the future of psychiatry

[stonecold23]

<p>my dad (who is one) says its doomed, bc more and more psychology is growing popular and in some states psychologists are now able to PRESCRIBE drugs, </p>

<p>he thinks 10 years down the road, psychiatry will be a joke</p>

<p>any comments on this ?</p>

[bluedevilmike]

<p>They generally advise students not to pick specialties until late in medical school.</p>

<p>As far as a hypothetical discussion goes, this will be very interesting to keep an eye on… but psychology at this point simply isn’t rigorous enough, I don’t think, to really supplant psychiatry. It may get there, soon, esp. if prescription authorization broadens… but I think the training would have to change very considerably.</p>

[my_0.02]

<p>

@bluedevilmike

psychology at this point simply isn’t rigorous enough, I don’t think, to really supplant psychiatry

Psychologists, bean counters, and some state legislatures think otherwise.</p>

<p>Psychologists have long sought prescriptive authority traditionally reserved for MD’s. In 2002 New Mexico and in 2004 Louisiana passed laws allowing psychologists to prescribe. <a href=“http://www.psychologicaltesting.com/news.htm[/url]”>http://www.psychologicaltesting.com/news.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In February of this year, a lawsuit to grant prescriptive authority to California psychologists was filed in Federal court.

A lawsuit has been filed in Federal court in Los Angeles alleging that patients in California are having their constitutional rights violated by not receiving constitutionally adequate treatment because of the state’s and county’s inability to provide competent psychiatric care to patients who are in custody, in the state mental hospitals, in county jails, and county mental health facilities. The three plaintiffs allegedly harmed by the State of California contend that the necessary numbers of competent psychiatrists are not available and never will be due to the declining numbers of practicing psychiatrists and the continued unattractiveness of psychiatry as a specialty to American medical school graduates. In addition to the State of California, the complaint names a number of people as defendants including Governor Schwarzenegger, the Secretary of the Department of Corrections, and the Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Of specific importance to Division 55 and psychologists in general, is that the lawsuit asks the court to amend the statute prohibiting psychologists to prescribe medication. The plaintiffs are asking the State of California to afford appropriately trained psychologists prescriptive authority as a remedy to California’s access to care problem.

Optometrists, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives also continue to try to expand their scope of practice, often claiming equivalence to physicians.</p>

[bluedevilmike]

<p>Right, but arguing that psychologists have the abilities to expand their boundaries somewhat is not the same as arguing that they have enough training to supplant psychiatrists entirely, which I believe is the OP’s concern.</p>

[huskem55]

<p>pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/41/9/3</p>

[Spikedsoymilk]

<p>wonderful…</p>