Medical Education US

Hi. I am a junior in high school and I am really interested in becoming a psychiatrist, but I need a lot of information. I need grounds and info, but I'm not sure where to find it. If anyone could help me out and give me advice on the steps to getting to where I want to be, that would be much appreciated. Really, any information would help. I'm just really naive in this area and I would like to have more knowledge about it. Thanks.

<edited by DrAdmin 11/29/09>

For people coming to this page looking for quick information about the steps to become a psychiatrist, here's information you'll find on the second page of this thread, but will likely find it useful:

As a quick summary:

First, you will have to do well in high school in order to get accepted to a decent college.

You will most likely go to college for 4 years and take the necessary pre-med courses, which includes 1 year of biology, 1 year of chemistry, 1 year of organic chemistry, and 1 year of physics. Around the end of your 3rd year of college, you will take the MCAT exam (like the SAT but for medical school). You will have to apply for medical schools, and acceptance will be based mostly on your grades in college and your MCAT scores.

Medical school then is an additional 4 years. The first 2 years are basic science classes - anatomy, biochemistry, pathology, histology, pharmacology, and more. The last 2 years are clinical rotations where you work with doctors and resident doctors rotating through all of the major areas of medicine - surgery, internal medicine, Ob-Gyn, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, and some electives. During your last year of medical school, you apply for a residency program in your field of interest - in your case psychiatry. You then go on interviews and the different programs. You rank the programs of interest to you, and the programs rank the applicants. It all goes into a computer, and around Mid-march you find out where you are doing your residency.

Residency in psychiatry is then a 4 year experience. You spend 4 months doing general medicine rotations either in pediatrics, family medicine, or internal medicine. You spend 2 months doing neurology rotations. The remainder of the residency is in a variety of areas of psychiatry plus electives. Essentially, you spend around 1 year doing inpatient psychiatry, 1 year doing outpatient psychiatry, and the remainder of the time is spent doing subspecialties of psychiatry - consultation liaison psychiatry (now called psychosomatic medicine), addiction psychiatry, child psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and a few others, plus electives.

At the end of those 4 years, you are a board eligible psychiatrist.

Although they are not specific to psychiatry (they're about becoming a medical doctor, which is the same pathway to becoming a psychiatrist), check out the following websites: http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/careers.htm and http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2320.html . People often confuse psychiatrists and psychologists, so if you're interested in psychology, check out http://www.apa.org/students/student1.html . Best of luck!

Those websites you provided are really helpful! I'm a sophmore in Highschool and am really interested in Psychiatry, but didn't quiter know how to become one. Thankyou very much.

you can also visit psychiatry.com ifu need more info

wow man, I am in the same predicament as you and the only thing that I'd love doin more than Architectural design/Programming is to be a psychologist(call me a shrink ). Am also a sophomore high school.
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i like to help people with their problems. you know talk them through. them and give them options on what they can do. which one would i want to be.

I am assuming you are asking whether you would rather be a psychiatrist than a psychologist? If so, check out the thread below. Basically, psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medications, so most do prescribe medications when appropriate. Psychologists can not prescribe medications (in almost all states) and are trained almost entirely on "talk therapy". If you are more interested in providing talk therapy, then you'd probably be more interested in being a psychologist.

Here's the thread to review:

Psychology compared to psychiatry

I have been a teacher for 6 years.

I'm married and have two children.

We have a good life but I'm not very happy because I when I got married at 19 I had to change my major and settle for a teaching degree.

What I really wanted was to be a physician, a psychiatrist.

During this semester, I realized that I surrendered my dream.

Now, I think is too late to consider going to any medical school anywhere.

What should I do?

Is it too late?

Are there any alternatives?

I hope there aren't any because I'm really scared to find out that it is not too late and then feel guilty for not having the guts to do it.

Can you help me?

Only you know what you should do. I'd say it's never too late to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist, if you are smart enough and motivated enough.

Whether it is a good idea or not is a different story.

I'm not sure what type of alternatives you are looking for - like becoming a counselor or therapist, or as far as way to go to medical school as a second career?

As for feeling guilty about giving up on opportunities - there are always options that you have to pass up on. There is never any way to know whether you made the best decision.

First, I definitely wouldn't feel guilty for passing up an opportunity to become a psychiatrist as a second career - a lot of work would be involved, starting with taking the necessary classes to get into medical school, then going to medical school for 4 years, then doing a 4 year residency. That doesn't include the cost of doing this - which for you is not only the tuition costs, but also the lost income from leaving your current job.

I've known people who did it - most weren't married with kids, but a few were. They had spouses and circumstances where they didn't have excessive concerns about finances or child care issues - which would be huge concerns for most people.

These are obviously issues you need to discuss with your spouse - as it will have a dramatic impact on your relationship and your family - not necessarily a bad impact, but it would change things significantly.

You said you aren't happy because at 19 you had to get married, change majors, and settle for a teaching degree - perhaps passing up on a psychiatry career isn't the reason for your unhappiness. I think teaching is an excellent profession, and I know many teachers who are very happy doing what they do. Is it something specific about your job that perhaps you just need a different teaching position? If you are truly unhappy, perhaps meeting with a therapist would be helpful?

Please don't take this as professional advice, I'm just someone who has been through the process - not an expert by any means. I also went straight through college to medical school and residency, so I can't comment on what it's like to go back after another career.

go for it!!

Sweetheart it is never too late.My mother has 2 children and at age 37 she changed her career and went to nursing school.I know becoming a physician is a bit more difficult but you can do it.I am in my last year of high school and i have been wanting to be a doctor for the longest.I have been asking Admin Questions concerning the medical field.You dont want to be 60 or 70 years old having regrets about what you could have became.I think teaching is a good profession.But if you you are in the wrong field then i think you need to go back to school to become a Psychiatrist or whatever it is you want to become. I know for a fact that most teachers tell there students that they can be what ever they want to be. I think you need to take that advice for yourself,and dont let anything stand in your way.I'll wish you the best of luck..GO FOR IT!!!!!!! this is Kandy

Is it do-able?

Absolutely.

Is it friggin' hard?

You bet.

I am attending medical school as a second career, and I love it. However, I also have a spouse who supports me wholeheartedly in following this aspiration, and I have a military affiliation which helps with the financial aspect.

If (IFF) you have the support of your family, (and not whimsical "jeepers it'd sure be swell if sweetums was a doctor" support, but actual informed support), I would say go for it. There are two people I can think of in my class who were teachers before medical school. They are doing juuust fine.

BTW, I am 36 years old. There is one woman in my class who is 50. Age needn't be a barrier, unless you choose to let it. Make sure you have examined the trek thoroughly, however. It is not for everyone.

True story here!

My mums friends husband (Long chain) before going to medical school, was a Chemistry teacher, he decided to change in his early 30's in which he became a doctor.

he carried this on into his 40's and now is (not sure what its exactly called) a A grade dcotor and also a fully qualified psychiatrist.
Yet he started at the age of 30!

Heh I guess it's hard I myself want to beceome a psychiatrist unliek my mum who is a psychologist!
But yet there is one majoy difference, and i know this fromfirst ahdn experience, Psyhciatrist earn in nearly all cases MUCH more than psychologists even when taking private patients full time.

But its not all about the money and yes psychologists themselves (privates) earn a nice ammount of money and is a good enjoyable job, but is damned hard to become one!
yet my mums 47 and she's been qualified for 5 years yet she is still one and is managing great etc. And still managed to carry ons tudying even through the death of my father!

So there is no stopping you to become a psychiatrist no matter what your age or gender, ethnicity etc. Hope eveyrone achieves there dream, for I for one am going to hehe!

Hi, Im a Freshmen in High school and I've been wanting to be a psychiatrist for a long time and now I have to do a project on career search and I cant find any thing about how to become a psychiatrist or how long I have to go to schoolto be one.Please give me some kind of web sight I can go to to find info.

Thesputopia wrote:
Hi. I am a junior in high school and I am really interested in becoming a psychiatrist, but I need a lot of information. I need grounds and info, but I'm not sure where to find it. If anyone could help me out and give me advice on the steps to getting to where I want to be, that would be much appreciated. Really, any information would help. I'm just really naive in this area and I would like to have more knowledge about it. Thanks.

This is the website for you, definitely.

Look around, use the search function, and see the links in the upper right-hand section of the front page.

Good luck on your paper!