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thank you, doctor bagel, for going to a bagillion interviews and reporting them all here! I've got great info on four of mine from your comments.
I'm really hoping to read a review on the Austin, TX program. A LOT of the programs I have applied to are saying HORRIBLE things about ONLY this program.
If someone has interviewed here and hasn't written a review yet, I would highly appreciate it.
I don't know how well other programs keep up with various programs, but if there is serious truth to these rumors, I might cancel my interview......despite how amazing Austin as a city really is.
hey guys,
so I didn't recieve an offical letter from U of A telling me what time I need to show up and where I need to go, although I recieved an email confirming my date. Can those of you who have already interviewed there let me know. I havent heard back from the coordinator yet. Thanks.
I'm also just wondering about people's thoughts on UNC. I've heard from people or seen comments on all other programs in that area, but haven't found anything on UNC.
Interview: (Thursday) The day started by meet with Dr. Thrall in the AM for a short QA with the dept head, then off to class with the residents for case-based learning. This was followed by a tour of the hospitals and Duke campus, which is absolutely gorgeous. There were 4 interviews (2 before lunch and 2 after), including one with Dr. Thrall. Everyone was very,very nice and there were no hard questions - just the typical stuff. I really felt they were interested in getting to know me and were trying to sell me their program rather than press me into explaining why I was good enough for them. Had lunch with the residents who came across as very happy, bright, and well-rounded people. After the interviews were over, we met at the office building and went with the residents to the PGY-3 family studies program. It was a long day from 7:30am-6:30pm, but you really got to see a lot and meet tons of the residents.
Facilities/schedule: (PGY-1) Duke hospital: 1 month of med/psych, 2 months inpt psych (Williams ward) and 1 month of inpt neuro. VA hospital: 2 months outpt med, 3 months inpt psych, and 2 months of emergency outpt psych. Durham Regional: 1 month inpt med. Call - med and neuro Q4, psych Q6 except 2 months on the Williams Ward, which is known for it's very long days despite no call. Protected Academic half-day.
PGY-2 call - 4 months of q5 on inpt psych and 2 months of nightfloat
PGY-3 call - long call 8x per year
PGY-4 call - long call 6x per year
Setting: Durham is a nice, smaller city with little traffic, nice weather, and affordable cost of living. It's part of the research triangle and there are lots of jobs for spouses in medicine/biotech/etc.. 2 hours from the beach and 4 hours from the mtns.
Benefits: 3 weeks vacation plus a week at Christmas or New Year's. Typical benefits package.
Strengths: Fantastic faculty and support staff, Dr. Thrall, psych is a huge dept and there is a lot of respect for psych residents, family studies program, case-based learning (for some people anyway), the dept has $$, tons of research, family friendly, and if you really want a particular elective experience during your training - they will make it happen.
Weaknesses: It's a hard program, so make no mistake you will work your butt off. This can be a big thing for people with families and are still working an intern-like schedule as a PGY-2. Durham is a small city and isn't for everyone.
Overall: Absolutely fabulous program that's harder than most, but the residents are great and the area is beautiful. Likely to be a top choice on everybody's list.
NYP - Cornell
Interview day: After a few presentations, there were interviews with the program director, Dr. Elizabeth Auchincloss, two attendings, and a resident. The interviews were more challenging than at other places so far. After a tour, there is buffet lunch at the Griffith Faculty Club, which was a stuffy, wood paneled restaurant in the hospital, with waiters in tuxedos. Although part of the training is done at Cornell's large psychiatric hospital in Westchester County, we did not see this campus.
There was also an informal party in one of the Cornell apartments, hosted by a couple in the program. This was a great opportunity to meet the residents, and to see the subsidized housing (which was INCREDIBLE).
Program overview: PGY-1: divided into two six-month blocks, one all psychiatry, the other IM/EM/neuro. The IM/EM/neuro half of the year is split between New York Presbyterian and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. On psychiatry, there are rotations at the Manhattan and Westchester County hospitals, as well as in the Manhattan psychiatric ER.
PGY-2: There is an elective block for research or additional clinical work. They also rotate through some of the inpatient units, including the Borderline Personality Disorders unit, a chronic psychosis unit, and a dual-diagnosis unit, and the consultation-liaison service, both at NY Presbyterian and at Memorial Sloan Kettering. There is also a month in the psychiatric ER, which the PGY-2 manages.
PGY-3: almost all outpatient work, including psychodynamics, CBT, DBT, neuropsychiatry, psychopharmacology, and interpersonal therapy. Also, four weeks on night float in the psychiatric ER, and a month in their day treatment program.
PGY-4: continue outpatient work, supervisory role on inpatient/ER/outpatient services, and a large block of protected time for an academic project.
Call:
PGY-1: about 6 overnight calls during the psychiatry half of the year, plus about 10 short-calls until 10PM at the Westchester campus. Variable call during the IM/EM/neuro months, but this sounded a little better than at other programs.
PGY-2: about 20 overnight calls all year, plus about 10 short calls at the Westchester campus.
PGY-3: about 8 24-hour calls in the psychiatric ER, plus 4 weeks on night float there.
PGY-4: none.
Benefits: Cornell's subsidized housing was incredible, in a quiet neighborhood, within two blocks of the hospital. Residents said that it was very easy to obtain, and that it was about a third to 40% reduction from market prices. Wide range of options/prices.
Salary is comparable to the other programs in the area, about $50,000 per year. In the third and fourth years, the residents on the Columbia campus get higher pay, but because of Cornell's housing subsidy, it seems like the take-home pay ends up being about the same.
Residents get their own offices (very nice, professional-looking) in the PGY-3 year.
Faculty: Impressive. The ones I met were very smart, engaging, and enthusiastic about Cornell. Although Cornell has strong reputation for psychodynamics, most of the people I met there were interested in neuroscience. The department is not huge, but they are rich, and seem to be pumping a lot of money into neuroscience research. There's also a lot of collaboration with other institutions.
Residents: Cornell is one of the most competitive programs in the country. Of the 10 residents I met, three were MD/PhDs, and at least half had been undergrads at Harvard or Yale. A few said that they wanted to become analysts, but others were doing neuroscience research or were interested in biological psychiatry. After graduation, it looks like most stay at Cornell or Columbia as attendings or as fellows. In general, although some were a little intense, the residents seemed friendly, very smart, and happy to be training at Cornell.
Pros: Residents get awesome clinical training, and seem to have a lot of freedom, despite the intense supervision. The administration seems eager to cultivate research interests, and there is protected time for academic projects, which seem to be encouraged (mandatory?). Supervision from big names, including Otto Kernberg. The hospital, subsidized housing, and resident offices are all beautiful. Residents seemed very happy with their didactics, and with the program, and seemed to be a close group. Cornell has a ton of money, and the department is investing a lot of money in their research work.
Cons: The patient population might be a little too white/rich, and they only work at private hospitals (no VA or city hospital), so not the place to go for public psychiatry. Also not the place to go if you think that psychoanalysis is bunk. Cornell seemed to be very formal, which might be a negative. Smaller department than the other top programs (though this probably doesn't really affect training, and might be a good thing, if you like things cozy).
Summary: I was extremely impressed with Cornell. The residents and faculty I met had a wide range of interests beyond psychoanalysis, though this does seem to be the place to train if you're interested in that. The hospital and neighborhood are a little stuffy, and it did seem a little 'ivory tower'-like, but it didn't seem oppressive. The training seems to be outstanding, and residents are set up to do anything they want after graduation. "Intellectual" was a word that kept coming up, and I think that sums up the place very well.
Be CAREFUL about OHSU...because it's awesome! Ok, just a quick Psychiatry forum in-joke...but seriously, I really did like OHSU. I think it's a supremely well-balanced program in many respects: it's small enough for a semi-intimate feel, but it doesn't feel insular; it provides opportunities for research/academics but doesn't pressure; and it's in a city that perhaps most toes the line between being a cool, affordable town with many of the perks of a larger city.
The residents here seemed diverse and happy, and they seemed to have a great relationship with the administrators (one of my interviewers joked about the PD being almost too open to resident suggestions); their administration is also split between analysts and researchers, which seems to trickle down and also contribute to the balanced culture. The hospitals (the big OHSU hospital and VA are connected) are gorgeous and up on a hill overlooking the city; there isn't a "county hospital" exactly, but there's not one anywhere else in Portland and a few residents and medical students whom I know there said that, basically, most of the uninsured in Portland just come to OHSU. There also isn't a Psych ER exactly, but the large ER does have a few specific Psych rooms that they use, and I got the impression that the residents feel pretty competent about ER assessments.
One thing that was a hugely pleasant surprise was the specific elective opportunities. They are the only place in Oregon, and have lots of cool forensic and child stuff (including child inpatient and work at the state hospital). They also have a really cool Cross-Cultural Psychiatry clinic that seems really exciting and has clinics filled with different populations (a Somalian clinic, Bosnian clinic, etc). It seems like there is lots of flexibility 3rd and 4th year to do cool projects w/ good support. The only "negatives" I would say are 1) I do wish there some elective time 2nd year, as I don't think there's any now and I imagine trying out stuff for fellowships is a bit hard and 2) Community psych is a large required portion here (for me, this is a positive, especially since you have tons of options on how to do it...but I do think that if someone isn't interested in Public Psychiatry, this might not be the best place).
Lastly, thought it was a great city...really, really good food and beer was enjoyed by me on this trip. I'm excited by the two Northwest programs I saw...both really strong.
I like this thread, and have been just watching others do the work, but am looking to jump in (hoping that others will then do the same)...I'm in SoCal now and am looking to go Northwest or Northeast
disclaimer: all the programs I'm looking at are great, and I would be genuinely happy at any of them...my personal impressions are just that, and are formed from interview days, conversations with residents, and information gathered from the programs' brochures/websites...
U Washington: Great place. The role that UW plays in the Northwest (is essentially the provider for 5 states) means that it sort of has to have everything, and it does. The "Big 4" hospitals (academic, county, VA, childrens), tons of electives (and the flexibility to take advantage of them), research and clinical balance, numerous quality fellowships, and lots of psychotherapy (as most large and liberal cities do) and a large and diverse residency class. The residents work really hard (which for me is a plus) and don't get a lot of perks (a few residents seemed frustrated about parking expenses, lack of meal tickets, low salary, etc). However, everyone raved about the program director (Dr. Cowley) and the rest of the administrators, and a few residents told me that they felt like they could just "do their job."
For me, this program hits the big points: committed to community service and yet academic/intellectual, tons of clinical opportunities (I think probably the most of any program in the country, as opportunities span 5 entire states), strong fellowships including child w/ unique inpatient wards at Seattle Children's, good curricular flexibility in the 3rd/4th years, and a great support system from administration.
more programs to come...I'm happy to address any questions anyone has...
Interview Basics: There's a dinner with residents the night before at an upscale Mexican restaurant in midtown. The interview day starts at 8 am in the psychiatry building on the campus. Remember the medical center is in Sacramento, not Davis -- apparently one applicant screwed that up once. Pastries, donuts and bagels are provided along with coffee, hot tea and juice. First, the PD and APD have an informal meeting with the applicants talking generally about the program. Next, a 3rd year resident gives a presentation mainly discussing rotations and the schedule. Then you have 5 one on one interviews all back to back -- on my day, we all interviews with the chair, the pd, the apd, one resident and one faculty member. Then lunch with residents at a nearby deli followed by a tour of the hospital and the inpatient unit. Next, we broke up into groups based on personal interests (options included research, child, teaching and cultural psychiatry). Last we had a brief wrap-up with the pd and apd where we were able to ask any remaining questions, and they gave us the logistics of their applicant selection process.
Applicant selection: As I mentioned above, this program is really upfront about this. They interview about 80 people and said generally 70 make the rank order list. They emphasized that if you make the list, they want you at their program. They're willing to discuss with applicants where they fall on the list (or even if they're not on it). They'll let you know if you're high accept, mid accept or low accept. High accept means you'll match there if you rank them #1. Mid accept means your odds of matching are pretty good but not guaranteed. Low accept means you might match, but it's less likely than mid accept. They construct their list purely on how much they like the applicant and not on how much the applicant likes them, so excessive follow-up is unnecessary.
Schedule/rotations/call: Overall a pretty typical schedule with outpatient in the 3rd year. Unique features include having psychosomatic medicine in the 1st year and doing 1 to 2 months of primary care in an outpatient setting where attendings are from the fp/psych or im/psych programs. R1s also do a rotation in the jail, which apparently is really liked. Neuro is split between doing a consult service at Kaiser and working the neuro residency at UCD -- apparently Kaiser is great, but the UCD part isn't so liked. In 4th year, there are 3 months of the electives, and the rest of the time is devoted to 4th years acting in a leadership, administrative type of role. Also, teaching medical students is emphasized, and residents are able to take courses on it and be involved in 1st and 2nd year courses. Residents have a process group all 4 years that is protected time. All residents also go to didactics regardless of their rotation.
Call is light compared with other programs. Weekday call is home call, and it sounded like you still got to go home at night on weekend call. By 2nd year, you only have 2 weekend calls for the whole year, so you have free weekends starting then. Very limited to no call 3rd and 4th year.
One thing about UCD is that the effects of the budget cuts are pretty obvious. They do inpatient psych at a county facility, and the beds there have been reduced by half. This facility also had a PES where residents worked, but that was closed down. Now residents get their emergency psych experience through c/l and working in a regular ED. It sounded like there's some possibility that the county facility could close entirely, but I didn't get the impression that was likely. However, no one really knows.
Setting/culture/location: Residents work at the UCD medical center, the VA and the county facility. The farthest required commute is max 15 to 20 minutes, and lots of residents live close enough to bike into work. Sacramento is interesting and not what you think of when you think of California. I had never been before and didn't get to spend much time there, so I'm by no means an expert. From what I saw, it's definitely a smaller city without that vibrant big city feel. Everything's easily accessible, and there are lots of neat restaurants and bars in the central area -- it's also easy to live in the central area in walking distance of this stuff. The town itself is flat but has lots of trees. Most residents seemed to be into outdoorsy types of stuff. Overall, it seemed like a nice place to live, but if you're looking for a big city or big night scene, this is not it.
The residency culture seemed more laid back than intense. Residents valued having free time to enjoy other pursuits. Also, everyone seemed friendly and not caught up on prestige. UCD in general has a community/primary care emphasis, and I felt that that was reflected in the program.
Benefits: The one unique one is that all the residents get an APPI library each year because the chair is one of their book editors. Residents do not get free psychotherapy or psychotherapy at really reduced rates. Moonlighting readily available.
Strengths: Great diversity. Good psychotherapy training with a psychodynamic emphasis. You get to work in a lots of different settings without having to travel a long way between these settings. Good training with a good reputation without a lot of pretense. Low cost of living and a high quality of life for residents.
Weaknesses: Potential issues with budget cuts. Not a huge city. Work load in first year isn't equally divided between residents -- some residents randomly have to do 3 months of inpatient IM while others only have to do 2.
She did seem really concerned that I hadn't taken CS yet, which seemed kind of odd (I'm taking it in January).
Heh, it's funny you mention that. Two of my four interviewers specifically asked me about my Step 2 scores (I've taken CS and CK, but I guess they hadn't printed out a recent ERAS report), and one wanted me to tell him the percentage score for the CK (not really important to me, so I didn't know it) and he then proceeded to look up my Step 1 score and tell me the percentage for that one.
This is the first place that has even mentioned test scores, and I have to admit that even though it's my home program, it sort of left an unpleasant impression.
I don't have any experience with USC, so I can only speculate as to why: but my best guess is that the program, like many programs elsewhere in the country, is concerned about whether or not you will pass the boards. Past board scores are correlated with future board scores.
-AT.
Interview basics: There's a dinner at a local restaurants with residents the night before the interview. Interview day starts at 7:45 at the hospital, and they only interview a few people a day. The day starts with a presentation from the PD, and coffee/water and muffins are provided. Then we sat in on inpatient rounds, and next you have 3 30 minute interviews with faculty -- one with the current PD, one with the incoming PD and one with another faculty member. Next, lunch with residents who don't evaluate you. Then the PD takes you for a driving tour of the area followed by a tour of the hospital given by one of the chiefs. Next, you interview with a resident and then have a one-on-one wrap up with the PD.
Schedule/call/rotations: As far as I can tell, the schedule is pretty typical. 3rd year is your outpatient year, and you have lots of different options for places to work in that year, including the VA, a community mental health center and the hospital clinic. In the first year, primary care months include one month inpatient at Dartmouth, one month inpatient at the VA, one month outpatient and one ER month at Dartmouth. You also have inpatient months at Dartmouth and the VA first and second year. The psych facility at Dartmouth is not locked, so they don't have involuntary patients. However, you do a few months at the state hospital in Concord 2nd year, and that is a locked facility. Concord is about 50 minutes away, but the program gives you usage of a car and covers gas for that commute. 4th year is mostly electives.
Right now, call is around q6 in the first year and more like q10 second year with a mix of VA call and Dartmouth call. Dartmouth call is apparently pretty busy, but VA call is home call and more relaxed. However, the program is investigating starting a night float either next year or shortly after that due to the likely change in ACGME guidelines limiting continuous hours on duty. Right now, they're piloting a night float program and have a committee made up of residents and faculty trying to sort out exactly how the night float will work. The PD told us that they'll let all the applicants know before we have to submit our ROL whether or not the night float will be here next year.
Work load seemed about average. Intern year sounded fairly intense, but the work drops off a lot later on, and I didn't get the impression residents were violating work hours rules.
Setting/culture/location: As mentioned above, residents rotate through the VA, a state hospital and Dartmouth along with multiple different outpatient sites. Everything is pretty close together except for the state hospital.
The program is located in an area called the Upper Valley that includes parts of New Hampshire and Vermont, and their catchment area includes New Hampshire, parts of Maine and Vermont. The area is beautiful and full of outdoor activities (the Appalachian trail cuts through there, and there are ski resorts practically in town). It's also decently sophisticated probably because of the presence of Dartmouth College, so there are a lot more restaurants/pubs/cultural activities than what you would expect for a small area. It sounded like housing in the area is pretty affordable if you avoid Hanover and Norwich. A lot of the residents are married and/or have kids, and they did mention that it's probably not the best place if you're interested in a vibrant night life.
The general vibe I got from the program and the area is that it's pretty laid back. People come to the area because they want to escape the city, and that's reflected in the program. While the program has a lot of research going on and can be academically intense, it's not stuffy. I didn't see many residents wearing white coats or ties and a few were wearing hiking boots. As for emphasis, probably balanced but maybe a little more biological in emphasis. Residents do have the option of training with the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute but have to pay the fees themselves.
On a note about the culture, though, the current PD is stepping down and will act as assistant PD at least for next year. It sounds like he's been a big drawing force for the program in the past, so they're trying to be very upfront with applicants about the change. The current PD is very friendly and warm, and the new PD is supposedly a little more business-like. She's also coming from outside (Mass Gen) but has spent the last year working at the program before taking over as PD. She said she's planning on improving formalized mentorship within the program but is not planning on making any other major changes. The residents also mentioned that a lot of the positive, friendly attitude at the program came from the hospital in general, so a new PD wouldn't change that.
Positives: Solid academic experience in a more chill environment. Varied clinical settings, and a large catchment area with lots of socioeconomic diversity. Beautiful area with a high qualify of life. Very democratic emphasis in the program as shown by the discussion about how to implement a night float. I think they also showed a lot of integrity by being upfront about the night float changes and the new PD.
Negatives: Not a lot of ethnic diversity. Some commuting required, and the main inpatient unit not being locked could be an issue. However, it sounded like they still saw a lot of pathology there, and residents said they also gained skills in negotiating with patients in that unit. I also got the vibe that there was more of a biological emphasis, and psychotherapy training is not that strong in first and second years, which is pretty normal. Charming small town location, but it's still a small town, so it's not for everyone.
I'm really hoping to read a review on the Austin, TX program. A LOT of the programs I have applied to are saying HORRIBLE things about ONLY this program.
If someone has interviewed here and hasn't written a review yet, I would highly appreciate it.
I don't know how well other programs keep up with various programs, but if there is serious truth to these rumors, I might cancel my interview......despite how amazing Austin as a city really is.
Can someone post any NY programs reviews: NYMC westchester, Stonybrook, LIJ....?
What did you think of those programs?
-AT.
Touche...What did you think of those programs?
Columbia.
If anyone has gone to Columbia I would love to hear about it!
When was your interview? If you have been to Columbia, I would love to hear about it!
-AT.
anyone have exp at U Penn this year?