Psychiatry residency

[Chianti]

I'm 100% on doing psych. I've heard that for the most part (of course excluding the top programs like Harvard, Yale etc...) psych residencies will basically beg you to match there. Is this true? Does anyone have any factual knowledge about matching in psych? The NMRP table shows that this year only 60% of slots went to US grads, so obviously psych is not a competitive field but I'd like some feedback from someone who's been through the process or who knows friends who did so. Thanks in advance

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[MBK2003]

I matched in psych last year and am now a PGY-1, so I can tell you about my experience last year. Everyone from my medical school (mid to lower tier state school) who wanted to do psych matched, so there is clearly an advantage to being an AMG with either an MD or DO. I was told, however, that psych was more competitive last year than the previous year and that many PD's expect this trend to continue. In the end, however, some lower tier programs will almost beg you to rank them highly, especially if you have the grades, board scores, LORs, etc.

Since psych is still an applicant's market, for the most part depending on the program, I recommend talking to the psych residency director at your school and get his/her opinion on good training programs in the geographic areas that you are considering. Also, apply to a couple more programs than you think you need to, since there are some surprises out there on the interview trail (top tier programs that don't really seem all that great once you actually visit them and middle tier programs that just seem to fit your personality/strengths). You can also search the Psych residency forum for some threads on program reviews from interviewing MS4's.

Good luck!
MBK2003

 

[Winged Scapula]

Moving to Psychiatry forum...