Do some programs not offer invites if you don't have the CS on file?
Yes. Was told this directly by a PD during an interview last year. Their logic was "I currently have over 1,000 applicants and 700+ (I don't remember the actual number, but it was most) have complete applications. Why wouldn't I offer interviews to the people I know are set to go?"
Idk how common that is, but those programs do exist.
there are benefits including the fact that your chances of matching diminish a little after a certain number of interviews, the cost savings, the time, saving some energy (interview season is draining), and the fact that your performance suffers after a certain number of interviews whether you are aware of it or not. If you are able to get 17 interviews, that means you don't need to go on 17 interviews. It is also unlikely that someone is genuinely enthusiastic at matching at all of those places.
Yep, plus more interviews doesn't necessarily mean increased odds if there are other issues with the applicant. This person's posts reminded me of the thread from last year where the girl had 24 ii's and didn't match. Just a point that more interviews isn't always better.
Hi guys, need some advice for a friend of mine who's applying Psych. COMLEX 1: 599, and 2: 530+. He applied to 70+ programs and only has 2 invites as of date.
Any advice on how to approach this? Should he be panicking, should he apply to FM/IM/TRI as a back up at this point?
Sorry I'm applying EM and didn't want to give application advice in a field I'm unfamiliar with. LMK what you guys think.
What are the red flags in their app? Non-US citizen? Poor LOR's/dean's letter? Awful PS? Submitted app in Nov? Unless they only applied to top tier, DO-unfriendly programs there's got to be some other reason they're only sitting on 2 ii's. To answer the question though, yes, they should be very concerned and I'd be exploring plan B by this point.
Question for current residents/attendings:
What do you think of a residency with only a Voluntary Inpatient Unit?
I've looked high and low on previous threads and haven't seen much on this. One particular program that I quite enjoyed interviewing at has only an adult voluntary inpatient unit. No involuntary patients other than 48 hour holds waiting for transfer. I'm concerned at the end of the day, my experience is going to be skewed away from thought disorders and toward affect/mood disorders. Many of the residents don't seem to mind this much because they like not having to deal with the paperwork that comes with the committal process. Thoughts?
Thank you!
Serious question, did you ask them how frequently they see thought disorders? Your concern is valid, but you'd be surprised how often psychotic patients actually come in voluntarily or are brought in and agree to stay (especially if they're homeless and you've got a free bed and food). If anything, you may be less likely to see certain personality disorders in this setting, as a large percentage of my involuntary patients have certain personality disorders (good luck getting paranoid personality to agree to admission). You may also not see manic patients as manic and hypomanic patients often feel good in that state and don't want treatment until they start coming down and realize what they were doing.
I am not a resident or attending but I think your initial concerns are spot on. IMO, not having to do some paperwork (which in my home state is pretty minimal time-wise) is a poor trade off for not seeing the most acute type of psych patients during your residency. Even if you are planning on working exclusively with mood disorders, you would be missing out on the most acutely depressed and actively suicidal patients.
Not sure about that either. Sure, there'd be some that wouldn't seek treatment. However, many of the extremely depressed and actively suicidal patients I've worked with agree to come in and get help once they're called out on it or caught in the act. The problem with many of them is not getting them to come in, it's getting them to stay after they've been there for 3-4 days and are only experiencing minimal improvement. Again, in my (limited) experience this is even more true if they've got an underlying personality disorder. This would certainly be something to be weary of, but I'd ask questions about possible inpt electives and general exposure to specific patient populations. A good question I always asked was "what kinds of patients do you wish you had more exposure to", as it's an indirect way of asking "What's lacking in your curriculum?" The common answer I got almost everywhere was eating disorders, but there were 1 or 2 programs where resident responses to the former question seemed to suggest a lack of exposure to some things you definitely want exposure to (adjustment disorders and anxiety as a primary diagnosis being the two I encountered).
