Biggest Challenges Resident Psychiatrists Face at Yale School of Medicine
Robert, a Resident Psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine, cites the inherent "uncertainty" in psychiatry as a major challenge—the difficulty in predicting which treatments will be most effective for each patient and "sitting with that uncertainty." This is compounded by the emotional toll of encountering patients' "really hard stuff" and the need to process intense experiences without letting them overly impact personal well-being.
Overcoming Challenges, Workplace Challenges, Ethical Dilemmas, Resilience, Stress Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Robert Palmer
Resident Psychiatrist
Yale School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Yale School of Medicine (MD)
Biology & Related Sciences
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Medical
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. The inherent uncertainty in psychiatry, blending art and science, makes predicting treatment outcomes challenging.
2. The emotional toll of encountering patients' difficult life challenges and the need for emotional resilience.
3. The importance of active listening and empathy in providing effective psychiatric care
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
I don't know if I can name a single biggest challenge. There are plenty of them.
I think there's the uncertainty we deal with. Medicine and psychiatry are both an art and a science. We have lots of research about what different medications, interventions, and therapies can do for people.
But for a given person, it's very hard to predict what will be most helpful for them and how things will go. Sitting with that uncertainty can be challenging. I might propose a treatment, but I don't actually know if it will be that helpful for them.
Another related challenge is meeting people who are dealing with really hard things in their lives. It can be hard not to be strongly affected by that. It's challenging when someone shares a really sad story, and it's hard to forget it and move on.
Perhaps other people don't encounter that on a day-to-day basis, but it's a lot of what we deal with. People go through very sad and difficult times, and we're there to be witnesses and listen as best we can.
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