Hello, I am currently a freshman in college and am thinking about a career in psychiatry. While browsing the internet for info about the psychiatry I came across a number of sites that viciously opposed psychiatry and denigrated the legitimacy of psychiatry as a medical profession... Needless to say, the articles irked me. What does the future of psychiatry look like?
Is there even a future? Is it indeed a "dying" practice? Is the practice of psychiatry looked down upon by other physicians as quackery?
Thanks,
-slightly discouraged possible future psychiatrist
😕 😕 😕
Hi there.
I've seen similar things on the internet. Hey, I always try to consider the source whenever I read anything hyper-critical like that. Some of the sites I have seen have taken quotes out of context, or quotes from very disagreeable sorts of people, and just gone nuts with them. Well, heck, I can go on the internet and find sites criticizing my religion, my future profession, my favorite football team, or just about anything.
(That being said, I can also find a website purporting that the world's major political leaders are demonic space aliens. Really. It's entertaining, at least, albeit a mite creepy.)
Psychiatry remains on my list of potential future residencies, despite the fact that some people don't like it, for a few reasons.
1) Mental illness is real. People with mental illnesses need help, and a good psychiatrist may be able to help good people lead healthier and more productive lives. That is one of the reasons I want to be a doc in the first place.
2) You can combine psychiatry with internal or family medicine and help people across the board, which is pretty cool in and of itself.
3) Psychiatry isn't going away.
4) Some docs may not like psychiatry, and that is fine, but as Doc Admin and others have pointed out in this forum, that is often simply people feeling uncomfortable with mental illness in general. It takes all kinds, you know? Not everyone is going into orthopaedic surgery.
5) There are some crappy psychiatrists out there, and (at the risk of sounding cocky) I think I would be a pretty decent and compassionate one.
6) A psychiatrist has quite a bit of leeway as to what type of practice they wish to pursue. More, according to what I have gathered from this site and other sources, than many other medical specialties.
Finally, I would just recommend that you don't let strange websites determine your future! It is your life and your career, and you are able to obtain real-life information with which to make your choices. During undergrad you can shadow some doctors, decide what you like and don't like, and then change your mind 5 or 6 more times in medical school. 😀
Good luck, and enjoy your undergrad experience!
Curtis Nordstrom
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"Unum nihil, duos plurimum posse..."
Agree with many pertinent points made by Corpsman-Up. I make it a practice when I hear negative critical comments about almost anything to ask myself what the motivation is of the critic. Sometimes the critic is motivated by good will and an honest attempt to offer assistance in his critique. Commonly, however, other motives may be identified that render the critical comments quite subjective or even deliberately biased to achieve a certain aim.
It is probably unnecessary to mention how much one can find of a dubious nature on the internet, and how impossible it can be to identify the true motives of the individual or group that has produced it.
I won't (and probably can't) run through all the motives for negative views of psychiatry, but they span a wide range from the political to the financial to the personal.
I feel confident in assuring you that psychiatry is a thriving discipline. I believe it will continue to grow more essential to people's needs, and more and more grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the human mind, experience and behavior.
My counsel would be to make your own assessment.
Agree with many pertinent points made by Corpsman-Up. I make it a practice when I hear negative critical comments about almost anything to ask myself what the motivation is of the critic. Sometimes the critic is motivated by good will and an honest attempt to offer assistance in his critique. Commonly, however, other motives may be identified that render the critical comments quite subjective or even deliberately biased to achieve a certain aim.
It is probably unnecessary to mention how much one can find of a dubious nature on the internet, and how impossible it can be to identify the true motives of the individual or group that has produced it.
I won't (and probably can't) run through all the motives for negative views of psychiatry, but they span a wide range from the political to the financial to the personal.
I feel confident in assuring you that psychiatry is a thriving discipline. I believe it will continue to grow more essential to people's needs, and more and more grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the human mind, experience and behavior.
My counsel would be to make your own assessment.