2014-2015 Psychiatry Interview Reviews

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: Indiana University

1. Ease communication: emails

2. Accommodation and food: Conrad Hotel downtown was very nice. Residents came to lobby to escort to restaurant, which was amazing food. A shuttle was provided from hotel to interview. A lunch on interview day was also fun, residents were all very friendly and seemed to enjoy each other’s company quite a bit. All seemed to treat each other with respect, chiefs seemed to be kind to all the other residents and everyone seemed to get along well.

3. Interview day: The interviews were about 30mins, like most, had 6 of them, all causual and nothing out of the ordinary. The day was laid back and friendly. All the residents were nice and got along well, did not seemed forced, seemed genuine, chief seemed to be down to earth and very supportive of all residents, residents just came across as a normal smart bunch of people. Overall experience was positive

4. Program overview:

Intern year has 3 months of medicine and 1 month ER. Seems like a good experience for most interns, feels work to education balance is reasonable. The second year is divided up into 6 months with different rotations 1-2 days per week, geri, addictions, child, consults, cbt, QI project, ER. Seemed very well designed. The third year seemed like a good clinical eperience with 4 full days of pharm clinics, a therapy clinic, and an elective time. Strong outpatient clinical education from the resident’s perspective. The 4th year is electives. The Eskenazi is gorgeous facility. Program has multiple speciality tracks to focus your education.

5. Faculty: numerous and accomplished. Experts is mood disorders, psychosis, therapy etc. well rounded and experienced faculty. Emphasized that faculty there to help residents develop their individual identities as psychiatrists. PD seems completely committed to creating a rich educational experience and professional environment.

6. Location and lifestyle: Indianapolis is nice city with good cost of living. Call is mostly second year, which seems popular with residents.

7. Salary and benefits: avg salary. healthcare coverage included

8. Program strengths:
----Focus on education over service
----variety of clinical experiences
----strong teaching
----individualized education
----good work life balance
----excellent placement in fellowships, issues with people not matching in what they want

9. Weaknesses
----midwest location
----addictions

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[Leo Aquarius]

Anonymous Review: University of California Irvine (UCI)

1. Ease of Communication: email

2. Accommodation & Food: Hotel recommended across the street was convenient and discounted. Happy hour with appetizers on Thursday evening at restaurant across from hospital, night before my interview day. On interview day, had lunch with residents. There are 2 interview days, thurs or fri. I did my interview on the FRiday

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Morning interviews then tour in the afternoon. Overview with powerpoint given by chief resident. Interviews were mostly casual. Lunch. Chief resident gave impression that program was catty, kept going on and on with examples of how her class was better than the other classes, my applicant group started joke about how weird it was bc so uncomfortable. Overall experience on the interview day was not positive.

4. Program Overview: Intern year 4 months medicine. 2 of neuro. Interns complained of long hours, only have 8 residents in their class. Said their class did not fill 3 out of 9 spots last year, and someone fired. They do 6 weeks of NF. Hours on psychiatry rotations long, some months get to work at 6:30am. Residents complained of poor teaching. Chief talked about multiple attendings leaving, and new attendings hired are recent graduates so not much teaching. Lectures are 2 hours each week, and interns said they are not helpful. Second year with consult rotation, forensics, adolescent, geriatrics. The seconds years seemed disappointed with their experiences, program director difficult to work with, described as not being interested in feedback and having favorites. Third year: 5 half day clinics at VA, UCI and another site all outpatient, not much clinical stuff. Fourth year with county clinic and outpatient options, nothing unique. Commuting between sites seems fair but not great. There is an interim chair. Seems like program does not prepare for fellowships, when I asked about fellowships afterwards resident said that of 6 residents that applied to child only 3 matched and other 3 didn’t match anywhere.

Faculty: not many faculty, recent grads, quite a few have quit. PD has mixed reviews with some unprofessional relationships with residents, heard she acts like wants to improve program but does not want feedback from residents. She seems aloof, not interested in education. Interim chair. Residents describe learning as needing to all be done on own.

5. Location & Lifestyle: most live in Orange, walking distance to hospital, in new apartment complexes with pools. Call has 6 wks NF intern year and weekday call. 2nd year-weekends and weekday call, and 3rd year- weekday call. 4th year-no call. Interns talked about being too busy on call, I asked them how many new patients they typically see during shift and they see less than I see as a med student so seems like weak training. Can start moonlighting internally 2nd year, and externally 3rd year.

6. Salary & Benefits- uc salary, No housing stipend, educational/travel funds. Decent insurance. 4 weeks of vacation

7. Program Strengths:
---Location in southern California
---big class size
---internal moonlighting
---4 weeks of vacation per year

8. Potential Weaknesses:
---Resident run department with little teaching
---Few faculty, most recent grads, inexperienced
---PD not well liked, interns felt misled, catty, not academic
---interim chairman
---not able to match into child fellowship only 3 out of 6 applying matched
---unfilled last year, 3 open spots, residents getting fired or leaving is red flag
---limited clinical electives/rotations

See. I said to be careful of UCI for a reason. Nobody believed me. Caveat emptor.

 

[hoodwinkd]

Indiana

1. Communication: Easy peasy. PC is amazing and residents made a point of appreciating her.

2. Accommodation & Food: Conrad hotel + valet parking provided, nicest place I've ever stayed in. Nice dinner downtown a few blocks form the hotel with 4 residents, Breakfast was Einstein bagels with intro from PD, aPD, Chair. Lunch was catered Einstein with 5 residents. Drop off at airport after interview.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Limo pick up in the AM, day starts with intro and 5 interviews, all very relaxed with various faculty, chief resident, PD and aPD. Tours of all the sites and downtown Indy followed, the facilities are all very impressive. I was especially blown away by the community hospital.

4. Program Overview: There's a big focus on integrative neurosciences that leads to a rather interesting set up in housing psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, research and others in the same building. Seems like very solid exposures across the board, the learning experience is emphasized. Call is first two years, about 2x/wk, with no night float at all. Moonlighting is external and sites are 45min-2hrs away but can start in PGY2. The camaraderie between the residents is incredible.

5. Faculty: Chair is well known in TBI work and every faculty seemed like they were very genuinely interested in helping residents in their clinical pursuits and interests. PD is extremely personable.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Indianapolis seemed like a cute little place that's easily accessible with no traffic. Real estate very affordable, almost all residents own houses about 15-20min away and pay around 1k in mortgage. A couple do live in apts downtown minutes from work.

7. Salary & Benefits: 52k-57k, healthcare covered.

8. Program Strengths: Child (due to Riley's children's hospital) is very strong. No night float! Everyone is just so darn nice and genuine. IU is the only psych program in Indiana so you get the zebras and also great job opportunities if want to stay. Smaller class, more individualized focus and highly personalizable. Lots of great research opportunities available if interested.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Winter

 

[hoodwinkd]

Case Western UH
1. Communication: confusing because their coordinator was out. But ultimately things got worked out.

2. Accommodation & Food: No accommodations. Bar Cento for dinner with 4 residents one form each class and Mitchel's for ice cream (IMO trumps Jeni's). Breakfast was Chief resident doing intro over muffins, OJ and coffee. Lunch with the residents (about 7 showed up) was catered soup and salad.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Start day at 9 with resident ppt overview of program. 4x30min interviews with chiefs, PD, and other faculty. No unusual questions or weird shinanigans. It was quite relaxed and very low stress. Then lunch with a lot of time to ask questions freely and mingle with the residents that came. Then tour of the main hospital and Rainbow babies, which was quite nice.

4. Program Overview: They have all the psych fellowships available. There are extensive elective options, including spending 6 months in New Zealand at an associated site (but only 2 people per class can go per year). Didactics are moving towards a flipped classroom starting with this year's intern class with positive responses.

5. Faculty: Pretty amazing across the board according to the residents. They have Dr. Resnick and thus a very competitive forensics fellowship. There is a little big of work at the VA, and Case hospital as well as Rainbow Babies since the inpt child ward is there but mostly it is at the 20 offsite Richmond building (adult inpt psych) and that is from where you take call second year. First year has 6 weeks of night float. There is only backup call starting 3rd year.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Pleasantly surprised by Cleveland. It's no Boston or Chicago but it has a internationally known orchestra, lots of off broadway performances, and a fantastic art museum (free!). Most residents are within 20 minutes, the farthest one is 30 min away.

7. Salary & Benefits: $51k-57.

8. Program Strengths: Many fellowship option, faculty focused on teaching, admin very responsive. Lots of elective time.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Three psych programs located within minutes of each other. The lake effect.

 

[hoodwinkd]

Cleveland Clinic
1. Communication: Good, no issues scheduling.

2. Accommodation & Food: Suite provided at CCF's own Intercontinental Suites (not the Intercontinental Hotel, make sure you map the right address!), which was a nice but parking was not covered (24$ valet or park yourself in a nearby structure about 1 block away for 10$). Dinner at hotel restaurant with 5 residents, breakfast during intro with PD, aPDs, Chiefs and Chair, and lunch was at grand rounds.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Longest of the interview season starting at 715 and going until 445. Interview group was 10 applicants, mostly MDs with a few Dos and couple IMGs. The morning consisted of presentations during breakfast by PD and aPDs followed by tours of the freestanding psych hospital Lutheran on the other side of town. Then tour of main CCF campus, followed by meeting with Chair. Then was lunch/grand rounds and finally 7x15min interviews. Definitely exhausting.

4. Program Overview: Program is IMG/DO embracing. Big changes were that Medicine months are no longer at the main hospital, and as such much toned down. Really tried to dispel rumors that they just see Saudi royalty (although there is a floor that's off limits and dedicated to these folks) and that there's lots of diversity in pt population. Lot of growth in last 5 years in psych dept, and a lot of effort into revamping the psychotherapy curriculum with the collaboration with Cleveland Psychoanalytic center(emphasis on CBT/DBT/psychodynamics). All interns will start on psych next year x1mth. Most psych rotations at Lutheran, Child is at Fairview and loved by all. ECT certified after ECT rotation. DBS/TMS available. 2 days of elective time in 3rd yr. Night float 6-8wks in PGY1 Sun-Thurs. Overnight call ~wkly, covering consults, ED, I/P extremely busy. No call 3/4th year. Moonlight external and internal, 90-110$/hr.

5. Faculty: I really enjoyed a few of the faculty, esp the CAP director and addiction attending.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Cleveland seems to be on the uptrend. The main psych inpt hospital is located in the newer and hipper part of town a couple blocks from the beloved Westside Market. Residents are pretty spread out, some in the heart of downtown some in the various burbs.

7. Salary & Benefits: 50-55k. Healthcare covered.

8. Program Strength: CCF is a massive place not lacking in resources so there are many opportunities available here not necessarily available at all programs. Very strong in neuro subspecialties and as such, many options to work in specialized clinics. Fellowships seem to extremely favor own applicants. Research track available. Addiction, CL rotations strong.

9. Potential Weaknesses: May be too big/corporate, one rotation is 40min drive out (or hours in bad weather). A few residents seemed intense.

 

[hoodwinkd]

OSU
1. Communication: Excellent. PC is great.

2. Accommodation & Food: No hotels accommodations. Dinner at a nice local restaurant with 3 residents, breakfast of fruit/pastries during chief resident program intro and lunch was pizza/salad with almost all the residents.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Interview group of 6, mix of MD/DO. Starts at 8 with ppt with chief resident followed by 3 x30min interviews, PD/Chief/Faculty, all ridiculously relaxed. The faculty member I interviewed with was very young, high energy and we had a great conversation that makes me think faculty treats residents as colleagues more than anything else. Then lunch with residents, who seemed to really enjoy each others company. After lunch is the tour of Harding psych hospital where most rotations are located and underground tunnels to the main hospital. Day concluded around 2. This was among the most chill interviews of the entire season.

4. Program Overview: The residents seemed very happy. The program is very DO friendly. There's 6 wks of night float of 3-4 nights. Only psych call taken, even on none psych rotations. Off-psych months consist of 2mths IM consult which are quite light, 1 mth FM , 1 mth elective in FM/IM/Ped/EM which sound quite leisurely compared to psych months. Neuro is 1 mth consult, 1mth O/P. Residents emphasize the 1:1 teaching with attendings. Some elective time in 2nd year. Psych consult extremely busy. Telepsych exposure in I/P. Parking is 80$/mth and not always guaranteed spots but most residents don't use the 60$/mth food stipend which kind of cancels each other out. All rotations on site, so no long distance driving necessary. Medical students on most rotations. Internal moonlighting allowed starting 2nd yr, essentially getting paid to take call.

5. Faculty: Many graduates of their program, many are young and enthusiastic about teaching and improving education. PD adored by residents.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Columbus turned out to be nicer than expected and growing. Decent cost of living, pretty standard with the rest of the Midwest. Parking on campus is terrible for a town this size. Most residents were married/long term relationships.

7. Salary & Benefits: 49-54k, 20 days vacay not in blocks, Books provided every year, 150$ toward Apple product, 600$ towards step3 and 1500$ towards boards.

8. Program Strengths: The PD Dr. Niedermier is a big resident advocate and allows for flexibility for residents to explore their interests (those interested in child can do more peds, and chose peds neuro, opportunity for college mental health etc). Faculty very teaching oriented, and if bad experience reported by residents, rotation is pulled. Overall, I felt one can get good training with a relaxed lifestyle.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Not a big research presence. Does not seem to be a big emphasis on therapy. Not much interest in CAP the last few years (no PGY3/4 interested), not sure if because just happened to be a group that wasn't interested in child or reflective of a lackluster CAP experience. Changes to child unit this year, part of it will be at Nationwide, not sure yet how it will effect the child months. Call taken into 3rd year.

 

[zxg]

North Shore-Long Island Jewish (Zucker-Hillside Hospital)

1. Communication: No issues. Used ERAS for invites and to ask for confirmation prior to interview day.

2. Accommodation & Food: There is easy and free parking on site.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Starts at 7:45. Five half hour interviews before lunch, including with PD and chief resident. Standard low key interviews.

4. Program Overview: Program recently (last year) went from 18 to 12 residents. The curriculum is pretty standard but with some unique features: PGY1: 4months med LIJ, 2 months Neuro. One month of each is on the consult service to the psych hospital, and Peds can be substituted for Med (including a Peds eating d/o unit at the children’s hospital). Med is at LIJ (which is next to the psych hospital), neuro is at North Shore, which is 5 min drive away. 1 month C/L. 5 months inpt. There is also a week of full time didactics at the start and end of the year, as well as before you start inpt psych. Didactics throughout the year seem to be an hour or two most afternoons. PG2: 6 weeks Emergency Psych, 10 weeks CL, 26 wks inpt psych, 4 wks night float. 6 wks selective in women’s unit, geriatric, adolescent, partial hospital, affective d/o, MICA, or first break units. PGY3: Outpt. PGY4: 60% outpt, 40% elective. Fellowships in Addiction, Geri, CL and Child.

5. Faculty: Chair is relatively new and from UCSF. Very resident and education focused. In the process of creating specialization tracts that are intended to be longitudinal. Doesn’t seem to be off the ground yet though. When the program went from 18 to 12 residents per year, decreased the number of sites residents were responsible for covering, resulting in a decrease in call. Seems very interested in strong didactics.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Its on the border of Long Island and Queens. Subsidized housing within walking distance, and availability doesn’t seem to be an issue (the residents mentioned that if housing on the Zucker-Hillside campus fills you might get placed in housing next to North Shore, which is a 5-10 min drive away). NYC is 30-45 min away. Residents seem to live on campus, in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Moonlighting appears plentiful within the system with highest paying gigs getting snatched up first. Call seems light compared to NYC programs. No night float PGY1, just weekday short call and weekend day shifts. PGY2 has a month of night float and 3 weekend calls/month. Call for PGY3 seems to be in flux. The class size is decreasing, but the residents are no longer going to cover North Shore Hospital. The PD said the goal is to have no PGY3 call.

7. Salary & Benefits: 67k-72.5k.

8. Program Strengths: Clinical breadth. One of the biggest ECT programs in the area, a children’s hospital, separate child psych ED, eating d/o (at chilren’s hospital), women’s unit, inpt adolescent, first break unit, affective d/o unit, telepsych. Social work support seems good. The facilities are beautiful. Brand new inpt and outpt buildings on a separate psych campus next to the main hospital and children’s hospital. Seems like a really nice environment to work in, and one of my interviewers said that their use of interventions for agitation declined 50% in the new units. The patient population is diverse, and it seems you get to see lower SES from queens along with higher from LI. Zucker-Hillside (the psych hospital) is part of a large hospital group (North Shore-Long Island Jewish) which owns a lot of the hospitals on LI, Lenox Hill in Manhattan, and is in the process of buying Maimonides in Brooklyn. While all the academic psych is done at Zucker-Hillside (except some CL at North Shore) the other hospitals might provide moonlighting opportunities/jobs post graduation. Medical students on teaching units.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Location could be negative if you want to work in a big city. No VA or state. No affiliated psychoanalytic institute. Not a research powerhouse.

 

[enoughsaid12]

See. I said to be careful of UCI for a reason. Nobody believed me. Caveat emptor.

I interviewed at UCI, i do not agree with this interview review at all...I felt this residents were a close knit group. Yes they were sarcastic, but they all seemed very happy. The vibes I got from the program were all positive. As for the resident director leaving, I believe he left to head up the program at UCR, from what i understand it was purely a career move. As for lectures and having to learn on your own, last time I checked , we are adults and the initiative to learn and pursue education is kind of on you at this point. Also, fellowships in psychiatry are overrated. You can do anything in psych straight out of residency, why waste 1-2 more years being a glorified resident.

 

[notdeadyet]

As for lectures and having to learn on your own, last time I checked , we are adults and the initiative to learn and pursue education is kind of on you at this point.

But you will not have the skills or experience to learn as effectively independently as you will with decent teaching. This is why we have residency. Everyone has their own threshold for how much face-to-face teaching they would like (disclosure: I'm on the lesser end of the spectrum), but getting a bad feel for how residencies approach didactics would be a pretty big warning flag to me. It may be indicative of the programs approach to education and a program that doesn't value education very highly is less likely to have learning-oriented mentoring and service responsibilities.

Also, fellowships in psychiatry are overrated. You can do anything in psych straight out of residency, why waste 1-2 more years being a glorified resident.

You could make exceptions to the above, Child and Forensics being two obvious examples. Also, the value of a program having fellowships isn't some kind of fast track into those specific fellowships, it is having faculty with that experience as your teachers and mentors for four years. You will get better Geri training at a place that has a Geripsychiatry fellowship, for instance, because you will have geriatric specialists on staff. Same with forensics. Programs with fellowships will have specialists working in clinics and on units so that this added level of training permeates your training experience, even in specialties you have no interest in pursuing. It just makes you a better psychiatrist.

Leo seems pretty familiar with the goings on at UCI (and has been concerned about this program for more than a while). I have had zero exposure to UCI, it's graduates, or faculty. I haven't seen them giving lectures at APA or other conferences (at least not in the stuff that interests me). I most definite,y can't say that about UCLA-NPI, UCLA-Harbor, UCSD, USC, CPMC, San Mateo, or UCSF or other CA programs.

 

[Leo Aquarius]

For Child hopefuls out there, lots of applicants are nervous about which program to rank first. If you're looking to land a Child fellowship in California, you can do that from many of the Cali residencies. Here's an example. UCSD has a great Child fellowship. This year they took residents from strong places like UCLA-Harbor, Longwood, and USC, among other programs. So if you happen to land a spot at USC, for example, you can still gain great training and get to a pretty darn great fellowship despite internal political issues or what-have-you.

 

[Shikima]

http://www.gomerblog.com/2014/01/ma...ed-school-personal-statement-legally-binding/

 

[microshar88]

this is a complete side note. but seeing as though a lot of my interviews happened in december and november, I am getting panicked as all I did was sent a thank you letter to the sweet PD's and PC's who did their best to accommodate me for the interview. however, since then I haven't heard any letters or phone calls as some people have indicated ( my friends doing FM told me programs told them they would be on list)--i'm just worried people might forget that i exist because they have interviewed so many people since me. am i just being paranoid? or should i send them another thank you letter? i just don't wanna cross the line of being too annoying

 

[Ironspy]

this is a complete side note. but seeing as though a lot of my interviews happened in december and november, I am getting panicked as all I did was sent a thank you letter to the sweet PD's and PC's who did their best to accommodate me for the interview. however, since then I haven't heard any letters or phone calls as some people have indicated ( my friends doing FM told me programs told them they would be on list)--i'm just worried people might forget that i exist because they have interviewed so many people since me. am i just being paranoid? or should i send them another thank you letter? i just don't wanna cross the line of being too annoying

MS4 here. FWIW, of my top 4 programs, 1 interview was in November, 2 in December and 1 in January and I haven't reached out to any of them. I figure they have a system of scoring/ranking that takes timing of interviews into account. 2/4 programs made clear that they don't initiate post-interview contact but will respond to questions etc. Since I don't have additional questions, I've been quiet on my end. I figure radio silence won't hurt me but being annoying could knock me down on the rank list.

 

[notdeadyet]

this is a complete side note. but seeing as though a lot of my interviews happened in december and november, I am getting panicked as all I did was sent a thank you letter to the sweet PD's and PC's who did their best to accommodate me for the interview.

That gives the impression of your being courteous.

however, since then I haven't heard any letters or phone calls as some people have indicated ( my friends doing FM told me programs told them they would be on list)--i'm just worried people might forget that i exist because they have interviewed so many people since me. am i just being paranoid? or should i send them another thank you letter?

You are being paranoid, which is pretty common the time of year.

Communication beyond the "thanks for interviewing me" is not the norm. Applicants may send additional communication, but it's not necessary and won't do anything. Programs may send recruitment pitches to top people, but they mostly do not.

Programs will remember you. Different places do it differently, but many programs are constantly ranking each person they interview and many folks names come up again and again as point of comparison for the rank list. At the end of the process, the teams go through each name to see if they should be ranked higher or lower. Some groups use LCD projectors and show your face while giving a blurb about you to trigger memories, other use paper files.

But as important as where you are on an individual programs rank list is to you, it's equally important to the program. If a candidate is not familiar by the end, folks will blow the dust off the cobwebs to remember you. Everyone wants to make sure they get the right people. You don't need to send additional letters (and I fact few if any people on the selection committee will likely know you sent one). You won't be forgotten.

 

[microshar88]

Thanks. no one even replied to my thank you letters at some programs. i'm just gonna seal my rank list and keep fingers crossed

 

[NickNaylor]

I didn't even send a thank you letter to all of the programs. I think you're fine, @microshar88.

 

[myPsychAlt]

I got two thank you notes this year. one from the best candidate I interviewed, one from the worst. Ain't going to make a difference.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Bumping so you can all remember to post your honest reviews after all the rank lists are certified.

 

[notdeadyet]

I was just thinking this....

 

[hoodwinkd]

Iowa

1. Communication: No problemo. Coordinator is a darling.

2. Accommodation & Food: Program houses interviewees at Hilton, and hosts a nice 3 course dinner at a trendy little place downtown with 4 -5 residents. Breakfast with Chief during program intro (would have met Chair but he was away), and lunch at the hospital café with 5 other residents.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Very relaxed and organized, interview with 2 members of faculty (depending on what you indicated your interests to be), PD and aPD. aPD even told me to email her/PD the top few places on my rank list even if Iowa isn't on it so that she can help advise, and this was back in November. PD threw me off because his demeanor seemed cold compared to the uber friendliness of all the other staff but we were warned he might come across like that by the residents.

4. Program Overview: One of the few programs with a well run, busy inpatient eating disorders unit. Instead of 2mths regular internal medicine, those months are spent on the med-psych unit, which the residents appreciated. Exposure to college mental health, and VA psych. Research opportunities abound but not required. Lots of great moonlighting jobs locally. Residents are cohesive. 1-2 months of night float in PGY2.

5. Faculty: All extremely friendly, they seemed particularly interested in helping me find opportunities to get certain specific experiences I was interested in. Residents all spoke very highly of faculty.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Iowa City is not an expansive place to live. Many residents own homes. It gets bittery cold in the winter. It's a college town with all the pros and cons of that.

7. Salary & Benefits: 52-58K

8. Program Strengths: Child, eating disorders, everybody's overwhelming niceness, Big 10! sports.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Call is taken into 3rd year (about 2x/mth if I remember correctly). A more homogenous population than what I'm used to. Programs feels like it leans more biological, one resident even straight up said she wants nothing to do with psychotherapy.

 

[Yoyomama88]

North Shore LIJ

Communication: standard.

Accommodation & Food: I don't know, I interviewed on an off interview day. They were nice and accommodated a day for me.

Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Had only 2 interviews (normally they do 5 interviews). Dr. Young is a smart dude, although more on the serious side. Come prepared with questions. They take you on a tour of Z-Hillside and the main hospital next door.

Location & Lifestyle: Kind of a lame suburban area relatively close to NYC. Lifestyle is good here, no call 3rd and 4th year.

Salary & Benefits: One of the highest salaries in the country. PGY1 starts off at a whopping 67k! You're making high 70s as a PGY4.

Program Strengths: Salary, Call Schedule, Program Director (dude has an impressive resume), New facilities, ECT ( they have a very high volume service)

Potential Weaknesses: Crappy Location (but at least you're not far from NYC).

 

[Yoyomama88]

Brown

1. Communication: Good communication and scheduling.

2. Accommodation & Food: No accommodations. Food was pretty good the day of the interview. Nice breakfast (egg wraps) and they had indian food for lunch.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Must have been 5 interviews (aPD,PD,resident, two faculty). All very conversational. I would say associate PD was the most formal during the interview process- she asks poignant and probing questions ( be ready to address any weakness).

4. Program Overview: Nice breadth of training sites. Tons of research opportunities with the possibility of getting an R25 training grant. They sell this as a big draw to coming there because apparently not many institutions in the country offer this. Call schedule seemed pretty standard (not super hard, but not too relaxed either). I do believe that this is a resident independent program that really values education. Also if you like neurology, the neuro department is housed at Butler hospital, which makes things convenient for 4th year electives.

5. Faculty:

6. Location & Lifestyle: Providence is a cute city, but definitely not a big city if that's your thing. Weather is colder than NYC but not as bad as Boston. Lifestyle here is decent.

7. Salary & Benefits: 55k starting?

8. Program Strengths: Research. Resident independent program. Butler hospital's facilities and grounds are salutary.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Providence is not for everyone.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Going to try to get a start on these

OHSU

1. Communication: Gave multiple dates to choose from, had no issues. Believe I chose my first three choices, they gave me my first.

2. Accommodation & Food: No hotel accomodations, there is a fairly cheap B&B on the hill which is a 5 minute walk to the interview, though. As far as food, they did it a little different than most programs. Appetizers were offered AFTER the interview day, this led to a lower turnout for applicants and made a few of the applicants that couldn't stay feel nervous that it would reflect their interest in the program. Logistically I didn't really understand doing this afterwards. Additionally only 2 residents were able to make the after interview appetizers which seemed like a yellow flag, especially for a program that is known for working it's residents a bit harder than most.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): There is a lot of running from the VA and Sam Jackson Hall for your interviews, they gave you a map and 10 minutes between interviews. This was unusual as normally during my interviews there would be someone trafficking us to and from interviews, if I hadn't done a sub-i here earlier in the year I surely would have gotten lost. 4 interviews, I had 2 faculty, the PD, 1 Chief resident. Mostly normal, why OHSU, what are your interests, etc. When not interviewing there is a nice little break room with coffee and computers they offer to let you use, they know you may have other logistic things during interview to attend to. I found this refreshing for a residency to actually acknowledge.

4. Program Overview: You work hard, it's not a secret, especially if you read these boards. Many of the residents stated that after there inpatient months they look back on them fondly and that it wasn't as bad as they once thought. I'm not overly sure they don't suffer Stockholm Syndrome. Intern year is a 3/3/3/3 split

5. Faculty: Many things have expressed negative opinions about Dr. Kinzie (the PD), I don't get the comments. I think he's one of the biggest allures of the residency for me. The other faculty I interviewed with on the interview day were very enthusiastic and welcoming. The faculty who was my mentor during my sub-i, I didn't really mesh with but I think that it's not anyone's fault as much as personalities not mixing.

6. Location & Lifestyle: I LOVE Portland. It is city life with the beauty of nature and hiking 5 minutes away. The city buses are clean, easy to use (there's an app that let's you know where the buses are coming), and I found the people friendly for the size of city it is. Microbreweries are huge here, so are hipsters, the culture is slightly weird but in a fun sort of way. I can see how people from larger cities may find the city a bit boring (buses stop running before midnight) but for others this is about as least intimidating as a big city gets. Cost of Living however sucks, it's not as bad as SF or Seattle but it is to the point where it would be near impossible to own a house without significant income from a Spouse.

7. Salary & Benefits: 52-60k

8. Program Strengths: Making community psychiatrists. Plenty of underserved population in the Portland area. Autonomy. Intercultural Psych rotation is extremely unique. There is a Psychiatry Primary Care rotation where you work both as both the clinician and Psychiatrist for the underserved. They are trying a new "track" system to better help residents explore their interests. By 4th year the evil call schedule has mostly been lifted. Fellowship in nearly every discipline.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Hours are rough on inpatient psych 3 months intern year, 6 weeks 2nd year. Dr. Kinzie did say they are in the process of reworking some things to make some of this feel more doable, doubt this'll be in place by next year though. Unnecessarily heavy call schedule. Forensics and Geriatrics are an hour drive away, the state hospital in Portland was recently closed, so off to Salem. Unless you're in the research track I don't believe there is really and protected research time, or even there is much of a chance to explore research. The rotation schedule appears to be a little ridged. 20 bed inpatient unit leaves a lot to be desired.

Final Thoughts: For me, where this program ended up on my list has as much to do with Portland as the program itself. While I think the program is a solid one, I don't believe it's one that would be anywhere near topping someone's list who didn't like Portland itself.

 

[splik]

There's a forensic fellowship yet the forensic rotation is an hour drive away, I find this odd.

this is pretty standard actually - state hospitals and prisons are in the middle of nowhere so with the possible exception of NYC and SF you are going to be doing some decent driving for forensics if you are living in an urban area unless you're doing a jail rotation.

 

[Mass Effect]

In regards to the post about Brown, there really isn't a big difference in weather between Boston and Providence.Both are southern New England coastal cities with a lot of snow and cold weather. If you hate the snow, Providence won't be any more pleasant for you than Boston.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

this is pretty standard actually - state hospitals and prisons are in the middle of nowhere so with the possible exception of NYC and SF you are going to be doing some decent driving for forensics if you are living in an urban area unless you're doing a jail rotation.

Thanks for the info. I knew it was fairly standard for psych residencies in general, didn't think that would be the case for ones with a fellowship. I'll edit that one sentence.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

These are long, if I have typos, sorry I'm not proofreading these.

University of Utah

1. Communication: Multiple days offered. If invite is early enough they have interview weekends (I believe they offer 3 or 4 of these) in November.

2. Accommodation & Food: If you're there for interview weekend they take care of your hotel for one of the two night stays. The hotel is about a 5 minute walk to the NeuroPsych institute and they take care of all the reservations for you. Saturday night there was dinner at a resident's house where many residents and a faculty attended, there was catered dinner and drinks. Sunday we went go-cart racing, pizza and soda were provided. Sunday night was the traditional pre-interview dinner with the residents at a local pub, food was great. Breakfast pastries and coffee on interview day, catered soup and sandwiches for lunch interview day.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): 6 interviews, PD, one faculty, 4 residents. Questions mostly asking about yourself and your interests, mostly normally topics of conversation flowed after that. One resident seemed to be checking off questions from a mental checklist. One faculty really probed about research, which is odd because it was mentioned multiple times that is one of the residencies weaknesses.

4. Program Overview: The program really excels in general. The Neuropsych building is beautiful. Intern year is a 6/6 split. The PD is very flexible in helping the residents pursue their interests. I showed an interest in Integrated care and she said all she needs to get the ball rolling is a resident interested in it. At the interview dinner one of the residents had multiple instances where Dr. Bartel had tweaked the residencies curriculum from feedback from the residents. The program has a lot to offer, what they don't they'll help you find. Child Fellowship is the only current fellowship offered. If you have no interest in child you can do an 1 extra month of peds in first year for exchange of 2 months of child psych in 2nd.

5. Faculty: On the interview trail, I had heard from a couple interviewers how Dr. Bartel was cold. I didn't really get this. The faculty I did interact with seemed fairly positive and happy. To be fair there wasn't a ton of faculty/interviewer interaction for me.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Salt Lake is outdoor play area. If you like hiking/running/skiing/biking you'll have no problem. If you had a visceral reaction to the aforementioned words, you should probably look elsewhere. There are little pockets of many different cultures throughout the city, it isn't just Mormon country any longer. Mass transit sucks but you're going to need a car here regardless. Cost of living is much lower than most of your larger cities that aren't smack dab in the midwest. One of the sunnier cities in the U.S. It is a much more progressive city than it gets credit for.

7. Program Strengths: I think this is a great program for a Psychiatrist that has very generalized interests or one that is aiming for Adult/Child Psych. The program does a ton of stuff really well without pigeon holing you into, "we are known for ____, you probably shouldn't come here if you don't want ___ as you will have 18 rotations of ___". Resident cohesion, while I know it is said not to read too much into this, it's hard not to, I doubt these people are putting on a show for 72 hours 4 weeks in a row.

9. Potential Weaknesses: Research, it was states by a couple faculty even. There is talk of trying to change this for those that want it though. Additionally there is research to be had and like any other interest is encouraged if the resident so desires. If you know you're going to want any fellowship but Child. While you can tailor the program to your interests if you already know you're headed for a Psychosomatic fellowship, you might be better off finding a program better known for such.

Final Thoughts: For someone already settled down with a family and wanting a diverse education there is no better place for me. The affordable cost of living, the strong program, the friendliness of the mountain west with it's outdoor activities; these will all attract a certain kind of person. Again, if you love your "concrete jungle" I'm not sure 4 years here would make you happy.

 

[Dharma]

So maybe with the Match results on their way, we'll see more reviews coming this weekend? Step up 2015!!!

 

[doc4us]

Bump

 

[notdeadyet]

So maybe with the Match results on their way, we'll see more reviews coming this weekend? Step up 2015!!!

These will have the inherent bias from folks either not matching or matching into the programs they review. There is a reason folks stress posting their reviews either after interviewing or (for the paranoid) after ROLs are submitted. At this point, the reviews become less objective.

 

[Dharma]

These will have the inherent bias from folks either not matching or matching into the programs they review. There is a reason folks stress posting their reviews either after interviewing or (for the paranoid) after ROLs are submitted. At this point, the reviews become less objective.

I'll still take it!

 

[wannabie]

I have a bunch in the anonymous section so...uh...here goes.

University of Louisville
1. Ease Of Communication: atrocious; the coordinator was slow to confirm my interview date; didn't reply to the two emails I sent with short questions. Part of the reason for this is that Louisville crams all their interviews into a short two month period. I got my interview schedule and "see you soon!" email the night before at 11pm...which is a little bizarre. A couple of my colleagues received theirs the morning of.
2. Accommodation & Food: Louisville discount offered but it's minimal. Dinner night before or night of depends on when you scheduled. They provide appetizers, but you gotta buy your own booze. Lunch from a local place--you get to choose anything off the menu. Pretty nice
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Starts at 8am, had three interviews and a tour, no unusual questions, nothing out of the ordinary. I had one bizarre experience: I was waiting in the psych ER to interview with a faculty member. I listened in on one of the faculty members, Dr. El-Malik teaching a resident. I thought he was brilliant. When he saw I was listening, he invited me to participate. That was the highlight of my interview trail actually. Coolest experience ever!
4. Program Overview: slight biological emphasis, but apparently has great psychotherapy training as well; great in most aspects; has new and beautiful buildings; has all fellowships except forensic; new chair coming soon--which someone told me when I asked about changes on the horizon;
5. Faculty Achievements & Involvement: from my brief interactions, they were FANTASTIC; they had one weird guy who tries speaking foreign languages poorly to people, but he's just regarded as that eccentric old guy
6. Location & Lifestyle: Louisville's a lot nicer than people think; I think Bardstown > Williamsburg, but that's just me. It's cheap to live there; they have a culinary institute and have a lot of decent restaurants; I LOOKED THIS UP: IT HAS THE HIGHEST RESTAURANTS + COFFEESHOPS + BARS PER CAPITA IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; so there. Also, lots of parks; also, bourbon. LOTS OF BOURBON. And great microbreweries.
7. Salary & Benefits: 53k? You can look it up
8. Program Strengths: the breadth of experiences? TMS, one month of psych ER where you're basically on your own (love and hate kind of thing)
9. Potential Weaknesses: I uh, didn't see any, but then, what do I know?

 

[wannabie]

Bergen Regional, NJ
1. Ease Of Communication: terrible, the coordinator is unresponsive and could care less; he made the candidates wait in the lobby for an hour and a half for no reason
2. Accommodation & Food: none. BUT OH HEY: we had a pharm rep come. You guys are welcome to the leftovers
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): They asked some knowledge based questions, but nothing difficult. I really liked the program director. He seemed to care a lot.
4. Program Overview: "At Bergen, the residents run the hospital." It's an IMG sweat shop. You work 70-80 hours a week and get paid like a king (of residents) for it: 78k$ first year (base salary plus "living expenses" + "food expenses". It's pretty much all biologically based. You're working with the sickest of the sick and get exposed to EVERYTHING. There's no coddling here. Probably a better experience than I think, but it's a 'grind you down' kind of place. One resident
5. Faculty Achievements & Involvement: "If you really have to talk to the faculty, sometimes you can"
6. Location & Lifestyle: It's in Bergen County, NJ, which is stupidly expensive. But it's close to NYC.
7. Salary & Benefits: 78k$
8. Program Strengths: independence, exposure
9. Potential Weaknesses: lots and lots of call; you're totally on your own and it's a sweatshop. Nobody will help you. I got to see only two residents whilst I was there. The dude who gave the tour was either really really really caffeinated or......or. And the PGY1 working in the ER seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. She was in tears and needed a hug (which she got from the dude giving a tour); the facility is terrible; and understaffed; it's not uncommon for a patient to attack a staff member because there aren't enough safety precautions and orderlies.

 

[wannabie]

University of Tennessee:
1. Ease Of Communication: Super awesome; my favorite coordinator (out of ten)
2. Accommodation & Food: paid for hotel and transportation; the coordinate picked me up from the hotel, drove me to the hospital, AND THEN DROVE ME TO THE AIRPORT; that's above and beyond everything I expected; lunch with residents
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): super relaxed interview day; 2 interviews with faculty; 1 with PD; 1 with chief resident
4. Program Overview: ahh, I don't really remember. I read the brochure, but they didn't talk too much about it
5. Faculty Achievements & Involvement: I loved the two faculty members I met: Dr. Jaramillo and Dr. Hill; they'd be great mentors for me and LOVED teaching; wish I saw more of that from other programs
6. Location & Lifestyle: It's Memphis. I went out and in one night saw pretty much everything; the safe parts of the city weren't great...the hipster parts seemed decent; but this program's achilles heel is that it's in Memphis
7. Salary & Benefits: 50k; NO TAXES
8. Program Strengths: they seemed to have a breadth of experiences; i really don't remember the details
9. Potential Weaknesses: don't remember the details

 

[wannabie]

Howard University:

1. Ease Of Communication: pretty good; fast
2. Accommodation & Food: none; continental breakfast + pizza lunch
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): One interview with a faculty; one with PD; one with chief; one with chair; weird questions asked: "do you consider yourself to be a lone wolf? (not at all)" "you have a wonderful way of speaking; do you attend Toastmasters? (nope)" "don't say that for your weakness; can you help me bull**** something better because I really want you to come here" "do you ever find yourself being too smart for your own good?"
4. Program Overview: Historic program that's biologically focused; the program is bleeding money apparently; the hospital is pretty run down
5. Faculty Achievements & Involvement: the chair is a big deal apparently
6. Location & Lifestyle: DC is expensive; living here will put you in a pinch; most residents live in silver spring or alexandria..but they're also super expensive; DC's pretty nice though
7. Salary & Benefits: 46k?
8. Program Strengths: I don't ...remember
9. Potential Weaknesses: Meh.

 

[skunky386]

Here's my brief synopsis of some of the programs I interviewed at. I have a growing family so work-life balance is important to me. Hopefully this information is useful to future applicants.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

For inpatient years, work 8-5 for 12 days, then get 2 full off. Inpatient months have long call until 9pm every other day, plus there is some overnight pager call. Residents typically log ~55-60hrs/week. C/L rotation is busy, though getting better. Excellent moonlighting opportunities as Las Vegas is hurting for psychiatric care. 3rd year is all outpatient. Only have inpatient 4th year electives. Have lost 1 resident in recent years due to failure to pass step 3. Small research project required.


Loma Linda University, Redlands, CA

Inpatient and C/L months you generally work 7:30-5pm M-F, plus 2 entire weekends/month for 1st year. Typically log ~55hrs/week. Per residents: "call gets really busy" and "you work hard here but it's manageable." 2nd year does 1 entire weekend/month, and 3rd year 1 weekend day/month. As before, the service is heavy and call is busy, residents appeared somewhat worn out, though happy. Carry around 10pt’s at a time. Broad base of psychotherapy training: IPT, supportive, spiritual, family therapy, with lots of child & adolescent exposure. Get medical students from both Loma Linda and Western University. Is close to Kaiser Permanente-Fontana, those psychiatry residents may rotate here as well. No research projects are required. Very kind faculty and residents. Have not lost any residents in recent years. The medical school is sending something like 25 students into psychiatry, though from what I’ve heard, only a few actually want to stay in this program for residency. Lots of 4th year electives, including an international elective.


UCLA San Fernando Valley:

M-F 8-5. Per a resident, “Call is tough” 1st year on call 3-4 days/month. 2nd year does call 2-3 days/month. 3rd & 4th year does call 2 days/month. Typically log ~50-55hrs/week. Time is split between sites. Carry around 4 patients in AM, drive to afternoon site. Generally drive around 1.5hrs every day (30 to work in AM, 30 at noon, 30 to go home). Due to time split residents aren’t really required to run the place, there is a focus on education, not scut-work. ¼-1/2 time is spent at the main UCLA hospital. Large class size (10 residents/class). Lots of VA patients. Outpatient is all at VA. Have lost 2 residents in the last several years. 20 days vacation, 12 sick days.


UCSF-Fresno

Tied for 2nd best work-life balance. Work M-F 8-4pm. Residents typically log ~45hrs/week. Per the residency director: “2nd best call schedule in California.” 1st and 2nd year are on call 1 full weekend/month + q8 VA pager call. 4 residents/class. Residents not required for hospital to run, so lots of teaching. 15 vacation days. 12 sick days. Small research project is required. Lost 1 resident in recent memory.


UCLA-KERN, Bakersfield, CA:

Tied for 2nd best work-life balance. Work M-F 8-3:30pm. Typically log ~45hrs/week. As one resident said, “If I’m out at 4 it’s a bad day”. Generally carry around 6 patients a day. Per a resident: “Very chill call.” 1st year on call 3-4x/month. 2nd year 2-3x/month. 3rd year 1-2x/month. 4th year none. Moonlighting during 2nd year on can count for call requirements and you have the benefit of getting paid. No research project is required. Some rotations 3rd & 4th year at main UCLA campus in Westwood. Great mood-disorder specialist and a child and adolescent fellowship. Run-down hospital, not good food in the cafeteria. No residents have been kicked out or dropped in recent memory. 17 days vacation, 8 sick days.


UC Davis, Sacramento, CA

Residents typically log ~55hrs/week. Moderately intense call schedule, see the website. Nice facilities, lots of focus on psychodynamic psychotherapy, tend to give diagnoses of personality disorders more so than other place. Large academic center feel and personality. Tied with yale for the best forensic fellowship in the country.


Samaritan Health, Corvallis, OR

Best work-life balance out of those I interviewed at. M-F 8-4. Residents typically log ~40-45 hours per week. Call is q12ish. On inpatient psych months carry ~5-6pts at a time. Very knowledgeable clinical faculty and good child exposure. Faculty and residents were noticeably happier and more close-knit than the other programs I interviewed at...apparently residents have a large say in the rank order list. Relatively low salary ~45k/year.


Kaweah Delta, Visalia, CA

Work M-F 6:30am-7pm, no weekends. Cover ER, C/L, and inpatient all simultaneously. Carry 10-12 patients at a time. Residents typically log ~60-65hrs/week. 1 month research rotation required. New residency program with a small number of attendings to work with, some are set in their ways of treatment. No UpToDate subscription. Nice gym on site. Difficult to gauge workload given they only have one class so far. 4 residents per year.


Kaiser Permanente, Fontana, CA

Work with UC Riverside, Loma Linda, and Western University medical students. During medicine months stay until 10pm 2x/week. On psychiatry months stay until 10pm 2-3x/month, + 1 full weekend/month, + pager call (uncertain how much as residents haven’t gotten to psych yet). Difficult to gauge workload given 1st year class hasn’t reached psych months yet. Nice Kaiser facilities, though all inpatient psych is at a dilapidated site around 25 minutes away that uses only paper records. Most live in Rancho Cucamonga. 6 residents/class. Residents aren’t needed, which cuts down on scut-work. Likely will have a child & adolescent fellowship in 3 or 4 years.


University of Arizona, Main Campus, Tucson

Work 6 days per week, log ~55hrs/week.

 

[notdeadyet]

Tied with yale for the best forensic fellowship in the country.

Davis is one of the best, as is Yale and Case Western. But there is no tying because there is no ranking. Leave that for the crooks at USN&WR.

 

[Leo Aquarius]

"Tied for this" and "Tied for that" is not very meaningful and not very accurate. You also overlook other great California programs so the comparisons are limited.

Yes, Davis offers an outstanding forensic fellowship that imbues its residency program in didactics and leadership.

Your factual details on the California programs are valuable and seem to be close to accurate so thank you for sharing those.

 

[Nasrudin]

Also the thing I really dig about the forensic training set up at UCD is you have an awesome rotation right in town. To get that experience at most programs you'd be commuting a long way to get to some state facility or something. Forensic units are sparse from what I'm hearing.

 

[Freddie Mercury]

Here's my brief synopsis of some of the programs I interviewed at. I have a growing family so work-life balance is important to me. Hopefully this information is useful to future applicants.

Very helpful, thank you so much! If anyone has similar info for the So Cal programs not explained in the post (UCLA-Harbor, UCI etc) please add your input as well.

 

[DuskPhilosophy]

Here's my brief synopsis of some of the programs I interviewed at. I have a growing family so work-life balance is important to me. Hopefully this information is useful to future applicants.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

For inpatient years, work 8-5 for 12 days, then get 2 full off. Inpatient months have long call until 9pm every other day, plus there is some overnight pager call. Residents typically log ~55-60hrs/week. C/L rotation is busy, though getting better. Excellent moonlighting opportunities as Las Vegas is hurting for psychiatric care. 3rd year is all outpatient. Only have inpatient 4th year electives. Have lost 1 resident in recent years due to failure to pass step 3. Small research project required.


Loma Linda University, Redlands, CA

Inpatient and C/L months you generally work 7:30-5pm M-F, plus 2 entire weekends/month for 1st year. Typically log ~55hrs/week. Per residents: "call gets really busy" and "you work hard here but it's manageable." 2nd year does 1 entire weekend/month, and 3rd year 1 weekend day/month. As before, the service is heavy and call is busy, residents appeared somewhat worn out, though happy. Carry around 10pt’s at a time. Broad base of psychotherapy training: IPT, supportive, spiritual, family therapy, with lots of child & adolescent exposure. Get medical students from both Loma Linda and Western University. Is close to Kaiser Permanente-Fontana, those psychiatry residents may rotate here as well. No research projects are required. Very kind faculty and residents. Have not lost any residents in recent years. The medical school is sending something like 25 students into psychiatry, though from what I’ve heard, only a few actually want to stay in this program for residency. Lots of 4th year electives, including an international elective.


UCLA San Fernando Valley:

M-F 8-5. Per a resident, “Call is tough” 1st year on call 3-4 days/month. 2nd year does call 2-3 days/month. 3rd & 4th year does call 2 days/month. Typically log ~50-55hrs/week. Time is split between sites. Carry around 4 patients in AM, drive to afternoon site. Generally drive around 1.5hrs every day (30 to work in AM, 30 at noon, 30 to go home). Due to time split residents aren’t really required to run the place, there is a focus on education, not scut-work. ¼-1/2 time is spent at the main UCLA hospital. Large class size (10 residents/class). Lots of VA patients. Outpatient is all at VA. Have lost 2 residents in the last several years. 20 days vacation, 12 sick days.


UCSF-Fresno

Tied for 2nd best work-life balance. Work M-F 8-4pm. Residents typically log ~45hrs/week. Per the residency director: “2nd best call schedule in California.” 1st and 2nd year are on call 1 full weekend/month + q8 VA pager call. 4 residents/class. Residents not required for hospital to run, so lots of teaching. 15 vacation days. 12 sick days. Small research project is required. Lost 1 resident in recent memory.


UCLA-KERN, Bakersfield, CA:

Tied for 2nd best work-life balance. Work M-F 8-3:30pm. Typically log ~45hrs/week. As one resident said, “If I’m out at 4 it’s a bad day”. Generally carry around 6 patients a day. Per a resident: “Very chill call.” 1st year on call 3-4x/month. 2nd year 2-3x/month. 3rd year 1-2x/month. 4th year none. Moonlighting during 2nd year on can count for call requirements and you have the benefit of getting paid. No research project is required. Some rotations 3rd & 4th year at main UCLA campus in Westwood. Great mood-disorder specialist and a child and adolescent fellowship. Run-down hospital, not good food in the cafeteria. No residents have been kicked out or dropped in recent memory. 17 days vacation, 8 sick days.


UC Davis, Sacramento, CA

Residents typically log ~55hrs/week. Moderately intense call schedule, see the website. Nice facilities, lots of focus on psychodynamic psychotherapy, tend to give diagnoses of personality disorders more so than other place. Large academic center feel and personality. Tied with yale for the best forensic fellowship in the country.


Samaritan Health, Corvallis, OR

Best work-life balance out of those I interviewed at. M-F 8-4. Residents typically log ~40-45 hours per week. Call is q12ish. On inpatient psych months carry ~5-6pts at a time. Very knowledgeable clinical faculty and good child exposure. Faculty and residents were noticeably happier and more close-knit than the other programs I interviewed at...apparently residents have a large say in the rank order list. Relatively low salary ~45k/year.


Kaweah Delta, Visalia, CA

Work M-F 6:30am-7pm, no weekends. Cover ER, C/L, and inpatient all simultaneously. Carry 10-12 patients at a time. Residents typically log ~60-65hrs/week. 1 month research rotation required. New residency program with a small number of attendings to work with, some are set in their ways of treatment. No UpToDate subscription. Nice gym on site. Difficult to gauge workload given they only have one class so far. 4 residents per year.


Kaiser Permanente, Fontana, CA

Work with UC Riverside, Loma Linda, and Western University medical students. During medicine months stay until 10pm 2x/week. On psychiatry months stay until 10pm 2-3x/month, + 1 full weekend/month, + pager call (uncertain how much as residents haven’t gotten to psych yet). Difficult to gauge workload given 1st year class hasn’t reached psych months yet. Nice Kaiser facilities, though all inpatient psych is at a dilapidated site around 25 minutes away that uses only paper records. Most live in Rancho Cucamonga. 6 residents/class. Residents aren’t needed, which cuts down on scut-work. Likely will have a child & adolescent fellowship in 3 or 4 years.


University of Arizona, Main Campus, Tucson

Work 6 days per week, log ~55hrs/week.

nice!

 

[JohnBender]

Very helpful, thank you so much! If anyone has similar info for the So Cal programs not explained in the post (UCLA-Harbor, UCI etc) please add your input as well.

I interviewed at UCLA-Harbor and thought it was a terrific program. I lost my book with all of my interview notes so can't go into much detail or provide a formal review, but can share the thoughts which have stuck with me since my interview a few months ago. Apologies in advance for any inaccuracies.

Harbor offers exceptionally strong county training, i.e. large load of diverse patients, many of whom of the very sick, chronically ill variety. I jotted down this quote from the website, written by Harbor's Department Chair: "...do your utmost for your patients, because you are their best and often only chance." This really struck me at the time, and their strong dedication to the underserved is evident and truly admirable. Residents get a ton of outpatient exposure beginning early on in residency (I think PGY2?), allowing for excellent continuity of care and long term psychotherapy experience. Residents seemed to have a lot of autonomy and, from what I gather, are known to have some of the strongest clinical training around. I got the impression you hit the ground running and learn a lot by getting a ton of direct, early experience. Very busy dedicated psych emergency department. I didn't meet many residents, but those who I did meet seemed happy and down to earth. The faculty were all great, very relatable and friendly. They seemed to have strong didactics. Don't recall much about their psychotherapy training or supervision. For electives, residents have access to all of NPI's more specialized clinics and patient base. Research is available, but apparently residents generally don't choose (or don't have the time?) to be much involved in it. Fun fact: Harbor's catchment area includes LAX, and any patient who ends up at Harbor and is not from LA or the US gets stabilized and sent home, accompanied by the resident caring for them; apparently this has resulted in some great trips over the years.

Harbor takes some hits on this board for location and run down facilities. I don't think this is fair. While Torrence is not the most fun part of the city, it's certainly not terrible and is a 10-15 minute drive to some really pretty, upscale beach communities. I stayed on Redondo Beach and had an awesome time. I think it would be entirely possible to live there or Manhattan Beach as a resident, if you're willing to pay for it. The facilities are exactly what you'd expect from a county program. It's not the most glossy, cheerful environment, but is also not in shambles and I know they're at least in the process of remodeling the psych ER.

In sum, this is a great program for the right applicant. Excellent county training, with a solid academic backbone via it's UCLA affiliation.

 

[skunky386]

Can I here more about the U of A program? My significant other just matched there for a different specialty so now i'm caught between following him or attempting to get into UCLA or UCSD next year. If anyone other than Skunky has some insight on U of A it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's some of my other impressions on U of A Main Campus:

If only they have a better work-life balance I would have loved them. Out of all those I interviewed at, the poor work-life balance here is second only to UNLV & Kaweah Delta. The residents seemed a bit overworked here, but I really liked the faculty who are made up of intelligent free-thinkers and creative types...ie: One guy is doing research on the use of hyperthermic steam huts for the treatment of depression. I would not be surprised if you could get overwhelming faculty support and funding here for researching botox, mescaline, psilocibin, LSD, ketamine, NOS, etc. for the treatment of psychiatric conditions....it's just that kind of unique and wonderful culture here. I may be wrong here, but I have a hunch that some of the attendings here were involved with the psychedelic psychiatry field back in the day, with both auto-experimentation and traditional study design. Anyways, the faculty were really approachable and kind, and like I said, if it weren't for the long work hours, I would've loved to come here. I guess one other gripe is about the state of Arizona. I'm not a big fan of their immigration policies and police tactics, and driving with ANY alcohol in your system, even if it is <.08, is a DUI...so basically you can't even have a glass of wine at dinner unless you call a cab.

 

[DuskPhilosophy]

Here's some of my other impressions on U of A Main Campus:

If only they have a better work-life balance I would have loved them. Out of all those I interviewed at, the poor work-life balance here is second only to UNLV & Kaweah Delta. The residents seemed a bit overworked here, but I really liked the faculty who are made up of intelligent free-thinkers and creative types...ie: One guy is doing research on the use of hyperthermic steam huts for the treatment of depression. I would not be surprised if you could get overwhelming faculty support and funding here for researching botox, mescaline, psilocibin, LSD, ketamine, NOS, etc. for the treatment of psychiatric conditions....it's just that kind of unique and wonderful culture here. I may be wrong here, but I have a hunch that some of the attendings here were involved with the psychedelic psychiatry field back in the day, with both auto-experimentation and traditional study design. Anyways, the faculty were really approachable and kind, and like I said, if it weren't for the long work hours, I would've loved to come here. I guess one other gripe is about the state of Arizona. I'm not a big fan of their immigration policies and police tactics, and driving with ANY alcohol in your system, even if it is <.08, is a DUI...so basically you can't even have a glass of wine at dinner unless you call a cab.

Thank you so much for expanding on the program! Sounds like we might be getting some interesting research papers out of U of A real soon.

 

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: Mount Sinai Hospital

1. Communication: Straight forward through ERAS

2. Accommodation & Food: Nice breakfast bagels, lunch was catered Indian food with an amazing resident turnout.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Good description and overview of the program. Chief Resident with us throughout the day was very nice. 3 Interviews with nothing out of the ordinary. The day was on the longer (something like 9 – 5). Happy hour at a residents house was offered but I did not attend.

4. Program Overview: Some major restructuring happened this year, as Mt Sinai merged together with 2 other hospitals. The PD is also new and introduced some modifications. A lot of opportunities of outpatient care, carried out during 6 months in the Bronx VA, with a reduction of inpatient months to the bare minimum requirement. They provide a shuttle to this location, but it is still a 40 minute ride away.

5. Faculty: A lot of effort has been putting in to promoting research within the department, and that aspect seems to be thriving. Also good relations with New York Psychoanalytic institute. Multiple fellowship opportunities.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Upper East Side. Most resident live around the area. Housing is available but still somewhat expensive. Its not one of the most exciting areas of Manhattan, but it is in the city and right along central park. Residents seemed happy with the program.

7. Salary & Benefits: Salary was comparable to other NYC programs

8. Program Strengths: Solid program, possibly on the rise with the recent acquisition of several hospitals, Mt Sinai is becoming a health care system. Residents don’t appear overworked. Good opportunities for research and therapy.

9. Potential Weaknesses: A lot of recent changes in faculty and program structure. I’m not sure I understood correctly, but there seemed to be 6 months spent at the VA in the Bronx. The commute from main hospital as well as so much VA time (where there is limited didactics I belive) would be a deterrent to me.

 

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: Beth Israel

1. Communication: Friendly and helpful Program Coordinator. PD and chief residents stayed in touch thought the season and put together a tailored second look for me, with meetings and with a resident.

2. Accommodation & Food: Small breakfast but very nice buffet lunch with residents. A happy hour at nearby bar was hosted at a different date. It was perhaps the only mixer where everyone was drinking cocktails and actually felt like a night out.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Interviews were not overly stressful, PD was very approachable. Residents appeared genuinely interested in answering questions rather than selling the program. Wrap up session with one on one discussion of impressions at the end was helpful and very casual.

4. Program Overview: Hospital recently became part of Mount Sinai and was previously Montefiore, and although I believe fellowships have combined, residency programs remain separate. Strong psychotherapy training and strong in addiction. This program used to have a higher proportion of IMGs and DOs but it appears to be getting more competitive.

5. Faculty: Did not have the opportunity to attend lectures. Full access to faculty at St. Lukes Roosevelt and Mt. Sinai is now available, with an interest in promoting research collaboration. Everyone seemed very warm (I almost hugged the associate program director after speaking for 5 minutes).

6. Location & Lifestyle: Great downtown location, arguably one of the more exciting areas of Manhatthan. Residents seemed to find the IM rotations somewhat intense, but otherwise happy. That was probably my only concern.

7. Salary & Benefits: Fantastic guaranteed housing below market in a fun area of town. Good Salary and benefits (resident union)

8. Program Strengths: Location! (If you like Manhattan), housing. All sites are close together so no moving around, no comuting. Resident housing is really close to the hospital (like close enough to pick up your lunch from the fridge).

9. Potential Weaknesses: Child Psychiatry is only available as elective, located at a different site. Fellowships at Mt. Sinai Main program, but not at Beth Israel. It appears to be more focused on clinical work, with limited ongoing research.

 

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: St. Lukes Roosevelt

1. Communication: Very easy and straightforward through email.

2. Accommodation & Food: Breakfast and lunch were provided. For lunch we went to a very fancy buffet located a few blocks from the hospital, at the Columbia campus. It was lovely, but there were only about 4 residents with us. Would have appreciated some sort of dinner/mixer to get to know more residents in a less formal setting.

3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): Started with a brief overview. PD emphasized that candidates would be given a score based on interview and application by lunch time. We all had the opportunity to speak briefly with PD at the end of the day. An open invitation to attend second look was extended. I did take them up on it, but didn’t really get to see much and went home after about 2 hours.

4. Program Overview: St Lukes and Roosvelt are two separated hospitals with a shuttle between them. It seemed to be a clinically focused program, but also has opportunities for research through the merger with Mt. Sinai. Residents seemed to feel work load was on the lighter side, and had good supervision. Program Director is very protective and envolved. They have a child unit but rotations there are not part of core curriculum.

5. Faculty: Did not have the opportunity to interact that much with faculty. I was interviewed my fairly young attending who had recently graduated. I was however happy to see how many residents stay on and are hired in after training.

6. Location & Lifestyle: Upper West Side is a nice area of Manhattan. Residents seemed to enjoy themselves and feel supported.

7. Salary & Benefits: Below market housing is guaranteed next to one of the sites. A shuttle is available from housing to the second site (where most of the time in psych is spent). The apartments were actually quite nice and ample for Manhattan standards.

8. Program Strengths: PD focused on teaching

9. Potential Weaknesses: Not a ton of research or opportunities until it consolidates its relationship with Mt. Sinai.

 

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: LIJ

1. Communication: Good
2. Accommodation & Food: No accommodation offered. Kind of far from NYC.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): No unusual questions.
4. Program Overview: Stand alone psych facility. Good fellowship opportunities. Residents seemed happy. I did feel a certain bias toward people who truly wanted to be in Long Isand (and why not?)
5. Faculty: Strong faculty in schizophrenia. New, energetic PD.
6. Location & Lifestyle: Close enough to NYC to be able to partake in some activities. I have seen residents at conferences such as AACAP (child psych) in the city.
7. Salary & Benefits: Probably best pay of all the NY programs
8. Program Strengths: Close to NY, solid program with good biological basis, good pay and research opportunities.
9. Potential Weaknesses: You would probably need a car….

 

[slappy]

Anonymous Review: Staten Island LIJ

1. Communication: OK
2. Accommodation & Food: no accommodation. A bit difficult to get to Staten Island. Food provided.
3. Interview Day (Schedule, Type Of Interview, Unusual Questions, Experiences): I found disappointing the fact that we weren’t able to tour the facilities.
4. Program Overview: New, up and coming program. I was impressed with this program beyond what I was expecting.
5. Faculty: A lot of faculty has been recruited from top notch programs (Columbia, tufts…)
6. Location & Lifestyle: Staten Island is affordable but not extremely exciting. Most residents probably live in Manhattan with the added difficulty of no subsidized housing, and maybe even needing a car?
7. Salary & Benefits: GREAT salary. Highest I have seen
8. Program Strengths: Up and coming. Hard to know where it will go, as it has only been in place for 2 years. I definitely felt there were strong research opps with LIJ.
9. Potential Weaknesses: New program, mostly Caribbean students. No subsidized housing.