Official 2008-2009 interview feedback post

Feel free to PM me for my feedback on this program. I won't be posting it at large though. Like I said, nothing negative to say, but it's my home program so whatever, just covering my gluteal cleft appropriately

also, I will continue to serve as anonymous poster proxy dude in this thread as well. Just PM me and I'll edit personal details out.

Wanted to add that if you had any specific questions about programs, I will relay them to the anonymous dude/dudette I'm proxying for, and relay them back to you by PM. Anonymity will be highly protected.

This program rocks. The people were great. The residents are smart and friendly. The department is large and well-respected within the institution. The research opportunities are great (50% of time in both 3rd and 4th years can be protected for research with a mentor). Interview questions were "what questions do you have for me?" And maybe one totally open question like "tell me about yourself." Only possible downside is that it's going through some change. But it's bringing in quality folks (new PD and Chair). Charleston is beautiful, fun and vibrant. A little expensive (for the SE) b/c it's such a nice place to live. Most residents live a few minutes out of town and can have a townhouse w/yard, etc. Did I mention the beaches? They have night float.

Highlights - Burlington's a great city. Awesome skiing nearby. Funky, healthy local culture. Call is Q8-9 for 3 years w/ no call/home call in year 4. Faculty seemed to be very high quality. The child dept is especially strong, with some of the field's leading researchers. New PD is from Columbia, and seems to be a big plus. Very friendly. Only PD is retiring, but will still be around some so it should be an easy transition. Negative aspects - program is very small. In the past I'm told female residents had trouble getting maternity leave. New PD is mom so maybe this will improve? Otherwise, Substance Abuse training is limited - can pursue in 4th year if you want. Psychotherapy training seemed thin, but residents did score 6th in country on some standardized therapy exam.

I have 6 interviews in the next two weeks so expect a flurry of activity from myself. I have a feeling I'm going to be a guinea pig for a lot of these places, so I will post as early as possible (from hotels if I have internet access on the cheap [i.e. free]). As the interview season ramps up I just wanted to wish yall as much luck as possible.

Echoing what was stated above, I was very impressed by the faculty I met. The appeared warm, responsive, and very engaged. The teaching seems excellent. I also found the residents to be a great group of people. They seem to feel as though the size of the residency makes for strong camaraderie. Burlington is a nice place if you like winters (snow tires were advised), and the summer and fall seem quite spectacular. Lots of places to eat and buy local food. Costco is also very convenient.

Is it me or is the forum extremely light on program discussion this year? Maybe my timing is off but I remember at this time last year sifting through hundreds of interview feedback posts, questions about programs, this vs. thats, etc.

I think interview season is just getting started - but let's keep comments coming!

Thomas Jefferson
1. Important Questions: I met with the PD, and 3 other faculty. Each interview was 30 minutes. Most asked very open ended questions (“Tell me more about your story”), specific questions related to my personal statement, or detailed questions about my research. Conversational, not intimidating.

2. Highlights: Strong clinical training, friendly residents. PD seems very interested in the residents and seems very approachable. Other than that, could not get a clear sense of the program.

3. Estimated call hours: I think the residents said call averages out to about q5 during intern year and then gradually lessens after that. Night float system.

4. Friendliness: Residents seemed quite friendly, especially the current chief resident.

5. Location, pluses and minuses: Depends on what you are looking for. Philadelphia is one of the less expensive big East Coast cities, has decent restaurant scene, things to do, etc.

6. Most Positive Aspects: Call seems quite reasonable, and the focus on strong clinic skills is positive if that is your primary goal.

7. Most Negative Aspects Not much opportunity for research. Resident did not seem that interested in the idea of being at a teaching institution.

8. Overall Impression: Definitely suited for someone heading into private practice, community psych etc. Seems like a decent program, but was overall underwhelmed.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked - I got a lot of questions about my background in behavioral ecology and volunteering with children. One of my interviewers asked me to present a case, which threw me for a loop. It wasn't a pimptastic thing but more of a 'tell me about a case that sticks out in your mind and why it did so'. Overall they seemed very interested in me as an individual and what I bring to psychiatry that's unique, not just how I'd perform in generic resident duties. They had all read through my file pretty carefully and it showed in the degree of familiarity they showed. It was really great stepping into the interview and being able to build off of my ERAS rather than repeat and rehash it.

2. Big highlights of the programs - Freestanding Psych ER. Private, state, and VA experience. Dedicated research track. Good integration between the research and clinical faculty. C/L, child, and forensic opportunities are excellent. Research clinics available for elective time, which is a cool opportunity to basically specialize in seeing patients with one disorder for a month or so while working with one of the top experts in that field. Child c/l is very strong (particular interest of mine) with involvement in transplant and cancer. Psychoanalytic institute within the department.

3. Estimated call hours - Pretty standard. I didn't go into too much detail.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff - The faculty were very engaging and everyone I met seemed deeply committed to their role as teachers. The residents were friendly and honest. If they didn't like something about the program, they were up front about it. They all had great things to say about the faculty as well.

5. Location pluses and minuses - Dallas. Blech. Really a great city. Good entertainment. Great food. Dallas world aquarium is awesome. Kimbell art museum in ft. Worth. Good shopping if that's your thing. But the traffic is horrendous. And like any big city, honest to god houses are hard to come by close to the hospital. Cost of living is among the lowest for major metroplexes.

6. Most positive aspects of program - The PD clearly is working constantly to make the program better and better. The faculty seem devoted to teaching. The researchers are a big part of resident training as well through didactics, research clinics, and other opportunities. The psychotherapy training seems top notch. Strong C/L and forensics opportunities. Child is very well integrated into the children's hospital as a whole. The psychiatry dept and psychology dept also seem to have a very strong working relationship including a buddy system (residents are paired with psychology interns).

7. Most negative aspects of program - Location. not as flexible as I would like, personally, but few programs are. (damn you ACGME!) Have been told that the didactics are 'better than they used to be', and constantly improving.

8. Overall Impresion - This program left a very good impression on me as a whole. I didn't really feel they were lacking in anything and I felt like they were exceptional on several fronts (psychotherapy, child, research, C/L). It would be hard to top this program in my mind.

I interviewed there last week, so I decided I better get this down before I forget.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked:

Just questions about me, my interest in psychiatry, my family and upbringing. We were each interviewed by the PD, the deputy PD, and the vice-chair of education. I believe every interview began with, "tell me about yourself." Everyone seemed to have read my PS and ERAS app ahead of time; no skimming during the interview. Each interviewer was nice, non-intimidating, and if there was any psychoanalytical scrutiny, it was well-hidden. Overall, non-stressful and enjoyable to the extent that we all love talking about ourselves!

2. Big highlights of the programs:

The biggest plus that everyone talks about is how responsive the staff is to residents' complaints. For example, they moved the medicine rotation to a different hospital because of the problems residents were having at the original one. They have protected lecture days on Thursday, and the teaching is excellent. 3 free meals a day are provided at the cafeteria, which looked like it had a lot of food options. Housing is available in a lot of areas, and the building across the street has studios starting at $550.

3. Estimated call hours: oddly enough, I didn't really pay attention to the answer to his question... the answer's probably on the website or something.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff:

Very friendly! A 4th year sat with us all throughout the day and chatted/answered questions with us in between interviews. We had lunch with the rest of the residents, who seemed to get along great and really made an effort to talk to us and give us advice. They were all super happy about the program with no complaints.

5. Location pluses and minuses:

The Bronx is a vibrant, diverse community but if you want to commute to/from the manhattan it's almost an hour by subway (from downtown Manhattan anyway). The subway stop is pretty close though, and I also hear that there is a metro north stop close by as well.

6. Most positive aspects of program:

Happy residents, environment that encourages learning over scutwork, great faculty/teaching, diverse patient population.

7. Most negative aspects of program:

Nothing I can really think of besides the usual.. ie, it's not in Manhattan and it's not Columbia/Cornell...also I am not sure about the research scene (didn't ask since I don't really care).

UC Davis

The interview day is pretty standard with 5 personal interviews in the morning and a tour and Q&A sessions in the afternoon. If you're interested in the research track u then meet with the research track director at the end of the day. The morning interviews are the only part of the day used for evaluations and the interviews are weighted heavily in the decision process. ROL decisions are made by a democratic committee (every vote is equal, i.e. a resident = PD). The program interviews app. 8 applicants at a time every wed for a total of 72 applicants for the season. The PD is very straight forward and said he doesn't try to "sell the program" and more interested in looking for a good fit, two things which I found really refreshing. He is SO straightforward that if u call him in late January he will tell you your exact spot on their ROL. He said the program usually ranks about 50 of the 72 applicants interviewed and generally dip into the 20s to fill a class of 8 residents. The ROL is made entirely on who they think is the best applicant and not on whether they think you will go there, which again is very cool

During the morning, I was interviewed by the chair, PD, chief resident, a member of the research faculty (cause I'm interested in research), and a second year resident. Overall, I received pretty standard questions like why psychiatry, what my interests are, what my parents thought about me going into psychiatry, and why UC Davis. Like a lot of northern CA schools they seem to be interested in people with ties to the area. The chairmen is head of somethingamajig at the APA and because of this the residents get access to free copies of pretty much any psychiatry textbook they like. The chair is also an MD/MBA and has set the program up in a way (99% of funding from federal grants and contracts with the county) that the program has a lot of money. The program director and chief resident were both very friendly during the interview. My second year resident interviewer actually asked the most pointed questions of the day like "if u want to do research so bad why did u go to medical school?" or at one point I mentioned I would like to do some teaching eventually and he immediately asked "what things have you done that demonstrate this alleged interest in teaching"… again not really that tough, but also not as friendly and conversational as the other interviews.

The curriculum overall seems quite flexible. It's all on the website, but some interesting highlights are: they only do 2 months of IP medicine during intern year and the other 2 months are in OP med/psych or fp/psych clinics (typically 9-5pm). The call schedule is very light and is considered one of the perks of the program: i.e. Q5 on inpt medicine, no call on neuro or OP medicine, mostly at home call on inpt psych during PGY-I, NO WEEKEND CALL PGY-II and Q10 weekdays, and negligible call during PGY-III and IV. There are opportunities for electives during PGY-II and again during PGY-IV. The program also has a research track which allows for ½ day of protected time PGY-II, entire year protected for research during PGY-III, and ½-1 day protected time in PGY-IV. The research track is 4 yrs old with 3 previous graduates and room for 1 applicant a year (possibly 2). After graduation, there is also an opportunity to continue the research track into an extended 2 yr research fellowship w/ income of approximately 80 k and opportunity to enroll in NIH loan repayment program which can knock off 15-20% of your student loans. There is also an education track available, but I didn't really pay attention for that part.

Overall, I came away with a very good impression from the program. UC Davis has always been considered more of a primary care school, but over the last 10 yrs the psychiatry department has seen a lot of growth in research opportunities (ex. MIND institute, center for neuroscience, etc&#8230. Sacramento obviously doesn't have the draw of NYC or SF, but I felt it had a nice small city feel with the ability to drive to SF or Lake Tahoe in a couple of hrs if so inclined. But I imagine if you want a real urban experience or want to rub elbows on saturday night with lindsey lohan at "park" or "lotus" then it probably isn't the place for you. Cost of living seems reasonable on a residents salary and Sacramento apparently as an endless supply of moonlighting opportunities (I was told rates were 115-130$/hr compared to 70-85$ in bay area) which some residents double their income doing this. The residents I spoke to seemed happy, laid back, and the most fun group I've interacted with so far. The residents carry a lot of power in refining the curriculum (which I think is great). The negatives I can think of all really depend on one's personal inclinations i.e. location, not seen as a top-tier school, etc… Some minor things: the residents mentioned that addiction is not a strength of the program (clinical or research). Also, apparently there has been some problems with the teaching during the neurology months and they are in the process of setting up some new sites. Can't really think of anything else….

1. The question I got over and over is what kind of career do I want. Private, clinical faculty, or research. They also wanted to know about fellowship interest. Finally, they wanted to know if there were specific populations I was interested in working with. There was a 1 hr resident interview, a 1 hr faculty interview, and a 30 minute interview with the PD. I was admittedly a little put off by the fact that even though I was interviewing for the integrated track as well, I wasn't interviewed by anyone on the c&a faculty.

2. This program is very large, with 167 faculty and a total of 45 residents at any given time. They offer a 5 year integrated child track with an OPTIONAL year of fully funded research making roughly 70k IIRC (that might be a little high or a little low). The salaries are some of the highest you'll see but Denver is not an expensive area. They also offer a Child Interest track which simply includes time on peds and more child psychiatry interaction but is not integrated with a C&A fellowship. Finally they also have an Adult Research track which is constructed similarly to the integrated track with an optional year of funded research. Their addictions facilities are top notch in addition. The Denver psychoanalytic institute. Their child fellowship is very highly regarded. They also have an emphasis on multicultural psych. On the psychotherapy front I wanted to mention that they have good supervision opportunities in a number of modalities, including interpersonal therapy. That latter is kinda important to me as I personally love its philosophical foundation and since I feel it's an awesome blend of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral techniques.

3. Estimated call hours. Sorry, I never pay attention to this. It's between q4 and q6 on medicine, q4 on peds and about q6-8 on psych months intern year. q10-12 in 2nd year, and home call pgy3/4.

4. Everyone is extremely friendly. The residents are very open and honest about how they feel about the program, which is overwhelmingly positive. They're very outgoing, social creatures, with none of the stuffiness or stilted mode of speech you see in many psych residents and attendings. The faculty likewise are very warm from my brief interaction with them. The faculty member I interviewed with held an addiction fellowship. He was incredibly helpful with general career advice for someone looking to mix clinical and research opportunities, and in general. I really appreciated his open and honest manner with me, and just how much time he spent without my prompting to give me general advice on hwat I, personally, need to look for in a program.

5. Denver is a great city with below average cost of living for its size. Good outdoor pursuits. Good entertainment. Great eating. Its only minus is its isolation. It is something like the most isolated metro area in the entire country.

6. This program has outstanding breadth and depth, with good research opportunities should you choose to avail yourself of them. Their child program, as I mentioned earlier, is known throughout the world, although we didn't get to see much of it on our interview day. They have built a new medical campus which is the largest I've ever seen in my life. One thing I liked is that among all the residents and faculty I met they all had one thing that really got them going. Whether it was an interest in research or just a desire to work with a specific clinical population, there was clearly *something* within psychiatry they really wanted to hang their hat on. OUt of the 4 recently graduated psych residents from my hone program, two are going to Denver for fellowship (forensic and addiction). I think very highly of our residents so I think that says something about how they feel about the program.

7. The exposure to child seems somewhat limited. I didn't feel like research was pushed quite as much as it is at UTSW.
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I'll post my review of Cambridge either later tonight or tommorrow. Am I seriously like the only person interviewing right now? This today was the 4th program I was a 1st day interviewee at. I hope I'm not screwing myself by interviewing so early.

Background info: Several years back (before the current PD), there was some dept infighting and half of the dept ended up leaving. This threw the program for a loop for a while, but they are now nearly recovered from this. However, if you interview at any psych program in Chicago, you'll probably still hear nasty little tidbits about the Univ of Chicago program (from residents and other interviewees). So ignore them, because I really don't think think they're applicable anymore. However, the PD is completely open to discussing any concerns about this.

1. Mainly I was asked where I envisioned myself in 10 years, and how their program could help me to achieve that. Also they wanted to know what kinds of programs I was interested in.

2. Smallish program -- 6 residents/yr (but this year they might take 7). Very academic program; very concerned with resident and med student education; one research project required; 4th year is basically completely free for you to design however you want.

3. Medicine q4; psych q7-8 1st year, q8-10 2nd year, no call 3rd/4th yrs.

4. EVERYONE was really, genuinely friendly -- residents, PD, and faculty. We had plenty of time to hang out with the residents in between interviews, and they were all nice, interesting, and not weird.

5. It's in Hyde Park, which can be very upscale, and also very sketchy depending on the particular block. However it's Chicago, with lots of public transportation, so you could easily live anywhere in the city. But yes, Chicago is expensive. Although there is (subsidized) graduate housing around the university.

6. Positives: Child Fellowship; C&L fellowship in the works; awesome C&L opportunities because the Univ hospital is becoming specialized, in that they are phasing out run-of-mill patients. Lots of varied research opportunities; strong focus on teaching. Very involved PD who seeks resident input on the program weekly. Faculty also make teaching residents their first priority. Also the Univ of Chicago is right across the street from the hospital, so you're right on campus and have access to the many happenings there. This is a terrific program if you have a strong academic medicine bent.

7. Negatives: Small department; rotations are scattered around the city -- only ER psych and C&L are done at the U of C hospital. Not huge in psychotherapy, but there's a decent emphasis (although that's not really a negative for me).
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Ed note: based on that last sentence most of you should realize that this is not me.

1. They asked the usual questions -- where I wanted to be in 10-15 yrs, what I was looking for in a program, etc. I had two faculty interviews (both in areas of psych that I'm interested in) and a PD interview. Also the morning of the interview we go to a psychotherapy case conference with Dr. Goldberg and the residents.

2. Program has 6 residents/yr. They have closed the med/psych program (for now). Big emphasis on psychotherapy and clinical education. Not so much of an academic medicine program, but they are open to whatever you want to do. I actually don't remember if they have any fellowships (but a lot of the residents go on to C&A fellowships). Research not required, but opportunities abound.

3. Medicine q4; psych q5-6.

4. Everyone seemed nice and friendly, but I thought the faculty and PD were more engaging than most of the residents.

5. Chicago is pricey, but the area around Rush is pretty nice, so you could live close by and walk to the hospital without being afraid of getting mugged or something. A lot of residents live in the Little Italy neighborhood nearby. Rotations are mainly at Rush.

6. Positives: good area of Chicago; really nice outpatient facilities; separate geriatric psych unit; different units for addiction inpts and mood/affective d/o inpts. Inpt child unit. Faculty are enthusiastic about teaching. Lots of cutting-edge research going on (like trans-magnetic cranial stimulation). Tons of training in psychotherapy, especially with Dr. Goldberg on staff.

7. Negatives: Not huge in research or academia if those are your interests. Call is a little heavy for psych. Heavy focus on psychotherapy (esp psychodynamic and CBT), which could be negative for some people.

1. The interviews included a geropsych fellow, a pgy-3, the assistant PD, and a faculty member. Some people interviewed with the PD himself, but either way, 4 interviews. The interviews were very laid back and very friendly but there was quite a bit of quite personal questions. About parents, about significant others, about personal challenges. These were not confrontational in any sort of way but very very friendly (you'll see me say that a lot). I had an interesting question about iraq/afghanistan vets, PTSD and what it'd be like to treat them. I talked a bit about hte differences in systems between now and vietnam, but also about issues of transference and counter-transference especially as they'd relate to young male psychiatrists working with young male veterans of pretty much the same age but vastly different experiences in life. Dunno if that's what they were looking for but *shrug*. Almost everyone asked about how family/friends felt about my decision to go into psych. One wanted to know what languages I speak.

2. Cambridge is basically built around their psych program. 49% of the cases seen are psych, inpatient and outpatient. They have 30% of the psych beds in the entire state of MA. Their PD is one of the leaders in HIV psychiatry. They are very focused on community psych and serving underserved populations. They also have a strong multicultural emphasis with a significant amount of energy devoted to a variety of outpatient clinics each geared toward different ethnicities, including haitian, african, and asian. Their psychotherapy supervision is huge, I was told that the number of available supervisors numbers into the hundreds and spans every form of therapy imaginable. They emphasize DBT. They also have reduced rate psychoanalysis available. I was told a ballpark figure of around 40 dollars a session. One cool thing they do is that part of their neuro requirements are satisfied by doing a month at McLean with the behavioral neurologists.

3. Call is interesting. No true overnight call 1st year. Short call 1-2 times per week on internal medicine. No call during Neuro. 2 weeks of night float on medicine. PGY2 and PGY 3 you're on call roughly q14 based out of their PES and handling adult, child, and adolescent inpatient as well.

4. Their strongest point is the familial atmosphere. The residents are all very warm, very fun, and very supportive of each other. The program emphasizes education beyond anything else. The PD and assistant PD will pretty much get rid of anything they feel isn't related to resident education. This place feels very warm and fuzzy and I mean that in a very good way. This is a place where they really truly care about their residents' welfare above all else.

5. Boston is probably one of the coolest cities in the states. It has a TON of culture and while it's big it isn't nasty like NYC or the big cali cities in terms of livability (or lack thereof). Cheaper to live in, cars are doable, and several residents own houses 20 minutes or so from the hospital. The T could use some work. Winters tend to be suckier than NYC.

6. Strong psychotherapy. Residents are taken care of. Excellent community psychiatry training. The PD and assistant PD are awesome. Broad range of SES due to the fact that they get a lot of harvard/MIT students and faculty in addition to their main focus of the medically underserved.

7. They do have some clinical outcomes, healthcare delivery, and demographic type reserach going on. Limited in translational and basic research though, but it is doable through their affiliation with other harvard schools. But you will have to work at it. This is a primary care hospital and the psych residents are..umm...higher quality than the IM/FM residents although they say this is changing. So it is limited from a tertiary care/CL standpoint.

This is either a negative or a positive, but they make no bones about the orientation of the program. This is the place to go if you're interested in community psychiatry. It isn't a one trick pony but there is a clear overriding and guiding emphasis. Again, I can't understate how warm this environment was.

Will try to get brown and yale feedback up by Monday.

masterofmonkeys said:

They have 30% of the psych beds in the entire state of MA.

Click to expand...

Not sure this is true... perhaps some qualifier here (freecare beds, state funded beds)? This is Massachusetts we're talking about - you can't throw a rock without hitting a psychiatric unit.

Doc Samson said:

Not sure this is true... perhaps some qualifier here (freecare beds, state funded beds)? This is Massachusetts we're talking about - you can't throw a rock without hitting a psychiatric unit.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was a little suprrised to hear that. Their psych units didn't seem HUGE. And after all there are three more harvard programs alone, plus UMASS etc.

But that was one statistic along with 49% of their visits being psych that was repeated by several different people, with no qualifier.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked
Pretty basic stuff, like what are you interested in, why the south. At the beginning of the day, the PD made it clear there would be no pressure interviews/trick questions etc, and emphasized that it was our opportunity to learn about them. When I asked what his goals for the people in the program were, he really stressed his desire to steer people to their career choices early so they know what they’re doing by PGY3, and aren’t doing fellowships just because they don’t know what to do next.

2. Big highlights of the programs
Exposure to lots of pathology and lots of autonomy early (maybe a little too much autonomy), EBM in psychiatry module, extensive community psych opportunities, an active mind-body institute and other research in hot areas of psych (inflammation, DBS/VNS, neuroimaging, some psychiatric genetics), with a collaborative, collegial research environment; possible international psych opportunities through the Carter Center, but it seems like you’ll have to put it together yourself through them (could be wrong)

3. Estimated call hours
Frontloaded, but not too bad:
PGY1: q6 on service in the ER, q4 medicine months, but you’re only required to do 1 mo inpatient, the rest can be ambulatory/ER/medicine elective mix
PGY2; q6 x 8 mo no call otherwise
PGY3:q11, PGY4 no call

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
PD whose only been there 2 years has been very responsive and made real changes that have improved resident experience (earlier electives, resident retreat, pulling people out of VA med months apparently notorious for scutwork and lack of bread and butter medicine diversity).
Residents seemed happy, even PGY1s not overly stressed and enthusiastic. About ½ the PGY3/4s moonlight and it can significantly increase pay.

5. Location pluses and minuses
Residents seemed to live okay, and weather wise is much sunnier and warmer (60 in November) than the northern clime I traveled from. People are genuinely nice, and residents to a person said quality of life in Atlanta was great, and that it was a more cosmopolitan city than people give it credit for. However, outside of Atlanta there didn’t seem to be much going on, and if you’re a diehard winter sports person, this won’t be the place for you.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Extensive research opportunities and mentoring in research, breadth and intensity of clinical experience, ease of living in Atlanta, all the ACGME fellowships
7. Most negative aspects of program
Not the most supervision early on…if I remember correctly, they just instituted buddy call for the first three nights of psych call, and there’s no dedicated attending overnight in the ER, so you’ve got to hit the ground running. Not many computers in the county hospital, and there’s still paper charting (a pet peeve of mine). Also, if you’re thinking about child psych, there’s no inpatient child psych unit, but the residents felt that their outpatient child psych experience was enough to at least help them decide if they wanted to do child psych. I’m not sure if on the whole its enough of a base…
The controversy regarding Charlie Nemeroff: administration was up front about it, sending emails beforehand and addressing it during interview day. The consensus was that it shouldn’t affect the clinical training, but if he is asked to leave the university all together, it would be harder to keep/recruit research faculty, thereby putting one of the program strengths in jeopardy. One person felt a decision should be handed down either way before match, and felt there was a good chance he would stay on. Stay tuned…


Overall impression

UTMB-Galveston

1. Important questions you asked/were asked
Pretty standard stuff: Why psych? Where do you see yourself in ten years? No stress questions, more getting to know each other.

2. Big highlights of the programs
Hard to say post hurricane Ike, but they seem to have good experience in C/L. Lots of flexibility in the fourth year; one pgy-iv is doing all forensics rotations so she can forego a fellowship and do forensics in private practice.
Not sure about research; seems therapy oriented.

3. Estimated call hours
Pretty standard, loaded towards the intern year. They have something called 'training call' where you basically shadow the upper level on the first few calls, then you fly solo. Seems cush.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
Definite positive. The residents were so happy that none of them left after Ike. The PD was very gracious and very accessible to the residents; they obviously had a great working relationship.

5. Location pluses and minuses
Pros: Close to Houston, reasonable cost of living, beach nearby.

Cons: Still rebuilding from the hurricane, but progressing nicely. Island itself is small.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Focus on resident education, very flexible schedule, call is relatively light, very friendly almost family like atmosphere, good pay.

7. Most negative aspects of program
Only one fellowship (child), living in a hurricane zone!

1. Important questions you asked/were asked
They really want to know if you have given a large amount of thought to actually living in Hawaii - ie. it's not a 4 year vacation, which I hope most candidates have at least considered the facts such as cost of living, distance from family and the culture within Hawaii. They also wanted to know what I wanted out of their residency program if I were to be a resident - pretty typical questions.

2. Big highlights of the programs
The program has major strengths in cultural psychiatry as well as addiction psychiatry as well as addiction medicine. It's moderate in size with multiple training sites and opportunities to become intertwined with the community.

3. Estimated call hours
The call is broken down into long and short - the longest is 12 hr - this is slightly a point of confusion b/c it doesn't necessarily work out to be 12 hr shifts in reality - I was given the impression that the residents do a lot of social work b/c the hospital lacks specialized social work in mental health.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
Extremely friendly all around. Very warm and welcoming- seems like an ideal working environment.

5. Location pluses and minuses
I mean - it's Hawaii - it's beautiful - however it's expensive and buying a house is unlikely an option.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Cultural aspect, addiction, location, very cool people to work with.

7. Most negative aspects of program
Besides the social work issues, I think the program is well balanced in general and is a solid program in general.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked: the usual - tell me about yourself, why psychiatry, an interesting patient, i was asked about my research and what i was looking for in a program. all interviews were very conversational and pleasant. my first interview of the day was with the medical director of IOL who's a trained analyst, i walked in his office and saw the couch and thought i was going to have to talk about my mother for the next 30 min, but it wasnt like that at all.

2. Big highlights of the programs: huge huge emphasis on teaching. the residents made a point to say that the IOL could run without their work, meaning they arent scutted out. intern year has 5 months inpatient plus 1 month addiction at a different facility. 2 of the 5 inpatient months are a "biopsychosocial" rotation where residents only carry 2 patients but are expected to get deep into their development and history and write them up. the remaining 3 months you carry 4 patients. pgy2's carry 5. also a "reaction" class intern year, to vent about your patients. therapy starts pgy2, can carry the patients till your 4th year. 4th year has 8 months elective time. very busy psych ER and CL service. child unit, adol unit, geri unit. units are "segregated", the higher functioning patients are separated from the chronic psychotics etc. there is a school on campus for kids with behavioral/learning problems who cant attend a regular school. i was told that lots of semi-famous people work here, some dude whos an expert on CBT and hoarding behavior and who's been on oprah, but i didnt catch his name. they have a research building and are doing some pretty exciting stuff, and residents are encouraged to get involved.

3. Estimated call hours: intern year psych months have 7 calls a month including one friday, one saturday and one sunday. i dont think its overnight call (not sure though). i was having too much fun hanging out with the residents to discuss this part medicine months q4, i believe no call during neuro.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff: incredible. the pd dr. bentmann is the mom of the program, incredibly accomodating and very much a resident advocate. she will change call schedules to accomodate couples and parents, so they can have post-call days off together, or not be on call the same night so someone is home with the kids, even if the spouse is at a different program! she will change your didactic class schedule if you have a more advanced neuroscience background compared to the other residents so you arent bored. essentially she will do anything for you to make you happy and ensure you receive the best training possible. all the residents know each other, since there is only 5-6 per year. they socialize when not at work. all the attendings are very approachable and seem to really enjoy teaching. great ancillary staff also.

5. Location pluses and minuses: hartford is a small city, they are trying to build up and revitalize the downtown area. most residents live 10-15 minutes away in the burbs. they say cost of living is pretty cheap. i think the hospital has housing also. definitely need a car to get around. fairly close to the mountains to get in some snowboarding. the rangers minor league hockey team plays here.

6. Most positive aspects of program: strong teaching, i'd say therapy > pharm but they definitely get good exposure to both. beautiful campus with nice facilities. hartford hospital is right across the street for medicine/neuro/ER/CL.

7. Most negative aspects of program: for me, that its in ct. far away from my home and family.

overall impression

1. Interviews/Questions:
JHU has a very long interview day, and there was a total of 7 individual interviews, plus you may be informally being evaluated by the chief resident and the director of education for the intern year at Bayview who meet with all the interviewees as a group. They only interview upto 3 applicants on each day. I met with 3 residents (PGY-3, PGY-2 x2), the program director Dr. Lipsey, the assistant PD Dr. Swartz, another faculty member with my research interest, and the chair Dr. DePaulo. Everyone was friendly. One resident asked me specific questions about things in my personal statement in a very interested, non-confrontational manner. The other two residents gave me more of a chance to ask questions of them. The PD asked me about my path to psychiatry, where as the assistant PD focused on what I was looking for in a program. The chief wanted to know where I see myself 15 years down the road.

2. Program overview/highlights
The intern year is demanding and takes place at Bayview, a separate hospital once owned by the city, and now staffed by Hopkins faculty, students, etc. Dr. Meg Chisolm is the director of Education at Bayview and comes to speak to the applicants about the Bayview experience. There are 6 months of medicine rotations, 1 of which is in the CCU and 2 weeks of MICU. 2 months of neuro, both inpatient and outpatients,12-14 weeks of inpatient psych and 6-8 weeks of outpatient psych.

Second year is spent rotating through the specialty inpatient psych units at Hopkins, including mood disorders, geriatrics, eating disorders, general inpatient, detox unit, schizophrenia unit, chronic pain. Resident always has his/her own office right on the unit to read and meet with patients and families. Every JHU faculty member, including research bigwigs and the chair are required to attend on the inpatient units, so you will get great teaching

Third year is spent on Outpatient, C/L, and Psych Emergency Services.

Fourth year has 4 months outpatient, 2 months of child/adolescent, and 6 months elective time.

Although there are many research faculty and opportunities, there is no dedicated research track so it seemed more difficult and less flexible than some other programs to pursue research. There is a good deal of protected didactics, grand rounds, etc.

This is a program that is interested in training psychiatrists who are strong in both medicine and psychiatry, and wants people who are attracted to that. They do not hide the fact that you will work harder than many other psych programs, but they also medically manage more of their patients on the inpatient units than other programs. I saw this as a training strength but many might be turned off by it.


3. Call
PGY-1: No call on neuro, q4 call on psych but weekends off, q4 on medicine, and q3 on CCU and MICU
PGY-2: Call is q13
PGY-3: one 12 hr shift per month
PGY-4: one 12 hr shift per month

4. Friendliness of program/faculty/staff
I found everyone to be really friendly, and genuinely enjoyed meeting all the faculty. The residents, too, were friendly and seemed very bright. Hopkins takes 5 extra residents in the PGY-2 year, usually people who have done other residencies, which makes for a diverse group. Staff, including nursing staff, seemed wonderful. It was emphasized that many of the nurses on the inpatient units have been there for 20+ years and really help out the residents.

5. Location plus/minus
Personally, I don’t think Baltimore is that great a city, but the surrounding areas are more affordable than Boston, NYC, Philly, DC, etc. I don’t think anyone is drawn to the program b/c of Baltimore.

6. Most positive aspects:
JHU is an academic powerhouse, and whatever path you choose – academics, private practice, etc. you will be well prepared and have no trouble getting a job. You will be competent in both psychiatry and medicine when you are done. Chair is engaging and both chair and PD’s seem dedicated to improving the program. Overall, I thought this was a great program.

7. Negative aspects:
Less flexibility, work harder, less emphasis on psychotherapy training than some other places. There is also a strange, cult-like aspect to JHU based on their adoption of McCue’s philosophy of practicing “perspectives in psychiatry” – apparently it is a book that everyone follows like it is the Bible that has a different take on psych than most programs. Unclear of what it is all about. More conservative – every Monday the men must wear Hopkins ties, and the women must wear Hopkins scarves. I found that strange.

Just to preface this, I went to one of their 'research' days. They have three days where they interview applicants who are interested in doing research. There is no formal research track though.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked
The interview day starts out with 4 hours of presentations on some of the research going on in the institution. This is followed by lunch, and then 6 30 minute interviews. Two of the interviews are with residents. The day ends around 5:30. This is a very long, very draining day. I have been told that the non-research day is just as long. Less presentation, but more exposure to the clinical sites, etc.

I honestly felt a bit rushed with only 30 minutes to discuss me, my fit for psych, and my future research. Felt like I might not have gotten across everything I wanted to.

Everyone was extremely friendly and cordial, and even the most research-heavy people there were very personable and charming.

As might be expected, while there were the traditional questions about your interest in psych and your background, the interviews typically centered around research interests, your preparation for a research career, etc.

2. Big highlights of the programs
Good diversity of sites. Road Island Hospital, The very large free-standing Butler Hospital for psychiatry. And one of the very few freestanding child psych hospitals in the world. You can start moonlighting as a PGY2. Good research mentorship opportunities. Large (10 people) child fellowship.

3. Estimated call hours
No idea.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
Everyone was really friendly. A whole lot of down-to-earth and outdoor types at this school.

5. Location pluses and minuses
Providence is a smaller town, but the presence of RISD and Brown means there's plenty of culture here. IT's 30 minutes by train or car to boston and a little over 2 hours to NYC. However, it ISN'T Boston or NYC. And some of the residents (especially single ones) said that the lack of a night life really bothered them.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Friendly people. Proximity to the university. Free standing psych hospital. Very large department. Research opportunities. Location.

7. Most negative aspects of program
Location (isolation). Call seems a little more frequent. Brown's catchment area isn't as big as sayyy Boston or NYC. Consult exposure MAY consequently suffer (although none of the .residents felt that way).

sorry, wrong thread.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked: the usual - tell me about yourself, why psychiatry, an interesting patient, i was asked about my research and what i was looking for in a program. i also got into a really interesting conversation about culture and family, it was fun. all interviews were very conversational and pleasant. met with PD, an attending, chief resident, and a pgy2.

2. Big highlights of the programs: very broad psychiatric training. there is a jail on the campus for forensic rotations, a transplant service to consult on, addictions, c+a inpatient units, a childrens hospital, CL, emergency psych with a CPEP. its a tertiary/quaternary care center so they have a very big catchment area. right now i think they travel to another facility for ECT but are opening their own ECT service in the next month or so. residents travel to 2 other facilities, one in harrison about 20 min away and one in danbury, ct about 45 minutes away. harrison is more upper class pts and danbury is a more blue collar type of crowd (if i remember correctly). for 3rd year outpt, a couple of residents have to do it in danbury, due to space limitations, but the PD said they self-select, no one has been sent to danbury who didnt want to go. also a very broad patient population, socioeconomic wise. one dedicated didactic day, which i dont like in theory bc i feel you lose some continuity with your patients, but its beginning to look more attractive to me. PD has made some changes to the program recently at the request of residents, like having a yearly resident retreat.

3. Estimated call hours: its based on a point system, weekend and holiday calls get you more points so if you take more weekends, you will be on call fewer # of days compared to everyone else. they also recently started having 2 people on call a night instead of 1. apparently it was incredibly busy, so now one person takes care of the admitted patients and one person does admissions through the CPEP. (i think, not sure if i have the details 100%)

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff: everyone is incredibly nice. all the residents seem really happy to be training there. its not cush, they have a very busy facility and they are expected to work but its not an insane amount to handle. the residents hang out outside of work. the attendings all love to teach.

5. Location pluses and minuses: very beautiful suburban area. most residents live within a 20 minute drive. white plains which isnt too far away has some nightlife, but manhattan is a 40 minute drive or train ride away. apartments are pretty expensive though. i think there is some subsidized housing for residents however, but you cant live there all 4 years.

6. Most positive aspects of program: strong teaching, good therapy training, the broad exposure within psychiatry. nice facilities.

7. Most negative aspects of program: nothing incredibly negative really. not big into research, although they recently became affiliated with LIJ for clinical research. the 45 minute commute to the other hospital. expensive cost of living but they get one of the highest salaries in the country. still not sure how i personally feel about the one protected didactic day.

overall impression

LSU/Ochsner is a program that apparently was down a little bit after Katrina but seems to have bounced back very nicely. The staff and residents were both very laid back and very friendly. The interview was extremely low stress; the toughest question was probably "Give me a story about why you got interested in Psychiatry" No stress questions or psychoanalysis or any of that. Both of the PDs (Drs. Hickman and Conrad) seemed very nice and the residents seemed to back up that they were very accessible.

One of the big pluses is that residents seem very happy here. There was some concern about the call schedule in terms of where the interns will be covering, but for the most part it seems very manageable. Supposedly call on medicine wasn't too bad either according to the PGY II we spoke with.
Moonlighting is available in house, and residents seem to do very well financially. Cost of living in the city seems high (for the South) but suburban areas seem reasonable. The city itself still has areas recovering from Katrina, but by and large things seemed very normal, especially at Ochsner. They offer a C&A fellowship and a Psychosomatic fellowship starting next year. One of the PDs is pushing to start a forensics fellowship as well.

Downsides? I'm not sure how strong some of the residents are academically; some of the second year residents were worried about their Step III scores and their PRITE scores. Right now, they are about half USMG (including a couple of DOs) and IMG.
Obviously, New Orleans itself is a little scary between the crime and the hurricanes--- although the residents don't seem to worry too much and actually seem to have some fun.

Overall, this seems to be a decent program: the residents get a lot of C/L experience at Ochsner (transplants, addiction, ECT) and a lot of 'whoa' type decompensated schizophrenics at Univeristy. If you are looking for a laid back environment with flexibility it would probably be a good program for you.
I give it a

masterofmonkeys said:

LSU/Ochsner is a program that apparently was down a little bit after Katrina but seems to have bounced back very nicely. The staff and residents were both very laid back and very friendly. The interview was extremely low stress; the toughest question was probably "Give me a story about why you got interested in Psychiatry" No stress questions or psychoanalysis or any of that. Both of the PDs (Drs. Hickman and Conrad) seemed very nice and the residents seemed to back up that they were very accessible.

One of the big pluses is that residents seem very happy here. There was some concern about the call schedule in terms of where the interns will be covering, but for the most part it seems very manageable. Supposedly call on medicine wasn't too bad either according to the PGY II we spoke with.
Moonlighting is available in house, and residents seem to do very well financially. Cost of living in the city seems high (for the South) but suburban areas seem reasonable. The city itself still has areas recovering from Katrina, but by and large things seemed very normal, especially at Ochsner. They offer a C&A fellowship and a Psychosomatic fellowship starting next year. One of the PDs is pushing to start a forensics fellowship as well.

Downsides? I'm not sure how strong some of the residents are academically; some of the second year residents were worried about their Step III scores and their PRITE scores. Right now, they are about half USMG (including a couple of DOs) and IMG.
Obviously, New Orleans itself is a little scary between the crime and the hurricanes--- although the residents don't seem to worry too much and actually seem to have some fun.

Overall, this seems to be a decent program: the residents get a lot of C/L experience at Ochsner (transplants, addiction, ECT) and a lot of 'whoa' type decompensated schizophrenics at Univeristy. If you are looking for a laid back environment with flexibility it would probably be a good program for you.
I give it a

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I'm happy to give Dr. Conrad a . Know him from the CL meetings - great guy.

Anyone have info on the interview experience at Duke?

wow, either no one's interviewing, or those that have interviewed have totally lost steam in posting reviews...in the interest of accountability, i can say i'm in the latter camp, but hope to contribute soon...

I owe the board a few, but don't see much point in posting if the effort's really not being reciprocated. Especially since the ONLY reason I'm doing writeups at all is for the rest of yalls sake.

I'd like to thank all the people who've submitted me anonymous feedback though, and everyone else who's posted.

1. Important questions you asked/were asked

Pretty standard stuff all in all. Had a couple ask me about my non psychiatry interests, but nothing out of the ordinary. Several of my interviewers had not read through my appliation packet in advance, which IMO is not a good sign. The day also started kind of late.

I and a couple of others weren't interviewed by either the PD or the assistant PD, others were interviewed by both while most got one or the other. Of course they always make the disclaimer that who you're interviewed by won't affect your position on the rank list but that's very hard to believe, especially as a psych guy. If the APD or PD interviewed you, you're a known quantity to them, they have a face, a voice, and mannerisms to match up to you, as well as the unique stamp you placed in their mind by being able to present yourself in a more personalized format.

2. Big highlights of the programs

The program has multiple sites. In intern year you can train at a local community hospital or at yale. They are listed as two separate NRMP id numbers but the only difference is the site for your medicine months.

In addition to yale, there is a state mental health facility you can train at.

Yale really emphasizes the fact that you can take courses on the main campus in whatever discipline you feel like. There are residents taking advanced coursework and even headed toward masters within their 4 years or phds afterward in everything from history to ethics to anthropology. Which is pretty cool.

3. Estimated call hours
No idea. Offhand seemed a little heavier than other programs but not extremely so.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
The residents were very friendly and quite a few showed up to talk to us throughout the day. I was impressed with their effort in that respect. Most of my faculty interviews were cordial, and I had great discussions with a couple of them that were very friendly and less interviewish, definitely enjoyed that aspect of it.

But as I mentioned earlier, I was put off by the fact that this was the onlyi program in which the PD or APD didn't make aneffort to talk to everyone.

5. Location pluses and minuses
New haven is was and will always be a hole. That said it is less of a pitstain onthe northeast than when I last visited there. The area around main campus (a mile or so from medical campus) seems to be undergoing a renassance though. A lot of clubs, a lot of nice stores, and a very impressive barnes and noble.

New haven is also cheaper than a lot of other NE cities, athough crime is worse. It's also less than 2h from NYC and boston which is also nice.

6. Most positive aspects of program
The encouragement of pursuing non-psych interests at the main campus. And the amount of suppoirt there is for residents doing research

7. Most negative aspects of program
None in particular outside of the whole nagging PD thing. The psychotherapy training aspects were not stressed as much as at other schools I applied at but I can't say whether the training is better or worse. They just didn't talk about it one way or the other.

In 6 years, this program allows you to complete your adult, child, and research fellowships. It's a great way to condense your training if you're planning on doing research. This is not one of those 'research' residencies where you don't spend any time doing clinical duties, though, and most of the residents I talked to were planning on at least initially doing a mix of clinical work and research when they were done.

I had a blast at this interview and was very impressed with the faculty and the residents and especially by the PD. The research presentation was pretty low key, although admittedly I've presented parts of this work at national conferences so it was kinda old hat for me.

If anyone wants detailed information about this program, just PM me with your specific questions. Other than Carlene, I don't know anyone else interviewing there.

I'll post an interview experience. I thought someone already posted about this program.
MSU
1.Important questions you were asked- why this program, where else are you interviewing, what is cognitive behavioral therapy, why psychiatry, what psychiatry rotations have you done. It was really conversational overall.
2.Program highlights(this is the best that I can remember)-
Intern year is pretty light compared to some places. There is two months of neuro, two months of IM with call twice a week, it seemed like call once a week was long call- 30 hours, and the other time during the week was just until midnight). There is one month of peds and one month of FP, 1-2 electives and the remaining time is psych.
The second year is three months of inpatient psych, 3 months of child and adolescent, 2-3 months of geriatric psychiatry, and 3ish months(I don't remember exactly) of outpatient.
Third year is 100% outpatient psychiatry.
Fourth year has C/L, electives, and forensics
(The schedule is amended for those pursuing the child psych fellowship so that they get their C/L and forensics done in their second year.)
3.Call hours- no idea
4.Friendliness- I attended a dinner at MSU a year and a half ago for students interested in psychiatry and all of the attendings and residents were so very friendly. The residents seemed very happy.
5.Location- It's in Lansing/East Lansing. It can seem like a pretty rural area if you've lived in a bigger city. And, it's in Michigan, very cold winters. In East Lansing, there's mainly just students and young families. I've lived in the Metro Detroit area most of my life and going to med school here, it felt like an overwhelmingly Caucasian area and I missed the ethnic diversity that I was used to. I don't know too much about apt or housing prices.
6.Most positive aspects of the program(I really don't have much to compare this to, so take it with a grain of salt)- As mentioned earlier, the residents seem truly happy, the attendings and residents are really friendly. They really seem to go out of their way to make sure that their residents get what they want out of training- ie if a resident wants extra training in psychotherapy, they arrange it. They do have a 5 year program for those interested in child psychiatry as well. There are protected didactics as well. It seems like a really solid and friendly program. (friendliness was pretty important to me, hence the reason I keep mentioning it ) (I think it's a half day during PGY1 and two half days during PGY2).
7.Negative aspects- (Again, I really don't have much to compare this to) Nothing major as far as I could tell. I don't think it's really research oriented, but I have zero interest in research, so I didn't really ask about that. Some of the rotations are located in Grand Rapids, which is quite a drive from Lansing.
(p.s. this is the only interview that I've had so far for an actual psychiatry residency program. I'm interviewing at Wayne State in early Feb and I'll post the information about that program after my interview. I'm not holding out, just not interviewing much.)

masterofmonkeys said:

I owe the board a few, but don't see much point in posting if the effort's really not being reciprocated.

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but your posts are the gifts that keep on giving...like HSV!

masterofmonkeys said:

I owe the board a few, but don't see much point in posting if the effort's really not being reciprocated. Especially since the ONLY reason I'm doing writeups at all is for the rest of yalls sake.

I'd like to thank all the people who've submitted me anonymous feedback though, and everyone else who's posted.

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Please keep posting your experiences. It is very helpful!!!!

Does Yale also have an integrated child psych program that is 5 years?
I'm interested in the research year anyway, so I'm more of just wondering. Thanks again for all your time.

TexasPhysician said:

Please keep posting your experiences. It is very helpful!!!!

Does Yale also have an integrated child psych program that is 5 years?
I'm interested in the research year anyway, so I'm more of just wondering. Thanks again for all your time.

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At yale's program the research is mixed in throughout all 6 years. This program is not straightforwardly adult followed by child followed by research, it's all mixed together and jumbled up.

The research time is REQUIRED at Yale. The 6th year is optional at Denver. I did not interview at UMass so I can't tell you about their program.

futuredo32 said:

I'll post an interview experience. I thought someone already posted about this program.

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Interview experiences are highly subjective. The point of an interview feedback thread is to get as many different points of view as possible. We all have our own prejudices and blindspots and they affect what we think of programs, sometimes to our own detriment. For instance I hadn't been paying any attention to PACT and intensive community care, which while it's not something I want to do, is something I'd like to experience in residency. I went through 9 interviews before I even THOUGHT about that. I've met people on the interview trail that have had drastically different opinions on programs where we all interviewed at, even when they were on the same day.

Thanks for your feedback post, by the way.

DUKE
1. Important questions you asked/were asked
--Basically, just questions from my application. One or two "picky" type questions, probably just to make sure I'm not hiding something. While the day itself was structured, the interviews were very very laid back. Just nice conversations.

2. Big highlights of the programs
everything. while you're there take a look at where their grads go - anywhere they want to do anything they want. Especially strong psychotherapy training. We sat in on a CBT-teaching session and it was excellent. I was especially impressed by how the residents got involved and were interested in CBT. Also, the didactics are EBM - they want you to know the literature and apply it to a case. Research opportunities abound.

3. Estimated call hours
I never pay attention to details like this - I expect to work hard. The general theme is that you will work hard during your first two years. For more specifics, look at their website.

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
10 out of 10 for the residents, faculty and staff. The residents were smart, normal people who were very interested in psychiatry. Even the "famous" faculty member I spoke to was humble and nice. The PD is known for how resident-friendly she is.

5. Location pluses and minuses
Durham, NC. This is so subjective I'll leave it up to you.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Excellence of training. I think the people trained at Duke become top-notch psychiatrists. From knowing the literature (EBM), to excellent psychotherapy trianing, to having great mentors to learn from. I'll also say that I thought they had very high-quality residents and PD. Also, 4th year is mostly elective and you can research or get a second degree (MPH, etc).

7. Most negative aspects of program
For me, location - but again that's personal. Although I was surprised that Duke itself doesn't have an inpatient child unit (that's at the state hospital). For that matter, the state hospital (central regional hospital) is relatively new and they might still be working out some bugs from that system, but I don't think this effects the residents very much.

some addition stuff someone PMed me

- 12 PGY1 slots, and then class size increases in PGY2 year by 4 or 5 more PGY2s.
- Call schedule: ~q7 PGY1; a little less PGY2 (I forgot the exact #), and ~q14 PGY3. No call 4th year.
- The PD or APD interviewed everyone at my interview date as far as I know.
- Pros: 3 months in PGY2 to do whatever you want (do electives or research or whatever). Tons of research opportunities. Closely-linked VA with lots of VA-specific training (geripsych, PTSD, etc).
- Cons: New Haven is no NYC or Boston, but it could be worse. Trust me. (I loved this program, so no more cons for me.)

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I had forgotten about the 3 months in PGY2 thing. A lot of people did some pretty cool stuff during this time. One person even went to Japan to do some medical anthropology research.

1. No surprise questions, and interviews were really short - 15, 20 minutes. Three faculty interviews (incl with the PD).

2. Program has 4 residents/yr. I would say they lean towards the biological side of things, but really it's pretty equalized. I don't remember hearing all that much about psychotherapy though. No required research, but possibilites are there. Program is very focused on resident education, which is the reason for the small class size.

3. Okay, listen to this: no overnight call EVER (even on medicine)! They have short call til 12am and then you don't have to come in the next day until 10am. I can't remember how often the calls were, but it wasn't less than q7. No call 4th year.

4. Everyone was very friendly and enthusiastic about the program. Good number of IMGs in the program.

5. The program was really TOO enthusiastic about portraying Rochester in a good way -- having lived in Rochester before, it's really not that bad. I mean, if you hate winter and snow, then you'll hate it there. But there is stuff to do (downtown, skiing ~1 hr away, Eastman for all the music you could want, Canada 1:15 away). And cost of living is fairly low.

6. Positives: Small program, so lots of attention. Psych dept can run fine without residents, so no problem with taking sick days or having too much work. Awesome call (or lack thereof). I like winter. A ton of research opportunities. One of the top family therapy programs in the country (psychology dept), and you can do electives there.

7. Negatives: Because the dept can run without residents, the potential is there to feel like you aren't really needed and you're just playing doctor. The location itself could be a drawback. Also I was kind of insulted that all the interviews were so short. This has nothing to do with the program, but still.

1. Questions: Really, everyone pretty much asks the same interview questions. Every so often they'll ask something specific to your application, but otherwise, don't stress. They're all more like a conversation than like it was interviewing for med school. Interviewed with 1 resident, the PD, and a faculty member.

2. Highlights: Program director is AWESOME and really, really dedicated to the program. Seriously, he even takes all the interviewees for a tour of the area in his minivan. And he's been the PD for forever (yet is still very open to feedback about changes). Inpt psych unit is completely voluntary and all non-voluntaries are sent to the state hospital (1 hr away, in Concord, where you do 2 months as a PGY2). Several fellowships, including Child. Lots of research opportunities. Beautiful hospital.

3. Call: q4 on medicine (though it depends on if you're at the VA or at Darthmouth-Hitchcock), q~7 PGY1 psych, less into 2nd and 3rd year. No call 4th year.

4. Everyone was super friendly once again -- residents were very down-to-earth and open. They all love the program. Faculty and staff also very friendly and open.

5. Location: Beautiful area, lots of great skiing and outdoorsy things to do. However, it IS a small area in the middle of nowhere (or at least 1 hr to the nearest city). Some residents had to use a modem at their homes for internet access because high-speed wasn't available where they lived. It really would be a great place if you have a family though -- very low crime rate and people don't even lock their houses. Whoa.

6. Positives: Again, beautiful area with lots of outdoorsy things to do. PD is extremely dedicated to the program and very open to feedback. Beautiful hospital, did I mention? Cute little towns all around. Dartmouth College is also in town.

7. Negatives: Not much diversity (although they do talk about economic diversity a lot). That hour-long drive to Concord that you have to make for 2 months in PGY2 (however, you do get to use a dept car for this duration, with gas paid by them). The location, potentially.

This is a while back, so I’m trying to recall what happened….
1. Important questions you asked/were asked
The usual stuff, i.e., tell me about yourself/how you grew up/why psychiatry. Was asked things like why I got a certain grade in such and such class….whatever. Nothing too stressful

2. Big highlights of the programs
The residents were all interesting, easy going, enjoying their life and Philadelphia. Formal monthly assessment of residents, so no one falls through the cracks (they said it replaces oral boards?). All the ACGME fellowships and a wide variety of researchers doing great work. Lots of subsepecialty clinics and process groups (just in 3rd year, but being instituted for 2nd/4th year as well).

3. Estimated call hours
PGY1: 4 months inpt medicine, q4 call (not O.N), o.n q12
PGY2; q6 x 8 mo no call otherwise
PGY3:q11, PGY4 no in house call

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
Although past year’s reviews have mentioned that UPENN residents were cliquey, I found them to all be warm, approachable, and fun to be around. The two PDs really complement each other. Even so, they have a system where you have to go through chiefs to get feedback to the PDs…I guess that’s necessary with the larger program they have.

5. Location pluses and minuses
I guess it depends on what you think of Philly. Its an hour train ride from New York, with some cool stuff going on in Philly itself, and less expensive than NY or Boston. That said, some residents/faculty still live in Jersey to afford to buy housing. And although people mentioned there’s good food in Philly, I’d think its hard to eat healthy given the predominance of things like cheesesteaks and pasta. Also not the prettiest place, with the typical issues of large northeastern cities.

6. Most positive aspects of program
Strong faculty in mental health disparities, excellent community psych outreach/opportunities, a clinical research scholars program with a funded fifth year (optional), child, CBT emphasis/exposure, all the fellowships
7. Most negative aspects of program
Medicine experience is probably a little weaker since they no longer rotate at HUP due to some contract issue (I forget exactly what), no free standing psych ER

1. Important questions you asked/ were asked
Like the previous poster, these were probably some of the most personal/probing questions I got during the interview trail. Things like life experiences, what they meant to me personally and how the contributed to my decision to go into psych, etc. However, people were vary warm and accepting, so with my interviews it didn’t feel too intrusive. Given my research background, I got asked a couple of times why I would come to Cambridge, especially since the PD stated up front that if you were looking to do basic research this is not the place for you.
2. Big highlights: extremely warm atmosphere (you feel as though you will REALLY be supported in your development as a psychiatrist), stand alone psych er, reknown experts in community psych research, commitment to the underserved…and a $1900 stipend a year for conferences/etc…that’s the most I’ve heard at any place
3. Estimated call: a previous poster commented on it…its not onerous.
4. Friendliness of program,residents/staff: everyone seemed so supportive…the residents were all very interesting, engaging people who would make great colleagues, many of whom were doing interesting things in their own right, like research on hypochondriacs or cultural competency building in immigrant populations.
5. Location plus/minuses: I’d echo the previous poster on the program….Boston’s a pretty neat city, sucky winters, okay summers (from what I hear) and being at Cambridge you have access to just about all the extensive Harvard resources…including a pretty nice gym apparently.
6. Most positive program aspects: Warmth of program (you really have to experience it to know how supportive the feel of the place is), psychotherapy, community psych, several ethnicity clinics with a LGBT clinic in the works
7. Negative aspects: not much basic/translational research to speak of, although you supposedly have access to the rest of the Harvard schools research programs. Which is true in theory, but in practice, difficult to pull off because someone has to pay for your time, and if you want to do research with another Harvard program’s faculty, you’ll need to bring your own money. Not the best place for c/l as its not a tertiary hospital, but they do have a cool outpatient c/l component, which when you think about it is where most primary care psychiatry is delivered anyway.

Again, this was a while back, so some of the details are a touch blurry...
1. Important questions you asked/were asked
I was asked the usual stuff, or at least I don’t remember being asked anything too unusual. Rieder the PD was great, and handed me and other interviewees that were interested in research specific articles by faculty at Sinai that he thought we’d be interested in.

2. Big highlights of the programs
Rieder, who recently moved here from Columbia, seems to be widely acclaimed by the residents as having had a great impact even in a short amount of time. Besides recruiting several faculty from Columbia and other places, including Eric Nestler, they’ve apparently improved didactics and added rotations at Manhattan Psych Institute (which apparently has a polydipsia ward ?!?!) and Kirby Forensic Psychiatry Institute. However, as has been mentioned on this board before, his vision for residency education is to create psychiatry “specialists” much like medicine has endo and GI because “we’re preparing people to live and practice in New York.” The reasoning is that New Yorkers always want to see the specialist I guess?

Plenty of research opportunities and a new official research track that frees up quite a bit of time for investigating those opportunities as early as PGY1. They are also in the process of greatly expanding their research capability/resources, with a neuroscience institute in the works by 2010/2011 (although this is what I was told before news of the economic meltdown, so who knows). Pretty diverse patient population according to the residents. I think yrs 2-4 you get a whole day of didactics…someone correct me if that’s wrong.
Medicine (not including neuro) is 4 months, with 2 ward, 1 ER, one elective, which I think is a neat twist on medicine requirements, and not all psych programs have that.

3. Estimated call hours
Honestly don’t remember, but whatever it was, it didn’t strike me as horrible. For those that care, inpatient psych units have an 8 patient cap.
4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
Disclaimer-I only interacted with people during interview day, as Mt Sinai has its interview dinner on Wednesdays, so depending on when you interview, you may miss out, as I did. That said, the residents seemed friendly enough, but very reserved bordering on aloof, and for whatever reason, I just didn’t gel with them as a group. Dr Rieder, Dr Stewart, and Dr Nestler were great, but nothing else really stood out (at least not enough that I remember).

5. Location pluses and minuses
This side of New York is more expensive than most, but is pretty trendy and people seem to make it happen. There is some subsidized housing, and although you have a great chance of getting it, it’s not a lock.

6. Most positive aspects of program
-leadership
-time for research
-well run private hospital
-flexibility
-link with NY Psychoanalytic center, although I don’t remember how formal the teaching is…I do remember a resident saying that their lectures in CBT recently became more skills based than theoretical (i.e. they learn how to do it)

7. Most negative aspects of program
Personally, can’t say I felt I fit in with that group of residents, but hey, different strokes for different folks. Also, while there is plenty of time to do research, the research faculty isn’t as broad or big as a university associated program.

Here are just some quick synopsis of some of my experiences:

Case Western (Cleveland Ohio)
Pros: Stressed world reknowned forensics fellowship. Residents seemed happy, get 4 weeks of vacation per year. Opportunities to moonlight. The chair used to be the PD and is very interested in resident quality education. Current PD seems very nice and genuinely interested in residents (also is an ethics expert). Has most accredited fellowships. Cleveland isn't all that bad of a city (lots to do, low cost of living, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, right on Lake Erie). They really let you meet their residents throughout the day, so you get a lot of opinions.
Cons: Moving inpatient units to a facility ~30 minutes away (but the units are brand new). No might float system.
Notes: Mix of FMGs and AMGs.


UCLA-Harbor (Torrance, CA)
Pros: The largest and one of the busiest psych EDs in Southern California (see the "sickest of the sick"). Can collaborate with UCLA-NPI on projects if you wish, or do 4th year electives there. Provide money for books and conferences. Relatively close to LAX. Moonlighting opportunities abundant. the residents I met with seemed smart and hard-working.
Cons: Expensive area near the beaches. Must have a car. May need to know some Spanish (or at least it would be helpful).
Notes: County Hospital. LA can be a pro or a con, but has a lot to offer. Psychotherapy seems to be stressed, whereas research can be done (especially ethnicity research) but is not as much emphasized.


University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital
Pros: Free standing psych building with ~200 beds, and 10 different units divided up by diagnosis/age group. "Busiest Psych ED in the country." Wide variety of patients seen at UM, as it is really the only psych game in town. Miami is a really great metropolitan city with lots to offer an affordable housing. Weather rarely goes below the 50s. Night float. Unionized with amazing health care benefits, discounted parking, $100 monthly for food and $1200 yearly education stipend. Research track available.
Cons: Knowing Spanish would probably be helpful (high Spanish, Creole, Cuban population). Weather and the city can be +/- for some.
Notes: Many FMGs, community hospital with academic affiliation.


SUNY Upstate (Syracuse, NY)
Pros: Chair is very accessible and involved in resident education. Can dually pursue and MPA at Syracuse University. Low cost of living. Some research being done in Neuroimaging and ADHD. Research track, leadership track. Stressed the emphasis of psychotherapy + psychopharm.
Cons: Averages 120 inches of snow per year. On the plus side, they expect it and know how to handle it. Psychiatry is the only service in the hospital without night float.
Notes: Mix of FMGs and AMGs (many of whom are from Upstate NY).

pseudodoc said:

7. Most negative aspects of program
Medicine experience is probably a little weaker since they no longer rotate at HUP due to some contract issue (I forget exactly what), no free standing psych ER

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NONONONONO. Penn PGY-2 here. Sorry to barge into the interview feedback thread, but I need to correct this info, since it appears to be the only feedback on Penn so far. Medicine experience is extremely solid. You get 2 months of medicine at HUP (one of the best medicine residencies in the nation), 1 at the VA (a surprisingly good balance of work and learning) and 1 at Pennsylvania Hospital (more of a community hospital setting). As well as 1 month of Emergency Medicine at HUP and 2 months of Neurology (generally 1 at HUP and 1 at Pennsylvania Hospital). If you do the Child Track, you get to do Peds, Emergency medicine, and Neurology at CHOP, which is probably the top children's hospital in the nation.

AND, in fact we work at 2 free standing Psych Emergency Rooms: The Psychiatric Emergency Evaluation Center (PEEC) at HUP and the Crisis Response Center (CRC) at Hall-Mercer (near Pennsylvania Hospital).

I don't blame you for getting this information wrong, that powerpoint they show on interview day can be kind of confusing.

For what it's worth, I LOVE our program. Am happy to give more info, answer any questions, or clarify any concerns for anyone who would like to PM me.

UNC
1. Interviews/Questions:
One of the shorter interview days I have had so far. There were three 30 minute interviews, with the PD (Dr. Dawkins), a resident, and a faculty member with my area of interest. The PD wanted to know more about my personal statement, and if I would come to their program. The resident was there mainly for me to ask questions of her.

2. Program overview/highlights
Intern year: 4 months of medicine -- 2 months at the Central Regional Hospital (CRH) which is all med/psych pts, and 2 months of inpt family med at UNC--, 1 month of UNC inpt Neurology, 3-4 months of adult inpt psych at CRH, 3-4 months of adult inpt psych at UNC, and 1 month of UNC inpt child

Second year is all outpatient, in ambulatory clinics and psychotherapy training starts. Also opportunity to moonlight starts this year.

Third year is spent 4 months on Consult-Liason, 2 months of UNC Neurology clinics, and a return to 6 months of inpatient psych. All are 75% time, allowing outpatient time of 10hrs/wk or research time.

Fourth year has 10 hrs/wk of outpatient (psychotherapy pts, substance abuse, or crisis service), 1 day/wk of community psychiatry, and electives.

There is a dedicated research track that residents apply to in the PGY-1 year and begin ½ day a week in 2nd year, at least ½ day a week in 3rd year plus the chance to serve as a research psychiatrist on the clinical research unit of the CRH, and 80% research time in 4th year.

Didactics: All are protected time on Wed afternoons. Did not get a sense from the residents if the didactics are strong. If you receive 75% or more of didactics, you get a $250 bonus.

The state training site is moving, and will be a combined program sharing responsibilities with the Duke residents, so less work for each resident (i.e. one will admit and one will cover the floor). There are 76 inpatient beds at UNC.

Fellowships in child, forensics, and NIMH research.

3. Call
PGY-1: q4-5 the entire year, with short call until 10pm Sun-Thurs, and long call on Friday (4:30pm – 8:30am) and Sat (24 hr call)
PGY-2: q12, with 4-5 weeks of night float split up throughout the year (10pm -8:30am)
PGY-3: No overnight call, 10 weekend mornings per year
PGY-4: no call

4. Friendliness of program/faculty/staff
Everyone was really friendly, but did not get a chance to meet that many residents at the lunch.

5. Location plus/minus
Chapel Hill is a great, affordable small town but doesn’t have as much culture, etc. as any of the large metropolitan areas.

6. Most positive aspects:
Very strong clinical training, and well respected. Diversity of patient care. Great new chair, Dr. Rubinow (past 3 years). Good research track opportunities, though overall less strong than the powerhouse residencies. Very strong in child. Overall, I thought this was a great program.

7. Negative aspects:
Tough intern year. You have to pay for your own parking each month ($70). Vacation is 3 weeks only. Some people may not like the jump from outpatient 2nd year back to inpatient 3rd year.

sunbeams end said:

You get 2 months of medicine at HUP (one of the best medicine residencies in the nation), 1 at the VA (a surprisingly good balance of work and learning) and 1 at Pennsylvania Hospital (more of a community hospital setting).

Click to expand...

sunbeams end said:

Sorry, I got that mixed up with the movement of inpatient units from HUP to Pennsy.

AND, in fact we work at 2 free standing Psych Emergency Rooms: The Psychiatric Emergency Evaluation Center (PEEC) at HUP and the Crisis Response Center (CRC) at Hall-Mercer (near Pennsylvania Hospital).

No excuse for this one...after doing several interviews I just got programs mixed up and remembered incorrectly. Good thing no one relies solely on this site for info....right?

Click to expand...

It's too late to help anyone this year, but perhaps next year................. ( I just interviewed here today, it was the best I could do )

1. Important questions you asked/were asked
Tell me about yourself, Why psychiatry, Do you have any questions for me? (there was a very thorough orientation, there weren't many questions I could have possibly had after the orientation).

2. Big highlights of the programs
Vacation PGY1 is 2 weeks There's three weeks of vacation in the PGY2-4 years

There are multiple training sites- Detroit Receiving, Harper, VA, Hawthorn, JARC, Scott Correctional Facility, Sinai-Grace, UPC- Jefferson, UPC-Livonia, Wayne County Mental Health agency

Intern year- 2 months IM inpatient, call is q4 at most, 2 months IM outpatient no call, 2 months neuro no call, 6 months inpatient psych call q5. There is a senior resident for interns to shadow for two calls and the intern has access to an in house senior resident for the third call

PGY2 2 months addiction, two months C/L, 3 months inpatient, three months child, one month geriatric, one month emergency. Call is 4 nights/month, usually only 1-2 nights/month Jan-June. Additionally, there is call until 11pm 4 nights per month during child psych. The child psych rotations are held at the states only longterm inpatient child psych hospital (Hawthorn Center)

PGY3 outpatient 12 months. Call is 3 nights/month usually only July-Dec
One Half day a week is for electives

PGY4 5 months electives, one month community( I don't remember what this is exactly) two months C/L, one month emergency, one month forensics/ECT, 2 months inpatient/supervisory role. One Half day a week is for electives
No call
3. Estimated call hours
See above

4. Friendliness of the program residents, faculty and staff
The residents I met were very friendly and they love the program. The faculty seemed nice too. According to the residents, the faculty love to teach and are very approachable and interested in resident feedback. The program director really steps up for residents if they are having issues on a given rotation.

5. Location pluses and minuses
It's Detroit which has good and bad points. The good- There's a lot of cultural attractions, a lot of ethnic diversity. It's pretty close to the suburbs.
The bad- The winters are cold and snowy. The area has a pretty high crime rate.

6. Most positive aspects of program As stated above, the residents are very friendly and the attendings are dedicated to teaching. The pass rate for the PRITE is really high(maybe 100%, I don't remember). There are opportunites to take psychoanalytic classes on Saturdays at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. There are three fellowship programs- Child, Geriatarics, Addiction. The program director has connections with a lot of fellowship directors around the country and one of the recent graduates of the program matched at Case Western for forensics(which she said was competitive, I have no clue about forensics). Didactics are protected and very strong(according to the residents). Moonlighting is allowed starting in 3rd year. In house moonlighting opportunities are limited and pay $45/hour. The patient population is really quite diverse, there's opportunity for research if you are interested, but it's not mandatory. The VA Hospital is pretty new and modern.


7. Most negative aspects of program
Really nothing. This seemed like a very solid program! IF I had to pick a few things(and to me, they aren't important)
No free food
Only $500/year for books/fees/conferences
There's quite a bit of driving involved. There are numerous hospitals and didactics are at a different site. The sites aren't too terribly far, but a car is mandatory for this residency.

Starting this year, they are willing to take DO PGY-1s unlike in previous years.