What makes a good Psych Doc?

[MJD503]

Hello folks! I have worked with dozens and dozens of Doc's, and residents in my time at the state hospital in a direct care position. All of them have distinct character traits, both natural and seemingly developed, that seem to make them good at what they do... In YOUR opinion, what does one NEED and what should a person have to become a succesful Psychiatrist?

Thanks!

P.S. Please try to stay away from Good listener, intelligence...or similar simple catchphrases...We have all heard those before!

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[MDgonnabe]

Hello folks! I have worked with dozens and dozens of Doc's, and residents in my time at the state hospital in a direct care position. All of them have distinct character traits, both natural and seemingly developed, that seem to make them good at what they do... In YOUR opinion, what does one NEED and what should a person have to become a succesful Psychiatrist?

good observation skills-> what a person tells you (or doesn't tell you) can be betrayed by body language.

a genuine love of neuroscience-> i'm sure plenty people will be going into psych mainly for the lifestyle in the coming years. the brain's just fascinating. ain't no denyin'. i'd want my shrink to be abreast of the latest developments in this field.

a love of language-> in psych it seems words are your healing instrument much more so than the other fields. sharpen your communication skills just as a surgeon would sharpen their scalpel.

compassion-> it's hard to sympathize with a "suicidal," criminally inclined heroin addict who comes in at 2 am looking for a place to stay in the hospital, but they're still your patient.

lots of patience-> psychiatric illness is almost always chronic.

lots of patients->

i'm sure there's more but i can't think of any at the moment.

 

[Milo]

Rapport - Establishing a relationship is what heals, be it psychodynamic therapy, CBT or even med compliance

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Humility. Most of the time we don't fix people so much as help them to find solutions. And always keep in mind that you're just a couple of traumas, choices, gene variants, or life events away from being in your patient's shoes.

 

[Miklos]

Humility. Most of the time we don't fix people so much as help them to find solutions. And always keep in mind that you're just a couple of traumas, choices, gene variants, or life events away from being in your patient's shoes.

I agree that humility is truly an important characteristic for any physician, let alone a psychiatrist.

[Aside: In general, I keep finding that surgeons could use a little more of it.]

However, it seems to me that your reasoning (or perhaps its wording?) may point toward identifying with one's patients.

 

[rpkall]

. . .

However, it seems to me that your reasoning (or perhaps its wording?) may point toward indentifying with one's patients.

Is that illegal in psychiatry? Or is it actually preferable, as long as you do your best to separate your own "countertransferent" emotions from your clinical decisionmaking?

Just wondering. I've always been curious about the "proper" interview/therapy dynamic.

Cuz the reality is, I believe--and also what many people are afraid to find out--is that we all have it in us to be great psych patients (some more than others, of course). It might be more true than we often realize that there isn't much more than education and opportunity to study medicine that separates the chair from the chaise in a therapy situation...