Who is willing to answer this???

[klptvf]

Hello all!
I am a new member here...a non trad. pre med with about a million and four questions for anyone who knows and anyone who is nice enough to clue me in.

I know I would find all of this out down the road, and I am far way from even applying to schools, but:

-I have heard from several sources that the demand for psychiatrists and especially child psychiatrists are high - nationwide. What can you all tell me about that?

-It is in the works that clinical psychologists will be able to prescribe meds. (two states already) -- so what you future psychiatrists know about the job outlook for psychiatry?

-What can the individuals, if any out there will read this, who are interested and educated about psychiatry know about the job conditions: i.e. scope of work as a psychiatrist? 9-5 hours? Salary? Salary even with HMO/insurance/etc. ??? I've heard "psychiatrists can CHOOSe where they want to work - the demand is so high" - and "child psychiatrists will never have trouble findning work" -- Well, what about the future - in say, 10-12 years?

-I have heard some MDs/DOs (any field/area of medicine) make practically NOTHING by the time they buy malpractice insurance? I know that I sound ignorant here, but obviously that is why I am asking people who do know what I do not!

-What is the actual difference bwtn Fam. prac. and internal med.?

-i read a post where a student reported that there "are some low-stress, fun areas of medicine for MDs/DOs to pursue" --which areas are these?

-This is important for me to know so that I can understand fully what pursuing medicine will make my life like: Are there any areas of medicine that include the 9-5 work week, or do any MDs/DOs work PT - say if they have kids, etc. I am desparately trying to find out exactly what I am getting into.

ANY help is most greatly appreciated from all of you, and thanks.

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[Law2Doc]

Hello all!
I am a new member here...a non trad. pre med with about a million and four questions for anyone who knows and anyone who is nice enough to clue me in.

I know I would find all of this out down the road, and I am far way from even applying to schools, but:

-I have heard from several sources that the demand for psychiatrists and especially child psychiatrists are high - nationwide. What can you all tell me about that?

-It is in the works that clinical psychologists will be able to prescribe meds. (two states already) -- so what you future psychiatrists know about the job outlook for psychiatry?

-What can the individuals, if any out there will read this, who are interested and educated about psychiatry know about the job conditions: i.e. scope of work as a psychiatrist? 9-5 hours? Salary? Salary even with HMO/insurance/etc. ??? I've heard "psychiatrists can CHOOSe where they want to work - the demand is so high" - and "child psychiatrists will never have trouble findning work" -- Well, what about the future - in say, 10-12 years?

-I have heard some MDs/DOs (any field/area of medicine) make practically NOTHING by the time they buy malpractice insurance? I know that I sound ignorant here, but obviously that is why I am asking people who do know what I do not!

-What is the actual difference bwtn Fam. prac. and internal med.?

-i read a post where a student reported that there "are some low-stress, fun areas of medicine for MDs/DOs to pursue" --which areas are these?

-This is important for me to know so that I can understand fully what pursuing medicine will make my life like: Are there any areas of medicine that include the 9-5 work week, or do any MDs/DOs work PT - say if they have kids, etc. I am desparately trying to find out exactly what I am getting into.

ANY help is most greatly appreciated from all of you, and thanks.

You will likely get more responses if you ask just a few questions at a time, in smaller more bit sized portions. First, medicine is not a field to go into if you are looking for "low stress". You can certainly get to a stage where you can set your own hours or work relatively normal business days (at a proportional hit to salary), but you have to get through a rather intense residency 3-5 years, and often a certain amount of experience first. (Part time schedules would pretty much require you to be self employed, I suspect.) Also bear in mind that a lot of the so-called lifestyle specialties with easier hours (such as dermatology) tend to be the most competitive to get into. While medical malpractice insurance takes a big chunk out of income for physicians these days, most live reasonably comfortably notwithstanding insurance costs. OBGYNs tend to be the hardest hit. I am not in the loop about psychiatry, so defer all those questions to other posters.

 

[Simonster]

Hello all!
I-I have heard from several sources that the demand for psychiatrists and especially child psychiatrists are high - nationwide. What can you all tell me about that?

-It is in the works that clinical psychologists will be able to prescribe meds. (two states already) -- so what you future psychiatrists know about the job outlook for psychiatry?

-What can the individuals, if any out there will read this, who are interested and educated about psychiatry know about the job conditions: i.e. scope of work as a psychiatrist? 9-5 hours? Salary? Salary even with HMO/insurance/etc. ??? I've heard "psychiatrists can CHOOSe where they want to work - the demand is so high" - and "child psychiatrists will never have trouble findning work" -- Well, what about the future - in say, 10-12 years?

I think looking through the Graduate Medical Forums - Psychiatry, might help. Good luck!

 

[klptvf]

I think looking through the Graduate Medical Forums - Psychiatry, might help. Good luck!

Thanks and didnt mean to ramble off the million questions... Thanks again!

 

[rpkall]

Hello all!
I am a new member here...a non trad. pre med with about a million and four questions for anyone who knows and anyone who is nice enough to clue me in.

I know I would find all of this out down the road, and I am far way from even applying to schools, but:

-I have heard from several sources that the demand for psychiatrists and especially child psychiatrists are high - nationwide. What can you all tell me about that?

-It is in the works that clinical psychologists will be able to prescribe meds. (two states already) -- so what you future psychiatrists know about the job outlook for psychiatry?

-What can the individuals, if any out there will read this, who are interested and educated about psychiatry know about the job conditions: i.e. scope of work as a psychiatrist? 9-5 hours? Salary? Salary even with HMO/insurance/etc. ??? I've heard "psychiatrists can CHOOSe where they want to work - the demand is so high" - and "child psychiatrists will never have trouble findning work" -- Well, what about the future - in say, 10-12 years?

-I have heard some MDs/DOs (any field/area of medicine) make practically NOTHING by the time they buy malpractice insurance? I know that I sound ignorant here, but obviously that is why I am asking people who do know what I do not!

-What is the actual difference bwtn Fam. prac. and internal med.?

-i read a post where a student reported that there "are some low-stress, fun areas of medicine for MDs/DOs to pursue" --which areas are these?

-This is important for me to know so that I can understand fully what pursuing medicine will make my life like: Are there any areas of medicine that include the 9-5 work week, or do any MDs/DOs work PT - say if they have kids, etc. I am desparately trying to find out exactly what I am getting into.

ANY help is most greatly appreciated from all of you, and thanks.

I'm a MS1 currently, so I obviously don't have all the answers, but I can tell you what people have been telling me when I ask the same questions of my professors/advisors in school.

- the demand for psychiatrists is apparently very real in many parts of the country; you won't make a killing, however; maybe 110-140,000 (a little more than family practice and peds, they say, on average), but I've heard that psych residencies are a little less harrowing than some of the other medical residencies, and also that your work hours are more regular, etc, etc.

- If clinical psychologists do get widespread privilege to prescribe, psychiatrists must still be the primary practitioners in inpatient facilities and in rehab centers, etc., because the legal climate demands that people with medical educations are coordinating both psychiatric and medical management of psychiatric patients and their comorbid chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, etc).

- malpractice varies depending on specialty. Someone already mentioned that OB/GYNs have it pretty rough in this arena. The likelihood is, unfortunately, that every doc will get sued at least once in his/her career (on average; obviously, some will be sued more, others not at all). But it's a very real concern. Even with paying back loans, though, I haven't met a doc who really isn't at least "comfortable" with their financial situation once they're working full-time after residency in their chosen field. Yes, it's possible to work part time, if you have the luxury of making half the amount of money you could, yet taking on the same level of responsibility each time you see a patient anyways. It's easier to work full time in medicine and get somewhere; you just get into the mode. The more patients you see, the better doc you will become--at least that's what people say, until you're well out of residency and you've seen quite a lot.

- Internal medicine docs don't see kids or deliver babies--just adult, non-reproductive medicine; but they're really trained well in hospitalist medicine and coordinating the management of a serious illness. Family medicine docs are trained to see adults as well as kids and manage routine female issues and deliver babies (usually just vaginal deliveries and management of fairly normal pregnancies; there are some FP fellowships in obstetrics that teach/certify you to do more, like c-sections and high risk pregnancies). Depending on the hospital, family med docs are hired as hospital staff to fill the function of internal med docs, or they might just do admitting to the hospital and follow their patients on the floors. I'm not sure of all the specifics here, so someone else would have to elaborate.

- what you're getting into... As far as I can tell, medicine is a lifelong thing that you really devote yourself to. But everyone tells me that if you want to be in a field with 9-5 hours, you can make it happen. Not everyone who graduates med school does fellowship after fellowship and pursues a non-stop career full of academic achievement and research success. Many good docs graduate, pick a field they like, and then settle down in some quiet corner of the world and make a difference in different ways practicing just clinical medicine. Some choose fields where they're always on call; some pick fields where they can go home every night at the end of their shift. Some work full time, others part time. Some make time for their families, some don't. It's your life: your career is what you make it, based on the decisions you make along the way. I don't think it's an out-of-control tail-spin you can't control, as long as you take a step back, define what's really important in your life and set out to protect those things...

Good luck to you. Hope some of that helps.

You should post your psych questions on the psychiatry forum, btw. They might be able to address the questions much more fully than the med students.