'Educational Setting' on FREIDA

[mercury1980]

I was just going over the residency program descriptions for psychiatry on FREIDA and was wondering..What does the number of hrs/wk of conferences and the % training at outpatient clinics tell you about the quality of training that ull get at a particular program? For example if one program says 20% training at outpatient clinics is it better than one with 10%?

What educational characteristics should one look for when judging psychiatry programs?

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[Anasazi23]

I was just going over the residency program descriptions for psychiatry on FREIDA and was wondering..What does the number of hrs/wk of conferences and the % training at outpatient clinics tell you about the quality of training that ull get at a particular program? For example if one program says 20% training at outpatient clinics is it better than one with 10%?

What educational characteristics should one look for when judging psychiatry programs?

I think the FREIDA website is a great start, but keep in mind that this is only a thumbnail sketch of the institutions. Often, information is even just plain wrong. This happens frequently with work hours (no one will put over 80/week), and moonlighting. Moonlighting in particular can be interpreted two ways, since it says "in institution." This could mean that a "no" next to this category will mean that they allow moonlighting, but simply have no opportunities in-house. In NYC, for example, there are plenty of opportunties to moonlight (not just in psychiatry) outside the institution. I've had friends do school and sports physicals, etc.

Keep in mind also that numbers such as "10% outpatient" vs. 20% isn't a big difference. There are minimum requirements need for a psychiatry resident to graduate....in this example it's often close to year of outpatient. It won't matter a tremendous amount in the long run, since we all must have the basic core curriculum.

Think of the population you'd like to work with, and choose your residency based on what's important to you: Do you want a primarily academic career with lots of research opportunities at the possible expense of more focused clinical work? Would you like to see primarily indigent minority populations in inner cities? You'll get a good feel from this in interviews.

Thing to look for (and confirm):
Hours worked per week
Fourth year call
Moonlighting
Frequency of call
Number of faculty commensurate with size of institution (2 full time faculty members is a bad sign)
University or medical school affiliation

I find work hours to be an unreliable statistic.

 

[mercury1980]

Thanks a lot Anasazi! Your post was really helpful!!

 

[mercury1980]

Number of faculty commensurate with size of institution (2 full time faculty members is a bad sign)

As u suggested I wrote to confirm some info i found on one the residency programs im interested in..they replied as follows:
"we currently have 3 full-time, paid faculty, 3 part-time paid faculty and 100+ volunteer faculty".

What do u make of this?

 

[Doc Samson]

As u suggested I wrote to confirm some info i found on one the residency programs im interested in..they replied as follows:
"we currently have 3 full-time, paid faculty, 3 part-time paid faculty and 100+ volunteer faculty".

What do u make of this?

Given the service requirements needed for a psychiatry residency, I'd guess:

Small community program, with an inpatient unit (2-3 full-time equivalents (FTEs)), a small consult service (~1 FTE), some sort of child/adolescent service (~1 FTE) and a booming outpatient clinic that probably supports the department, staffed almost entirely by residents who get weekly supervision from one of the volunteer faculty.

I'd think the major weakness is a limted exposure to different "styles" of treatment given the small number of faculty you're likely to be exposed to on a regular basis.

 

[Anasazi23]

As u suggested I wrote to confirm some info i found on one the residency programs im interested in..they replied as follows:
"we currently have 3 full-time, paid faculty, 3 part-time paid faculty and 100+ volunteer faculty".

What do u make of this?

I have to agree with Doc Samson, though the iteration may be slightly different.

Three full time faculty members for a residency is small. Even for a community program. Volunteer faculty is virtually meaningless. Many of them have had no contact with the institution for decades.

It does sound like a small program...perhaps too small depending on your tastes. You'll likely dislike the style of at least one attending, leaving you 2 full time faculty to garner your hands-on psychiatric knowledge. This may not be a bad thing...but may not be good either.

 

[mercury1980]

Doc Samson and Anasazi thanks a lot for your responses. They really helped clarify things