more likely to agree with someone saying it's not necessarily the best path for an older person, while I don't think that anyone is too old to start over in Psych until perhaps dementia has started to set in.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

The real question is do you really want to spent 4 more of ur finite amount of years in residency?

I personally think you should just move on; psych just wasn't meant to be.

I'm guessing the OP could probably apply and be granted up to a years worth of residency. 6 months from intern year and probably another of 4th year electives.

The real question is does he want to spend his "Finite amount of years" practicing in a field he'd rather not be in

Sent from my SM-G900V using SDN mobile

 

[Crayola227]

even as an FM doc you can really tailor your practice to mental health if you want, a lot of it is in your scope, at least the more simple diagnoses etc, partly cuz the lack of psychs

If you make it known you want those patients, they *will* get referred to you

Some states, can be pretty lax on waiving requirement that will give you a license to do counseling if the psychotherapy aspect was what you wanted out of doing psych, don't know about billing tho

you could be doing addiction medicine, I know FM docs that do methadone, bupenorphine,
add in ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar, that's a lion's share worth

 

[clausewitz2]

even as an FM doc you can really tailor your practice to mental health if you want, a lot of it is in your scope, at least the more simple diagnoses etc, partly cuz the lack of psychs

If you make it known you want those patients, they *will* get referred to you

Some states, can be pretty lax on waiving requirement that will give you a license to do counseling if the psychotherapy aspect was what you wanted out of doing psych, don't know about billing tho

you could be doing addiction medicine, I know FM docs that do methadone, bupenorphine,
add in ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar, that's a lion's share worth

Please don't be a therapist unless you are willing to put in the work to seek out specialized training. Real psychotherapy is a lot more than pulling empathy face and affirming everything for 50 minutes.

 

[michaelrack]

Some states, can be pretty lax on waiving requirement that will give you a license to do counseling if the psychotherapy aspect was what you wanted out of doing psych, don't know about billing tho

There is no waiver or license (other than a medical license) necessary for an MD to do counseling/therapy.

 

[Shikima]

Have you considered completing both and being BC in both?