ascx-begin clientid=ctl73 path=/Career/CareerProfile/CareerProfile.ascx
What They Do
About This Career
Diagnoses, treats, and helps prevent mental disorders.
This career is part of the Health Science cluster Therapeutic Services pathway.
A person in this career:
- Prescribes, directs, or administers psychotherapeutic treatments or medications to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
- Gathers and maintains patient information and records, including social or medical history obtained from patients, relatives, or other professionals.
- Designs individualized care plans, using a variety of treatments.
- Collaborates with physicians, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, or other professionals to discuss treatment plans and progress.
- Analyzes and evaluates patient data or test findings to diagnose nature or extent of mental disorder.
- Examines or conducts laboratory or diagnostic tests on patients to provide information on general physical condition or mental disorder.
- Counsels outpatients or other patients during office visits.
- Advises or informs guardians, relatives, or significant others of patients' conditions or treatment.
- Teaches, takes continuing education classes, attends conferences or seminars, or conducts research and publishes findings to increase understanding of mental, emotional, or behavioral states or disorders.
- Reviews and evaluates treatment procedures and outcomes of other psychiatrists or medical professionals.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
- Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
- Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
Work Hours and Travel
- Irregular hours
- Overtime work
- Weekend work
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Adult Psychiatrist
- Child Psychiatrist
- Consulting Psychiatrist
- Medical Doctor (MD) — Evaluate symptoms, runs tests to determine what is wrong with a patient and prescribes treatment.
- Outpatient Psychiatrist
- Prison Psychiatrist
- Staff Psychiatrist
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
ascx-end /Career/CareerProfile/CareerProfile.ascx