<p>Hello, everyone! The time has come for me to really decide what I want to pursue so I can start taking the classes I need. I just wanted to make sure that Psychiatry is, in fact, what I think it is. I want a career where I can help people on a regular basis. I am extremely interested in the mind and how our brains work. These two reasons are why psychiatry as a career seems interesting to me. Do psychiatrists really sit down with their patients and help them overcome their problems, and if needed, prescribe them medication? Or is there something that I'm missing? Where I live there are literally only 2 psychiatrists and neither of them let me shadow them for even a day, so I really don't know what life is like on a day-to-day basis for a psychiatrist. Also, would a career in psychiatry allow me to live comfortably and not have to worry about money problems? I realize med students generally have a lot of student loans, but most people pay those off relatively easily, right? The money question probably seems silly to a lot of you, but it seems like mental health, and seeing someone about your mental health, has a really bad negative stigma attached to it. So, I was wondering if it is hard to get patients. One last question! Is it better for a future psychiatrist to major in bio, or chem, or psychology in preparation for the mcat/med school? Thanks SO much!</p>
<p><em>Sorry, I have to double post, I couldn’t find an edit button.</em></p>
<p>I was just talking with my family and they said I should be careful pursuing this career because it is a very stressful one. Are there any practicing psychiatrists out there that want to comment on this?</p>
<p>Not a practicing psychiatrist here, but I do have some experience to share:</p>
<p>The main role of a psychiatrist is to prescribe medication, treat patients who are hospitalized, monitor medication, and provide referrals for therapy, etc. Psychiatrists also diagnose mental illnesses.</p>
<p>Psychologists are the ones who will actually listen to their problems, help them learn coping skills, overcome traumatic issues, provide therapy for people who have been sexually abused, etc etc etc</p>
<p>I had to laugh when you asked about “living comfortably” because many psychiatrists earn salaries of well over $120,000 a year. Though some psychiatrists earn $65,000 a year or possibly less. There are some psychologists who, no kidding, make $40,000 or less. Though I think the avg psychologist earns around 60k, but it is rare for psychologists to earn more than about 90k. So, if you want to paid more, psychiatrists make lots more $$$ than psychologists.</p>
<p>You can compare salaries on payscale.com</p>
<p>I don’t think you could find a psychiatrist anywhere who would allow you to job shadow, but I wonder if the virtual job shadow website (google it) has it on there? (You can watch a video) However, even though you couldn’t job shadow, perhaps one would allow you to visit with him/her for just 15 minutes to explain exactly what they do?</p>
<p>Remember psychiatrists are medical doctors and go through medical school - that means dissecting cadavers, etc. </p>
<p>I think some psychiatrists would listen to their patients problems, but that is not their main job — they will probably refer you to a therapist…</p>
<p>If you just want a career where you can help people, have you considered becoming a social worker? The pay is VERY low, however.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a little…</p>
<p>The only place that you are likely to get a psychiatrist to allow you to shadow is in a clinic or in a psych emergency room. Exceptions do apply, but there is a very deep connection between psychiatrists and their patients. Having an observer in the room can be very disruptive to many patients who crave a consistent situation when dealing with mental health issues. </p>
<p>Major in whatever you want. There is no specific best major.</p>