Any info on GW psych?

[RustNeverSleeps]

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Does anyone have any knowledge on the George Washington program? I did a search on it and did not find much: several people asking about GW and not getting any replies, and this description of an interview day:

I visited this program a few weeks ago and have mixed feelings.

On one hand the program seems to have great opportunities. They are pretty unique in their international and refugee population exposure. Residents are able to get a MPH during residency. There is a strong emphasis on psychotherapy.

However, on interview day, there was no overview of the program. Applicants waited in the clinic waiting room for interviewers to come get them. We only met the one resident who took us to lunch. We only got to tour the hospital after asking if that could be arranged. I don't know if I got spoiled after being on interviews where programs go out of their way to make applicants feel comfortable or if this is the norm?

My interview day was very similar, except that we got an extremely brief tour of the hospital (basically they just showed us the psych ward). I like what I have learned about the program, but like this poster I was puzzled/concerned by the structure of the interview day. All my interviewers seemed very welcoming and happy to have me there, but the interview day itself did not seem designed to be extremely welcoming. I was also concerned because I only met one resident who took us out to lunch. In fairness, this is by far the smallest program at which I am interviewing, and the residents are spread out at multiple training sites, but the lack of resident contact still seemed a bit weird.

So, if anyone has any insights into GW, please share them. This seems like a promising program, but the interview day raised some questions.

 

[Chinnychin]

I mean what do you want-a tourof all 10 floors-you wanna see med-surg, tele, surgery, ICU-I mean they showed you the psych unit-that is where you will be in the hospital-I do not see why this "concerns you" talk about reading too much into things. Iknow the program is solid, I went to school there. The downside someone has mentioned is having to drive a heck of a long way in dc traffic to various other hospitals that you do tons of rotations at-you do reliatively few at GW hospital. But solid program as far as programs I know of

 

[maranatha]

I was also concerned because I only met one resident who took us out to lunch. In fairness, this is by far the smallest program at which I am interviewing, and the residents are spread out at multiple training sites, but the lack of resident contact still seemed a bit weird.

I would never rank a program after only having met one resident. You might be right that the residents were just not on site, but this is a potential red-flag...If you are serious about GW, I would go to the web-site, find the e-mails addresses of a few residents, and then randomly e-mail them telling them how interested you are in the program and ask if they'd take ~10 minutes or so to talk to you on the phone.

 

[gardilimo]

i interviewed there as well and really liked it. the pd was awesome and very direct and went out of his way, the chair was soooo personable and i was impressed that he took the time to meet me. i had lunch with one resident, had an interview with a chief and did talk to an intern for a bit when i saw the psych ward at gw. no, i did not see the other sites, they said that if i was interested and wanted to see the other sites to try to come back and they would set it up for us. the program coordinator was accomodating and willing to take us on a tour of our liking in the time allotted. she took me to the psych ward, the ER,i saw the call rm on the psych ward and around campus. i think they are just a small program and more casual so thats why it seemed so unstructured, compared to a ucsf or something...

other opinions are welcome. i never hear much about this program either!?🙄

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

I mean what do you want-a tourof all 10 floors-you wanna see med-surg, tele, surgery, ICU-I mean they showed you the psych unit-that is where you will be in the hospital-I do not see why this "concerns you" talk about reading too much into things. Iknow the program is solid, I went to school there. The downside someone has mentioned is having to drive a heck of a long way in dc traffic to various other hospitals that you do tons of rotations at-you do reliatively few at GW hospital. But solid program as far as programs I know of

I can't tell if you've been on interviews or not, but it's typical to at least see call rooms, and perhaps a med floor or the ED on a tour. I was not troubled by the tour per se, but tour reflected the nature of the interview day, which seemed like not as much effort was put in it compared to other places. My main concern is the scarcity of residents -- was that happenstance, or is there a reason that they are kept from applicants? I would consider all the programs at which I am interviewing 'solid', but during the interview I hope to learn more about the place, get a feel for the residents, etc. It was a lot harder to do that at GW than any other place at which I interviewed, which was disappointing because there are many things about the program that sound great.

 

[maranatha]

My main concern is the scarcity of residents -- was that happenstance, or is there a reason that they are kept from applicants? I would consider all the programs at which I am interviewing 'solid', but during the interview I hope to learn more about the place, get a feel for the residents, etc. It was a lot harder to do that at GW than any other place at which I interviewed, which was disappointing because there are many things about the program that sound great.

Again, if you're serious about the program I would highly suggest calling some residents...If possible try to contact some at random. If not, call the coordinator or PD and ask for some contact information. My opinion is that it is a bad idea to rank a program after only talking to one resident...Good Luck!!!

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Again, if you're serious about the program I would highly suggest calling some residents...If possible try to contact some at random. If not, call the coordinator or PD and ask for some contact information. My opinion is that it is a bad idea to rank a program after only talking to one resident...Good Luck!!!

Marantha, I definitely agree with you and plan to do what you suggest. Thanks for your advice. I was curious if anyone on SDN had any info because I might get more objective or honest opinions. My second post was just to clarify myself to the other poster -- it's not like I expect a tour of every nook and cranny of the hospital in a rickshaw or anything.

 

[Chinnychin]

I can't tell if you've been on interviews or not, but it's typical to at least see call rooms, and perhaps a med floor or the ED on a tour. I was not troubled by the tour per se, but tour reflected the nature of the interview day, which seemed like not as much effort was put in it compared to other places. My main concern is the scarcity of residents -- was that happenstance, or is there a reason that they are kept from applicants? I would consider all the programs at which I am interviewing 'solid', but during the interview I hope to learn more about the place, get a feel for the residents, etc. It was a lot harder to do that at GW than any other place at which I interviewed, which was disappointing because there are many things about the program that sound great.

Yes I am done interviewing and unless we requested it-which I could care less-we were not taken to the medicine floors or ER-I mean you can walk yourself into the med wards after or before the tour if you want-I mean what do you want a psych resident showing you around the med floor? I mean you spend your call time there and maybe a month or 2 of CL in 4 years-is that going to factor into your decision? What possibly could you see in the ER-good or bad that would alter your decision of the program? Nothing

Yes well call rooms I can see and I am sure if you had asked someone would have. I was taken to all the call rooms and the psych floor. One school actually gave me a chief for the day and he drove me around all day to every single site the residents rotated at (like 3 of them). Plus let me talk to a resident or 2 at each place and to top it off he drove me to this realllly nice restaurant for lunch and met 5 more residents-now THAT was a cool interview day and totally made you feel special since you were the only 1.

Another program only interviewed one applicant per day and you got attention from like everyone you would ever want to talk to-so yes some are better than others but even in the programs that really seemed to "care" I was never shown much of medicine or the ER-

Again if those were dealmakers/breakers for you than I think u may be choosing a program for the wrong reason.

 

[Antigone]

It's a great program...I went to school at GW but aimed to match elsewhere primarily for geographic reasons. I also thought the structure of the interview day was a bit odd, but I wouldn't let it deter you.

At GW, you get great exposure to psychotherapy, child/adolescent psychiatry, and international psych, as well as an overall well-rounded education. You can also complete an MPH while a resident. As a med student, I had fantastic rotation experiences at 3 of the sites--both attending and patient-wise--as well as at the resident classes I sat in on, which were well-attended. Among the residents, I know from personal experience that at least the current PGY-1's, 3's, and some of the 2's are friendly, diverse, intelligent, and down-to-earth people. The GW psych department's chair is also an incredible person, both professionally and personally.

The medical floors and call rooms at GW are very standard--they are neither "bad" nor "fantastic" and get the job done. You did not miss a lot, but you could always ask for a tour if you decide to have a second look.

Re: the other major DC program, Georgetown, my honest opinion is that GW has the better psych program, even though G'town's hospital as a whole has a "bigger name." The level of enthusiasm for psychiatry is definitely higher at GW, and I thought this was clearly evident on the interview day.

I would try contacting GW's program and getting resident contact info, so you can get a better feel for the program and judge for yourself by talking to more people.

Good luck!

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Antigone, thanks for your response!

 

[sesquiculus]

Be aware that there have been recent problems at GWU. Recently, the Medical school itself was on accreditation probation for a while. At the time, the only medical school in the country to be so blessed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303788.html .

They have also lost accreditation for some programs, apparently due to faculty flight. Likewise, due to financial constraints and related short staffing, they allegedly don't pay much attention to ASCME rules concerning resident hours, which are an expensive unfunded mandate. Treating residents like dirt aside, as the ASCME tightens up enforcement, this may bite them, with whole departments losing accreditation. Ya need an accredited department to qualify for the boards.

My recommendation-- go somewhere else if you can..