Children with physical medical conditions or disfigurements can be treated by family doctors or various specialists. It's harder to diagnose and treat children with mental illnesses or behavioral problems, which is the work of child psychiatrists. Normal, healthy children exhibit a wide range of behaviors, so diagnosing those with genuine problems requires a significant degree of training and education.
Psychiatrists and child psychiatrists are fully trained doctors. Like other physicians, psychiatrists launch their careers by earning an undergraduate pre-medical degree. These programs typically last four years, and provide the prerequisites required for entry to medical school. These typically include written communications, calculus or statistics and a wide range of science courses. Physics, biology, chemistry and organic chemistry are all required by most medical schools. Some schools also have courses in medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, which can be very helpful at medical school. Future psychiatrists should seek out psychology electives, which provide a basis for further study.
While completing the pre-medical bachelor's degree, students must apply and be accepted by a medical or osteopathic college. The four-year doctoral degree earned at these schools combines hands-on clinical experience, usually in the third and fourth years, with advanced coursework in the sciences and specific medical topics. These typically include physiology and anatomy, pharmacology, immunology, microbiology and medical law and ethics. Courses in human behavior are usually part of the curriculum, and will be of special interest to aspiring child psychiatrists. Where possible, choose electives in psychology, neurology and pediatrics. During clinical rotations in the third and fourth years, future psychiatrists can network with experienced practitioners and form mentoring relationships.
Residency and Fellowships
Psychiatrists must complete a three- or four-year residency after graduating from medical school, and child psychiatry requires a two-year fellowship after that. The American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry also lists three alternative methods of fulfilling those requirements. An integrated training program combines the residency and fellowship programs into a single five-year placement. A "triple boards" approach combines pediatrics with general and child psychiatry, and the physician becomes board-certified in all three specialties. For physicians who are already qualified as pediatricians, the post-pediatric portal program, or PPPP, adds general and child psychiatry through a specialized three-year training program.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment for physicians and surgeons of all types will grow by 24 percent between 2010 and 2020, though some specialties will be in greater demand than others. As of 2011, the medical staffing firm Meritt Hawkins reported that psychiatry was its fourth most-recruited specialty. Child and adolescent psychiatrists should enjoy strong employment prospects, with the "echo boom" generation of baby boomers' children and grandchildren entering their own prime child-bearing years.
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis: Psychiatry
- American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry: How Do I Enter the Field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry?
- American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry: What is Child and Adolescent Psychiatry?
- Georgetown University: Undergraduate Pre-Medical Studies at Georgetown
- St. John's University: Guide for Planning your Pre-med Curriculum
- UT Southwestern Medical Center: Medical School Curriculum
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Physicians and Surgeons
- Merritt Hawkins: 2011 Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives
- CBS News: The Echo Boomers
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