Psychiatrist Hours

[Backpack]

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Hello, I'm currently a senior in high school and I plan on pursuing a career in psychiatry. I understand the amount of time I have to put in for education but what are the hours like once you become a psychiatrist (in a hospital setting)?

 

[kugel]

Even in the hospital setting it varies widely.
If you work in a salaried position in a public setting (county hospital, state hospital, etc) you can get your work done and be out in 8 hrs or less, or many now have docs working 4 10-hr days per week. (To be honest, several of those at the state hosp who work 4 10's still get done in about 8 hrs).

If you are doing a private practice hospitalist practice, you will get paid based on how many pt's you see per day.

I knew of one doc (several yrs ago), doing ECT treatments each morning from 6:30-8am and that basically doubled her income from her regular inpatient rounds.

I know it doesn't help much, but it all depends on how you want to structure your work and who you work for.

With that said, it is WAY too early in your career planning to make any final decisions about your exact career path. You can, and should, change your mind several times before you decide on a type of practice, no less whether psychiatry is your final destination.

 

[chameleonknight]

I understand the amount of time I have to put in for education

I promise it's more than you think. Keep in mind that the federal government had to pass a law to keep residents from working more than 80 hours a week. As they often gleefully reminded us in med school, there is no such law regarding student hours. Honestly though, I went over 80 hrs probably only 2-3 weeks in all of med school and not by much (2-3 hrs).

 

[TexasPhysician]

I promise it's more than you think. Keep in mind that the federal government had to pass a law to keep residents from working more than 80 hours a week. As they often gleefully reminded us in med school, there is no such law regarding student hours. Honestly though, I went over 80 hrs probably only 2-3 weeks in all of med school and not by much (2-3 hrs).

Seriously......I've already had 2 over 100!!