- Joined
- Dec 9, 2013
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 13
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2013-2014 Psychiatry Interview Reviews
- Thread starter Fenster
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2013
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 17
SUNY Downstate
1. Communication: ERAS/Email
2. Accommodation & Food: None provided; no pre-interview dinner, light breakfast in the morning and lunch of sandwiches and chips in the afternoon
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): There are two sessions, the first one starts at 8:45 and the last one at 11:15 and they overlap for the lunch and tour. Morning starts with a breakdown of the interview day and then you’re off to 3 half-hour interviews. My first interview was with the program director and he was a bit intimidating. He’s a psychoanalyst by training and during my interview with him, he pulled out a piece of a paper and drew some circles and we talked about object relations theory as it pertained to a news case about an evangelical minister from Utah or something. I was a little taken back because honestly it’s been years since I’ve studied any hard-core psych and I think it was one of those who-do-you-do-under-pressure type of interviews. The next interview was much more laid back, with the chief resident and was more conversational. She seemed really fun and energetic and told me that most of the residents like to go out after work and grab a couple of drinks for happy hour. The next interview was with a psychologist who was again pretty intimidating. He asked about my MCAT score and asked many probing questions about my family. I felt he was getting a bit condescending and wanted me to answer the way he stereotypically viewed a family from my cultural background.
4. Program Overview: The interns on the off-service months attended the lunch and remarked how easy their schedule was and their responsibilities were not as intense as a medicine intern. The first year residents do one month of addiction at St. John’s and in second year there is a month of forensics at the Brooklyn Supreme Court as well as one month of research. In third year, residents participate for 1 day/week for 6 months in a program called Project Homeless, where they can be involved in anything from women’s shelters, teen runaways to homeless people around NYC in shelters. Didactics are protected time on Thursdays, including when you’re off service and there’s a course about peer-reviewing scholarly articles. I believe this is the only university program in Brooklyn and so with that comes more research opportunities. Residents rotate on an inpatient child psych unit at King's County.
5. Faculty: The chairman, who we never met, was talked about highly as a well-respected and well-known name in community/public psychiatry. Every year there is a barbeque held at the chair’s house. The residents at lunch spoke well of their PD whom they say is very responsive to residents’ needs (they felt they were overworked on the medicine months at Kings County so he swiftly changed it for the next class to be at University Hospital for off-service months and now it’s the exact opposite).
6. Location & Lifestyle: I love Brooklyn but the immediate area didn’t seem all that great. They do have subsidized housing, however virtually none of the residents live there. The campus is easily accessible by the 2 and 5 trains so that makes living in Manhattan relatively do-able. Also, the two main sites—University Hospital and Kings County are literally across the street from each other, which is convenient. The residents seemed to have a good work-life balance with the medicine months being especially easy.
7. Salary & Benefits: don’t remember
8. Program Strengths: Research time in PGY-2 and lots of opportunities, the homeless outreach program, friendly residents, Kings County is a very nice and updated facility and there's little commute between University Hospital, a lot of variety in the schedule, variety of training sites, close to the 2 and 5 trains, strong program for community psychiatry
9. Potential Weaknesses: Location (in that part of Brooklyn in particular), very psychoanalytic interviews with PD and psychologist, commute to some sites like St. John’s in Far Rockaway is long if you’re relying on public transportation
1. Communication: ERAS/Email
2. Accommodation & Food: None provided; no pre-interview dinner, light breakfast in the morning and lunch of sandwiches and chips in the afternoon
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): There are two sessions, the first one starts at 8:45 and the last one at 11:15 and they overlap for the lunch and tour. Morning starts with a breakdown of the interview day and then you’re off to 3 half-hour interviews. My first interview was with the program director and he was a bit intimidating. He’s a psychoanalyst by training and during my interview with him, he pulled out a piece of a paper and drew some circles and we talked about object relations theory as it pertained to a news case about an evangelical minister from Utah or something. I was a little taken back because honestly it’s been years since I’ve studied any hard-core psych and I think it was one of those who-do-you-do-under-pressure type of interviews. The next interview was much more laid back, with the chief resident and was more conversational. She seemed really fun and energetic and told me that most of the residents like to go out after work and grab a couple of drinks for happy hour. The next interview was with a psychologist who was again pretty intimidating. He asked about my MCAT score and asked many probing questions about my family. I felt he was getting a bit condescending and wanted me to answer the way he stereotypically viewed a family from my cultural background.
4. Program Overview: The interns on the off-service months attended the lunch and remarked how easy their schedule was and their responsibilities were not as intense as a medicine intern. The first year residents do one month of addiction at St. John’s and in second year there is a month of forensics at the Brooklyn Supreme Court as well as one month of research. In third year, residents participate for 1 day/week for 6 months in a program called Project Homeless, where they can be involved in anything from women’s shelters, teen runaways to homeless people around NYC in shelters. Didactics are protected time on Thursdays, including when you’re off service and there’s a course about peer-reviewing scholarly articles. I believe this is the only university program in Brooklyn and so with that comes more research opportunities. Residents rotate on an inpatient child psych unit at King's County.
5. Faculty: The chairman, who we never met, was talked about highly as a well-respected and well-known name in community/public psychiatry. Every year there is a barbeque held at the chair’s house. The residents at lunch spoke well of their PD whom they say is very responsive to residents’ needs (they felt they were overworked on the medicine months at Kings County so he swiftly changed it for the next class to be at University Hospital for off-service months and now it’s the exact opposite).
6. Location & Lifestyle: I love Brooklyn but the immediate area didn’t seem all that great. They do have subsidized housing, however virtually none of the residents live there. The campus is easily accessible by the 2 and 5 trains so that makes living in Manhattan relatively do-able. Also, the two main sites—University Hospital and Kings County are literally across the street from each other, which is convenient. The residents seemed to have a good work-life balance with the medicine months being especially easy.
7. Salary & Benefits: don’t remember
8. Program Strengths: Research time in PGY-2 and lots of opportunities, the homeless outreach program, friendly residents, Kings County is a very nice and updated facility and there's little commute between University Hospital, a lot of variety in the schedule, variety of training sites, close to the 2 and 5 trains, strong program for community psychiatry
9. Potential Weaknesses: Location (in that part of Brooklyn in particular), very psychoanalytic interviews with PD and psychologist, commute to some sites like St. John’s in Far Rockaway is long if you’re relying on public transportation
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2007
- Messages
- 3,205
- Reaction score
- 253
Agreed. I've been anxiously awaiting some reviews all year...just curious what people have thought of us...guess I'll have to wait until after rank lists as usual.
Cambridge and Brown!!!
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- Joined
- May 30, 2007
- Messages
- 2,559
- Reaction score
- 464
WashU has no call in PGY3 or PGY4, and an excellent in-house moonlighting system. Essentially, PGY3/4 call responsibilities are covered 100% by moonlighters. Instead of requiring you to take call as part of your job, they make it optional and pay you competitive moonlighting rates.
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- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
- Messages
- 3,511
- Reaction score
- 2,603
Wow. That's incredible. Good for you guys.
- Joined
- May 30, 2007
- Messages
- 2,559
- Reaction score
- 464
I plan to spend most of my spare time doing research rather than moonlighting, but this one fact was very attractive to me because it tells you that the program really cares about its residents. They could force you to do it, but instead, they make it optional and pay you to do it.
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
- Messages
- 3,511
- Reaction score
- 2,603
Yeah I agree. That demonstrates concerted effort to not just talk about resident well being but to walk it down the line against the other demands for resident services to make it happen. Good stuff.
That's kind of my most grandiose hopes for this discussion we're having--to create a consumer culture for resident positions that makes these benefits less the exception and more the rule.
Let it be known PD's. That your residents with families and the most debt in recorded history--broken every year--need to make some extra money here and there. If your program can't provide that, someone else will.
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Im a resident at MUSC. Love it here. Would be glad to answer any question you might have. PM me if theres anything you think I can help you with.
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 2,948
- Reaction score
- 24
MUSC
1. Communication:
Email
2. Accommodation & Food:
No accommodations. The pre-interview dinner was at an awesome local Italian place. After appetizers, a yummy pasta dish, and a huge slice of homemade cheesecake, I was stuffed. During the interview day, lunch was at a restaurant close to the hospital. Again, delicious. I highly recommend the ahi tuna salad.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences):
Arrived at 8 to breakfast and an overview from the PD and one of the chief residents. You then have 3 30 minute interviews, all with faculty. Faculty were very nice and seemed more interested in talking up the program than asking tough questions. Nothing unusual. Lunch was with 4 residents, then we had a tour of the hospitals. Psych has its own building and facilities seem pretty nice, but what stood out to me was the gym-amazing and all for $12 a month for residents! The cafeteria was also very nice. The buildings are all super close to each other which is a plus.The day finished up about 2pm and they said they try to keep the day short so you have some time to explore Charleston.
4. Program Overview:
One of the best programs in the south, MUSC has a strong reputation for providing great training and research opportunities. They’re especially strong in addictions, with a ton of NIH funding in that area. Dr. Kantor, the PD, is extremely nice and seems like someone who would be there for his residents.
Large class size of about 14-15 per class. Residents were happy and friendly. They said that psych is prominent and well-respected within the hospital, the 2nd largest department overall. They have a good number of inpatient units, including geri, adult, a large child and adolescent unit, addictions, and TMS/ECT/DBS services. There’s a new interventional psychiatry tract for those interested. Fellowships in child and adolescent, addictions, geriatric, forensics, and interventional psychiatry. They have an NIH sponsored research track that allows residents to pursue research half time over the last two years and pairs them up with mentors.
The program is biologically oriented and one of the residents at the dinner admitted that psychotherapy is not a strength here. They are trying to improve this though and there’s a new opportunity to participate in psychotherapy groups during years 1 and 2.
Overnight call 1st and 2nd year is limited to your night float months. These 4 months seem pretty intense, with 15-20 14 hour shifts from 5pm-7am. Residents say they learned the most on this rotation though, since you’re seeing patients on all the inpatient units and on consults throughout the hospital. The rest of PGY1 and 2, you work 1-2 weekends most months rounding on inpatients. Apparently you usually get done by noon so it’s not too bad. As a 3rd year, you have about q12 overnight call where it seems like you’re more of a supervisor to the PGY1’s/2’s and see patients if they get backed up. Half day didactics per week throughout.
1st year- 4 months inpatient medicine-1 can be peds, 1 month neuro inpatient, 4 months adult inpatient, 1 month child, 2 months night float.
2nd year- 1 month crisis, 1 month neuro consult, 3 months adult inpatient, 1 month geri, 1 month addiction inpatient, 1 month addiction outpatient, 2 months consult, 2 months night float. Half day per week of continuity clinic at the VA doing med management.
3rd year- Outpatient. You do child outpatient 1/2 day per week for half the year and community 1/2 day per week the other half of the year. VA continuity clinic continues half day per week. The rest of your time is mostly adult outpatient at MUSC, but residents are able to do electives if they want at the local colleges and other places throughout the area.
4th year- Entirely elective.
5. Faculty:
Everyone I met was really nice. Dr. Kantor has been there 6 years now and seems excited about and committed to the program. We heard from residents that attendings are very nice and good teachers. They have quite a few big name researchers, including the #1 funded NIH researcher in the country.
6. Location and Lifestyle:
They made a point of telling us that Charleston wins many best place to visit and live surveys and I can definitely see why. It’s got an older charm, with cobblestone streets and pretty brightly colored shops and townhomes throughout the city. Tons of amazing restaurants, the ocean, and nice year round weather are the highlights. It is a bit more expensive than most southern cities due to the desirability, but residents seems to be able to find affordable places to live and some even buy homes. Most live in one of the surrounding suburbs about 15 minutes away from campus. I’ve heard from friends that Charleston is not the best for single ladies if that matters to you (guy:girl ratio is much more in favor of the guys).
Salary starts at $47,000 1st year. On the lower end, but it seems reasonable to live comfortably in the area. There’s 1 moonlighting opportunity in town (I think doing intakes in the prison system?) that seems pretty limited. For more extensive moonlighting, residents travel to Columbia, Greenville, etc and can make a good amount in a weekend.
Lifestyle is good aside from your night float months. Seems like most rotations are 8 to 5ish. Weekend rounding 1-2 weekends a month. Residents are able to pursue outside activities and do weekend moonlighting in nearby cities if desired.
7. Program Strengths:
-Happy residents and faculty.
-Well-known department within the hospital, big department. Lots of inpatient units. Also known as a strong program nationally.
-Lots of research opportunities, especially in addictions, with a research track for those who are interested.
-With the exception of a community clinic 3rd year, training sites are all within walking distance of each other in downtown Charleston.
-Hospital campus is very pretty and feels almost like a college campus with a nice gym and common areas.
-Charleston is gorgeous, with great weather, an amazing food scene, and tons to do if you like the water.
8. Potential Weaknesses:
-Admittedly bio heavy. Was told you can get some extra training in psychotherapy if you seek it out though.
-Tough night float months, but reasonable call schedule other than that.
-Lack of many moonlighting options nearby. Residents drive 2+ hours for weekend moonlighting (that apparently pays well though).
-The area is pretty saturated so unless you get hired by MUSC most people have to look for jobs elsewhere after residency.
-Relatively expensive city for being in the southeast. Charleston is supposedly not the best place if you’re a single lady.
Overall: Great program in a beautiful city. I think you’d get excellent training here, especially in addictions and biological psychiatry.
1. Communication:
2. Accommodation & Food:
No accommodations. The pre-interview dinner was at an awesome local Italian place. After appetizers, a yummy pasta dish, and a huge slice of homemade cheesecake, I was stuffed. During the interview day, lunch was at a restaurant close to the hospital. Again, delicious. I highly recommend the ahi tuna salad.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences):
Arrived at 8 to breakfast and an overview from the PD and one of the chief residents. You then have 3 30 minute interviews, all with faculty. Faculty were very nice and seemed more interested in talking up the program than asking tough questions. Nothing unusual. Lunch was with 4 residents, then we had a tour of the hospitals. Psych has its own building and facilities seem pretty nice, but what stood out to me was the gym-amazing and all for $12 a month for residents! The cafeteria was also very nice. The buildings are all super close to each other which is a plus.The day finished up about 2pm and they said they try to keep the day short so you have some time to explore Charleston.
4. Program Overview:
One of the best programs in the south, MUSC has a strong reputation for providing great training and research opportunities. They’re especially strong in addictions, with a ton of NIH funding in that area. Dr. Kantor, the PD, is extremely nice and seems like someone who would be there for his residents.
Large class size of about 14-15 per class. Residents were happy and friendly. They said that psych is prominent and well-respected within the hospital, the 2nd largest department overall. They have a good number of inpatient units, including geri, adult, a large child and adolescent unit, addictions, and TMS/ECT/DBS services. There’s a new interventional psychiatry tract for those interested. Fellowships in child and adolescent, addictions, geriatric, forensics, and interventional psychiatry. They have an NIH sponsored research track that allows residents to pursue research half time over the last two years and pairs them up with mentors.
The program is biologically oriented and one of the residents at the dinner admitted that psychotherapy is not a strength here. They are trying to improve this though and there’s a new opportunity to participate in psychotherapy groups during years 1 and 2.
Overnight call 1st and 2nd year is limited to your night float months. These 4 months seem pretty intense, with 15-20 14 hour shifts from 5pm-7am. Residents say they learned the most on this rotation though, since you’re seeing patients on all the inpatient units and on consults throughout the hospital. The rest of PGY1 and 2, you work 1-2 weekends most months rounding on inpatients. Apparently you usually get done by noon so it’s not too bad. As a 3rd year, you have about q12 overnight call where it seems like you’re more of a supervisor to the PGY1’s/2’s and see patients if they get backed up. Half day didactics per week throughout.
1st year- 4 months inpatient medicine-1 can be peds, 1 month neuro inpatient, 4 months adult inpatient, 1 month child, 2 months night float.
2nd year- 1 month crisis, 1 month neuro consult, 3 months adult inpatient, 1 month geri, 1 month addiction inpatient, 1 month addiction outpatient, 2 months consult, 2 months night float. Half day per week of continuity clinic at the VA doing med management.
3rd year- Outpatient. You do child outpatient 1/2 day per week for half the year and community 1/2 day per week the other half of the year. VA continuity clinic continues half day per week. The rest of your time is mostly adult outpatient at MUSC, but residents are able to do electives if they want at the local colleges and other places throughout the area.
4th year- Entirely elective.
5. Faculty:
Everyone I met was really nice. Dr. Kantor has been there 6 years now and seems excited about and committed to the program. We heard from residents that attendings are very nice and good teachers. They have quite a few big name researchers, including the #1 funded NIH researcher in the country.
6. Location and Lifestyle:
They made a point of telling us that Charleston wins many best place to visit and live surveys and I can definitely see why. It’s got an older charm, with cobblestone streets and pretty brightly colored shops and townhomes throughout the city. Tons of amazing restaurants, the ocean, and nice year round weather are the highlights. It is a bit more expensive than most southern cities due to the desirability, but residents seems to be able to find affordable places to live and some even buy homes. Most live in one of the surrounding suburbs about 15 minutes away from campus. I’ve heard from friends that Charleston is not the best for single ladies if that matters to you (guy:girl ratio is much more in favor of the guys).
Salary starts at $47,000 1st year. On the lower end, but it seems reasonable to live comfortably in the area. There’s 1 moonlighting opportunity in town (I think doing intakes in the prison system?) that seems pretty limited. For more extensive moonlighting, residents travel to Columbia, Greenville, etc and can make a good amount in a weekend.
Lifestyle is good aside from your night float months. Seems like most rotations are 8 to 5ish. Weekend rounding 1-2 weekends a month. Residents are able to pursue outside activities and do weekend moonlighting in nearby cities if desired.
7. Program Strengths:
-Happy residents and faculty.
-Well-known department within the hospital, big department. Lots of inpatient units. Also known as a strong program nationally.
-Lots of research opportunities, especially in addictions, with a research track for those who are interested.
-With the exception of a community clinic 3rd year, training sites are all within walking distance of each other in downtown Charleston.
-Hospital campus is very pretty and feels almost like a college campus with a nice gym and common areas.
-Charleston is gorgeous, with great weather, an amazing food scene, and tons to do if you like the water.
8. Potential Weaknesses:
-Admittedly bio heavy. Was told you can get some extra training in psychotherapy if you seek it out though.
-Tough night float months, but reasonable call schedule other than that.
-Lack of many moonlighting options nearby. Residents drive 2+ hours for weekend moonlighting (that apparently pays well though).
-The area is pretty saturated so unless you get hired by MUSC most people have to look for jobs elsewhere after residency.
-Relatively expensive city for being in the southeast. Charleston is supposedly not the best place if you’re a single lady.
Overall: Great program in a beautiful city. I think you’d get excellent training here, especially in addictions and biological psychiatry.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 2,948
- Reaction score
- 24
Brown
1. Communication:
Email
2. Accommodation & Food:
No accommodations. I missed the pre-interview dinner, but they were nice enough to let me have dinner with a resident on the day of the interview. Lunch was catered in by a yummy Indian place…the crispy cauliflower was amazing.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences):
Met at 7:30 for breakfast with the chiefs. Then we went off on the famous van tour. Everyone piles into a big white van with the associate PD and they take you to a couple of the training sites with a detour through downtown providence. Facilities range from fine to very nice. The main building Butler, where didactics are, reminds me of an old psychiatric facility you’d see in the movies-big lawn, older exterior, kind of creepy feel to it but very picturesque. The chair and PD gave overviews, then the psychotherapy, research director, and medical directors spoke for a few minutes. We then went on a tour of Butler and ate lunch with residents from different years. There were 5 interviews in the afternoon with a few breaks scattered in and the day wrapped up at 4:30. No unusual questions and everyone was very nice.
4. Program Overview:
Brown is a very strong program overall, especially known for child and adolescent. Residents seemed to really like the program and I got a positive impression of the training overall. Residents were smart, but still down-to-earth and very friendly.
It’s a big department, with over 100 faculty and a lot of researchers. There are 7 different hospital sites, including a VA, children’s hospital, women’s hospital, and the main 117 bed freestanding psych hospital. Seems like you’d have great exposure to different populations, but I also heard it can be confusing to learn many different systems and you can feel separated from your fellow residents.
Residents are encouraged, but not required, to participate in research and there are lots of opportunities to get involved. A few residents have research stipends and get extra time to devote to research. Especially strong in OCD research, as that’s the area of interest of the chair. Psychotherapy training seems strong, with family therapy starting 2nd year. Residents learn psychodynamic, CBT, brief, and supportive therapy 3rd year and also do group and family therapy that year.
Call is very reasonable. 1st year, you have 2-3 5-10pm shifts per month and 6 weekend psych ER shifts over the whole year. 2nd year is 1 true call per month and 2 months of night float. 3rd year, you have 1-2 calls per month. Residents also have home pager call-2 weekends a month 1st year, during the week 2nd year, and 3-4 weeks 3rd and 4th year.
Half day per week didactics. 1st and 2nd years have didactics together. You don’t go to didactics during off-service months 1st year or during night float months 2nd year, so they say overall you get the full series. It still didn’t seem ideal to me though, as you might repeat some lectures as a PGY2 and not get as much teaching as a program that has two separate years.
1st year- 4 months inpatient medicine or peds, 2 months neuro, 6 months dual diagnoses/adult inpatient/geri
2nd year- 3 months inpatient, 3 months consult, 1 month psych assessment, 1 month ER psych, 4 months child. Longitudinal outpatient family therapy and resident continuity clinic.
3rd year- Outpatient, including longitudinal resident continuity clinic, family therapy, and group therapy. There are multiple different outpatient options for your main site this year and they said it usually works out so people get what they want, but sometimes people are disappointed. 1-2 per year work with college students at RISDY which sounds pretty neat.
4th year- 2 months forensics, some community, elective time.
5. Faculty:
Faculty are very nice and many do some impressive research. Dr. Eisen is super sweet and is someone that would be great to have as a PD. The chair seemed very research focused, but they also have some strong psychotherapy faculty. Was told that faculty are approachable and excited about teaching.
6. Location and Lifestyle:
Providence is cute and very quintessential New England. It’s much more affordable than Boston, NY, etc but still seems to have a good amount to do, lots of good restaurants, etc. It’s also only 1 hour from Boston if you need a big city fix. Winters aren’t great, but spring and summer is very nice and you’re only 30 minutes or so from the beach. Apartments seem fairly affordable, especially in certain parts of the city and surrounding area.
Intern salary is $53,600, which is pretty reasonable for the area. Residents said there are lots of moonlighting opportunities if you want them. Great lifestyle with a very reasonable call schedule. Residents have time for outside interests and some have families.
7. Program Strengths:
-Many different hospital sites, providing any sort of training opportunity you could want.
-Seemed very balanced, with strong inpatient training, research, and psychotherapy.
-Strong and large faculty.
-Very good lifestyle, with call on the low side and moonlighting opportunities.
-Child psych is particularly strong and you get 4 months of it early on (could be a downside if that’s not your thing).
8. Potential Weaknesses:
-Repeated didactics 1st and 2nd year.
-Lots of sites could be a little disjointed.
-Main sites for 3rd year seemed very different and if you don’t get your top choice, you could be working with a population you’re not as interested in.
-Providence could be a downside if you’re looking for a bigger city or don’t like winter.
Overall: Very solid all-around program with a good national reputation. You’d get great training here no matter what your interests are, but they're especially strong in child.
1. Communication:
2. Accommodation & Food:
No accommodations. I missed the pre-interview dinner, but they were nice enough to let me have dinner with a resident on the day of the interview. Lunch was catered in by a yummy Indian place…the crispy cauliflower was amazing.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences):
Met at 7:30 for breakfast with the chiefs. Then we went off on the famous van tour. Everyone piles into a big white van with the associate PD and they take you to a couple of the training sites with a detour through downtown providence. Facilities range from fine to very nice. The main building Butler, where didactics are, reminds me of an old psychiatric facility you’d see in the movies-big lawn, older exterior, kind of creepy feel to it but very picturesque. The chair and PD gave overviews, then the psychotherapy, research director, and medical directors spoke for a few minutes. We then went on a tour of Butler and ate lunch with residents from different years. There were 5 interviews in the afternoon with a few breaks scattered in and the day wrapped up at 4:30. No unusual questions and everyone was very nice.
4. Program Overview:
Brown is a very strong program overall, especially known for child and adolescent. Residents seemed to really like the program and I got a positive impression of the training overall. Residents were smart, but still down-to-earth and very friendly.
It’s a big department, with over 100 faculty and a lot of researchers. There are 7 different hospital sites, including a VA, children’s hospital, women’s hospital, and the main 117 bed freestanding psych hospital. Seems like you’d have great exposure to different populations, but I also heard it can be confusing to learn many different systems and you can feel separated from your fellow residents.
Residents are encouraged, but not required, to participate in research and there are lots of opportunities to get involved. A few residents have research stipends and get extra time to devote to research. Especially strong in OCD research, as that’s the area of interest of the chair. Psychotherapy training seems strong, with family therapy starting 2nd year. Residents learn psychodynamic, CBT, brief, and supportive therapy 3rd year and also do group and family therapy that year.
Call is very reasonable. 1st year, you have 2-3 5-10pm shifts per month and 6 weekend psych ER shifts over the whole year. 2nd year is 1 true call per month and 2 months of night float. 3rd year, you have 1-2 calls per month. Residents also have home pager call-2 weekends a month 1st year, during the week 2nd year, and 3-4 weeks 3rd and 4th year.
Half day per week didactics. 1st and 2nd years have didactics together. You don’t go to didactics during off-service months 1st year or during night float months 2nd year, so they say overall you get the full series. It still didn’t seem ideal to me though, as you might repeat some lectures as a PGY2 and not get as much teaching as a program that has two separate years.
1st year- 4 months inpatient medicine or peds, 2 months neuro, 6 months dual diagnoses/adult inpatient/geri
2nd year- 3 months inpatient, 3 months consult, 1 month psych assessment, 1 month ER psych, 4 months child. Longitudinal outpatient family therapy and resident continuity clinic.
3rd year- Outpatient, including longitudinal resident continuity clinic, family therapy, and group therapy. There are multiple different outpatient options for your main site this year and they said it usually works out so people get what they want, but sometimes people are disappointed. 1-2 per year work with college students at RISDY which sounds pretty neat.
4th year- 2 months forensics, some community, elective time.
5. Faculty:
Faculty are very nice and many do some impressive research. Dr. Eisen is super sweet and is someone that would be great to have as a PD. The chair seemed very research focused, but they also have some strong psychotherapy faculty. Was told that faculty are approachable and excited about teaching.
6. Location and Lifestyle:
Providence is cute and very quintessential New England. It’s much more affordable than Boston, NY, etc but still seems to have a good amount to do, lots of good restaurants, etc. It’s also only 1 hour from Boston if you need a big city fix. Winters aren’t great, but spring and summer is very nice and you’re only 30 minutes or so from the beach. Apartments seem fairly affordable, especially in certain parts of the city and surrounding area.
Intern salary is $53,600, which is pretty reasonable for the area. Residents said there are lots of moonlighting opportunities if you want them. Great lifestyle with a very reasonable call schedule. Residents have time for outside interests and some have families.
7. Program Strengths:
-Many different hospital sites, providing any sort of training opportunity you could want.
-Seemed very balanced, with strong inpatient training, research, and psychotherapy.
-Strong and large faculty.
-Very good lifestyle, with call on the low side and moonlighting opportunities.
-Child psych is particularly strong and you get 4 months of it early on (could be a downside if that’s not your thing).
8. Potential Weaknesses:
-Repeated didactics 1st and 2nd year.
-Lots of sites could be a little disjointed.
-Main sites for 3rd year seemed very different and if you don’t get your top choice, you could be working with a population you’re not as interested in.
-Providence could be a downside if you’re looking for a bigger city or don’t like winter.
Overall: Very solid all-around program with a good national reputation. You’d get great training here no matter what your interests are, but they're especially strong in child.
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- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 6
Northwestern University
1. Communication -
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at a hotel in downtown Chicago. Dinner the night before at Viand, a restaurant close to the hospital. Dinners are held on Thursday nights, so depending on whether you interview on Thursday or Friday, it may be before or after your interview. Breakfast was the typical spread, and they also give you a granola bar and small water bottle in your NW bag. Lunch was Mexican food from a local place.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) -
The day started off with an overview of the program by the PD Dr. Anzia. Notably she goes through pictures of each class and gives a short bio of each resident, which I thought was really cute and showed how close she was to the residents. We then had a 30-minute question-and-answer with the chair Dr. Csernansky. Afterwards, half of us went on a 1-hour tour and half of us had interviews, and then we switched. Lunch was from 12-1 pm. Total of 4 faculty interviewers, with one after lunch. Everyone interviews with the PD and the aPD Dr. Driscoll. Very standard questions, friendly interviews. After interviews, everyone gathers back in the main room to hear one of the faculty discuss their research. Day ends by 3pm with individual wrapups with the PD.
4. Program Overview -
Overall, this is a solid program that is one of the best in the Midwest area, and especially appealing for people who want to live in Chicago. However for me, it couldn't quite compare to the coastal programs in terms of department size (much smaller than programs in NYC, Boston, Seattle, LA, etc) and academic opportunities. The program has historically been more clinical, with many residents entering into private practice, but the chair Dr. Csernansky is very biological and into research so he is pushing to make it more academic.
I think the program's biggest asset is its program director Dr. Anzia, who is fantastic and a total mom to her residents. It is clear that she knows every resident and is very protective of them. She is well-respected nationally among PDs and can certainly help you get to the next steps of your career.
There are 8 residents in each class, and they rotate through Northwestern Memorial Hospital, NW's inpatient unit called the Stone Institute (which was just built one year ago and is absolutely beautiful), the Children's Hospital, and the Jesse Brown VA. There are two things that are very unique to the curriculum - 1) All residents spend the first 6 months doing medicine and neuro, and then all start psychiatry together, and 2) Every Wednesday is a full day of protected didactics. Because of this, there is a great deal of comaraderie among the residents, who mentioned that they go out to happy hour together every Wednesday after didactics. They seemed like a fun group who knew each other well.
The rotation schedule is a bit confusing because it is organized by calendar year, but here is my rough summary:
PGY1 (first 6 mos) - 4 mos IM wards (can sub in 2 mos of peds), 2 mos neuro (either inpt at NW or consults at VA), 1 mo EM.
PGY1 - 4.5 mos inpt psych @ NW, 3 mos inpt @ VA, 2 mos child C/L, 7 wks night float, 6 wks C/L @ NW
PGY2 - 3 mos addictions @ VA, 3 mos community psych @ VA, 3 mos community psych @ NW, 3 mos C/L @ NW, 2 days/wk of outpt (continuous 30 mos of half-time outpt)
PGY3-4 - 3 mos emergency psych, 3 mos administrative psych, 9-12 mos electives
Call seemed heavier here than at most other programs. For the first 12 months of psychiatry (after you finish the 6 mos of medicine/neuro), you are on call q4, so it is similar to being on internal medicine wards and you only get one free weekend per month. The call frequency then decreases every year. According to the residents, call can be "chaotic" and on weekend days you will be working nonstop admitting patients. Residents start with 6 training calls with a senior resident, and then see patients on their own with attending by phone only.
5. Faculty -
Everyone I met seemed friendly, nice, and approachable.
6. Location & Lifestyle -
Chicago seems like a great city to live in, with tons of restaurants, cultural activities, biking, etc. The area around Northwestern was particularly nice, with lots of high-end stores and restaurants. Winters are reportedly long (sometimes lasting through April) and brutal, especially with the freezing cold winds, but summers are supposed to be beautiful.
7. Salary & Benefits -
51K -> 58K - highest in Chicago.
8. Program Strengths -
Fantastic PD Dr. Anzia who is a strong resident advocate, and very warm and mother-like
Residents seem close and go out a lot together
All residents spend first 6 mos doing medicine/neuro together
Great location in Chicago
Beautiful facilities
Full day of didactics (+/- depending on whether you'd like an entire day of lectures)
9. Potential Weaknesses -
Residents work really hard. Heavy call, especially in the first 12 mos of psych, in a really busy ER
Less supervision than other programs. Residents described feeling "thrown in" and having to figure things out for themselves
Several residents complained the program was "disorganized"
Lots of VA time, ~9 mos (+/-)
Less diverse class - mostly young, Caucasian, and from the Midwest
No child outpatient exposure in PGY3
Brutal Chicago winters
1. Communication -
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at a hotel in downtown Chicago. Dinner the night before at Viand, a restaurant close to the hospital. Dinners are held on Thursday nights, so depending on whether you interview on Thursday or Friday, it may be before or after your interview. Breakfast was the typical spread, and they also give you a granola bar and small water bottle in your NW bag. Lunch was Mexican food from a local place.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) -
The day started off with an overview of the program by the PD Dr. Anzia. Notably she goes through pictures of each class and gives a short bio of each resident, which I thought was really cute and showed how close she was to the residents. We then had a 30-minute question-and-answer with the chair Dr. Csernansky. Afterwards, half of us went on a 1-hour tour and half of us had interviews, and then we switched. Lunch was from 12-1 pm. Total of 4 faculty interviewers, with one after lunch. Everyone interviews with the PD and the aPD Dr. Driscoll. Very standard questions, friendly interviews. After interviews, everyone gathers back in the main room to hear one of the faculty discuss their research. Day ends by 3pm with individual wrapups with the PD.
4. Program Overview -
Overall, this is a solid program that is one of the best in the Midwest area, and especially appealing for people who want to live in Chicago. However for me, it couldn't quite compare to the coastal programs in terms of department size (much smaller than programs in NYC, Boston, Seattle, LA, etc) and academic opportunities. The program has historically been more clinical, with many residents entering into private practice, but the chair Dr. Csernansky is very biological and into research so he is pushing to make it more academic.
I think the program's biggest asset is its program director Dr. Anzia, who is fantastic and a total mom to her residents. It is clear that she knows every resident and is very protective of them. She is well-respected nationally among PDs and can certainly help you get to the next steps of your career.
There are 8 residents in each class, and they rotate through Northwestern Memorial Hospital, NW's inpatient unit called the Stone Institute (which was just built one year ago and is absolutely beautiful), the Children's Hospital, and the Jesse Brown VA. There are two things that are very unique to the curriculum - 1) All residents spend the first 6 months doing medicine and neuro, and then all start psychiatry together, and 2) Every Wednesday is a full day of protected didactics. Because of this, there is a great deal of comaraderie among the residents, who mentioned that they go out to happy hour together every Wednesday after didactics. They seemed like a fun group who knew each other well.
The rotation schedule is a bit confusing because it is organized by calendar year, but here is my rough summary:
PGY1 (first 6 mos) - 4 mos IM wards (can sub in 2 mos of peds), 2 mos neuro (either inpt at NW or consults at VA), 1 mo EM.
PGY1 - 4.5 mos inpt psych @ NW, 3 mos inpt @ VA, 2 mos child C/L, 7 wks night float, 6 wks C/L @ NW
PGY2 - 3 mos addictions @ VA, 3 mos community psych @ VA, 3 mos community psych @ NW, 3 mos C/L @ NW, 2 days/wk of outpt (continuous 30 mos of half-time outpt)
PGY3-4 - 3 mos emergency psych, 3 mos administrative psych, 9-12 mos electives
Call seemed heavier here than at most other programs. For the first 12 months of psychiatry (after you finish the 6 mos of medicine/neuro), you are on call q4, so it is similar to being on internal medicine wards and you only get one free weekend per month. The call frequency then decreases every year. According to the residents, call can be "chaotic" and on weekend days you will be working nonstop admitting patients. Residents start with 6 training calls with a senior resident, and then see patients on their own with attending by phone only.
5. Faculty -
Everyone I met seemed friendly, nice, and approachable.
6. Location & Lifestyle -
Chicago seems like a great city to live in, with tons of restaurants, cultural activities, biking, etc. The area around Northwestern was particularly nice, with lots of high-end stores and restaurants. Winters are reportedly long (sometimes lasting through April) and brutal, especially with the freezing cold winds, but summers are supposed to be beautiful.
7. Salary & Benefits -
51K -> 58K - highest in Chicago.
8. Program Strengths -
Fantastic PD Dr. Anzia who is a strong resident advocate, and very warm and mother-like
Residents seem close and go out a lot together
All residents spend first 6 mos doing medicine/neuro together
Great location in Chicago
Beautiful facilities
Full day of didactics (+/- depending on whether you'd like an entire day of lectures)
9. Potential Weaknesses -
Residents work really hard. Heavy call, especially in the first 12 mos of psych, in a really busy ER
Less supervision than other programs. Residents described feeling "thrown in" and having to figure things out for themselves
Several residents complained the program was "disorganized"
Lots of VA time, ~9 mos (+/-)
Less diverse class - mostly young, Caucasian, and from the Midwest
No child outpatient exposure in PGY3
Brutal Chicago winters
- Joined
- May 28, 2008
- Messages
- 2,948
- Reaction score
- 24
Great review, you summed up my thoughts on Northwestern exactly. Overall I think it's a strong program, probably the strongest in Chicago, with an amazing PD and a nice, close-knit group of residents. Call is on the heavy side and I also heard complaints about lack of direction, especially in the 3rd year. A recently graduated Northwestern resident I spoke with wasn't super enthusiastic about the program for that reason. Seems like the program has excellent training and would set you up well for practicing on Michigan Avenue, but has its downsides for those who want a more lifestyle friendly program or a little more supervision in their training overall.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
- Messages
- 6,366
- Reaction score
- 4,298
Dr. Anzia is definitely one of the top 3-4 "Program Directors' Program Directors". A real role model.
So I am an actual Northwestern resident, and I'd like to comment on a few things you mentioned.
First off - Northwestern being a "clinical program":
Northwestern has truly become a national name in psychiatry research, not only thanks to the venerable Dr. C (a bigwig in schizophrenia pharm, among other things) but we are developing some great research departments. We have the Asher center (for mood d/o research), The Cognitive Neurology / Alzheimer's Disease center (where we can even rotate, as 4s), lots of translational neuroimaging and we are actively growing. Perhaps the residents you personally met aren't terribly into research, but that does not mean there are not ample opportunities to get involved.
It's possible that many residents of the past have gone into private practice (the program has been changing dramatically since Anzia and Csernansky came on board) but that no longer seems to be the case - of the current 4s, many are pursing fellowships and I've heard from a number that they are thinking about staying in academia.
Regarding call, I don't think we are any worse than most other large, academic programs (I am comparing NW to UMD/SP, NYU, Harvard Longwood, MGH, Hopkins....). We have 2 months of NF (like everywhere else), 1-2 golden weekends/month (like everywhere else) and approximately 4 short calls/month (like everywhere else) for the first year and a half, then call decreases dramatically (until it becomes quite low, as a 4). Perhaps call is more chaotic than other places (though I venture to guess that is not the case when comparing it to HL, MGH, Hopkins, NYU...) but wouldn't you rather learn something during your time in the hospital than just sit there twiddling your thumbs? (I have had both types of call since starting, and let me tell you, the hours go much faster when you're busy).
The idea that we are not diverse also bums me out. Clearly you did not meet enough residents. I can say of my class, at least, that we run the ethnic and socioeconomic spectrum which makes for fascinating conversation in didactics. We do have some things common though, and I believe we have Dr. Anzia to thank for that. We share a love of humanity, a desire to work tirelessly for our patients and an inquisitiveness that keeps us all excited by and interested in what we do. Let me tell you, that is what ultimately guided my decision. I loved the residents and faculty. They seemed the most likeminded to myself and I honestly felt I'd be happier among them for the next four years than I felt about nearly any other program. Do bear that in mind when you make your decision - where the heck will you be HAPPY? 4 years is a LONG time.
If you're comparing the types of programs I listed above you will have research opportunities, strong mentorship and good didactics. You will get whatever jobs you want. This decision seems like it could be made via some algorithm - comparing based on NIH grants, faculty pedigrees, whatever. What you'll find is that sort of all comes out in the wash. Pick the place that made you feel like you belonged. Maybe it's here. Maybe it's elsewhere. No matter which place it is, don't ignore that gut instinct.
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Great advice this, for all of us.
It's also an easy advice to receive but one that's extremely hard to follow. I know it was a mammoth struggle for me to rank programs with less workload/call and happier residents higher than programs with heavier calls and visibly overworked/tired residents because the latter were "bigger names". It's really hard to get out of our "med school mentality" and actually go with the places where we'd be the happiest for those four years rather than get hung up on things like prestige. I'm happy I did.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 6
Yale University
1. Communication –
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at a friend's place in downtown New Haven. The night before the interview, there is a walking tour of New Haven given by a PGY2 (mostly of the undergrad campus and some of the downtown area) followed by dinner with residents at a tapas place. Typical breakfast spread in the morning, lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, and cookies in the afternoon.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) –
Day starts at 8am with an orientation talk by the PD Dr. Rohrbaugh and the aPD Dr. Ross. Then from 9am-noon, there are 4 interviews, including ones with the PD and one of the three aPDs. Interviews were conversational, with standard questions and lots of "Do you have any questions for me?". Lunch from 12-1, followed by a tour, a group meeting with the chair Dr. Krystal, a final group wrap-up with the PD, and then an optional group meeting with one of the child psych faculty. Day ends at 3:30 or 4pm depending on whether you stay for the child psych meeting.
4. Program Overview –
This is an amazing program that is a powerhouse in psychiatry and has a heavy emphasis on education. It has a mission of developing future leaders in psychiatry, and at the end of the orientation talk, they show an impressive list of all the department chairs and deans who are Yale alums, which includes their own chair. Any project/interest you can think of, you can likely do here - the program offers a remarkable amount of support, flexibility, and elective time, including 3 mos in PGY2, 20% of your time in PGY3, and all of PGY4. There is also a strong global mental health program, and Yale has been able to obtain funding for a number of residents to go abroad. The PD Dr. Rohrbaugh is wonderful - very kind, intelligent, and supportive, with a calm demeanor. One of the aPDs Dr. Ross clearly has a huge passion for resident education and completely redesigned the didactic curriculum several years ago so that it is now very innovative and interactive. It includes multi-perspective case conferences, where residents present their cases to a multidisciplinary group of faculty, resident grand rounds, and a "NY Times psychiatry" class that sounded fun.
The resident class is large, with 16 residents per class. The program intentionally recruits top IMG applicants to add diversity to the class. Residents were very friendly, smart, accomplished, and enthusiastic. Residents rotate through 4 sites - Yale University Hospital, Connecticut Mental Health, the VA, and Yale Student Health. You choose one site to spend your PGY3 year in, and that can be the student health center. I thought this was super unique and a fantastic opportunity if you are interested in college mental health.
Rotation schedule:
PGY1: 4 mos IM wards, 1 mo medicine outpt, 2 wks ICU, 2 wks medicine NF. 2 mos neuro. 3 mos adult inpt psych, 2 mos inpt child psych.
PGY2: 3 mos elective, 3 mos adult inpt, 2 mos C/L, 1 mo ER, 6 wks substance abuse, 6 wks geri. 1/2 day a week of therapy.
PGY-3: all outpt including child. 20% elective time.
PGY-4: 100% electives
Call schedule: PGY1 is ~q7 - 1 short call/wk and a weekend day shift (8-5) 2x per month. PGY2 is q10. PGY3 is 30 12-hour shifts. PGY4 is no call.
5. Faculty –
All of the faculty I met were great - warm, approachable, and passionate about psychiatry.
6. Location & Lifestyle –
New Haven - personally New Haven was not for me, but some residents really like it. It's small, a bit run-down in appearance, and some of the neighboring areas seemed kind of sketchy. Most residents live in downtown New Haven (close to the hospital) or East Rock (which is a bit further, but has more to do). There is a Yale shuttle that goes from East Rock to the hospital and the VA. A few residents live outside of New Haven in neighboring towns in CT. Downtown New Haven was cute but small, with little shops and some bars. There were lots of restaurants - New Haven is actually known for being a foodie town and has some great pizza places. If you are coming from a big city though, it will be a major change. But you can take a 2-hour train ride to NYC, or a 2.5-hour drive to Boston.
7. Salary & Benefits -
Highest salaries I saw on the interview trail by far - 64K -> 73K.
8. Program Strengths -
Incredible amount of opportunities and flexibility in curriculum to pursue interests
4 different clinical sites with the opportunity to select preferences for where to do your rotations. Can do your entire PGY3 year at the student health center
Fantastic PD Dr. Rohrbaugh
Innovative didactics
Strong in global mental health
Very strong child psych, addictions, and forensics programs
9. Potential Weaknesses -
New Haven (for some, this may be a dealbreaker)
Tough medicine months, including an ICU block
1. Communication –
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at a friend's place in downtown New Haven. The night before the interview, there is a walking tour of New Haven given by a PGY2 (mostly of the undergrad campus and some of the downtown area) followed by dinner with residents at a tapas place. Typical breakfast spread in the morning, lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, and cookies in the afternoon.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) –
Day starts at 8am with an orientation talk by the PD Dr. Rohrbaugh and the aPD Dr. Ross. Then from 9am-noon, there are 4 interviews, including ones with the PD and one of the three aPDs. Interviews were conversational, with standard questions and lots of "Do you have any questions for me?". Lunch from 12-1, followed by a tour, a group meeting with the chair Dr. Krystal, a final group wrap-up with the PD, and then an optional group meeting with one of the child psych faculty. Day ends at 3:30 or 4pm depending on whether you stay for the child psych meeting.
4. Program Overview –
This is an amazing program that is a powerhouse in psychiatry and has a heavy emphasis on education. It has a mission of developing future leaders in psychiatry, and at the end of the orientation talk, they show an impressive list of all the department chairs and deans who are Yale alums, which includes their own chair. Any project/interest you can think of, you can likely do here - the program offers a remarkable amount of support, flexibility, and elective time, including 3 mos in PGY2, 20% of your time in PGY3, and all of PGY4. There is also a strong global mental health program, and Yale has been able to obtain funding for a number of residents to go abroad. The PD Dr. Rohrbaugh is wonderful - very kind, intelligent, and supportive, with a calm demeanor. One of the aPDs Dr. Ross clearly has a huge passion for resident education and completely redesigned the didactic curriculum several years ago so that it is now very innovative and interactive. It includes multi-perspective case conferences, where residents present their cases to a multidisciplinary group of faculty, resident grand rounds, and a "NY Times psychiatry" class that sounded fun.
The resident class is large, with 16 residents per class. The program intentionally recruits top IMG applicants to add diversity to the class. Residents were very friendly, smart, accomplished, and enthusiastic. Residents rotate through 4 sites - Yale University Hospital, Connecticut Mental Health, the VA, and Yale Student Health. You choose one site to spend your PGY3 year in, and that can be the student health center. I thought this was super unique and a fantastic opportunity if you are interested in college mental health.
Rotation schedule:
PGY1: 4 mos IM wards, 1 mo medicine outpt, 2 wks ICU, 2 wks medicine NF. 2 mos neuro. 3 mos adult inpt psych, 2 mos inpt child psych.
PGY2: 3 mos elective, 3 mos adult inpt, 2 mos C/L, 1 mo ER, 6 wks substance abuse, 6 wks geri. 1/2 day a week of therapy.
PGY-3: all outpt including child. 20% elective time.
PGY-4: 100% electives
Call schedule: PGY1 is ~q7 - 1 short call/wk and a weekend day shift (8-5) 2x per month. PGY2 is q10. PGY3 is 30 12-hour shifts. PGY4 is no call.
5. Faculty –
All of the faculty I met were great - warm, approachable, and passionate about psychiatry.
6. Location & Lifestyle –
New Haven - personally New Haven was not for me, but some residents really like it. It's small, a bit run-down in appearance, and some of the neighboring areas seemed kind of sketchy. Most residents live in downtown New Haven (close to the hospital) or East Rock (which is a bit further, but has more to do). There is a Yale shuttle that goes from East Rock to the hospital and the VA. A few residents live outside of New Haven in neighboring towns in CT. Downtown New Haven was cute but small, with little shops and some bars. There were lots of restaurants - New Haven is actually known for being a foodie town and has some great pizza places. If you are coming from a big city though, it will be a major change. But you can take a 2-hour train ride to NYC, or a 2.5-hour drive to Boston.
7. Salary & Benefits -
Highest salaries I saw on the interview trail by far - 64K -> 73K.
8. Program Strengths -
Incredible amount of opportunities and flexibility in curriculum to pursue interests
4 different clinical sites with the opportunity to select preferences for where to do your rotations. Can do your entire PGY3 year at the student health center
Fantastic PD Dr. Rohrbaugh
Innovative didactics
Strong in global mental health
Very strong child psych, addictions, and forensics programs
9. Potential Weaknesses -
New Haven (for some, this may be a dealbreaker)
Tough medicine months, including an ICU block
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 6
University of Michigan
1. Communication -
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at the Holiday Inn recommended in their email. Dinner was at a pizza place in downtown Ann Arbor and was set up like a cocktail reception, so that rather than a sit-down dinner, you could walk around and talk to as many residents as you wanted. Large breakfast spread with lots of pastries, fruit, and yogurt cups. Can't remember what lunch was, but there is dessert at the end of the day with small pieces of cake and chocolate-covered strawberries!
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) -
Day starts with a powerpoint overview of the program by one of the chief residents. This is followed by a welcome talk from the PD Dr. Jibson. One of the aPDs also speaks briefly about the program. The applicants then split into two groups, and half have morning interviews while the other half goes on a tour of both the VA and the University Hospital. Lunch is from 12-1, and then the group splits again for interviews/tours. There are 4 interviews, including one with the PD. Interviews were relaxed and conversational. At the end of the day, everyone meets back together for a question-and-answer with the chair Dr. Dalack. The day ends at 4pm.
4. Program Overview -
I came into this program with no expectations and was completely impressed by what I saw. This is a huge academic department and health system filled with friendly, down-to-earth faculty and residents. The department emphasizes education and is very resident-centered, and it felt like every clinical opportunity was available to residents, including tons of specialty clinics and over 50 elective options in PGY4. There are numerous integrated care clinics here, including ones in family medicine, peds, oncology, and women's health, and residents regularly rotate through these in PGY3 and PGY4. Residents have 6-month didactic and supervisory psychotherapy mentorships in CBT, DBT, and interpersonal psychotherapy in PGY-3 and psychoanalytic therapy and family/couples therapy in PGY4. There is also tons of research going on.
I was really impressed by the PD Dr. Jibson and the chair Dr. Dalack, both of whom were experienced, intelligent, well-spoken, and incredibly approachable. Both have been at UofM for over 20 years and spoke highly of their experience here. Dr. Jibson shared his philosophy about seeing residency not simply as a "job" but rather a place to develop a career, and he seems like he would be very supportive in helping you reach your career goals, whatever they are academic, research-oriented, or private practice. It was also notable how flexible and family-friendly the program was - part-time training is available, and one of the residents had 2 kids during her residency.
Class size is 11-12, and residents rotate through 3 sites - the University Hospital, VA, and the Rachel Upjohn building (where all the outpatient offices are). The psych units have been newly renovated and were really nice. The child psych unit has not moved to the new children's hospital yet, but residents say this is expected to happen in the next year. Residents were all very friendly, fun, and enthusiastic, and there was a clear comaraderie not only within each class, but also between different years.
Rotation schedule:
PGY1: 4 mos medicine (which is a combination of IM, Family Med, and EM, with an option to sub in 1 mo peds and 1 mo peds ER) and 2 mos neuro. 4 mos inpt psych (2 mos @ UofM and 2 mos @ VA), 1 mo addiction psych clinic @ VA, 1 mo C/L @ VA.
PGY2: 5-6 mos inpt psych (split bw UofM and VA), 1 mo child psych inpt, 3-4 mos C/L @ UofM, 3 mos emergency psych (which includes 1 mo day float and 2 mos night float). You begin longitudinal therapy cases this year.
PGY3: All outpatient clinics, including 6 mos child outpt and 6 mos geri outpt
PGY4: 8 mos electives, 2 mos C/L, 1 mo forensics, 1 mo senior resident on VA inpt
Call varies depending on rotation site, but generally in PGY1, it looked like short call 1-2x per week and a Saturday day shift about 4x per year. In PGY2, you have a 24-hr Saturday shift 4-5x per year and 1-2 holidays per year. In PGY3-4, you cover an overnight Friday shift 2-3x per year. There is always an attending or a senior resident in-house during call shifts, so there is a good deal of direct teaching during call.
Special tracks include the Research Track and the Clinical Scholars Track, which helps prepare residents for a career as an educator.
5. Faculty -
Everyone I met was great and very invested in resident education.
6. Location & Lifestyle -
Ann Arbor - personally it felt quite small and college town-y to me, but residents seemed to love it and insisted that there were enough grad students and residents to balance the giant undergrad population. Lots of restaurants and outdoors activities, huge college football. Detroit is nearby for a big city fix. Pretty affordable, and many residents own homes/condos. Winters sounded terrible and long, with very cold temps and plenty of snow.
7. Salary & Benefits -
I can't find the exact numbers in my notes but it seemed like a standard salary with 4 weeks of vacation, and you get a holiday bonus if you work on a holiday or your birthday.
8. Program Strengths -
Fantastic PD Dr. Jibson and chair Dr. Dalack, both incredibly supportive and approachable.
Large department with tons of clinical and research opportunities. Research track and clinical scholars track available. Lots of integrated care if that is your interest.
Residents are fun, friendly, and down-to-earth. There was great comaraderie not only within each class, but between classes.
Excellent supervision, with an attending or senior resident always present in-house during call intern year.
Flexible and family friendly.
9. Potential Weaknesses -
Ann Arbor may be too small for some.
Lots of VA time (+/-).
Brutal winter weather.
On that note, if anyone has experience with living in Ann Arbor, I would love to hear about it. I loved the program at Michigan but am a big city person, and location is the only thing that is keeping me from ranking it higher.
1. Communication -
ERAS/email
2. Accommodation & Food -
Stayed at the Holiday Inn recommended in their email. Dinner was at a pizza place in downtown Ann Arbor and was set up like a cocktail reception, so that rather than a sit-down dinner, you could walk around and talk to as many residents as you wanted. Large breakfast spread with lots of pastries, fruit, and yogurt cups. Can't remember what lunch was, but there is dessert at the end of the day with small pieces of cake and chocolate-covered strawberries!
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences) -
Day starts with a powerpoint overview of the program by one of the chief residents. This is followed by a welcome talk from the PD Dr. Jibson. One of the aPDs also speaks briefly about the program. The applicants then split into two groups, and half have morning interviews while the other half goes on a tour of both the VA and the University Hospital. Lunch is from 12-1, and then the group splits again for interviews/tours. There are 4 interviews, including one with the PD. Interviews were relaxed and conversational. At the end of the day, everyone meets back together for a question-and-answer with the chair Dr. Dalack. The day ends at 4pm.
4. Program Overview -
I came into this program with no expectations and was completely impressed by what I saw. This is a huge academic department and health system filled with friendly, down-to-earth faculty and residents. The department emphasizes education and is very resident-centered, and it felt like every clinical opportunity was available to residents, including tons of specialty clinics and over 50 elective options in PGY4. There are numerous integrated care clinics here, including ones in family medicine, peds, oncology, and women's health, and residents regularly rotate through these in PGY3 and PGY4. Residents have 6-month didactic and supervisory psychotherapy mentorships in CBT, DBT, and interpersonal psychotherapy in PGY-3 and psychoanalytic therapy and family/couples therapy in PGY4. There is also tons of research going on.
I was really impressed by the PD Dr. Jibson and the chair Dr. Dalack, both of whom were experienced, intelligent, well-spoken, and incredibly approachable. Both have been at UofM for over 20 years and spoke highly of their experience here. Dr. Jibson shared his philosophy about seeing residency not simply as a "job" but rather a place to develop a career, and he seems like he would be very supportive in helping you reach your career goals, whatever they are academic, research-oriented, or private practice. It was also notable how flexible and family-friendly the program was - part-time training is available, and one of the residents had 2 kids during her residency.
Class size is 11-12, and residents rotate through 3 sites - the University Hospital, VA, and the Rachel Upjohn building (where all the outpatient offices are). The psych units have been newly renovated and were really nice. The child psych unit has not moved to the new children's hospital yet, but residents say this is expected to happen in the next year. Residents were all very friendly, fun, and enthusiastic, and there was a clear comaraderie not only within each class, but also between different years.
Rotation schedule:
PGY1: 4 mos medicine (which is a combination of IM, Family Med, and EM, with an option to sub in 1 mo peds and 1 mo peds ER) and 2 mos neuro. 4 mos inpt psych (2 mos @ UofM and 2 mos @ VA), 1 mo addiction psych clinic @ VA, 1 mo C/L @ VA.
PGY2: 5-6 mos inpt psych (split bw UofM and VA), 1 mo child psych inpt, 3-4 mos C/L @ UofM, 3 mos emergency psych (which includes 1 mo day float and 2 mos night float). You begin longitudinal therapy cases this year.
PGY3: All outpatient clinics, including 6 mos child outpt and 6 mos geri outpt
PGY4: 8 mos electives, 2 mos C/L, 1 mo forensics, 1 mo senior resident on VA inpt
Call varies depending on rotation site, but generally in PGY1, it looked like short call 1-2x per week and a Saturday day shift about 4x per year. In PGY2, you have a 24-hr Saturday shift 4-5x per year and 1-2 holidays per year. In PGY3-4, you cover an overnight Friday shift 2-3x per year. There is always an attending or a senior resident in-house during call shifts, so there is a good deal of direct teaching during call.
Special tracks include the Research Track and the Clinical Scholars Track, which helps prepare residents for a career as an educator.
5. Faculty -
Everyone I met was great and very invested in resident education.
6. Location & Lifestyle -
Ann Arbor - personally it felt quite small and college town-y to me, but residents seemed to love it and insisted that there were enough grad students and residents to balance the giant undergrad population. Lots of restaurants and outdoors activities, huge college football. Detroit is nearby for a big city fix. Pretty affordable, and many residents own homes/condos. Winters sounded terrible and long, with very cold temps and plenty of snow.
7. Salary & Benefits -
I can't find the exact numbers in my notes but it seemed like a standard salary with 4 weeks of vacation, and you get a holiday bonus if you work on a holiday or your birthday.
8. Program Strengths -
Fantastic PD Dr. Jibson and chair Dr. Dalack, both incredibly supportive and approachable.
Large department with tons of clinical and research opportunities. Research track and clinical scholars track available. Lots of integrated care if that is your interest.
Residents are fun, friendly, and down-to-earth. There was great comaraderie not only within each class, but between classes.
Excellent supervision, with an attending or senior resident always present in-house during call intern year.
Flexible and family friendly.
9. Potential Weaknesses -
Ann Arbor may be too small for some.
Lots of VA time (+/-).
Brutal winter weather.
On that note, if anyone has experience with living in Ann Arbor, I would love to hear about it. I loved the program at Michigan but am a big city person, and location is the only thing that is keeping me from ranking it higher.
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The following response to the above post is by a current resident at the program who wishes to remain anonymous.
This post shows a few significant incorrect perceptions about our program. First, we do not "ship most of the uninsured patients" to Metro. I assume that Psychedelicious, being a residency applicant, is thinking mainly of what his experience on call and on inpatient psych will be like, and thus, what will happen when he is asked to see a patient on call and decides to admit them. Will they be admitted to UH? What you might not know is that if a patient is uninsured, the only hospital they can be admitted to is the state hospital, Northcoast. This is true no matter which ER in the city they are seen in, including Metro's. The exception to this would be if the patient is "rated" at Metro; getting rated is something an uninsured person can do and it involves an application process. So a new presentation to the ER is not going to get admitted to Metro; they're going to get admitted to Northcoast. And to my knowledge none of the residency programs in Cleveland entail doing routine rotations there. When you see a patient in the ER, you decide whether they need to be admitted or not. If they need admission and they have insurance (any insurance, including Medicaid,) and there are beds at UH, you admit them there. If not, a citywide centralized referral service finds them a bed at another hospital. This is something Metro or Cleveland Clinic residents have to deal with just as much; if they see a patient who needs admission on call and there are no beds in their own hospital, they have to send them somewhere else.
Second, with the Medicaid expansion, anyone can apply for Medicaid solely on the basis of income, so a lot more of those poor and indigent people now have insurance.
Third, if you think seeing only the insured means "limited clinical exposure," you'd be wrong. At UH, you'll see people from all walks of life and all races, from comfortable middle-class housewives to impoverished people who sleep under a bridge. Actually, I'd be more concerned with "limited clinical exposure" at a place like Metro, where there is a strong bias toward the poor and not much in the way of experience with middle-class people.
Fourth, and I think this is reflective of your bias as a fourth-year medical student looking toward inpatient, "community psychiatry" is mainly an outpatient phenomenon. It is not contradictory of our program to emphasize community psychiatry while not having a unit where those with no insurance can be admitted. Everyone does a longitudinal clinic at a community psychiatry site starting 3rd year, where you will have your own case load of patients in the community system, many of whom are homeless and/or uninsured. If you happen to see one of your patients in clinic and decide they require admission, and they don't have insurance, you're going to have to send them to St. Vincent's Charity Hospital's city-sponsored psych ER, from which they will be admitted to Northcoast. Again, this is as true of Cleveland Clinic and Metro residents as it is of us (unless the Metro resident is seeing a patient already rated at Metro.)
Fifth, I think it's interesting that you are very focused on experience with the poor and uninsured, yet do not criticize Cleveland Clinic in this regard. I don't want unnecessarily to badmouth another institution, but it is the Cleveland Clinic, not UH, that has a reputation (in Cleveland and beyond) of avoiding at all costs taking on patients that will not be remunerative for them.
Sixth, Cleveland is not cold and grey "most of the year." True, it is cold in the winter as in any temperate climate, and the sky is overcast for days at a time roughly November through March. But winter here is only marginally colder than, say, Philadelphia or New York City, and April through October is beautiful. Also, Cleveland's restaurant scene far surpasses what is typical for a city of its size.
Seventh, there are not "very few" research opportunities. True, you will not automatically get sucked into a serious research project as you will at a select few other programs. But a scholarly project is a requirement of our residency. You can get involved in a serious research project if you want; it's just that you have to seek it out rather than having it come to you. Many residents do a literature review for their scholarly project, and many of these have been published.
Eighth, I don't think our department is that small (it's certainly larger than Metro) nor that we have "very few" faculty involved in research. This impression may be an artifact of our being spread out over several locations, an arrangement which unfortunately many psych departments across the nation are stuck with these days.
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Anonymous Review - UMD Sheppard Pratt
1. Communication: Phone/email. A little slow to respond to emails.
2. Accomodations and Food: No hotel provided (i think there may have been a discount at nearby places). Dinner the night before at a lebanese restaurant. Light breakfast and pasta/salad for lunch during the interview day.
3. Interview Day: Starts off with the typical welcome meeting by program dinner. Then 2 interviews with faculty members. Some get to interview with the PD, but everyone has an exit interview with him at the end of the day so even if you didnt formally interview with him you still get a chance to talk to him one on one. The interviews weren't as laid back as some other programs I visited. They straight up ask "Why this program" and "why psychiatry". Was also asked about where I thought the future of psychiatry was going. Then you travel to Towson, MD to visit Sheppard Pratt. After that, lunch back in Baltimore and tours of the university hospital. Exit interviews before you leave! Out of there by 4ish.
4. Program Overview: Very strong program in my opinion. Residents rotate through a bunch of different hospitals ... UM Medical center, SP, Baltimore VA, a state hospital, and Mercy medical center for IM rotations. SP is pretty impressive - 340 acres, beautiful brick buildings, Quaker philosophy. It's built with the idea that mentally ill patients need lots of sunlight, fresh air, green grass. They have so many special inpatient units, including a "retreat" for VIP clients, adolescents with eating disorders, child trauma, telepsych, in addition to the the typical geri/ child/adult units. The University Hospital is pretty nice too. The program is really flexible .. You get an elective month in the 1st year which is great for people that want to explore child or forensics or whatever. Also one unique aspect is exposure to forensics/state hospital in PGY1 year, and psychotherapy exposure as early as PGY2 year. On CL rotations you can rotate through UMD's famous Shock Trauma center. Required research project in PGY3 year. They fully support fast-tracking into their child psych program. They have other fellowships too (CL, addictions and i think forensics?). No overnight call in PGY1 year, and short call Q6 at sheppard pratt. In PGY2 year some sites have nightfloat system and others have a Q5 overnight call system, so yeah PGY2 year is a little more intense but all the residents said it was definitely doable. There is good supervision when on call. I know there was some discussion of the call here on SDN but all the nitty gritty details of the schedule are on the program's website so definitely check there. Opportunities for in house and outside moonlighting. Pretty good pay, I think like $800 for one 12 hour ER shift. Didactics seem pretty standard.
5. Faculty: Many of the faculty are graduates of the residency program, which I think says a lot about the program! Everyone I met was really friendly and professional.
6. Location and Lifestyle. Baltimore, MD. Yes I know this place is known for heroin and crack but there's so much more to Baltimore. The area surrounding the medical campus is really safe and nice. There are other neighborhoods like Federal Hill which is more of a young professional population. You can live in the suburbs and commute easily (not too much traffic) too if city life isn't for you. Baltimore is pretty affordable to live in, only 1 hour from DC and 3 from NYC. Towson, where SP is located, is about 20-30 minutes away so you DEFINITELY need a car. Towson is really nice though, beautiful malls/shopping centers, pretty houses, etc. You will have to commute between different sites so that is something to think about.
7. Salary and benefits: Starting at 50s
8. Program Strengths: Sheppard pratt, research opportunities, lots of fellowships opportunities
9. Program weaknesses: 16 residents per year, having to travel between lots of different sites, Baltimore isn't the nicest city
1. Communication: Phone/email. A little slow to respond to emails.
2. Accomodations and Food: No hotel provided (i think there may have been a discount at nearby places). Dinner the night before at a lebanese restaurant. Light breakfast and pasta/salad for lunch during the interview day.
3. Interview Day: Starts off with the typical welcome meeting by program dinner. Then 2 interviews with faculty members. Some get to interview with the PD, but everyone has an exit interview with him at the end of the day so even if you didnt formally interview with him you still get a chance to talk to him one on one. The interviews weren't as laid back as some other programs I visited. They straight up ask "Why this program" and "why psychiatry". Was also asked about where I thought the future of psychiatry was going. Then you travel to Towson, MD to visit Sheppard Pratt. After that, lunch back in Baltimore and tours of the university hospital. Exit interviews before you leave! Out of there by 4ish.
4. Program Overview: Very strong program in my opinion. Residents rotate through a bunch of different hospitals ... UM Medical center, SP, Baltimore VA, a state hospital, and Mercy medical center for IM rotations. SP is pretty impressive - 340 acres, beautiful brick buildings, Quaker philosophy. It's built with the idea that mentally ill patients need lots of sunlight, fresh air, green grass. They have so many special inpatient units, including a "retreat" for VIP clients, adolescents with eating disorders, child trauma, telepsych, in addition to the the typical geri/ child/adult units. The University Hospital is pretty nice too. The program is really flexible .. You get an elective month in the 1st year which is great for people that want to explore child or forensics or whatever. Also one unique aspect is exposure to forensics/state hospital in PGY1 year, and psychotherapy exposure as early as PGY2 year. On CL rotations you can rotate through UMD's famous Shock Trauma center. Required research project in PGY3 year. They fully support fast-tracking into their child psych program. They have other fellowships too (CL, addictions and i think forensics?). No overnight call in PGY1 year, and short call Q6 at sheppard pratt. In PGY2 year some sites have nightfloat system and others have a Q5 overnight call system, so yeah PGY2 year is a little more intense but all the residents said it was definitely doable. There is good supervision when on call. I know there was some discussion of the call here on SDN but all the nitty gritty details of the schedule are on the program's website so definitely check there. Opportunities for in house and outside moonlighting. Pretty good pay, I think like $800 for one 12 hour ER shift. Didactics seem pretty standard.
5. Faculty: Many of the faculty are graduates of the residency program, which I think says a lot about the program! Everyone I met was really friendly and professional.
6. Location and Lifestyle. Baltimore, MD. Yes I know this place is known for heroin and crack but there's so much more to Baltimore. The area surrounding the medical campus is really safe and nice. There are other neighborhoods like Federal Hill which is more of a young professional population. You can live in the suburbs and commute easily (not too much traffic) too if city life isn't for you. Baltimore is pretty affordable to live in, only 1 hour from DC and 3 from NYC. Towson, where SP is located, is about 20-30 minutes away so you DEFINITELY need a car. Towson is really nice though, beautiful malls/shopping centers, pretty houses, etc. You will have to commute between different sites so that is something to think about.
7. Salary and benefits: Starting at 50s
8. Program Strengths: Sheppard pratt, research opportunities, lots of fellowships opportunities
9. Program weaknesses: 16 residents per year, having to travel between lots of different sites, Baltimore isn't the nicest city
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Anonymous Review - Las Vegas, NV
1. Communication- email
2. Accommodation & Food- There on sub-I. No accommodations/food.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- All of us there on rotation did our interviews before we left. It was pretty informal and quick. We chatted with a couple people for a total of an hour tops. Interview questions were the typical ones. Nothing unusual.
4. Program Overview- The rotation schedule seems pretty typical. We were told hours on most of the rotations were pretty average 55-60 per week. Most of the residents were happy, although there was one disgruntled resident who complained about getting stuck in Las Vegas who sort of turned me off to the program. He called some aspects of the program “borderline malignant”. He said C&L months are brutal and that he has had to see up to 17 patients in a day. He also said a certain leadership person in the program felt too overwhelmed with the workload and so some didactics that residents were supposed to get were canceled. He also said there is somewhat poor camaraderie between residents, that they rarely talk outside of work, and that they no longer do resident retreats because of an incident where residents got into a fight and someone’s arm was broken. There was also some concern about some of some sites losing funding. He said that overall the program was extremely disorganized and blamed it partially on faculty frequently leaving. The other residents admitted the program was pretty disorganized, but they blew off most of the other stuff. So it might just be this one resident with issues. It was enough though to make me worry and move the program pretty far down my list.
5. Faculty- the faculty were very friendly and seemed very willing to teach. The PD has a great sense of humor. I don’t know much more about them than this.
6. Location & Lifestyle- Shopping, concerts, clubs, casinos, and eateries…it seems like an awesome place for a young doctor. Surprisingly, many residents said this gets old fast and they rarely go to the strip. Traffic is almost non-existent. Real estate is super modern and very inexpensive. The summers are unbearably hot (sometimes 115F+) but maybe not an issue if most of the day is spent indoors. Electricity is cheap. Public schools are bad.
7. Salary & Benefits- in the 40's
8. Program Strengths-Fun city. All your family will definitely want to come visit you. Faculty were very friendly and welcoming. Lots of crazy people in Vegas. Low cost of living.
9. Potential Weaknesses- Work schedule seems heavy on some rotations. Not much research/fellowship opportunities. Moonlighting is available, but we were told it is sucked up mostly by fourth years.
1. Communication- email
2. Accommodation & Food- There on sub-I. No accommodations/food.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences)- All of us there on rotation did our interviews before we left. It was pretty informal and quick. We chatted with a couple people for a total of an hour tops. Interview questions were the typical ones. Nothing unusual.
4. Program Overview- The rotation schedule seems pretty typical. We were told hours on most of the rotations were pretty average 55-60 per week. Most of the residents were happy, although there was one disgruntled resident who complained about getting stuck in Las Vegas who sort of turned me off to the program. He called some aspects of the program “borderline malignant”. He said C&L months are brutal and that he has had to see up to 17 patients in a day. He also said a certain leadership person in the program felt too overwhelmed with the workload and so some didactics that residents were supposed to get were canceled. He also said there is somewhat poor camaraderie between residents, that they rarely talk outside of work, and that they no longer do resident retreats because of an incident where residents got into a fight and someone’s arm was broken. There was also some concern about some of some sites losing funding. He said that overall the program was extremely disorganized and blamed it partially on faculty frequently leaving. The other residents admitted the program was pretty disorganized, but they blew off most of the other stuff. So it might just be this one resident with issues. It was enough though to make me worry and move the program pretty far down my list.
5. Faculty- the faculty were very friendly and seemed very willing to teach. The PD has a great sense of humor. I don’t know much more about them than this.
6. Location & Lifestyle- Shopping, concerts, clubs, casinos, and eateries…it seems like an awesome place for a young doctor. Surprisingly, many residents said this gets old fast and they rarely go to the strip. Traffic is almost non-existent. Real estate is super modern and very inexpensive. The summers are unbearably hot (sometimes 115F+) but maybe not an issue if most of the day is spent indoors. Electricity is cheap. Public schools are bad.
7. Salary & Benefits- in the 40's
8. Program Strengths-Fun city. All your family will definitely want to come visit you. Faculty were very friendly and welcoming. Lots of crazy people in Vegas. Low cost of living.
9. Potential Weaknesses- Work schedule seems heavy on some rotations. Not much research/fellowship opportunities. Moonlighting is available, but we were told it is sucked up mostly by fourth years.
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Wow, an inaccurate review in this thread. I'm amazed!
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Thank you for posting this. It is definitely useful to hear your perspectives as a resident countering mine as an applicant. Thank you also for clarifying that the uninsured patients are shipped to the state hospital, Northcoast, and not to Metro as I mistakenly mentioned. I am also glad to know that you do not think that not seeing the uninsured population at all does not limit your clinical exposure in any way.
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Well. I wouldn't want my program to take a beating here either, so I can understand your frustration, but ask yourself how accurate your applicant rank lists are.
I remember, MacDonaldtriad talking about how there was no way to tell who would rise to the top from their rank list order as the course of training progressed. Seems we're all fumbling around making our best impressions of things. Not just us.
I think OHSU is just in one of those positions of having to interview a lot of people who apply there knowing its not in their top few. Lot's of programs are in this position. Lots of applicants, like myself, are in this position. This is what I would pass on to your leadership: If we want to be able to leverage more selectivity in who we interview we're going to have to think of ways to make our program more attractive.
How the hell is MUSC scooping up great applicants and interview accolades out of south carolina. I hate the south passionately and would consider Portland vastly superior culturally etc. And yet I could easily see myself being seduced by an amazing program with tons of benefits over an uninspired workhorse program.
The combination of the internet and the applicant driven market of psych residency positions are going to increase the pressure on programs to be more attractive in what they offer. For myself, and now, for all those that will come after, this has to be a good thing.
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I thought Charleston was considered a really nice place to live?
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The blatant Plantation culture typical of such a grand old southern Belle of a city is attractive to some. Count me as one who hates it. I only said that to compliment the program. Not to advertise my opinions of it. Well...ok. I beat up anything southern...at pretty much any opportunity. Like a gothic wierdo who got picked on by one too many pop collared, oxford and flip flop wearing southern fraternal douche *****. Metaphorically.
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OK, I apologize for the snark there and agree that applicants should be actively looking for their best fit. However, it's been amazing how inaccurate a lot of these reviews are, which goes to show how little we know when we're making these decisions. I wish that I had posted a review of OHSU, so I could go back and see how ridiculously wrong my review was. It'd be a fun exercise. Unfortunately, all the reviews I posted were of places I didn't wind up going to so I don't know for sure how completely worthless they were. They likely were pretty worthles, though -- so if you come across a review from me from ages ago, ignore it. At the time, I thought I totally knew I was writing about, too.
Anyway, good luck to everyone -- just don't believe everything you read on the internet.
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hahaha! "uhhhh...bonjour" Love it.
Well. I think he looks french modelish. Somewhat. From a distance.
Idk. I think I can utilize the internet taking into account the french model effect. If it caused correction form primary sources then the internet wins. The days of handshakes and signing contracts on the spot with someone who went to medical school with our attendings is over. This is the Brave New World we live in.
All my reviews are loosely positive and resemble both my easy going affability but also my snobbery for location. If you pick this out in context you have my sense of it. True for me. Less so for you. Processed broadly en masse and I think you have a penumbra of the truth.
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[However, it's been amazing how inaccurate a lot of these reviews are, which goes to show how little we know when we're making these decisions. I wish that I had posted a review of OHSU, so I could go back and see how ridiculously wrong my review was. It'd be a fun exercise.
Trust me; reviews written by applicants who spend a few hours at a program and meet a few people are very off the mark most of the time. The only thing equally off the mark are the program’s reviews of applicant abilities based on dean’s letters, letters, grades, scores, and an essay. Maybe if reviewers could note if they did a rotation or had some other more complete exposure it would help. Meanwhile, it is what it is.
Trust me; reviews written by applicants who spend a few hours at a program and meet a few people are very off the mark most of the time. The only thing equally off the mark are the program’s reviews of applicant abilities based on dean’s letters, letters, grades, scores, and an essay. Maybe if reviewers could note if they did a rotation or had some other more complete exposure it would help. Meanwhile, it is what it is.
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Very true. From what I've heard, programs are indeed often surprised by who thrives and who doesn't in a training environment. I've interviewed people before in other contexts and been surprised by how completely unable I was to guess who would or who wouldn't do well. I guess my hope is that people on both sides would be more humble about what they know. That doesn't mean not trying to convey information; it just means recognizing that your information is still pretty limited.
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Should we start a thread of residents writing reviews of their own programs?
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Ah, true true.
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No that site sucks. I think we should have a thread for this. Its a beautiful idea Leo.
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Why does scutwork suck? I guess it could be updated more.
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Not enough traffic. Not interactive. At least the last time I looked at it. A year or two ago.
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True -- it's probably underutilized. I think the anonymity can be a real strength, though (and detriment in that some reviews are total sabotage jobs). I'm not sure about the utility of being interactive.
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To make it a dialogue. As we have done here.
Incidentally. looking at the rank list thread. I see a program showing up on the bottom of people's list that would have been an early favorite for my number 1. I wrote them sonnets and haiku's expressing how lovely they were. And nada. I talked to people on the interview trail who interviewed there lackadaisically and disinterestedly.
I'm as confident in my ability to be a great resident as DrBagel is in her program.
All's fair in love and war and our opinions of each other on the interview trail. I think its more true than we'd like. And less so than we'd like.
Perhaps this thread measures semi-accurately how effective programs are at marketing themselves with a combination of objective measures--call schedule, pay, benefits, moonlighting, fellowships, faculty, didactic and rotation schedules etc--and the less objective ones.
DrBagel's rebuttal does illustrate how difficult even performing accurate fact gathering is for applicants interviewing at a dozen or so programs. So that input is vital to the success of this project.
But I'm also not one to write off sex appeal or charisma as a useless measure. Location may be king for me but vibe is queen bee. And separated, hopefully, where I will end up from where I would like to live. Relying on the intuitive apparatus evolved over millions of years for deciding to trust someone with our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and our livelihoods is a perfect criteria. One that is well served by this stream of subjective impressions when deciding to go and see for ourselves.
I think suggestion is a reasonable conclusion. But so is the programs' aptitude for suggestion in the first place. Even if just for the energy investment alone.
Incidentally. looking at the rank list thread. I see a program showing up on the bottom of people's list that would have been an early favorite for my number 1. I wrote them sonnets and haiku's expressing how lovely they were. And nada. I talked to people on the interview trail who interviewed there lackadaisically and disinterestedly.
I'm as confident in my ability to be a great resident as DrBagel is in her program.
All's fair in love and war and our opinions of each other on the interview trail. I think its more true than we'd like. And less so than we'd like.
Perhaps this thread measures semi-accurately how effective programs are at marketing themselves with a combination of objective measures--call schedule, pay, benefits, moonlighting, fellowships, faculty, didactic and rotation schedules etc--and the less objective ones.
DrBagel's rebuttal does illustrate how difficult even performing accurate fact gathering is for applicants interviewing at a dozen or so programs. So that input is vital to the success of this project.
But I'm also not one to write off sex appeal or charisma as a useless measure. Location may be king for me but vibe is queen bee. And separated, hopefully, where I will end up from where I would like to live. Relying on the intuitive apparatus evolved over millions of years for deciding to trust someone with our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and our livelihoods is a perfect criteria. One that is well served by this stream of subjective impressions when deciding to go and see for ourselves.
I think suggestion is a reasonable conclusion. But so is the programs' aptitude for suggestion in the first place. Even if just for the energy investment alone.
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I'd be game, on the proviso that:
- Someone else also commits to posting
- Someone proposes a format, which could minimize bias (eg, I could write a 10 page review of my program without saying anything negative, but I guess in order to maximize utility, everyone should comment on the same things so that weak points can be acknowledged)
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- 2,027
You'd just be replacing blissful ignorance and presumption with blatant self-aggrandizing and ego defending...
A legitimate concern - although I maintain that with a predetermined structure there is the potential for something more valuable. At the very least we can learn why people think their programs are amazing, which is still something.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Messages
- 996
- Reaction score
- 599
Let's take a stab at coming up with a checklist to keep things as balanced as possible. I'll start:
-What kind of resident thrives at the program?
-What are the strengths of the program? Give clear examples:
-What are you most disappointed about regarding your program?
-What do you wish someone had told you about the program before ranking it?
-Describe how didactics are taught:
-Describe the call schedule:
-Describe the overall morale of residents and faculty:
-How smart/competitive/competent are your fellow residents?
-What is the major complaints about your program that you hear from residents?
-Name 3 thing you wish your program director would change about the program:
-What kind of resident thrives at the program?
-What are the strengths of the program? Give clear examples:
-What are you most disappointed about regarding your program?
-What do you wish someone had told you about the program before ranking it?
-Describe how didactics are taught:
-Describe the call schedule:
-Describe the overall morale of residents and faculty:
-How smart/competitive/competent are your fellow residents?
-What is the major complaints about your program that you hear from residents?
-Name 3 thing you wish your program director would change about the program:
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2006
- Messages
- 3,511
- Reaction score
- 2,603
Well then. By this assessment its one blind tunnel from applicant to attending. I'm not confident in my disagreement with you there. But just as the cure for bad science is more science. I think think the more volume from a variety of vested interests the better.
Can we learn nothing from discussing things with each other?
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2002
- Messages
- 10,910
- Reaction score
- 1,154
So maybe I'm having some SDN demoralization right now (on top of just being physically tired due to a long week), but it seems like things get so misinterpreted and potentially blown out of proportion when you try to honestly and objectively discuss your program and work experiences. I also think that people have vested interests in promoting their own program for multiple reasons -- promoting their program to feel good about being there, enhancing recruitment and not risking getting in trouble with others at their programs -- defeating the value of these non-anonymous reviews. Personally I'll stick with scutwork.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2013
- Messages
- 164
- Reaction score
- 62
Absolutely I agree.
