Second Looks?

[whiskey]

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I'm wondering what people's experiences have been with return visits so far. Did you find them helpful in clarifying your preferences? Were you able to attend rounds, or did you meet one-on-one with particular individuals? Does the structure of the day depend on their interest level in you as a candidate? Just wondering whether it's worth my effort... Thank a lot.

 

[jane70]

I'm wondering what people's experiences have been with return visits so far. Did you find them helpful in clarifying your preferences? Were you able to attend rounds, or did you meet one-on-one with particular individuals? Does the structure of the day depend on their interest level in you as a candidate? Just wondering whether it's worth my effort... Thank a lot.

I went on a second look and it was very helpful. If you can spend the money and time I think it's a great idea. My day wasn't exactly what I had in mind for a 2nd look but it still wound up helpful. I just assumed that I would spend a day shadowing a resident more or less...going to grand rounds or didactics, just seeing what a typical day would be like. Instead I just met with a couple residents individually and asked them questions about the program. I was only there for about 2 hours. So that was a little odd and I was curious if other people had similar experiences on 2nd looks? I'm glad I went, but it wasn't how I thought it was going to be.

 

[whiskey]

Thanks for your reply. Two hours sounds pretty short though. Was that at an institution in your town? I'd hate to fly across the country in order to chat with a couple of residents, when I could do that over the telephone. Although I suppose that some part of the purpose is to demonstrate your own interest in the program...

 

[jane70]

Yes, I did fly across the country for two hours. I'm not exactly sure how to take it and maybe I wasn't proactive enough in making sure my day was worthwhile. It was mostly helpful just seeing the city again and the residents were very informative...different than the interview day when everyone is so formal. Since the actual second look day was a bit of a letdown I'm not sure if it should affect my ranking of the program or not.

 

[Nika]

...spend a day shadowing a resident more or less...going to grand rounds or didactics, just seeing what a typical day would be like.

That was my expirience

 

[Lauraaa]

I'm a big fan of 2nd looks - did about 4 of them, and during each of the them asked to go to rounds where I could watch what the interaction was between attendings and residents - how formal/informal it was, how much autonomy the residents seemed to have, how cooperative the general environment was between residents/RNs/social work/activities coordinators... plus got to meet more residents and in general see what the "personality" of the resident body was like - thought in a nutshull for these reasons they were very helpful.

 

[GatorMedMan]

For me the biggest reason for doing my second looks was to get a better sense of the city/area the program was in. Seeing the night life, what areas the residents can afford to live in, the winter weather, the overall "vibe" I get from the locals, etc. You'll have a good amount of free time during a psych residency. So being in a fun town is definitely important to me. Especially after living in a crappy town like Gainesville for so long.