apologies in advance for condensed summaries - I realized that I could either write a short summary of my interviews or nothing (I have a toddler who drags me away from the computer at every chance when I'm home; and at the hospital, it doesn't look so good to be typing away on the web...).
UCSD - proud residents, reasonably happy. they do get offices (large ones) from the get-go. plenty of research, and surprisingly ample psychotherapy training, despite its research reputation. Mostly benign interviews - asked me what questions I had for the program. I spoke to the faculty mostly about their research, the program director about how long he planned to stay (he's staying for at least another 5 years, so we're all fine if we go there), and how many of them were past grads of the program. Most grads stay in the area, but it's not necessary. One of the PGY-4, who transferred from Harvard South Shore, told me to go East if I truly wanted a psychodynamic psychotherapy-strong program. She said I could get it here at UCSD, and that I would fit in with the residents, but if I really wanted that kind of training, I should go back east. I was grateful for this info - and I thought I fit in pretty well with the residents too, though not OVERLY so... I mean, some of them were very... uh, proud, of their research... And seemed to be fluffing their feathers, so to speak, regarding their research. But, I don't know that this reflects the program so much as the individual, if you know what I mean. On the plus side, there was a limo ride tour of the beautiful beaches - actually, sometimes it's a van, depending on how many people show up on interview day (psych-family med folks increase the # of folks).
Overall - research strong, beautiful weather, psychotherapy training available - in fact, they are the only program I've encountered that offers EVERY RESIDENT an entire YEAR FREE of Pychotherapy. This is ridiculously awesome, and one of the reasons I'm considering it. Moonlighting can be done.
2. UC-Irvine - happy residents. Perhaps not as research-oriented as UCSD, but very resident-focused. The Program Director, Jerold Maguire (yeah, like the movie) is renown for being the force behind this program, and I suppose that is true, though he didn't seem particularly SPECTACULAR during my interview. He was fine, but perhaps his reputation had built him into a super-human in my mind, so I found him quite normal. He, too, has no plans of leaving the program any time soon, so all of us will be fine should we go here. The reason they have so many UC-I med students going into this program is apparently because no one wants to leave, not that they can't get anyone else to fill the spots. More than 20% of their med school class is entering psychiatry - that's a ton. Most want to stay at UC-I. They can't all get in, but they generally love it and want to stay. My impression was - well, it's fine. I think it would be a fine place to train. They seemed, on the whole, less... brainy than some others, but that might be a plus. Interestingly, no one had read any of my application prior to my interviews - so this was very different than everywhere else. Mostly, they just wanted to know "why psychiatry." They do have a psychiatry cinema night that sounds like fun. And the weather here is gorgeous too. Moonlighting can be done.
3. San Mateo - A program I desperately wanted to adore. I'm not sure how I feel about this program. The interviews were very friendly, and I enjoy most of the faculty interactions I've had. The interactions with the residents, however... I'm not sure. They all kept asking me "Why do you want to come here?" And they all stressed how light their call schedule was. I thought I wanted to go there for the psychotherapy training, but whenever I mentionned this aspect, I mostly received blank looks. ??? If anyone else has anything to add regarding this program, I'd love to hear it. The interviews all centered on how I found the program, why did I want to go there, and who I was. The interview with the program director is 2-3 hours long, and traces the applicants life from... elementary school on up. Basically, he wants to know when we started wanting to go into psychiatry and why. I did not feel scrutinized or judged, but I did feel a bit stretched to explain exactly the point in my life when psychiatry became a possiblity. This could be a good thing. He is planning to stay at least 5 years, so again, all of us are safe from upheaval should we choose to attend this program. I was told that because the first-year class only has 4 spots, that maternity leave during the first year and a half of residency would not be optimal. However, since fellow residents do not have to take up the slack in call, at least you're not hindering them. Mostly, it's a matter of making up the rotations that are missed. As far as I could tell, this is the only residency that does not use its residents as work-horses, that exists for the sole purpose of education. There is NO Overnight CALL - EVER. The residents seem very laid back, though perhaps defensive, at their choice. Moonlighting opportunities abound.
4. Cambridge - Happy intelligent residents, no boasting or preening about research, though there is plenty of research going on - they work together in an adult-learning-model; they have all day wednesdays devoted to lectures. The only weird thing is that their call schedule is very hidden... Especially for the intern year. It's impossible to find the specifics of it in anything we're given or that is publically available online. I believe it is Q3 for one month, in the ICU; and Q4 short-call (home by 10pm) the rest of the time, unless it falls on a Friday or Saturday or Sunday, in which case it's overnight. The month of Q3 sounds like hell, but I suppose it's only a month... Moonlighting opportunities abound at any of the Harvard hospitals. This program director also plans to stay around for at least another 5 years, so we're all safe if we come here as well. There is a focus on psychotherapy training modalities, evidence-based medicine, and biological therapies. Not much C-L experience, but I don't want to do that, so it's okay by me. I like the community focus b/c I don't plan on doing inpatient psych when all is said and done. I highly recommend the pre-interview dinner (it starts at 7pm the night before), as this was when I really got to know the residents and fellow applicants. This is the warm and fuzzy Harvard program, and the residents seem very personable, fun, happy, intelligent, and deep.
Ok, so that wasn't all that short, but it's just stream of consciousness and now I'm typing one-handed as the toddler pulls me away. Hope this was helpful.
