What does your specialty involve?
How do I get into your specialty?
How do I make myself competitive at Foundation and/or Core Training to get into your specialty?
What personal attributes do I need for your specialty?
How competitive is it to get a training post?
How long is the training after FY2 to CCT?
What postgraduate examinations will I need to work for during training?
Do I need to pass any postgraduate examinations at Core level to get into "run-through"?
Is your specialty stressful?
What are the best and worst aspects of your specialty?
I would like to have a family - is that possible while training in this specialty?
Is there any chance of Less Than Full Time Training in your specialty?
Is full time research mandatory duting training?
Are the hours anti-social?
What tips can you give on starting and advancing in your specialty?
What are the chances of a Consultant post after CCT?
What is the dropout rate during training?
Can I spend some of my time training abroad?
Can I work part time or job share as a Consultant?
Where can I get the best information about your specialty and the training programme locally and nationally?  

What does your specialty involve?

Training in Psychiatry involves in three years in core training, followed by three years in a range of specialties. The work of Psychiatrists across all the psychiatric specialties is done in a variety of settings, including inpatient facilities, some of which are “stand alone”, and some in general hospitals, outpatient clinics and other community settings, including facilities such as psychiatric hostels, children’s homes, nursing homes, prisons etc. 

Successful psychiatric practice generally involves a synthesis of biological, psychological and social aspects of treatment.  Psychiatrists almost invariably work in multidisciplinary teams, with key roles for colleagues from Nursing, Social Work, Psychology and Occupational Therapy, and in many specialties there is a close relationship with General Practice.  Over and above the broad range of skills used by psychiatrists, psychiatrists, as medical graduates, would have particular skills in diagnosis and prescribing.  Doctors are frequently team leaders in their specialties, and many psychiatrists take on important roles in management. 

Regarding the particular psychiatric specialties, these are as follows, in outline.

General Adult Psychiatry.  Most Psychiatrists work in General Adult Psychiatry.   This involves a range of psychiatric for people of working age, ie between 18 years old and 65 years old. The common chronic illnesses in this field include schizophrenia and mood disorders, and there is scope for significant collaborative work in managing anxiety states, phobias and depression. 

Psychiatry of Old Age is principally involved with patients over 65 years old, ie the psychiatric equivalent of geriatrics.  The common diagnoses here include depression, paranoid states and dementia. 

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry involves working with children.  There are specific psychiatric illnesses of childhood, in addition to early onset longer term psychiatric problems such as depression and schizophrenia. 

Psychiatry of Learning Disability involves the care of patients with severe learning disability.  The patients often have a wide range of co-morbid psychiatric illnesses and medical problems, and there is close inter-working with a number of specialties and professions, including paediatric specialties, neurology and clinical psychology.

Forensic Psychiatry deals with inpatients who are in contact with the Police Services and the Courts, generally in relation to relatively serious offences.  They manage a risky and challenging group of patients, as part of an expert service, often in a leadership role.

Consultant Psychotherapists have specialised training in Psychotherapy, and they apply these skills in individual psychotherapy, in various modalities of psychotherapy, and in the role of supervision and consultation.  [back to top] 

How do I get into your specialty?

Entry to all the above specialties requires first three years core training, then three years specialist training, before CCT is awarded. 

Posts are for six months, with postings in General Adult Psychiatry and Old Age Psychiatry in the first year, then doing at least six month either in Learning Disability or Child Psychiatry in the second year. Third year posts usually features choices that reflect the aspirations of the trainee for higher training, eg work in Psychotherapy, Forensic Psychiatry, Rehabilitation etc.   [back to top] 

How do I make myself competitive at Foundation and/or Core Training to get into your specialty?

Most candidates are expected to have a reasonable knowledge of what training in Psychiatry involves, and although experience at F2 level is not essential, it is desirable, whether as part of a four month attachment, or as part of a taster.  This is because exposure to psychiatry at undergraduate level is relatively limited, and we are keen, as far as possible, that trainees demonstrate that they know what is involved in psychiatry before committing themselves to three years core training.

Progress from core training to specialty training requires the MRCPsych examination.  There are regular teaching sessions timetabled for all trainees.

You will also be expected to attend Psychotherapy training in core training, and to have carried out significant work in audit. 

You will be required to have made satisfactory progress at ARCP. 

If you are applying to a specialty such as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Learning Disability Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry or Psychotherapy at specialty training level, you will be expected to have a reasonable knowledge of what is involved in higher training, and this would almost certainly include work in that specialty during core training.   [back to top] 

What personal attributes do I need for your specialty?

You probably don’t need any specific personal attributes, other than those which led you to opt to study medicine and to work as a doctor.  Psychiatry involves using diagnostic skills, judging risks, working in teams, awareness and tolerance of one’s own failings and the failings of others, and the ability to work in a team.   [back to top] 

How competitive is it to get a training post?

At the moment not particularly competitive, in terms of numbers.  We expect a large number of retirements of full-time Consultants in several years time, and therefore we are currently offering a relatively large number of training posts both at core training level and also in higher training.

As time moves on, this is likely to change – but not for a few years.    [back to top] 

How long is the training after FY2 to CCT?

Three years.   [back to top] 

What postgraduate examinations will I need to work for during training?

Passing the MRCPsych is essential.

There is also a Diploma in Mental Health examination, which is principally aimed at GPs, but which virtually all psychiatry trainees do as part of core training.    [back to top] 

Do I need to pass any PG examinations at Core level to get into ‘run through’.

MRCPsych.  [back to top] 

Is your specialty stressful?

See Question 4.  The ability to develop therapeutic relationships with patients is a most rewarding aspect of the specialty of psychiatry, but it also can bring its own stresses.

And of course, it is not physically stressful.   [back to top] 

What are the best and worst aspects of your specialty?

It is speciality that prizes clinical skills and values experience.  It offers team work, and work in a variety of environments. 

Ranging as it does from fields such as forensic psychiatry, learning disability, child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy etc, it offers work in an almost infinitely wide variety of working environments. 

Psychiatry is often seen as a Cinderella specialty, and sometimes there is a struggle for resources with other acute specialties.  From time to time, although less so in Northern Ireland, there are service vacancies.  The Psychiatrists sometimes work with a difficult group of patients, sometimes where patients are explicitly hostile towards treatment.  Without the right training and the appropriate working environment, this can be demanding and stressful.  [back to top] 

I would like to have a family – is that possible while training in this specialty?

Yes.  Very many Consultant Psychiatrists are female, with families.    [back to top] 

Is there any chance of Less Than Full Time Training in your specialty?

Yes.  Many trainees have opted, for family reasons, for less than full-time training, and the School of Psychiatry is very supportive of this.   [back to top] 

Is full time research mandatory during training?

No.   [back to top] 

Are the hours antisocial?

In general, compared to other specialties, no.  [back to top] 

What tips can you give on starting and advancing in your specialty?

Try to get some experience of Psychiatry at postgraduate level before starting the Training Scheme – either in an F2 posting or doing a taster module.  That way you will have a better idea about what you are letting yourself in for!

Then, as far as you can, throw yourself into training.  There is training in basic psychiatric competencies, and psychotherapy training from the start. This will also enable you to meet up with colleagues, and benefit from a shared experience. 

Think about your ST4-6 speciality choice as you choose your CT3 preferences.   [back to top] 

What are the chances of a Consultant post after CCT?

Excellent.  [back to top] 

What is the dropout rate during training?

The rates of dropout among trainees who pass the Membership exam are very low.  The Scheme anticipates that the majority of trainees who enter training, and the vast majority of trainees who pass the examination, will proceed to complete their training, and achieve CCT.  [back to top] 

Can I spend some of my training abroad?

Yes.  The School would support out-of-programme training, and this is often necessary for smaller specialties, where it is essential to achieve centres such as Great Britain or further afield.   [back to top] 

Can I work part time or job share as a Consultant?

Yes.  Many Consultant Psychiatrists, mostly but not exclusively female Psychiatrists, work part time or job share.   [back to top] 

Where can I get the best information about your specialty and the training programme locally and nationally?

First, talk to the Head of School or Deputy Head of School.  If you wish, they can introduce you to trainees, who would be happy to give you their perspective on things. 

The Royal College of Psychiatrists website is a good source of information. 

The trainees might also suggest other websites, including “trickcyclists”.   [back to top]