Why so many shrinks work part time?

[PsychBA]

Hello.

Question from a lowly psych student. Why so many of you work part time? You must be the only specialty. My dad and my uncle are GPs, they work every day. What, you getting all stressed out from seeing nutjobs all day? Is it a tax thing? Not enough jobs?

I used to see a shrink who only worked two days a week. Then another, who worked only three days. Maybe I should become a psychiatrist, make 180k, taking home, say, 100k, after overhead and tax all the other stuff, and have a four day weekend, not bad.

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[dl2dp2]

Hello.
Maybe I should become a psychiatrist, make 180k, taking home, say, 100k, after overhead and tax all the other stuff, and have a four day weekend, not bad.

This. It's possible to work as a psychiatrist for 35 hours a week and make 200k. That's why "so many" are "part time".

 

[PETRAN]

This. It's possible to work as a psychiatrist for 35 hours a week and make 200k. That's why "so many" are "part time".

What, really? Are you talking about a specific sub-specialty or general adult psychiatry?

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Because we can.
If we want to.

 

[PETRAN]

Sounds like "The Secret"

 

[peppy]

Question from a lowly psych student. Why so many of you work part time? You must be the only specialty. My dad and my uncle are GPs, they work every day. What, you getting all stressed out from seeing nutjobs all day?

Seriously, listening to people talk about their traumatic experiences and problems (especially when you have to be careful NOT to burden them with your own problems) can be emotionally exhausting. Doing psychotherapy well is harder than it looks.
While "because they can" is a good enough reason to work a humane schedule, I think it is particularly important for a mental health provider to be healthy and well-rested so they are in the right frame of mind to listen and care about their patients.

Although bedside manner never hurts in any specialty, there are plenty of people who will go to a cranky surgeon as long as the surgeon can cut properly (myself included). Nobody wants to go to a psychiatrist who is too burnt out and tired to be empathetic and interested.

Psychiatry is awesome. We have a great lifestyle, interesting work, and there is a definitely a need. I think the big reason more people don't go into psych is because of the stigma on mental illness from terms like 'nutjobs'.

 

[Chimed]

Because deep down, psychiatrists are more European then American in their idea of what a "normal" work week looks like.

 

[F0nzie]

Desires, limitations, and freedoms to working at a glacial pace.

 

[psychphan]

I think the real question is why do physicians in other specialties insist on working 65 hrs a week? Is it really worth the extra money if you never get to enjoy it, or for that matter even see your family?

 

[PsychBA]

Thanks for replies

I think the big reason more people don't go into psych is because of the stigma on mental illness from terms like 'nutjobs'.

Ah man, so that's how you get your jollies, zinging lowly psych students on a psych forum. Taking days off not helping ya, **** is spilling over into online convo.

Seriously though, my dad the GP uses that term. He hates psych patients. They are big time somatizers, take up too much of his time, complain nonstop, and are generally a pain to deal with. They piss him off, he tells me. He says they should see a shrink but they just refuse which is why he calls them nutjobs. They rather take up his time and their own time and the other patients' time than go to a psychiatrist. He likes to deal with patients who know what they want. Infection? Antibiotics. Penis envy? Forget it.

 

[Chimed]

I think the real question is why do physicians in other specialties insist on working 65 hrs a week? Is it really worth the extra money if you never get to enjoy it, or for that matter even see your family?

Like I said...Deep down psychiatrists are more like Europeans in the sense that they tend to not have this idea that if you're not working 60 hours per week, you're lazy. We tend to understand the importance of balance a bit better.

 

[surftheiop]

Thanks for replies


Ah man, so that's how you get your jollies, zinging lowly psych students on a psych forum. Taking days off not helping ya, **** is spilling over into online convo.

Seriously though, my dad the GP uses that term. He hates psych patients. They are big time somatizers, take up too much of his time, complain nonstop, and are generally a pain to deal with. They piss him off, he tells me. He says they should see a shrink but they just refuse which is why he calls them nutjobs. They rather take up his time and their own time and the other patients' time than go to a psychiatrist. He likes to deal with patients who know what they want. Infection? Antibiotics. Penis envy? Forget it.

 

[peppy]

Ah man, so that's how you get your jollies, zinging lowly psych students on a psych forum. Taking days off not helping ya, **** is spilling over into online convo.

Seriously though, my dad the GP uses that term. He hates psych patients. They are big time somatizers, take up too much of his time, complain nonstop, and are generally a pain to deal with. They piss him off, he tells me. He says they should see a shrink but they just refuse which is why he calls them nutjobs. They rather take up his time and their own time and the other patients' time than go to a psychiatrist. He likes to deal with patients who know what they want. Infection? Antibiotics. Penis envy? Forget it.

Just so it's clear, I didn't mean to sound harsh there. Just wanted to point out that if you do end up going into mental health that these kinds of terms aren't usually used.
A big barrier to being able to treat mental illness properly is that a lot of people who have mental illness are afraid of being labeled 'crazy' or other negative perceptions of mental illness. That causes people to be afraid to seek help, and to go off their psych meds because they don't want to accept that they need psych meds.

Psych patients definitely can be frustrating to deal with in primary care settings. For myself, I find these patients are easier to deal with in a psych setting because then we can address what's really bothering them.
In other settings, it may help to try to keep in mind that often when patients provoke feelings like anger/frustration/helplessness/etc. in their providers, it's because that's how the patient is feeling inside themselves. Perhaps keeping in mind that they are suffering may help with keeping patience with them.

 

[IAmAUser]

.

 

[Ibid]

A big barrier to being able to treat mental illness properly is that a lot of people who have mental illness are afraid of being labeled 'crazy' or other negative perceptions of mental illness.

Sort out the stigma associated with psychosis and everything else will fall into place.

 

[Doc Samson]

Lots of psychiatrists have several part-time jobs because they like working in different settings. Just because someone is working in their private practice for only 3 days per week doesn't mean they're not also staffing a psych ED for another 2.

 

[BobA]

Thanks for replies


Ah man, so that's how you get your jollies, zinging lowly psych students on a psych forum. Taking days off not helping ya, **** is spilling over into online convo.

Seriously though, my dad the GP uses that term. He hates psych patients. They are big time somatizers, take up too much of his time, complain nonstop, and are generally a pain to deal with. They piss him off, he tells me. He says they should see a shrink but they just refuse which is why he calls them nutjobs. They rather take up his time and their own time and the other patients' time than go to a psychiatrist. He likes to deal with patients who know what they want. Infection? Antibiotics. Penis envy? Forget it.

I was going to reply to this . . . . but then I thought I smelled a TROLL.

 

[cel7y]

OP, can we not refer to the people to whom we dedicate our careers helping as "nutjobs?" That'd be great, thanks.

 

[dl2dp2]

What, really? Are you talking about a specific sub-specialty or general adult psychiatry?

This is really not "The Secret". The average psychiatrist works 45 hrs a week, and makes 200k. If you are somewhat better than average you can have a higher profit margin and work 35 hours a week. (http://www.medfriends.org/specialty_hours_worked.htm)
(http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=817247)

 

[PsychBA]

I was going to reply to this . . . . but then I thought I smelled a TROLL.

Why is my post so controversial to you? Because I say people in your specialty are more likely to work part time than many others? Or that general practitioners don't like somatizers?

Maybe you need to take a bath.

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

:troll:

 

[PsychBA]

Just so it's clear, I didn't mean to sound harsh there. Just wanted to point out that if you do end up going into mental health that these kinds of terms aren't usually used.
A big barrier to being able to treat mental illness properly is that a lot of people who have mental illness are afraid of being labeled 'crazy' or other negative perceptions of mental illness. That causes people to be afraid to seek help, and to go off their psych meds because they don't want to accept that they need psych meds.

Psych patients definitely can be frustrating to deal with in primary care settings. For myself, I find these patients are easier to deal with in a psych setting because then we can address what's really bothering them.
In other settings, it may help to try to keep in mind that often when patients provoke feelings like anger/frustration/helplessness/etc. in their providers, it's because that's how the patient is feeling inside themselves. Perhaps keeping in mind that they are suffering may help with keeping patience with them.

No, that's cool, you didn't sound harsh. In fact, my dad is an old grouch himself (bitching about technology, psych patients, the wife, whatever) and I have inherited it I guess. That, and I enjoy talking to doctors (other GPs usually and a few surgeons--one of whom has a love affair with the F-word and badmouthing his patients). But you just come across as so nice and sympathetic...are you sure you're a doctor? How can you go through medical school, the internship, and come out unscathed?

I'm a psych major. Psychiatry sounds almost too good to be true. Maybe I should consider it. Though I should probably not call patients nutjobs. I don't want to get my ass kicked.

 

[Shufflin]

Psychiatry is a fantastic field, but not because the hours are light. Some attendings I've worked with wrapped up their day around 8pm or 9pm. It's what you make of it.

 

[BobA]

Don't feed the troll

 

[Sneezing]

 

[Marsupilami]

Like I said...Deep down psychiatrists are more like Europeans in the sense that they tend to not have this idea that if you're not working 60 hours per week, you're lazy. We tend to understand the importance of balance a bit better.

Perhaps psychiatrist have understood that you can't buy happiness. You don't need to own 3 SUVs, a big mansion etc. to be satisfied in life. Consequently, you don't need to work 60h+ per week to afford all that $hit and maybe you even have interests outside of medicine, something that most physicians I've met in my life do not comprehend.

 

[Daedra22]

Perhaps psychiatrist have understood that you can't buy happiness. You don't need to own 3 SUVs, a big mansion etc. to be satisfied in life. Consequently, you don't need to work 60h+ per week to afford all that $hit and maybe you even have interests outside of medicine, something that most physicians I've met in my life do not comprehend.

I've met a couple physicians who lived very modestly - bought a house way below what they qualified for, no car payment (have older cars that they kept up nicely), out of debt. They work shorter hours and are the happiest physicians I've seen.