§ “I love my job.”
 
§ “I feel like I have all sorts of options. I can practice in either field and do a variety of things.”
 
§ “Although I am practicing only psychiatry, the combined training helps me take much better care of my patients & understand my patients better.”
 
§ “My combined training is also helpful for colleagues in both fields, both in providing expertise using their ‘language’ and also in providing a personal link from one field to the other.”
 
§ “I have found the combined training to be invaluable in ways that continue to surprise and unfold with time. As a hospitalist, my psychiatric skills and training were highly prized by other physicians, nurses and patients and their families. A few examples include my ability to effectively diagnose, manage and explain delirium to families, to establish rapport with families and patients who had fired their previous (and non-communicative) physician, and my skills in managing alcohol withdrawal were highly prized and sought after.  I've also found that primary care physicians wind up doing so much psychiatry, but they often lack the skills and training to provide elegant care, and often feel overwhelmed by psychiatric problems. The two extra years of training (for Med/Psych) are excellent opportunities to develop those skills and develop a behavioral framework from which to approach patient care.”
 
§ “I work in an academic setting and we are on a state budget so no one makes a lot of money and the combined training did not get me more money in this setting. In private practice it certainly would have.”
 
§ “Medical care is an art and attempting a combined program is a challenge that will take longer to accomplish and have its own set of anxieties to be as competent as your peers in all settings. Thus, there will have to be a pruning of your interest and expertise over time. Still, you will be uniquely trained and provide a skill set that few others have. Those patients who you engage will benefit from the time and energy you put into making this combined training your vision.”
 
§ “I'm having a very rewarding practice.”
 
§ “Combined residencies provide one of the most useful skill sets in any profession.”
 
§ “Learn to listen; try to learn what it is like for the patient. Review ALL old records/history.”
 
§ “Geri Psych setting seems to be best application for my combined training.” 

§ “I have had a very interesting and rewarding 35 years as an internist and psychiatrist. I would not trade it for any other specialty or specialty combination.”
 
§ “All the bad things that everyone says about combined training, the problems with reimbursement, perceptions of colleagues, trouble staying current in two fields, are sadly, almost 100% true. But once I found my niche, wouldn't have it any other way and would do it again without a second thought. Philosophically, I think FP/Psych reflects realities of clinical practice than IM/Psych.”
 
§ “The billing and insurance systems can be barriers to integrated practice but this will change. I am not able to practice in an integrated setting all the time, but I still value my combined training when working in psych or medicine alone and feel it brings superior care to patients and new perspective to those I help train.”
 
§ “I think combined training is a significant edge in obtaining leadership positions in academic medicine and private practice.”