Medical Education US

I'm a fourth year medical student who is currently interviewing for combined programs. I wanted to post a thread anonymously (I am a registered member of the site) to allow for open dialogue between applicants, residents, and recent graduates regarding combined programs. Please feel free to share information regarding programs and interview experiences so we can all benefit from the information. I will begin with a response to this posting. Thanks!

Souther Illinois University (Med/Psych)- strong medicine, no longer has combined unit, two dually boarded faculty, well-balanced inpt and outpt medicine experiences, limited pt diversity, new psych program director who grills you with neuropsych questions at interview besides mental status write-up from video-taped patient interview

Case Western Reserve University (FP/Psych)- newer program, strong committment from both departments, academically solid family medicine department, many research opportunities, no dually boarded staff, beginning combined clinic, strong didactics, diverse pt population, friendly residents and faculty/staff

Oklahoma University (FP/Psych)- superb family medicine program, unique psych experiences including eating disorders rotations at nationally recognized institution, limited collaboration between family and psych departments, many moonlighting opportunities, friendly people, no dually boarded faculty (that I can recall), quite a few residents have switched out of combined program over the past few years

Thanks for starting this thread. I'll contact a few people I know and see if they would be willing to jump in the discussion as well.

Southern Illinois has had a program for a while, and from what I hear it is pretty decent. Last I knew, the program director was a graduate from Iowa's med-psych program. I've never worked with him, but have met him a few times - he's nice and seems knowledgable. I believe the residents there have liked working with him as well. There was a married couple in their program, who I believe may have stayed there after finishing the program. One of their graduates went to Iowa right after I finished.

I don't know anything about Case Western's program.

Univ of Oklahoma - I'm assuming that is the program in Tulsa. If so, their psychiatry chairman actually did a FP residency before doing psychiatry residency. He was the residency director for psychiatry at Iowa when I first started, but then was offered the chairmanship at Tulsa. He then recruited one of Iowa's chief residents to be their residency director. In my opinion, she was the best chief resident we had in the 5 years I was there - and we had several who were very good. She is now running their CL service as well, I believe. Within the last few years, they recruited one of Iowa's psychiatrists to be a Dean in the medical school - he was a very good clinical psychiatrist at Iowa. So, while a lot of the psychiatrists are from Iowa, they took some of the very good ones. I don't know anything about their FP program, but it should be obvious I think very highly of their psychiatry faculty that I know.

I'll try to pull up some of my earlier posts / FAQs about the programs from when I interviewed.

Rush (Med/Psych)- incredible patient diversity, healthy balance between psychopharm and psychotherapy, strong internal medicine rotations including some at Cook County Hospital, mix of private and non-private patients, no combined clinics or inpt units, fabulous new combined director who is a recent grad of the program

Dartmouth (Med/Psych)- strong medicine and psychiatry departments, combined continuity clinic, 4-5 combined faculty (although not all at the main medical center, some practicing in the area), lots of outdoor activities, patients from a fair range of socioeconomic classes but limited ethnic diversity, medicine department is very receptive to resident input, fantastic relationship between residents and faculty

Iowa (IM/Psych)- solid internal medicine department with very receptive faculty/director, more biologically-based psychiatry, great research opportunities, great socio-economic patient diversity but limited ethnic/cultural diversity, small college town, friendly people

addendum: one of the couple places that has a med-psych unit (on which combined residents rotate 3-5 times during their five year residency), which is staffed by one of the two dually boarded physicians or by a internist and a psychiatrist

addendum: Iowa is one of the couple places that has a med-psych unit (on which combined residents rotate 3-5 times during their five year residency), which is staffed by one of the two dually boarded physicians or by a internist and a psychiatrist

Duke Univ: Has 6 dually trained med/psych faculty, med/psych unit, new division of med/psych to be recognized by medical center, international rotations for medicine, strong medicine department (not malignant), strong psychotherapy training, working on rotation residents in current attendings med/psych clinics