Required Qualifications To Practice Orange County Psychiatry

By Cecile Ingram


Preparing for admission to medical school should start in college. It is important to complete courses in physics, biology, chemistry, math and other sciences. Grades must be almost perfect. The aspiring doctor should do volunteer work in a medical setting such as a clinic to prepare for a career practicing Orange County psychiatry.

Four years of medical school follow graduation from college with a bachelor degree. Then you will apply to become a resident. It requires four years to complete a residency in psychiatry. During that time you will gain experience by treating patients under the supervision of an established doctor.

When the residency is completed, there is a licensing requirement to fulfill. Each physician must be licensed in the state where he or she will practice. After passing that exam, there is an option to take another to become board certified. That certification will be in effect for a decade and may lead to more job opportunities.

The diagnosing of the mental status of each patient starts with a thorough exam and mental assessment. There are psychological tests and a physical exam that are conducted. There are additional tests such as neuroimaging that are sometimes necessary. Each diagnosis must conform to the standards presented in the DSM, which is a manual giving the symptoms that identify each mental disorder.

Another widely used reference book is the International Classification of Diseases, known as the ICD. After a diagnosis is completed, treatment may include psychotherapy and prescription medication in conjunction with each other. A serious disorder will require inpatient treatment. Many are treated on an outpatient basis, possibly with weekly or monthly appointments.

It was in 1967 that the inappropriate treatments, lobotomy and electroshock therapy were found to be detrimental. The lobotomy was an operation that removed aggressive tendencies from problem patients. However, by removing a part of the frontal lobe of the brain, they removed the personality as well. The patient was left in an almost vegetative state as far as cognition was concerned.

Electroconvulsive therapy was also called shock therapy and sounds like something out of a Frankenstein movie. Electric current was administered to bring a depressed patient back to reality. It was used if nothing else worked. It caused convulsions, broken teeth and in some cases, fractured bones.

A psychiatrist must consider physical effects also. The human being is a complex combination of both mental and physical components. It is likely that the mental disorder will have physical repercussions. Having training in the physical assists in treating the whole patient instead of fragmented parts.

Three facets of psychiatry are mental illness, severe learning disabilities and personality disorder. There has been a change in methods of diagnosing and treating mental disorders, aligning them more closely with physical medical practices.

The psychologist will meet with the psychiatrist to discuss what they can do that will best help the patient. However, the inpatient may have those sessions with the psychiatrist. A plan is altered to suit the needs of each patient.

Orange County psychiatry may encompass a group of subspecialties in addition to general practice. Included are child and adolescent, addiction, cross-cultural, forensic, social and neuropsychiatry. These demographics may also be treated by the general practitioner.




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