Pittsburgh

[maranatha]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Ok. Sorry upfront for another "what do people know about this program." 😳 And, yes, I looked on Scutwork and went through the interview feedback from past years. I am curious about others opinions about the program who have more recent knowledge.

I'm considering ranking Pitt very high--maybe 1 or 2. I know the reputation for Pitt is that it is a huge research monster, but the clinical training is not as solid. However, my impression from the interview was very different. My guess is that the new PD, Dr. Travis, has been changing the program by adding more psychotherapy and upgrading the clinical training over the last couple years. And all the residents I spoke with are very happy with the program and the clinical training, including psychotherapy. Was I just being fooled? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[i61164]

I don't know anything about the program, but I just wanted to mention that you should also consider the excellent local NFL team. If you end up there, I hear that some local deli make a sandwich called "The Roethlisberger." Man I could go for one of those right now.

 

[Ptel7479]

Ok. Sorry upfront for another "what do people know about this program." 😳 And, yes, I looked on Scutwork and went through the interview feedback from past years. I am curious about others opinions about the program who have more recent knowledge.

I'm considering ranking Pitt very high--maybe 1 or 2. I know the reputation for Pitt is that it is a huge research monster, but the clinical training is not as solid. However, my impression from the interview was very different. My guess is that the new PD, Dr. Travis, has been changing the program by adding more psychotherapy and upgrading the clinical training over the last couple years. And all the residents I spoke with are very happy with the program and the clinical training, including psychotherapy. Was I just being fooled? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Hey there!!
Here is my impression of Pitt...I think you're right to rank it 1 or 2. Keep it there! It is an all around excellent program, precisely because it IS a research monster. What this means to me is that the program is on the cutting edge of new developments (if you look at the types of reseach they offer you will see how broad their range is). I believe the psychotherapy training is a newly emphasized element and you will not be disappointed because some of the researchers there also do conceptual work in this area. As for clinical training, I wouldn't worry about it because 1) i got the impression that it is quite good and 2) i believe the idea that psychiatry researchers are poor clinicians is a myth (the program director believes that you need SOLID clinical skills before you can hope to be a great researcher). At the end of the day, you will still be a resident with plenty of patients and teaching cases to learn from, and plently of clinical responsibility. Now whether you actually put it #1 or #2 should depend on your career goals. Do you hate research (or would you rather not have to bother if you could get away with it)? Do you want to be a clinician with possibly some research but possibly not? Do you ONLY want to be a clinician? Do you intend to do a fellowship in a place where you don't necessarily need to have research experience? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then maybe you should place a program that has less of a research emphasis (but still has research opportunities) as your number one. But if you like research, or don't mind it, and are open to the possibility of incorporating some research in your career, then going to a "research monster" can only help you, not hurt you. Besides, isn't it better to have the research skills and choose whether or not to use them than to find out later on that you need them, but don't have them? This is just my personal opinion, and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. Hope this helps!

 

[lloyd braun]

I also think Pitt is a good program, and that you should feel very happy about ranking it highly. I went into my interview with a negative attitude because of the reputation it had as being a "reasearch monster." However, I was pleasantly surprised at the opportunities in community psychiatry (an interest of mine) and the overall good clinical training you seemed to get. The residents do seem really happy, though one really went out of her way to talk about how good the call schedule and work hours are, which I thought was kind of weird. As far as research getting in the way of clinical training, this same resident did admit that there was a case of concurrent first-break schizophrenia in monozygotic twins, and the resident was told not to give medication right away so they could be entered into a research study. I can certainly understand that, however, as long as they are not acutely dangerous to themselves or others and the delay in giving medication is reasonable.

 

[maranatha]

Thanks!!! I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[Doc Samson]

FWIW... I've never visited Pitt, but have met with the chair who said "anyone can learn to be a clinical psychiatrist in 2 years, the rest of the time in residency should be spent on research." This scared the hell out of me.

 

[maranatha]

FWIW... I've never visited Pitt, but have met with the chair who said "anyone can learn to be a clinical psychiatrist in 2 years, the rest of the time in residency should be spent on research." This scared the hell out of me.

Interesting...I interviewed with the chair and he made a point to tell me that there was no pressure for any resident to do research. I spoke with a few residents who also confirmed there was no pressure.

 

[res-2007]

FWIW... I've never visited Pitt, but have met with the chair who said "anyone can learn to be a clinical psychiatrist in 2 years, the rest of the time in residency should be spent on research." This scared the hell out of me.

Do you mean Travis?

 

[Doc Samson]

Do you mean Travis?

No, Kupfer

 

[OldPsychDoc]

No, Kupfer

Brrrrr---I'm getting a flashback to the single most intimidating 10 minute encounter of my residency interview process.

 

[sunlioness]

I went to med school there and several people from my class matched there and they seem to really like it. They'll work your butt off over there and teh DEC (their ED) is intense, but I think they get really good training even if you're not planning on being a hard-core researcher.

 

[maranatha]

I went to med school there and several people from my class matched there and they seem to really like it. They'll work your butt off over there and teh DEC (their ED) is intense, but I think they get really good training even if you're not planning on being a hard-core researcher.

Thanks! 🙂 I ended up ranking Pitt #1 and am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[sunlioness]

Thanks! 🙂 I ended up ranking Pitt #1 and am keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck!