Guest Blog: Mentor Program Solidifies Student’s Career Choice as Psychiatrist
As a part of PRMS’ ongoing commitment to behavioral health we invited Sally Winkelman, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association, to be featured as our guest blogger this month.
Shannon Friedbacher, a fourth year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin, knows that psychiatry is the field of medicine she will pursue after graduation. Part of her decision rests with the mentoring she has received from James Rutherford, MD, a community psychiatrist working with the Waukesha County Mental Health Department. The two were paired more than a year ago through the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association’s (WPA) Mentor Program.
“Without a doubt, Dr. Rutherford has played a role in my decision to pursue a career in psychiatry, and to apply for psychiatric residency training,” says Friedbacher. “With the experience I’ve gained working alongside him, I know I too can really make a difference by serving patients in Wisconsin in need of mental healthcare.”
Friedbacher has been a resident of the greater Milwaukee community her entire life. Not only is she now more certain than ever about her decision to become a psychiatrist, but she is deeply committed to serving the psychiatric needs right here at home. The WPA Mentor Program has reinforced her desire to continue to train in Wisconsin and then to practice as a psychiatrist and serve the people of Wisconsin for the long haul.
The mentor program was designed to provide medical students with an opportunity to experience the specialty of psychiatry that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to experience in medical school.
Friedbacher admits that while she has been fortunate to have great faculty preceptors and instructors, being paired with community psychiatrists not affiliated with medical school offers her a different perspective and a new dynamic. “With faculty, there is always a need to be on guard,” she says. “But that’s not the case in the mentor program.”
Rutherford concurs. “The nebulous nature of what the life of a psychiatrist might be like is diminished through this program. Students learn not only about patient care outside of the academic setting, but also have an opportunity to really get to know their mentors,” he said.
Friedbacher did not always know she wanted to go into psychiatry. However, she realized early on that she wanted to attend medical school, despite taking the nontraditional path of starting out in manufacturing sales career. Now in medical school, she is being introduced to many different medical specialties through her rotations, but the exposure to any one specialty is limited. Programs like the WPA Mentor Program offer students a much deeper understanding of a specialty, in this case psychiatry.
Working in the community setting highlights the prevalence of mental health issues in society. Primary care providers including family physicians and pediatricians are increasingly faced with managing not just the physical, but the mental health of their patients. Rutherford stresses that responsible integration of care with psychiatrists is important.
In his role with Waukesha County, Rutherford has seen steps being taken to enhance integrated care for the benefit of patients. One example is the County’s implementation of a new crisis intervention program to meet an increased need for services. He praised Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow for being a friend of mental health. “He understands the concerns, the issues and the needs of patients suffering from mental illness,” says Rutherford.
In her time shadowing Rutherford, Friedbacher has witnessed the commitment of local government to mental health, and by seeing that support system within the community is another clear sign that psychiatry is the right career for her. “Psychiatry excites me,” she says. “It is a specialty that provides me the high probability of an interesting and stimulating career, not to mention career longevity.”
Friedbacher states that she has thoroughly enjoyed her time working alongside Rutherford, and is grateful for the exposure to the field of psychiatry that the Mentor Program has offered. “I look forward to a day when I can pay it forward and serve as a WPA mentor myself.”
For more information about the WPA Mentor Program, visit the WPA website or contact Sally Winkelman, Executive Director, 920-560-5643 or sally@badgerbay.co.