The Yale Medical Student Psychiatric Association (YMSPA) hosted a virtual career panel October 1 to help Yale School of Medicine students learn more about careers in psychiatry.
A panel of eight psychiatrist attendings and residents - Theddeus Iheanacho, MD; Chadrick Lane, MD; Gustavo Angarita, MD; Matthew Goldenberg, MD, MSc; Sofia Noori, MD, MPH (PGY-4); Brooke Lifland, MD (PGY-3); Zachary Harvanek, MD, PhD (PGY-3); and Michael McClurkin, MD, MPP (PGY-2) - spoke at the event.
They discussed various topics over the hour, including reasons for choosing psychiatry, typical work day, residency applications, research track residencies/careers, and the general medicine aspects of psychiatry. Many panelists reported not considering psychiatry until they had positive experiences during their psychiatry clerkships. Those panelists discussed how they translated their previous non-psychiatry research and clinical experiences when they applied for psychiatry residencies.
Panelists also highlighted how psychiatry allows them to positively impact their patients’ psychosocial health factors outside of the hospital, and why that was another factor driving them to choose psychiatry.
Some students voiced concerns about missing out on aspects of general medicine by choosing psychiatry, but multiple panelists spoke to how medical illness management is still regularly needed to treat psychiatric patients with comorbidities — especially in inpatient or ER treatment settings.
YMSPA is a student interest group that seeks to foster interest in the field of psychiatry through events that bring faculty and students from Yale School of Medicine together. The organization hopes to hold similar career fairs in future years.