Mental Health
A psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to become a specialist in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness and emotional problems. They have both medical and psychiatric training and,as a result, psychiatrists are able to view illness in an integrated way by taking into consideration the related aspects of body and mind.
Psychiatrists are trained to recognise and treat the effects of emotional disturbances on the body as a whole, as well as the effects of physical conditions on the mind. This is important, as many emotional disturbances affect various parts of the body, and physical illnesses can certainly affect the mind. A psychiatrist’s medical and psychiatric training allows both the physical and emotional to be kept in perspective..
Advantages of Starting a Career at TPCH
The Prince Charles Hospital has the reputation amongst registrars in Queensland as being the place to train and among specialists as the place to work!! This is a service with a highly stable medical, nursing and allied health workforce who pride themselves on providing compassionate flexible care to a diversity of clients. We are able to offer a variety of training experiences in general adult inpatient and community, older persons mental health, consultation-liaison psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, forensics, extended treatment settings, early psychosis and private hospital and primary care settings. Nearly all our specialist staff are full time with a small group of part timers, meaning that you are assured of readily available on the spot supervision and support when you need it. There is a strong emphasis on education within the service including journal club, mental health grand rounds, medical educations sessions and a psychotherapy interest group.
Training Overview
Entry requirements to Training Program
Prerequisites for applying to enter the Fellowship Program are:
- successful completion of a medical degree
- at least one year of general medical training (FTE)
- current general registration as a medical practitioner in Australia or New Zealand
Applicants are selected for psychiatry training based on their suitability, skills and experience.
Overview of Training Program
Psychiatry training is a postgraduate medical course for doctors. Trainees who successfully complete the program are eligible to become Fellows of the RANZCP (FRANZCP). This qualifies them to practise independently as consultant psychiatrists in Australia or New Zealand.
The Fellowship Program takes a minimum of 60 months full-time equivalent (FTE) to complete. During the training period, trainees work as registrars in hospitals and clinics, where they are supervised by experienced psychiatrists.
What rotations are recommended prior to applying for training?
It is beneficial to have completed at least one mental health rotation prior to entering training.
How to improve your chances of selection
- Undertake an elective in psychiatry in medical school.
- Mental health rotations during internship and residency.
- Mental health related research experience (including as a medical student or in other related fields of study).
Frequently Asked Questions
- excellent communication skills
- innate curiosity about fellow human beings and the systems and environments they operate within
- an ability to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty
- an interest in research and evidenced based treatments
- the ability to develop skills in working within a multidisciplinary team.
Psychiatrists work in a variety of settings, including general and psychiatric hospitals, universities, community mental health services and public and private clinics. Many psychiatrists have a predominantly private practice. Others work mainly in hospitals or in prisons, or in a variety of public health facilities.
Some psychiatrists work in more than one area, such as combining part time work in a public hospital with a private practice. Psychiatrists are also involved in a broad range of community issues and organisations, and are often called upon to assist both government and non-government agencies in the development of mental health policies and services.
If you enjoy working with people and learning about their problems and how their development, genetics and environment has shaped their situation, this is the specialty for you. The skills you will learn will be helpful regardless of your long term career path. Psychiatrists are generally excellent supervisors and those working in the areas of training are there because they enjoy teaching other people including trainees and clinicians. The range of work is diverse and can easily cater for different interests (children and adolescents, geriatric, forensic, general adult, eating disorders, psychotherapy, consultation-liaison psychiatry, intellectual disability, drug and alcohol, private, public).
This is an excellent specialty in terms of work life balance with well structure pathways in terms of training, taking time out (break in training) for travel, to have children and to pursue other interests. Increasingly there are positions available to allow part time and flexible training options. The Prince Charles Hospital has a number of half time registrar positions available. The specialty recognizes the importance of ensuring that trainees and specialists have reasonable after hours duty and on call shifts and as such, fatigue is a very rare problem in this specialty.
Demand for psychiatric services are high in all areas including metropolitan, regional and rural in both public and private sectors hence there is a need to ensure you actively manage the workload and requests for assistance. Intermittent political and media attention to the mental health service sector particularly in view of the stigma associated with mental illness, mental health legislation and the shifting balance in the public arena about treatment needs of the mentally ill versus the safety of the community with simplistic concepts rather than the depth and complexity of discussion that is required.
Contact us
Medical Education Unit
Email: TPCH-Medical-Education@health.qld.gov.au
Phone: (07) 3139 4221
Vocational Training Information: Dr Gail Robinson, Clinical Director Mental Health, TPCH