Why a career in psychiatry?

Objectives: To reflect upon the factors that might motivate one to undertake a career in psychiatry from the personal perspective of a current registrar in training. Conclusions: The reasons for choosing a career path in psychiatry are complex, and relate to an individual doctor's life experience, training experiences and own value system. Dissatisfaction with the traditional "medical model" of illness may be a contributing factor, with a perception that psychiatry may embrace the biopsychosocial model of illness more fully. Beyond this, a particular interest in the poetry inherent to an individual's story and appreciation of the artistic underpinnings of medicine may also contribute.