Should I continue to seriously consider psychiatry?

[seventyfour]

There are some good reasons I've figured, after a bit of research, to do it, but there are two primary concerns that I'll discuss.

First, my caretaker personality side is really weak, even for a guy. I like figuring out problems and solving them far more than emotionally consoling someone at the moment. Is this a big problem, little problem, or no problem?
Secondly, I figure myself to be fairly smart but not really smart; how important is intelligence to getting into and succeeding in the profession? Are there mental aspects that are much more or less important than others?

I may come back with more information about myself or questions. Thanks in advance.

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[digitlnoize]

Er?

 

[shan564]

There are some good reasons I've figured, after a bit of research, to do it, but there are two primary concerns that I'll discuss.

First, my caretaker personality side is really weak, even for a guy. I like figuring out problems and solving them far more than emotionally consoling someone at the moment. Is this a big problem, little problem, or no problem?
Secondly, I figure myself to be fairly smart but not really smart; how important is intelligence to getting into and succeeding in the profession? Are there mental aspects that are much more or less important than others?

I may come back with more information about myself or questions. Thanks in advance.

What stage of your career are you currently at? There's a lot more to psychiatry than "emotionally consoling" patients... based on your questions, it sounds like you haven't actually done a psych rotation yet.

Those particular concerns should not stop you from going into psychiatry any more than they'd stop you from going into any other medical specialty. In terms of your particular concerns:

1. re: "caretaker" - I think psychiatry does tend to attract people who are more patient with people who are mentally ill, but I don't think that your "problem solving" nature really precludes you from being successful in emergency psychiatry, consult/liaison psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and a wide variety of other areas within the field.

2. re: "intelligence" - As much as I think that psychiatry is the most intellectually stimulating specialty in medicine, I think that the most intelligent doctors often tend to get high board scores, which sends them into fields like neurosurgery, radiology, dermatology, and other "glamor" fields or "lifestyle" fields. I don't think that high intelligence is necessary to be competent in any area of clinical medicine. I do think that intelligent people will tend to be more likely to become leaders in the field, but I've met plenty of good psychiatrists with average intelligence but a strong commitment to the field.

 

[LimbicResponse]

Those are really two reasons that show us that you have very little experience with the field. Are you even in medschool?