Opinions on Brown and Duke?

[psyched7]

I haven't seen much talk of Duke or Brown on here, both of which really impressed me on interview day. I'm wondering what others on the interview trail think of these programs. Any opinions?

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[psyched7]

No one has any pros or cons about these programs? Please?

 

[OldPsychDoc]

No one has any pros or cons about these programs? Please?

Why don't you post YOUR impressions?

 

[atsai3]

No one has any pros or cons about these programs? Please?

Wow. You waited 5 hours from the initial post before following up with a "ISN'T ANYONE LISTENING TO ME" post?

Echo OldPsychDoc: stop free-riding and post some of your impressions.

-AT.

 

[psyched7]

Wow. You waited 5 hours from the initial post before following up with a "ISN'T ANYONE LISTENING TO ME" post?

Echo OldPsychDoc: stop free-riding and post some of your impressions.

-AT.

Because I'm looking for others' opinions? I really liked them, I stated that. I'm not going to go through and enumerate the reasons when no one has solicited them. I was wondering what others thought. You're not wanting to go there, are you? 🙂 That's a plus.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Because I'm looking for others' opinions? I really liked them, I stated that. I'm not going to go through and enumerate the reasons when no one has solicited them. I was wondering what others thought. You're not wanting to go there, are you? 🙂 That's a plus.

Well, we do have an interview impressions thread -- it's a community effort that works best if more SDN users participate. Lots of us have taken time to write detailed reviews without being requested to do so, so asking for opinions without sharing can seem a little ungrateful.

 

[psyched7]

Well, we do have an interview impressions thread -- it's a community effort that works best if more SDN users participate. Lots of us have taken time to write detailed reviews without being requested to do so, so asking for opinions without sharing can seem a little ungrateful.

I wasn't really looking for interview impressions - I've gone through the details of the program ad nauseum. I know the rotations and clinical sites and call schedules and etc. etc. I guess what I was more getting at was why are these programs so rarely mentioned? Is there anything bad about them that I don't know? Sorry if I seem ungrateful.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Well, we do have an interview impressions thread -- it's a community effort that works best if more SDN users participate. Lots of us have taken time to write detailed reviews without being requested to do so, so asking for opinions without sharing can seem a little ungrateful.

And as you said you were impressed, what else do we have to add?
Unless you're wanting others to validate your impressions, that is?

So like the good Bagel Doctor says, tell us what impressed you.
Why would or wouldn't you go there? They both have good "names"--but everyone already knows that. What's special about them?

 

[psyched7]

And as you said you were impressed, what else do we have to add?
Unless you're wanting others to validate your impressions, that is?

So like the good Bagel Doctor says, tell us what impressed you.
Why would or wouldn't you go there? They both have good "names"--but everyone already knows that. What's special about them?

Fine, I'll post my little pro/con list. Keep in mind that I'm interested in child...

Duke:
Pros - great PD that everyone loves, lots of flexibility in the program mostly due to accommodating PD, EBM/team-based learning, an emphasis on psychotherapy training with opportunities for live psychotherapy supervision, family studies center, opportunity to do two months outpatient peds as PGY-1, seems more highly regarded than Brown (though i could be wrong), residents seem happy
Cons - Durham? (seems an easy place to live and definitely affordable but not so sure if I'd enjoy it), call seems stressful, lots of time spent at the VA (seems like it might be excessive), only one month of child as PGY-2

Brown:
Pros - flexible program, great variety of training sites (including free-standing adult and child psych hospitals and a tertiary care hospital), no 30-hr call shifts, happy residents, great exposure to child including opportunity to do 4 months of peds as PGY-1 and 4 months of child at Bradley Hospital as PGY-2, Providence is a nice place to live (from what I can tell)
Cons - residents are on "pager call" for their patients when on an inpatient unit, less prestigious?, Providence is colder and snowier

 

[cookymonster]

I interviewed at Duke, but not at Brown. I agree with all of the strengths you mentioned above, with one exception. A few of the residents at Duke I met didn't seem very happy at all. One was even thinking of leaving. It's a very rigorous program; it might be ideal for you, but clearly it wasn't what a handful of the current residents expected. I also wouldn't worry about "prestige;" when you're talking about Duke and Brown, any difference is minuscule and debatable.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I've got to admit that I shouldn't have come across as so smug in my earlier post here because I have yet to post my review for Brown. I didn't interview at Duke, so I can't comment on that one. I was really impressed by Brown, but it sounds like pretty much everyone was. I liked Providence -- it's older, fairly urban and a lot cheaper than Boston. It seems like Brown and RISD add a lot of richness to the community, too, and it's a mob city -- how fun! 🙄 I got the impression that the residents were pretty happy, and it seemed like they tried to do a lot of activities together. However, I did meet someone on the interview trail who had transferred away from Brown because she didn't feel like she got the support she needed while going through a family crisis. Also, I've heard some residents have had trouble with the moving from site to site, which can make the program feel more disjointed and less friendly.

 

[Scorcher31]

Just to stick up for psyched a little bit some of us won't post our impressions until after match. Some of the pros and especially the cons of programs are somewhat specific to me and I rather a program not get the wrong impression about my desire to go there. I’ll be happy to post my impressions post match for next year’s class.

In general I'd probably be happy at any of the places I've interviewed at, but am also having a hard time figuring out an exact rank order. It's hard to weigh + and - when the categories of them are so different.

It's hard to compare the cons of driving an hour+ to work every day, with having to live separate from my fiancé for 4 years but probably the most impressive program, with having to live separate from my fiancé for a year and do 7 calls a month, with having a non diverse patient population in a just fair program but easy call and convenient location.

Basically when I post and I’m looking for input from current or past interns, residents, and attendings that might know something that helps me tweak my rank order list. Generally I'm looking for bad things that I might have missed, glaring warnings about a program, and the reputation of the program in the psychiatry community as a whole.

 

[Doctor J 216]

I've heard good things about both programs. People who went to Brown are pretty diversely trained and enjoyed their experience. Most I've known have gone on to do fellowships.

Friends from Duke say that it's all about EBM. That does not mean they are biologically oriented. Far from it. They have one of the best therapy training curriculums in the country. The therapy is all EBM too though (CBT, DBT, family). That training comes with hard work though. If you want to "take it easy" in residency, it may not be for you.

 

[psyched7]

I've heard good things about both programs. People who went to Brown are pretty diversely trained and enjoyed their experience. Most I've known have gone on to do fellowships.

Friends from Duke say that it's all about EBM. That does not mean they are biologically oriented. Far from it. They have one of the best therapy training curriculums in the country. The therapy is all EBM too though (CBT, DBT, family). That training comes with hard work though. If you want to "take it easy" in residency, it may not be for you.

Have you heard anything about Brown's flexibility? Is the administration responsive to resident concerns?

 

[BobA]

Both are great programs, the differences between them being so minuscule that I ranked them by location rather than what I thought of the programs.


Do you want to live in the North or the South? Having lived in both areas, I can tell you that the difference is huge. Durham is a true Southern city. Providence is like a distant Boston suburb.

That being said, I liked Duke better, but wouldn't want to live in Durham.

 

[billypilgrim37]

Durham is a true Southern city. Providence is like a distant Boston suburb.

I didn't know true Southern cities had gangs. Maybe Atlanta is now the definition of the true Southern city? 😉

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I didn't know true Southern cities had gangs. Maybe Atlanta is now the definition of the true Southern city? 😉

Maybe gang-laden should be a requirement to be a true southern city. Little Rock, Memphis, New Orleans .... Oppressive politics, racial intolerance, ingrained poverty, etc. are pretty good breeding grounds for violence, so "true southern" = violent gangs makes sense in my book.

Seriously, though, are there gangs in Durham? I know it's the least nice part of the research triangle, but I thought that whole area was a yuppified pocket of NC.

 

[billypilgrim37]

Maybe gang-laden should be a requirement to be a true southern city. Little Rock, Memphis, New Orleans .... Oppressive politics, racial intolerance, ingrained poverty, etc. are pretty good breeding grounds for violence, so "true southern" = violent gangs makes sense in my book.

Seriously, though, are there gangs in Durham? I know it's the least nice part of the research triangle, but I thought that whole area was a yuppified pocket of NC.

My buddy who was a chaplain at Duke was protected on the bus by the Hispanic gang after he translated for somebody's grandma against an African American gang that kicked him out of a seat once.

That said, my other friends in Durham bought very nice houses in nice areas and are very happy. Wherever there is rough activity in Durham, I think it's fairly isolated.

 

[BobA]

You're just as likely to run into gangs in Providence. Only in Providnce, you'd be more likely to notice a spaghetti sauce stain on the gang member's button down shirt as it strains to cover their protuberant abdomen before said gang member put you in concrete boots and made you swim with the fishes.

 

[trophyhusband]

You're just as likely to run into gangs in Providence. Only in Providnce, you'd be more likely to notice a spaghetti sauce stain on the gang member's button down shirt as it strains to cover their protuberant abdomen before said gang member put you in concrete boots and made you swim with the fishes.

Well at least they won't be looking like a fool with their pants on the ground... sorry I couldn't resist.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Maybe gang-laden should be a requirement to be a true southern city. Little Rock, Memphis, New Orleans .... Oppressive politics, racial intolerance, ingrained poverty, etc. are pretty good breeding grounds for violence, so "true southern" = violent gangs makes sense in my book.

Seriously, though, are there gangs in Durham? I know it's the least nice part of the research triangle, but I thought that whole area was a yuppified pocket of NC.

Duke lacrosse team?

 

[Cinnameg]

Any chance we could revive the main topic? I am undecided about these places also -- Brown and Duke -- and it would be really nice to hear some opinions from those who know better than I do (that is, those with more than 1 interview day exposure).

 

[atsai3]

Any chance we could revive the main topic? I am undecided about these places also -- Brown and Duke -- and it would be really nice to hear some opinions from those who know better than I do (that is, those with more than 1 interview day exposure).

See posts #3, #4, #6 & #8 in this thread. It would help other SDN'ers respond if you posted your own thoughts about Brown & Duke and what strengths/weaknesses about each of these programs have made you undecided.

-AT.