Hello everyone. I am just beginning my freshman year of college and planning out the rest of my life. It is so hard to knowingly select a path that will dictate my entire future, however psychiatry has always interested me a great deal.
I was wondering if any of you would know what kind of work I could do just by getting a 4 year degree in psychology. I'm not quite sure about committing to medical school and I'm curious about my options.
I was also wondering about the courses in medical school itself. I want to know what the main topics of study are. Hopefully you will aide my career decision and thank you for your time. 🙂
I just finished up my first year of medical school and the courses I took included anatomy, physiology, biochem, genetics, histology, pathology, microbiology, physical diagnosis and OMM (I'm attending an osteopathic school). 2nd year will include more clinical oriented classes like surgery, pediatrics, OB-GYN, pharmacology, along with some more core sciences like neuroscience. 3rd and 4th years are clinical rotations. Hope this helps 🙂
The majority of employment within psychology requires more in-depth education culminating in a higher degree. Usually at least a masters if not a Phd. or PsyD. is needed to work as a clinical or experimental psychologist. There are certain job opportunities in the government that only require a BA or BS in psychology, however since that is all that is required they are incredibly competitive. My suggestion would be you evaluate what kind of career you'd want to pursue. If you wished to perform only psychotherapy or behavioral studies or research I'd suggest you go to graduate school for psychology as it is easier (although by no means easy). If you'd rather see patients in a medical atmosphere and be able to prescribe medication medical school would be your best option. Good luck. Sorry for the long reply.