How to Become a Psychiatrist
Help patients with mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders by becoming a physician specializing in mental health.
You notice when someone has a broken leg, and you can probably tell when someone has a cold. But it’s not always visible if someone is struggling with a painful mental or emotional disorder. If you’re interested in medicine and want to find an impactful way to help people, their families, and friends, take a look at how to become a psychiatrist.
Psychiatry is a way for you to directly impact society. The National Alliance on Mental Illness studies finds that one in 20 adults in the U.S. experience serious mental illness each year. As a psychiatrist, you can help young people too. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in children 10-14.
Let’s look at some details of how to become a psychiatrist, including the education required to be a psychiatrist, what the job is like, and how much a psychiatrist makes.
What Is a Psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor specializing in mental health to diagnose and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Psychiatrists also work with substance abuse patients and addicts. When you study how to become a psychiatrist, your education will take the same path as a medical doctor. You will focus on mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. When you become a psychiatrist, you'll treat patients with counseling, other forms of treatment, and medication.
Can You Learn How to Become a Psychiatrist With a Psychology Degree?
Although they both work with patients with mental health issues, a psychologist is not a medical doctor and cannot prescribe medication. Psychologists usually treat patients using “talk therapy” to help them learn coping skills. Talking with a psychologist is also a safe space for patients to talk through problems they don't feel comfortable discussing with friends or family.
You address a psychologist with a Ph.D. as "Dr." That may be where some of the confusion between a psychologist and a psychiatrist begins. Unlike a psychiatrist who goes to medical school, a psychologist studies psychology as an undergraduate and at graduate school. After graduate school, they may enter the workforce as a counselor, social worker, or in other related positions. Those who continue their education to earn a Ph.D. become "Dr." but are not medical doctors.
If you decide to pursue psychiatry with a psychology degree, you have a head start with your bachelor’s or master’s degree as long as you have taken the required science courses. You would then need to complete additional education, like attending medical school, and check off the other psychiatrist requirements.
What Does a Psychiatrist Do?
While learning how to become a psychiatrist, you’ve learned to work with all kinds of patients. You may be in a job where you see patients with various mental health issues. You might also have specialized in a particular area of psychiatry, such as substance abuse or adolescent psychiatry. Your first meeting with a new patient involves talking and getting a medical and family history. You may order tests that include physical tests and personality assessments. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) helps you diagnose conditions that these tests identify.
Once you’ve determined a diagnosis, you prescribe a treatment plan that can include talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, or medication and other medical treatments for your patient.
Some typical diagnoses for mental health disorders you may be familiar with are:
- Alcohol and substance abuse disorders
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Anxiety disorders
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Gambling disorder
- Mood disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Postpartum depression
- Schizophrenia
- Sleep disorders
This psychiatrist job description will give you an overall view of a psychiatrist’s primary responsibilities and the important characteristics that help a psychiatrist succeed. The skills most vital to a psychiatrist include:
- The ability to analyze and document information.
- Listening and verbal communication skills.
- The ability to build relationships and earn the trust of patients.
What Hours Do Psychiatrists Work?
Before studying how to become a psychiatrist, you should consider the work hours and environment where you’ll spend most of your time. Psychiatrists in private practice often work evenings and weekends when patients are available. In a hospital setting, hours may be longer and vary.
Just like any type of doctor, psychiatrists are on call for their patients at all times, so you’ll need to get coverage for vacation and other time off.
Where Do Psychiatrists Work?
While you study to be a psychiatrist, you will complete your internship and residency working in a hospital. You can choose to continue to work in hospitals or a variety of other settings. These include:
- psychiatric hospitals
- emergency rooms
- medical centers and clinics
- community agencies
- courts
- prisons
- nursing homes
- military settings
- hospice facilities
- private practices
While psychiatrists start their careers in a hospital or other facility, many transition to a private practice. About 50% of the 45,000 psychiatrists in the U.S. are in private practices.
How to Become a Psychiatrist
When you start your journey to become a psychiatrist, you'll invest a lot of time in the classroom, hospitals, and other medical settings. You’ll work with experienced psychiatrists and begin to work with patients during the latter part of your education.
Here are the steps to becoming a psychiatrist:
- Earn a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, biology, pre-med, or a related field.
- Attend medical school.
- Complete a four-year psychiatry residency program.
- Obtain a psychiatrist license.
1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
What degree do you need to be a psychiatrist? Your undergrad studies can be in health sciences, biology, pre-med, or a related field. While getting your bachelor’s degree, you can also work in a lab, participate in research, or do an internship to extend your education outside the classroom.
You’ll then move on to medical school.
2. Attend Medical School
To be accepted into a medical school program, you have to pass the MCAT test (Medical College Admission Test.)
You’ll attend four years of medical school. Medical school classes include basic science courses like biology and chemistry while advanced courses include behavioral science, human development, pharmacology, psychiatric interviewing, and psychodynamic therapy.
You will also take practicum courses where you shadow doctors and learn how to interact with patients.
Upon graduation from medical school, you will receive your Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree and will be eligible to serve a hospital residency.
3. Complete a Psychiatry Residency
To be admitted into a residency program, you need to pass the Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
During your four years in a residency program, you’ll work under supervision in a hospital. The first year of residency is called an internship. Psychiatry interns spend two months in a neurology department and then rotate through areas of general medical care such as internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics.
Once you complete a residency, you can choose a specialty area, such as working with children and adolescents, geriatric patients, or people with substance abuse disorders. In that case, you can complete a fellowship for additional training.
4. Obtain a Psychiatrist License
After you’ve completed your residency, the last steps you’ll take before you can practice as a psychiatrist are obtaining certification and licensing. You must pass the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) oral and written certification exam. The board also administers tests and issues certificates for psychiatric specialties.
States require you to obtain a license for the state in which you live.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychiatrist?
It takes a minimum of 12 years to learn how to become a psychiatrist, and it can be longer if you decide you’d like to practice in a specialty area of psychiatry.
Earning a bachelor’s degree takes about four years. Then attending med school takes about four years as well. Add that to four years of a psychiatry residency for about 12 years of education and training in total.
How Much Do Psychiatrists Make?
The mean salary for a psychiatrist in the U.S. is $166,001. Salaries vary by the type of facility you practice in. Psychiatrists with the highest salaries work in outpatient care centers and make a mean salary of $299,470.
Your salary also depends on where you live and practice. You can look up the average salary for a psychiatrist in your location by using the Monster Salary Guide.
How to Find Psychiatrist Jobs
Once you’re a fully licensed psychiatrist, it’s time to find a job. But before you start applying, make sure have an updated resume. You’ll list your education, schools you attended and where you served your residency, along with the types of patients you’ve worked with, any research you’ve published, and any specialty areas you’ve studied. Your cover letter can detail why you chose psychiatry as a career. You can write about your goals and the type of facility and patients you are hoping to work with.
Then you can search for psychiatrist jobs on Monster.
Not sure where to look for your first psychiatrist job? The BLS has identified the top five states and areas with the highest employment levels for psychiatrists.
States with high demand for psychiatrists:
Areas with high demand for psychiatrists:
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