tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post75640557382741290..comments2024-03-27T10:50:53.692-05:00Comments on Real Psychiatry: Should Science, Engineering and Math Majors Go In To Psychiatry?George Dawson, MD, DFAPAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03474899831557543486noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-31697510236509071752016-11-25T21:11:35.264-06:002016-11-25T21:11:35.264-06:00Absolutely. What drew me to medicine in the first ...Absolutely. What drew me to medicine in the first place was neuroscience. As an engineer, I worked with a company that was putting microelectrodes in rat brains. After leaving engineering, I joined a behavioral neuroscience lab, which eventually led to medical school. I surely thought I would do psych/neuro, but somehow veered off the path. My interests lie in neuroimaging and computational psych, and hopefully wherever I end up affords me the opportunities to do research. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-66917522270113565062016-11-21T23:05:38.509-06:002016-11-21T23:05:38.509-06:00Good luck with the transition.
I had a conversati...Good luck with the transition.<br /><br />I had a conversation just today with another specialist who told me how fascinating he thought psychiatry was. He was aware of the explosion of relevant neuroscience information and even speculated that at some point the fields of neurology and psychiatry would merge again. He also talked about his interest in personality disorders.<br /><br />I have had these conversations with other physicians on a routine basis over the course of my career. That fact and the fact that there are large numbers of clinical psychiatrists interested in the neuroscience and basic science in the field - makes it quite interesting for the future. George Dawson, MD, DFAPAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474899831557543486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-7306763530169314532016-11-21T22:40:54.363-06:002016-11-21T22:40:54.363-06:00Thank you for the encouraging words, Dr. Dawson! I...Thank you for the encouraging words, Dr. Dawson! I am currently in the process of making the switch and will let you know how things turn out. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-48144469733318900872016-10-28T17:29:52.565-05:002016-10-28T17:29:52.565-05:00Sounds like a good idea to me.
I personally know ...Sounds like a good idea to me.<br /><br />I personally know many Internists, FPs, Cardiologists, and other specialists who either switched during residency or after and did a second residency. I considered dual certification (Medicine/Psychiatry) until during the interview process a dual certified interviewer told me that it is rare to do a traditional Medical practice when you are practicing psychiatry.<br /><br />I think that your interests in anesthesiology probably mesh very well with what I see as the hot areas of psychiatry both clinically and academically and I would say that is addiction and human consciousness. In my estimation (having worked with EEs and being an IEEE member) - the engineering background is always a plus. In your exposure to psychiatrists the only question is whether you have seen any of them in action and feel like you can interact clinically with patients that way. If you can - I would agree with considering the field. George Dawson, MD, DFAPAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474899831557543486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-59962654971773775702016-10-28T17:11:10.542-05:002016-10-28T17:11:10.542-05:00Hi, I'm currently an anesthesiology resident t...Hi, I'm currently an anesthesiology resident that was previously an electrical engineer and spent a lot of time volunteering with psychiatrists and entertaining the idea of the field. Ive reached the point where I think I may have made a mistake. The lack of long term care(which I thought I wouldn't want) and endless hours in the operating room don't seem to mesh with my personality, though I will say I love the subject matter of anesthesia. Any advice would be welcome, as I am now intent about switching to psychiatry, specifically with the goal of being a child or addiction specialist. Thanks in advance. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-76519763779882435792015-10-28T17:47:10.185-05:002015-10-28T17:47:10.185-05:00Choosing a profession can be a difficult decision ...Choosing a profession can be a difficult decision to make while you are still in college, but once you find something that you love doing, it make the choice all the more easy. Psychiatry is one of those fields in the sciences that studies human development, and thus, just like any other field of study, would require you to have a genuine like for the profession to practice it. It doesn't matter if you are good at the sciences, or math, if you have the determination to succeed in the field, I say go for it.<br /><br />http://www.bryanfennellychildpsychiatry.com Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05956709814025022192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7772182113499451603.post-4795280316721301272015-10-27T10:11:06.017-05:002015-10-27T10:11:06.017-05:00Paul Meehl once described the fallacy of bias agai...Paul Meehl once described the fallacy of bias against science and statistical types in mental health thusly: hard headed doesn't mean hard hearted and soft headed doesn't mean soft hearted. <br /><br />The problem going forward will be getting anyone with a solid science and math (especially statistics) background into medicine in general because of all the negativity in the field right now. Practically speaking, there are better options.<br /><br />This is really a damn shame because mental health needs a lot less hype about the newest unproven theory or me too drug and a lot more button down Cochrane type analysis of bad research in the field.<br /><br />James O'Brien, M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14994350319492582321noreply@blogger.com