Question by smartgirl93: Can I major in psychology and still become a doctor?
I want to become a neonatal doctor and my original plan was to major in biology. But now I am taking AP Biology and I realized I do not want to major in it anymore, but at the same time I still love biology. But now I am taking AP Psychology and I became so interested in it, that I think I want to major in it. My question is, will I still be able to take the required courses on the pre-med track, while I major in psychology? Also, what are the different types of psychiatrists?

Best answer:

Answer by R.F.
You can get your bachelor’s degree in any subject for medical school, but you still have to take the required pre-med classes. That’s 1 year each of general Biology, Physics, English, Calculus, and 2 years Chemistry. The science classes have to have lab sessions. They can’t be non-technical lecture-only classes.

If your college has a defined pre-med track you have to apply into, they may have other restrictions. But normally you would have enough class allowances on your 4 years of college to take whatever free electives you want, so you just have to make sure you take the required pre-med classes.

Do you want to be a neonatal doctor or a psychiatrist? The residency training on them are different. After getting your Bachelor’s and then after 4 years of medical school, that’s when you start your medical specialty training.

For a neonatal physician, that’s 3 years for your pediatric residency, and then it’s another 3 years doing a Neonatology or Neonatal-Perinatal fellowship. That’s 14 years of education and training.

For a psychiatrist, that’s 4 years residency and then an optional fellowship in a psychiatric subspecialty. That’s a minimum of 12 years plus whatever subspeciality you want to pursue.
You can look up the different types of psychiatric subspecities here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatrist#Subspecialties

Answer by MomSezNo
Yes, as long as you take all the pre-requisite math and science courses in college. You’ll need to earn at least a 3.5 GPA, get a great MCAT score, have great recommendation letters and, ideally, have some work experience in the field [e.g. working in a prof’s lab – two birds with one stone, there!]. Make sure you do well in O-chem, as that’s a “weeding-out” course for med school applicants.

There are different “types” of psychiatrists, in that they specialize in different type of patients seen or in different approaches to therapy/treatment. For example, there are child psychiatrists, adult psychiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists. Some have private practices, some work in hospitals or clinics. They also use different approaches, such as behavioral therapy, short term therapy, etc., etc. Some specialize in addiction treatment, etc.

The website aamc.org may be helpful to you. And, you might want to find the book “Medical School Admission Requirements” at your local or college library.