I want to become a psychiatrist but i don't think i am smart enough?

[bailey]

i am in year 11 (uk) and doing my gcse's soon. i take pe, health and social and art as my gcse's (including my general subjects) i am predicted all of my gcse's, mostly c's and some b's except for science which i am predicted a high D. i am trying my HARDEST to get at least a C in all of my subjects and i am determined to get them. I have already applied for my sixth form where i chose, Media, Sociology, Art, and Philosophy. I wanted to choose psychology but they told be you needed to be predicted higher grades. I have always wanted to do medicine in uni, but now i am starting to realise i won't manage with my grades, and with the courses i have picked (i can still change them) i do realise i need chemistry biology and maths, but i do not want to pick subjects for myself for sixth form that i am not very good at. what should i do

[Auroch]

Well.... be a psychologist. You can't imagine how many people out there are desperate for somebody to talk to. And you don't need to be a brainiack... you just need to have a good heart. If you use the brain you have, I bet you'd be fine.

All a psychiatrist does is push psycho-tropic drugs... they don't really talk to people much. A psychologist, on the other hand, can't push dope on people - so they're the guy you talk to. It's a much more rewarding life. Human communication is curative.

Read some Alice Miller - look her up on Amazon - best psychologist I ever read. "Drama of the Gifted Child".

Another terribly interesting area along the same line is psycho-somatic medicine. And to read about that get some Dr. Sarno - "Divided Mind". Great stuff. How much suffering and pain in the world is not physical??? But unfortunately it's mostly treated as physical - so people are hooked on needless drugs and getting worthless operations.

[Michael]

I believe that with the right mindset and the willingness to make some sacrifices, you can definitely become a psychiatrist. Keep trying... There is no way around it; you have to take those courses in order to become a psychiatrist, which is also my DREAM.

Persistence is key


edit: I heavily agree with Auroch. Psychologists salaries are far lower than psychiatrist, but honestly I think it's a better career and it will take 1/3 of the time to get a degree for that.

[Y]

I understand that you might feel incapable and not intelligent enough. I'm a medical student and sometimes I look at my colleagues and think, "wow they are so intelligent"; but something a lot of people do not know is that not everyone in med school is a "genius".

I know a few colleagues of mine that are not as bright, compared to the others; but the reason why these students are able to stick it out in med school and pass exam after exam is because they are hard working. I even know a neurosurgeon that once said, "you don't have to be a brain box to become a neurosurgeon". She said that one of her colleagues was not the smartest in med school, but because he was so incredibly hard working, he graduated med school, got into general surgery training, finished that and specialised in neurosurgery. He was able to do this, not because he was the smartest, but he was probably one of the most hard working students.

If you work hard enough, you MIGHT be able to get into med school and subsequently train as a psychiatrist. You say you're trying your hardest but all you're coming up with is C grades, maybe you should change your study techniques and see if that helps and of course, if medicine is what you want to do, you have to change your A-level subjects. You need chemistry, and another science (from physics, biology or maths) and a 3rd rigorous subject (e.g. another science or an essay based subject like English Lit or History) all taken up to A2 and then a 4th AS subject excluding general studies and critical thinking. So you could choose chemistry, biology, English literature and Philosophy (AS). You don't need maths and if you're not very good at it, you probably should not choose it; but to be honest with you, AS maths is incredibly easy, once you get the basics, it's easy to work out any question

I know some people, including colleagues of mine who will simply tell you, "if you're struggling with GCSEs, forget about medicine" and I suppose they would say that because a lot of students who struggle with GCSEs will probably never get into med school and if they somehow do, will struggle in med school. But if your study technique is wrong, that might be the reason for your struggling. If you change your study technique and you're still struggling and even with all the hard-work not achieving great grades, then it might be time to look at other career options. Otherwise, keep trying.

[Maria]

No doubt for studying medicine you would be needing higher grades. But, since you are unable to do so don't get yourself stressed. You can simply become a psychologist...

First let me tell you the difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist...

A psychiatrist is someone who can prescribe drugs and holds an MBBS Degree. They do not talk to people or undergo any therapy whereas a psychologist is someone who specializes in many therapies and teaches people skills to improve their personal self or relationships.

To become a psychologist does not require extraordinary grades. Yet the field is now growing and now in demand.

There are many areas which you could study. You can go for

1. Applied Psychology (covering all areas of psychology).

2. Clinical Psychology (deals with the psychiatric disorders).

3. Neuropsychology (deals structure and function of the brain as they relate to specific psychological processes and behaviors).

4. Environmental psychology ( deals with the interplay between humans and their surroundings).

5. Industrial Psychology (study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance, satisfaction, safety, health and well-being of its employees).

6. Child Psychology (deals with the social and mental development of children).

7. Educational Psychology (study of human learning. This involves studying instructional processes within the classroom setting. Study of learning processes, both cognitive and affective, allows researchers to understand individual differences in behavior, personality, intellect, and self- concept. It heavily relies on testing, measurement, assessment, evaluation, and training to enhance educational activities and learning processes).

So, there are a variety of fields in which you can pursue your career. If you still want to be a psychiatrist being a clinical psychologist is the best alternative. Choice is yours..

Best of Luck..!!!