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I'm interested in going into psychiatry. Would osteopathy be a good route for this?
Psychatrists as DO
- Thread starter greenwave
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Psychiatry, due to what I've heard best described as "managed malpractice," i.e. insurance companies relegating the psychiatrist to a pill-pusher (unfortunatey and unfairly!), is EXTREMELY easy to get into, as an MD, DO, or an FMG. Just make sure that--
1. You pass your classes
2. You pass the COMLEX-1 / USMLE-1
3. You have a pulse and can prove it.
And you should be fine in applying to psych programs.
Also, this ease of entry is likely to be around for a number of years to come.
Psych is an interesting field with a lot of potential, and as the baby boomers continue to age there will be an increasing need for their services, as well as a larger number of people willing to pay outside the managed care system for psychotherapy as well as psychopharmacology.
Good luck!
1. You pass your classes
2. You pass the COMLEX-1 / USMLE-1
3. You have a pulse and can prove it.
And you should be fine in applying to psych programs.
Also, this ease of entry is likely to be around for a number of years to come.
Psych is an interesting field with a lot of potential, and as the baby boomers continue to age there will be an increasing need for their services, as well as a larger number of people willing to pay outside the managed care system for psychotherapy as well as psychopharmacology.
Good luck!
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I know a D.O. who is completing a competitive fellowship(MD) in child psychiatry and doing very well. So I would say, yes, osteopathy is a good route for psychiatry or any other specialty one may consider.
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Thanks for starting this conversation thread. I have actually been wondering the same thing. I am interested in psychiatry and am trying to decide if I can do this just as well in a DO or an MD program. If anybody else has any other info about this question I would appreciate the response.
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Nice name, DancnDr! 
What kind of dance?
I am also interested in psychiatry, but have had concerns that I would end up just pushing meds. I've talked to several psychiatrists who believe that there are ways to craft your practice/career so that you can include a balance of different therapies, populations, and interests. I will be attending DO school in the fall, and feel confidant that it will be just as good at preparing me for psychiatry. Really, where you do your residency is more important, and as mentioned above, psychiatry residencies are not very competitive right now.
What kind of dance?I am also interested in psychiatry, but have had concerns that I would end up just pushing meds. I've talked to several psychiatrists who believe that there are ways to craft your practice/career so that you can include a balance of different therapies, populations, and interests. I will be attending DO school in the fall, and feel confidant that it will be just as good at preparing me for psychiatry. Really, where you do your residency is more important, and as mentioned above, psychiatry residencies are not very competitive right now.
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I am a psychiatric social worker and will be attending PSCOM in the fall. I know from personal experience that psychiatry is not very competitive. I think in order to do it you must really enjoy navigating systems such as insurance companies.
i know of several DO's in psychiatry. MD/DO is not really an issue. I personally have no interest in psychiatry, but wish you the best of luck. Just do well in your classes, score well on the boards, and you have just as good of a chance as anyone else (MD or DO).
i know of several DO's in psychiatry. MD/DO is not really an issue. I personally have no interest in psychiatry, but wish you the best of luck. Just do well in your classes, score well on the boards, and you have just as good of a chance as anyone else (MD or DO).
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One of the DO's in my town is a psychiatrist and from what I hear, he is rather good at what he does. There is also a gastroenterologist in town who is a DO and most of his patients never note that there is a difference in him vs. his MD colleagues.
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FYI, many NYCOM students who go into psych do residencies at Hillside Hospital, an allopathic mental health hospital that's part of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a large allopathic hospital. Hillside is very, very well respected and considered quite prestigious and, from what I hear, DOs have no problem whatsoever getting in there.
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My two cents... when I applied to DO schools the DO LOR I got was from a psychiatrist... the people at the admissions thought it was kind of funny... but anyways,
I just finished my psych rotation with a DO and it was awesome, I really enjoyed it and (if I didn't want to do ER) would consider psych. I talked a great deal to my attending about DOs and psychiatry and he says it doesnt' matter (he did a AOA internship and then a MD residency)... and that the field is wide open now and very uncompetitive, with a 40-50 hour workweek and starting salaries around 120-150. Not bad.
As for the pill-pushing, its mostly true... I think 40-60% of good treatment is medication, the rest has to be supplemented by psycho/behavioraltherapy...
I just finished my psych rotation with a DO and it was awesome, I really enjoyed it and (if I didn't want to do ER) would consider psych. I talked a great deal to my attending about DOs and psychiatry and he says it doesnt' matter (he did a AOA internship and then a MD residency)... and that the field is wide open now and very uncompetitive, with a 40-50 hour workweek and starting salaries around 120-150. Not bad.
As for the pill-pushing, its mostly true... I think 40-60% of good treatment is medication, the rest has to be supplemented by psycho/behavioraltherapy...
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Dancer
Similar names huh?
I was a modern dancer/choreographer for several years (one of those artsy intellectual types) before embarking on a career in medicine.
I have accepted an invitation to attend Nova Southeastern Osteopathic School and have been waitlisted at my state medical school, so I keep waivering back and forth as to what I should do. I am glad to know that both programs will prepare me for psychiatry. My step mother is a Jungian Psychotherapist, and she gave me some ideas about how to structure my medical practice, so that I can balance med checks with real therapy.
Thanks for all of the good advice on this thread.
Similar names huh?
I was a modern dancer/choreographer for several years (one of those artsy intellectual types) before embarking on a career in medicine.
I have accepted an invitation to attend Nova Southeastern Osteopathic School and have been waitlisted at my state medical school, so I keep waivering back and forth as to what I should do. I am glad to know that both programs will prepare me for psychiatry. My step mother is a Jungian Psychotherapist, and she gave me some ideas about how to structure my medical practice, so that I can balance med checks with real therapy.
Thanks for all of the good advice on this thread.
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Nice chattin' with you DancnDr.,
Good luck making your decision with Nova and your state school. I visited Nova and was impressed by the facilities and how content the students were.
Best of luck in psychiatry. Keep dancin'!
Good luck making your decision with Nova and your state school. I visited Nova and was impressed by the facilities and how content the students were.
Best of luck in psychiatry. Keep dancin'!
F
fourthwatch96822
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Do you think it is true that a larger % of psychiatrists end up on psych meds them selves versus other physicians??
No doubt, the job is very mentally taxing...
Mike
No doubt, the job is very mentally taxing...
Mike
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Read "Mount Misery" by Samuel Shem (penname of Stephen Bergman, M.D.), a pseudoautobiographical account of his first year of psych residency at the mythical mental hospital Mount Misery (based on McLean Hospital). The book is the sequel to the "House of God," which is a must for anyone interested in a career in medicine. Anyway, the protagonist, Dr. Basch, spends a good deal of time exploring the phenomenon of how every psychiatrist seems to specialist seems to specialize in what his/her problem is--self-esteem, nymphomania, etc.
I'm not making any generalizations, but in my family it seems like this is true. For instance, my aunt, a psychiatrist who specializes in affective disorders, is severely depressed and takes lots of colorful pills. She went into psychiatry because deep down she felt that if she somehow understood her problems on a physiologic and psychoanalytic level, they'd go away. It didn't work.
I'd venture to guess that, Yes, you're more likely to find a psychiatrist taking psych meds than another specialist, but I doubt it's a widespread phenomenon, and I don't think it has anything to do with the field of psychiatry being particularly depressing, especially when compared to pediatric hem/onc or something like that. It has to do with the kind of person who goes into a psychiatry in the first place. Specialties, like everyting else we choose to do in life, are findamentally self-selecting. We don't pick them. They pick us. (Board scores aside, of course.) But that's just my opinion. All you drug-addicted shrinks out there are free to disagree
I'm not making any generalizations, but in my family it seems like this is true. For instance, my aunt, a psychiatrist who specializes in affective disorders, is severely depressed and takes lots of colorful pills. She went into psychiatry because deep down she felt that if she somehow understood her problems on a physiologic and psychoanalytic level, they'd go away. It didn't work.
I'd venture to guess that, Yes, you're more likely to find a psychiatrist taking psych meds than another specialist, but I doubt it's a widespread phenomenon, and I don't think it has anything to do with the field of psychiatry being particularly depressing, especially when compared to pediatric hem/onc or something like that. It has to do with the kind of person who goes into a psychiatry in the first place. Specialties, like everyting else we choose to do in life, are findamentally self-selecting. We don't pick them. They pick us. (Board scores aside, of course.) But that's just my opinion. All you drug-addicted shrinks out there are free to disagree
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Dancer
What school(s) are you leaning towards going to?
Interesting turn this thread has taken into psychoanalyzing psycoanalysts. It is actually a pretty well known fact that a higher percentage of doctors (no matter what kind) deal with depression and/or addiction to various medications. I think that it is probobly a combination of being a highly competitive "type A" personality prone to perfectionism and having a very stressful career.
What school(s) are you leaning towards going to?
Interesting turn this thread has taken into psychoanalyzing psycoanalysts. It is actually a pretty well known fact that a higher percentage of doctors (no matter what kind) deal with depression and/or addiction to various medications. I think that it is probobly a combination of being a highly competitive "type A" personality prone to perfectionism and having a very stressful career.
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DancnDr--oops, I just read your question today!
I'm headed off to Touro (TUCOM) in San Fran! I considered Nova in Ft. Lauderdale, where I grew up, but unfortunately my asthma is always tremendously worse in sunny south FL due to the Everglades being right there. I am looking forward to checking out the San Fransico Bay area...I've always wanted to live there for a bit. The only other school I'm still strongly considering is PCOM, but I haven't heard anything from them yet, so I think I'm California-bound!
Any news on whether you chose Nova or your state school? Keep us posted...
I'm headed off to Touro (TUCOM) in San Fran! I considered Nova in Ft. Lauderdale, where I grew up, but unfortunately my asthma is always tremendously worse in sunny south FL due to the Everglades being right there. I am looking forward to checking out the San Fransico Bay area...I've always wanted to live there for a bit. The only other school I'm still strongly considering is PCOM, but I haven't heard anything from them yet, so I think I'm California-bound!
Any news on whether you chose Nova or your state school? Keep us posted...
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DancnDr.,
Cool. I'm looking forward to it. Now all I have to do is work my butt off for four years! But knowing me, I'm sure I'll take the time to enjoy the area, too!! South Florida can be a lot of fun, also, especially if you like the ocean. If you end up going, you'll have to take up Latin dancing if you haven't already.
Cool. I'm looking forward to it. Now all I have to do is work my butt off for four years!
But knowing me, I'm sure I'll take the time to enjoy the area, too!! South Florida can be a lot of fun, also, especially if you like the ocean. If you end up going, you'll have to take up Latin dancing if you haven't already. 
