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.
Megan Single, MD
PGY-3
My background:
My name is Megan and I’m a Southern girl at heart! I moved around quite a bit as a kid, so I never really had one place to call home. I was born in Georgia, moved to Kentucky when I was 5, and then moved to central Florida at the age of 10. I obtained my degree in Chemistry at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, while balancing two full-time nannying jobs. I moved back to “My Old Kentucky Home” for medical school at the University of Kentucky, which is where I discovered my unexpected passion for psychiatry. I was one of those who was born to be a surgeon, or so I thought. My first rotation of third year, on the adolescent behavioral health unit, opened my eyes to the beautiful world of psychiatry. The more I reflected on myself and my experiences over the years, the more obvious it became that I was meant to become a psychiatrist all along. I am interested in both child & adolescent psychiatry and adult forensic psychiatry!
Why I chose UF:
During the interview season, I found it very frustrating when I would ask people how they ranked programs or chose the program they were at, and the answer was always the same, “I just had a feeling.” I’m here to tell you if you think it’s not that easy, you’re not alone! I had a really difficult time ranking my top programs and deciding which order to put them in; I debated on every little detail and discussed the pros and cons I can’t even tell you how many times. There were multiple places I fit in and thought I’d be happy, but I have to admit that no matter how much I went back and forth, there was indeed an unspoken feeling about one program, and that was the University of Florida. I have always tried to center my life around the concept of joy, and joy is exactly what I felt on interview day at UF…and in fact, I had a long deep conversation about joy with one of my interviewers! My interview experience at UF was by far the most unique, meaningful, and memorable of all and it was filled with special moments I will never forget. I was blown away by the sense of family I felt between faculty and residents, and how everyone seemed to genuinely care for each other. With my broad interests in psychiatry, UF offered all of the diverse experiences I was looking for, including rotations in child psychiatry, training in specific child therapies, experiences at the state psychiatric hospital caring for the severely mentally ill population, and of course a variety of other clinical experiences on inpatient units, consult teams, addictions, and clinic. I was also very impressed by the therapy experience that residents get during the third year, and how much the residents incorporated therapy into their daily practice. What trumped it all though was simply how happy the residents seemed, and how happy I could envision myself next to them. Two months in, I couldn’t be more thrilled that I chose the University of Florida Psychiatry and I am happier and filled with more joy than I have been in a very long time!
Typical day’s schedule:
The typical day definitely depends on the rotation you are on, but overall we have a great schedule. My intern year schedule allowed for a nice transition into residency and the perfect opportunity to get Step 3 of boards out of the way early! My first month was neurology at the VA, which I really enjoyed. I’d arrive around 8:00, pre-round on my patients, then we would round with the attending and spend the rest of the day putting in orders, calling consults, writing notes, and seeing new consults. The upper-level residents were extremely helpful, so I never felt alone in learning a new electronic medical record and “doctoring” for the first time. My second rotation was urgent care at the VA, which is basically a fast-track service within the emergency department where we see patients from about 8:30 until 4:30. While my attending was very supportive, he also gave me a nice amount of autonomy to build my confidence as a doctor, which was great as an intern! I am looking forward to my next few rotations, where I will finally get to delve into psychiatry during the day and come home from work to relax instead of studying for boards!
How I spend my free time:
I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful group of friends/co-interns during the first week of orientation who have made these first few months of residency a lot more fun! I spend most of my time outside of work hanging out with them, having game nights, discovering all of the delicious restaurants around town, and finding outdoor places to explore. I have started playing tennis since I moved to sunny Florida, so you’ll frequently find me volleying the ball back and forth with my friends after work, followed by jumping in the neighborhood pool to cool off! I’m looking forward to some day trips to the springs and beaches once the pandemic calms down!
Gabriel Jerkins, MD
PGY-4
My background:
I was born and raised in Vero Beach, Florida. I spent my childhood in Vero before coming to UF as an undergraduate and have stayed here ever since. I got my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, attended medical school at UFCOM, and am now a PGY2 psychiatry resident here at UF.
Why I chose UF:
Since I’ve been at UF since I was an undergraduate, I’m pretty familiar with the university and the Gainesville area. I have a lot of reasons for choosing UF- I like living in Gainesville a lot, I get along really well with the other residents here, and I’m not too far from my family in Vero. All that said, I think the main reason I chose UF was the strength of the faculty. As a medical student, I got to spend a lot of time with our attendings in the psych department, and I consistently found mentors and role-models in the doctors I worked with. At UF, I felt like I was surrounded by the kind of psychiatrist I wanted to become, and my time in residency so far has only solidified that feeling.
Typical day’s schedule:
Although typical days vary from rotation to rotation, this month I’m working on the psychiatry consult service at the VA, which is a rotation we’ll usually spend at least a couple months on during our first and second years. Currently, I’m working with a PGY 1, PGY4, and a dedicated PA assigned to the VA psych consult service. Typically I get in around 8:00 AM, review patients in the hospital that I’ve been following (typically 2-4 depending on the census), pre-round and interview patients, and meet back in the consult room at 9:30 for rounds with the rest of the team. Round typically last 1-1.5 hours, with an emphasis on teaching by attending physicians Drs. Cheong and Martinez. Once rounds finish, I usually grab lunch spend the rest of the afternoon writing notes, and answering new consults as they come in, and am usually able to finish around up around 4-5 PM.
How I spend my free time:
Prior to the pandemic, I enjoyed spending time with members of both my program and in other residency programs here at UF, often making a point to meet up for trivia on Tuesdays after our afternoon didactics. COVID has certainly affected how I spend my free time, but recently I’ve been able to enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and our dog (Mr. Buttons), playing board games/computer games, watching movies, and of course, re-reading the DSM V cover to cover.