Portland Maine Psych

[DazedMD]

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Does Anyone know more about the program in Portland Maine?

This may sound crazy, but I looked at a picture of their residents and the majority of residents look very old!!!! I'm not trying to be judgemental or anything, but take a look at the pic. What do you guys think? Is this weird or what?

Is the town nice?

What is call schedule like. Have you met any of the residents, program director, etc?

Would it be possible to fly into maine and then drive to other Northeast locations in December or will the snow make this problematic?

If you have ever lived in Portland, I would love to know more.

Thanks

 

[silas2642]

Hey there;

I'm just a first year, so I can't speak to the quality of the residency in Portland. However, since the only school we have in Maine is UNECOM, and since UNECOM tends to have older, more non-traditional students, I think this in part accounts for why some of their residents are a bit on the older side. That, and Maine Med Center isn't the most "prestigious" place to train, so it may not attract a lot of the younger, brighter students. However, Maine is a great place to raise a family, and I think that this might have a lot to do with attracting the older applicants-- it's just a really great place to settle down and build a life.

 

[DazedMD]

Hey Silas,

So how bad is the weather there in November and December?

Is it possible to rent a car in Portland and then drive to providence, RI or could that be a bad idea if there is ice/snow.

Do you think I would get good training at MMC for psych? How do you feel about the faculty, security for inpatient psych and the facilities?

Thanks

 

[silas2642]

Again, I can't really speak about the quality of the program. As for Maine weather, well, it's Maine weather. Having a guarantee for good weather to drive from Maine to Providence in November-December isn't exactly going to happen-- we get nasty weather all the time. After a while, it's just something you get used to and learn to live with.

 

[MBK2003]

I went to college in Maine and have been to Maine for summer and winter vacations for 11 years, so I'll chime in. In general, the weather in Maine in predictable based upon major weather events (e.g. Nor'easter) and something you can prepare for (as opposed to the dreaded "lake effect storms" of Buffalo, Rochester, and Cleveland which are minimally predictable). I would say that you can make plans to drive from Portland to Boston/Providence and then if the weather is terrible, you can just cancel the rental and take Amtrak from Portland into Boston. I always find that the weather/storms are worse in January than Nov/Dec, although you can never predict when the big storms will happen. Personally, I'm moving back to Maine after this year of training ends because I can't wait to be back in Maine and raise my kids there, so I'm not unbiased in saying that Portland is a great place to spend your time in training.

MBK2003

 

[gardilimo]

speaking of providence, does anyone know when Brown sends out invites or have they all ready?

 

[musm2008]

I'm young and interested in the Maine psych program too. Maybe we could start a new trend. Does anyone know if it is actually a good program? Not being prestigous is fine as long as I won't be miserable there.

 

[spaslam]

I am a 4th yr med student who grew up in Maine, but has not done a rotation at MMC. My info comes from other students and graduates of the program.

MMC is a Univ. of Vermont (and UNE, the DO program) affiliate and a busy program. As the only Psych residency in Maine, it has a great variety of cases. I have been told the UVM students prefer training at MMC vs. being in Burlington. They have a number of FMGs. The graduates of the program I have met are competent, well-trained and compassionate psychiatrists. One complaint was the lack of structured didactics and psychopharmacology training. Check out AMA's Freida web site for more information, ie, call, hours of education, workload, etc.

 

[melvin]

I did a rotation at MMC on P6 (inpatient psych unit). I can tell you that everybody in the program is very nice and laid back. The residents are by no means all old. There seem to be several IMGs, which isn't always a bad thing as is sometimes hinted at on this board. Many of the residents are young and they seemed easy to get along with. The attendings were extremely bright and there was ample teaching on the fly. I can't comment enough on the quality of the attendings. Their computer system was great and made life easy. Portland is a very nice place to live and the scenery is wonderful.

The negatives of the program, in my opinion, might also be positives to other folks. I think the program may be too laid back. From my understanding first year residents don't go to didactics. Call seemed reasonable. Also, the program is small. 4 residents per class, but this year they are increasing to 5. The reason I chose not to apply was because I am looking to be in more of a university setting and I was fearful that a lack of cultural diversity in the patient population may limit my education. If you want to know more about the program pm me, but note that my knowledge is limited.