There is currently only one kaiser program - fontana. This year, there will be 2 other programs - Oakland and San Jose. They are different programs so it is foolish to say "they" are not very good. The fontana program probably doesn't have great faculty or residents as the inland empire is not the most desireable locale. on the other hand the bay area is a popular location and there are excellent psychiatrists involved in these program, many of whom have been actively involved in undergraduate or graduate medical education and who have or have had faculty appointments at local medical schools. they primarily exist to generate a cadre of future kaiser psychiatrists so of course the training is not as diverse as somewhere that has a larger number of training sites or with a larger mission to serve the community or create leaders in the field etc. I wouldn't go overboard with doing away rotations, and I think it would be harder to get a sense of what the program was like by doing an away there than some other programs by virtue of the set up. But if one of these programs is a strong contender that you want to chec out then doing an away would be reasonable. Remember, aways are more of an opportunity for you to check out the program, and less to get your foot into a program (though they can certainly have that impact, or more often write you off altogether).
