I am a 3rd year medical student very much interested in pursuing a Med/Psych residency. In researching the programs listed on the FREIDA directory, I have found that several of these programs are no longer in existence..
With so few programs out there, I am concerned about this, and certainly don't want to train at a program that isn't very established or won't be around much longer. I would appreciate any insight as to which programs are more solid and you think will likely be around for a while. Thanks!!
I did a quick search on FREIDA and it showed that there are currently 19 programs. I'm not sure which of those programs are no longer in existence.
You may want to read this thread for some other people's opinions about the various programs.
I'd suggest you contact each program you might be interested in, and see what sort of a response you get from them. Interviewing there may be the only way to really tell how well a program is thriving. With some of the programs, there was one main person who was the advocate for that program - if he/she leaves, then the program can really stumble. There are a few programs around, though, that seem to have support from more than one or two people as told in that thread. I'll see if I can dig up some more knowledgable people on the subject. A good place to start would be to join the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry by emailing the contact person on the main page of the website. As a member (free for medical students and residents) you get access to their email list. If you'd rather not send the email yourself, send it to me and I'll forward it along anonymously and you can see the replies people send. Most of the active residency directors belong to the AMP as far as I can tell, and I'm sure they would be happy to respond to any questions you'd have.
Let us know what you find out as well!