Well, I went through college and my master's degree entirely on scholarship and will be a PMHNP at age 24. I also have had my own mental health struggles, have received additional training in therapy, and speak Spanish. I'm pretty happy with how my intelligence level has worked for me so far. I think I also have humility to ask for help and seek lots of supervision and consultation. So maybe the average psychiatrist is smarter than me. Doesn't really help me know how to pick a job. But thanks for your response to my post!
OK. So... negotiations for jobs have to begin right there. Be confident in what you can offer. Know your value. We are the resource movers in healthcare. For instance, the janitor who cleans the office building. The MBA who runs the clinic. That pharmacist who fills the rx. The office clerk who does the scheduling. The accountant who organizes the billing. The government agencies who provide benefits, that the taxpayers have given mandate to. The teachers who teach in healthcare schools. The companies that make the drugs. The sales person who provides the clinic with supplies. etc. etc. All of them. All. Of. them. Are in business providing for their families because we... meet the patients and provide a service to them. We are the movers of this industry.
So. You have to pick work that places you in the best position to move your business to the next level. And rather NP or SW'er or psychiatrist... those among us who think entrepreneurially... rather employed or independent... will make the best job choices.
So in your case you may want to pick a job that helps you collaborate with talented people.
Don't feel guilty about a damn thing. That's the angst of the hyper-agreeable personality. You didn't decide how society values the care of it's mentally ill. And in fact, in my opinion, it's the legion of hyper-agreeable, guilt ridden people in government who have created much of the the unproductive demand for mental health services. Disabuse yourself of the notion that demand necessarily means suffering.
Think about your career as an independent, entrepreneurial activity that is the vehicle you drive through the market providing for your family and becoming the better and better product for your patients.
Stagnation could happen at a poorly run public clinic. Or a swanky private practice.
Your location choice should be what makes you happy. Remember. You are the product. People don't need a stagnant, unenthusiastic, passionless turd of a product. They need someone who lives life as richly and as meaningfully as possible.
After you pick the location. Look for the best personal and professional development option.
Residents will have seen thousands more patients than you and worked in a guild system where they will have seen many more examples of how you can operate in this sphere. So recognize that you lack that experience.
My point about intelligence pertains to my interest in psychological research. And how much intelligence is the underlying determinant factor in so many of the unrelated studies. If you have the juice you will automatically sense when a supervisor is a limiting influence or a force multiplier in you own pursuit of excellence. To the extent that we are either, not that smart, or not motivated for excellence, these things wouldn't occur to us. And in that case... it's a simple matter of salary and benefits analysis.
Think of me playing the game at middle age an several hundred thousand dollars of debt at 7 points of interest or so. You think I'm sampling the sdn crowd for how to conduct my operations. F no. I'm learning for the sharpest aspects of entrepreneurial cultures, the sharpest elements of human performance industries, and the most creative ideas I can wrap my mind around. Because, I'm looking to win. My own way. Creatively. With passion and limitless curiosity and enthusiasm about this work we do.
So I come here for certain types of knowledge. And have been lucky to make good mentoring relationships here. But I am always looking for the cutting edge of my own operation. Of my own product... me.
So I might take the highest paying job in one domain, and negotiate like a wall street guy, to push that to the fullest, so that I can afford the space and time to pursue my own ongoing development in another domain. To service my debt. And to create my own business. But overall I'm looking to develop the highest quality, most innovative product, I can deliver.
A job is a thing where I run my own business within the structure of an organization. You might need that to be a developmental relationship to get to minimum competence. I'm already competent and have had the benefit of mentors in our guild system. So that I don't need that from employment. I'd rather negotiate hard and take my resources to the open market for tailored, bespoke, skill development. So. That may be something you're not ready for or don't have the experience or drive to recognize as important yet.
I wasn't being pointlessly rude with the intelligence point. Your decisions along these lines will track your intelligence and motivations.
Your lack of PC effort is such a breath of fresh air.
