Psychiatry Prestige

[504196]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

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[UTsksk]

I'm a 4th year applying psych. My parents preferred me going neuro since that was the other specialty I considered. I told them I essentially didn't care what they or anyone else in my family thinks. They backed off.

 

[SmallBird]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

It is totally reasonable to consider what sustains your ego when choosing a specialty. Of course you can be a bro/dude outside of work and will have more time to go to the gym as a psychiatrist. I've seen people try and exert a prominent masculinity in emergency psychiatry settings, and it can go pretty well, but in many other settings the less your need to manspread, the more you are ok with being quiet, and the less you need to exert your gender, the better.

 

[Blitz2006]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

There is a lot of scope you can do in psychiatry:

- Addiction (Subxone/Methadone/MI)
- Forensics (Work in Jails, etc.)
- Child
- Neuropsychiatry (Neuroimaging/Dementia/Neurological cases)
- Sleep
- Interventional Pain Managemnt (Blocks/minimally invasive surgery/epidurals - in the OR 50% of the time if you want)
- Psychotherapy (CBT/DBT/ACT etc.)
- Neuromodulation/Brain Stimulation (ECT, rTMS, VNS, DBS)
- CL (work with other specialties, psycho-oncology)

So you have lots of opportunities to "use your hands" if you really want to. I honestly don't get this prestige thing with specialties. Isn't it more prestigious to be a Psychiatrist at a "brand name ivy league" place than a neurosurgeon in the middle of nowhere? My parents always said, prestige is being the best at whatever you do, at the best name institution.

And plus now with mental health in the mainstream, opioid crisis smack in the middle of society, integrated medicine/psychiatry becoming popular; psychiatry has become "trendy" for lack of better words.

Just my 2 cents,

 

[NontradCA]

No one can really tell you how to deal with this. You’re going to have to come to a decision on your own. It seems you’ve already done self reflection on the issue. I doubt you’re going to find anyone who feels emasculated by psychiatry here.

 

[J ROD]

Your balls and word define you as a man. Not your medical specialty..............

 

[J ROD]

Also, I don't see many surgeons afraid or scared of their patients. Our patient population would have to be the most dangerous.

 

[Doc1401]

As a wise mentor recently told me... what good is being at the most prestigious institition if you are divorced 3 times? Prestige comes not only from your experience in the job but also the example you give in your personal life

 

[splik]

So you have lots of opportunities to "use your hands" if you really want to.

Psychiatry is the worst specialty for anyone who wants to use their hands to go into. there are literally no options to use your hands that wont have you in front of the medical board (pro tip: keep your hands to yourself). pain medicine is basically respecializing in a procedural field and isn't psychiatry. none of the other fields you mentioned involve using your hands. having to do procedures in one's chosen specialty would exclude psychiatry.

and no it is not more prestigious to be a psychiatrist at an ivy league institution (whatever that means) than a neurosurgeon in the middle of nowhere. as i said elsewhere: the waste disposal expert at harvard is still a garbage man.

OP you have to basically decide whether you could only be happy doing procedures (in which case do surgery). if you think you would be happy not doing procedures and can deal with the narcissistic injury and disappointment from your parents of not being a real doctor then psychiatry is a great option. as its less competitive than surgery you will be more able to match into a location/residency you desire, the hours are much better, the culture is nicer, and you will have more choice in jobs when you graduate. if you cant get over those things, then a surgical specialty would be the obvious choice.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

Take up woodworking to "use your hands" and affirm your masculinity, if that's what it's all about. You'll have sufficient finances to purchase nice equipment, and plenty of time to spend in your workshop while your surgical colleagues are enjoying their prestigious weekends on call lancing boils and draining abscesses.

 

[nitemagi]

I personally find tons of prestige in psychiatry. Especially in artistic, literary, and intellectual circles.

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

Too depressed watching the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers to come up with a cohesive post. Focus on trying to save lives using the talents that come most naturally and are most fulfilling to you. Focus less on stroking your ego. I think this will be the greater contributor to happiness and overall satisfaction. Wish we could somehow bring back the greatest generation ideals... those guys were awesome.

 

[Stagg737]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

I understand where you're coming from as I originally wanted to go into surgery because I love working with my hands and generally being able to apply myself physically. I get over it by realizing that my schedule will likely be far better than any surgeons and that I'll have plenty of time to go to the gym and play in various leagues throughout my career.

 

[maundy]

Also, I don't see many surgeons afraid or scared of their patients. Our patient population would have to be the most dangerous.

I don't buy in to this.

I mean sure, if you kill your mother it's probably a mental illness, but that stuff is pretty rare. Pretty sure most mental people are thinking too fast or thinking too sad, and are not out there decapitating puppies.

If mentally ill people were dangerous they would be locked up as a risk to society. No not free to roam and kill their mothers.

Is this about appearing manly and brave and is a joke? You allude to that in your previous post.

Your balls and word define you as a man. Not your medical specialty..............

 

[Neuro111]

maundy, we routinely lock people up against their will in an involuntary unit if they're a danger to others, until they are 'less' mentally ill. People with mania 'who are thinking too fast' with an irritable edge is highly prone to violent outbursts.

Have you been in a psych ward?

 

[When is graduation again?]

maundy, we routinely lock people up against their will in an involuntary unit if they're a danger to others, until they are 'less' mentally ill. People with mania 'who are thinking too fast' with an irritable edge is highly prone to violent outbursts.

Have you been in a psych ward?

Not to pile on, but I'd also add that even as a 4th year med students, I've seen various people in community settings (Assertive Community Treatment Teams and Crisis Stabilization) who became psychotic with co-morbid substance abuse who stabbed their mothers (at least 2 ppl in one month), injured family members, became flagrantly violent and racist skinheads, or committed crimes warranting arrest. Not to mention drug seekers in Emergency Department settings and people getting detoxed who get really aggressive really fast.

*Edit for clarity: I didn't mean the two people who stabbed their parents had done so that month. I meant in the past. When I saw them they were both stable. One of the people had actually just gotten out of jail for the stabbing. My point was that people with severe mental illness can become violent when unstable.

 

[maundy]

maundy, we routinely lock people up against their will in an involuntary unit if they're a danger to others, until they are 'less' mentally ill. People with mania 'who are thinking too fast' with an irritable edge is highly prone to violent outbursts.

Have you been in a psych ward?

Is that a serious question? Have I been in a psych ward?

So you're saying these people are extremely dangerous, could intentionally kill you, and you want to do this for a job? This sounds more dangerous than the army. At least you know the enemy is the enemy. You're working in an environment where at any time you can get jumped from behind? Drunk people are also likely to be irritable and react violently. They're not majorly dangerous. They don't have murderous intent. You might get a busted lip.

Why would anyone take that risk? There are zero risk indicators is what you're saying, and that they are that bad and violent. It's not like it has a gun shoot it, it's like, it's smiling at you and then scratches your eyes and and stomps on your throat?

I don't believe you. You would refuse to work there if it was like that.

 

[maundy]

Not to pile on, but I'd also add that even as a 4th year med students, I've seen various people in community settings (Assertive Community Treatment Teams and Crisis Stabilization) who became psychotic with co-morbid substance abuse who stabbed their mothers (at least 2 ppl in one month), injured family members, became flagrantly violent and racist skinheads, or committed crimes warranting arrest. Not to mention drug seekers in Emergency Department settings and people getting detoxed who get really aggressive really fast.

I don't believe you. If that was true you wouldn't take the job. Interacting with two people who have gone on to murder in the space of a month is an unbelievable unpreventable occupational hazard of high frequency. You would not work there.

Like seriously, you are happy being around someone who could become 'irritable' and stab you?

How many patients do you have? And out of that, two of them just went off and murdered their mothers?

Yeah right.

 

[maundy]

Do psychiatrists get diagnosed frequently with PTSD?

I mean, all day every day, apparently, you are living with the idea that you are likely to get stabbed by someone for no reason whatsoever.

I seriously do not believe it is like that. You would not take the job.

I don't believe you. It's just not plausible. You are not going to work in fear of your life. You are a doctor.

 

[maundy]

If I had been in a psych ward I would have lost my scholarship. So there's your answer.

But really you have no right to build a dossier on me. I need to protect my personal security

 

[When is graduation again?]

I don't believe you. If that was true you wouldn't take the job. Interacting with two people who have gone on to murder in the space of a month is an unbelievable unpreventable occupational hazard of high frequency. You would not work there.

Like seriously, you are happy being around someone who could become 'irritable' and stab you?

How many patients do you have? And out of that, two of them just went off and murdered their mothers?

Yeah right.

I didn't mean that the patients had murdered their parents that month. I meant that in the past they had stabbed their mothers. They were, relatively, stable when I saw them. But one was a 20 something year old who had just gotten out of prison for the stabbing, who formerly lived with her mother, who wouldn't take her back. You can imagine the difficulty finding a place for her.

It's not so much that I'm happy being around someone who will stab me, it's more that I find these patients really interesting and if everyone decides to abandon these people, then what happens? We just lock them up for the rest of their lives? I want to help people with severe mental illness stay stable and have the best quality of life. It can be difficult and has scary moments, but I think there is a challenge in learning to overcome fears while looking calm and collected. Plus, it's like watching dramas and crime shows at work.

 

[maundy]

I didn't mean that the patients had murdered their parents that month. I meant that in the past they had stabbed their mothers. They were, relatively, stable when I saw them. But one was a 20 something year old who had just gotten out of prison for the stabbing, who formerly lived with her mother, who wouldn't take her back. You can imagine the difficulty finding a place for her.

It's not so much that I'm happy being around someone who will stab me, it's more that I find these patients really interesting and if everyone decides to abandon these people, then what happens? We just lock them up for the rest of their lives? I want to help people with severe mental illness stay stable and have the best quality of life. It can be difficult and has scary moments, but I think there is a challenge in learning to overcome fears while looking calm and collected. Plus, it's like watching dramas and crime shows at work.

Your reasons for working make me uncomfortable. First you state that it's a freak show, then you state you want to help them and are concerned for their welfare. And then you state it's a thrill and like NCIS.

 

[When is graduation again?]

Your reasons for working make me uncomfortable. First you state that it's a freak show, then you state you want to help them and are concerned for their welfare. And then you state it's a thrill and like NCIS.

A person can have more than one reason for liking something. I like it because I can hear interesting stories, interact with people with interesting lives, and can work with people who really need my help. If any of these things weren't present, then like you hinted at earlier I wouldn't want to do it. Not every moment is interacting with dangerous people. You misinterpreted my original statement. There are scary moments, but not every moment is terrifying. In fact, most moments aren't. But your initial assertion was that all we see is anxiety (maybe mania?) and depression, which was flat out incorrect. My last post.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Prestige is a subjective evaluation that is likely determined by the company you keep.

Fellow physicians in my community are quite complimentary and respectful of my work. Counselors make a great effort to meet me (I’m sure the referrals are desired). Intellectual friends find the work fascinating. Even police officers and judges are quite interested in the field.

Alternatively, my neighbor made many assumptions about me that likely related to my work. He seemed surprised that I knew what a shotgun was when I invited him on a dove hunt. It took a couple years before he stopped introducing me as the neighborhood psychiatrist.

My anesthesia buddy claims his field is lower prestige because everyone always “blames anesthesia” in the medical community.

In my opinion, prestige holds minimal value and is mostly self-determined.

 

[clausewitz2]

Your reasons for working make me uncomfortable. First you state that it's a freak show, then you state you want to help them and are concerned for their welfare. And then you state it's a thrill and like NCIS.

So this is a cultural difference between people who have been through medical training and those who have not. Medical training attracts people who are fascinated by and emphasizes the intellectual interest of pathology of various sorts. You will frequently hear MDs talk about wanting to work with the "sickest" patients, and this applies to psychiatry as well. It is exciting and exhilarating and less routine, which is why I think so many of us like it. It is less about being a freak show and more like "witness the dazzling variety of the human experience."

But I totally get as a layperson/consumer how it can sound like pointing and laughing at someone in pain. This is a board that is really meant for people already in the guild, as it were, so we talk as guild members. Appreciate that this is only a part of ourselves on display here, and is not at all the mindset or approach we would use when actually interacting with someone who needs or wants our help.

 

[NickNaylor]

Didn't look at most of the thread, just the OP.

I think my most measures most people would agree that psychiatry isn't as "prestigious" as other specialties. I think these begs two questions, though: 1) who cares, and 2) who gets to decide what is prestigious or not?

Most of your patients will be extremely thankful for your input, particularly if they've seen other physicians that have dismissed their psychiatric complaints or seemed clueless about how to manage and ask about them. Irrespective of what other physicians think about the field and your practice, many of your patients will be grateful for your help and expertise. I would argue that that is infinitely more gratifying and valuable than whatever ortho bro thinks about psychiatry.

If you need an injection of prestige, spend some time on the consult service and wait for the panicked call about agitation or an acutely psychotic patient. Other members of the treat will very quickly come running for your input and recommendations. I don't know if I would call that "prestige," but you certainly do earn the respect of some of your non-psychiatry colleagues.

Unlike others, I don't immediately dismiss concerns about "prestige;" if that's something that's important to you, you've gotta recognize that and incorporate that into your career choice. I do think it's a little misguided and unlikely to lead to the satisfaying career you're probably hoping for, but if being viewed as the low man on the medicine totem pole is going to leave you resentful, then you should make your decisions accordingly.

My advice would be to focus on things that are more important to get your gratification: namely, taking the best care of the patient in front of you that you can. If you do that and, every once in a while, get some validation that you're doing that, the concerns about prestige will melt away.

 

[michaelrack]

Psychiatry is the worst specialty for anyone who wants to use their hands to go into. there are literally no options to use your hands that wont have you in front of the medical board (pro tip: keep your hands to yourself). pain medicine is basically respecializing in a procedural field and isn't psychiatry. none of the other fields you mentioned involve using your hands. having to do procedures in one's chosen specialty would exclude psychiatry.
.

although usually done by nurses, being able to give antipsychotic injections, including monthly LAI's is a useful skill to have. I also once had a job at a state hospital that required me to do the restraint/"take down" training, though I never had to do it. also, there are some implantable treatments for opioid dependence on the way, though the implantation could probably be turfed to another doc.

 

[504196]

thanks everyone for the posts (minus the slight derail somewhere in the middle there haha)

One other thing I forget to mention is that I kind of felt more at home with the surgery staff and residents. Similar sense of humor and personality. Whereas some of the psych people I've met so far have all been incredibly nice but perhaps I don't click with them as well as the surgeons. Again, this should not sway me one way or another but it's just something I've noticed. Anyways, I will be meeting with someone who used to be in surgery residency but then became a child psychiatrist so I believe that meeting will be very useful as well.

 

[Attending1985]

thanks everyone for the posts (minus the slight derail somewhere in the middle there haha)

One other thing I forget to mention is that I kind of felt more at home with the surgery staff and residents. Similar sense of humor and personality. Whereas some of the psych people I've met so far have all been incredibly nice but perhaps I don't click with them as well as the surgeons. Again, this should not sway me one way or another but it's just something I've noticed. Anyways, I will be meeting with someone who used to be in surgery residency but then became a child psychiatrist so I believe that meeting will be very useful as well.

I think this is very important don’t discount it as trivial. The people you surround yourself with are a large part of your happiness.

 

[Celexa]

thanks everyone for the posts (minus the slight derail somewhere in the middle there haha)

One other thing I forget to mention is that I kind of felt more at home with the surgery staff and residents. Similar sense of humor and personality. Whereas some of the psych people I've met so far have all been incredibly nice but perhaps I don't click with them as well as the surgeons. Again, this should not sway me one way or another but it's just something I've noticed. Anyways, I will be meeting with someone who used to be in surgery residency but then became a child psychiatrist so I believe that meeting will be very useful as well.

You'll need to sort out whether what you're reacting to is the field or the culture of a specific program. It can go either way--I briefly considered a surgical field but realized what I really loved were the specific people at my home program. When I looked instead at the people in my class who were applying it was clear the broader field wasn't going to have a high enough density of 'my' people. An away rotation in either psych or surg or both might help you sort things out.

 

[Blitz2006]

Psychiatry is the worst specialty for anyone who wants to use their hands to go into. there are literally no options to use your hands that wont have you in front of the medical board (pro tip: keep your hands to yourself). pain medicine is basically respecializing in a procedural field and isn't psychiatry. none of the other fields you mentioned involve using your hands. having to do procedures in one's chosen specialty would exclude psychiatry.

and no it is not more prestigious to be a psychiatrist at an ivy league institution (whatever that means) than a neurosurgeon in the middle of nowhere. as i said elsewhere: the waste disposal expert at harvard is still a garbage man.

OP you have to basically decide whether you could only be happy doing procedures (in which case do surgery). if you think you would be happy not doing procedures and can deal with the narcissistic injury and disappointment from your parents of not being a real doctor then psychiatry is a great option. as its less competitive than surgery you will be more able to match into a location/residency you desire, the hours are much better, the culture is nicer, and you will have more choice in jobs when you graduate. if you cant get over those things, then a surgical specialty would be the obvious choice.

Fair enough, I was incorrect in saying there are "lots of opportunities", but there is opportunity in pain medicine.

I don't understand your comparison of a waste disposal expert to a psychiatrist? and remember, "prestige" is very subjective. I know most of my medical school classmates regarded institution over specialty with regards to 'prestige'.

But like others have said, prestige means different things to different people. For some ppl, its the size of your bank account that makes you prestigious. For others, its where you work, etc. I personally think at the end of the day, if you do what you enjoy, and excel at it (become #1/top in that field), the prestige will come to you. There are psychiatrists that hold 'prestigious' positions (ie, Dean of medical school, CEO of hospitals, etc.), so its up to you to follow your passion, whatever that is.

 

[NontradCA]

thanks everyone for the posts (minus the slight derail somewhere in the middle there haha)

One other thing I forget to mention is that I kind of felt more at home with the surgery staff and residents. Similar sense of humor and personality. Whereas some of the psych people I've met so far have all been incredibly nice but perhaps I don't click with them as well as the surgeons. Again, this should not sway me one way or another but it's just something I've noticed. Anyways, I will be meeting with someone who used to be in surgery residency but then became a child psychiatrist so I believe that meeting will be very useful as well.

I’m not telling you what to do but this certainly swayed me and all of my friends when choosing a specialty. You have to spend a better part of your life with these people. Although in psych, there’s more opportunity to be isolated and not having to deal with other doctors much once out of residency.

 

[Entadus]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

You have a lot to learn, padawan. The most masculine approach would be to do what makes YOU happy, pick the career that's the best fit for YOU, and give no hoots about what anybody else thinks (IDGAF attitude)

 

[AD04]

I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine.

Get away from academia and you may meet some masculine psychiatrist. Defending yourself from a 300lb patient who is trying to take you down is quite masculine. Working in forensic with criminals is quite masculine. Standing firm and saying no to addicted patients is quite masculine. Having more time to work out than your surgery peers can help you look more masculine.

Masculinity is more than your specialty.

 

[deleted407021]

Preoccupation with masculinity aside, I’m personally in a position where anything I do in Medicine will be perceived by the people in my life who matter as prestigious. I’ll be the first physician in my family, so it’s not like I’m trying to live up to the model of my dad, the cardiothoracic surgeon. I’m free to do whatever I want and those in my circle will pleased with whatever it ends up being.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hey everyone, I have just started my psych rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I always thought I would enjoy psych given my interest in psychology, neuroscience, and human behavior. I was also an English major and loved to read and am learning that many psych residents also love to read. I also thought I valued long term relationships so I was thinking family med or psych. Did family med and realized that is not for me. I also did surgery as my first rotation, loved the OR and am strongly considering going into surgery.

Anyways, I told my parents now that I am interested in psychiatry in addition to surgery. They seemed kind of surprised out by the whole psych thing. But I know they will support me no matter what. I will sadly admit that the "lack" of prestige with psychiatry ("you're not a real doctor") does kind of bother me. I'm also a dude and find surgery and working with my hands to be very masculine whereas sitting and talking to psych patients is not that masculine. I realize that idea is totally dumb and not true. And I'm sure those ideas weren't really bother me if I'm doing something I really enjoy. So please tell me how you've dealt with these issues or how I should deal with them. Thanks!

Ask yourself this: would a person who is comfortable with their own self-worth and masculinity care?

 

[Doc1401]

Also, why can do we have to be “masculine”? Is that better than being “feminine”? At the end of the day we need to ask ourselves whether we will be happy at Erikson’s stage eight: integrity vs despair. When we reflect on our life, did we make the right decisions? Usually this revolves around things like whether we spent enough time with our spouse and children.

 

[Merely]

Also, why can do we have to be “masculine”? Is that better than being “feminine”? At the end of the day we need to ask ourselves whether we will be happy at Erikson’s stage eight: integrity vs despair. When we reflect on our life, did we make the right decisions? Usually this revolves around things like whether we spent enough time with our spouse and children.

If you're a man then being masculine is much better than being feminine in our society

 

[nitemagi]

If you're a man then being masculine is much better than being feminine in our society

This comes at the core of inclusion vs. exclusion, pack mentality vs. individuality. It's difficult to be OK being an individual and having an individualized identity, when not forced into that by being excluded by the pack. And yet it's a good thing.

 

[hebel]

I think your profession/specialty choice can be a factor in your perceived masculinity, but it doesn't define it. I've met plenty of of ortho residents that I would consider dorks and just as many male nurses(traditionally a feminine job) who are athletic, good looking, and would intimidate many people. What you do is just an element of who you are. I don't think picking a sexy specialty will automatically make you one of the cool kids, just as picking pysch doesn't damn you to a life of sweater vests and erectile dysfunction.

 

[TexasPhysician]

If you're a man then being masculine is much better than being feminine in our society

I’d argue that secure men don’t care.

Assume that NASCAR is typically viewed as a masculine event and a spa day as a feminine event.

Given the choice of watching cars do 200 identical laps or getting massaged for hours, I’d choose a pink robe and enjoy the day.

Change the choices to hunting vs pedicure, and I’m grabbing my gun.

The choice should be determined by our own preferences or opportunity cost. Choosing the masculine option might improve my perception within a group for 30 minutes, but making my own decisions results in continued happiness.

 

[TexasPhysician]

just as picking pysch doesn't damn you to a life of sweater vests and erectile dysfunction.

You sure? I had trouble understanding 1 faculty that kept mentioning psych residents with ED or maybe he said in the ED.

 

[hamstergang]

Change the choices to hunting vs pedicure, and I’m grabbing my gun.

That's one aggressive pedicure.

 

[WingedOx]

Too depressed watching the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers to come up with a cohesive post. Focus on trying to save lives using the talents that come most naturally and are most fulfilling to you. Focus less on stroking your ego. I think this will be the greater contributor to happiness and overall satisfaction. Wish we could somehow bring back the greatest generation ideals... those guys were awesome.

 

[WingedOx]

Though on a more serious note, as the offspring of a surgeon and a surgical nurse, there was kind of a "coming out" when I decided on psych. After that? Meh. I'm a physician with a six figure salary. The work is interesting. My wife thinks I'm cool. Not like I'm hanging out with scientologists on the weekends.

 

[Nasrudin]

I can relate to the OP on some level. And am not a subscriber to the notion that we are not embodied phenomenon or that we are not constrained by biology--which as Gonzo says... is a good thing.

I worked in the trades and bartending and various other hands on types of field after post-modern literary criticism did nothing for my love of masculine american creative literary genius--ie Twain, London, Hemingway--because working with my hands made more sense to me.

Someone made a good point about about that being an internal process rather than an externalized one for optimizing the self-ecosystem. I agree.

I wield my masculine instrument in the psych game with good effect. But that doesn't mean I don't play softly or lovingly or silently. And I embrace my anima. And it's archetypal significance.

But I'm not a genderless, amorphous, depersonalized, construct in the room either.

I think being the masculine persona that the patient can compare their bad experiences with similar persona to can be enormously useful to them.

To the OP: abide the natural draws you have to the basics of each field. I could have done no other career in medicine but psychiatry. And it might be useful to think about the literary aspects. The logical positivists among us....who are repulsed by metaphor...are ... the f'n worst shrinks I know.

 

[Shikima]

What OP is first starting a discussion about is that there is still a strong sense of mystique and how many in our field consider psych to be an aberration. Many of us will agree and understand this but also at the same time are trying to break free of this long standing stigma. It doesn't help when there are many who are coo-coo with wild-assed behaviors and thoughts which reinforces the stereotype - <cough>leadership of APA<cough>.

 

[NickNaylor]

What OP is first starting a discussion about is that there is still a strong sense of mystique and how many in our field consider psych to be an aberration. Many of us will agree and understand this but also at the same time are trying to break free of this long standing stigma. It doesn't help when there are many who are coo-coo with wild-assed behaviors and thoughts which reinforces the stereotype - <cough>leadership of APA<cough>.

Can you elaborate more on your last point? Curious what you’re referring to.

 

[Shikima]

Can you elaborate more on your last point? Curious what you’re referring to.

Look at what the very first post is saying.

 

[neoevolution]

although usually done by nurses, being able to give antipsychotic injections, including monthly LAI's is a useful skill to have. I also once had a job at a state hospital that required me to do the restraint/"take down" training, though I never had to do it. also, there are some implantable treatments for opioid dependence on the way, though the implantation could probably be turfed to another doc.

I think nurses can do the contraception implants, but it would make sense to train new psych residents in opioid transplants