"I think psychiatry is the most creative of medical fields. It contains humanism and behavioral examination, and those things are absolute requirements for artistic pursuits as well."

Why psychiatry?
"I worked for several years as a dancer, and performed with a major New York-based dance company for five years. I'd had a longstanding interest in psychiatry, and so when I began thinking about a career change in 1991, I decided to pursue it. I think psychiatry is the most creative of medical fields. It contains humanism and behavioral examination, and those things are absolute requirements for artistic pursuits as well. I also have a very strong interest in mind/body medicine. All this makes psychiatry a good fit for me."

Why he chose Duke
"We were looking for a family-friendly environment in the Southeast, with good schools. And, of course, I love being where the American Dance Festival is headquartered."

Why other psychiatry residents should consider Duke
"The psychiatry program has several excellent components, including a good faculty and interesting rotations. Duke attracts high-quality residents, so the people you work with are very good. Duke Psychiatry has a diversity in interests, great research, an excellent physical plant, consistent and good supervision, and a critical mass of people interested in psychotherapy. We also have a young, energetic, very bright training director and an available, extremely intelligent chairman."

What's better about Duke than he expected
"My work at the VA was 10 times better than I expected it to be. I've worked at another VA hospital and wasn't really looking forward to it. But I've really enjoyed it, thanks to the quality of the faculty members and support staff who work there, the varied and interesting presentations of the patients, and the good infrastructure. It's been a great place for me to learn psychiatry."

How to get the most out of the program
"Seek out opportunities to push yourself and ask to be pushed, to be challenged. There are so many patients and so much work that in your first two years you can't help but learn. The service requirements are significant, but because of that, you see a lot of different patients, many different diagnoses, and you get comfortable with a wide variety of situations."