Can I be an ER doctor and a psychologist?

Question

I have always wanted to be an doctor in a children's ER, but I also want to be a childrens psychologist. Is it possible to be both? What would my options be, and how would it be acheived?

Answer 1

Psychology is a PhD degree and is separate from the training to be an ER physician which would be 4 years of medical school followed by 3 years of pediatric residency followed by pediatric ER fellowship. That's a total of about 12 years of school, ouch.

There are some other options, you could get an MD and then train to be a child psychiatrist (that's 9 years). Emergency rooms at large hospitals hire psychiatrists to work in the ER. There is a lot of overlap between psychology training and psychiatry training.

Also you could become a PhD psychologist and then work in an Emergency Room, that would be 4-5 years of school.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes, as a doctor specialising in two areas (infectious diseases and critical care medicine) I know that it is possible, but it does require a lot of extra effort, but it is possible.

However, you would need to choose a primary speciality to work in (I would suggest psychology because that requires a lot more work, and has a lot more testing attributed to it), then when you're working in your psychology speciality ask if you can use the extra time you have, to work on your Accident & Emergency speciality.

And good luck