Dartmouth Program

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tomthumb88

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Just a quick question, does anyone know anything about the Dartmouth Psych residency - like research, work hours, lifestyle, opportunities after residency (like if people get good spots outside of NH and can move down to NY or Fl afterward). Also, the program is based in an Ivy, but dose coming out of that residency give you similar options as going to (for example Columbia). Any info will be greatly appreciated, whether second hand knowledge, interview experience, or if your a resident.
 
Just a quick question, does anyone know anything about the Dartmouth Psych residency - like research, work hours, lifestyle, opportunities after residency (like if people get good spots outside of NH and can move down to NY or Fl afterward). Also, the program is based in an Ivy, but dose coming out of that residency give you similar options as going to (for example Columbia). Any info will be greatly appreciated, whether second hand knowledge, interview experience, or if your a resident.

No, (on average) it's not the same as going to Columbia. Having the Columbia name attached to you after you finish is a marker of quality because they are so selective. Dartmouth is less selective. Therefore less of a marker of quality. Therefore different set of post-residency options.

-AT.
 
No, (on average) it's not the same as going to Columbia. Having the Columbia name attached to you after you finish is a marker of quality because they are so selective. Dartmouth is less selective. Therefore less of a marker of quality. Therefore different set of post-residency options.

-AT.

Wow.

For the op, don't really know how the answer the snobbiness question, but I interviewed at Dartmouth last year. I was impressed and thought they had a good program with really friendly people. It seemed more laid back than some other places, probably because of the location. The location is pretty unique, so you either like it or you don't. And training there would probably be pretty different than training anywhere in NYC, Columbia or otherwise.
 
I know a couple of people from Columbia. Their foreheads are completely stamp-free. You get no stamp of approval.

:laugh: We can only be too thankful for that!
 
Disagree with the other commenters. In general there appears to be a very strong "snobby Ivy League psychiatrists aren't better than the rest of us common folks" thread that runs through SDN, and I'm not sure that is applicable here. I agree with the very general statement that, all else being equal, going to Columbia for your psychiatry residency training will not, in and of itself, make you a 'better' psychiatrist (although one could argue that it would depend how one defines 'better') -- just as high school students who attend elite colleges do not do 'better' when compared to students who were accepted at the same elite colleges but attended less selective colleges (where, in this context, 'better' is defined as income 20 years after entry). And to add to that I would emphasize that one should select a residency program that feels like the best fit, irrespective of USNWR prestige, NIH dollars, or other metrics of quality.

But that wasn't really the question which the OP asked (among several) and to which I responded. S/he was not asking what the average patient thinks, or about whether the Dartmouth grad can out-compete the MGH grad for a job at the White River Junction VA, which are both situations in which the Columbia stamp would matter less, if at all. Just "[does] coming out of that residency give you similar options as going to (for example Columbia)[?]". The answer is no. All else being equal, the Columbia grad will have more options than the Dartmouth grad.

-AT.
 
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I have never looked at Ivy League schools (or the whole song and dance we put on for the med school/residency selection process) in the same way since I read
Malcolm Gladwell's piece on the sociology of Ivy League admissions.
I'm glad that I came to the realization of what actually matters to me in time to rank the programs in places I actually wanted to live and where I would actually be happy over programs that I thought would impress other people the most. Unfortunately I think sometimes people fall victim to the urge to try to impress people by getting into the most "snobby" psych residencies possible as a way of compensating for the stigma on psychiatry in general.

I am pretty sure that graduates of Dartmouth aren't banned from working in NY or FL, at least. 😉
 
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