Midwestern VA Internship Sites

[Zazulator]

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Hi all!,

I am in the process of creating my list of pre-doctoral internship sites to apply to. I am applying to roughly 50% VA hospitals and was curious if anyone has insight into some of the sites in the midwest? It seems that many of them went to second round match last year and I was curious if this has to do with location or if the sites themselves are having problems?
The sites I am specifically considering in this region:

• Sioux Fall, SD
• Lincoln, NE CBOC (part of the western iowa/eastern ne VA)
• Kansas City, MO
• St. Louis, MO

Thank you for any insight that can be offered!

 

[Psychchick09]

I am at a midwestern VA not in this list, and when we run into recruitment issues, location is often cited as a big factor. We’re also a relatively small VA in a relatively small city compared to some of the others ones on your list, so take that with a grain of salt!

 

[Dr_Bee]

I trained at KC for post doc and trained at another midwestern VA (Eastern Kansas) for internship and remained in the Midwest afterward. Location is always a factor that plays into low recruitment numbers. I actually think of many of the Midwestern VAs as "hidden gems" in terms of training. The culture IME has been more laid back and allows for more flexibility in terms of training, the stipend goes much further than other places and often they like to hire their trainees. I loved my time as a trainee at both sites, but especially Eastern Kansas.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I too attended a midwestern VA and it was very much a hidden gem. The # of applicants for many of the midwestern VAs trend lower than the East/West coast VAs, though the quality of applicant tends to be excellent bc a lot of the applicants are from top-notch midwestern programs (U of Wisc, KU, Mizzou, etc). Almost all of them ask “why us?” if you are from a coastal program, so have a good answer ready.

100% agree about the more laid back feeling. It isn’t “slow” like it felt down at some of the Southern VAs, but definitely not the hustle and bustle of 50hr+ wks at a coastal AMC/VA.

 

[summerbabe]

I have trained and worked at VAs in both metros and non-metros (not in the midwest) and I think a sweet spot is a medical center with full emergency room and robust medical and mental health services but decent pace. That means you'll have access to a multitude of rotations, including interdisciplinary team experiences (rehab, SUD, residential, acute inpatient, etc) versus a place that only has a handful of outpatient therapy rotations.

So you can consider what rotations/opportunities exist at the Lincoln NE CBOC versus the Sioux Falls medical center. And compared to St. Louis and Kansas City which are good sized metros.

The last piece is meeting training faculty during interviews and hopefully get a sense of training philosophies and people you'd be excited to learn from.

 

[cara susanna]

I'm at a Midwestern VA and I think we're pretty neat! I do know people who did their internships at Sioux Falls VA a few years ago and didn't hear any issues.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'm at a Midwestern VA and I think we're pretty neat! I do know people who did their internships at Sioux Falls VA a few years ago and didn't hear any issues.

Besides having to live in Sioux Falls?

 

[cara susanna]

Besides having to live in Sioux Falls?

The people I know who matched there were already from that part of the country, so nothing new to them.

 

[Zazulator]

I too attended a midwestern VA and it was very much a hidden gem. The # of applicants for many of the midwestern VAs trend lower than the East/West coast VAs, though the quality of applicant tends to be excellent bc a lot of the applicants are from top-notch midwestern programs (U of Wisc, KU, Mizzou, etc). Almost all of them ask “why us?” if you are from a coastal program, so have a good answer ready.

100% agree about the more laid back feeling. It isn’t “slow” like it felt down at some of the Southern VAs, but definitely not the hustle and bustle of 50hr+ wks at a coastal AMC/VA.

A good work-life balance and laid back setting is more my pace. I grew up in the mid-atlantic area and have zero interest in returning to the hustle culture there, so this is exactly what I was hoping to hear!

 

[Zazulator]

I have trained and worked at VAs in both metros and non-metros (not in the midwest) and I think a sweet spot is a medical center with full emergency room and robust medical and mental health services but decent pace. That means you'll have access to a multitude of rotations, including interdisciplinary team experiences (rehab, SUD, residential, acute inpatient, etc) versus a place that only has a handful of outpatient therapy rotations.

So you can consider what rotations/opportunities exist at the Lincoln NE CBOC versus the Sioux Falls medical center. And compared to St. Louis and Kansas City which are good sized metros.

The last piece is meeting training faculty during interviews and hopefully get a sense of training philosophies and people you'd be excited to learn from.

This is helpful to consider. The CBOC does offer rotations that I was hoping to get, but I can see how the training may be less robust than could be offered at a full medical center. Thanks for giving me that to think on!

 

[Zazulator]

Besides having to live in Sioux Falls?

The Sioux Falls VA has exactly what I am looking for from a training perspective...is there anything particularly bad about Sioux Falls aside from the blistering cold winters that I should be aware of (Though I am sure the winters alone could deter people from going there 🤣)?

 

[Zazulator]

Thank you all so much for your input, it was helpful and encouraging !

 

[Justanothergrad]

Hi all!,

I am in the process of creating my list of pre-doctoral internship sites to apply to. I am applying to roughly 50% VA hospitals and was curious if anyone has insight into some of the sites in the midwest? It seems that many of them went to second round match last year and I was curious if this has to do with location or if the sites themselves are having problems?
The sites I am specifically considering in this region:

• Sioux Fall, SD
• Lincoln, NE CBOC (part of the western iowa/eastern ne VA)
• Kansas City, MO
• St. Louis, MO

Thank you for any insight that can be offered!

Of the KC area internships, I recommend Topeka over KC / Leavenworth VA. Topeka and Leavenworth are a single site. DK if KC got off the ground for internship yet- hadn't heard.

Lots more midwest than this, but looks like you are restricting to only a few states in the Midwest (no Iowa, Minnesota, etc). why?

 

[WisNeuro]

The Sioux Falls VA has exactly what I am looking for from a training perspective...is there anything particularly bad about Sioux Falls aside from the blistering cold winters that I should be aware of (Though I am sure the winters alone could deter people from going there 🤣)?

Mostly just South Dakotans 🙂 I tend to enjoy more moderate areas with people on both sides, rather than a homogeneous supermajority.

 

[Zazulator]

Of the KC area internships, I recommend Topeka over KC / Leavenworth VA. Topeka and Leavenworth are a single site. DK if KC got off the ground for internship yet- hadn't heard.

Lots more midwest than this, but looks like you are restricting to only a few states in the Midwest (no Iowa, Minnesota, etc). why?

I was looking at the VA near Iowa City, but last year they did not have many rotations, which they said they hoped to fix for this coming year but last I checked their new brochure wasn't out yet. My partner is a master's level clinician, so we are trying to be mindful of places where his license will transfer - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois all have some extra class requirements that he did not have in his degree program, so his license would not transfer to those. Ohio is a just a hard pass for me haha.

 

[Psychchick09]

I was looking at the VA near Iowa City, but last year they did not have many rotations, which they said they hoped to fix for this coming year but last I checked their new brochure wasn't out yet. My partner is a master's level clinician, so we are trying to be mindful of places where his license will transfer - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois all have some extra class requirements that he did not have in his degree program, so his license would not transfer to those. Ohio is a just a hard pass for me haha.

You could look at the Truman VA in Columbia MO if you’re looking at other Missouri sites. And while I generally share your sentiments about Ohio, if you can stomach it for a year, the Cleveland VA has a lot of different rotation opportunities (or at least it did back in the day haha)

 

[cara susanna]

The Sioux Falls VA has exactly what I am looking for from a training perspective...is there anything particularly bad about Sioux Falls aside from the blistering cold winters that I should be aware of (Though I am sure the winters alone could deter people from going there 🤣)?

I completed part of my training in North Dakota and survived the winters there, so I think South Dakota is definitely doable. Sioux Falls is fine, it's just not, like, a very fun or culturally stimulating place, although you will likely get exposure to Native American culture. It's also quite politically conservative, from what I remember.

 

[psycho1391]

Cleveland VA has a lot of different rotation opportunities (or at least it did back in the day haha)

They still do! I have a friend that currently works there. Great opportunities.

 

[futureapppsy2]

They still do! I have a friend that currently works there. Great opportunities.

I have a good colleague who works there and can second that their training program, at least in rehab, is very strong.