Simmons 1

Logan Simmons
Megan Keaton
ENC 1102
July 23, 2014
Inquiry Research Project
Studying to become a clinical psychiatrist has been a dream of mine for at least five years
now. It all started back when I was a sophomore in high school enrolled in my first ever
psychology course. Now although it was just a General Psychology class, it was still enough to
spark my interest and solidify my desire to pursue that career. To this day I have held strong to
that dream and I am now a second year psychology major at Florida State University. Its kind of
funny to think back on that class I took way back in the tenth grade and I now realize that it
changed my future. Back then if you would have asked me what I thought was influencing me
the most at the time, I would have probably told you that it was music, surfing or something
nave like that. The truth is, without that class I am pretty positive that I would not have chosen
psychology as a major and definitely would have never even considered what it would be like to
be a clinical psychiatrist. Now that I am a college student who knows what direction that I want
to take my life in regarding a career, I really need to begin to explore what exactly I would be
doing if I do accomplish my dream of being a clinical psychiatrist. This research paper gave me
an excuse to finally start doing what I should have started quite a while ago. Now that I have
done that I am actually even more interested in the field. For the purpose of this assignment, I
directed my attention to the genres of writing that a clinical psychiatrist must use in the field.
Three of the most common genres of writing for a clinical psychiatrist are written prescriptions,
patient reports and files, and research articles for things such as medical or psychology journals.
Simmons 2

Although most people probably assume that a clinical psychiatrist just needs to talk to people for
their job, the reality of it all is that a clinical psychiatrist has to write much more than what most
people realize and it is a very important part of the job.
The most common genre of writing that is used in the field of clinical psychiatry is the
writing of prescriptions for patients. Most people probably assume that both psychologists and
psychiatrists can write prescriptions for people, but that is actually not the case. The two job
titles are very different from each other, as one requires just a masters degree (psychologist)
while the other requires a PhD in medicine so that they can write prescriptions for patients
(psychiatrist). Other than this small difference between the two job titles, their jobs are very
similar and for that reason I will use the two terms interchangeably when discussing the other
genres of writing in the field. These two fields have very recently begun to merge to create a new
hybrid career path that is being called the Prescribing Clinical Health Psychologist. I found this
particularly interesting because the prescribing of medications is no longer solely in the hands of
a psychiatrist, but is now being opened to psychologists as well. The reasoning behind this is that
most patients who are in psychological distress enter the mental health system through primary
care clinics, and that this is the driving force behind this newly emerging field (McGuiness 1).
When a psychiatrist writes a prescription for a patient, there are not many expectations regarding
sentence levels or organization, however it is very important that the medication is spelled
correctly, along with everything else on the prescription note. The doctor must also be able to
write instructions for the pharmacist as to how much of a dosage to give to the patient along with
instructions for taking the drug. The audience for these prescription notes is generally a
pharmacist or set of pharmacists who must prepare the drug for the patient. Even though a
prescription note does not require much writing, it is probably the most important genre of
Simmons 3

writing that a clinical psychiatrist has to use in the field, and not to mention the most commonly
used genre as well. A psychiatry student has to undergo extensive training to prepare themselves
for writing them due to the drastic effect that they can have on a patients life (Sechrest; Coan 2).
If a prescription is improperly written or not fully understood by the psychiatrist, the patient
could suffer permanent injuries and not to mention their entire visit would have been a waste of
time. Because of the prescription notes genre and purpose, it is extremely important that each
note is 100% accurate and is completed on time so that the patient receiving medication
undergoes proper care. Without the writing of prescription notes, the field of clinical psychiatry
would cease to exist and many patients would not be able to function normally in society.
Another genre of writing used by a clinical psychiatrist is the writing of patient files and
reports. It could be argued that this genre is just as, if not more important, than the writing of
prescription notes. Without patient files or reports, a psychiatrist would not be able to keep
updated records and progress reports on his or her patients, and would not be able to give them
the care that they require. Without the patient reports and files, the psychiatrist would not be up
to date on the patients condition, symptoms, or progress. If a psychiatrist (or any doctor for that
matter) does not have a patients file, they may as well be seeing that individual for the first time.
I interviewed my old psychiatrist over the phone a few days ago, and when I asked him about
patient files this is what he said to me. You need to constantly study your patient files if you
want to be able to provide them with the care that they deserve and need. Without them, youre
blind to their situation and cannot treat them effectively (Giardina). These patient files have to
be professional, organized, and up-to-date. Because of this, there cannot be spelling errors,
poorly written sentences, or incomplete information. These files must be professionally written
and properly organized to ensure effectiveness. If a patient file has even a simple mistake such as
Simmons 4

having the wrong drug written down for record keeping, the patient could be mistreated during
future visits if they are ever referred to a different specialist, change insurance companies, or a
variety of other situations. The audience for these patient files is typically the psychiatrist(s) who
is (are) working with a particular patient. Because the entire audience for these files is made up
of professionals in the field of medicine, they are usually written formally but may include
informal citations or notes. These files might also be seen by individuals such as an attorney if
such a circumstance arises. Because of the importance of these files, they cannot be anything but
what I have stated above, and it is crucial for the patients successes in treatment that they are
completed properly. When an individual is studying to become a psychiatrist, they must learn
how to write these patient files precisely, and are given strict guidelines to follow so that
abstract, introduction, patient identification and reason for referral, assessment strategies,
clinical case formulation, treatments, study design, data analysis, effectiveness and efficiency of
the intervention, and discussion (Virues-Ortega; Moreno-Rodriguez 1) are all included in the
report.
The final genre of writing that I will discuss in the field of clinical psychiatry is that of
writing research articles for medical journals, websites, or for universities. Clinical psychiatrists,
just like any other type of doctor, are researching new ideas constantly. It is their job to write
about the research that they conduct so that other individuals in the same field (or any other field
for that matter) can utilize that new research and apply it to the treatment of patients. There are
thousands of various medical journals across the world such as the Journal of the
American Psychiatric Association (APA) or The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and they all
contain new information written into research articles by the individuals who conducted the
research. It is crucial that medical practitioners of any kind stay up-to-date with the research in
Simmons 5

their respective fields so that they can provide the best care for their patients. These medical
journals and research articles are the driving force behind the advancement of medicine, and
without them our knowledge would not be as extensive or fast-growing. These journals or
research articles are expected to be written in the same way that a graduate thesis would be
written. They are expected to be intelligently worded, with no spelling or grammatical errors
being present. The audience for these particular works of writing is usually other doctors or
individuals involved in the field of psychology, but are also commonly read by college students
or any individual with an interest in psychology. The articles are written with the intent to spread
knowledge and inform people of the most up-to-date information regarding psychology. Some
articles are summaries of experiments, while other can be research oriented, discussion based, or
simply an explanation of an experience. All of this is ultimately dependent on who is writing the
article and what their purpose behind writing it may be. To emphasize the points that I have just
made regarding research articles, I found a great article that was published online about a study
that was done on patients and what they thought about psychiatric wards. This article was
designed to obtain information and opinions about psychiatric wards from the patient (Klett et
al 1). I chose this specific article to use because it was different than what most people probably
assume a psychologist would write about. It was very informative and interesting to read because
instead of it just providing a psychologists opinion, it focuses on the patients and what they
perceive.
A psychiatrist would not be able to effectively treat any of their patients without the use
of writing prescriptions, patient reports, and research articles. It is important to consider how
much writing effects each and every one of our lives and to recognize its importance. I can say
with confidence that after researching for this project and understanding just how much writing
Simmons 6

goes into a career that I thought was all talking to people, I am more focused and driven to
master my own writing skills to further ensure my success in the future. I believe that Dr.
Giardina said it best: Without writing, I wouldnt have a job. I have to write every day and I
know that my patients success is determined by my own writing abilities (Giardina).



















Simmons 7

Works Cited
Giardina, John. Personal interview. 21 July 2014
Klett, Shirley L., et al. "Patient Evaluation of the Psychiatric Ward." Journal of clinical
psychology 19.3 (1963): 347-51. Print.
McGuinness, Kevin. "The Prescribing Clinical Health Psychologist: A Hybrid Skill Set in the
New Era of Integrated Healthcare." Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings 19.4
(2012): 434-40. Print.
Sechrest, Lee, and James A. Coan. "Preparing Psychologist to Prescribe." Journal of clinical
psychology 58.6 (2002): 649-58. Print.
Virus-Ortega, Javier, and Rafael Moreno-Rodrguez. "Guidelines for Clinical Case Reports in
Behavioral Clinical Psychology." International Journal of Clinical Health &
Psychology 8.3 (2008): 765-77. Print.











Simmons 8

Interview Notes
Me: Do you ever have to write as a clinical psychiatrist and if so, what kinds of writing do you
have to do?
Giardina: I need to write every day in my field. Daily writing includes mostly prescriptions and
updating patient files, but occasionally I will write articles for magazines or psychiatry
websites.
Me: How often would you say that you have to write a research article?
Giardina: Not as often as one might think actually. You really only need to write a research
article if you discover something new or have the urge to publish some findings or
thoughts. I would say that I typically write around half a dozen of them a year, but most are
not published in a large journal.
Me: How important is writing in the field of clinical psychiatry?
Giardina: It is vital. Without writing, I wouldnt have a job. I have to write every day and I know
that my patients success is determined by my own writing abilities.