I hate to be be gloomy, but my first two months on psychiatry were a bit disappointing. For starters, I have been working overnight every 5 to 6 days. This is far better than many resident schedules, but I still despise it. Staying up all night is not bad of in itself. I actually like the quiet atmosphere of the hospital after hours. The problem has working the next day; we are supposed to get out early but that never happens.
As for the work itself, my first rotation was spent on the neuropsychiatry team. Most all my patients had an underlying neurological condition: seizure disorder, traumatic brain injury, dementia or something of that sort. I had a few catatonic patients and even performed electroconvulsive therapy! Unfortunately, a number of my patient were non-verbal group home residents with severe mental retardation. They were mostly admitted to have their medications tweaked after aggressive behaviors. It's important work, but definitely not for me. Thankfully I had a great attending and still learned lots.
I am now at the Veteran's Hospital inpatient psych unit. It's a pleasure to have patients who can actually hold a conversation. The unit is known to have a lot of patients with substance abuse and social (as opposed to psychiatric) issues, but I have already been assigned a few interesting psychotic patients. One of them is extremely sick, the type of person you might see talking to himself on the streets. The other is a bright guy who seems entirely "normal" until he starts talking about his distressing delusions. It should be a good month.
As for the work itself, my first rotation was spent on the neuropsychiatry team. Most all my patients had an underlying neurological condition: seizure disorder, traumatic brain injury, dementia or something of that sort. I had a few catatonic patients and even performed electroconvulsive therapy! Unfortunately, a number of my patient were non-verbal group home residents with severe mental retardation. They were mostly admitted to have their medications tweaked after aggressive behaviors. It's important work, but definitely not for me. Thankfully I had a great attending and still learned lots.
I am now at the Veteran's Hospital inpatient psych unit. It's a pleasure to have patients who can actually hold a conversation. The unit is known to have a lot of patients with substance abuse and social (as opposed to psychiatric) issues, but I have already been assigned a few interesting psychotic patients. One of them is extremely sick, the type of person you might see talking to himself on the streets. The other is a bright guy who seems entirely "normal" until he starts talking about his distressing delusions. It should be a good month.
