Just curious (hence my name): what is the status of the search for a new program director? Is there an heir apparent or are they looking outside of the longwood system? Are people worried about it? Do the residents have a preference as to who it is (as in what kind of psychiatrist, not a specific person, though they probably have that too), or do they kinda assume that anyone would be fine because the place is generally well run?
Given that longwood has so many sites, is there an identified "type" of resident or type of training that people should think when they think "longwood." I know a couple of people who specifically chose longwood after having been recruited by mgh (which my iPad tried to correct to 'ugh') but is there a sense that people have a chip about being at the 2nd most famous residency in the city, or do the longwood residents just see themselves as different from the residents at mgh/McLean? is there a program around the country that seems most similar, or that the modal longwood resident also strongly considered? do the residents identify more strongly with any particular hospital (ie, is one place considered home base?).
Thanks for any answers!
Hey there, I'm also a (senior) Longwood resident, figured I'd weigh in too and help MDchouette in fielding questions...We're told that the interview process is underway and they have more than a few excellent candidates in the running, but that likely a decision will not be announced until the end of the academic year. There is no heir apparent, and there is not a high level of anxiety about it, because our outgoing program director of 20 years was just promoted to Chief of Psychiatry, so he is still very much involved in the decision-making process and the direction of the residency. All our other training directors are also staying put, so there's not a lot of concern about an abrupt change of course.
Now, for your other questions--your comment about "2nd most famous residency in the city" cracked me up! There are absolutely no chips on anyone's shoulder about this, because that's not really how anybody here sees it or talks about it--if you're a Longwood resident, it's because you thought it was the best match for your personality and goals, and the Selection Committee agreed. Same goes for MGH, Cambridge, and South Shore. So from my vantage point, there's not really any competition, amongst either ourselves or the other Harvard residencies--because there are more than enough opportunities, mentors, grants and fellowships to go around at Harvard! Psychiatry in Boston is a small world, and everyone ends up working together in the long run anyway if you stay in town as an attending. Most of the program directors and attendings have trained/worked together from way back when--everyone knows everyone.
There's not really any "typical" Longwood resident; rather, there's a huge diversity of personalities, professional interests, and backgrounds. What we all do share is the desire to work hard and get things done, get great training, and do it in a collegial, stimulating environment. Most of us chose Longwood because we wanted to train in a program filled with really smart, really awesome people, in a variety of clinical settings with a wide swath of patient populations and psychopathology, and that was the vibe we got when we interviewed (and found it to be true in training once we arrived). One of my co-residents said it best when she said, "There are easier programs to train at--you have to know going into it that you're going to work hard and you're going to see a lot of patients...which, IMHO, is how you best learn psychiatry!" That being said, we never come anywhere close to violating duty hours, have nights and weekends free unless we're on call, and have plenty of time for a real life.
Whew. Sorry for the soliloquy.
It's just that I've had a great experience at Longwood, and I kind of want to shout it out!
MDchouette, you want to weigh in too?
