How To Become A Psychiatrist
There are some people who wish to pick a particular field or career for the reason that they wish to make the world a better place. This is true in the field of psychiatry s compared to any other occupation. Psychiatrists are truly in the front lines of ‘helping’ professions.
The field is satisfying for the right person who wants to know how to become a psychiatrist. However, the road to becoming a psychiatrist is not easy, and even the most intelligent fail if not doing enough hard work, diligence, and a strong work ethic.
If you really wish to become a psychiatrist, the very first step is earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in biology, or a bachelor’s in biology with a minor in psychology. Other related science degrees may also apply.
Though most people perceive a psychiatrist to be the same thing as a therapist, this is a misconception. While both psychiatrists and therapists are qualified to perform talk therapy and other forms of mental health hygiene, psychiatrists are medical doctors who are able to prescribe medications.
Psychologists and therapists can only counsel patients and work with a psychiatrist to offer more efficient service. Therefore, to become a psychiatrist you must first acquire a bachelor’s degree in a related field and then continue on to complete medical school.
As with many careers, hands-on experience is vital to your success. You might also wish to consider having some first-hand experience in the hospital specifically the mental ward or psychiatric clinic, while concurrently earning both your undergraduate and medical degrees.
As a part of your degree program, you will most likely be required to do some clinical work in order for you to gain added experience. Once you are already done with your schooling, you will work as a resident doctor in a hospital or clinic.
You also have to bear in mind that schooling doesn’t come cheap, especially when referring to medical school. Most students can expect to graduate from medical school with a rather large debt in student loans.
However, the salary of psychiatrists can be quite generous, which will allow you to eventually pay off those debts. You might want to save up first before considering becoming a psychiatrist since it can be very expensive but once you are done with school and become a psychiatrist, you would definitely earn a lot of money and you can pay off the money you used when you decided to become one.
Psychiatry is something special and it takes a lot of patience and perseverance for you to be one so now that you know how to become a psychiatrist, you definitely might want to consider becoming one.
