Careers: Medical & Psychiatry/Mental Doctors

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Expert: Christine Fader - 5/30/2010


Question
What exactly do mental doctors do?

Answer
Hello,

Not being a "mental doctor" myself and not completely understanding exactly what you mean by "mental doctor", I am stretching quite a bit when I answer this question.

I am guessing that you mean doctors who help people with mental health issues.  There are a number of professionals who do this sort of work.

For example:

Psychologists (PhD Psychology)
Psychiatrists (Medical Doctors in Psychiatry)
Social Workers (Bachelor or Master of Social Worker graduates)
Counselling Psychologists (MSc or MA Psychology/Counselling Psychology)
and more...

Some of these professionals diagnose people with mental health illnesses (run diagnostic tests and do assessments to determine what diagnosis the person has); others simply take the diagnosis someone else has given and treat the patient with the disease or disorder through therapy, counselling or other interventions.

Check with mental health organizations in your community or with mental health departments in local hospitals and health care facilities to see if you can interview briefly someone who works with patients.  This will give you the best idea of what people in these professions do.

Good luck!

Christine

Careers: Medical & Psychiatry

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Christine Fader

Expertise

I have 12 years of experience assisting thousands of students applying to medical school and residency programs in Canada and outside of Canada. I was an application reader or interviewer for a Canadian medical school for 8 years and my past experience includes work as a physician recruiter. I can answer questions about many of the details of applying to and interviewing at medical schools and residency programs in Canada, whether you're a Canadian student or an International Medical Graduate. I can't answer really specific questions about your unique situation (e.g. whether the Music 101 course you have taken at your university qualifies as a "humanities" pre-requisite course) although I can give you some general rules and information to help you find out more on your own.

Experience

I have 12 years of experience working as a career counsellor at a top Canadian university and have assisted thousands of students applying to medical school and residency programs in Canada and outside of Canada. I was an application reader or interviewer for a Canadian medical school for 8 years and my past experience includes work as a physician recruiter during which time I recruited physicians to internal medicine sub-specialties including gastroenterology, haematology, neurology, cardiology, endocrinology, and more. I have developed and implemented highly successful medical school and residency workshop including: Applying to Medical School; Thinking about Medical School; Medical School Interviews; Multiple Mini Interviews; Applying to Residency; Residency Interviewing; and Does Your Personality Match Your Medical Career. I am the author of the "chick lit" style career book for women, "Career Cupid: Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job". More info about me at: www.careercupid.com

Organizations
- Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) - 1000 Islands Workforce Development Board

Publications
- The Globe & Mail - Workopolis.com - Womenforhire.com - Schoolfinder.com - Career Options magazine - Job Postings magazine

Education/Credentials
Disability Studies diploma (D.S.W.)

Awards and Honors
- 2009 Steve Cutway Accessibility Award

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