<p>I am interested in being a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Would I need to go through a pre-med program of studies followed by medical school? I am going to a LAC and I am not particularly interested in biology, chemistry, and physics -- I am more interested in psychology, sociology etc. and it seems like it would be a waste of a lot of my time/interests to take an extensive courseload of bio, chem, and phys when they are not even that related to the job of a psychiatrist or psychologist (maybe neurobio is somewhat related for meds) </p>
<p>do medical schools for psychiatry require the same pre-med courseload? sorry i am very ignorant about this :-(</p>
<p>Yes, unfortunately they do. You have to take the same core classes of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and calculus and then take the MCAT. </p>
<p>I feel your pain. I really want to be a psychiatrist too, but I don’t know if I can make the necessary sacrifices to go to med school.</p>
<p>Does anyone else know, is going to grad school for like a PhD significantly easier/less stressful than going to med school?</p>
<p>Psychiatrists go through medical school. Psychologists (usually a PhD in clinical psychology) do not. And yes, that process is much easier and less stressful.</p>
<p>Yeah, it seems like you want to be a clinical psychologist more than a psychiatrist. Go for the PhD. However, you cant prescribe drugs (but they are fight for limited prescribing rights (i.e SSRI, NDRI, etc) in certain states).</p>
<p>Is it easier to get a job if you are a psychiatrist? And are there any other pros to going through MUCH more difficult schooling just to make a few prescriptions?</p>
<p>I mean, with exceptions, psychiatrists – not psychologists – are the ones who deal with the extremes of mental illness: schizophrenia, severe bipolar disorder, etc. Psychologists more strongly resemble counselors and spend much of their time dealing with depression and other less-dramatic mental/emotional disorders.</p>
<p>The careers overlap somewhat, but they are actually pretty different.</p>
<p>The career paths are totally opposite from each other. In order to specialize in psychiatry you must go through four years of medical school (holding a bachelors of science in biology, chemistry, or other sciences) and then start studying psychiatry during residency before they get their license to practice. In other words, psychiatry is an M.D.</p>
<p>Psychology does not require you to go through as many rigorous science classes. Keep in mind, you’ll still have to receive your basics. You can get a bachelor of arts psychology degree (which is mostly humanities credits) which may be more appealing to you. Psychology majors usually end up going to graduate school (if you want to become a psychologist or any professional which sees clientele on an individual basis). You’ll want to get an M.A or preferably a Ph.D after you graduate. Getting your Ph.D requires additional studies after graduate school so the time you spend getting your Ph.D would be similar to getting your M.D only the coursework is a bit different.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have a BS in a science to go to medical school. You can major in whatever you want (and get a BS or a BA) and still go to medical school as long as you take the required science courses (six of them, plus a math and two English/Writing courses).</p>
<p>^ True, but majority of Pre-Med students are working on their BS. I know that it’s not necessary but it’s more practical to fulfill the requirements. It’s just more common.</p>