What's best about psych?

[Magree]

Hi:

I'm curious for those applying into psych - why they chose it and what they like best about the field. Might be fun.

M-

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bigfrank]

Hi there,

I'm not applying into Psych but it is a great specialty. Some of the best reasons for choosing this field are:

1. GREAT Lifestyle
2. Ability to improve people's quality of life via their mental health.

Best wishes, Frank

 

[kcrd]

bump

 

[PublicHealth]

Mystery. I know of no other medical field that is so mysterious. One can hardly ever predict what kinds of patients with enter an inpatient psychiatry unit on a given day or night. Moreover, pharmacotherapy, for the most part, is guesswork. When you have 5% of cells in some cluster of neurons that are improperly functioning, psychopharmacology is a trial-and-error science at best. Why do you think "med checks" are so common? Add genetics, complex developmental histories, and other individual differences into the mix, and you really have your work cut out for you.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Because analyzing human behavior has been the only intellectual challenge in my life to this point.

Though I will be honest, surgery is in competition. Gotta work with my hands.

 

[prwunecom]

I love working so intimately with the human mind.....there is so much we don't understand. Just because we don't understand why much of mental illness happens doesn't mean that these people don't still NEED compassionate docs who are willing to do their best to help alleviate their suffering......I think, unfortunately, a lot of the medical community shrinks away from these patients because let's face it they are difficult and sometimes downright scary! But it has been my experience that although much of the time the work is somewhat frustrating it is also very rewarding.....of course that is only my opinion. I could never do surgery, ER or dermatology, to name but a few. Thank goodness we medical students have diverse interests!

R. Cook, MS-IV
UNECOM

 

[Anguscrimm]

Reasons why I'm going into Psychiatry:

1. Ability to develop long term and intimate relationships with patients in a way that is unique to the Psychiatric field.

2. Many of the fields in Medicine are very algorithmic, for example, if a pt. has this, then you do this, if they hurt here, then you order this exam to evaluate. After you learn these algorithms ( and I have not by far), there is very little creativity or variation in the way you can treat patients. Psychiatry allows more creativity and freedom in treating psychiatric diseases because every patient is different and there are many ways to approach the problems encountered.

3. I like psychopharmacology and using many different medications. With the current meds and even more meds to be released in the future, many psychiatric diseases are much more treatable and managable than they were in the past.

4. I like working with depressed people. I just finished an Emergency Medicine rotation, and many of the patients I saw who come to the ER presenting with vague, non-acute problems are depressed. If you treat their depression and get them feeling better, then maybe you might see less of the patient who has had "Insomnia x 4 years" or "Pain all over my body".

5. Did I mention the lifestyle? I like my hobbies. I love watching UCLA sports. I love my fiancee. I plan to spend lots of time playing with my kids. I want to open a restaurant/ cigar lounge after my loans are paid down a bit.
I have many interests outside of medicine and a passion for life. Psych is a field that allows me the time to pursue these other interests.

Just my 2 cents. I'd be interested to hear other people's reasons for going into Psych.

LT

 

[DD214_DOC]

Consult-Liason baby.

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by JKDMed
Consult-Liason baby.

I actually do not like Consultation-liason. It is too much like medicine in terms of having lots of algarithm, especially in terms of delirium. In delirium, you look for the offending agents, so you go down the list of infection, recent meds, recent anethesia, pulse ox, vital signs, etc. Then you withdraw the offending agents and give pt haldol as appropriately. Other things you get consulted on include depression, schizophrenia, etc. which are seen in general psych anyway. Also, in C-L, you do not have long-term relationships with the patients. Mostly, it is an inpatient consult, so you see the patients, give them what they need and when discharged from the medicine floor, they go straight back to their normal outpatient psychiatrists anyway.

 

[kcrd]

Originally posted by JKDMed
Consult-Liason baby.

what is it about consult-liason that appeals to you (baby)?

 

[PublicHealth]

I noticed that some of the above posters are D.O.'s. I'm interested in applying to osteopathic medical schools, and was wondering if you encountered (or anticipate encountering) any difficulty in matching to a well-respected psychiatry residency. Which programs are you applying to?

Thank you!

PH

 

[DD214_DOC]

Originally posted by kcrd
what is it about consult-liason that appeals to you (baby)?

Working in a hospital rather than a mental health clinic, treating patients in a variety of other departments, stuff like that.

 

[psydoc]

I think the main reason why I chose psychiatry is that I think it's the only medical field which is "speculative" in the way humanities are. I felt during all of medical school that studying medicine has only practical purposes (though very elevated ones) that one eventually reaches through technical knowledge, while what I wanted to do was to study something intrinsically enriching, something that would make me see men and situations under a different light. The way I see it, to study psychiatric illnesses is to gain some understanding of what Man is and what he can be. You can read about congestive heart failure and how to cure it and do wonderful things, but when you study depression or anxiety and see them in your patients, you face something that triggers some vibration inside of you, some kind of possibility inherent to your own being.
As you learn to frequent more assiduously your own inner life, I think you can, with some bewilderment, acknowledge that even some of the more extreme aspects can be less far from you than what you imagined.

"Homo sum, et humani nihil a me alienum puto
(I am a man, and nothing pertaining to man is alien to me)."

~ Terence, Heautontimorumenos
190-159BC

P.S. Why can't my address ([email protected]) be seen in my profile, even after I had allowed that in the settings? Some ideas?

 

[DD214_DOC]

I agree. Practicality seems to be sort of dull in my eyes.

As an aside, one of the most enriching experieces I have had in undergrad was with my physics professor. While he taught the practical and analytical side of physics, he also devoted about a third of our class to stuff we wouldn't be tested on. A theoretical physicist by trade, he enlightened us with discussions on time, the expansion of the universe, whether time was infinite or finite, lots of historical and philosophical type stuff. Probably one of the best experiences in undergrad.

I see psychiatry/psychology in the same manner. Completely abstract and existing only in theory or ideas.

 

[sol_residency]

Originally posted by Anguscrimm
Reasons why I'm going into Psychiatry:

1. Ability to develop long term and intimate relationships with patients in a way that is unique to the Psychiatric field.

2. Many of the fields in Medicine are very algorithmic, for example, if a pt. has this, then you do this, if they hurt here, then you order this exam to evaluate. After you learn these algorithms ( and I have not by far), there is very little creativity or variation in the way you can treat patients. Psychiatry allows more creativity and freedom in treating psychiatric diseases because every patient is different and there are many ways to approach the problems encountered.

3. I like psychopharmacology and using many different medications. With the current meds and even more meds to be released in the future, many psychiatric diseases are much more treatable and managable than they were in the past.

4. I like working with depressed people. I just finished an Emergency Medicine rotation, and many of the patients I saw who come to the ER presenting with vague, non-acute problems are depressed. If you treat their depression and get them feeling better, then maybe you might see less of the patient who has had "Insomnia x 4 years" or "Pain all over my body".

5. Did I mention the lifestyle? I like my hobbies. I love watching UCLA sports. I love my fiancee. I plan to spend lots of time playing with my kids. I want to open a restaurant/ cigar lounge after my loans are paid down a bit.
I have many interests outside of medicine and a passion for life. Psych is a field that allows me the time to pursue these other interests.

Just my 2 cents. I'd be interested to hear other people's reasons for going into Psych.

LT

well said i fully agree with you
i m a foreign graduate and want to go in this match for psychiatry
any suggestions.