What do you recommend for an MS1 interested in psychiatry?

[psychma]

My son currently has plans to go into psychiatry. He thinks he would like to do inpatient work. He’s early in the process and things could change. I’ve told him to keep an open mind. This is his dream though. Helicopter mom here, what should he be doing to position himself to get into a good residency? He has an sdn account but quit using it when everyone told him he wouldn’t get into medical school. He did.

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[ObsequiousAplomb]

I recommend your son focus on his studies. If he's interested in psychiatry, he may join interest groups or spark up conversations with professors in that field. If he's interested in research he could try to get involved. What is most important for any MS1 is to focus on learning what they are going to school to learn.

 

[psychma]

I recommend your son focus on his studies. If he's interested in psychiatry, he may join interest groups or spark up conversations with professors in that field. If he's interested in research he could try to get involved. What is most important for any MS1 is to focus on learning what they are going to school to learn.

This is excellent advice.

 

[comp1]

Well, it's certainly unique to hear a parent support their kid's interest in psychiatry... That said, MS1 is pretty early. They can definitely join PsychSIGN, but they should keep an open mind. I definitely thought I was going into medicine or pathology when I was an MS1 and then I saw how they actually worked and it was a resounding no and absolute confusion about how anyone could do them.

 

[TheRightMedication]

There comes a time when we must let our children make their own mistakes : Even if this means they become physicians.

 

[Stagg737]

Agree with OA. First 2 years of med school are mostly about learning as much as you can and doing a couple of ECs on the side to explore interests. Clinical years are when showing more interest and getting more involved in the field becomes more important. Keep in mind that most people change their area of interest by the time they go through the match. I was 99% sure I didn't want to do psych or heme/onc going into 3rd year. I still feel the same about heme/onc, but obviously changed my mind significantly about psych when I realized what the field is actually like.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

As a helicopter mom, the best thing you can do is nod and have little to no position. Your pro or con influence will only complicate things and will turn left or right and do so only 50/50% at best anyway. Your child got in and has to do something that is very hard. He will make a decision, and he will have no clue how to do this, and he will ask you to help.

I suggest you just be reflective and say "it sounds like you are saying", "I'm not you, but knowing you, you are saying that...". Just being neutral to psychiatry is putting you above average for a mom. Telling him not to join us will only ruin your credibility, or pigeon whole him into something he will not like and blame you for not warning him about.

This is all quick sand for you now. Psychiatry is a good occupation, a good life, and well compensated so be glad he is interested and stay out of it. If he ends up doing colonoscopies every half an hour from here on out, don't make that your call. Be happy he will do well and be happy. If he is less than happy, don't make that your problem.

 

[clozareal]

Some practical tips:

1. Buy him UWorld, Sketchy, paid Anki Mobile version, pay for him to go to conferences to network, pay for his away rotations costs, pay for his interviewing (do people still do this or is it all via Zoom now?), buy him nice clothes so that he can look good during school so his confidence can be higher if he cares for that sort of thing.
2. Keep an eye on his mental health and his needs. Medical school is tough and burnout happens quickly. Respond lovingly and quickly without being overbearing to what he needs from you. Not worrying about food, rent, bills means that he can focus on studying and socializing instead of going out and grocery shopping, although there is some benefit to doing your own chores and perhaps even working (I worked all of medical school to help pay for it because my family couldn't afford to pay for much). I loved it when my parents made or sent me food.
3. Help him goal set for short, medium, and long-term. He should be focusing on his studies now is #1 and doing as well as he can in each block. It's going to be especially important in clinical rotations where he'll be graded against his peers. Medium term goals include publishing research, participating in student interest groups, doing away rotations at programs he's interested in (optional), presenting at conferences, networking with attendings who can write great letters or who have connections to the residency programs he wants to go to. Try not to micromanage.
4. Try not to put a lot of pressure on him during holidays, attending family events, or doing things socially when he might have clinical rotations and not have holidays/vacations during that time. I remember giving up a ton of my social/family activities for school.

In the end, it'll all be up to him to make his choices. That doesn't mean you can't support him though. From SPACE therapy: Support = validation/acceptance of his feelings/emotion about things + confidence that he can work through those feelings or tough situations.

 

[psychma]

Well, it's certainly unique to hear a parent support their kid's interest in psychiatry... That said, MS1 is pretty early. They can definitely join PsychSIGN, but they should keep an open mind. I definitely thought I was going into medicine or pathology when I was an MS1 and then I saw how they actually worked and it was a resounding no and absolute confusion about how anyone could do them.

Some practical tips:

1. Buy him UWorld, Sketchy, paid Anki Mobile version, pay for him to go to conferences to network, pay for his away rotations costs, pay for his interviewing (do people still do this or is it all via Zoom now?), buy him nice clothes so that he can look good during school so his confidence can be higher if he cares for that sort of thing.
2. Keep an eye on his mental health and his needs. Medical school is tough and burnout happens quickly. Respond lovingly and quickly without being overbearing to what he needs from you. Not worrying about food, rent, bills means that he can focus on studying and socializing instead of going out and grocery shopping, although there is some benefit to doing your own chores and perhaps even working (I worked all of medical school to help pay for it because my family couldn't afford to pay for much). I loved it when my parents made or sent me food.
3. Help him goal set for short, medium, and long-term. He should be focusing on his studies now is #1 and doing as well as he can in each block. It's going to be especially important in clinical rotations where he'll be graded against his peers. Medium term goals include publishing research, participating in student interest groups, doing away rotations at programs he's interested in (optional), presenting at conferences, networking with attendings who can write great letters or who have connections to the residency programs he wants to go to. Try not to micromanage.
4. Try not to put a lot of pressure on him during holidays, attending family events, or doing things socially when he might have clinical rotations and not have holidays/vacations during that time. I remember giving up a ton of my social/family activities for school.

In the end, it'll all be up to him to make his choices. That doesn't mean you can't support him though. From SPACE therapy: Support = validation/acceptance of his feelings/emotion about things + confidence that he can work through those feelings or tough situations.

Wow. Thanks. I am supporting him financially beyond his loans to pay for his car payment, car insurance, and extras. I feel these are early days and he should just be focusing on learning. I can certainly buy him these study tools. I want to support him overall. If he decides on psych, great. If he ends up in Family practice, great. He struggles with anxiety and I’m more concerned about him adjusting to the workload.

 

[clozareal]

Wow. Thanks. I am supporting him financially beyond his loans to pay for his car payment, car insurance, and extras. I feel these are early days and he should just be focusing on learning. I can certainly buy him these study tools. I want to support him overall. If he decides on psych, great. If he ends up in Family practice, great. He struggles with anxiety and I’m more concerned about him adjusting to the workload.

If he struggles with anxiety, then perhaps helping him get weekly therapy could be helpful. I'm sure you're aware of this as a therapist yourself.

 

[psychma]

If he struggles with anxiety, then perhaps helping him get weekly therapy could be helpful. I'm sure you're aware of this as a therapist yourself.

Yes, he is in therapy.

 

[Styrene]

Get the highest grades possible and publish psych research

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

As an MS4 who knew he wanted to go into psychiatry since 15:

The other posters have given very good advice. However, there seems to be a slight concern here about your son's independence and self-reliance; if he lacks this, it is possible that his preceptors are going to pick up on this and give him less favorable evaluations. Something like this is unlikely to keep him out of psychiatry unless he really upsets someone or is a jerk...it just may be, at worst, the difference between your son having a shot at Ivy League residencies and him winding up at a local community hospital. These are necessarily bad places to be; there's a good chance I'll wind up somewhere like that. However, it's a bit like applying to college. A B or even C student can get into a decent enough college, but State is not Harvard and it is not Yale.

 

[docksan]

Focus on medical school first, shadow Psychiatry when possible.