2011 Rank List Help

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It seems as if I change my ROL on a near daily basis. Would appreciate some insight from any current applicants/current residents. Family-friendly location, clinical exposure, and potential for a career in academic medicine are at the tops of my wish-list:

Columbia University
OHSU
Northwestern University
Rush University
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
Washington University in St. Louis

Cheers and :luck: !

Michigan = WUSTL
OHSU = UVA
Penn = Columbia (bad locations, but would top in academic opps)
UVT

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Disclaimer: people post their lists and request that others rank them out of curiosity. This is a stressful time, and these sort of threads are a fun, harmless way to blow off steam. To the haters, please don't lecture any of us on the obvious flaws with getting anonymous help with a rank list.

That said, any thoughts on ranking this list?

Baystate
U. of Rochester
Temple
UMDNJ - Newark
Upstate
Vermont
Yale

Yale
Rochester
VT
Temple
Upstate
Baystate
UMDNJ
 
Anyone want to weigh in on

UPenn v. UCLA v. UW?

Location seems ideal at UCLA (beaches! Mountains! sun!), but I like the international involvement of the program at UW and UPenn seems like the most well-rounded, with amazing fellowships (i.e. CHOP) . Anyone else in a similar bicoastal quandary?

UCLA
UW
Upenn

I have a significant west-coast bias, though.
 
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anyone have any thoughts on what it's like to move to durham as a single girl w/o knowing anybody? It's probably my only hang up about ranking duke number 1 . . .
 
anyone have any thoughts on what it's like to move to durham as a single girl w/o knowing anybody? It's probably my only hang up about ranking duke number 1 . . .

My older brother did residency at Duke (not in anesthesia) and said most of the residents in the hospital were either married, engaged, or with a serious significant other. He often felt like the third wheel when going out with friends, but said the people are very nice and liked the Durham weather. I'm not sure what the anesthesia dept is like though. I too am having the same doubts about ranking Duke (for a different specialty, not anesthesia) high out of fear of the social scene, as I too am single and would ideally like to meet some single people during residency. My brother has been very adamantly telling me to go elsewhere (NYC, Boston, Chicago) where there are more single people and I might actually have a chance of dating someone within the hospital (since that's where I'll be spending all of my time the next few years!). But I really like Duke, so I'm kind of torn. Right now I'll probably put Boston programs higher since they're solid and would give me a nice city to explore and (hopefully) meet people.

Regarding your choices, I spent a year after college in Philly and absolutely loved it --- has some great dining and nightlife in Center City (without being overpriced like NYC). My best friend is a resident at UCLA and raves about LA, although she says the traffic is unbearable at times.

Hope this helps! Don't think you can go wrong with any of your choices. Good luck
 
Brigham and Women's vs. Stanford
I liked both programs and don't know which one to rank 1st. I change my mind almost every day. Also I am single, so I would love to hear from people and see what they think about the two places and where there is great training along with a good social scene. also a better scene.
 
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anyone have any thoughts on what it's like to move to durham as a single girl w/o knowing anybody? It's probably my only hang up about ranking duke number 1 . . .

To eyespy/ether,

With the understanding that most anesthesia programs will give you good training, I would just go with whichever program you liked the best/felt most comfortable at. If you're a big city person, you'll probably end up liking NYC/Chicago/Boston better. If you like a somewhat smaller/less hectic/warmer (70 degress as I write this) locale, NC is a great place. Also, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area has a significant young professional population based on the Duke/UNC/NCSU campuses, Research Triangle Park, etc. As far as population centers go, there are quite a few programs that are in smaller cities, particularly in the south (UAB, UF, UVA, WFU, etc).

But I don't know that I'd end up choosing a city/program based on which you think might have the "best" dating scene. One of my friends who went into IM is a bit of a northeast elitist (Boston, NYC). He dates A TON and the general consensus amongst our friends is that he must have pretty good game, but it hasn't translated into a ton of long-term success. Ultimately, your success at dating is more a reflection of you and not the city you are in.
 
Can you guys please rank these programs for me?

Drexel
Jefferson
Penn state
Toledo
Cincinnati
Wayne state
Henry ford

I'm mostly concerned with the quality of the programs. It doesn't really matter which city they are in.

Thanks!
 
anyone have any thoughts on what it's like to move to durham as a single girl w/o knowing anybody? It's probably my only hang up about ranking duke number 1 . . .

To give you an idea about Durham's nightlife, I went out to dinner with a few friends last Friday. 7:45, the restaurant was packed. 10:30, we were one of two tables and had itchy waiters wanting to go home.
 
Brigham and Women's vs. Stanford
I liked both programs and don't know which one to rank 1st. I change my mind almost every day. Also I am single, so I would love to hear from people and see what they think about the two places and where there is great training along with a good social scene. also a better scene.

I can't say anything about the anesthesia programs, but I have spent a good deal of time in both Boston (lived there for 2 years) and Palo Alto (and the Bay area in general - not lived there officially, but been there for a month at a time), and I think lifestyle wise I would much rather go with Boston. Both places are very expensive, but I'd say the Bay area is more expensive. And there is much more of a singles scene in Boston (in fact, it's the #1 city for single women! The Bay area? not ranked in the top 10). I like cold weather so that wouldn't be an issue for me, but I think Boston is a more dynamic, and definitely a younger city with a lot of young professionals and a diversity of people outside medicine. I would prefer to date non-medical people, and that's much more likely in Boston. Outside Stanford's campus, there is no social scene in the South Bay (most people are older, married, and computer engineers - nothing against computer engineers, my bro is one and I have several friends who are, but yeah, not my type), and while living in SF would be nice, commuting from there would be a huuuge pain. I guess if it was BWH vs. UCSF it would be more of a toss up b/c you could live in the city, but with this matchup I'd 100% go with BWH, just from a social scene/singles scene perspective, if all else is equal for you.
 
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I never thought it would come down to this, and I'm pretty sure it's just panic at this point, but I'm starting to doubt my ROL. I need some general advice.
I am practically married with a sig other that cannot move to another city. Lucky for me, it's a big city and my number one happens to be a program I loved and located near him, but that was the only school in that city that i LOVED. I loved Duke and Northwestern but they are not anywhere near where he is, and I've already done 4 years of med school long distance. So I'm basically deciding between being with my sig other or going to programs I fell in love with for ranks 2 through whatever. Any thoughts?

Also, anyone get any sour taste in their mouth during any interviews? I feel like everything I saw was great and positive and an interview was just ONE glimpse at life for the next 4 years. I would love to hear any weaknesses of any programs so I can more appropriately make my list (if I don't match to my #1 that is :p) Thanks!
 
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Hi guys. Would love ya'll to give these five random programs their proper place on a list based on program strength. I'm interested in academic anesthesia. So far my list goes to the tune of:

1. Hopkins
2. Pittsburgh
3. Miami
4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. St. Luke's Roosevelt
7. VCU

Any thoughts? I appreciate it! Good luck to everyone.
 
Hi guys. Would love ya'll to give these five random programs their proper place on a list based on program strength. I'm interested in academic anesthesia. So far my list goes to the tune of:

1. Hopkins
2. Pittsburgh
3. Miami
4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. St. Luke's Roosevelt
7. VCU

Any thoughts? I appreciate it! Good luck to everyone.

As far as academics I think that's a pretty solid list. Might put Miami above pit based on location...but that's about it.
 
Brigham and Women's vs. Stanford
I liked both programs and don't know which one to rank 1st. I change my mind almost every day. Also I am single, so I would love to hear from people and see what they think about the two places and where there is great training along with a good social scene. also a better scene.

Have to say this would be a clear cut decision for me in your shoes. Quality wise I think both programs are on the same level. What is more important is being single in a big city. Being single in Boston would vastly be greater than being single in Palo Alto. The density and availability of people in Boston is not even comparable to Palo Alto. Palo Alto is basically a suburban hospital...the fact that it is strong academically is kind of an anomaly!
 
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I have a list. My wife has opinions about my list. Our priorities are similar but not the same. I didn't apply to any west coast or east coast programs since we didn't think we could afford a place there, so I don't have the "problem" of which Harvard program to rank first, etc. Academic career important to me.

Arizona, Kansas, Tex A&M/Scott & White, UT-Houston, UT-Galveston, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, UAB, UVa

Give it a go....

Appreciate it.
 
Hi guys. Would love ya'll to give these five random programs their proper place on a list based on program strength. I'm interested in academic anesthesia. So far my list goes to the tune of:

1. Hopkins
2. Pittsburgh
3. Miami
4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. St. Luke's Roosevelt
7. VCU

Any thoughts? I appreciate it! Good luck to everyone.

As for academics I think among Hopkins, Pittsburgh or Iowa you would be great. In the end it is about what program and location you like best and what research you are interested in specifically.

for me it would go:
1. Pittsburgh- better location the Hopkins by far and will be just as well off as Hopkins
2. Hopkins- great for academics, poor location
3. Iowa- great program, maybe even worse location imo

don't know much about other programs on your list.
 
I have a list. My wife has opinions about my list. Our priorities are similar but not the same. I didn't apply to any west coast or east coast programs since we didn't think we could afford a place there, so I don't have the "problem" of which Harvard program to rank first, etc. Academic career important to me.

Arizona, Kansas, Tex A&M/Scott & White, UT-Houston, UT-Galveston, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, UAB, UVa

Give it a go....

Appreciate it.

Depends on location specifically you like best. I only know about Arizona and UAB. Think you would be great in of those two. I know several at Arizona and they absolutely love it there. UAB is overall pretty good as well.
 
I never thought it would come down to this, and I'm pretty sure it's just panic at this point, but I'm starting to doubt my ROL. I need some general advice.
I am practically married with a sig other that cannot move to another city. Lucky for me, it's a big city and my number one happens to be a program I loved and located near him, but that was the only school in that city that i LOVED. I loved Duke and Northwestern but they are not anywhere near where he is, and I've already done 4 years of med school long distance. So I'm basically deciding between being with my sig other or going to programs I fell in love with for ranks 2 through whatever. Any thoughts?

Also, anyone get any sour taste in their mouth during any interviews? I feel like everything I saw was great and positive and an interview was just ONE glimpse at life for the next 4 years. I would love to hear any weaknesses of any programs so I can more appropriately make my list (if I don't match to my #1 that is :p) Thanks!

Well I know it is hard in this case. Look at how easy it is to get flights from one city to another (ie does southwest fly direct?) How many weekends will you be on call etc? Ultimately, you will get to where you want at 99% of the programs in the country I bet so choose where you will be happiest outside of work so if that means with your SO I would probably choose that.
Also it is still tough to know for sure how much you LOVE a program from a 5 hour day.
Good Luck!
 
How about the following:

MGH, Hopkins, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UAB, UT-Houston, Baylor, S&W, UTSW, Stanford, UWash.

Girlfriend and future wife is on East Coast...she doesn't mind me going anywhere, but I think the West coast is going to be excluded for that reason.

I'm thinking:

1-3) UAB or Duke or Baylor
4-5) UT-Houston or UNC
6) Vandy
7) MGH
8) Hopkins

Leaning towards PP, not an academic career.
 
How about the following:

MGH, Hopkins, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UAB, UT-Houston, Baylor, S&W, UTSW, Stanford, UWash.

Girlfriend and future wife is on East Coast...she doesn't mind me going anywhere, but I think the West coast is going to be excluded for that reason.

I'm thinking:

1-3) UAB or Duke or Baylor
4-5) UT-Houston or UNC
6) Vandy
7) MGH
8) Hopkins

Leaning towards PP, not an academic career.

If it were me staying within your approximate numbering:
1. Duke - Love the program, great location imo
2. Baylor- better location then UAB. Wish they had moonlighting. better location to end up for pp so would be nice to be in the area for contacts.
3. UAB- moonlighting is nice, but can't make up for location completely
4. UT Houston (moonlighting moved it up)
5. UNC (2 year acceditation moved it down although I would not be super worried about it)
6. Vandy - I like this program a lot and probably would have it 5
7. MGH- if pp why put yourself through this program
8. Hopkins - same as MGH plus baltimore worse then boston.
 
How about the following:

MGH, Hopkins, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UAB, UT-Houston, Baylor, S&W, UTSW, Stanford, UWash.

Girlfriend and future wife is on East Coast...she doesn't mind me going anywhere, but I think the West coast is going to be excluded for that reason.

I'm thinking:

1-3) UAB or Duke or Baylor
4-5) UT-Houston or UNC
6) Vandy
7) MGH
8) Hopkins

Leaning towards PP, not an academic career.


If PP is your thing, I have heard from good sources (people in charge of hiring in pp groups) that its best to go to a respected residency in the geographical area were you want to end up in private practice. If its super fancy and well known it may help, but if not, try to stay close.
Now this is just what has been told to me by one person. So it could be false, but it sounds legit to me.
 
Ok here are the final ones I'm ranking.....for funzies, how would you rank? I'm interested in academics and hate cold weather, but I'm from the midwest. :)

Mayo
MCW
Loyola
UIC
U Chicago
U Iowa
Wash U
U Kentucky
Vanderbilt
UVA
 
Interested in academics, possibly neuro or ICU afterwards

NYU
Cornell
UWash
UVa
Baylor
Sinai
Hopkins
UCSD
Pitt
Case
MCW
 
Sunny mentioned UWash, not WashU.


Then I wasn't quoting Sunny. The are both good. I was very impressed with WASHU. Stanford's is great too because a lot of this stuff start there.
 
Ok here are the final ones I'm ranking.....for funzies, how would you rank? I'm interested in academics and hate cold weather, but I'm from the midwest. :)

Mayo
MCW
Loyola
UIC
U Chicago
U Iowa
Wash U
U Kentucky
Vanderbilt
UVA


input anyone?
 
here yo go...since you're interested in academics as well

WashU
UVA
Vanderbilt
Mayo
MCW/UChicago
Iowa
UIC
Kentucky
Loyola
 
I would like help with my 2-14:

DMC:
Pros: I have family in Birmingham, Mi, and would probably live with them or be in close proximity. Will be well trained to handle anything. Residents work around 60-65 hours on average.

Cons: It is no longer affliated with Wayne state. Detroit isn't safe. The associate PD is off-putting. I don't know how much interaction we would have with him.

About the others--
Toledo is 1-2 hrs from them. Both Toledo and Western Penn have lower cost of living than the other programs.
Other than that, location isn't important.


DMC
Western Penn Hospital = U. Toledo
St. Luke's Roosevelt (subsidized housing :thumbup: but the PD talked at length about living in NY and importance of already having friends or family there)
UMDNJ, Newark (liked the PD, but housing a bit on the expensive side)
Texas Tech (Lubbock)
Harbor UCLA
Maimonedes
LSUHSC-Shreveport (was in probation 1-2 years ago)
University of Buffalo = Baystate
St. Barnabas
Westchester, NY (unhappy residents and expensive place to live)


Thanks!
 
I would like help with my 2-14:

DMC:
Pros: I have family in Birmingham, Mi, and would probably live with them or be in close proximity. Will be well trained to handle anything. Residents work around 60-65 hours on average.

Cons: It is no longer affliated with Wayne state. Detroit isn't safe. The associate PD is off-putting. I don't know how much interaction we would have with him.

About the others--
Toledo is 1-2 hrs from them. Both Toledo and Western Penn have lower cost of living than the other programs.
Other than that, location isn't important.


DMC
Western Penn Hospital = U. Toledo
St. Luke's Roosevelt (subsidized housing :thumbup: but the PD talked at length about living in NY and importance of already having friends or family there)
UMDNJ, Newark (liked the PD, but housing a bit on the expensive side)
Texas Tech (Lubbock)
Harbor UCLA
Maimonedes
LSUHSC-Shreveport (was in probation 1-2 years ago)
University of Buffalo = Baystate
St. Barnabas
Westchester, NY (unhappy residents and expensive place to live)


Thanks!

Can't really comment about the other programs on your list but I'm a current med student at Toledo and I'll just make a few observations that might help.

Dr. Marco is an awesome chair. He really does go to bat for those under him.

UT has a new contract with Promedica, this has opened up experiences at Toledo Hospital. I believe both OB and SICU have shifted over there now which is meant to offer a stronger experience (4 anesthesia trained intensivists at Toledo hospital, IIRC).

There's a pretty solid ortho program making for lots of blocks.

Residents rotate up to UMich to do peds so you're getting a great peds experience.

And for the size of the program, a lot of people get great fellowships.





Also, it's a reasonable drive from Birmingham, MI. I make that trip on the holidays and do it in ~90 min.
 
I would love to hear people's thoughts on how to rank these schools:

For my number 1: Duke vs. UCLA vs. UPenn ???

then in no particular order. . .

Columbia
UCSD
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
UW
NYU
Yale

Thanks!

Anybody else thoughts? Especially on the schools below my number 1?
 
Can't really comment about the other programs on your list but I'm a current med student at Toledo and I'll just make a few observations that might help.

Dr. Marco is an awesome chair. He really does go to bat for those under him.

UT has a new contract with Promedica, this has opened up experiences at Toledo Hospital. I believe both OB and SICU have shifted over there now which is meant to offer a stronger experience (4 anesthesia trained intensivists at Toledo hospital, IIRC).

There's a pretty solid ortho program making for lots of blocks.

Residents rotate up to UMich to do peds so you're getting a great peds experience.

And for the size of the program, a lot of people get great fellowships.





Also, it's a reasonable drive from Birmingham, MI. I make that trip on the holidays and do it in ~90 min.




Thanks Depakote. I liked U. Toledo a lot. I am interested in pain, so good to know about the block experience at Toledo.
 
I would like help with my 2-14:

DMC:
Pros: I have family in Birmingham, Mi, and would probably live with them or be in close proximity. Will be well trained to handle anything. Residents work around 60-65 hours on average.

Cons: It is no longer affliated with Wayne state. Detroit isn't safe. The associate PD is off-putting. I don't know how much interaction we would have with him.

About the others--
Toledo is 1-2 hrs from them. Both Toledo and Western Penn have lower cost of living than the other programs.
Other than that, location isn't important.


DMC
Western Penn Hospital = U. Toledo
St. Luke's Roosevelt (subsidized housing :thumbup: but the PD talked at length about living in NY and importance of already having friends or family there)
UMDNJ, Newark (liked the PD, but housing a bit on the expensive side)
Texas Tech (Lubbock)
Harbor UCLA
Maimonedes
LSUHSC-Shreveport (was in probation 1-2 years ago)
University of Buffalo = Baystate
St. Barnabas
Westchester, NY (unhappy residents and expensive place to live)


Thanks!

when did DMC stop being part of Wayne State? Its still listed under ACGME as a Wayne State program.

Newark housing is not that bad at all. It is the hood afterall. If you live further away from the city in the nice little NJ suburbs it could be more expensive.
 
Ild move up west penn up a bit based solely on their PD/Chair-both were amazing (I did a month rotation there as a med student)
 
when did DMC stop being part of Wayne State? Its still listed under ACGME as a Wayne State program.

Newark housing is not that bad at all. It is the hood afterall. If you live further away from the city in the nice little NJ suburbs it could be more expensive.


DMC-Wayne State:
It is still listed under ACGME as that, but they mentioned during the interview, that DMC is no longer under Wayne state and is now headed by a private group.
 
I'm having trouble ranking my 4-7: Emory, Georgetown, Jefferson, & MD. Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
Warning from just a dinner--do you really know you'll get along with the people? You won't. Anyone can put on a nice spit-polish for a dinner. You might want to look at things such as: how many residents either left of their own volition or otherwise? check out the surgery program, you will be intertwined with them---if the surgery program is known as toxic, you might want to go elsewhere.

Also check out whether a program brings in a diversity of faculty who trained around the country (and globe)---you don't want to go somewhere too inbred. Ask your home anesthesiology department to give you honest feedback from what they know.

I wouldn't go anywhere where a Program Director just left and a newbie just started. You'll lose out in the chaos that ensues.

I am a CA-2, and I wish I could tell you where I chose (wrongly), except my program monitors what is on this site and actually called in a fellow resident who posted a negative statement about our program---and then put that resident on probation!
 
Emory & Jeff are fantastic places. Emory has the disadvantage of Atlanta traffic, so if you go there, find somewhere close to live.

MD was known to be toxic a few years ago, but since Peter Rock took over I think things are likely different. Very good critical care, if that is an interest.

Can't say anything about Georgetown, never been there, don't know anyone there, didn't interview there.
 
I'm having some trouble with the programs in the middle of my list.

UTSW
UAB
Baylor
Emory
UCSD

Any thoughts? They would be much appreciated! :)
 
I'm having some trouble with the programs in the middle of my list.

UTSW
UAB
Baylor
Emory
UCSD

Any thoughts? They would be much appreciated! :)

This is an easy number one for me. And I've heard enough on the interview trail to put Baylor last. I know less about the middle three so did it by where I'd like to live.

1. UCSD
2. Emory
3. UTSW
4. UAB
5. Baylor
 
This is an easy number one for me. And I've heard enough on the interview trail to put Baylor last. I know less about the middle three so did it by where I'd like to live.

1. UCSD
2. Emory
3. UTSW
4. UAB
5. Baylor

Would you mind sharing why Baylor is last for you? I had a great interview experience and would like to know what you heard that makes them bad. It's really hard to put a program into perspective with just 1 day of interacting with them. Thanks
 
Would you mind sharing why Baylor is last for you? I had a great interview experience and would like to know what you heard that makes them bad. It's really hard to put a program into perspective with just 1 day of interacting with them. Thanks

Baylors great...if you want to be a crna
 
Anyone care to share their thoughts on the following programs?

Utah
U of AZ
New Mexico
Oklahoma
U of Kansas (kansas city)
Nebraska
Kentucky
Ohio State
CCF

Without taking location or extracurricular activities into consideration (ie, I don't care about skiing, nightlife, good elementary schools etc), how would you guys rank these programs based on the following criteria?

quality of education
pro-resident reputation
decent work hours
resident satisfaction
best chances of matching into a fellowship
good program reputation in regards to future job prospects

Thanks in advance!:xf:
 
Can someone help with these 3:

Stony brook
Jefferson
Umdnj-Newark

Thanks !!
 
Anyone care to share their thoughts on the following programs?

Utah
U of AZ
New Mexico
Oklahoma
U of Kansas (kansas city)
Nebraska
Kentucky
Ohio State
CCF

Without taking location or extracurricular activities into consideration (ie, I don't care about skiing, nightlife, good elementary schools etc), how would you guys rank these programs based on the following criteria?

quality of education
pro-resident reputation
decent work hours
resident satisfaction
best chances of matching into a fellowship
good program reputation in regards to future job prospects

Thanks in advance!:xf:

Kentucky is a great program.

10/10 pro-resident reputation, 10/10 decent work hours, 10/10 resident satisfaction, 9/10 quality of education (only b/c its in Lexington and the patient population isn't diverse).

If youre willing to work in Appalachia, great job prospects, the pay scale and benefits in that area are some of the highest in the country. I am not sure about fellowships.
 
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