How to Become a Psychiatrist

The stigma against mental illness is slowly decreasing in the US. More and more, patients seek care for mental illnesses, increasing the need for mental health providers. This leaves curious high school and pre-medical students wondering what it takes to become a care provider for patients with mental illness. Therapy, psychology, social work, nursing, physician assisting, and psychiatry are just a few examples of career options available to those who want to work in behavioral and/or mental health settings. This post outlines the educational steps needed to become a psychiatrist. Let’s start by defining what a psychiatrist does A psychiatrist…

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How to Dress for an Interview

Interview questions are stressful enough. Why worry about how to dress for an interview on top of that!? When it comes to dressing for an interview, I recommend creating a modifiable uniform that makes you feel confident! Personally, I have a fail-safe interview dress code that I’ve been using since I applied to medical school. 95% of the time, I wear a dress and blazer for interviews. Even more specifically, I have 3 white and black dresses that I wear in rotation. I mix and match my favorite blazers with those dresses to create multiple options of looks that don’t require a…

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Taking a gap year before medical school

The traditional path to becoming a physician in the US includes 4 years of undergraduate training, 4 years of medical school, and 3+ years of residency and fellowship training. It’s a LONG journey. However, the non-traditional path has become the norm as more and more students decide to take a gap year before medical school. In fact, the gap year has really become gap years as the average age of first-year medical students is now 24. This means that on average, premedical students take a 2-3 year break between undergrad and medical school. Because there are soooo many ways to…

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