Life as a psychiatry resident (2024)

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shoenberg3

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  • Feb 18, 2021
  • #1

Hello,

I am curious about the average work hour of a psychiatry resident.
Unfortunately, I don't know any psychiatrists/residents personally that I could ask.

I understand that it would vary widely based on the program but I want to get a very rough idea...

What I am looking for is:
For an average PGY1/PGY2/PGY3/PGY4,
what would be average number of on-call days, M-F work hours (or do some programs have 6 day work weeks?) and vacation days per year?
And are national holidays observed?

I appreciate any input that you may have.
Thank you in advance!

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rjs2131

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  • Feb 19, 2021
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This is so incredibly program specific...are you a medical student?

In general, psychiatry residency is less hours/week than IM (and definitely less than surgery). PGY1/PGY2 tend to be call heavy in many programs and you can expect to work more nights/weekends these two years - personally, it ended up being 60-70% of weekends intern year, 50-60% of weekends PGY-2, and then 10-20% or less after that. Our intern year we did 1 month of night float in the ED, 1-2 months of nights as PGY-2 (ED and state hospital), none after that.

Many programs have 6-day work weeks while you're on an inpatient service (inpatient psych, CL, internal medicine, sometimes neurology).

Long story short - don't expect much free time PGY-1/PGY-2 at most programs, though definitely enough to have decent work-life balance compared to other fields. I think 50-60 hrs/week is probably a fair estimate in general for the first 1-2 years. PGY-3 and beyond tend to be way better and more like 30-40 hrs/week.

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comp1

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  • Feb 19, 2021
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Oh there is no average, unfortunately. Some programs like San Mateo are call free and just M-F, or at least they were. Some spread out outpatient over all 4 years, some concentrate it on one year. I would recommend picking a geographic area you are interested in and going to the websites of those specific programs.

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NickNaylor

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  • Feb 20, 2021
  • #5

Every program is going to be different, as mentioned above, since every program is going to structure things like call responsibilities differently. My program did not have any meaningful call responsibility after PGY-2, and with rare exception the bulk of PGY-3/4 was outpatient work. Our PGY-2 year was significantly more difficult from a time perspective than our PGY-1 year as even though all of our rotations were in psychiatric settings, the hours were generally much greater with lots of call and weekend coverage. This is what I'd estimate I worked by year:

PGY-1: 50-70 hours/week, depending on the rotation
PGY-2: 60-70 hours/week, depending on the rotation
PGY-3: 35-40 hours/week; I was moonlighting 20-30+ hours/week outside of residency duties, so for me my work schedule was essentially unchanged
PGY-4: Same as PGY-3

tinyhandsbob

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  • Mar 19, 2021
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Is there a difference between academic and community residencies in regards to the hours worked?

Also and this is a weird question- I've been wondering how cultural differences play into the hours worked in residencies. My hunch is that residencies in places with a more laid back, beach/vacation type culture work less hours (i.e. San Diego, Miami, LA versus say New York, Seattle, Boston). Does anyone have any knowledge corroborating this?

ArdorAyurveda

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  • Mar 19, 2021
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tinyhandsbob said:

Is there a difference between academic and community residencies in regards to the hours worked?

Also and this is a weird question- I've been wondering how cultural differences play into the hours worked in residencies. My hunch is that residencies in places with a more laid back, beach/vacation type culture work less hours (i.e. San Diego, Miami, LA versus say New York, Seattle, Boston). Does anyone have any knowledge corroborating this?

Miami is known for being a workhorse program. Call schedule is pretty brutal according the psychiatry residency spreadsheet. You can find it on reddit. It'll be program specific, you just have to look up the call schedule at each place.

If you're looking for a beach/vacation type place with chill call, consider UTMB - Galveston. There's a psychiatry residency in Savannah, GA, but I don't know much about it's call schedule, I think it's a relatively new residency, too.

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Life as a psychiatry resident (2024)

FAQs

How to answer psychiatry residency interview questions? ›

In your response, tell the interviewer about a difficult aspect of your job as a psychiatrist and explain how you've overcome or plan to overcome it. Example: "Working with a patient who doesn't want or thinks they don't need treatment has been the most difficult situation for me.

How stressful is psychiatry residency? ›

Psychiatry residents likely experience somewhat different stressful adversities than internal medicine residents, although they have some key experiences in common, including verbal abuse from families and patients, medical error, academic performance, and verbal abuse by members of the health care team.

Is it difficult to get a psychiatry residency? ›

A psychiatry residency is one of the most competitive residencies in the US and Canada, especially as demand for mental health care grows.

What is the hardest part of a career in psychiatry? ›

Here are the most frequent responses from psychiatrists when asked what part of their jobs they find most challenging, starting with the most common response: Dealing with difficult patients: 27% Having so many rules and regulations: 22% Working with an EHR system: 13%

How competitive is psych residency? ›

No, psychiatry isn't a competitive residency. The probability of a person matching is about 76%. Recent data shows that psychiatry had 2,486 applicants and 1,858 spots. However, it is even less competitive for M.D. seniors.

How many residency interviews should I have for psychiatry residency? ›

Results show that U.S. seniors who matched into psychiatry applied to a median of 37 programs, while those who didn't match applied to a median of 45 programs. Matched applicants, of the 37 programs they applied to, were offered a median of 13 interviews, attended 11, and ranked 11.

What is the attrition rate for psychiatry residency? ›

Key Takeaways. Residency dropout rates range by specialty from 0.46% among dermatologists to 7.53% among psychiatrists.

Which psychiatry subspecialty pays the most? ›

Typically, child, geriatric, and pediatric psychiatrists make the most money. Child psychiatrists start at about $144,000 and advance to $277,000, while geriatric psychiatrists begin at $196,000 and eventually make $252,000.

Do psychiatrists make money during residency? ›

As of Jun 10, 2024, the average annual pay for a Psychiatry Resident in Los Angeles is $56,776 a year.

What are the challenges of psychiatry residency? ›

Psychiatry residency training includes unique characteristics that can predispose trainees to burnout, including vicarious traumatization, prevalence of patient suicide and violence in the workplace, and social stigma surrounding mental health.

What is the least competitive medical residency? ›

  1. Family Medicine. Family medicine is one of the easiest medical specialties. ...
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  5. Internal Medicine. ...
  6. Anesthesiology. ...
  7. Obstetrics-Gynecology. ...
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What is the average number of psychiatry residency applications? ›

We recommend that you apply to a maximum of 30–35 programs. The ideal range would be between 15–35 programs. Considering the students that submitted the above number of applications had a 94.8% match rate, it's safe to say you can follow these averages as guidelines during your own residency application process.

Is psychiatry harder than psychology? ›

Whether becoming a psychiatrist is “harder” than becoming a psychologist is somewhat subjective. It heavily depends on individual preferences and strengths. While becoming a psychiatrist involves more years of education, including medical school and a residency, the path to clinical psychology changes.

What is the burnout syndrome in psychiatry? ›

Burnout is defined as the exhaustion resulting from chronic stress which results in staff sickness causing depletion of resources, and emotional and mental fatigue.

Is psychiatry a stable career? ›

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6.7% employment growth for psychiatrists between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 1,900 jobs should open up. Psychiatrists are physicians who diagnose, treat and work to prevent disorders relating to the mind and mental health.

How do I prepare for a psychiatrist interview? ›

How to prepare for psychiatrist appointment
  1. Gather the necessary information. ...
  2. Write down questions and concerns. ...
  3. Be prepared to share your feelings. ...
  4. Understand your goals. ...
  5. Think about potential barriers. ...
  6. Track your symptoms. ...
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What are the three important components of the psychiatric interview? ›

The three important components of this interview are patient history, health examination and clinical judgment. Patient history includes gathering information about previous medical conditions and medications.

How do I ace my residency interview? ›

During the residency interview, be prepared to discuss your relevant experience and achievements, including any rotations, research projects, publications, or presentations. Emphasize how your experiences have prepared you for a residency program and how you plan to use this training in your future career.

How to answer residency interview questions? ›

You must prepare an answer specific to the strengths and goals of each program; you can't have a vague, one-fits-all statement. To understand the strengths and weaknesses of a specific program, you are interested in applying to, research it.

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