Arizona Programs

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ara96 said:
I know that at Banner/University of Arizona, they don't see involuntary holds, but I don't know about the other programs.
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I actually felt Banner was a really strong comminity type program. Residents seemed happy, felt as though you worked hard yur first 2 years but not overly so. 3rd and 4th years appeared pretty chill. One 4th year was moonlighting during business hours because he routinely would finish his required clinic by early afternoon.

Alas the wife wasn't too fond of Phoenix, and I desired a bit more university based type program. I still ranked them fairly high.

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Both programs in Tucson see involuntary patients (programs have since combined). Banner in Phoenix does not. Maricopa in Phoenix does.
 
Hello, I am a graduate of the Banner Phoenix program. I only have positive things to say about it, your inpatient and outpatient clinic training are solid. Awesome program directors, very supportive teaching attendings and staff like the psychiatric RNs. Yes it's a community program but the ties to University of AZ, Midwestern COM and ATSOMA are strong; you're teaching both MD and DO med students from the beginning. What also makes the place great is the whole hospital culture supports resident and fellow GME, and psych residents work closely with IM, FM, and neurology resident teams. I recommend it. I interviewed at the other Phoenix (Maricopa County) program but Banner was a better fit for my future outpatient practice goals. It's hot desert there, but Phoenix and AZ are beautiful too! And a resident lives very comfortably since housing inexpensive. Many of us residents owned our homes in Phoenix, Tempe, or even Scottsdale. I would go there again. Sorry, I don't know about the Tucson program.

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One thing that worries me about the Arizona programs is the possibility of pervasive anti-Latinx sentiment in the area. I believe Arpaio is the sheriff of Maricopa county. Does anyone have any thoughts on what it is like to be a Latinx professional in Arizona?
 
OP can message me if you have specific questions about the Banner program. MLT2M2DO put up a good summary I could agree with.

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arpaio cant stay sheriff for much longer - he's ancient, and i cant see how he can stand for re-election when facing criminal charges for contempt. phoenix has something like a 30% latino population and people aren't usually hostile towards doctors (unless they are serious douche's) they will usually say something racist like "i didn't mean people like you i'm talking about them ones that come here and terk our jerbs and rape our women" etc they need to have their stereotypes challenged, and it might be interesting to be a psychiatrist in the area and get a glimpse of how racial tensions influence mental health
 
A good portion of the Phoenix metro consists of transplants and these include people of different ethnicities and religions.

As such, despite the stereotypes of Arizona from a national perspective, people in the Phoenix metro are generally tolerable of others and most typically have a "live and let live" mentality.
 
I think both Phoenix programs are very good. Maricopa sees the involuntary patients, generally more ill patients, whereas Banner is more geared toward less acutely ill patients and is slightly more academic. Phoenix is a strange place. It is where the tolerance and more liberal aspect of California meets the more conservative aspect of the Midwest and Southwest. You have the old, wealthier native Arizonan white voters , and all the others who moved there from all over the world. The sherrif is really the hub of the old intolerance there. Overall, people are easy going. I think it is like Dallas but with better traffic.
 
Late reply, but might as well --

I rotated at both Phoenix programs and I'm a current intern at one of them, so obviously I'll know more about my own. Both of the Phoenix programs are good, but they are very different, mostly in terms of patient population. Maricopa sees the involuntary patients on court-ordered evaluation; they have over 200 beds combined between both of the psych hospitals. Some patients end up voluntary, but the vast majority are involuntary. The UA/Banner program has a much smaller, voluntary inpatient unit (25ish beds?) and a stronger outpatient focus; it's also a little more academic. The settings in which your off-service rotations take place are also different, with Maricopa's medicine rotations being primarily outpatient. Both sites have great attendings and I got along well with the residents in both programs. I also interviewed at both Tucson programs, which I understand are now combined, so I can't speak to what their program looks like now.

I am not a Phoenix native and I had my reservations about moving here for medical school, but I ended up liking it enough here to stay. I think Arizona gets a much worse reputation than it deserves, for both its weather and its politics.

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.
 
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