What made you want to go into psych?

[Proudfather94]

Just curious if alot of people on here discovered it on rotations, have a family member/thereself struggle with a mental illness, or had a rough upbringing and wanted to help others that did as well.

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[slowthai]

It was through rotations. I've seen some of the most miraculous turnarounds in such a short period of time in this field. I marveled at these things, and they just confirmed my desire to enter this field.

It was the only field where I felt like we were doing real work that was highly valuable. The "realness" of the work is inherently tied to the humanness of the work. There's just a weightiness to it that dealing with hypertension and diabetes just doesn't have.

I love the fact that we spend a significant amount of time learning how to understand people. I love the applicability of the skills we develop to real life! I love the fact that we do not touch patients. I love the fact that we are specialists, so we leave most of the medicine-y stuff to medicine people.

We work to make life worth living. It's the most beautiful thing. Sometimes I feel like we almost snuck into medicine because of how unique this field is.

 

[ridethecliche]

I like turtles

 

[ResidentAnonymous001]

It was through rotations. I've seen some of the most miraculous turnarounds in such a short period of time in this field. I marveled at these things, and they just confirmed my desire to enter this field.

It was the only field where I felt like we were doing real work that was highly valuable. The "realness" of the work is inherently tied to the humanness of the work. There's just a weightiness to it that dealing with hypertension and diabetes just doesn't have.

I love the fact that we spend a significant amount of time learning how to understand people. I love the applicability of the skills we develop to real life! I love the fact that we do not touch patients. I love the fact that we are specialists, so we leave most of the medicine-y stuff to medicine people.

We work to make life worth living. It's the most beautiful thing. Sometimes I feel like we almost snuck into medicine because of how unique this field is.

This! <3

 

[shoenberg3]

Out of all medical specialties, psychiatry provides the most opportunities to incorporate non-medical perspectives (e.g. psychosocial, ethical/philosophical aspects) to practice. Relatively speaking, at least. As someone who majored in humanities and has a wide range of interests, this was important to me.

Plus, the lifestyle ain't so bad either..

 

[comp1]

I really, powerfully, disliked my other rotations. Outside of psychiatry (and peds to a much lesser extent) all of the residents and most of the attendings seemed deeply unhappy and overworked.

 

[Proudfather94]

It was through rotations. I've seen some of the most miraculous turnarounds in such a short period of time in this field. I marveled at these things, and they just confirmed my desire to enter this field.

It was the only field where I felt like we were doing real work that was highly valuable. The "realness" of the work is inherently tied to the humanness of the work. There's just a weightiness to it that dealing with hypertension and diabetes just doesn't have.

I love the fact that we spend a significant amount of time learning how to understand people. I love the applicability of the skills we develop to real life! I love the fact that we do not touch patients. I love the fact that we are specialists, so we leave most of the medicine-y stuff to medicine people.

We work to make life worth living. It's the most beautiful thing. Sometimes I feel like we almost snuck into medicine because of how unique this field is.

Definitely seems like it's your calling! What was the original specialty you were interested in?

 

[Proudfather94]

Out of all medical specialties, psychiatry provides the most opportunities to incorporate non-medical perspectives (e.g. psychosocial, ethical/philosophical aspects) to practice. Relatively speaking, at least. As someone who majored in humanities and has a wide range of interests, this was important to me.

Plus, the lifestyle ain't so bad either..

Honestly that stands out alot to me as well. Using your experiences and perspective to communicate with patients to help them is really appealing.

 

[Merovinge]

I really, powerfully, disliked my other rotations. Outside of psychiatry (and peds to a much lesser extent) all of the residents and most of the attendings seemed deeply unhappy and overworked.

That's a tough way to train. I would say most Peds, most FM, around 1/2 of the surgeons including subspecialties, most Gas, most path and 1/2 of rads were happy as a clam (and of course basically 100% of the psych). I did spent time around deeply unhappy Ob/gyn folks (including an attending that broke down into tears during a lecture to the M3s) and it sure left a mark on me.

 

[Sushirolls]

Condensed version, I was heading towards surgery.
Psychiatry was captivating at patient level (state hospital and psychosis, capgras, etc) and with reading of topic material.
Thought I could have a longer go of it with psychiatry compared to surgery.
Fast forward in time...
Its a job.
I look forward to transitioning out of medicine into farming.

 

[Cath Up]

We are inherently social creatures- discourse and social dynamics never get old. There are a lot of old psychiatrists. I liked this.

You can have a sick mind and healthy body and not enjoy life. Psychiatry addresses this. You can have a healthy mind and sick body and still enjoy life. Psychiatry confronts one’s actual experience and enjoyment of life. I liked this.

We don’t know very much about the mind, and the medications are mysterious to others. It is very gratifying to offer comfort in uncertainty and to demystify things as much as you can.

 

[slowthai]

Definitely seems like it's your calling! What was the original specialty you were interested in?

Ortho. The more time I spent in the OR, the more I wanted to just collapse into the floor.

 

[slowthai]

I really, powerfully, disliked my other rotations. Outside of psychiatry (and peds to a much lesser extent) all of the residents and most of the attendings seemed deeply unhappy and overworked.

Me too. Hated everything else to infinity and beyond

 

[DOswag]

Worked as an ER tech premed for 3 years and was dead set on EM. Psychiatry wasn't even on my list of considerations for specialties until MS3 when I did an outpatient psych rotation through the VA. Heard so many patients express to me that without seeing a psychiatrist, they were pretty certain they'd be dead at this point but felt the impact the psychiatrist had on them was so profound. I had been so sure of myself that I was going into EM or maybe FM for a little while that I went through a little period of confusion with what I wanted to go into. 4th year did some EM rotations and was really wondering if EM was what I really wanted, was I not cut out for EM, was I just a burned out med student? I applied EM through the mil match and was deferred for a transitional intern year which ended up being a huge blessing. Did some more time in psych on an inpatient unit in my intern year and just fell in love with it then reapplied psychiatry 2nd time around and matched. Been out of residency for over 5 years now and cannot imagine how miserable I'd be if I went EM. Very happy with my life right now, schedule and lifestyle is great, I enjoy talking with patients. I was in the military for a while which was a drag for sure but now that I'm on the civ side, things are muuuuuuuch better.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

I am autistic and want to help children on the spectrum. I attempted it earlier but failed due to either autism or poor quality attempts at masking it along with a deep seated lack of confidence. It is all I ever wanted from medicine and I feel like I will be able to learn the skills needed to be good at it; I know several autistic psychiatry residents and one autistic attending that is doing okay. Convincing program directors that I will be up to snuff, however, is another matter entirely. I have heard that it was about confidence more than interpersonal skills or affect - and affect can be worked on; there IS an autistic accent although most people cannot describe it well. Even speech pathologists.

 

[FatherPsychiatry]

Didn't even have it on my radar when I started med school. Had psych clerkship near the end of MS3 year. Wasn't thrilled about any of my rotations beforehand. On psych, I just felt good, and I realized it was because I was waking up at 7-8am instead of 5-6am, 'rounding' in a relaxed fashion, and most of the work (inpatient) being done by noon or 1 at the latest. Realizing you could make good money working ~30 hours a week, and a lot of that "work" is just being in the office, actually "working" like 5-10 hours but being free in the remaining hours to do what you want. I realized that was what I enjoyed most about jobs I had pre-medschool - basically, just tell me what needs to be done and then let me do it how I want, and just leave me alone beyond that.

I DIDN'T CHOOSE PSYCH, PSYCH CHOSE ME

 

[clausewitz2]

Didn't even have it on my radar when I started med school. Had psych clerkship near the end of MS3 year. Wasn't thrilled about any of my rotations beforehand. On psych, I just felt good, and I realized it was because I was waking up at 7-8am instead of 5-6am, 'rounding' in a relaxed fashion, and most of the work (inpatient) being done by noon or 1 at the latest. Realizing you could make good money working ~30 hours a week, and a lot of that "work" is just being in the office, actually "working" like 5-10 hours but being free in the remaining hours to do what you want. I realized that was what I enjoyed most about jobs I had pre-medschool - basically, just tell me what needs to be done and then let me do it how I want, and just leave me alone beyond that.

I DIDN'T CHOOSE PSYCH, PSYCH CHOSE ME

You and I work in incredibly different settings doing very different work (OP 4 lyfe) but I very much identify with this. In psychiatry, it is easy to maneuver yourself into a position where no one is your medicine dad.

 

[finalpsychyear]

The lifestyle was the best. I realized i was the happiest during the rotation and found it interesting. Was told as long as you are ok making 200k ish financially you'll be ok too. No regrets.

 

[mistafab]

I was interested in the psychology, and research. Took 2 gap years working to figure out PHD psychology vs MD psychiatry. Decided MD and went into med school. Fell in love with surgery, as well as psychiatry. Decided psych was the way to go and super happy with my choice. Would pick again 10/10.

In the end, nothing quite got my head spinning like psych cases. Loved to think about them, read about them, learn about them, follow the research and see the cutting edge. When I left work I found myself still thinking about it. Didn't have that with surgery - where when I left, my day was ended essentially. Never once left work and thought about the gallbladder.

 

[Mad Jack]

I just get along with people in psych, it felt right. Plus the impact was profound in a way I rarely saw in other areas of medicine

 

[Mad Jack]

Condensed version, I was heading towards surgery.
Psychiatry was captivating at patient level (state hospital and psychosis, capgras, etc) and with reading of topic material.
Thought I could have a longer go of it with psychiatry compared to surgery.
Fast forward in time...
Its a job.
I look forward to transitioning out of medicine into farming.

 

[Mad Jack]

Condensed version, I was heading towards surgery.
Psychiatry was captivating at patient level (state hospital and psychosis, capgras, etc) and with reading of topic material.
Thought I could have a longer go of it with psychiatry compared to surgery.
Fast forward in time...
Its a job.
I look forward to transitioning out of medicine into farming.

I figure I can put in a good 9 or 10 years. Depending on markets that should be enough to set me up for life, and then I can just work part time to keep my skills up, maybe 6 months a year. Or maybe I'll relocate to NZ, I hear most psychiatrists there are much happier than here

 

[finalpsychyear]

I figure I can put in a good 9 or 10 years. Depending on markets that should be enough to set me up for life, and then I can just work part time to keep my skills up, maybe 6 months a year. Or maybe I'll relocate to NZ, I hear most psychiatrists there are much happier than here

My simple rule was to at least practice for however many years it took me to become an attending. Its a bonus if your investments at that point start to return something even close to your salary.

 

[nexus73]

I like talking to people. I felt like a good fit with the psych people on my 3rd year rotation. Psych in most settings you get more time with the patient than almost any other specialty, outside of palliative care. I also really like hospital medicine and considered becoming an internist, but couldn't imagine doing outpatient primary care if I ever wanted to leave the hospital. But can imagine doing outpatient psych if I left inpatient psychiatry.

 

[mdordome]

The lifestyle was the best. I realized i was the happiest during the rotation and found it interesting. Was told as long as you are ok making 200k ish financially you'll be ok too. No regrets.

200k ish??

 

[thelastpsych]

Condensed version, I was heading towards surgery.
Psychiatry was captivating at patient level (state hospital and psychosis, capgras, etc) and with reading of topic material.
Thought I could have a longer go of it with psychiatry compared to surgery.
Fast forward in time...
Its a job.
I look forward to transitioning out of medicine into farming.

Im having a hard time with this. I actually like being a psychiatrist but I dont love it either- wouldnt call it my passion. Recently, I've started to think that there may be nothing wrong with this - its a job, I get paid, low stress etc, and should probably follow my passions outside of work.

I think we are kinda endocrinated to believe that you MUST LOVE medicine, and if you dont, you shouldnt be here

 

[jbomba]

Having a best friend suffer a psychotic break in our early twenties and watching his life fall apart was part of it. I also like the idea that improving the mental health of a parent can have a very profound downstream effects on the family unit as a whole, perhaps altering the course of life for their potential kids too.

But like many of us, it's just a job for me it's not necessarily a passion. I work the way I do and try to earn as much as I can so I can retire and spend more time hiking, traveling, and maybe end up going back to culinary school one day.

 

[DOswag]

The lifestyle was the best. I realized i was the happiest during the rotation and found it interesting. Was told as long as you are ok making 200k ish financially you'll be ok too. No regrets.

200k ish??

You can make a lot more than 200K in psych without crushing your soul

 

[brosa]

You can make a lot more than 200K in psych without crushing your soul

I assume they told him that when he was a med student, and salaries were much lower. Not that long ago the median was indeed around 200k

 

[clausewitz2]

Having a best friend suffer a psychotic break in our early twenties and watching his life fall apart was part of it. I also like the idea that improving the mental health of a parent can have a very profound downstream effects on the family unit as a whole, perhaps altering the course of life for their potential kids too.

But like many of us, it's just a job for me it's not necessarily a passion. I work the way I do and try to earn as much as I can so I can retire and spend more time hiking, traveling, and maybe end up going back to culinary school one day.

I hope this is just for your own edification and you aren't looking to have a restaurant career as a chef. Unless you really want a job where you get to work hours worse than residency literally forever.

 

[Mad Jack]

You can make a lot more than 200K in psych without crushing your soul

Salaries took a dramatic increase in the last 8 years. You can crack 300k without breaking too much of a sweat

 

[finalpsychyear]

I assume they told him that when he was a med student, and salaries were much lower. Not that long ago the median was indeed around 200k

Yes during MS rotations. Funny thing is everyone in my 4th year residenccy class got a 180k offer to work in the residency program/academic place during their pgy 4 year. Having low expectations which honestly mine were that i'd likely never make more than 200-250k with call and wknds and still wanted to go forward was the key. We are talking early 2010s here. I still think that was a pretty nice amount for the lifestyle.

 

[nexus73]

Around 2008 or so an attending told me they were getting 180k for their inpatient psych job. At the time, this was, like today, a similar salary for family med, internal med hospitalists. Present day, salaries are in the high 200's or low 300s, also similar to family med and internal med hospitalists.

 

[jbomba]

I hope this is just for your own edification and you aren't looking to have a restaurant career as a chef. Unless you really want a job where you get to work hours worse than residency literally forever.

Absolutely not. This is purely for my own interests.

 

[J ROD]

Only thing in medicine I could see myself doing.