When you’re a psychiatrist, there’s no such thing as a typical day.
But if you’re working in a clinic setting (like one of us, Jessi, is currently, and the other, Simone, has done previously), one thing is for sure: You’re busy. And it’s not just about seeing patients — it’s the seemingly ever-increasing electronic messages.
On most days, you are scheduled for a full day of patients, both old and new, for 30 minutes or an hour, respectively. In each appointment, you evaluate and diagnose patients, discuss their lives and current stressors, and go over medication options, risks, and benefits. Outpatient psychiatrists’ schedules have only become more swamped since the beginning of the pandemic and the increase in overall demand for mental health care it brought about. The need has become so high that many psychologists report that they no longer have room to see new patients, and as a result, their wait lists have grown.
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