Comments from past residents

What attracted me to come to ALGH?

• I chose to train here because of the small size of the program; each resident received so much one-one-one time with the attendings.
• The program had a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, perfect conditions for learning and helping patients.
• The program is part of a large teaching hospital with all the major residency programs.
• It offered a real-world, private practice clinical experience where I was able to effectively learn important aspects about managed care and risk management.
• I joined the program to learn how to become what I wanted to become, an effective practice psychiatrist with a solid academic background.
• I was looking for a residency program that would allow me to grow as a person both in and out of the hospital. ALGH provided excellent clinical training with a diverse patient population in a variety of clinical settings. In addition, I learned through my interview experience that faculty, residents and staff members would provide guidance and support throughout my time at ALGH. The friendly atmosphere here was nowhere near as evident during interviews at other programs.
• I chose this program because of how well everyone got along together and how happy everyone was. The attendings treated residents more like colleagues and everyone in the program could depend on one another whenever an issue arose. Overall everyone seemed happy here; hence I wanted to join them.
• I chose Lutheran because of the small size and friendliness of the program with great teaching.
• The size of the program allows great access to and interaction with attendings. I know I could call any of them any time.
• I loved the hospital since I rotated here as a medical student. I liked the fact that this was a small program. The attendings were all easy to talk with and willing to teach and the ancillary staff is very supportive and helpful. It was a relaxed atmosphere to work and train in.
• I chose to come to Lutheran because the residents here were very friendly and welcoming and really seemed to have a good balance between their lives inside and outside of the hospital.

• In the end I narrowed my search to Chicago for personal reasons. My sister worked at LGH as a pharmacist, and so I knew that it was a very strong hospital. On interview day, I sensed the community of the program by the warmth of the faculty and the residents. I also was reassured that the training was of the highest quality and that residents were more than ready to practice psychiatry by the end of the four years. I came for a second look, got a sense of the lectures and the intellectual environment at LGH, and I was convinced that it would be a good residency home.

What was it like being a resident at ALGH?

• Attendings interacted with us as if we were their equal. They valued our input on patients and were always available to talk about just about anything. Everyone got to know each other on a personal level and it felt more like a family than just a place to work.
• It is like a combination of being a member of a family where you share responsibilities and relationships, and a psychiatrist in training.
  Being a resident here was everything I could have hoped for. It enabled me to have a nice balance of work and private life. I felt that the teaching was top notch, and we were exposed to a great variety of patients and diagnoses. I felt well prepared to start out my career after four years here. The curriculum was well-balanced curriculum and we were exposed to all areas of Psychiatry that aided in picking the career that was best for me.
• I am very appreciative towards all faculty attendings for the education they have provided me and the habits they have drilled into our heads. They are now serving me very well!
• Simply, COOL!
• Being a resident here was not what I pictured residency to be like. I saw a myriad of patients, but still had time to read during and after work. I did not feel I had to do unnecessary tasks and procedures like I would in other programs. Everything I did was geared towards my own education and I didn't have to do things which take up a lot of time at other programs (hunt down lab results, make sure patient is scheduled for procedures, etc.). I definitely felt like I was there to learn to be a psychiatrist and that my education was the foremost goal of this program.
• Training here has been a great and rewarding experience. I've learned so much!
• Everyone at ALGH has been supportive, respectful and responsive to residents. In this type of atmosphere, I enjoyed going to work every day.
• Being a psychiatry resident at ALGH was better than I could have imagined it to be...we had excellent teaching and a wide variety of patients to treat. There was plenty of time to study and have outside interests. I feel that ALGH allowed me to lead a balanced life and I prepared me well to be on my own after the four years.
• From a clinical standpoint, every year was a very different experience. I saw a whole range of patients and life dilemmas. I worked with several different attendings and each had their own style. Whether I was in inpatient or outpatient, there was close supervision available from individual attendings. From a personal standpoint, it's been a comfortable place to learn and grow. I had a deep respect for the attendings as well as my fellow residents, and I felt much supported in this program. I was able to train in this residency and still have a balanced life.
• I really enjoyed working here. I felt that I received the training I needed to feel competent as a psychiatrist in private practice. I was exposed to a variety of patients from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and the supervision was superior.