Psychiatry vs. Anesthesiology

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
B

BackToday

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
33
Reaction score
5
I'm a med student that's torn between these two specialties, looking for some help from more experienced folks as to what to do with my specific situation. I was originally set on Anesthesiology, but then I did a Child Psych elective that I really enjoyed, and now I don't know what to do. My issues are that I'm someone with a lot of outside interests, and I don't want medicine to completely dominate my life, so I'm more keen on shorter work hours. I want to work in the Chicagoland area, and also do my residency there. I have done an Anesthesia research project that unfortunately did not result in any pubs, but I can get a great paper out of it.

I've loved the Anesthesiologists that I've worked with, and it's certainly far more appealing than surgery. I get along with every Anesthesiologist that I've met and worked with, and I fit in well with them. As far as income hopes, anything around mid 200K's is fine with me, though who could complain about making more? I come from a top 5 med school, but my step 1 score is really weak (207), but I'm willing to go to any Chicago (or Wis/Indiana) residency that'll take me. If I go into Psych, it'll likely be Child Psych, and I think I would just do general Anesthesia (so, 6 years for Psych vs 4 for Anesthesia).

I guess, from you guys (and I know this is an Anesthesia forum), what do you guys think? I guess I'm just looking for the pros and cons of Anesthesiology. Thanks for any help.
Members don't see this ad.
 
BackToday said:
I'm a med student that's torn between these two specialties, looking for some help from more experienced folks as to what to do with my specific situation. I was originally set on Anesthesiology, but then I did a Child Psych elective that I really enjoyed, and now I don't know what to do. My issues are that I'm someone with a lot of outside interests, and I don't want medicine to completely dominate my life, so I'm more keen on shorter work hours. I want to work in the Chicagoland area, and also do my residency there. I have done an Anesthesia research project that unfortunately did not result in any pubs, but I can get a great paper out of it.

I've loved the Anesthesiologists that I've worked with, and it's certainly far more appealing than surgery. I get along with every Anesthesiologist that I've met and worked with, and I fit in well with them. As far as income hopes, anything around mid 200K's is fine with me, though who could complain about making more? I come from a top 5 med school, but my step 1 score is really weak (207), but I'm willing to go to any Chicago (or Wis/Indiana) residency that'll take me. If I go into Psych, it'll likely be Child Psych, and I think I would just do general Anesthesia (so, 6 years for Psych vs 4 for Anesthesia).

I guess, from you guys (and I know this is an Anesthesia forum), what do you guys think? I guess I'm just looking for the pros and cons of Anesthesiology. Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Not in either field but my opinion is psych. No nights/weekends. Also you may be able to get to a point where you do not have to accept insurance. Don't let length of training significantly affect your decision
 
Members don't see this ad :)
BackToday said:
I'm a med student that's torn between these two specialties, looking for some help from more experienced folks as to what to do with my specific situation. I was originally set on Anesthesiology, but then I did a Child Psych elective that I really enjoyed, and now I don't know what to do. My issues are that I'm someone with a lot of outside interests, and I don't want medicine to completely dominate my life, so I'm more keen on shorter work hours. I want to work in the Chicagoland area, and also do my residency there. I have done an Anesthesia research project that unfortunately did not result in any pubs, but I can get a great paper out of it.

I've loved the Anesthesiologists that I've worked with, and it's certainly far more appealing than surgery. I get along with every Anesthesiologist that I've met and worked with, and I fit in well with them. As far as income hopes, anything around mid 200K's is fine with me, though who could complain about making more? I come from a top 5 med school, but my step 1 score is really weak (207), but I'm willing to go to any Chicago (or Wis/Indiana) residency that'll take me. If I go into Psych, it'll likely be Child Psych, and I think I would just do general Anesthesia (so, 6 years for Psych vs 4 for Anesthesia).

I guess, from you guys (and I know this is an Anesthesia forum), what do you guys think? I guess I'm just looking for the pros and cons of Anesthesiology. Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Just based on what you say, it sounds like psych would better suit you. Since you don't want medicine to dominate your life, are keen on shorter work hours, want to end up in a big city, fine with mid $200k, etc. Also, it sounds like you're a very personable person, which is actually good for relating to patients and physicians, etc. That would probably be more useful in psych than anesthesia. (Although to be fair, my impression is a mommy track position in anesthesia making mid $200K is more than possible too.)

Anecdotally I have a cousin who is a psychiatrist in a very nice part of California. He did his residency at an Ivy League but according to him it doesn't matter where you do residency for psychiatry (unless you want to stay in academia). He makes about $250k with a pretty comfortable life (40 hrs per week or less, regular). But he and a couple of friends (also psychiatrists) are trying to do some additional work and he seems to think if they can make this side business or whatever it is successful then they could eventually be making $300k+ with a still very comfortable lifestyle. I don't know if that's true or he's just hoping. I also have another cousin who is a child neurologist. She's also doing well.
 
The 207 is not a problem for either field. You just won't get into top programs. Psych has better hours but depending on your outside hobbies anesthesia could be better. It will have longer chunks of time off and so if your thing is traveling then that might be better. $$ wise anesthesia easily wins in a typical setup but if you set up a cash pay child psych practice, the sky is the limit.
 
ProwlerturnGas said:
My wife is a psychiatrist. I would take my anesthesia gig a thousand million times over her job.
Click to expand...
Any particular reason why? What kind of environment does she work in, and what's her patient population like?
 
Anesthesiology vs Psych? How can these two even be in the same sentence?

I have a strong feeling that you don't know what you actually like in medicine, it's all just gut feeling. Take a piece of paper, write down what you like and dislike about each, write down the advantages and disadvantages of each, then decide.
 
FFP said:
Anesthesiology vs Psych? How can these two even be in the same sentence?
Click to expand...

On the surface, this pairing seems crazy, but the rare birds who like both gas and psych have their reasons. I actually enjoyed psych during third year and told myself that if I ended up hating my anesthesia elective (which was scheduled late in the year), I would be happy to take the psych route. Granted, I'm a bit of an unusual case since I know I want to go into pain eventually; I think my desire to work with that particular patient population allows me to swing in either direction.

That said, once I did my anesthesia rotation, it became obvious that I would be much happier doing an anesthesiology residency than in a psych residency. I'm a fairly restless person, so I loved the fast-paced perioperative environment where I can keep my mind and hands busy all day. I also found that many of the things that I liked in psychiatry could also be found in anesthesia (albeit in much shorter bursts) -- things like counseling and reassuring anxious patients, setting realistic expectations with "borderline" patients regarding their anesthetic experience, and sussing out the extent of a patient's problematic opioid/alcohol use in order to predict how many downers they'll require. I loved learning about the physiology and pharmacology of anesthesia, and being able to use a lot of generalist medicine knowledge (which is decidedly absent in psych). Honestly, even if we find a cure for chronic pain in the future (or, more realistically, if the reimbursement for chronic pain goes to dogsh*t), I'd be perfectly happy and content doing O.R. anesthesia the rest of my life. I don't think I could say the same for psychiatry now that I know what I'd be missing out on.

Interestingly, I have a classmate who is also interested in pain, and he decided to take the psych route after considering anesthesia. Our personalities are quite different, but I think the paths we chose are better suited to our individual temperaments.

OP: I'd encourage you to take a good assessment of yourself, your personality, and how you'd like to spend the hours of each day. Talk to a mentor or a friend who isn't afraid to tell you about you. One of these two specialties is decidedly a better fit, but it's your job to figure that out.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Temeraire said:
On the surface, this pairing seems crazy, but the rare birds who like both gas and psych have their reasons. I actually enjoyed psych during third year and told myself that if I ended up hating my anesthesia elective (which was scheduled late in the year), I would be happy to take the psych route. Granted, I'm a bit of an unusual case since I know I want to go into pain eventually; I think my desire to work with that particular patient population allows me to swing in either direction.

That said, once I did my anesthesia rotation, it became obvious that I would be much happier doing an anesthesiology residency than in a psych residency. I'm a fairly restless person, so I loved the fast-paced perioperative environment where I can keep my mind and hands busy all day. I also found that many of the things that I liked in psychiatry could also be found in anesthesia (albeit in much shorter bursts) -- things like counseling and reassuring anxious patients, setting realistic expectations with "borderline" patients regarding their anesthetic experience, and sussing out the extent of a patient's problematic opioid/alcohol use in order to predict how many downers they'll require. I loved learning about the physiology and pharmacology of anesthesia, and being able to use a lot of generalist medicine knowledge (which is decidedly absent in psych). Honestly, even if we find a cure for chronic pain in the future (or, more realistically, if the reimbursement for chronic pain goes to dogsh*t), I'd be perfectly happy and content doing O.R. anesthesia the rest of my life. I don't think I could say the same for psychiatry now that I know what I'd be missing out on.

Interestingly, I have a classmate who is also interested in pain, and he decided to take the psych route after considering anesthesia. Our personalities are quite different, but I think the paths we chose are better suited to our individual temperaments.

OP: I'd encourage you to take a good assessment of yourself, your personality, and how you'd like to spend the hours of each day. Talk to a mentor or a friend who isn't afraid to tell you about you. One of these two specialties is decidedly a better fit, but it's your job to figure that out.
Click to expand...

I'd like to say that those who are excellent psychiatrists also do maintain a good level of general medical knowledge (note, I said excellent).
 
I think the big differences are going to be:
1) Anesthesia probably has more hours than people think. An anesthesiologist has to be present whenever a surgeon wants to operate, and they often want to operate. You can rarely predict when you will be home.
2). Anesthesiology has more intense moments, where something needs to be detected and/or fixed immediately, otherwise bad things could happen. There is often a very small margin for error. This can be stressful, and some people handle it better than others. Personality thing. The good part is it keeps you focused and by the end of the case, you usually know you succesfully did what you were planning to, put it in the win column and move on to the next case.
3). I think Anesthesiologists are susceptible to mistreatment or disrespect from hospital staff more often than other physicians. This can weigh on some people more than others. For example, I know some colleagues who hate it when OR staff call them "Anesthesia". I often introduce myself and say 'Anesthesia is my middle name' since I couldn't care less
4). No continuity of care. Most colleagues I know don't even post-op round on their patients to check on how they did or ask about complications, let alone build relationships with their patients as people. I think building relationships with patients is still important to some physicians.
5) Once you're out of the hospital, you're pretty much off. You don't have to worry about following up complications and stuff, because your job is done.

For psych, I think the major differences are
1) Spending more time with each patient, and getting to know them
2) Mental diseases are some of the toughest to live with for patients and their families. When I was in med school I remember patients and families being extremely appreciative of their psychiatrists for helping through particularly rough patches and significantly helping to improve their quality of life. It's nice to be thanked, and to see your patients doing well and living better lives because of your help. Anesthesiologists will usually not have people coming to their offices with gifts and gratitude later, you have to be content in knowing you helped someone and be OK with being in the shadows
4) You are more able to control your clinic in terms of which patients you will see and can be more flexible with your hours

Hopefully that helps.
 
Ask yourself 1 question:

Do you prefer dealing with crazy sick people while they're awake? Or while they're asleep?
 
wickedskillz said:
4). No continuity of care. Most colleagues I know don't even post-op round on their patients to check on how they did or ask about complications, let alone build relationships with their patients as people. I think building relationships with patients is still important to some physicians.
5) Once you're out of the hospital, you're pretty much off. You don't have to worry about following up complications and stuff, because your job is done.
Click to expand...

Wow. Sounds like a quality practice.
 
wickedskillz said:
I think the big differences are going to be:
1) Anesthesia probably has more hours than people think. An anesthesiologist has to be present whenever a surgeon wants to operate, and they often want to operate. You can rarely predict when you will be home.
2). Anesthesiology has more intense moments, where something needs to be detected and/or fixed immediately, otherwise bad things could happen. There is often a very small margin for error. This can be stressful, and some people handle it better than others. Personality thing. The good part is it keeps you focused and by the end of the case, you usually know you succesfully did what you were planning to, put it in the win column and move on to the next case.
3). I think Anesthesiologists are susceptible to mistreatment or disrespect from hospital staff more often than other physicians. This can weigh on some people more than others. For example, I know some colleagues who hate it when OR staff call them "Anesthesia". I often introduce myself and say 'Anesthesia is my middle name' since I couldn't care less
4). No continuity of care. Most colleagues I know don't even post-op round on their patients to check on how they did or ask about complications, let alone build relationships with their patients as people. I think building relationships with patients is still important to some physicians.
5) Once you're out of the hospital, you're pretty much off. You don't have to worry about following up complications and stuff, because your job is done.

For psych, I think the major differences are
1) Spending more time with each patient, and getting to know them
2) Mental diseases are some of the toughest to live with for patients and their families. When I was in med school I remember patients and families being extremely appreciative of their psychiatrists for helping through particularly rough patches and significantly helping to improve their quality of life. It's nice to be thanked, and to see your patients doing well and living better lives because of your help. Anesthesiologists will usually not have people coming to their offices with gifts and gratitude later, you have to be content in knowing you helped someone and be OK with being in the shadows
4) You are more able to control your clinic in terms of which patients you will see and can be more flexible with your hours

Hopefully that helps.
Click to expand...
Good stuff!

Just for the sake of OP or others thinking about anesthesia vs psych -- not sure if #3 for psych was omitted or if #4 was supposed to be #3.
 
nimbus said:
Wow. Sounds like a quality practice.
Click to expand...
I would be surprised if this is far outside the norm. I'm pretty sure even when people do post-op rounds, it is more of a cursory "No Anesthetic Complications" type, outside of big cases. You aren't keeping track of when your Tibia ORIF patient started walking again, or if they have been having family come and visit , or when they're going to be able to get back to work. And you're not being paged at home when your pt with sacral decubitus ulcer's wound vac starts putting out a lot and their Hb drops. A psychiatrist is more likely keeping track of patients' lives, setbacks and victories in their treatment, their support systems, their dreams and aspirations, when they got that big new promotion, just getting to know the patient better. That's what I was trying to allude to.
 
Over head is pretty low for psychiatry, though it's far more emotionally draining I would say than anesthesia.
 
wickedskillz said:
I would be surprised if this is far outside the norm. I'm pretty sure even when people do post-op rounds, it is more of a cursory "No Anesthetic Complications" type, outside of big cases. You aren't keeping track of when your Tibia ORIF patient started walking again, or if they have been having family come and visit , or when they're going to be able to get back to work. And you're not being paged at home when your pt with sacral decubitus ulcer's wound vac starts putting out a lot and their Hb drops. A psychiatrist is more likely keeping track of patients' lives, setbacks and victories in their treatment, their support systems, their dreams and aspirations, when they got that big new promotion, just getting to know the patient better. That's what I was trying to allude to.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty convincing argument for anesthesia right there.
 
Anyone have any idea what salaries look like for Anesthesia in the immediate Chicagoland area?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

djsbaseball2014
Pediatrics to Anesthesiology?!
Replies
12
Views
2K
nimbus
nimbus
A
Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship App 2026
Replies
22
Views
4K
Antitryptic
A
P
How to best prepare for Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship during Anesthesiology Residency
Replies
4
Views
790
CopaceticOne
CopaceticOne
G
UCSF vs USC vs UTSW anesthesiology residencies
Replies
48
Views
7K
DocMcCoy
DocMcCoy
D
Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology Exam 2025 prep resources
Replies
10
Views
2K
anesthesiologyperson21
A
Top