1. ACCOMMODATIONS/FOOD- No accommodations provided. Cant comment on the UCLA places they recommended, as I stayed out of the area. If you drive to UCLA, PLEASE pay careful attention to the parking direction provided and make sure to map out the route to the kiosk to pre-pay for parking before heading to the massive parking structures. Lunch was catered in their residents library, with a nice number of residents coming to answer questions.
2. INTERVIEW DAY- There was a one hour introduction to the program, complete with custom video montage with sound (hey, were in L.A., right?). Very slick and informative. This followed with three interviews, two of whom were faculty and one of which was a Chief Resident. All went fine, but were slightly less conversational and more formal and interview-y than Id grown used to at west coast programs (this isnt a complaint, as they were all extremely professional, just different in tone to what Im familiar with). There were tours of the West LA VA Hospital as well as the Semel Institute and UCLA Medical Center (sorry, still cant use the term Reagan without flinching). Facilities were very impressive, the VA for size (500 beds, 125 psych, good lord!) and the Semel and UCLA for design and technology. Very humbling, you realize youre in a program with an extremely large footprint. The evening ended with Happy Hour at a brew pub in Westwood. It was also impressive how many residents and faculty turned out for this, outnumbering applicants probably two-to-one in bodies and definitely in bar tabs.
3. PROGRAM OVERVIEW- Ive interviewed at a lot of programs I consider very good, but this was the first one that I really said, WOW. There is literally EVERYTHING at UCLA. They treat every kind of culture and every kind of pathology and have clinics targeted to each. The research here is the best on the west coast (in my humble opinion) and they have a great relationship with the graduate programs at UCLA which is literally strong in almost everything, so they have some great interdisciplinary projects going on and collaboration is rampant. On the spectrum of nurtured-to-autonomous, residents definitely are on the autonomous side (typical of larger programs), but residents say they feel well supported. Great veteran exposure, if thats your thing. They have great psychotherapy training and psychoanalytic relationships, and although a lot of folks head into fellowship and academics, the training seems to support folks heading the private practice route as well. Call seems higher than average for most California programs, with q5-6 for inpatient psych months as PGY-1s, but thats obviously going to change (no firm word on their plans, but theyre leaning towards night float). As it is, there is protected sleep time of about 4 hours each night. PGY-2 (currently) is q6-7, PGY-3 is q14, and no PGY-4 call. Fellowships in literally pretty much everything. Lots of social events and the classes seemed much more collegial than Id seen at most of the top programs.
4. FACULTY- What can I say here? Some of the best on the west coast. Lots of possibilities as residents for research, though obviously the big names arent as chummy as some of the clinician educators, who residents have said were very approachable. They have great didactics as well, apparently.
5. LOCATION/LIFESTYLE- Its Los Angeles. Definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of place. You have one of the worlds most vibrant cities, but be prepared to drive to all that culture out there. The area the program is in is nice and safe (unlike many LA programs), but if you want to live within walking distance or a quick drive, expect to live in an apartment, not a house. If youre willing to drive a bit, there are literally possibilities to suit any interest or budget, but be prepared for traffic. LA has more opportunities for hiking and the outdoors than most give it credit for, but again, be prepared to drive (sense a theme?). The residents were extremely well-rounded and while they all seemed very intelligent, they didnt give off that egghead/overly-cerebral vibe you get at some places. They admit to working hard, but feel its manageable. They did all seem pretty fit, causing me to scratch my gut and promise to work out more in the New Year, but I get that feeling anytime I visit Los Angeles.
6. BENEFITS- Starting salary average for California without a housing allowance, but folks feel its manageable. Personally, I think you'd be on a tighter budget than any other California program I looked at (UCSF has that housing allowance). Lots of moonlighting opportunities later which I presume helps.
7. STRENGTHS- Research is top notch and opportunities abound (cant claim expertise on those doing the full-on research track, as thats not my path). Clinical education is very good, with clinics in just about any subject. Teaching of psychotherapy is strong with specific modalities outlined and impressively diverse. Diversity of patients from insured to uninsured and from any of the hundreds of cultures in the area. If you're interested in the hard-core county experience, you can do rotations at Harbor-UCLA or even the entire intern year. Assuming youre not the type of resident that will need an excessive amount of hand-holding and you thrive in a fast-paced environment, Id say this would be a great program. L.A. is a strength if you like L.A. and dont mind driving (sorry, Im done with the driving thing). The residents are the strongest Ive seen with impressive pedigrees and biographies and even more impressive down-to-earth relatable personalities.
8. WEAKNESSES- I didnt see any big flaws in the program or things Id identify as weaknesses. It is a big program and feels like a big program that expects you to work and be self-sufficient. This isnt a weakness for many, but if you view it as such, Id look long and hard at myself and the program here to make sure youre up for it.