How I chose psychiatry (Serious)

I graduate in a week so I thought I would share a little about myself.
Thank you for all of your input everyone. It's been wonderful to see how these videos have reached people.
my apologies for the amount of times a say like in this. I fall back on my crutch phrases when talking to a tripod.

if the picture quality is different it's because I bought a camera!

Cheers,

Preston

[Ed-Jin-Lee]

honestly it makes so much sense that someone who can make these skits and pick out the strange quirks of medicine would do well in psych

[bedtimebiblestories]

“They have to live in their minds for the rest of their lives and I want to make that a better place for them”… chills. Go Preston!

[briennaann]

I used to work in a cancer hospital and one of the patients said that the doctor who helped them most wasn't their oncologist but their psychiatrist who gave them the mental will to keep going.

Congratulations, you're going to make a great psychiatrist!

[mlb]

I’ve been a psychiatrist for 15 years. You’re correct. You can be happy in multiple specialties- I switched from IM. A sense of humor is incredibly helpful for psych. Happy you are joining us.

[ada]

As someone in need of a better psychiatrist, thank you for entering the profession. It really needs more people like you. And please take care of yourself so you don't burn out and lose empathy for your patients - see your self care as a prerequisite for good patient care. I believe in you.

[TheMrmartintorres]

I'm not in medicine but as a childhood cancer survivor I can 100% say that doctors who go for their passion make the biggest difference in our lives. It's great that you recognized what you enjoyed about medicine the most and were able to find a way to fully apply that. I appreciate your videos for providing a more lighthearted take on the stress of medicine. Also it's unfortunately amazing that toxic doctors are just like the toxic bosses everywhere else, at least an annoying surgeon can do something useful, lol.

[jordmanbatgod]

If you haven’t heard of it yet, HealthyGamer is a phenomenal YouTube channel from a Psychiatrist who also studied to become a monk. I think you’d really enjoy his content :)

[rishigonuguntla]

Hey Preston, I was also a surgery gunner who did the same thing and am now choosing to apply to psychiatry. Hearing your journey sounded like what went through my own head. I think I've said the exact same thing about improving quality of life being my aim through my practice. It's awesome to hear that other people have done the same thing. Best of luck to you in your intern year!

[DG-clgs]

Also, by treating the mind, you treat their body. Because you speak with them about their nutrition habits, exercise, perspective on life, and everything stems from the brain. You can turn someones entire life around by changing their habits and mindset.

[cowfangirl]

“they have to live inside their minds for the rest of their lives and i wanted to make that a better place for them” is such a profoundly relatable sentiment that i haven’t been able to articulate. i’m in my mid twenties and i’ve recently started planning to return to college with the end goal of psychiatry. my first undergrad experience was one of the worst points in my life mostly due to undiagnosed anxiety/adhd and my lack of understanding and inability to work with/around my behavior. after dropping out i saw a psych for a couple years and honestly i cannot overstate how much that care changed me and the trajectory of my life for the better. the last few years i have already found a lot of fulfillment in working in healthcare (cpht and now ma) but the thought of being able to provide the sort of care that genuinely saved my life for others brings me such a strong sense of meaning and volition in pursuing this career. thank you for this video preston ❤

[sam_i_am_.]

I have SPMI and I've had the same psychiatrist since 2004. He listens to me, he remembers things that I tell him, he believes in me, and he is the kindest, most wonderful doctor.
Best of luck to you.

[tum_tums]

I'm a nurse and whenever i hear "I want to help people" I always think: how. How are you wanting to help people? Through palliative, helping those that are dying? Critical care, those at their most vulnerable? through surgery, those at their most, pardon the pun, open? Like the How is as important as the why. I'm so glad you found the specialty for you! It's a part of medicine people don't realize matters a lot. I mean I'm in clinical research, I love helping people have an opportunity for treatment that they'd never have and helping push new evidence based medicine. I also loved my time in crirical care. It's abiout finding out the how where you find where you belong.

[yasminakbari]

Your future patients will be so lucky to have you! Speaking as a radiologist (basically the opposite of a psychiatrist 😂) I have a lot of respect for the unique challenges you face in that field and for anyone who can do the job well.

[seeker]

"they have to live inside their mind for the rest of their life, and I wanted to make that a better place for them" so poignantly spoken. As a fellow aspiring psychiatrist, I feel that but never expressed it. You brought tears.

[margaretbenne]

From an ED doctor who is adept at uncovering the underlying misery in people's lives that really brings them to the ED, bravo for the tactic you took in dissecting out what really interested you from all your experiences. The physical complaints that bring them to acute medical attention are not often not the main cause for their suffering but the final straw that has piled onto a psychological and/ or social morass that brings them to the breaking point. You've done the hard work of discovering your passion. The next five years will be a worthwhile journey of learning how to able to use it to help heal others. Good luck. P.S. The way you owned the critical care doc looking for the antipsychotic order on the comatose patient was golden. You have the makings of being a kick ass, no nonsense psychiatrist.

[thelostremainunfound]

As someone who is only alive because of mental health treatment and psychiatric medicine, I am so happy to see someone passionate going into the field. A passionate NP was the first person to understand that I needed help when I didn't know how to put it into words. I know that medications for mental illness can get a bad rap, especially when someone is on multiple, but it really does work. I suffered for so, so long because of a doctor unwilling to put me on more than one medication at a time. I am now on three meds directly related to my mental well being and I have never done better. Funny enough, a medication I had tried and been taken off of is one that I am on again now because when combined with the other two, I do fantastic on it. There are a bonus two other meds I am on that are categorized as a psych drug but I just have them because of my sleep issues xD. I hope you're able to find the balance that works for the patients you will help! The relationship I have with my provider is so special to me because I know how much she cares about me and I can see her in you when I watch your videos. I have no doubt that you will help give people like myself their joy back <3

[SamAndAdamsFishroom]

Beautifully articulated video Preston.
I’m glad you found your passion for psychiatry which really shows in this video. You will do a lot of good for a much needed and very understaffed specialty.
I tell my third and fourth year students every day no matter what you do, make sure you do what you love.

[jacobnieves]

Thanks for sharing! I'm starting med school in a couple of months and your videos have been psyching me up! I love how the pre-med/med school world is starting to trend away from "I need to do what I think everyone else thinks I should do" to "I'm going to follow my passion and interests". Thanks for all you do!

[yagirlzee]

this was so inspiring and beautifully worded! i’m pre-med and people (like my family) are always a bit concerned when I say I want to do psychiatry lol but I resonated a lot with what you said here. wishing you the best!!

[ststevenau]

Underrated and super helpful part was listing your meaningful interactions. Just what I needed to hear right now as I refresh my own career path (Australian pursuing clinical psychology).