Residency Program Recommendations

[Sunshine1991]

Hey there!
I'm starting to get more serious about preparing to apply to residency and wanted to ask some advice about programs. I'm a DO student with a dash a research and a 23x step 1. No step 2 yet. I'm not an elite candidate, but that's not really what I'm looking for anyways; but I don't have any red flags that will get me auto screened either, so I'm hoping to have a some choices.
Honestly, besides decent weather, so no Minnesota, NY etc, the biggest thing to me is a program where the community is tight and where I have time to pursue my interest in working with underserved populations. Also bigger cities would be better because I like trying different food. Additionally, I know that I would not fit in at a heavily academic/research focused institution. I'm not exactly positive what kind of training I want to focus on, more bio-centric vs therapy, but I suspect my preference will fall somewhere more in the middle if possible?
My question is are there any programs with a particularly good atmosphere? Somewhere with a real sense of community and positivity. It's quality that can be difficult to suss out from a website. And are there features to a residency program I'm missing that should play a role in where to apply?
Thanks for your time!

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[ChasingMavericks]

following

 

[Shimmmy]

You will start to get a feel for programs as you start interviewing. Look for things like faculty support, turnover, and other tidbits that you will find highlighted on other threads such as Residency Impressions

If you search around you will also find that a 23x doesn't exclude you from pretty much anywhere

 

[shaha14310]

What about a 22x as a DO?

 

[Shimmmy]

There’s an entire thread dedicated for this, take a look here Unofficial WAMC Thread Psych residency 2021

Have you taken a look at the NRMP data? It will give you a hard look of the actual numbers rather than caveats from members on a forum. But yea, you’re still in the running considering the average step 1 last year for psych was in the 220’s. But don’t take my word for it, go look at the chart outcomes on the NBOME website.

 

[Oedipa Maas]

Being from the Southwest, I have to recommend the AZ programs. Good weather, close knit residents, and they value and provide a lot of opportunities to work with underserved populations. For the Creighton program in Phoenix, you will pretty much exclusively work with that population. For the Tucson program, you see those patients organically but there are also additional opportunities to interview asylum seekers at the border. Also Tucson is on the smaller side but the food scene is unreal. Phoenix is pretty good too, and a larger city, but I am still thinking about some of the meals I’ve eaten in Tucson. All programs are DO friendly and in particular seem to invite and match DO students that rotate there, though with the pandemic idk how that will change. None of the programs are research powerhouses so you won’t have to worry about that. Knowing the people that matched these programs, the reputation for chill, nice people will persist at least another year.

Also this doesn’t really check your good weather box but University of Vermont had hands down the kindest, warmest faculty and admin I have ever met. Something to consider when looking at what is important to you.

 

[kopftonmd]

Honestly, besides decent weather, so no Minnesota, NY etc, the biggest thing to me is a program where the community is tight and where I have time to pursue my interest in working with underserved populations. Also bigger cities would be better because I like trying different food.

Imo, the bad weather in NY doesn't hold a candle to bad weather in MN or ME.

(Sorry I have nothing of value to add but I chuckled at this)

 

[NickNaylor]

I would push back at trying to find a program with a good "community" - not because that isn't important but because it can be so variable. At my program, there were significant shifts in the overall culture of the program just based on the people that ended up coming here for training. Nothing meaningfully changed about the program other than the residents, and while a program might try to cultivate a certain "community," that kind of thing is ultimately going to be fostered by the residents themselves.

Again, not saying this isn't important, but just because you like the "community" at a program when you interview there doesn't mean you're going to have the same experience as an actual member of that program.

 

[Stagg737]

I'll second what NN said above. The social aspect of residency can shift a ton from class to class. The feel of the class that just graduated from my program was completely different than my class.

Something else I noted after the interview season which I should have been more cognizant of while interviewing: I tended to find the places where I enjoyed the other interviewees to be more desirable than the places where the other interviewees were more awkward or less sociable. Of note, my current program probably would have been much lower on my rank list if I hadn't done a rotation here as a med student as the actual interview day I barely talked to the other interviewees and the whole day comes across as very underwhelming (which I've commonly heard from others as well).

 

[Sunshine1991]

What about a 22x as a DO?

Hey dude! In terms of numbers, the best thing would be to check out the AAMC's "residency explorer tool." It has the most accurate numbers as far as I have seen as well as % DO's in the program which is super duper helpful since digging through the websites can be time consuming!

 

[Oedipa Maas]

I'll second what NN said above. The social aspect of residency can shift a ton from class to class. The feel of the class that just graduated from my program was completely different than my class.

Something else I noted after the interview season which I should have been more cognizant of while interviewing: I tended to find the places where I enjoyed the other interviewees to be more desirable than the places where the other interviewees were more awkward or less sociable. Of note, my current program probably would have been much lower on my rank list if I hadn't done a rotation here as a med student as the actual interview day I barely talked to the other interviewees and the whole day comes across as very underwhelming (which I've commonly heard from others as well).

This is important to note. I agree, fellow interviewees definitely played a role in my overall impression. I didn’t end up matching with any of them but interestingly enough, most of my cohort interviewed at many of the same programs I did, just at different times.