Jerrin Peter, MD
PGY-1
My background:
I’m originally from Yonkers, New York, a city just north of NYC. I completed my undergraduate studies at the New York Institute of Technology in Long Island and completed medical school at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.
Why I chose UF:
After spending my entire life in New York, I felt the need to broaden my experiences by training in a new environment. What better place to look than sunny Florida!
As I researched programs, UF stood out as the premier academic institution in the state and one of the top programs in the country. Initially, I was unsure if I would fit in well in a completely new environment. However, on the interview day, I immediately connected with the current residents and faculty. I was impressed by the extensive exposure to diverse patient populations, psychopathologies, training environments, and resources. Most importantly, as someone moving from afar, I saw myself easily fitting in and having a strong support system away from home. This has not only been true but has exceeded my expectations!
Typical day’s schedule:
I’m currently working in the inpatient psychosis unit at the VA, with typical hours running from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. I arrive at around 6:30 a.m. to review any updates on current patients and to familiarize myself with any new patient admissions. From 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., my attending and I discuss the plan for the day. Rounds start at 7:30 a.m., where I have the privilege of learning from an outstanding attending physician. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., we participate in interdisciplinary rounds with the social work and nursing teams. Afterward, I take care of orders for medications, imaging, labs, and consults; respond to any ward calls from nursing; and complete my patient notes. I also get to work closely with medical students, PA students, physician assistants, and neurology residents, which has fostered a highly collaborative environment. At noon, I grab lunch with my fellow residents and enjoy a small break during the day. By 5 p.m., I finish my work and hand off any pertinent information to the on-call resident. This is roughly my daily schedule from Monday to Friday, except for Tuesday afternoons when we have didactics and are relieved of any clinical duties.
Gainesville offers excellent housing options near the hospital and campus, making it easy for me to walk home and unwind in the beautiful weather after a busy day.
How I spend my free time:
In my free time, I enjoy lifting weights, spending time outdoors, and relaxing by the pool. On weekends, I explore Gainesville with my co-interns and take advantage of all the area has to offer.
Daniel McNeil, MD
PGY-2
My background:
I grew up in Morgantown, WV. For undergrad, I attended The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and I studied psychology and biochemistry. I went to Marshall University in Huntington, WV for medical school.
Why I chose UF:
I did an away rotation at UF, and I was (and still am) struck by how much the faculty and residents love their work. UF’s passion for psychiatry absolutely shines through. The opportunity to see a wide breadth of psychiatry also made UF my top choice. UF specializes in child psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry, OCD, movement disorders, first episode psychosis, and student mental health, and there are lots of opportunities to get exposure to areas of interest!
Typical day’s schedule:
I am currently on the VA inpatient substance use disorders rotation. Typical hours are 8am-5pm, and on Monday afternoons I have my outpatient clinic, and Wednesday afternoons are didactics. This rotation has an interdisciplinary team, and I have enjoyed working closely with social work, PA, pharmacy, and nursing colleagues. Internal medicine residents, PA students, and medical students frequently rotate with us on this unit as well. We pre-round at 9am and round as a team around 10:30am. I’ll usually walk across the street to UF Shands for lunch with my co-residents. We get 400+ “gator bucks” a year to spend on food. Opus, a Gainesville staple coffee shop, is a frequent stop. For my outpatient clinic, I have started to follow patients longitudinally, and I will begin having a weekly therapy patient shortly!
How I spend my free time:
I love playing pickleball with the UF psychiatry pickleball group! We play regularly, and all levels are welcome. My class also gets together frequently, grabbing food (our go to is Bangkok Square, a local Thai restaurant), seeing movies, and having game nights. We love to celebrate holidays together too, and we had a white elephant gift exchange and Friendsgiving last year.
Shalyn Carter, MD
PGY-3
My background:
I am originally from a small town in eastern Kentucky and went on to complete my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at Morehead State University close to where I grew up. Afterwards, I went on to attend the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where I completed my medical school education and was part of the Trover Rural Track Scholars. I discovered my passion for psychiatry during medical school and happily went on to pursue psychiatry residency.
Why I chose UF:
I chose to the University of Florida Psychiatry Residency after completing an away rotation in their adult outpatient psychiatry clinic. What truly stood out to me was the passion for education I saw from the attending physicians, who were not only dedicated to teaching but also deeply invested in the growth of each resident. I also noticed the close-knit friendships among the residents—they invited me to dinners and took me around Gainesville, making me feel like part of the family. The strong camaraderie, paired with the program’s commitment to learning, made it clear that this was where I wanted to train. And, of course, the sunshine and warm weather were a wonderful bonus.
Typical day’s schedule:
As a PGY-3 UF psychiatry resident, I am in my outpatient clinic year. I usually start my day at the clinic between 8-9 AM doing therapy & medication management with my longitudinal patient panel.
We see general psychiatry patients on most days and have half-days dedicated to specialty clinic patients including those with serious mental illness, Autism and related disorders, movement disorders, OCD and related disorders, and patients in our child psychiatry clinic. One of my favorite experiences takes place outside of the office on Wednesday mornings when I get to go out in the community as part of our street psychiatry service; we take mental health care directly to patients with limited access via mobile outreach. Once a week, we all have administrative time for a few hours which is perfect for catching up on work, grabbing coffee at Opus with my co-residents, or studying. Afterwards, I go to psychodynamics psychotherapy training where we all have the chance to discuss our cases and learn about the foundations of therapy. Typically, by 5 PM, my clinic day wraps up and I am headed home for the day.
How I spend my free time:
We have no call during PGY-3, so my evenings and weekends, are free to volunteer at our equal access clinic or go home and enjoy some down time. I love trying new restaurants with my co-residents, hiking around Payne’s Prairie or the springs, or spending time at home with my dogs & partner. Occasionally, I will pick up a moonlighting shift on the weekend to and keep my inpatient skills sharp and earn some extra spending money for weekend getaways. It’s a great balance of work, connection, and down time.
Christina Bulleit, DO
PGY-4
My background:
I’m from St. Petersburg, Florida. I went to UF from undergrad, took a year off to work as a medical assistant at UF student health care center and the completed medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, FL.
Why I chose UF:
I had the opportunity to do a rotation year as a fourth-year medical school and really enjoyed my experience here. I was looking for a program that was well rounded and had a diverse patient population. UF has multiple training sites and a variety of experiences including ECT, TMS, perinatal psychiatry, adult and child/adolescent inpatient units, adult and child/adolescent outpatient clinics, VA and UF Health hospital consult services, the forensic and state hospital, and the list goes on. Everyone was so welcoming even when I was a medical student rotating. I saw first-hand the camaraderie and support among residents which is something that was really important to me when I was looking for a residency training program. I wanted to also to go to a program in Florida as I plan to continue to practice psychiatry in Florida after I finish residency.
Typical day’s schedule:
I’m currently working on the inpatient psychosis unit at the UF psychiatric hospital. I wake up around 6:30am and arrive at the hospital by 7:30am. I run the patient list with my attending and medical student and then we start seeing patients together. We have a team meeting at 8:45am where we meet together with the nurses, recreational therapist, case managers and discuss the patients we are caring for. We will then finish seeing patients after team meeting and I head back to the resident work room to do orders, notes, and collateral calls. I will then grab lunch get ready for my afternoon. My afternoon schedule can vary day to day. Two afternoons a week I will stay working at the UF psychiatric hospital- handling admissions or issues on the unit. Two other afternoons I will go to our UF psychiatry clinic and see patients in the outpatient setting. On Wednesday afternoons I will walk over to our afternoon didactics which are in the same building as the UF psychiatric hospital. I head home around 5pm to get a work out in and spend time with my husband and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels!
As a fourth year we have a lot of electives we get to rotate through this year and have the opportunity to teach and work closely with the PGY-1s and PGY-2s.
How I spend my free time:
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends and dogs. I love traveling, baking and spending time in nature- going on trail walks and kayaking around Gainesville. My husband and I like going to Gator sporting events and have football season tickets this year. My family and many of our friends live in St. Pete so we try to head home for at least one weekend a month where we enjoy boating, fishing and scuba diving.