Austin Tx Program

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i dont know for sure too much about the prog but heard it is in flux as it is gonna be utmb. i interviewed in temple, tx and the residents prefered that program and one resident lives in austin and goes there. austin is an excellent location and if i were invited i would have ranked it high just on that basis.
 
Anyone know much about the program in Austin? Does it usually fill? etc.
I'm a medical student who rotated there for psych. Do a search, because there was a very similar thread in the past few months. Yes, I believe the program fills up but their pgy2's arent' full b/c of some licensure problems for two of the residents. Austin is a nice place to live, but if you are a minority, you will feel alot more aware of it even though everyone keeps talking about multiculturality, (help me find it please).
You do 4 months total of peds/Im/family and neuro first year. And you can chose among the three so you aren't stuck in IM the whole time. There is no psych ER, which may be good or bad. Your inpatient is at Shoal Creek psychiatric hospital and the residents manage 5 patients each which I think is great but I don't really know how many other residencies handle. Lots of learning, something like 10hours a week didactics. Right now it's in flux, don't remember reasons why, but what I remember is that my attending was quitting and they were looking for a new one at shoal creek. You aren't allowed to moonlight till third year which can be a problem and from what one of the residents told me they are trying to make moonlighting even more restrictive. Anyway, that's all I remember from my 2 months there. Good luck.
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, call while inpatient psych is something like q7-10days or so overnight, so definetely not bad. No nightfloat in the peds/IM/fam months at the main hospital Brackenridge, but that's only for like three months. I think it's q4 at the hospital. And I believe another problem with the moonlighting thing is that it's not allowed internally, but I could be wrong about that.
 
Anyone know much about the program in Austin? Does it usually fill? etc.

wondering what you decided about Austin. spent 10 yrs there working in Mental Health and private psych hospitals, though not with the State Hosp. Loved the city.
 
I am a current resident in the program. It is a program in transition but is certainly becoming quickly competitive due to the desirable location, and due to the fact the UTMB is taking over the program late summer of this year. I am happy for the most part. I am frustrated by the disorganization at times, but I can tell that in a year, we will look like a very different program. We had a new faculty member begin a month ago, and two more are hired and starting this summer. Once we get more faculty, a lot will improve! We had excellent candidates interview with us, and hope we will fill some of our top picks. All in all, it's a good program with a lot of room to grow and improve. Any questions? I will try to check back soon and answer.

Q
 
I will be applying next year, and the Austin program is in the top 3 on my list, primarily because of the location. How do you think it compares with the other programs in Texas like Baylor and Southwestern? Should I do an away rotation there through UTMB if possible? When you say "competitive," how competitive do you mean? My Step 1 score is average and my GPA is about a 3.0 at a state university, but I work well with patients and staff, and I interview well.
 
I'd say breaking a 200 on step 1 would be safe; otherwise, you would have to find other ways to stand out. Other than that, I think the program is competitive by the mere fact that a lot of people want to live in Austin. Demand is high.
 
i didnt get an interview there but i have heard a few negative things about amep. perhaps the program is in transition. i interviewed at temple and i think i heard a few things there about amep. of course austin is a great place to live. i dont know too much else though about the program. however if u pm me i can tell a little more.

i believe texas is competitive for IMGs. the only interviews i got this time was scott and white (excellent program in a less than exciting location) and jps (couldnt go due to UNC interview.) last time went to texas tech lubbock which i didnt like at all. it is like neuro-wannabe program with neuro call all 4 years. also last year i almost got an invite to utsw. i live in houston and houston showed me no love. ut houston has a full intern year off service. baylor is renowned for its association to the menninger clinic.

if u like austin consider scott and white. it will be a 1 hour commute though. it is possible as a resident does it. however intern year was a little too much for hime. he is a us grad so he could have got into amep but he liked scott and white more. u could live half way between austin and temple. the scott and white interview was the longest i have been to but it is because they want to get to know u. they offer u 3 meals including a personal get together at a residents house. very family friendly atmosphere. maybe too family friendly for my single self. however amep is going under some changes so double check what i have said.
 
During my interviews at Austin, Dr. Wolf and the rest of the folks made the point that they are only interviewing AMG's this year.

I find that ironic since the powerpoint presentation they showed of residents from previous years were all (or >95%) IMG's.
 
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