Why do people transfer from FP to Psych

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dxsd123

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I know this is rather broad but what the most common reason people bolt from FP to Psych? Is it hard to keep up with, board exams, lifestyle, financial reasons? I guess the opposite could be asked as well why people leave psych for FP but I for one, know why I'd leave psych for FP. I want the other perspective for those who don't mind sharing...thanks

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The reasons are probably as varied as the people who make the switch.
 
There is a line in a book called "Heirs to General Practice" that said that ever since Family Medicine became a speciality that Psych saw a down turn in interest.

I think that those who go into Family Medicine choose it because the behavioral/psychosocial aspects of patient care are taught. It would only be natural then to be drawn to psychiatry. Makes sense to me anyway.
 
I agree that there is a lot of overlap between the kind of personalities who like FM and the kind who like Psych...as it should be, because the two fields have a lot of overlap. Many people with depression initially present to their family doctor (I also think that a high number of patients who present to the FM with vague somatic pains and that sort of thing often have a depression or anxiety component to their trouble). Meanwhile, on the psych units, it is very helpful for a psychiatrist to have some general medical knowledge since most of the severely mentally ill don't get consistent medical care and often will come to their psychiatrist with a myriad of complaints that aren't directly related to their mental illness.

Other reasons that I think FM people switch to Psych are because the lifestyle in residency tends to be better and it is the least physically demanding specialty (which I think is a big reason for why psych is attractive to career changers in general - if you are a surgeon who develops a health problem that makes operating difficult, switching to something like psych makes a lot of sense).
 
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