2013-2014 Psychiatry Interview Reviews

[Fenster]

Gather around everyone, it's that time of the year again! Lets post our interview reviews and help one another.

Lets also stick to the same format that'd been used in the previous years. Here it is:

1. Communication
2. Accommodation & Food
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)
4. Program Overview
5. Faculty
6. Location & Lifestyle
7. Salary & Benefits
8. Program Strengths
9. Potential Weaknesses

If you want to post your reviews anonymously, feel free to send them to me via PM and I'll post it.

Good luck everyone!


Here are the reviews posted so far:

Last year's thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php?threads/2012-2013-psych-interview-reviews.957418/
(I tried to link the individual posts on this thread to the list below but the new forum software makes it so incredibly difficult that I gave up after adding a few. Specifically, it is hard to find the exact post link - you have to find the post number by hovering over the like button and then use this hyperlink format: forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php?threads/2012-2013-psych-interview-reviews.957418/#post-POSTNUMBER. Additionally, the post titles are no longer displayed so it takes effort to figure out which review was for which program. If someone has the time and patience, please consolidate the list. If not, we'll just have to read the entire thread!)

California
Stanford: Review 1
UCLA-Semel: Review 1 Review2
UCSF: Review 1 Review2 Review3
UCSF-Fresno: Review 1
UCLA-Harbor: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4
UC Davis: Review 1
UCLA-NPI: Review 1
USC-LAC: Review 1 Review 2
UCSD: Review 1

Colorado
U Colorado: Review 1 Review 2

Connecticut
Yale: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4 Review 5

District of Columbia
Georgetown: Review 1

Florida
University of Florida: Review 1
USF: Review 1

Georgia
Emory: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3

Idaho
UW-Boise: Review 1

Illinois
Northwestern: Review 1
U Chicago: Review 1 Review 2
Rush: Review 1
UIC: Review 1

Indiana
U Indiana: Review 1

Louisiana
LSU New Orleans: Review 1
LSU-Oschner: Review 1
LSU-Shreveport: Review 1
Tulane: Review 1

Maine
Maine Medical Center: Review 1

Maryland
Hopkins: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4
U Maryland: Review 1

Massachusetts
Harvard Longwood: Review 1 Review 2
Cambridge Health Alliance: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
MGH-McLean: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
UMass: Review 1
Harvard South Shore: Review 1

Michigan
U Michigan: Review 1
Wright State: Review 1

Minnesota
U Minn.: Review 1
Hannepin: Review 1
New Jersey
Bergen: Review 1

New Mexico
UNM: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3

New York
NYU: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
SUNY-Upstate: Review 1 Review 2
Mt. Sinai: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4
Cornell: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
Columbia: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
Einstein: Review 1
St. Luke's-Roosevelt: Review 1
Beth Israel: Review 1

North Carolina
Duke: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4 Review 4
UNC: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3
Wake Forest: Review 1 Review 2, Review 3

Ohio
Cleveland Clinic: Review 1
Case Western: Review 1 Review 2
OSU: Review 1

Oregon
OHSU: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3

Pennsylvania
Albert Einstein: Review 1
WPIC: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 Review 4
Penn: Review 1
Drexel: Review 1

Rhode Island
Brown: Review 1 Review 2

South Carolina
USC-Palmetto: Review 1 Review 2
MUSC: Review 1

Tennessee
Vanderbilt: Review 1

Texas
Texas A&M: Review 1
UTSW: Review 1

Utah
U Utah: Review 1

Virginia
VCU: Review 1, Review 2
UVA: Review 1 Review 2, Review
Carilion: Review 1

Washington State
UW-Seattle: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Psychotic]

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[eastcoastdr]

Just to get this thread kicked off, without naming the programs, I wanted to make a few general comments about my interviews so far.

First, no awkward or personally invasive questions have been asked - no "gotcha" questions. All of the discussions have been very straightforward. Some interviewers do little actual interviewing, more "selling" the program. I think I finally understand what those who have gone before us mean about this being a buyer's market for applicants - it feels more like an extended sales pitch than an interview.

I can also now appreciate the recommendation to limit the total number of interviews to a number under 10 - say maybe 8? Because I am only 3 interviews in (have another one this week - my first "2 in one week" weeks), and I am starting to feel the fatigue of the road, and the pre-interview meal followed by the interview day. It takes more of a physical and mental toll than I appreciated. I am now looking at ways to cut my number of interviews down (have 13 total scheduled, and that is way too many, at least for me, and for psych in general).

Agree with all of this. Most of my interviewers only asked a couple standard questions "tell me about yourself", "why psychiatry", and some variation of "where do you see yourself in 10 years" or "are you interested in any fellowships?" Then they spent more than half the time selling the program.

I did have one weird experience - apparently one PD was pimping students in the interview and asking tough questions...but when he came around to me he only asked me 1 super basic psychiatry-related question based on my personal statement. This same program also had you write an essay and answer a 10question multiple choice quiz!!! That was kind of annoying especially since I think by this point all applicants have proven themselves academically.

But yes it is super tiring. I think the worst part is the residents spend ALL day with you, even when theres down time between interviews. It's so hard to remain smiley, friendly, engaged and keep asking questions all day. Every resident keeps asking "do you have any questions for me" but towards the end of the day after sitting through presentations and listening 5-6 students already asking questions I JUST HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO ASK!!! But I don't want to sit there like a wet blanket with nothing to contribute! I wish I could just have the down time in between interviewers to myself. But I do appreciate that these programs are letting us speak with the residents freely and learn more about them.

 

[Elisabeth Kate]

Agree with all of this. Most of my interviewers only asked a couple standard questions "tell me about yourself", "why psychiatry", and some variation of "where do you see yourself in 10 years" or "are you interested in any fellowships?" Then they spent more than half the time selling the program.

I did have one weird experience - apparently one PD was pimping students in the interview and asking tough questions...but when he came around to me he only asked me 1 super basic psychiatry-related question based on my personal statement. This same program also had you write an essay and answer a 10question multiple choice quiz!!! That was kind of annoying especially since I think by this point all applicants have proven themselves academically

Which program did this?

 

[shinystar2014]

I have felt similarly at the interviews I have completed thus far. I have found my interviews to be far more tiring than anticipated, mostly because you have to constantly be "on". I also have been pleasantly surprised that the interview days are structured significantly around recruitment and are not necessarily "interviews". I had one half an hour interview where my interviewer spoke extensively about herself and the program, leaving me very little room to talk. It's nice feeling like it truly is a buyer's market, but it is still an unsettling feeling being part of this process.

I plan to also cancel several interviews. I think it's clear that in psychiatry you don't need to go on a crazy number of interviews. I don't think it's necessary to go on more than 12-15 interviews (that's probably even too many!), and I would hate to hold onto an interview for a program that I don't necessarily see as a good fit for me when someone else might be very interested in that place.

 

[prittypistol]

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.

 

[splik]

i would encourage everyone to post their interview reviews as they go along, even if anonymously. there is little point in posting reviews after the match as programs often change significant from year to year and point is this is supposed to a forum for you to share your views with your peers during this process. this is best done under your username, but you can also have someone else post them (as was offered) if you are irretrievably neurotic. if you are posting something that you think entirely identifies you or that will have negative repercussions, then it is probably something that you shouldn't be posting at all. also if you are unwilling to post your reviews, you shouldn't expect anyone else to share them as well. you play your role in shaping the collective consciousness of the acceptability of doing so.

its reflects badly i think that so far only 1 review. this time last year there were 7 reviews and the year before 8 reviews. this is despite interviews starting earlier this year than before.

 

[ferning]

Shame people into posting, nice work

 

[Nasrudin]

UCLA-SFV

1. Communication: Email
2. Accommodation & Food: No hotel accommodations. Food--light breakfast, coffee/sandwiches etc
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Day starts at 8 AM, parking is very proximal easy and convenient--not sure about access via public transit. But expect to rent a car if you don't live there. First off is a brief friendly greeting from the 2 chiefs--very delightful, engaging gentleman--while you sip coffee and such. Then it's off for a tour and a few interviews with clinical attendings at Olive View--one of their main sites. Then back to Dept. HQ at the VA for a few more interviews with residents and the program director. Typical questions + a few fun ones: what makes you happy, What do you like to do for fun, movies you like, etc. Overall laid back, conversational, and fun format thanks to the cool chiefs.
4. Program Overview: This is a well-balanced, clinically focused program with a variety of training sites. You're going to be well trained for any setting you want to work in. The rotation schedule is normal in proportion--early 2nd year therapy with an overall emphasis in therapy training and non pharmaceutical modalities. 6 months of child service that puts you into direct contact with many of LA's child fellowship faculty--one of the benefits of multiple sites for training is networking. The didactics are solid and time is allotted properly for them. There is a good deal of interest and intent on making sure the residents get what they need out of training. The PD lays it out for you straight in this regard with matter of fact sincerity, saying something to the effect that his residents were the program, if they are not satisfied with their training and the program's responsiveness then it would be evident because transparency is encouraged during their interview process. Which brings me to my overall arching intuition about this program is that the residents are very happy with their choice. That's not to say it's cush. They have some tough gigs in a busy psych ER and other venues. It's just that those hard working elements of their training are balanced well with a steady gradation of responsibility and an overall ethic of resident support. I liked the residents I met very much. They seemed genuinely to enjoy each other's company.
5. Faculty: The ones that I met were impressive and motivated to teach. I can't comment on specific areas of research or resumes, but I'm not that interested in such things. They had attendings that are fellowship trained in all areas. And plentiful in the fields I'm considering fellowship training in, that's probably the extent of how think about faculty. That and do I sense a motivation to teach and willingness to give of themselves to the program and it's success. That seemed to be the case at this program.
6. Location & Lifestyle: It's LA--whatever that means to you. There are 4 core rotation sites in north and west LA and SFV. The driving commuting is not as bad as you might think and their are upsides to taking half days at a particular site. Check this program out and interview and talk to the residents in detail about where they live and what it's like to get around and you'll see what I mean. If LA is abhorrent to you as well as any sort of commuting then you will have not likely applied here. But if it's just kind of a minor pro/con in your overall calculus then certainly don't let the multiple sites and LA traffic scare you. I came away surprisingly reassured that this would not likely affect my ranking of the place. Residents live all over north LA, downtown LA, Santa Monica, Venice beach as well as the more northern suburbs and eastern parts of the valley.
7. Salary & Benefits: 51, 53, 55, 57 G's, full bennies at good networks with ease of enrolling family. Meal tickets daily. 4 weeks vacation, 12 sick days. Overall a good package.
8. Program Strengths: Solid balanced clinical focus with diverse training sites that prepare you well for come what may and the ability to get connected in the area and up and down the coast--the program has long-term unshakable stability with county and VA support under singular leadership of the PD for 30-40 years. Thus there will be no unpleasant surprises here you can feel confident in having a clear picture of the program after your interview day.
9. Potential Weaknesses: LA driving, not the place to be if research career is what you want. But then....you should already know that from having done your research. I did meet a md/phd resident who indicated she came their because she like the program and said that research was largely self-directed anyway, for whatever that's worth. Women's health might not be as strong as other programs of course but they offer ways to address this if you want to with electives in that area.

Overall Thoughts: This is a very resident friendly clinically focused program with very good beneftis/pay package with excellent internal moonlighting with some LA driving involved. The quality of life seems good. The education seems able to prepare you for a career in a variety of systems. I don't know enough about didactics to make a comparative assessment.

 

[Nasrudin]

USC

1. Communication: Email

2. Accommodation & Food: No hotel coverage, they give a list of options for discounts I think. Food was great--lunch was catered mexican food.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): A very nice complete introduction to the program with all the major players there to talk, a short video, and some nice breakfast with coffee. The conference room which also doubles as lecture venues was very nice. Then half of the people do a tour in the morning and other half do interviews and then vice versa in the afternoon after lunch. Bring good walking shoes as the tour is a good bit of walking. Then a open question session with residents alone and then a wrap up after interviews/tour.

4. Program Overview: USC is well-heeled top to bottom. (not sure why resident salary hasn't followed suit) Everything is nice and the campus is huge. Although there is one operational center of the department that is very dungeon like in the bottom of one of the hospitals. There are tons of faculty with all the specializations represented. C&L. Addictions, Forensics and child. And they like taking their own people. The huge campus is very interesting in that it has the private Keck group and the very public county facility right next to each other. So you're getting served up the full panorama of SES and every type of psychopathology imaginable. The ER is awesome. You've got the psych ER working in tandem with the medical ER right next door to each other with good collaboration between both. The experience there would be intense and amazing. The facilities are well staffed with battle hardened nurses and social work and security personnel so you wouldn't be getting thrown in to the pit without help. Speaking of--the wards are attending staffed even on call so your not without those lifelines early on. Overall an amazing and intense experience that will leave you ready for anything.

5. Faculty: This a very organized and cohesive group of faculty that are committed to keeping up a strong residency program. They seem to be on the same page, have very specific roles and work together well. They've all trained at top places and seem to have been hand-picked by the program to perform their specific jobs. They are committed to teaching. The fellowship faculty play key roles in the education of the general residency program and you'll get plenty of opportunity, therefore, to develop any skills you decide to seek out. There is ample opportunity to develop psychotherapy skills but that part of the program is self-directed so if you want a thorough, structured, and comprehensive psychotherapy curriculum I think this is probably not the program for you.

6. Location & Lifestyle: It's in the central part of LA. There are less hectic nicer neighborhoods within a decent commute and the downtown area close by is undergoing a revitalization. The lifestyle seems hardworking without being punishing in anyway. LA is a sprawling mess of a city with tons of amazing things in it. You kind of have to decide if it's for you or not. There are some rotations in Compton with bad driving in and out that seemed not to be the joy of the house staff.

7. Salary & Benefits: 43. 49, 53, 57 G's--possibility of 2% increases each year pending negotiations with admin/union. Free meals at some really good cafeterias all day. Excellent free health benefits--family members enrolled for small additional cost.. 24 days of vacation 8 sick days 3 of which can be used for personal leave. Free parking.

8. Program Strengths: Unparalleled clinical experience. Well-funded program with tons of faculty. In-house fellowships. Good overall compensation package. They're earnestly trying to develop more rigorous research in the program.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Psychotherapy doesn't seem like a strength here--whether that's a weakness is up to you. LA driving with rotations in Compton. Low salary in high cost city with no emphasis on moonlighting opportunities. You won't be able to moonlight until well into 3rd year and that certainly wasn't discussed I had to dig to find the policy and correlate it to the curriculum, which makes me think they don't think highly of residents moonlighting. They do compensate this weakness with an overall good compensation package but I'd have to sit down and make potential budget to figure it out comparatively. I got the feeling the program had an uncomfortable view of it's position in the SoCal psychiatry hierarchy of prestige, given that the leadership are from elite training pedigrees. I'm not sure how I feel about that intuition as it doesn't matter to me in the slightest about such things.

Overall Thoughts: This program has very strong clinical training. They recruit strongly and communicate the strengths of their program well which for me includes the variety of exposure to different patient populations, the ER experience, and the strong in house fellowship opportunities.

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review: UTHSCSA

1. Communication- email

2. Accommodation & Food- Accommodations not provided, but had hotel recommendation nearby with shuttle to interview. Dinner with residents the night before at a nice Mexican restaurant.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- Day starts at 8AM. Coffee, juice, water, and some pastries and fruit available. Morning starts with brief introduction by the PD, followed by a presentation by the Military PD. There were 8 interviewees and the group splits up- 4 have three back-to-back 30 min interviews (all very relaxed and conversation-like) while the other 4 go on the tour with the chief resident. After the two groups switch, there's a catered lunch (Italian). A brief presentation by CAP faculty, followed by a presentation by Dr. O'Donnell (psychologist).
4. Program Overview- solid university program with diverse patient population. Big plus is the military affiliation and the resources that go with it. They have an amazing Polytrauma unit at the VA. Residents mentioned that they might be able to count Polytrauma as a Neurology month (not known yet).

5. Faculty- very approachable and willing to teach per residents.

6. Location & Lifestyle- San Antonio is a relatively large city with a small town feel. There's plenty of outdoor activities and entertainment. Most residents seem to have a good balance of home and work life. Lots of residents came out to the pre-interview dinner and there were even more during the lunch. All very friendly and accessible. Cost of living is very good- lot of residents buy houses nearby.

7. Salary & Benefits- just like other programs. You do get a military ID which can get you some discounts.

8. Program Strengths-
Combined military program (one of two- other being Wright State Uni) so you see active military personnel and their families.
Well regarded program in Texas.
Start electives early (PGY 2).
Dr. Schillerstrom (PD)!

9. Potential Weaknesses- Driving to multiple sites

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review: University of Missouri-Columbia

1. Communication- ERAS; PC didn't respond to emails as quickly compared to other programs.

2. Accommodation & Food- Provided nice hotel nearby (Stoney Creek Inn) with breakfast. Pre-interview dinner at a resident's house (catered). There was really good turnout at the dinner- more residents than interviewees. Everyone was very friendly and answered questions. They get along really well.
There is a shuttle from the hotel to the interview, but it's arranged through the school. Make sure to get confirmation of the shuttle with the PC if you're going to take the shuttle.

3. Interview Day- Starts at 8:15AM in the lobby. PC comes and takes you to the department. Might be useful to bring a printed copy of your interview day schedule as the interview packet/folder the day of doesn't include it. They guide you from the interview to the conference room (home base for the day) for each interview, but it's nice to have the schedule in front of you. There were four 30 min interviews (PD, Dept Chair, psychologist, chief resident). There was usually a 30 min break between interviews. Some were back-to-back. Just depends on how many people there are that day, I think. On the schedule, the time with the PC is just for paperwork and she's happy to answer questions for you. After the four interviews, there were sandwiches for lunch. Good number of residents showed up to lunch and answered questions. Then there was a short tour of the hospital and the day was done by 2PM.
*Most of the interviews were typical, but was asked where I have interviews scheduled by one person.

4. Program Overview- university program, residents feel confident when they get out. They do have CAP and Forensics fellowships. I don't think research is a focus.

5. Faculty- residents speak well of faculty. Dr. Halstenson (psychologist) was great during the interview! Faculty takes resident input seriously.

6. Location & Lifestyle- Columbia is a small university town. People are very friendly. Program is very relaxed and family friendly. Residents seem to have lots of time for themselves and family. They all seem happy. Good school districts.

7. Salary & Benefits- typical. They have in house moonlighting from PGY 2, I think.

8. Program Strengths
-university program
-rotate through multiple sites (VA, university hospital, etc.) so good patient variety.
-relaxed, good hours.

9. Potential Weaknesses- lack of research

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review: Jefferson

1. Communication- Typical

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodation provided. We had drinks and light appetizers the night before the interview with the residents, light breakfast and full lunch day of.

3. Interview Day- starts in the conference room, discussion led by the chief residents. The PD comes in a bit later and makes a presentation. Then the interviews start. Three total, distributed over the morning and early afternoon for some. You have a schedule of when your interviews are and the PC helps guide you to them and back to the conference room (home base). Lunch with residents and a couple afternoon talks (department chair, vice chair of education, etc).

4. Program Overview- university program, strong emphasis on psychotherapy. I don't think research is a focus.

5. Faculty- residents speak well of faculty, especially the level of involvement of the PD.

6. Location & Lifestyle- Philadelphia.

7. Salary & Benefits- typical.

8. Program Strengths
-university program
-rotate through multiple sites, residents say this increase pt variety
-psychotherapy seems strong focus

9. Potential Weaknesses
-lack of research
-sites distributed in different areas, transportation required
-lack of women/diversity in leadership positions, seemed like a very male-dominated department
-sounds like the psych wards aren't full, competing for patients with many other departments in the city

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review: Montefiore

1. Communication- Some information sent by mail

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodation provided. Breakfast and lunch day of.

3. Interview Day- Very short, essentially 9-2 or so. Meet in the conference room, chief resident joins and answers questions informally. No presentation to the group, no schedules distributed, you're pulled out one by one for a total of three interviews although order/number of interviews initially unclear. Finished with interviews by 12, lunch with residents followed by tour snd brief chat with program chair.

4. Program Overview- I think very highly of this program, based on information I knew from before the interview. Very community-oriented, focused on personal development, elements of social justice, et cetera. However, the interview day itself presented only a vague image of Montefiore with the resounding message from the residents being, "We don't work that much." The PD never addressed us as a group and most of the day was an informal Q&A. I felt like they weren't trying that hard. That said, again, I think they are a wonderful program and would be happy to be here but the day itself was wishy-washy.

5. Faculty- residents speak well of faculty, emphasizing their availability.

6. Location & Lifestyle- Bronx, which the residents presented as a major downside but seemed nice to me!

7. Salary & Benefits- typical salary, but $15 per day for food and non-guaranteed subsidized housing nearby.

8. Program Strengths
-community focus
-don't work a ton
-very well supported by faculty, department

9. Potential Weaknesses
-lack of research
-don't work a ton
-new sites may require travel
-Bronx per the residents

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - LSU/ Ochsner in NOLA

1. Communication- email

2. Accommodation & Food- They provide accommodations at the Brent House Hotel which is connected to the hospital. Very convenient the morning of the interview. No pre-interview dinner. They have breakfast, drinks, etc at the interview.

3. Interview Day- Day starts at 8-8:15AM. There are two interviews in the morning (PD, chief resident). There are breaks in between with the other applicants. Very relaxed. They mostly talked about their program. Then there was the tour of Ochsner, followed by lunch at a nice local restaurant. Then there were two more interviews at DePaul. Again very relaxed. Short presentation by chief resident. Day ends around 3:30PM. No unusual questions, just conversation.

4. Program Overview- seems like a great program with wide variety of pathology and diverse patient population. Great Forensics rotation at state hospital.

5. Faculty-

6. Location & Lifestyle- New Orleans! Great food and environment- something for everyone. Residents very happy.

7. Salary & Benefits- typical, but cost of living in NOLA is relatively cheap so resident salary goes far. Can supplement with moonlighting starting PGY 2.

8. Program Strengths
-Well trained residents
-Relaxed environment with free time
-In house moonlighting that most residents participate in (almost like it's part of your schedule, unless you choose not to participate)

9. Potential Weaknesses
-lack of research

 

[Nasrudin]

UCSF-Fresno:

1. Communication: Email

2. Accommodation/food: The program pays for half of your hotel for one night. Food was the cafeteria fare in the main hospital open to just physicians. It was good.

3. Interview day: You will be picked up by the lovely and vivacious coordinator and taken all around Fresno at the beginning, middle, and end of the day. You will learn all you wanted to know about the area from and more. The interviews start at the program HQ--3 interviews. Then lunch. Then a short drive to the VA for an interview with a clinical supervisor.

4. Program Overview: Dr. Craig Campbell is the architect of the program and will be at the helm there, likely until retirement, many years hence. He is masterful in the way he conducts the operations, much like a symphony. Attention is given to each detail. And the happiness of all creatures big and small is given ample consideration. Not one person working for him or with him has anything but glowing things to say. He maintains a smaller program and balances the needs of the services to keep resident education at the forefront of program goals--something I'm learning how to detect largely based on his patient description of the principles of program design. None of the services are dependent on residents for basic functioning. This is a smaller program that collects surprising levels of talent due to the low cost of living and flight from the more pressurized publish or perish oriented academic places in CA. In other words, the people that go there WANT rather than are obligated to teach. I like the emphasis on a good medicine foundation including a month of emergency medicine which he considers a basic skill learning rotation of high importance--I agree. They have an innovative curriculum with longitudinal child and adolescent exposure. You will do a good mix of neurology, medicine, and emergency medicine then you will move on the a year of hospital based psychiatry services and also therapy training--so their balance of therapy in the curriculum is achieved early. They're also currently developing an integrated model where psychiatry services are integrated into primary care multi-disciplinary practices. So you'll train in that environment which is also the direction of care established by Obamacare.

5. Faculty: I also interviewed with Dr. Krause who was amazing. She cares a great deal about education and has been instrumental in organizing a superb child psychiatry component to the training. Her objective is to help general psychiatrists in an underserved setting be able to manage and refer properly for child psychiatric care and for her residents to be very comfortable treating adolescents. So this model works for creating great general psychiatrists capable of being one stop caregivers for families, but I also think this would prepare you very well if a child fellowship was your goal. I also interviewed with Dr. Hersevoort who the program had just brought on to further develop their integrated outpatient service. He's a C&L specialist with extensive experience in Emergency Psych and in teaching at CPMC and UCSF. He has tons of connections in the Bay Area and seems to be very generous with his time for resident education--so a great addition to the faculty which seems to be growing and a great resource for networking for jobs in the Bay Area post residency. I also interviewed with Dr. Howsepian who gave an awesome mental yoga session of an interview which was as stimulating as it was engaging. He's a phd in philosophy, so that's probably why the interview was so fun, but he's also their ECT specialist I think, so there's that, if it's important to you. A great group of people overall.

6. Location/lifestyle: OK. So Fresno is the butt of California jokes in the same way jersey is to manhattanites. But here's the thing, you get paid at UC level while you pay cheaply to live. There's good schools on the northern parts of town if you have kids and many of the residents end up buying great houses. So it's northern parts are quiet suburby places with the valley economics working in strongly in your favor--something not common in CA. There's a surprising number of amenities and the place has really grown in recent decades. I've heard that certain areas have crime and gangs and that there is considerable drug trafficking but truthfully I don't know what to make of those complaints given I've been in big cities most of my adult life. I didn't notice anything bad about the place while driving around. Frankly it lacks what more cosmopolitan cities have to offer but if you're looking for a family friendly town with a great lifestyle in training with good economics you really need to check this place out. And if you've written off California entirely given the high cost of living you should give this place a look because it has caring, genuine educationally motivated faculty that maintain a supportive training environment that would make extending your interview trail further west well worth it.

7. Salary/benefits: I can't find it--50's I think. The same as ucsf whatever that is. Good benefits--can't find the specifics. Look--the economics here are fantastic--it comes down to whether or not you want to live here.

8. Program Strengths: Great, caring faculty. Great program organization and stability without loss of adaptability and innovation. Great lifestyle.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Smaller program that might not have the breadth of faculty of larger programs. Fresno is family friendly and it's nicer areas are not exciting as much as they are safe. So...for me location here is a weakness--I don't have children to think about. Air quality is reportedly an issue, but I didn't notice it, so look into it if your think it might be an issue for you.

 

[Journey Gestalt]

Beth Israel -NYC:

1. Communication: Email

2. Accommodation & Food: No accomodations provided. Breakfast and lunch provided on interview day. Some days they have a pre-interview dinner but was not listed for my date.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): 8:15 am-3 pm. Interview day starts with an overview of the program by the PD, tour of the hospital and housing, followed by 2 interviews (45 min ea., 1 faculty + 1 PD or 2 faculty). Everyone will have an "exit interview", which means you meet with the program director if you didn't before to talk about how the day went. If you met with the PD, then you will meet another faculty member. Interviews were casual/conversational.

4. Program Overview: More psychotherapy emphasis, but still solid biological learning. There is a faculty member there that wrote a book that is highly regarded in psychiatry (I will have to research the name again). Residents are friendly and get along well with each other. With recent merging of Mt. Sinai, program expects increasing opportunities in research and elective rotations. Everyone does a research course at the program. Highly diverse population. PD was delightful to chat with. They have a sex therapy course and further training in that field if desired.

5. Faculty: Friendly and approachable

6. Location & Lifestyle: NYC, great area of the city with subsidized housing

7. Salary & Benefits: Higher than standard (higher 50's - but then again its in NYC)and said they will maintain salary even with partnering with Mt. Sinai. Funds are provided to conferences/research events

8. Program Strengths: Residents seem to get along very well. Always with a resident when on call intern year. With a CPEP in place, there is an attending 24/7 at hospital if you need advice. PD is very nice. 100% board rate passage. 3rd intern on medicine block. 4 weeks vacation. Seems like a balanced program in terms of community and research.

**Edit) Fellowship offered: Geriatrics, Addiction, Psychosomatics, Child/Adolescent

9. Potential Weaknesses: Mostly electronic medical records, with paper notes. They are unsure if they will switch to EPIC with the new partnership with Mt. Sinai. No pre-interview dinner on certain dates (I like my happy hours ). Lack of VA system and training at different facilities. No real cafeteria in hospital (residents say there are many places to get food/coffee around the area).

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review: UC Davis--Sacramento

1. Communication: email

2. Accommodation/food: No accommodations but the Marriott on campus is a great hotel that is easy walking distance to the interview site. Food was catered Mexican and was excellent. They had snacks coffee and such that you could eat on breaks between interviews.

3. Interview day: A very nicely organized day that didn't feel draining at all. You get a brief overview by the program director herself and then a curriculum presentation by a 4th year resident. Then it's quick series of 30 min interviews all on site with some breaks in between. Then you have a lunch and a wrap up with the PD and another faculty member and then a tour and a drive around town with another resident. The smoothest interview day structure so far. Done by 3:30-ish even with the resident tour.

4. Program Overview: This program is well-rounded, flexible, humane, and very broad for its comparative size. Therapy training is given its due in the curriculum and can be dialed up or down per your interests. The residents reportedly do extremely well on the Columbia Psychodynamic test so you can at least be assured of outstanding therapy didactics. There is also strong cultural psychiatry about which you should search the details of if it's pivotal as my understsnieorhave an early elective compcalled Continuity Clinic that you do on certain days of the week after completing the basic medical training that is completely flexible to your interests. I really like that. They have great in-house fellowships and well funded bench research institute that does a lot of work in developmental disorders. A great place to do research not only because if the resources and academics but because unlike a lot of service driven curricula you actually have the protected time and flexibility to do your work. We met the child psychiatry director and he was outstanding and also a forensic specialist adding faculty strength to both fellowships. The Forensics program is top notch. They have a jail rotation that is unparalleled in my travels for early and amazing forensic and correctional experience. I personally don't think you could do better for forensics given that it's one if the very top few programs in the country AND the basic curriculum allows you the time to develop your career interests AND that the program has outstanding training sites for it. They have a medical educator track that is completely unique in my experience which allows you to develop skills in medical education working with medical students. The hours here are very humane and moonlighting is not a dirty word in the program. They have great opportunities in-house and out if you want to carry your own insurance. So you have time in this program to really supplement your income without redlining yourself to do it--an outstanding benefit.

5. Faculty: Dr. Ferranti was very impressive--the kind of person I would be honored to work for. She really is sincere about creating a supportive, resident interest driven, personalized curriculum for your career development. There are components of her program design that are specifically set up to gather resident issues into a constructive form via group process meeting and to maintain that feedback loop in changing the program. I think that says a lot about the friendly nature of the program's work culture. She's also a top notch forensics psychiatrist herself. The other faculty seemed strong as well but I got the best feel for the residents and Dr. Ferranti all of whom I can emphatically endorse as fantastic.

6. Location/lifestyle: Sacramento being the state capital has access to advocacy and policy events in one of the largest most important economies in the world. Sacramento is a valley town and so much more laid back and slow than LA or SF. It maintains a townish feel but has great things you'd expect from a hugely diverse populated area in California. Traffic is very manageable and cost of living is nice. Farmer's markets and grocery produce sections are as good as it gets. There's enough going on if you're single that you won't feel trapped unless you're used to and gotta have an NYC-like scene or the like. Cuisine is superb and eclectic due to the area's inherent diversity. You can easily bike in this town. There a wide variety of neighborhoods for house shoppers with kids and single young people alike.

7. Salary/benefits: You get great UC pay in the 50's and the benefits are amazing--your spouse and dependents pay no additional costs. Moonlight your butt off here if you want to but the areas economics certainly don't require it even if you have a family to take care of.

8. Program Strengths: Forensics. Amazing jail rotation. Great work culture/lifestyle. Other fellowships. Good research/medical education tracks. Neuro-developmental bench research institute. Great benefits and moonlighting. Good cost of living. Good therapy academics/training. I think even though the program staffs many sites that they are not resident dependent allowing for truly protected didactics and continuity clinics of your own interest.

9. Potential Weaknesses: A little slower less exciting than huge metropolitan areas. I think they don't have their own inpatient psych facility so their ED is triaging and placing all patients at the rotation sites you'll work at starting 2nd year I believe. Training is done at a lot of sites so you need to learn all the systems and since the program is the only one in town all the sites have to be manned meaning away electives might be trickier to schedule--just a guess.

Overall impression: this program is awesome and would be sucking the most competitive applicants away from the big name places if it weren't in Sacramento--perhaps this is good for us less than superstar applicants. Ssshhhhhhh!

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - STONYBROOK UNIVERSITY

1. Communication: excellent. The PC is a very sweet woman who answers all phone calls and responds quickly.

2. Accommodation & Food: Discount rate at a nearby Hilton, 7 course fancy dinner at a Hibachi restuarant the night before. There was SO much food, I could not finish it all! And it was quite long so if you are bad with small talk this may be really difficult for you. However, they provided no transportation to/from the restaurant for out-of-towners, which I thought was a little weird. The Hilton's shuttle does take you to and from the hospital though.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) - standard continental breakfast followed by PD/Chair welcome and intro. 3 interviews, 30 mins each, lots of downtime in between. A couple of hard questions from one of the interviewers: "what would you do if your suicidal patient committed suicide", and "How would you handle a violent patient". That same interviewer didn't really seem to "get" my personal statement and kept asking "why psychiatry" over and over again. Kind of scary because it was my first interview! The other two interviews went VERY smoothly, more conversation style.

4. Program Overview: They have a child inpatient unit, which is hard to find in the NYC area. Seems like a really strong unit. In addition to the regular didactics, they have really cool lecture series on topics like alien abductions and other weird beliefs people in society have, movies in psychiatry etc. Serves a huge population (suffolk county and parts of nassau county) - so very busy CPEP and inpatient floors.

5. Faculty: Everyone seemed really professional and accomplished. Enough opportunities for research. PD is a new guy, just started a couple years ago.

6. Location & Lifestyle: hour and a half from NYC. Doesn't seem like there's a lot to do in the area, but it is a very peaceful, calm town. Residents said they sometimes went out to the city on weekends but you needed a friend to crash with to do it, because taking the train back at night would suck. Some of the residents kept saying "well you won't have much time to party as a resident anyways so it doesnt matter that we are far from NYC". Most of the residents were from the Long Island area. The area is very suburban, definitely need a car. Also kind of high cost of living for a suburb..they said average one bedroom started at $1500/mo in the area.

7. Salary & Benefits: standard, starting at low 50s i think. check website to be sure!

8. Program Strengths: beautiful hospital, serves a HUGE community so broad range of patients

9. Potential Weaknesses: location - suburban, seemingly boring

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER

1. Communication: Excellent. No issues there. I asked to be put on a waiting list for another day, and she remembered and emailed me when another spot opened up!

2. Accomodation & Food: I live in Brooklyn so I didn't need a hotel. Don't think they provided one. No dinner the night before, just continental breakfast and sandwiches for lunch

3. Interview Day: Standard powerpoint presentation followed by 3 30 min interviews, lunch and tour. Loved the PD. He was charming, funny, and seemed to really care about the residents and program. He was just really, really nice to talk to. You could tell he definitely just wanted to talk and be casual, he didn't really grill me on anything. One interviewer was kinda cold and not as engaging as the PD. He asked what journal articles I'd been reading in psych, and then grilled me on it. he also asked me a very strange historical question about my undergraduate university, totally unrelated to medicine or me. But whatever. The PD was just so cool I didn't mind that I didn't really get along with one of the interviewers. Last interview was with chief resident, she was also great to talk to. Very easy, typical interview with standard questions. She asked me more questions about what I like to do outside of medicine.

4. Program Overview: Again, kind of standard. Residents said CPEP was very difficult for them due to heavy patient loads. Can substitute 1 mo pediatrics for 1 mo of IM. No child inpatient, only child outpatient. Due to location, lots of diversity.

5. Faculty: Only met the 3 interviewers. They all seem very accomplished, some were really into psychotherapy. The residents were all very sweet and friendly but they were mostly older, from other countries and married with families.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn - kind of a boring neighborhood due to its heavy orthodox jewish population but you are just a few train stops away from better area of BK and Manhattan. High cost of living because its NYC, but they do offer subsidized housing across the street (I think its like 800/mo for a 1br?) Most of the faculty, staff and patients at Maimo are orthodox jewish..the whole hospital is kosher and most people speak Yiddish. (There is also a lot of Spanish, Chinese and Russian speaking patients) So if you can't adjust to essentially living and working in another culture this may not be the best place for you. I did an elective rotation at this hospital in another discipline, and I really did love it there. The hospital is huge, but has a very family friendly feel. I don't speak Yiddish and I'm not Jewish but I got along just fine. Definitely have to utilize translator phones, but thats typical in NYC.

7. Salary & Benefits: standard. Oh, also they are the official Drs of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and they actually have psychiatrists on call for all the games. Kinda cool, I guess? They have subsidized housing, and if you don't get it, they give you a monthly stipend to put towards housing (only offered for intern year).

8. Program Strengths: Diversity, amazing PD.

9. Potential Weaknesses: boring-ish area of Brooklyn. No child inpatient. High cost of living.

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - SUNY DOWNSTATE

1. Communication: mainly through ERAS, no issues

2. Accomodation & Food: I live in Brooklyn so I didn't need a hotel. I don't remember the PC providing any hotel info or discounts. They didn't validate parking, which was suprising to me. No dinner the night before, just a sparse continental breakfast and sandwiches for lunch.

3. Interview Day: very short, not an all day thing like other programs which was actually really nice. Standard meet and greet, powerpoint presentation, 3 45 minute interviews, lunch and tour. Interview with chief resident was pleasant I guess, but he did ask me some pimp questions. He wasn't too hard on me, but it was a little out of left field. Next interviewer was so friendly and fun to talk to. She was more relaxed and asked me lots of questions about my hobbies and volunteer activities. Third interview was a little strange, this attending asked me lots of questions about my GPA in undergrad and medical school. He admitted he didn't read my file beforehand, which is fine, but I honestly don't remember exactly what my GPA was every semester of medical school, I only know my overall! He also asked me what my SAT score was. I was really taken aback at first and though the meant MCAT, but no he really wanted to know my SAT score. Which I could not remember. He also did ask about my MCAT score. I think he was really trying to get a sense of my testing ability and what my grades were like in the past up until now. After those questions, the rest of the interview went fine. He asked more of the standard questions, and then he described his research in psychopharm which sounded REALLY cool. Oh also all the interviewers asked me specifically where else I was interviewing.

4. Program Overview: Amazing. Lots of unique opportunities... can work with the homeless, teen runaway shelters, women's shelters, lots of different peds clinics. Only 2 months of inpatient neuro at the University hospital, which is very laid back hours (only 9-3!) and can also substitute one of the primary care months with a month in a peds clinic. Lots of focus on outpatient psych. They also encourage residents to get psychotherapy themselves. Affiliations with NYC's largest city hospital, a VA, a couple of private hospitals, a long term psychiatric facility, a forensics facility, and the university hospital it self. This is a really comprehensive program..whatever you are interested in you will find it here. Also lots of research. They even created a dual PhD/residency track for one of their residents because he was so research-oriented. Their residents go on to AMAZING fellowships, they placed people into the #1 forensics program in the country. I was thoroughly impressed with the program. The facilities are also really nice, they actually built a huge building on the main University campus dedicated to Behavioral Health which houses all their inpatient, outpatient and partial hospitals.

5. Faculty: Lots of very well-known psychiatrists. The residents were also really cool and friendly. It is a large program though, about 10-12 residents per year. Oh one last thing - opportunity to do MPH along with residency.

6. Location and Lifestyle: In a really dangerous area of Brooklyn known as Crown Heights. In my two minute walk from parking garage to the hospital I was followed by a creepy man yelling obscenities at me. Now I live in Brooklyn so I'm familiar with living and working in an urban environment but Crown Heights is just not the neighborhood for me. You have to walk in between different buildings while on consults, and I just wouldn't feel safe doing that when its dark outside. I think waiting at the subway platform late at night would also be quite unnerving. The resident I spoke to about this just said "oh well you know just be careful and vigilant". They do offer subsidized housing near the hospital (again you don't want live there unless you are really sure you can take care of yourself in dangerous settings). None of the residents actually live there. They all live elsewhere in BK or in Manhattan. its actually possible to live in Manhattan and have a very short commute as long as you are near the 2 or 5 train line. Brooklyn these days is just as expensive at Manhattan.

7. Salary and Benefits: starting at 56. everything else standard.

8. Program Strengths: quality of education, well-rounded training program, variety of hospitals, lots of diversity

9. Potential Weaknesses: Dangerous neighborhood. Large program.

 

[Fenster]

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

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - HOWARD UNIVERSITY

1. Communication: no issues

2. Accomodation and Food: My parents live in the area so I stayed with them...But from talking to the other applicants they didn't provide a hotel nor provide information for nearby hotels. No breakfast. Delicious Potbellys sandwiches for lunch.

3. Interview Day: Not a very structured day - no typical powerpoint or sit down with the PD. Very relaxed. We mostly hung out in the resident's lounge and talked to residents as they walked in and out. After lunch, there was a tour and then if people still had interviews left they went back to those. There was a total of 4 30 minute interviews spread throughout the day. Lots of gap time in between. In the morning you were given a multiple choice quiz on psychiatry related topics and an essay question about yourself to answer. You basically had all day to work it on it, there is plenty of time between the interviews for this. It's not THAT difficult, it's more of a surprise thing. I would NOT advise studying for it or anything because it just won't be worth your time. Anyways on the actual interviews: Very relaxed and casual for most of them. The PD was a little more serious than the others, asked me more hard-hitting questions based on my app. The Chair of the department was such a wonderful, friendly engaging man. He was great to talk to...he focuses more on your volunteer and extracurricular activities. Since there was a lot of down time you have PLENTY of opportunities to talk to the residents. They were such a great group of people - you could really tell they were all close friends with a good working relationship. They were honest too, you could tell they weren't just giving rehearsed answers about everything. One of them even took us down to the cafeteria and bought us all coffee.

4. Program Overview: pretty standard. Don't really remember specifics at this point as the interview was a while ago but its all on their website. Very IMG-friendly program. One thing that stood out is that they are really involved with the APA. The residents go to a lot of conferences and presentations and one of them even works as a liaison with some political organization lobbying for increased funding towards mental health care. No fellowships. The hospital itself isn't that nice but then again most urban hospitals aren't. They did re-do a whole HUGE wing to be "resident quarters" complete with brand new on call rooms, lounges, TVs, computer labs where you can work from, etc. It was so nice and quieted in there, perfect for on-call nights. Most of the patients you work with will be black (African-american and also lots of Caribbean blacks) and hispanic. Lots of focus on community mental health.

5. Faculty: Chair is a very successful man, LOTS of awards and recognition within the psych community. The faculty overall is really involved in research about minority mental health. I found their research to be really cool!

6. Location and Lifestyle: In Washington D.C., whatever that means to you. It's a big city with LOTS to do but these days living within the city is just as expensive as NYC. Most of the residents live in Silver Spring, MD and drive to Howard in the mornings so it seems like car is a pretty big must unless you really want to rely on trains and buses.

7. Salary and Benefits: starting at low 50s I think. Some the residents didn't think that was enough for living in D.C. Benefits were pretty standard.

8. Program Strengths: amazing PD, really cool research, lots of diversity, friendly residents

9. Program weaknesses: City life, working with mostly a minority population, lots of addiction which I guess could be a problem for people that aren't comfortable with that

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Loma Linda, CA

1. Communication- email. Coordinator responded quickly to emails.

2. Accommodation & Food- Orange juice, coffee, and yogurt for breakfast. Catered Mexican for lunch. Hotel was not covered.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- Day started at 7:15 and ended at 2:30. We had a couple tours of the building and different sites. We had 2 1-hour interviews and 2 30-min interviews. Interviewers asked standard and almost identical questions (why Loma Linda, why psych, etc). A few questions seemed borderline illegal (e.g. "Religion is a large part of the caring for the whole person. Residents are encouraged to talk about religion and pray with patients. How do you feel about doing these things?")

4. Program Overview- Majority of first year is spent in the VA. You have inpatient medicine, neurology, ER. For PGY1, call is twice per week, there are 2 weekends per month, and overnight call is less frequent than this. Residents have to cover 6 or 7 hospitals while on call, but residents say usually most work is done at 4 hospitals. Call is very busy with usually no time to rest. The average work week in intern year is very busy at around 65+ hours. Residents said the second year is actually worse than the intern year. Third year drops to around 55-60 hours and you are only on call few times per month. Four year is 35-40 hours and no call. Inpatient psych continues into 3rd and 4th years. Patient load is capped at 10 but sometimes you go over if people are on vacation or out. The PD recently resigned. One applicant asked about it and the residents seemed a little annoyed and said they wouldn't talk about it. A common theme among residents I talked to was that they were overworked and some experience burnout. They are encouraged to meet with therapists, and it seemed many of the residents I talked to regularly see one. One resident tried to justify the hard schedule by saying that other residencies with easier schedules don't really prepare residents as well for the real world. The program seems to have a lot of elective opportunities, including mission opportunities out of the county. They are currently working on reestablishing with Patton prison. While they don’t have a child and adolescent fellowship, they say you spend a huge amount of time doing this in residency and that their C&A volume/department was greater than nearby programs like UCLA that actually have C&A fellowships.

5. Faculty- PD director doesn’t show a lot of emotions so it was hard to get a read from him. A few of the other faculty I met seemed friendly enough, and residents say everyone is nice and approachable.

6. Location & Lifestyle- It's located in a great place. Many residents live in Redlands or South Redlands. It's a short drive to Disney, Six Flags, Big Bear, Arrowhead, the beach, skiing, LA, Palms Springs.. lot’s to do. The town itself has a very small town feel, and the hospitals are a pretty short drive from each other. Traffic is not as bad as LA. Real estate seems reasonable. It is in a dangerous and low income area, but Redlands seems somewhat isolated from this.

7. Salary & Benefits- Seems a little low for California, starting in the high 40s. Internal moonlighting is available doing C&A work. A resident said she believed pay was around $75/hr. There also may be opportunities to write discharge summaries for attendings and other external moonlighting opportunities in nearby facilities.

8. Program Strengths- Residents seem very close to each other. Very clinically-focused. Broad exposure/lots of electives. International opportunities. SoCal.

9. Potential Weaknesses- Work schedule is very heavy. No research.

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Mount Sinai

1. Communication- email and ERAS

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodations. Dinner with residents on Wed for all interviewees (interviews Tues, Wed, Thurs), breakfast and lunch provided day of.

3. Interview Day- 8am until 3pm or so. Day starts with informal presentation from PD and APD. Then three official 30 min interviews before lunch. Interviews were a mix of casual conversation and confrontational. One interview is either with PD or APD. Some focus on family, childhood, etc. Lunch is in another building with the residents, then followed by a formal presentation about the program from the APD.

4. Program Overview- seems like a solid program. Curriculum slightly different as focus in the first two years is on having a wide variety of shorter rotations (seems majority are 2-4 weeks). There is an emphasis on "choosing a major" within psychiatry by the end of the second year. It seems like Mount Sinai has been devoting a lot of resources to the psychiatry department and it shows -- great facilities, good research opportunities, recent merger with St Luke's and Beth Israel.

5. Faculty- they seem dedicated, didn't meet many (4 individuals total) and residents didn't say anything specific. Does seem there is flexibility to meet your needs and interests. They seem to try and keep recent grads on as faculty.

6. Location & Lifestyle- right by Central Park. Living in NY.

7. Salary & Benefits- seemed like normal NYC salaries. There is guaranteed subsidized housing within a few blocks for residents. Degree of subsidy varies per building, price for a studio between $1300 to $2200 (rough estimates).

8. Program Strengths
-Recent merger to become largest health care provider in NYC
-Many fellowship opportunities
-Great facilities and resources
-Flexibility to individualize program (research focus, global mental health, choosing major)

9. Potential Weaknesses
-Lack of geographical diversity in residents (majority from NY med schools)
-Impact of some coming changes uncertain (closing inpatient beds by up to 50% at some sites, uncertain how training will be affected)

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Hennepin

1. Communication: excellent program coordinators

2. Accommodation & Food: no free hotel, pre-dinner at a nice restaurant (drinks on your own), residents will come pick u up from hotel

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): busy, not much down time, get to see both hennpin and regions (transportation provided between sites), lots of opportunities to meet residents

4. Program Overview: busy, 1/2 didactics, research time, international time, residents seem happy, many FMG/IMG heavy

5. Faculty: friendly, PD is very friendly

6. Location & Lifestyle: Twin Cities are cold but nice, things to do, low cost of living

7. Salary & Benefits: average

8. Program Strengths: busy, diverse experience

9. Potential Weaknesses: no basic research, not a big university program if that's your thing

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - UIC

1. Communication: a bit low, ok

2. Accommodation & Food: buffet food at a crappy bar on Taylor Street, only few pitchers of beer provided, residents often grab tables by themselves and won't talk to you; no hotel

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): very LONG interviews, too many

4. Program Overview: residents are over worked

5. Faculty: they constantly down talk Northwestern and U Chicago and say they are the best, not sure why they need to do that but it seems unprofessional because the other programs did not do that

6. Location & Lifestyle: Chicago is awesome

7. Salary & Benefits: average, but parking is like $80 which is pricey for its location

8. Program Strengths: VA if that's your thing

9. Potential Weaknesses: overwork

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Northwestern

1. Communication: average

2. Accommodation & Food: no hotel, no parking validation! which is expensive in downtown chicago for going to dinner and interview day (cost me $30); very nice dinner at a nice restaurant in downtown

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): one interviewer asked me illegal question; otherwise super friendly faculty, super friendly resident, one of the best interviewing experience

4. Program Overview: well balanced program. lots of research

5. Faculty: friendly, smart, very academic

6. Location & Lifestyle: downtown Chicago! close to everything, many residents are single and enjoy life outside of work

7. Salary & Benefits: average, parking is like $90

8. Program Strengths: people are happy

9. Potential Weaknesses: pricey to live downtown

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Columbia

1. Communication- email and ERAS

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodations. Dinner with residents, breakfast and lunch provided.

3. Interview Day- 2 groups interviewing same-day, one am and one pm, so depends on your assignment. AM group officially starts around 7:45am with additional interviews at the end of the day; PM group officially starts at 11, with additional interviews in the morning. Seems like additional interviews are to help you learn more about the program. Day begins with formal presentation from leadership. Officially there are 3 interviews, conversation-style, relaxed and very professional, and one quick meeting with either the PD or associate PD.

4. Program Overview- seems like a great program with wide variety of opportunities available and faculty genuinely interested in your future. Close relationship with NYSPI and public psychiatry, which provides some unique training opportunities.

5. Faculty- genuinely impressed by the leadership and dedication of faculty I met. I found everyone to be very warm and inviting.

6. Location & Lifestyle- NYC! Love it or hate it, I suppose. Residents very happy, seemed more so than other programs I've seen so far.

7. Salary & Benefits- higher than normal in PGY-3 and 4

8. Program Strengths
-Well trained residents
-Variety of opportunities available
-Strong research focus
-Many fellowship opportunities
-Leadership seems very involved and invested in training the residents
-NYC depending on how you feel

9. Potential Weaknesses
-Residents mentioned less child psych exposure
-NYC depending on how you feel

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - University of Vermont

1. Communication: email.

2. Accommodation/food: The program puts you up in the Hilton in Burlington right by lake Champlain--beautiful spot. The lunch was in a really nice restaurant on campus.

3. Interview day: The day begins at 8 with a tour by the chief. Then 3 interviews with the program brass. Then a walk across campus with the PC who is exceedingly gracious. Then a talk with the Chairman. Then lunch followed by and interview with clinical faculty and the chief. After a closing remark from the PD a shuttle returns you to the hotel. Note--if you're applying to the child track you will be interviewing with that faculty throughout the day.

4. Program Overview: This is a 4 per class size program--2 adult and 2 child track residents. They use a night float system and distribute call responsibilities pretty evenly throughout the first 3 years. The therapy training seems to be adequately emphasized and didactics are protected time. They combine lectures between classes to give adequate lecture size and that seems to be organized sensibly. The medicine months are short here 4 months combined with ED, general medicine, neuro and a psych consult medicine rotation that reportedly has an excellent teacher who is semi retired and only does this work to teach residents. The residents were very satisfied with the collegial relationship between services and besides 1 month of hard medicine work seemed satisfied with the educational value of their activities.

5. Faculty: I like the PD's educational style--supportive and yet encouraging of an independence free of micromanagement and yet responsive to concerns. She would be a great person to work for I think. The C&L specialist was in addition to being very warm and sweet and enormously talented was also drop dead sexy. So for 3 months of 2nd year plus electives you've got that extra motivation to get up in the morning, work hard, and impress. Which incidentally is also an interesting strength of the faculty/resident dynamic here--there's lots of one on one time and plenty of individualized education with tight feedback. I think you're clinical acumen would be acquired quickly as a resident in this model. The outpatient director gave a pretty psychoanalytic interview which was I don't really know what I'm doing in. It feels like trying to get a job and talking to analyst are separate goals, so be ready to handle that whatever that means to you. I don't so much mind it as feel strange afterward--like having sex with a Vulcan.

6. Location /lifestyle: lifestyle here seems decent in regards to work/life balance but it's a small program, so... Idk. I would wonder what would happen if you had 1 or 2 preggo colleagues. It's a family friendly place given the area's safety, good school system, and progressive politics. Speaking of--there is populist ethic that permeates the entire place and the institutional dynamic itself. They're interested in solving population needs not developing psychiatrists for boutique style practice. Cool from my point of view and I don't think your psychoanalytic types are really turning out in droves here so, probably self-selected in that regard. The area is steeped in food consciousness so you get high quality grocery and cuisine options which are especially good for vegetarians/vegans. There's a strong hippy element to the culture but also a pioneering New Englander type of spin on that. Winter sports are huge here. And the area is certainly beautiful even when cold--I imagine the summers are spectacular. There's plenty of art and culture given the universities in the area and the attractiveness of the place in general.

But it does remain a far northern New England place which to my sensibilities has a high cultural buy in price to feel at home there. In other words most people are returning to this type of place and are comfortable there. As an outsider with no cultural affinity with the stuffiness of new englanders or the ultra hippiness of the youth culture it felt strange to me to think of living there for a long time. But you should go and feel it out for yourself. It's certainly a pretty place--if cold and snowy.

7. Salary/benefits: salary is just ok given the surprising high cost of the area. And the benefits were not that attractive. Not in comparison to places that give you free benefits for you AND your family.

8. Program Strengths: one on one teaching. Small program that seems to get you to an independent competent level early on. Very nice, cool leadership. Lovely program coordinator. Nice, safe, quiet area with progressive politics and smart people.

9. Potential Weaknesses: cold. New Englandy. Small program. Weak benefits. Higher cost of living than you would expect.

 

[Nasrudin]

North shore/LIJ Review

1. Communication: email

2. Accommodation/food: no accommodation, lunch was some good sandwiches etc. Breakfast with orange juice and coffee.

3. Interview day: you meet at the dept HQ. Parking is close by. Then breakfast and a introduction by the PD and associate PD. Then you sit in one place while interviewers come in and take people out for 15 or 30 min interviews for a couple hours. You have breaks where you can get something to drink and rest your mind in between them. This really is the ideal interview day structure--streamlined, non-strenuous, and doesn't cause the day to drag. Then you have lunch and a talk by the chairman or vice-chairman, then a meeting with residents followed by a tour and finally a wrap up session. One of the best interview days on my trail. Oh...they also give you a lovely little care package with interesting little gifts. Very thoughtfully done.

4. Program Overview: This is a clinical powerhouse of a program. It is attached to the most innovative medical curriculum in the country. I wish I could've gone to school here. So the people running this thing at the highest levels are trying in a very organized way to develop a culture that nurtures educational innovation, research, and superb system based patient care across the institution. The new program director is manifestly part of that overarching concept and culture. The previous program director had done an amazing job of putting the program on the national map and nurturing a good educational experience and seemed to have been very well-liked. So the transition seems to be an augmentation--taking a great program to the next level. I was careful to intuit any fault lines in the program's transition and I could detect nothing. It seems like a win-win. I really liked this PD and was excited to hear about the program's plans for the future which seems very bright--they are basically making changes to enrich the educational experience and to diminish the workload while at the same time moving to create a more individualized curriculum. The level of clinical experience both in terms of specialization and patient population is unmatched in my interview trail. You have a psych hospital with neighboring network of facilities that make for very rich experience all within close proximity. I had read in previous seasons that the facilities were lackluster but that must have been before recent construction or something because the facilities I saw were among the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing than any I had seen elsewhere. Even their older outpatient clinic was clean and reasonably nice. There's enormous opportunities for child psych with a neighboring child hospital with its own ER staffed with child psych attendings. Just an amazing clinical training overall--go see for yourself. I also liked the residents I met which is good because they have some services where the senior residents serve a teaching role for the interns and 2nd years.

5. Faculty: The new PD was remarkable, I'd be honored to sign a contract here. There are some big research names here in the genetics of schizophrenia among other things. They have research tracks here that are well worth checking out the specifics of. I met the new director or perinatal services who was extremely impressive. He does work in developing psychometric tools and evaluating their efficacy; he's also a forensic specialist and someone who would be a superb mentor mitigating the program's lack of forensic fellowship to some extent.

6. Location/lifestyle: The program borders queens and the wealthy suburbs of Long Island--the reason for the SES diversity of their patient population. Residents live in a wide variety of places--Brooklyn, manhattan, Long Island, queens, Staten Island, New Jersey--depending on their social/family needs vs commute tolerance.

7. Salary/benefits: FANTASTIC! Salary is tops nation wide, benefits are very nice, some subsidized housing is available. Vacation is sweet. An educational stipend. Dedicated resources for researchers to do their thing. Plenty of in-house moonlighting with a 3rd year curriculum revamp that should be opening up the potential to make the extra money really sweet. I don't know why certain programs can offer really enticing packages and some can't but this one has, is, does and will give out the gravy.

8. Program Strengths: great leadership, great future with momentum that is on the upswing. Strong culture of innovation. Ridiculous clinical training. Research strength. Diverse patient population. Part of a huge,very forward thinking health system.

9. Potential Weaknesses: location is meh. Not bad. Just not as slick as it's uptown neighbors. Really...nothing else that I can think of.

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - UF-Gainesville

1. Communication: Friendly, responsive coordinator.

2. Accommodation and Food: They put you up at the Hampton Inn downtown. Nice hotel in Gainesville's small yet lively downtown. Resident dinner at a good Cuban restaurant downtown and yummy Mexican food for lunch on interview day.

3. Interview Day: Lots of tours of their top-notch facilities. Really impressive Deep Brain Stimulation Clinic. A couple faculty members gave the tours and seemed relaxed and friendly. The clinical sites are kind of spread out, but Gainesville isn't that big. They've got their main University hospital, a brand-new, really nice VA, a free-standing inpatient psych hospital with an eating disorders unit, and their outpatient clinic located 15 minutes away from the university hospital and VA hospital. We met up with the PD and more of the residents at lunch, preceded by three interviews. The chair of the department gave a talk, singing the praises of how the department is growing and financially successful. He talked about how he helps out graduates, either finding them jobs at other institutions or hiring them.

4. Program Overview: Warm, relaxed atmosphere. Residents were friendly and happy. Strong fellowship in addiction, also fellowship is child and forensic. Approachable program director, open to suggestions from residents. Diverse residents, including AMGs, FMGs, single people, people with families. Residents said the social work at the hospitals is awesome, they learn tons working one-on-one with attendings. They all seemed to get along well. Great facilities, albeit spread out. Lots of opportunities to do interesting electives.

5. Faculty: Strong research, accessible attendings.

6. Location and Lifestyle: Gainesville is a medium-sized university town, but there is more to it than football. I'm familiar with is because I grew up and Florida and have friends and the area. I find it encouraging that there are more bike shops than churches. It's probably the most liberal town in Florida. It's great for people with kids, but there's also a lot to do for singles, I think. If you love the outdoors, it surrounded by natural beauty, springs, pretty forest and farm land. There's a decent music scene. Really cool independent movie theater downtown called the Hippodrome. There's a couple hipster venues, such as an awesome restaurant called The Top that never disappoints. There's a very walkable neighborhood with beautiful historic homes called Duckpond that is biking-distance from the hospitals. The program work hours and call schedule seem very manageable, with most months in the intern year being under 50 hours a week (with call).

7. Salary and Benefits: Standard

8. Program Strengths: Relaxed and warm atmosphere, opportunities for exposure to many areas of the field, great balance between manageable workload and quality training

9. Program weaknesses: medium-sized College-town may not be right for some; some sites are 15 minutes apart

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Dartmouth

1. Communication- email and ERAS

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodations but $100 nearby hotel with free shuttle to hospital. Nice dinner with residents (drinks on your own), during interview day, breakfast and pizza lunch provided. Significant others invited to dinner.

3. Interview Day- Day begins at 7:45. PD does a very thorough presentation of the residency program, training sites, and opportunities available at Dartmouth. Followed by 6 thirty minute interviews before lunch. Style varied, mostly conversational, some focus on living in NH/VT versus where you've lived in the past. No illegal questions and a very life/family friendly vibe.

4. Program Overview- I was really impressed by the strength of the psych dept here. There is very strong research happening here and multiple opportunities to get involved. A specific research-track is available but seemed like even non-research track residents were having articles published. Also opportunities to study business or public health (formal degree or jut courses) at Dartmouth. Faculty seemed very involved and residents were happy, friendly.

5. Faculty- the PD was great, faculty generally seemed among the most inviting that I've met on the interview trail. Very interested in helping residents learn. There was a fun congeniality between faculty and residents.

6. Location & Lifestyle- Dartmouth is located in NH, on the VT border. About 2h from Boston and definitely a rural location. It seems that there is an emphasis on happiness here, with residents involved in a variety of activities. Lots of skiing nearby, chances to snowshoe, cross country ski, outdoor running trails. Residents also talked about a lot of cultural opportunities available because of the nearby Ivy League college -- shows at the performing arts center there and other locations. Much more than I imagined before coming here.

7. Salary & Benefits- seemed standard.

8. Program Strengths
-Lots of opportunities available
-Strong research happening
-Many fellowship opportunities
-Leadership very friendly, involved, caring
-Rural location offers unique living experiences (very beautiful area! Cheap living)

9. Potential Weaknesses
-Less forensic exposure
-Rural location is not for everyone
-Some work in Concord NH (but dept provides car/gas and residents seem to love site)

 

[prittypistol]

My take on some programs already reviewed:

UIC- underfunded, however with happy residents with cool quirky traits, PD has a full sleeve (+ in my book)
NS LIJ - location terrible and mostly geriatric patients, a lot of unnecessary "medicine" because of trying to appease some wealthier clients, not as much patient diversity as they claim

LSU-OLOL review-

No one has reviewed them yet but this is a 2 year old program with very happy residents who are learning a lot without a lot of stresses of residency. They have the resources for anything you want to do/need. Baton Rouge is a college town but nola only an hour away. PD is amazing everyone is like a family here. I hope we don't let this program become overrun by imgs. Its goal is to be as renowned as Mayo clinic for example in the next 10 years

 

[Shikima]

Lofty goals for OLOL considering they've inherited 3/4 of NO after Katrina. Too many people attempting to dive into a shallow gene pool.

 

[Journey Gestalt]

Thomas Jefferson University

1. Communication - Email

2. Accommodation & Food - Pre-interview happy hour at Milkboy - a great bar/speakeasy place. Drink tickets and appetizers were available. Great turnout of residents! Everyone was very friendly and residents made initiative to speak to applicants. Breakfast and lunch provided on interview day.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) - I believe started at 8:00 am to 3-4 pm. Program overview by PD in the morning followed by 3 interviews (one including with the PD). Tour of campus was given followed by lunch. Most interviews in the morning, but several applicants had interviews after lunch. Afternoon) several meetings with faculty in the group room regarding fellowships, and one meeting with the chair of the department. There was a large amount of downtime in the afternoon and seemed a bit disorganized as we had speakers talk to us at different times and some not showing up at all. With all the waiting, I feel the afternoon portion of the day could have been shortened.

4. Program Overview - I was surprisingly impressed by the program overall. I thought the pre interview happy hour was great way to know the program with so many residents out! The program highlights that it has strong CL psychiatry opportunities. I was rather intrigued with the Masters in Human Investigation if you are interested in research. More psychotherapy emphasis. Overall good things.

5. Faculty - Seemed like the residents had no complaints.

6. Location & Lifestyle - Great part of philly "center city". No subsidized housing but cheaper housing in regards to bigger city expenses.

7. Salary & Benefits- $50,000. Usual benefits.

8. Program Strengths - I'll add to the list what residents mentioned during HH
- Master's in Human Investigation (if research interested)
- Location of program (center city)
- Residents can get around without a car
- Near gayborhood
- Protected didactics
- Medicine rotation (you are a co-intern)
- Hospitals are close together and connected by sky bridge
- PD always on call and will answer any questions you have no matter location/time

9. Potential Weaknesses
- Orders are electronic with paper notes
- Mostly serve homeless population with a sprinkle of higher socioeconomic status individuals
- Light on research
- Psychiatry floors kinda outdated
- PD is abrupt/blunt in regards to your decisions on patient care, but is internally a good hearted faculty member who cares for his residents (edit: per residents). Residents say it takes a while for him to warm up to you.

 

[Journey Gestalt]

Temple University (PA)

1. Communication - Email.

2. Accommodation & Food - No pre interview dinner/HH. Breakfast and lunch provided during interview day.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) - Started at 8:30 am to 2- 3pm at Episcopal Campus. Coordinator said to get there around 8 am because they will have to bring you from the main lobby of the hospital and will take a while for you to get into the psych department. 1 group interview followed by 2 faculty/chief resident interview. Yes…GROUP interview. The PD and I believe the chair are present during the group interview with a total of 6 applicants. PD emphasize there is no hidden agenda. Asked standard questions around the room. After interviews, there was a tour of the facilities and lunch with the residents. After lunch we hopped into a car to travel to the temple university hospital and medical school campus. Hopped on the car back to the Episcopal campus and had an exit interview with APD.

4. Program Overview- Overall, I had good feelings about the program and bad feelings about the location of the program. Temple university is known for having the 2nd most active psych ERs in the north east and only second to Bellevue. It apparently has been featured on Drugs Inc. for the amount of PCP usage seen in the population. The medical school is absolutely gorgeous; however, the area it is located apparently in a very bad area. Resident giving the tour mentioned this area has one or if not the highest number of private security in the area. Residents said they haven't had any bad experiences with the area yet. The staff seem very nice and the residents were very approachable and friendly during lunch. Everyone seemed happy and got along well.

5. Faculty - Well liked by residents for the most part.

6. Location & Lifestyle - Good life style. Although you have 3 months of night float with a very strange schedule where you cover nights with days off, and then cover weekend days... on all other rotations you have the weekends off (!). Location is not ideal, and all residents live elsewhere than the near vicinity of the hospitals.

7. Salary & Benefits- $51,854, standard benefits

8. Program Strengths
- Residents very nice and get along well
- PD very approachable and friendly
- Weekends off on all rotations other than night float
- Increasing amount of research in the upcoming years
- Medicine co-intern
- Gorgeous medical school
- Emergency Psych (if that's your cup of tea)

9. Potential Weaknesses
- Very bad neighborhood, but has not been any incidents to residents
- Odd night float system, but trade off is no weekends on other rotations
- Paper notes, electronic orders

 

[Journey Gestalt]

PENN

1. Communication - Email

2. Accommodation & Food - Fabulous pre-interview dinner at a nice italian place in center city. Wine included and the residents were very nice and sociable. They even rotated themselves so that we could talk to different residents during the sit down dinner! Breakfast and Lunch was served.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) - Interview day started at 8:30 am to 4-5 pm. Started with program overview by PD, APD, and residents. Next were 4 interviews (~30 mins) including one with program director. They pair you up based on interest as well. Interviews were mostly standard questions and just getting to know you better. After interviews was lunch with residents and a tour of the sites. Afterwards, applicants had another session based on what their interests are (child, forensics, HIV, community, etc). Lastly, there is an exit interview with the PD/APD.

4. Program Overview - I was very impressed with the program. Residents seem down to earth and happy to be there. The PD is so friendly and that is a great sign. Heavy research department and opportunities if that is your interest, but really this program has a lot of opportunities for every specialty.

5. Faculty - Overall liked by residents

6. Location & Lifestyle - In University City, near center city, which I think is a great location and area to live in based on other interviews and resident input.

7. Salary & Benefits - $51,084, standard benefits, no subsidized housing, parking permit or serta pass paid by facility

8. Program Strengths
- Great resident interactions
- Awesome PD and APD
- Excellent research opportunities (with a track just for research)
- LGBT friendly
- Ability to create special interest rotations in 4th year
- Great location of PA
- Updated facilities
- Rich history of community and program
- Balanced training

9. Potential Weaknesses
- Paper charts, electronic orders (out patient has epic, but will all switch to epic in upcoming years)
- One of the main interns during medicine rotation
- Heavy load of patients on psych inpatient (10-13) but varies by rotation
- Not too diverse population (mostly AA) per residents

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA

1. Communication: mostly by email, no issues

2. Accomodation & Food: discounts at nearby hotel, no dinner night before, lunch provided day of

3. Interview Day: standard presentation by PD, tour, 4 30 minute interviews (1 resident and 3 faculty). Some interviewees will need to travel to their outpatient facilities by using the hospital shuttle for some of their interviews. The PC will let you know how to get there. Interviews were pretty normal. No strange questions or anything. All very casual.

4. Program Overview: It's a relatively new program, only 5 or 6 yrs old so they are still making lots of changes (adding more electives, tweaking the curriculum). It seems that they are very open to feedback and they will make changes based on what the residents want. If a resident wants to do a particular elective or scholarly project they will make it happen for them. No child inpatient unit, but they do have child outpatient and partial hospitalization. Strong didactics in PGY2. Call schedule is q5 as a PGY1, and q4 as PGY2 (in house until 10pm then you take pager home with you). The Psych department is well-respected by other departments at the hospitals. They don't have a lot of hard core research tho, most residents do simpler scholarly projects like case writeups. Most of the residents are older FMGs with spouses and children. It seemed like outside the residency program they mostly just spend time with their families. Everyone raved about how feasible it was to raise a family in Springfield. Also the hospital is SO GORGEOUS. By far the most beautiful, spacious and CLEAN hospital I have ever been to. Lots of wood flooring, granite, big windows.. It was even decorated really well for Christmas. It even SMELLS good in there!

5. Faculty: All have excellent training. Very friendly and approachable. One attending graduated from the program and stayed on -her specialty is perinatal psychiatry which is an up and coming field and shes known as one of the experts in the field in MA and gets patients referred to her from all over.

6. Location and Lifestyle: Western Massachusetts - about 2.5hrs from NYC and 2 hrs from Boston. Close to Amherst, Hartford, Northampton and other quaint NE towns. Cost of living is very reasonable. Lots of outdoorsy things to do there according to the website but none of the residents really talked about that.

7. Salary and Benefits: average. free garage parking!

8. Program Strengths: small, reasonable cost of living, easy to raise a family

9. Program Weaknesses: far from big cities, no nightlife really, no research, no child inpatient

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - St. Mary Mercy Livonia

1. Interview accommodations/food . No hotel provided. Food was standard lunch.

2. Interview day (e.g. schedule, type of interview, unusual questions/experiences) They started with a scenario where you had to list 10 things from most unethical to least unethical. We were then expected to work together to come up with a list as a group. Two residents sat and observed us as we did the exercise. Next, we went on a tour of the hospital. It is a beautiful, new facility. We had three interviews. One with residents, one with the PD, and one with a faculty member. At the end of the day we received a three or four page form with a series of essay questions.

3. Program overview Small, growing program. Very friendly to IMG's. No fellowships but seemed very open to residents who wanted to do research, present, and be pro-active.

4. Faculty Faculty were very typical warm, midwestern types.

5. Location, lifestyle, etc. Detroit Michigan- the suburbs are nice, it gets cold there a lot.

6. Benefits 3 weeks vacation. plus five flex. 1200 meal card for the year.
PGY-1 - $48,604 annually
PGY-2 - $50,604 annually
PGY-3 - $52,604 annually
PGY-4 - $54,604 annually

7. Program strengths. Small, program but growing.

8. Potential weaknesses Same.

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Hawaii

1. Communication- email, usually responded within a couple hours

2. Accommodation & Food- I interviewed during their LA weekend. Interviews were conducted at LAX in a hotel room. They paid for us to have lunch at the hotel.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- The day started at around 8 or 8:30. They started by showing us a slideshow of happy residents doing various Hawaiian-esque activities (sunbathing, surfing, playing with sea turtles). A few faculty introduced themselves and gave a brief overview of the program. Then we split up for four 30-min interviews. Two of the interviews were very relaxed. Two were a little stressful with some unusual questions (the purpose of existence, advice I would give a younger version of myself, and a couple others).

4. Program Overview- Intern year is 5 month inpt psych, 2 months inpatient FM/IM/or Peds, 1 ER, 2 months neurology, 2 month outpatient primary care. On psych services, call is 5-10pm 3x per month. You have 2 overnights in neurology months. In years 2 and 3, call is q15-16. We were told average hours while on psych would be around 55 per week for first two years. The patient load in psych is capped at 5 patients. While on inpt medicine, expect to average more than 80 hours per week. The program seems to be going through some changes. Some fellowships like addiction, geri, and forensic that weren’t funded should be back up and operational by the time it would matter to us. The number of residents seems to change each year. One resident told us this was partially due to funding and partially due to residents leaving the program. Some interns might start being sent to Tripler. Some go to other islands for rotations. The program has a research requirement for graduation requiring you to write 1 paper.

5. Faculty-

6. Location & Lifestyle- Hawaii is obviously a beautiful place, but we were warned by residents and one of the other applicants who lived there that there are many drawbacks. The island is very small and only takes a short time to drive from one side to the other. This wouldn’t be as big of a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that it is the most isolated inhabited land mass on Earth. You literally have to fly thousands of miles to go absolutely anywhere. Cost of living is very high. One of the residents said he pays $1800 or 1900 for a 1 bedroom apartment near the hospital that is overrun by armies of cockroaches that live in the walls that are impossible to get rid of. Apparently there is a small but significant percent of the local population that hates the US government, military, and Caucasian tourists, so you may experience some racism and some areas/beaches are not safe to visit. It is a big culture shock for many people and is why several residents in the past have left. They seem to prefer people who have a connection or have at least traveled to Hawaii.

7. Salary & Benefits- Salary is higher than most programs, starting at $52k. We were told we could forget about buying a house in Hawaii. Psychiatrists in Hawaii are paid significantly less than on the continental US, so they have trouble keeping residents around after they finish the program.

8. Program Strengths- Beautiful location, relaxed atmosphere, diverse patient population

9. Potential Weaknesses- Isolated, expensive, no moonlighting

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - Cornell

1. Communication- Typical, they do email a week in advance and ask for you to email confirmation back

2. Accommodation & Food- no accommodation provided; light breakfast provided, sit-down lunch at the faculty club inside the hospital with residents

3. Interview Day- long day with many activities planned! I think the format for most was one interview in the morning, two interviews in the afternoon. There were also a number of random activities, like a library tour, scattered throughout the day. It was informative and mostly fun, but the day was long. My interviews really focused much more on my family and upbringing than other interviews I've had -- interviewers wanted to talk about undergrad, my parents, siblings, etc, much more than I have before.
My biggest issue with the day was lack of materials to refer to. Typically there is down time, and I enjoy reading through program materials in the folder. Here, we received a USB with all the information so could not read about the program at all during the day -- and could not follow along as the curriculum and rotations were described. Minor gripe, overall thought it was a great program.

4. Program Overview- university program, strong emphasis on psychotherapy and many psychoanalysts, although the PD insists that's not the primary focus. I was impressed by the curriculum, didactics seemed very thoughtful, I felt like there was a sincere effort to balance psychotherapy with biological psychiatry. Psychotherapy is definitely a strength. Unique aspects described include that Cornell is a private hospital (accept public insurance, but no alternate funding sources like a VA or state hospital). This is direct contrast to other big psych programs in NYC and seems to indicate they are more reliant on the productivity of residents financially. This is supported by the fact that every single resident /program graduate I spoke with described the residency as "hard" (there was always good vibes expressed but this is the first residency program I've interviewed at where every single person unequivocally leads with it being hard). Residents did seem happy, spoke well of their program, and felt well prepared for life after residency!

5. Faculty- many psychoanalysts on faculty, but again, was emphasized this was not primary focus. The faculty I met seemed very thoughtfully dedicated to resident teaching, but I did not interact with many. Residents spoke of being very supported, especially during outpatient experiences.

6. Location & Lifestyle- NYC, about a 15m walk from the subway. Seems to be easier to access by bus than subway.

7. Salary & Benefits- typical. Some talk of subsidized housing but not guaranteed and nothing definitive presented. (Maybe its on the USB but as I travel with a tablet, haven't been able to access that information yet)

8. Program Strengths
-university program
-rotate through multiple sites, including many rotations done at Westchester (not visited; shuttle provides transportation)
-Memorial Sloan Kettering provides great rotation opportunities
-many psychoanalysts on staff, strong emphasis on psychotherapy but appears very balanced
-curriculum was interesting

9. Potential Weaknesses
-unsure of research, not addressed directly
-some rotations outside of Manhattan
-"hard" according to residents (I think all residencies are, and expect it to be, but current residents definitely led with this when asked about their experience)
-very corporate feel, all the spaces had been "sold" (named after people) including elevators, benches, etc

 

[Fenster]

Anonymous Review - University of Arizona (University Medical Center - university campus)

1. Communication

Email. The PC is very good about responding to emails prior to your interview (within a day). Also, they offer you the contact info of chief residents to contact after your interview day.

2. Accommodation & Food

There is no dinner prior to the event. I was not offered any accommodation (though I live within driveable distance). On the day of the interview, they take you to lunch to a nice place with residents (there were 4 residents present - one per pgy 1-4).

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)

It started out with me arriving to the university just prior to the 8am start. There was an orientation with the chief resident, followed by 4 interviews of 30 minutes each. For the most part, interviews were very laid back and friendly, and were held by the chair and some very high-ranking professors. One of my interviewers did ask me to explain some of the weaknesses in my application that stood out. After the interviews, there was a tour of the VA with the chief resident, followed by lunch with residents. The day ends around 2:30-3pm.

4. Program Overview

Biopsychosocial approach. Six (6) residents per class. There is a half day of didactics every Wednesday afternoon with residents both from the U of A university as well as south campuses (6 residents each, 12 total). Didactics are protected time. Presently these residencies are considered as 2 separate programs, though it has been rumored that they may combine together into 1 residency in the future. No clear plan of when this might be, and as such the faculty don't discuss it (though residents whisper about it). The program chair oversees both programs, and the PD of both programs have offices in both locations and frequent the other site often.

No night float in the first year, though there are 2 months of night float in year 2. Third year is typical outpatient (with 1/2 day of child outpatient per week for a 3 month block.)

Good mix of USMDs, DOs, and IMG/FMGs. The FMGs that I met seemed like very articulate and intelligent people (many Indians).

5. Faculty

Several excellent faculty, many involved in research. Interesting research areas such as emotions and cardiovascular health, psych-oncology, and other mind-body medicine (like hyperthermia for depression treatment).

6. Location & Lifestyle

The weather in Tucson is warm (lots of sunshine!) and there are plenty of out-door activities, with hiking trails a good 20 to 45 minutes away (depending on where you want to go). No snow during the winters in Tucson, though there has been hail (you can get some snow on Mt Lemmon though). Tucson is around 2 hours drive from Phoenix, and the weather is slightly cooler in Tucson as compared to Phoenix.

Patient population in Tucson is a good mix of whites and Hispanics, with small amounts of other races (with Asians being more likely to be employed by the university as residents or physicians, as opposed to being generally in the community). Not too many African-Americans, compared to other more diverse cities.

7. Salary & Benefits

For 2013, PGY 1 earned $49,501, with $2k-something increases each year to $57,025 as a PGY4, and $59,898 as a PGY5 (fellow).

22 days of vacation each year, 12 sick days (I think these roll over to the next year? - either the vacation or sick days, can't remember which.)

Significant tuition reduction for self, spouse, or children of resident at the U of A during time employed.

8. Program Strengths

Very resident focused. The PD is a very nice person, and his residents have wonderful things to say about him. I noticed that support is very big in the program, as there are frequent resident meet-ups to discuss any issues or concerns in the program (without any faculty present). They also have a psychiatrist on staff who confidentially handles resident 'stress' issues. The residents seem like a tight-knit group and have told me that they are genuinely happy to be there. There are also opportunities for research as I met a 2nd year resident who told me he was actively involved in research and had already published during his residency. It's not easy to do research, but it's possible. Also, many of the residents have had babies in residency, and it hasn't been a major issue as the program has been accommodating. The program has a good focus on psychotherapy, with good quality didactics in therapy, and advertises being able to observe psychotherapy behind a one-way screen.

I don't know much about the visa issue, as I'm a US citizen, but I have seen more FMGs (in both residency and fellowship) as they had told me that they had an easier time obtaining visa here as compared to other programs. So if you are a FMG, you may want to inquire further about this.

Although they only have the child psych fellowship presently (which is a very strong program with a great PD), I was told that they have a 100% fellowship match rate of their residents obtaining the fellowship specialty of choice. I don't know how much this means, since most residents get into the type of fellowship they desire in psychiatry in general.

9. Potential Weaknesses

Lots of inpatient training done at the VA (medicine, neurology, some psych rotations). Consult-liason months however are at the main university hospital.

Need to obtain (and pay for) finger printing, due to working with children in inpatient and outpatient settings -- though this is probably a minor issue.

Fellowship in child only. There was previously talk of adding more fellowships, though I don't know if/when that will happen.

 

[Psychedelicious]

UPENN / University of Pennsylvania

1. Communication - Email. Absolutely no problems scheduling.

2. Accommodation & Food - One of the best dinners I've had on the interview trail. Food was fantastic, the residents were very good, and wine was served! Checked all boxes in my book.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) - Interview day is between 8:30 am and 4 pm. Started with introductions by the PD, APD, and residents followed by the 4 interviews in one stretch (less than 30 minutes each). Interviews were very straight-forward and personal. Everyone had read the application well. These were followed by lunch with residents and a tour of the sites. The day concludes with an exit interview.

4. Program Overview - I have only good things to say about the program and the residents here. My only gripes are with the city and the patient population. I had a chance to stay in Philadelphia for a couple of days to look around. It is almost like a ghetto outside of the center city, and quite dangerous, even if you are going to be just driving through in a car - random shootings, random violence, etc. Even cab drivers were scared to drive me to certain random pockets of the city, and that's saying something. It reminded me of St. Louis - small center with a great college and grad school surrounded on all sides by very dangerous elements.

5. Faculty - Excellent, good research profile.

6. Location & Lifestyle - As it is located very close to center city, it is not too bad, although I wouldn't venture out too far on my own. Social life is going to be limited if only because the "safe zones" are limited in area, and even that may shrink in the next few years.

7. Salary & Benefits - $50k+, standard benefits, free parking but no subsidized housing.

8. Program Strengths
- Excellent faculty
- Excellent teaching
- Excellent research opportunities

9. Potential Weaknesses
- Location
- Location
- Location

 

[Psychedelicious]

Lots of nice reviews on this thread. I got inspired and decided to post one myself and I actually liked it. Realized it's actually going to be helpful for me as well as I've clearly forgotten a lot of stuff from my earlier interviews, and the stuff I've scribbled on my notes are now illegible! I'm going to try to post a review here after each interview from here on.

 

[Psychedelicious]

OHSU / Oregon Health & Sciences University

1. Communication: Email, no issues with the scheduling.

2. Accommodation & Food: No accommodation provided. Lunch and dinner were provided, although dinner was after the interviews. Pretty standard stuff otherwise.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Interview day was 8:00 AM to 4 PM. It started with introduction by the PC, PD and resident followed by a tour of the main hospital and the VA. This was followed by four interviews (<30 minutes each) including one with the program director. They ask you for your interests but I'm not sure how well they match that. None of my interviewers, the program director included, seemed to have a good idea about the current researches being done at the institution. Interviews were mostly straightforward though, and was interrupted by lunch which provided for a good change of pace. My only gripe with the interviews itself is that it became clear within a few questions during the interview with program director that he hadn't read my application. There were no exit interviews to provide feedback (I had tons to say).

4. Program Overview: I was quite unimpressed with the program. They have some interesting elements in community psychiatry and cross-cultural psychiatry (although residents don't get to do this one much) but wasn't enough to offset all the weaknesses (detailed below).

5. Faculty: Some of them have dual employment at the VA and some of them are analytically trained. However, it seems like most have very limited current research portfolio, apart from state healthcare systems.

6. Location & Lifestyle: The main hospital and the VA are located on a hill with some clinics at the foothills, commutable by tram (does not run after 5.30 pm on weekdays and not at all on Sundays) or car. Some of the rotations are done at the state hospital in Salem.

7. Salary & Benefits: Standard benefits, no subsidized housing or parking permit. Weirdly, I could not find the salary details in the USB drive they gave us. It's not listed on Freida either. I imagine it would be standard though.

8. Program Strengths:
- Good psychoanalytic training (for west coast) if that's your kind of thing.
- Even if it does not have a national reputation, training here will likely open doors to clinical jobs in Oregon since it's one of only two programs in the state (so it's locally well-known).
- There are decent moonlighting opportunities from PGY-3 that pays up to $50 an hour or $200 for a four-hour weekend call which isn't too bad as long as you get qualified by the program to moonlight.

9. Program Weaknesses:

The city seems to be the boring capital of the world with most places shutting down by 7-8 pm! It gets dark by 4-5 pm and a typical work day in PGY-2 begins at 7.30 am and ends at 5 pm. The calls are also long. The residents do hang out occasionally but most of them seem to be married with kids. It is also a very small city - too small to keep one entertained for four long years. You can actually WALK to the four corners of the city in half a day! That's of course on the few days in a year when it's not raining or snowing!

The program itself is clinically oriented with the sole aim of training more psychiatrists who would serve the state of Oregon. While there are a few research opportunities, one has to be really motivated to find them. Residency should be the time when everyone tries his/her hand at research. When else are you going to try it if you don't now? These things go on your resume and stay there forever. It may even help you get your dream clinical job. So, I find it strange to see programs like these that don't encourage residents to do research and instead concentrate on clinical work and service. Also, a large chunk of the 'training' happens in the VA. Most of the patients at the main hospital also have substance issues (meth psychosis is apparently the most common diagnosis - it's Portland after all!)

Overall, a very overrated program in my opinion, at least on SDN. I was excited to visit the program after reading some of the old reviews here that were slightly skewed to the positive and ended up getting very disappointed. Hopefully this review puts things in perspective for future applicants. Unless one wishes to only practice clinical psychiatry in a community with a lot of substance issues, I don't see the appeal in the program. And even then, there are better programs for that at better locations like San Mateo or even UNM!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I never know how cool it is to reply or not to these threads because they're for the applicants, but I thought I'd add some little factual updates for the OHSU review. One, Portland doesn't close down at 7 to 8 pm. I'm not sure where that idea came from. Two, the tram runs until at least 9 pm on weekdays. Three, I think there's a mix of single and married residents.

For salaries, here's a page on GME benefits for all residents. OHSU adjusts the salaries each year to keep in line with other west coast programs.

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/gme-cme/gme/employment/index.cfm

 

[rkaz]

I think it is really great to have resident input on this thread. In the flurry of interview day and our attempts to collect as much info as we can, it is possible that some of our data ends up being unintentionally unclear or slightly inaccurate. So having a resident willing to straighten things out is very helpful.

 

[prittypistol]

whoever wrote the review of OHSU just doesn't realize that PORTLAND - the city itself is the actual draw to the program! I feel like most people there on my IV day didn't really understand that and were only there to move back to california or anywhere near it.

Portland is the "hipster" mecca, but non hipsters just the same. Anyone who wants a great quality of life (could be seen as totally racist because I didn't see anyone who wasn't white or Asian), an easy livable city with some of the best restaurants and cocktail bars in the country!

People like outdoorsy stuff there too.. Like a weekend getaway for skiing or whatever.

The program didn't stand out as any better or worse than any other program but it's IN PORTLAND.

Also think the residents work way to hard/too much call for psych.

 

[VMSmith]

whoever wrote the review of OHSU just doesn't realize that PORTLAND - the city itself is the actual draw to the program!

Seriously. Portland is an amazing city. I don't know much about OHSU but Portland itself should really be seen as a strength rather than a weakness.