Are psych residencies biased against applicants who are slightly weird?

[olivarynucleus]

Or in other words, do psych residencies want to match out going social people?

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[Frazier]

'Weird' can mean a lot of things.

As you can imagine, it is somewhat problematic for someone to be an effective psychiatrist if they are unable to communicate, lack empathy, dislike talking with others, etc.

If you just mean 'introverted', that shouldn't be problematic if that person can communicate appropriately/effectively with requisite people during necessary times.

All that said, residencies also want people that will be enjoyable to be around for 4-5 years...so often that is friendly/outgoing rather than cold/hermitaceous [sic].

 

[notdeadyet]

What Frazier said. You definitely get a wider spectrum of personality types than most specialties.

That said, programs are going to want to make sure you can communicate effectively with patients and peers. They will also want to make sure your personality isn't going to be so grating to those around you that it will hurt the program as a whole.

But weird is more okay in psych than most places. We just try to avoid pathological.

 

[peppy]

One thing you will learn in residency is that you can get a long further based on being a nice person who is easy to get along with and willing to work than you will being the most knowledgeable person.

So, I would say that someone who is a little quirky but still pleasant, willing to work hard, and easy to get along with will do fine. I knew a lot of people in residency who were nice people but a little neurotic or quirky.
If you come across as unfriendly or so weird that you make others feel uncomfortable, then I would say buy Dale Carnegie's book or get some social skills training STAT.

 

[Psychobabbling]

I can only speak from experience in my program. I would have to say every program is different. But, I can confidently say it is within the realm of possibility that any residency program can discriminate against any person for anything ranging from their personal statement, questions at dinner, how nervous/confident they were in the interview, what "personality" someone has from a 20 minute sit down, or how hard your name is to pronounce. Every place is different

 

[deleted314290]

I would say no, I am still at my program...

 

[shan564]

I think the answer to the OP's question is that this is true for every residency, not just psych. Maybe pathology might be an exception.