Wanted to add a review of my program

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Your link doesn't work. It brings me to a page where I can enter a review about your program. I think the link you're meaning to include is this one:

http://scutwork.com/programs/938/umdnj-new-jersey-medical-school-program-313341/

I will include your review in my post for you:

UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Program: Psychiatry

TITLE
Program with significant issues

SUMMARY
Program has good substance use exposure, you have a very heavy course load and you will learn how to hit the ground running in the real world. I would not choose this program if I were to do things over again and I think most of my classmates would agree. Negatives include a grueling call schedule varying Q3 in first year to about q4 third year, including overnight and weekend calls. Most graduates are able to secure fairly good fellowship positions.

MY SCHEDULE
typical day depends on site but 8-4, calls vary and can be overnight 24 hour call, 4-10pm. Program also has a hellish psychiatric ER which it is not uncommon to receive 15-20 consults in one 12 hour shift. During the day you have an attending to help you 9-4pm, however if you are on night float 9pm-9am there is no attending and you have to deal with these consults yourself with just phone supervision. Inpatient rotation is very grueling with interns and residents carrying 12 patients, while most programs give residents about 8 patients.

Hackensack hospital is also a very busy rotation site with minimal teaching. The VA site has a better workload however again very minimal teaching by attendings here.

MY LEARNING EXPERIENCE
This is the weakest part of the program. You get 2 half academic days of which half of one half day is for seeing patients in your longitudinal clinic. Lectures are sparse and one can have months with "self study time" during these didactic lectures. Teaching faculty is sparse and most didactic lecturers are voluntary faculty. It is clear that in this program clinical duty takes priority over ensuring residents have a decent education.

MY LIFE AND ENVIRONMENT
Constant fear of the chief residents who act as informants for the program directors. Constant fear of retaliation from administration and frequent verbal threats are commonplace in this program.

Positive is that camaraderie was fair amongst trainees. Average schedule of 70ish hours first year and 60+ hours second and third year per week make it difficult to produce time outside of clinical work. FMG percentage >80%.
– Posted 11/10/16
Click to expand...
 
clozareal said:
Your link doesn't work. It brings me to a page where I can enter a review about your program. I think the link you're meaning to include is this one:

http://scutwork.com/programs/938/umdnj-new-jersey-medical-school-program-313341/

I will include your review in my post for you:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post, but for some reason my review isn't being posted. Here it is:

This is a very difficult psychiatry residency program, not particularly just because of the number of calls but simply because one is seen as a workhorse rather than a psychiatry resident. At times we are expected to see 12-15 new consults on a 12 hour shift without any real discussion from the attending. While the new chair brings excellent addictions experience to the program this does no detract from the fact that the infrastructure of the program has stagnated. There is very little teaching that goes on and much of it is self directed. Residents are also fearful of approaching faculty and suggesting any changes, very few actually speakup out of fear of being labeled 'troublemakers'. One would be somewhat prepared after graduating this program if seeing patients enmasse without properly creating a psychiatric formulation is what one wants. I would definitely consider a program elsewhere in hindsight.

Hackensack hospital
=================
Rotations are split into inpatient, CL and outpatient rotations. Inpatient day starts at 8AM with formal signout conference, rounds then begin at 9AM. There are two residents and two attendings for a census of 24 patients, so 12 each. The medical students for inpatient rotation are fairly sheltered so they may help with 1-2 patients. You stay until the work is done, you are expected to do all 12 notes, many times this means 5-6. Short call are from 4-10 and average about 1 new consult an hour. The nice thing here is that you are not expected to manage crisis calls. Most of the attendings simply staff calls with you over the phone and not in person, leading to very few opportunities for learning. CL service also beings at 8AM and ends at 5PM, there are also about 1 new consult an hour minimum, teaching is very attending dependent on this rotation. Outpatient rotation is done at the health and wellness center, attendings often are too busy to staff patients with you and this means that you can be sitting with a patient waiting on the attending for an hour or so, leading to an unhappy patient. Teaching here is also very lacking.

VA
===
Typically rotations are from 8-430pm. Majority of this program's outpatient rotations happen at the VA, which can be a positive or a negative. Positive means that one can have some time to read during these rotations as schedules are lighter, however the supervision and range of pathology is definitely less. The VA can be difficult as due to department politics residents feel the brunt of any changes that happen. Many residents deal with vacation requests being denied. Residents are also pulled from services ie: outpatient to cover the psychiatric ER on multiple occasions, due to "short staffing" which happens daily at this site.

University Hospital
================
Probably the site with the most learning, hours are 9AM-9PM or 9PM to 9AM in the psych ER rotation of which residents do 4 months of in their residency. The ER rotation is improving with a new attending, but can also be prohibitibly busy. Residents are expected to see 12-15 new consults in the ER, the medical ER routinely dumps patients to the psychiatric ER with expectation of baby sitting. This means that you as a resident will have to deal with possibly medically decompensating patients in the psychiatric ER (dangerous). Very little learning. Attending is available onsite 8-5pm but after this all calls are staffed over the phone. Evening and weekends/holidays, the resident in the psych ER is also expected to manage any psychiatric issues in the entire hospital. The inpatient psychiatry rotation at University hospital has some positives, excellent staff and some teaching opportunities. Residents again carry a full 12 patient load, with expectations to do all notes/discharges. Lots of bureaucratic paperwork in this rotation means hours are usually 8-5 or 6. The UH CL rotation has good learning opportunities with some attending's, but many times residents are caught needing to stay until 6pm or so to complete work. Calls also heavy at this location ranging from q3 first year to q5 third year.

Very sparse learning opportunities, as above teaching is only at a few sites. Didactics are very limited with inexperienced voluntary faculty. Conferences are put on by the chair which are great for the community, but when resident teaching is lacking so heavily leave to be desired. Faculty claim to have an open door policy however when issues are brought up residents are labeled as whiners or troublemakers.

There are many FMG in this program, not surprisingly. Work environment between some classes can be hostile, environmental in-between classes is fair. Life outside of work is possible in pgy-4 however the call schedule in the first 3 years makes this an almost impossibility. Consensus is that lack of funding makes this program a "workhorse" program more than anything with minimal didactics, be forewarned.
 
I don't have much to add to this thread except to say that I do not have a good gut feeling about the validity of these reviews. I'd caution the potential applicant to take these with a grain of salt.
 
slappy said:
I don't have much to add to this thread except to say that I do not have a good gut feeling about the validity of these reviews. I'd caution the potential applicant to take these with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
I was a med student there several years ago. I had limited exposure to many parts of the residency, but from what I did see I don't doubt the validity of these reviews.
 
Rutgers njms psychiatry review
Umdnj njms Newark psychiatry review

If anyone has any specific questions feel free to pm me
 
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