Posted by Solstice on October 1, 2011, at 10:12:22
In reply to seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19
Hi ggg -
It might depend on what that particular university professor specializes in. A friend of mine is a 'renowned university professor' who specializes in bipolar. He's been deeply involved in some of the best research - travels the world teaching psychiatrists - his name is everywhere in the bipolar-world - lots of awards, etc. After bipolar, he specializes in anxiety and MDD. So he's been a great resource to me regarding my daughter's bipolar (he can't directly treat her because of our relationship - but I talk to him about most treatment changes.) He knows all the cutting edge stuff. No doubt he knows a lot about most other psychiatric conditions - but although he's the go-to guy on bipolar, he wouldn't be the one to go to for an expert opinion on schizophrenia. So you may want to find out if the university professor your doctor wants to get a second opinion from specializes in, or is considered an expert in, your particular disorder.
And by the way.. I don't think being a university professor necessarily means that you're going to get a 'pump him up with a bunch of meds' approach. My friend is more about really refining an accurate diagnosis, closely examining the patient's entire life situation, enlisting a wide range of family and social support systems, and systematically finding the right med combo for a particular patient. The advantage of a university professor being involved in that process is that his experience base is often very broad, so his instincts about which combo to try next has a deeper foundation of experiences - and not necessarily through their own treatment of patients - as through their involvement in research. (My friend is head of the entire psychiatric department at his university, so he sees few patients personally - mostly VIP's, but he's also older).
Solstice
poster:Solstice
thread:998440
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110925/msgs/998449.html