Careers in Psychiatry
Psychiatrist deal and treat all patients with mental illnesses. Over the past 20 years, psychiatry has changed significantly with the establishment of smaller modern centres aimed at developing more effective treatments, as opposed to long-term management of patients. The aim of this is to create a more community based setting which allows patients to be have shorter hospital stays, thus giving them a greater chance of rehabilitation. Research has shown shorter hospital periods can positively affect the physical and psychological impact of acute psychiatric illness sufferers. The various forms of careers in psychiatry include:
Child and Adolescent psychiatry: This field focuses on the diagnosis and management of mental illnesses in infants up to mid-teens.
Personal skills required include:
- Interacting with patients and children
- Team working skills
- Leadership and developing services
- Must enjoy psychotherapy, biological psychiatry or service management
Forensic Psychiatry: This arguably the most difficult sub-specialty of psychiatry. It focuses on assessing and treating patients and/or offenders who have the highest level of psychiatric disorders and behavioural disturbances.
Personal skills required include:
- Sound knowledge of general psychiatry
- Good clinical skills
- Multi-dimensional investigative skills
- Clarity of written and verbal expression
- Strong leadership skills
- Willingness to see patients at short notice
General Psychiatrist (Mental Illness): This area focuses on working with patients in a hospital or community settings. The three sub-specialties within general psychiatry are: addiction psychiatry, rehabilitation psychiatry and liaison psychiatry.
Personal skills required:
- Ability to adopt new answers, skills and attitudes
- Patience
- High level of interviewing skills
- Strong team working and leadership skills
Learning disabilities: This field focuses on managing the emotional, behavioural and psychiatric aspects of patients and how it affects their learning disabilities. Examples include mental handicap and mental retardation.
Personal skills required:
- Ability to cope with uncertainty and display empathy
- Have a questioning approach to diagnosis, classification and intervention
- Guiding clinical practice with information gathered
- See opportunities for research that can improve treatment or help the needs of the wider community
Old age psychiatry: This is a rapidly growing field which focuses on assessing and treating patients over 65 years old. Forms of mental illnesses may include depression, dementias, schizophrenia, etc
Personal skills required:
- Interest in both medicine and psychiatry
- Desire to provide continuing care for patients and their families
Psychotherapy: This field involveds integrating cognitive-behavioural models and systematic work to treat patients and modify their pattern of thought.
Personal skills required:
- Interpersonal skills and the ability to empathise
- Team working skills
- Lead in clinical and management issues
- Skills in reflective learning