Are you passionate about helping individuals overcome mental health challenges and lead fulfilling lives? If so, a career in psychiatry might be the perfect fit for you. Psychiatrists play a crucial role in the field of mental healthcare, providing diagnosis, treatment, and support to patients facing various mental illnesses. 

In this comprehensive career guide, we will walk you through the path to becoming a psychiatrist, from the educational requirements to the necessary clinical skills and licensing processes. Whether you’re a student contemplating your future or a professional considering a career change, this blog will equip you with the knowledge and insights needed to embark on a rewarding journey as a psychiatrist. 

Get ready to delve into the fascinating world of psychiatry and discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals struggling with mental health conditions.

Understanding Psychiatry

The field of psychiatry is vast in scope and has evolved tremendously over the centuries. Before taking the first steps in your path to becoming a psychiatrist, it’s important to understand exactly what psychiatry is and how it fits into the broader field of medicine and mental health. So let’s start by defining it: Psychiatry is a medical discipline dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of mental disorders. 

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who are qualified to diagnose and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions. The responsibilities of a practicing psychiatrist can include conducting psychiatric evaluations, interpreting diagnostic tests, prescribing medications, and providing psychotherapy. Keep in mind that in addition to working in a clinical setting, psychiatrists can also be involved in medical research, mental health advocacy, education, and policy-making.  

Many professions fit under the umbrella of mental health, like psychologists, therapists, counselors, and social workers. There are a few key distinctions between psychiatry and other similar professions: 

1. Psychiatrists vs. Psychologists: The distinction between these two titles is related to how they treat patients. Psychiatrists have the ability to prescribe medication, whereas psychologists do not. Both can provide psychotherapy as a form of treatment, but this is most often the psychologist’s role. They sometimes work together as part of a medical health team to provide comprehensive treatment. 
2. Psychiatrists vs Therapists/Counselors: Therapists and counselors have very important roles in providing support to people dealing with a variety of mental health issues. However, they do not have the ability to formally diagnose and prescribe medication to treat many mental health conditions. 
3. Psychiatrists vs Social Workers: While some social workers have the role of providing mental health services similar to therapists and counselors, they also don’t have the medical background to treat mental health conditions with medication.

In sum, the main distinction between psychiatrists and other mental health professionals is that they are medical doctors who have the qualification to diagnose and treat with medication. 

Educational Requirements

The journey to getting that degree requires many years of education and training, even before attending medical school. We will walk through each of the educational requirements you will need to complete before starting your career. 

1. Preparing for undergraduate studies: A high school diploma is the first educational requirement needed on the path to becoming a psychiatrist. Beyond just graduating, high school students can begin preparing by taking science-based courses foundational for medical education (i.e., biology, chemistry, physics, math). 
2. Pursuing a bachelor’s degree: Popular undergrad majors for students who want to become psychiatrists are psychology, biology, or chemistry. There’s no specific major required to attend medical school, but there are “pre-med” course requirements that you will need to fulfill during your undergrad education. 
3. Applying to medical school: Before applying to medical school you’ll need to study for and pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Some students take the exam the summer before their fourth year of undergraduate studies, while others wait until after college to prepare for the MCAT. With your undergraduate degree, required courses complete, and strong test scores, you can begin researching different medical school programs and submitting your applications. 

Medical School and Residency Training

So you get into medical school. Yay! Now let’s go over what to expect from the medical school curriculum, the various specializations within psychiatry medicine, and what a psychiatry residency program consists of. 

Medical school curriculum overview: The curriculum won’t be the same at every school, but it is typically divided into two parts. The first 2 years of your graduate medical education, often called “preclinical studies,” will be a series of challenging medical science and ethics coursework (e.g., biochemistry, anatomy, medical law, etc). The second part of medical school is the “clinical years,” where you’ll learn from hands-on experience. Under the supervision of experienced doctors, you will work with patients in different contexts as you rotate through multiple specialties.

Specializations within psychiatry:  During those clinical years of medical school, you’ll explore various medical specialties, including psychiatry. The diverse field of psychiatry includes subspecialties, such as child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and more. Becoming a specialist in one of these subcategories requires additional medical education and training. 

Completing a psychiatry residency: Towards the end of medical school, students begin applying and interviewing for residency programs. Think of a medical residency as postgraduate training or the in-between phase of being a medical student and a fully autonomous psychiatrist. Most psychiatry residency programs are four years, in which you’ll work closely with patients in outpatient clinics, hospitals, and/or psychiatric facilities. 

Building Clinical Skills 

At this point, you may be wondering: What clinical skills will I need to develop during this education and training? Here are some key clinical skills you’ll need to build to become a psychiatrist: 

Clinical skills education is a large focus throughout medical education. The first key clinical skill you’ll need to develop is effective communication, which is a foundation for most other clinical skills. For psychiatrists especially, effective communication skills go beyond simple information exchange but also include learning, active listening, empathy, and relationship building. For example, psychiatrists will need to learn to conduct psychiatric evaluations and assessments, as well as formulate diagnoses and treatment plans. 

Another key psychiatric skill is implementing psychotherapeutic interventions. Psychotherapy (or “talk therapy”), which guides patients in understanding and managing their mental health conditions, is crucial for treatment. As mentioned, psychiatrists handle prescribing mental health medications, which requires them to develop relevant clinical skills and knowledge about pharmaceuticals. Finally, psychiatrists need to be able to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, as patients may also receive care from nurses, occupational therapists, or psychologists.  

Licensing and Board Certification

After residency, psychiatrists must obtain a state license to practice medicine legally. Requirements vary by state, but to become a licensed psychiatrist, all fifty states require you to pass all three parts of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), in addition to proof of medical education and training. After obtaining your required medical license, you have the choice to pursue board certification. 

While board certifications are not required to practice medicine, becoming board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) will demonstrate a higher level of expertise and enhance your credibility as a psychiatrist. Moreover, psychiatrists need to continue their education in the field throughout their career to maintain certification. 

Career Paths and Opportunities

Maybe you already know what you want to do as a psychiatrist, or maybe you only have a picture in your head of a psychiatrist sitting in a big chair across the room from a patient with a notebook in their hand. The reality is there are a variety of career paths you can take as a psychiatrist. Here are a few common career pathways: 

Private practice: Many psychiatrists choose private practice as a career path, which comes closest to that picture you might have in your head. In private practice, psychiatrists offer personalized care to patients in a 1-on-1 setting, which is a path that affords more flexibility, but also requires more business responsibilities. 

Academic and research positions: These positions are a great path if you’re interested in teaching and contributing to advancements in mental health research. Some psychiatrists work in universities doing research or teaching while also treating patients. 

Hospital and clinic employment: In this career path, psychiatrists work as part of larger healthcare teams, treating patients in various hospital settings. 

Government and nonprofit organizations: There are also numerous career opportunities within the government and nonprofit organizations that could involve working on public health, policy work, advocacy, or providing care to underserved populations. 

Achieve Your Dreams and Become a Psychiatrist

Now that you know all of the ins and outs of what you need to do to become a psychiatrist, it’s time to begin the process. 

We encourage you to take the first step by heading to CareerVillage.org to ask your career questions and get a response from a real psychiatrist in the field.