Psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who care for and treat people with mental health problems. You will be dealing with issues like depression, panic attacks, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and severe mental illness.

Work activities

If you choose to become a psychiatrist, you will be assessing, diagnosing and treating patients with mental health problems. These problems can take many different forms, including:

Depression.
Eating disorders.
Panic attacks and anxiety.
Drug and alcohol abuse.
Phobias.
Schizophrenia.

You will use a range of techniques to assess and diagnose your patients. Like other types of doctor, you will need to ask the patient careful questions to draw out important information. Psychiatrists also work closely with other professionals, such as GPs and mental health social workers, to make a diagnosis. Many mental health problems and illnesses can be treated very effectively. Because you will be a qualified medical doctor, you can prescribe drugs, although there are many other types of treatment.

Within psychiatry, there are several specialist areas (specialties), for example:

General adult psychiatrists need a broad knowledge of psychiatric issues and treatments, although they might have a specialist interest in an area such as eating disorders or drug dependency.
The psychiatry of old age is about the mental health problems that some older people suffer from. The treatment and care of people with dementia is a major challenge, although psychiatrists in this area deal with the full range of psychiatric problems.
Child and adolescent psychiatry is to do with the intellectual, emotional and behavioural problems of children from birth up to school-leaving age. The psychiatrist has to form a close relationship with the child and their family. They deal with issues such as eating disorders, problems with fitting in at school, alcohol and drug abuse, and depression.
Forensic psychiatrists work with criminal offenders who have mental health problems. They care for and treat offenders in prisons, as well as in general and psychiatric hospitals. Forensic psychiatrists also work with law courts, helping to decide on issues such as criminal responsibility.
Learning disability psychiatrists treat the mental health problems of people with learning disabilities. For example, a patient with learning difficulties might also have depression, anxiety or a lot of frustration.

While all psychiatrists need basic psychotherapy skills, some choose to specialise in medical psychotherapy. They assess and treat people who have, for example, personality and behaviour disorders, sexual and interpersonal problems. They use talking treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy.

Personal qualities and skills

You will need:

A concern for people.
An enquiring mind.
An interest in people.
An open mind.
Imagination.
Ability to handle pressure.
Patience.
Determination.
Decisiveness.
Humility.

Pay and opportunities

In order to become a psychiatrist, you must first train as a doctor, and then specialise. According to National Careers Service, you can earn between £40,257 and £77,274 depending on your specialism, experience, responsibilities and employer.

Hospital psychiatrists’ working hours can be long and irregular. They may include shift, weekend and public holiday work.

Employers include the NHS (in hospitals and community settings) and private medical companies, the armed forces, government departments, and research and teaching establishments. Opportunities for psychiatrists occur in towns and cities throughout the UK.

There are opportunities for psychiatrists to work in private practice.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on the NHS Jobs website, in professional journals and on specialist and general job boards.

Entry routes and training

In order to become a psychiatrist, you must first train as a doctor, and then specialise. Entry into a medical school is tough. You will be called for an interview and will face searching questions about your motivation, your work at school, hobbies and personal interests, as well as having to produce evidence of your academic achievements. A key question will be your reasons for wanting to become a medical professional. You should also be able to demonstrate relevant paid or voluntary work experience e.g., work as a hospital auxiliary, in nursing or residential care.

You would normally follow a five-year degree in medicine. After graduating, you will need to complete a further period of training and progression.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This career is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

For entry to a degree course in medicine, the usual requirement is three A-levels at high grades. Chemistry is usually essential, with at least one other science subject or maths. Of these, many universities ask for biology. Competition for entry to medicine degrees is very strong, so you are likely to need high grades in your A-levels. Most university medical schools ask for at least AAA and some for combinations such as A*AA.

You will also need high grades in five GCSEs, including English, maths and science subjects.

Medical students may apply for student loans to cover maintenance and tuition fees. However, the final years of their study may be covered by the NHS Bursary Scheme – see Gov.uk for details.

You will usually need to sit an admission test, as well as applying through UCAS. Examples are:

UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is used in the selection procedure for most medical schools. It is not a test of knowledge but is instead designed to make sure you have the appropriate mental abilities, attitudes and professional behaviour to be a doctor. You should ideally take the test before you apply to the school through UCAS. Please see the UKCAT website for more information.
BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT). You will need to take this if you apply for certain universities in the UK and abroad.
Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT UK) if you’re applying for certain four-year graduate-entry medicine courses. For more information, please see the GAMSAT website.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

If you don’t have the usual academic qualifications needed for a degree in medicine, you might be able to enter the course through:

An Access to Medicine course.
A “pre-medical” or “foundation” year, if you don’t have science A-levels. Medical schools increasingly welcome applications from graduates. Graduate candidates normally need a first or upper second-class honours degree. Some medical schools require the degree to be in a science-related subject, whilst others do not, so make sure you check with your intended medical school. There are also shortened or fast-track medical degrees, usually lasting four years, for graduates. You would usually need a relevant first degree, for example, in a science subject, although some universities accept graduates in any subject.
You can train in a specialty (once qualified as a doctor) on a part-time basis. This can be through the NHS “Less Than Full-time Training Programme”, through which students cover 50-80% of the normal full-time weekly programme. Other options for part-time training are job-sharing and permanent part-time.
Students on university courses in medicine (recognised by the General Medical Council) may be eligible for financial help from the NHS as part of their course. If you are accepted onto approved courses, you might be eligible to receive financial support from the NHS. The timing of when this is provided depends on the type of course you are doing.

Related careers

Clinical psychologist
Doctor
General practitioner
Hypnotherapist
Nurse – mental health
Psychotherapist