Psychiatrists
Job description
These individuals are doctors who specialize in psychiatry. They make diagnoses related to mental health by conducting comprehensive mental and physical assessments of their patients. They sometimes treat the mental illness themselves when the diagnosis is made. These individuals work in:
- Clinical research centres
- Hospitals
- Private medical clinics
- Government control laboratories
- Private medical laboratories
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Biological agents
- Radiation
- Violence
Main tasks
- Perform mental and physical examinations of patients.
- Interpret laboratory and medical imaging tests.
- Interpret detailed psychosocial history of patients.
- Coordinate, when appropriate, the treatment required by patients.
- Use different psychotherapies, medications, neurostimulation techniques, and social interventions.
- Prescribe medications, treatments, and surgery.
- Act as a consultant to other physicians.
- Conduct research, as required.
Advancement and mobility
- Possibility of specializing in forensic psychiatry.
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Medicine
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
Also required
- Permit to practise issued by the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ [Quebec College of Physicians]).
- Five or six-year residency in psychiatry.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Active listening
- Social perception
- Oral expression
- Critical thought
- Reading comprehension
- Written expression
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active learning
- Result evaluation
- Coordination
- Service oriented
- Solving complex problems
- Science
- Information processing
- Learning strategies
- Teaching
- Persuasion
- System analysis
- Operation analysis
- Time management
- Negotiation
Abilities
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Written comprehension
- Written expression
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech clarity
- Speech recognition
- Awareness of issues
- Classification
- Information organization
- Near vision
- Idea generation
- Originality
- Processing flexibility
- Selective attention
- Memorization
- Information processing speed
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
- Critical thinking
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to adapt
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Tolerance to stress
- Sense of observation
- Knowledge of medicine or dentistry
- Knowledge of psychology
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Carry out research
- Assist and advise
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Artistic
- People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (CNP 31100)
Skill type
Health
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Last update: January 29, 2026
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