Would Psychiatry Be Best For Me?

[deispremed]

I'm only a premed college student, so without any sort of urgency, I'm looking into medical specialties. I've been interested in medicine for a long time and I'm fairly certain that's the route I'll take after college.

I want to be a doctor because I want to be able to act and not have to sit passively in crisis situations. My grandfather has congestive heart failure and diabetes, but he's reluctant to go to the hospital when he has chest pain and it just breaks my heart that in only being a student, there's nothing I can do to possibly save his life. In the incredibly fantasized situation where someone collapses in a restaurant or on a plane or something, I want to be able to better the situation. I'm a person that needs to take action. I think (or at least I hope) that the profession of medicine caters to this personality trait.

During orientation at school we had to fill out a personality profile and answer various questions which were meant to determine what a good career for us would be. One of the questions was "when was the last time you felt incredibly happy" and my answer was when a friend of mine was in emotional crisis and I stayed with her all night and talked with her and got her through her issues. I think I'd like to do something like that for the rest of my life. Therefore, my first thought on what a good medical specialty that would work for me is psychiatry. Does that seem reasonable?

Yet, I like doing the therapy part, as evidenced by what I wrote in my little personality profile thing, but I don't think I'd actually enjoy dealing with people with psychotic disorders. I admittedly don't have much exposure to these disorders, so I'm not sure if my perceptions of patients come from popular culture. But, I know I want to work with treatable diseases and I feel like a lot of psychotic disorders are not. I feel like, for example with schizophrenics, they will not benefit from therapy as much as another patient might because they live in a world that is different from mine. I don't know if that made sense, or if that's even true, and I welcome corrections on that one.

Since I like the idea of therapy, a logical choice would be clinical psychologist I think, but I really do want to have medical training. I don't like the idea of not being able to help in the situation with my grandfather. Also, I keep saying that I want medical training, but as a psychiatrist, would I really have the ability to help my grandfather if something happened with his heart, since I won't have much practice with the heart?

Since I'm just in college I want to make sure I'm not going down a path that I wouldn't enjoy as a career, or a path that I only have fantasized notions about. Any thoughts as to any of the comments I've made and as to if medicine and/or psychiatry sounds like it would be a good fit for me would be so appreciated.

Thank you

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[manwhoisthursdy]

If you are a hard worker, want to have a lot of tools available to help others, etc., medicine is a great choice. I think your patience and interest in spending time with others to help them with emotional issues is commendable ... so I'd say seriously consider medicine, but you don't have to decide for or against psychiatry so early!

Part of your understanding of psychiatry is true ... many psychiatry diseases, including most psychotic disorders, are chronic and difficult to treat. But I'd add two things: (1) there are still treatments, including medications, and this field is growing very quickly. The field of psychiatry in general is booming with research into drug therapy, psychotherapies, and other things (e.g. deep brain stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy, etc.) being done all the time. (2) Heart disease, and many other common medical issues, are also difficult to treat, chronic, and usually "managed" rather than "cured."

 

[masterofnone]

Sounds like some career shadowing is in order. I'd call some local psychiatrists and psychologists to arrange some time to spend following them. Most of these offices are used to, and welcome, cold calls from students who have a genuine interest in their professions.

Also, as to the part about helping in a time of crisis...yes, as a psychiatrist you will be well trained to help in the short term- that is until EMS arrives. The truth about these scenarios is that even the best interventional cardiologist would do little more than CPR until the patient is taken to the hospital. Also, you wouldn't want to do a procedure on a relative (for many reasons), you would however be able to answer questions about diseases and the treatments.

Keep asking questions and shadow as much as possible before medical school. Remember that to be a psychiatrist you must first be a physician which requires a ton of time and effort into fields you may not have any interest in. Also, most people change their mind about the type of residency they won't to pursue after they start medical school.

Good Luck

 

[katarina90]

My father was a psychiatrist, and I am still debating on whether or not I want to take that career path or choose another specialty. I practically grew up hanging out in my dad's office (he had his own practice) and saw a lot that I liked, and a lot that quite frankly, scared me, especially being a kid. But I also saw that he helped so many people that were afraid, depressed, angry and helped them regain control of their lives and their emotions..

Since you're still pre-med (me too!), we definitely still have time to decide what we want to do, but its definitely good to look into it. Read books about psychiatry! There are probably many in your college library. Online research can also be helpful. And I agree wholeheartedly with what masterofnone said about career shadowing. I'm not sure how much you will get to see career shadowing a psychiatrist, because of HPAA regulations and nondisclosure laws, but if you could get the feel of how a psychiatry office works, that may be helpful to consider. I would also talk to psychiatrists about their specialty and ask questions to try and determine if its what you want to do.

You will have to deal with people with psychotic disorders on a daily basis if you do choose to pursue psychiatry (bipolars, schizophrenics, borderlines galore)..but ANY doctor is going to encounter those types of people at one point or another, because a lot of times they have other health issues. It can be intimidating, but you'll learn to handle it.

And again, you still have time, so don't fret if you're still undecided about specializing.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I kept reading "masterofone" as "masterson"....as in James Masterson, who is pretty much awesome.

As for the topic at hand, definitely interview and shadow a few psychiatrists, since there can be quite a variance in what kind of work you can do with that training.

-t

 

[masterofnone]

It's Master of none, and I'm pretty awesome too

 

[Chimed]

Also, most people change their mind about the type of residency they won't to pursue after they start medical school.

Yes. That is the beauty of going to med school--you have more options then going the PhD route, for example. You might find that you enjoy something totally different that psychiatry. On the other hand, if you can't stand the other stuff, you still can go into a mental health field!

 

[goingbroke]

What I have seen as that third year clinicals is the time most realize what direction they should go in? Those that go into medical school with a preconceived career path are the ones that struggle during their third years between giving up their childhood dream and doing what they find is a right fit for them. I saw so many students come in thinking that they were going to be pediatricians only to find it never lived up to their expectations and that they loved surgery or someother non-related field.