Eastern Virginia Psychiatry

[LoveMedicine100]

Can anyone tell me about Eastern medical school psychiatry residency program? Is it a good program and does it have many FMG's? They dont have a list of current residents on their website. Any information about this program would be appreciated.

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[digitlnoize]

Can anyone tell me about Eastern medical school psychiatry residency program? Is it a good program and does it have many FMG's? They dont have a list of current residents on their website. Any information about this program would be appreciated.

Not much is known. EVMS is a highly underrated medical school. Their grads are top notch. I would argue better clinically than the grads from the other Va schools.

As far as psych...it's probably pretty bottom of the barrel. No fellowships is what steers most people away. The Va Beach area kinda sucks, IMO. Probably lots of FMGs or scramblers. Just guessing though I could be wrong. Given that the other, stronger Va programs aren't exactly hard matches, most people that want to be in Va look at UVA and VCU, with Roanoke a distant third, and leave off EVMS entirely.

 

[birchswing]

Not much is known. EVMS is a highly underrated medical school. Their grads are top notch. I would argue better clinically than the grads from the other Va schools.

As far as psych...it's probably pretty bottom of the barrel. No fellowships is what steers most people away. The Va Beach area kinda sucks, IMO. Probably lots of FMGs or scramblers. Just guessing though I could be wrong. Given that the other, stronger Va programs aren't exactly hard matches, most people that want to be in Va look at UVA and VCU, with Roanoke a distant third, and leave off EVMS entirely.

I'm a patient in the area (on the other side of the water though), and out of all the psychiatrists I've seen in this area, most are FMGs. This is a twilight zone of bad psychiatry (although again I've seen practitioners more in the Hampton area, not VA Beach/Norfolk). That probably has very little to do, though, with people who study at EVMS as I've never seen a psychiatrist who graduated from that school. Most I've seen are graduates from the Middle East or Caribbean. I have seen two American psychiatrists (graduated from a US school). One was a geriatric who should by everyone's account be retired, and one is a woman who switched from law to psychiatry and just recently became a doctor (my current psychiatrist).

I would guess that MCV has a stronger program than EVMS. And I have to imagine UVA has the best prestige. One interesting thing is that the College of William and Mary has been talking about merging with EVMS, which I frankly found rather odd. William and Mary is sort of known for having a very narrow focus on undergraduate studies (although they do have some well known graduate programs like their marine science program). I have no idea if them merging would have any immediate effect on the prestige. They seem like an odd couple to me, but it would be interesting. I'm also guessing it's a long way off if it were to happen.

EDIT:
I just Googled the EVMS, William and Mary situation, and it looks like the ex-president of ODU thinks EVMS should merge with that school instead:
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfolk/Economist-suggests-EVMS-should-merge-with-ODU-226176701.html

William and Mary really is a good school, but it is very difficult to imagine them having a medical school. They are very reluctant to change and have a slow-moving bureaucracy. I could imagine them trying to have med school classes in one of their historical buildings with 5 foot ceilings and no electricity (that's a joke, there actually aren't buildings like that at WM), but it's not a school that has the culture for a med school. They really seem to run on inertia and haven't adopted that modern, Internet feel of a thriving research university. It's almost more like the feeling of an English boarding school, except for adult students who are academically very, very serious.

 

[Nasrudin]

I agree with dig that EVMS is a very good and underrated medical school. They have their own free standing children's hospital so it must be just from lack of departmental organization that they don't have a child psych fellowship.

I spent 2 days there for interviewing at their medical school and I realized as soon as I stepped off the plane at Norfolk that it was a slower paced town. The area of Ghent right around the school is pretty cool. There's a lot of military in the area. Big naval ships in the harbor close by.

VCU has a strong underrated psych program that I'm familiar with and lots of posters seem to have liked UVA so I'm not sure how the areas psych services are covered in total, but sdn seems remarkably silent about EVMS.

 

[ZigPig]

*bump* my wife is from virginia beach, i am looking into this program. Anybody have any more information on this program?

 

[ZigPig]

Is it a good program and does it have many FMG's? They dont have a list of current residents on their website.

According to Freida:

% USMD..........% IMG..........% DO.......... % Female..........% Male
10.9.....................82.5...............6.5................73.7 .................26.2

 

[eastcoastdr]

Did you check the interview review thread from this year (and previous years?) There should be 1 or 2 reviews of EVMS if I remember correctly.

 

[eastcoastdr]

I'm a patient in the area (on the other side of the water though), and out of all the psychiatrists I've seen in this area, most are FMGs. This is a twilight zone of bad psychiatry (although again I've seen practitioners more in the Hampton area, not VA Beach/Norfolk). That probably has very little to do, though, with people who study at EVMS as I've never seen a psychiatrist who graduated from that school. Most I've seen are graduates from the Middle East or Caribbean. I have seen two American psychiatrists (graduated from a US school). One was a geriatric who should by everyone's account be retired, and one is a woman who switched from law to psychiatry and just recently became a doctor (my current psychiatrist).

I would guess that MCV has a stronger program than EVMS. And I have to imagine UVA has the best prestige. One interesting thing is that the College of William and Mary has been talking about merging with EVMS, which I frankly found rather odd. William and Mary is sort of known for having a very narrow focus on undergraduate studies (although they do have some well known graduate programs like their marine science program). I have no idea if them merging would have any immediate effect on the prestige. They seem like an odd couple to me, but it would be interesting. I'm also guessing it's a long way off if it were to happen.

EDIT:
I just Googled the EVMS, William and Mary situation, and it looks like the ex-president of ODU thinks EVMS should merge with that school instead:
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfolk/Economist-suggests-EVMS-should-merge-with-ODU-226176701.html

William and Mary really is a good school, but it is very difficult to imagine them having a medical school. They are very reluctant to change and have a slow-moving bureaucracy. I could imagine them trying to have med school classes in one of their historical buildings with 5 foot ceilings and no electricity (that's a joke, there actually aren't buildings like that at WM), but it's not a school that has the culture for a med school. They really seem to run on inertia and haven't adopted that modern, Internet feel of a thriving research university. It's almost more like the feeling of an English boarding school, except for adult students who are academically very, very serious.

I disagree with this...I know W&M and it actually has AMAZING graduate programs. Their law school and education school rank VERY highly. They also offer graduate degrees in business. W&M is becoming a leading university in Virginia. It may be a very historic campus with old buildings but they have become more modern. Lots of construction, new buildings, education initiatives, etc. They DO conduct research, and in recent years they really have been emphasizing science and technology. Obviously not on a scale of the big Ivys but it's still pretty impressive. There was a lot of talk about this merger in the local news a while ago.. I remember them saying that W&M would just acquire EVMS but the teaching, administration and everything would still remain on the EVMS campus. It's would be similar to how the rest of the graduate schools or W&M's community college would run - they have their own little campuses, admissions process and administration/faculty that's separate from the undergraduate program. You say W&M is reluctant to change and not modern....well I guess you can say them trying to acquire/establish a medical school is a way of growing and improving

 

[ZigPig]

Did you check the interview review thread from this year (and previous years?) There should be 1 or 2 reviews of EVMS if I remember correctly.

I did know of one, but I was hoping for more information. I'll post it here, and search for another. Thanks for the reminder.

EVMS Norfolk, VA

1. Communication- email


2. Accommodation & Food- pre interview dinner I was unable to attend. Breakfast some bagels coffee and water. Lunch sandwiches/chips/cookie. No interview accommodations I stayed at the Sheraton waterfront and had the best nights sleep in a long time

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- small program so there were only 3 of us interviewing. Made for quiet breaks. Program coordinator super chill. Upon arrival she will sit with you in the conference room while you eat and try to come up with chit chat. Then pd presentation and then 3 45min interviews including the PD as one. He's really cool guy easy to talk to, fairly new as pd. Basic tell me about yourself, why should we choose you, explain this C grade. One interview spent the entire time telling me where every resident since the 90's has ended up. Another interviewer with standard strengths/weakness/why psychiatry qs. Lunch with a few residents who seemed happy enough. One ranked this program number 1 based on location due to family and kids.

4. Program Overview- strong program with no fellowship opportunities

5. Faculty- wasn't able to gauge

6. Location & Lifestyle- Norfolk is gorgeous everywhere you look is An amazing waterfront view. Very family oriented city with a beach super close. Seems like some good cultural activities. Navy is huge there-largest navy base

7. Salary & Benefits-'in the 40's I think

8. Program Strengths-happy residents who weren't overworked. Strong forensics guy. City seems very "white" but you get diversity in the hospital and va mostly aa and underserved. no community psych track but there is an option to focus on that. Working on child fellowship now. Seems like a lot of good changes In the future including more residency spots.

9. Potential Weaknesses- Norfolk although lots of weekend getaway spots because of central location.

 

[SuperSoccer19]

Going back a few years, but as a fourth year resident I did a visiting rotation there in psychiatry. Limited view of their program and I did not interact with a lot of the residents and staff, but it seemed like a mix of people who wanted to stay in the local area (went to EVMS for medical school, had family there, etc.), but there were some FMGs. I thought the caliber of the education I got that rotation was very good based on attending teaching, but again, this was limited to a single one month rotation.

Personally, I like the area, but this does turn people away too.

Prob not much help, but if you are at a point in medical school where you can do an away rotation, might want to consider rotating there if you are considering the program.

 

[ZigPig]

Going back a few years, but as a fourth year resident I did a visiting rotation there in psychiatry. Limited view of their program and I did not interact with a lot of the residents and staff, but it seemed like a mix of people who wanted to stay in the local area (went to EVMS for medical school, had family there, etc.), but there were some FMGs. I thought the caliber of the education I got that rotation was very good based on attending teaching, but again, this was limited to a single one month rotation.

Personally, I like the area, but this does turn people away too.

Thanks supersoccer, this is the kind of thing I find helpful. I'm actually an intern right now (in a transitional year, just got a match waiver for my advanced program, choosing instead to do psychiatry as my speciality). I have an interview with the program soon. Would have loved to do a rotation if I had the chance.

 

[eastcoastdr]

here's another review from this years thread:

Anonymous Review - EASTERN VIRGINIA MEDICAL SCHOOL

1. Communication: excellent, PC allowed me to reschedule with no issues

2. Accomodation & Food: Provided discount at local hotel, but I stayed with a friend. Dinner at a local Thai restaurant the night before which was very nice. Interview invitation said casual, but both residents came in slacks and dress shirt with no tie (I think they came straight from hospital), some interviewees wore dark jeans. The restaurant itself was very casual. Panera bagels morning of, and Jasons Deli for lunch..both very good!

3. Interview Day: 3 45 minute intervews, no gaps inbetween so it went fast. All the interviewers were GREAT..everything was super relaxed. In fact they all spent waaay more time talking about themselves and the program than asking me questions. They did all ask me if I was single/married/had a family. I think they were really trying to sell the fact that EVMS is family friendly. Everyone was so smiley and happy all day, it was definitely a good atmosphere.

4. Program overview: Affiliated with various hospitals in the area - a forensics state hospital, VA, behavioral child center (with inpatient, outpatient and partial), and of course the main hospital. The hospital and surrounding area is beautiful. Other than that its pretty standard. Lots of training in psychotherapy, which you start in 1st year. The residents seemed really happy too, and they all had lives outside of medicine which was nice. A couple of them were former computer engineers who are currently working on some psychiatry related iphone/android apps, which I think is very cool. Oh, and no fellowships.

5. Faculty: Seem very accomplished. Lots of research, especially in the child/adolescent area. Theres one attending who provides a LOT of opportunities for residents to get published. The attendings were all approachable and seemed to really get involved with the residents. Most of the residents were younger, about half were married, and half were single.

6. Location and Lifestyle: in Norfolk, VA - a coastal city. Largest naval base in the country. It is a nice sized city, big enough for there to be plenty of things to do, but small enough so that there's no awful traffic or anything. Lots of local restaurants, great seafood. Decent cost of living. Most residents live in a younger, slightly upscale historic neighborhood called Ghent. Beach is about 20-25 minutes away but most people live closer to the hospital. I was surprised by how much I loved the surrounding area!

7: Salary and Benefits: standard. Check website, can't remember.

8: Program Strengths: small close-knit community, family-friendly, variety of hospitals, coastal city! If you are interested in working with Vets, or haves ties to the military this is a good place for you!

9: Potential weaknesses: no fellowships

 

[ZigPig]

eastcoastdr -- that is awesome! that was a very helpful review. actually, it gets me really excited about this interview. good to know they are family friendly... i am moving there because my wife is from there after all. And... I used to work at Epic, so I am sure I can relate to these computer programmers. You made my day, thanks for fishing this out for me!

 

[ZigPig]

I matched here, so feel free to ask me questions.

 

[digitlnoize]

I matched here, so feel free to ask me questions.

Awesome! Congrats! I think the biggest thing that hurts them is the lack of fellowships. I'm actually quite surprised they don't have child, given their fairly strong child exposure with the Children's Hospital and all.

Highly underrated med school too. I think they probably make the best clinicians in Virginia, actually. Their standardized patients are freaking phenomenal.

 

[SeaShells43]

This years 4 graduating residents from EVMS Psychiatry are going into fellowship:

1) Harvard for Consult Liaison
2) Yale for Addiction
3) Sleep(only spot in the entire state)
4) Child Psychiatry at University of Chicago.

Guess what? They only take 4 people a year. They do a damn good job training them.

 

[Armywifemd]

I matched here, so feel free to ask me questions.

Hey there I am currently a PGY2 psych resident at a program in DC. My husband may be taking a job near Norfolk. We have a 2 year old so it is important to keep our family together so I am looking into a possible transfer.
Have you been happy with the program? Do you know if they accept transfers? An

 

[ZigPig]

Hey there I am currently a PGY2 psych resident at a program in DC. My husband may be taking a job near Norfolk. We have a 2 year old so it is important to keep our family together so I am looking into a possible transfer.
Have you been happy with the program? Do you know if they accept transfers? An

Send me a PM with your name and number and I will give you a call