u/ellzabub_likes_cake

What ways of asking questions have you found most effective for different conditions? As you have grown in your practice, what phrasing have you found most useful? For example, I’ve found that when asking about self injury, I get better information and catch more cases when I add “like burning, cutting, or hitting yourself.” “Are there things happening around you that feel suspicious?” is obviously better than “do you feel paranoid?” I still haven’t found my favorite way of asking about history of mania. I recognize every patient is unique and there is no one-size-fits all, but I’m asking for some “tricks-of-the-trade” input. Thanks!

Senior resident doing some soul searching here. I’ve been on the physician-scientist track for over a decade but already jaded about research. Cons: a lot of ego, more time away from my kids, funding uncertainty and that feeling of “never enough.” Plus, I love clinical outpatient psychiatry and I’m skeptical 1-2 half days a week of clinic will lead to the caliber of clinical skills I hope for. But, doing community outpatient seems unsustainable and with the potential to get boring. For context, all of my outpt experiences have been the type of clinics where there’s no time to pee or eat. Can 30 years of that be survived? Or if the clinic is really chill, do you get bored over time?
Thank you for your insights!

The research dragon is devouring me and my young. The prospect of 1-2 half days of clinic and the rest of the time consumed by grant writing, admin and a bit of research seems bleak. I sincerely doubt that my clinical skills will be where I want them to be with that little time in the clinic. I long to be done with work when I’m home with my kids. Buuuuuuuut …there’s a reason so many physicians burn out of clinical work. Has anybody here gone from physician-scientist to full time clinician? Do you regret it? Is it sustainable to do clinic without time to pee or eat, day in, day out until retirement? <3 A Mudphud Adrift