A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has completed psychiatry education and training. Psychiatrists specialize in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of mental and emotional disorders. Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists can prescribe medication. They often work as part of a team with psychologists, primary care physicians and other health care professionals.

If your organization is producing a product or providing a service that is of interest to psychiatrists, you will be working with physicians in this field and will most likely want to hire one or more psychiatrists as consultants for your organization. It will also be in your best interest to learn as much as you can about the changing field of psychiatry and to encourage key employees to attend psychiatry classes or seminars. Consider the following when conducting business related to psychiatry.

1. Find out more about psychiatry training.

2. Take advantage of opportunities for psychiatry education.

3. Learn more about specialized areas in psychiatry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Investigate the field of psychiatry training

By learning more about residency programs for psychiatrists, you'll become well-versed in the specialties in the field of psychiatry and have a better sense of the various specialties in this field, from adolescent to geriatric psychiatry to specialties in neurodevelopment delays or addictions.

I recommend: The Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School has links to various residency programs in psychiatry as well as continuing medical education and other opportunities for psychiatry education and training. American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training also provides valuable links to residency programs as well as information about education in psychiatry.

Discover opportunities for psychiatry education and training

If you will be working in the field of psychiatry, you'll want to make sure that you learn all you can about the field. This may include attending meetings and seminars as well as taking advantage of other opportunities for psychiatry training. Attending meetings will also allow you to meet key opinion leaders in psychiatry who you might want to work with on a future project.

I recommend: The American Psychiatric Association is a well-respected organization that hosts a large annual meeting and links to quality online educational programs. Education-portal.com provides an overview of the types of psychiatry courses that are available.

Learn about specialized psychiatry education and training

Chances are high that your product or service is for a specialized area of psychiatry. For example, if your product helps patients with attention deficit disorder, you will want to take psychiatry classes that focus on this patient population.

I recommend: There are so many specialty groups in the field of psychiatry. Depending on your specific area of expertise, you might consider finding out more about the AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) or the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and attending psychiatry seminars sponsored by these groups. Although they treat a wide range of patients, the Association of Women Psychiatrists has a website that describes their mission.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Finding out who is teaching a psychiatry class at a prestigious school is one way to find good psychiatry consultants, as is doing a literature search in your area of interest.