Stress level: Psych vs FM

[User]

For a physician with mental illness, is psychiatry a popular/good choice?

What about family medicine?

I am worried that family is going to be overwhelming in terms of demands for such a broad base of knowledge, and total patient numbers/day...

My impression of psych is... more certainty in diagnoses of a greater percentage of pts, fewer patients and multiple demands, more time with each patient, and therefore less daily stress???

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Lactic Folly]

It depends on what you consider stressful.. everyone is different (for some people it's time pressure, for others it's emotionally difficult cases, etc.) My suggestion is to come up with a specific list of stressors, and then compare them to various specialties through reading/talking to people in the field.

I don't work in family or psych, but there are many other options for people trained in family medicine outside of traditional family practice (and you don't have to work full time).. and if you are in medical school, observerships/electives in psychiatry can help you determine if the field is indeed less stressful for you. Since you mentioned fewer cases/multiple demands, have you considered pathology? The pace is definitely more relaxed, and there is time to read around cases and consult with colleagues, but making a call on a difficult case is where the stress comes in.