Psychiatry 101
What is psychiatry?
Psychiatry is the medical specialty concerned with causation, prevention, and treatment of mental and behavioral disorders.
What is the first step?
Obtain a bachelor's degree at an accredited university. Major is not as important, but basic science prerequisite classes are expected to be completed (chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, calculus)
What is a pro associated with being a psychiatrist?
How do you characterize a psychiatrist's daily life?
Unpredictable ; there is no such thing as a typical day. The flow of each day is dependent on the severity of the patients or the location.
Why is being a psychiatrist rewarding?
Working in psychiatry offers a chance to help individuals change their lives for the better. There is an opportunity to form real, meaningful relationships with patients and track their progress via tangible and intangible outcomes.
Why is psychiatry important?
Psychiatry provides individuals with the power to make major changes in their lives and target the specific issues that are related to their mental or behavioral health.
What is the step after the first but before the second?
Involve yourself in a variety of extracurriculars and research to not only become a well-rounded applicant but explore your passions and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
What is another pro associated with being a psychiatrist?
The job market is rapidly growing due to the increasing need for mental healthcare professionals. The discussion around mental health is slowly but surely becoming more common, and thus interventions centered around it are in demand.
What are the hours that a psychiatrist works?
Psychiatrists spend approximately 48 hours a week at work, with typical 9-5 shifts. Most spend an average of 60% of their time directly with patients. However, as medical doctors, irregular hours and overtime shifts are common.
What is the difference between tangible and intangible outcomes?
Tangible outcomes include improvements in vital signs and relief from symptoms.
Intangible outcomes include a change in life outlook, attitude, growth mindset, self-perceptions.
How are psychiatrists different from psychologists?
Psychiatrists are trained medical doctors, meaning they can prescribe medications and spend much of their time with patients on medication management during treatment.
Psychologists focus more on psychotherapy and treating emotional and mental conditions in patients via behavioral intervention.
What is the second step?
TAKE THE MCAT and apply to medical school
What is the most important pro associated with being a psychiatrist?
There is a lot of variety in one's schedule. Even if one sees the same patient repetitively, there are changes in their lives that can alter behaviors or choices in any given instance. Patients will also come from a wide range of backgrounds since mental health illnesses are not subject to social stratification.
What are psychiatrists responsible for every day?
On a typical day, psychiatrists will evaluate and diagnose patients in an effort to treat their mental, emotional and behavior disorders.
They conduct psychiatric evaluations, develop treatment plans, prescribe medication, and work through behavioral therapies with patients.
What is the salary compensation like?
Psychiatrists make solid 6-figure salaries. Salaries can range anywhere from around $200,000 to $350,000.
What are some common mental health problems that psychiatrists deal with?
Bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, personality disorder, panic disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia
DSM-5
What is the third step?
Complete medical school to continue your education and participate in clinical rotations to get needed hands-on experience in the field.
What is a con associated with being a psychiatrist?
Work-life balance is tough to maintain. Working on evenings, weekends, and holidays is common, especially if psychiatrists are just starting out.
What do psychiatrists do other than providing inpatient and outpatient care?
Trick question; success is often immeasurable. It is difficult to track progress via standard measurements, but that is exactly what makes this profession so rewarding. There are many ways to interpret success.
What are the difficulties associated with being a psychiatrist?
There are no complete cures to psychiatric illnesses, which can be either short-term or chronic. Individuals also respond differently to treatments
What is the fourth step?
Complete a psychiatric residency and become board-certified with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology while completing additional licensing requirements that vary from state to state
What is another con associated with being a psychiatrist?
How do psychiatrists collaborate with other healthcare professionals?
Psychiatrists will often work with physicians, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses to discuss treatment plans and progress.
How are the rewards in psychiatry different from those associated with other medical professions?
Psychiatry is unique in that patients are constantly communicating with their doctors, allowing for a strong bond to be formed between the two parties. Emotions are shared, and thus it is possible to see growth and development.