Psychiatry, what's wrong with that?

My husband finished med school with an A average, kicked ass and whipped all of his friends butts in their boards by a long shot, could have gone into anything.

He chose to do psych. For the time/money as compared to other specialties he felt it was best for him, us.

I've noticed, he's looked down upon in some ways by friends and colleagues for his choice. I'd love to throw his board scores in some of these peoples faces.

Why is this specialty so frowned upon? He says it doesn't bother him, but I know it does.

The general pop. doesn't know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I guess this bugs me too. Sometimes I think, he should've chosen something else, just because he could have. But, this is what he wanted.

I'm so proud of his scores, yet no one sees that, they just see psych. I feel like I should carry them around with me or something to prove that he didn't HAVE to do psych, he WANTED to do it.

I guess i'm asking, why is it so frowned upon?

[DCJenn]

Because there's still a HUGE stigma with mental illness and the stigma stretches to those who work with people with MI (and Mental Retardation, too)

We have a very good friend who is a psych in Iraq right now- if ever there was a more needed profession...

I have spent my entire career working with psychiatrists and neurologists and I do know how incredibly talented you have to be to WANT to figure out the human brain.

Jenn

(and my husband, the peds neurologist in training gets much the same reaction)

My DH had considered Psych before he did his surgery rotation where he "discovered his calling."
I think there is still an enormous stigma with Psychiatrists and an image that continues to stick in the minds of most. That of a shrink and his patients lying on a couch talking about how depressed they are. It's so much more than this.
I say thank goodness that a doctor with plenty of options has CHOSEN to go into psychiatry. He will be a great doctor and will mostly likely continue to pave the way to eliminating the stereotypes.
I think the field of psychiatry is one of the most exciting fields of medicine. Studying the brain is unchartered territory compared to what we know about the rest of the body.
We now can say there is a biological basis for most "mental illness". Studying psychiatry means studying the way we form memories, learn, think and interact with the world. All of which are intricately connected to genetics, environment and even nutrition.
There is a plethora of opportunity for research and change!
If you have to explain and justify to some, I say you don't want to be friends with them anyway. Unfortunately, these people exist in medicine as well.

Yes, that is also a big stereotype, that he talks to people about their feelings all day.

The majority of people he sees are committed, and don't have casual chats with feeling talks.

The hospital my hubby is at has 120 psych beds, with 60 at another location. When he is on call, he is the only one on call and responsible for the health of 180 patients, all he does is deal with their medical issues and problems the whole time, no "lie down on a couch and let's have a chat" kind of stuff.

I try to do what I can to promote the understanding of this speciality. It indeed HAS medicine involved in every aspect of it.

[Flynn]

I think it has to do with the thought that it is "more subjective" than other areas of medicine and therefore less technical/difficult. It's as if some people believe you can make it up as you go along. Obviously that's incorrect.

I also think it is the stereotype associated with Psych people. Surgeons are the "ass&*^(%," family medicine are the people who were smart enough to be docs, not smart enough to do anything else, and Psych people are well, wierd.

All short sighted and judgemental of course but these thoughts are out there nonetheless.

Who cares what people think? Most people don't know a damn thing about becoming a doc let alone the individual types of medicine.