2011 rank these schools thread

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speyeder said:
I would choose Baylor out of the bunch but all 3 are good programs. UIC is the most academic, while Baylor & UTSW are known more for their hands-on training. Of the group I think Baylor has the best combination of clinical & surgical volume while having enough name recognition to make you competitive for any fellowship.
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I second that. Having been a resident at Baylor, I can honestly say I would go there again in a heartbeat. You do work hard but I feel i've been trained incredibly well both clinically and surgically. Simply because of the surgical volume (my class graduated with an average of 230 phacos (from run of the mill to complex traumatic zonular loss/uveitics) and we got to do a ton of other surgeries from tons of trabs/tubes, plastics/DCR, etc. etc.). There really was a tremendous breadth and exposure. We have a great mix of autonomy and supervision. All our surgical cases is staffed (by attendings!) which really says a lot and makes you such a better surgeon (which is not the case at a lot of counties). Not to mention the pathology that we get to see since we have a VA, a county (with tons of end stage pathologies being close to central america and the immigrants that come through Houston) as well as seeing both hospital surgical centers as well as our own ASC.

My class matched extremely well for fellowship. Two people went glaucoma Bascom and UCSF (prior years Bascom), Two people went retina Beaumont and Iowa (prior years went Emory and Casey), one went cornea to stayed at Baylor (the years before went UC Davis and Duke), and one went comprehensive.
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UTSW is very similar in cataract numbers, multiple county hospitals, VA, university hospital, childrens hospital, and ASC.

WhiteDots said:
I second that. Having been a resident at Baylor, I can honestly say I would go there again in a heartbeat. You do work hard but I feel i've been trained incredibly well both clinically and surgically. Simply because of the surgical volume (my class graduated with an average of 230 phacos (from run of the mill to complex traumatic zonular loss/uveitics) and we got to do a ton of other surgeries from tons of trabs/tubes, plastics/DCR, etc. etc.). There really was a tremendous breadth and exposure. We have a great mix of autonomy and supervision. All our surgical cases is staffed (by attendings!) which really says a lot and makes you such a better surgeon (which is not the case at a lot of counties). Not to mention the pathology that we get to see since we have a VA, a county (with tons of end stage pathologies being close to central america and the immigrants that come through Houston) as well as seeing both hospital surgical centers as well as our own ASC.

My class matched extremely well for fellowship. Two people went glaucoma Bascom and UCSF (prior years Bascom), Two people went retina Beaumont and Iowa (prior years went Emory and Casey), one went cornea to stayed at Baylor (the years before went UC Davis and Duke), and one went comprehensive.
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Visionary said:
You're right about that, but I don't see harm in soliciting advice from those who may know more about certain programs than you. You should get as much information as possible about the programs to which you are applying. That allows you to make an informed decision. Not that you shouldn't also take any advice you get with a grain of salt. Faculty member A at program X, for instance, may have a history with a faculty member at program Z. There are a lot of political undertones that you may not realize as a medical student.
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And the other point is at this time of year most of the people asking questions in this thread are not asking for ranking purposes but to try and decide which interviews to choose given how many scheduling conflicts there are.
 
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thoughts on wisconsin vs UIC? They seem to have similar number of faculty but one takes 3 residents whereas the other takes 6.
 
interviewed at Wisconsin in October, will be at UIC this week, will let you know how they compare this weekend...
 
tm12 said:
Ophthalmology is a very small world. I've been to a half dozen programs and everybody knows everybody, especially within the same subspecialty. I hope you figure out how to be enthusiastic about programs outside the "top 10" else you may find yourself discouraged come January.
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That was unnecessary. I neither said Tufts is a bad program nor did I say that I need to be at a top 10 program. In fact my priorities are very different. I think Tufts is a great training program, and I find myself discouraged only because I am also interested in a fellowship afterwards and it is well known that having big names on faculty gives you a big push for nabbing a fellowship where you want. And that is not to say that you can't go to a good fellowship without big names at your residency, but it does give you an undeniable boost. As you said, it is a very small world.
 
Can anyone talk about their experiences at Mount Sinai Ophtho? There is no info in the compendium on here, and very sparse info on MatchApplicant. According to their website, there's a VA associated with it, which usually gives good surg numbers. Newer program chair as well? Anyone rotate there, interview there, or otherwise have knowledge?
 
How about Colorado vs. Arizona vs. West Virginia? I plan on picking 2 out of these 3 to interview at. Location doesn't matter to me.
 
Case western vs tulane anyone? Location wise tulane is prob better but what about the programs themselves?
 
UAmeddan said:
Can anyone talk about their experiences at Mount Sinai Ophtho? There is no info in the compendium on here, and very sparse info on MatchApplicant. According to their website, there's a VA associated with it, which usually gives good surg numbers. Newer program chair as well? Anyone rotate there, interview there, or otherwise have knowledge?
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Sinai has a good program compared to others in New York City. The numbers are very good (forgive me for not knowing exact stats). They have a very good reputation owed in large part to the late Dr. Podos, the former chair. The current chair, Douglas Jabs, is also well respected. clinical sites are a mix of Bronx VA, Mount Sinai Hospital (border of UES and Spanish Harlem) and Elmhurst Hospital in Queens (major trauma numbers). Residents are busy, but seem fairly happy. I think the one thing that worried me was the statement "you make of it what you want" but i think its become more organized since my rotation a year and a half ago.
 
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Anyone have any insight on either of these? I'm pretty clueless on both.
 
manman121 said:
Anyone have any insight on either of these? I'm pretty clueless on both.
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IU is a much larger program than Albany (or Drexel, referring to a prior post), though I can't speak to specifics of the latter. Lou Cantor, a big wig in glaucoma, is the IU chairman. He's also been (not sure if he still is) the BCSC committee chair. Nice guy. I know a couple of the other faculty there. Good program.
 
What do people think of Wash U's program?
Thanks!! :)
 
I'm not an expert on the subject, but Wash U has come highly recommended by attendings familiar with the program.

In general, Wash U has been blowing up over the past 20 years. The medical center is huge and they have been able to pull top faculty in every department.

Of the midwestern programs, I would put Iowa and Wash U at the top. UIC might get into that group as well.
 
golfman said:
How about Colorado vs. Arizona vs. West Virginia? I plan on picking 2 out of these 3 to interview at. Location doesn't matter to me.
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Arizona >> West Virginia in my opinion. West Virginia seemed liked good training but I didn't like Morgantown very much. I think they only had 3 residents too and you had to do a few months away. Things may have changed though. Arizona has 4 residents which I think is a better number and no aways. Plus Tucson >>>>>>>>>> Morgantown. This is all just my opinion though so take it with a grain of salt. Both are good programs but I would personally choose Arizona over West Virginia. I don't know anything about Colorado.
 
Also, just a tip to everyone who is interviewing this year: the most important people who's opinions you should take seriously are the residents who you meet on the interview trail. Try not to be swayed by all the random opinions on these forums. There are a few insights here but there is no replacement for actually seeing a program for yourself.

There were a few programs I interviewed at where you could clearly tell the residents were not happy. I would find a chance to get one on one with a resident at each program and ask them "Are you happy here?" Most people have a hard time faking it when you speak that directly.

Realize that if you end up at a certain program, you will be standing in the residents' shoes in a few years. If they aren't happy or feel like the training is poor, you will probably feel the same way too. Hopefully you can find a resident or two at each program who willing to be completely honest about their opinions.
 
InterviewMe said:
I'm not an expert on the subject, but Wash U has come highly recommended by attendings familiar with the program.

In general, Wash U has been blowing up over the past 20 years. The medical center is huge and they have been able to pull top faculty in every department.

Of the midwestern programs, I would put Iowa and Wash U at the top. UIC might get into that group as well.
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Yeah, Wash U and Iowa are perennial top 10 programs.
 
ILikeEyeballs said:
Also, just a tip to everyone who is interviewing this year: the most important people who's opinions you should take seriously are the residents who you meet on the interview trail. Try not to be swayed by all the random opinions on these forums. There are a few insights here but there is no replacement for actually seeing a program for yourself.

There were a few programs I interviewed at where you could clearly tell the residents were not happy. I would find a chance to get one on one with a resident at each program and ask them "Are you happy here?" Most people have a hard time faking it when you speak that directly.

Realize that if you end up at a certain program, you will be standing in the residents' shoes in a few years. If they aren't happy or feel like the training is poor, you will probably feel the same way too. Hopefully you can find a resident or two at each program who willing to be completely honest about their opinions.
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Good points. That same unhappy feel caused me to rank a couple of programs near the bottom, despite a good general feel for the program. It's been several years since my match, so I won't cite those programs specifically. Also, you want to be wary of any program that limits your access to the current residents. If it's a good program, the residents will sell it to you.
 
I hear Cornell is up and coming with the dept switched around. I don't know much about Einstein.
 
paboi101 said:
Sinai has a good program compared to others in New York City. The numbers are very good (forgive me for not knowing exact stats). They have a very good reputation owed in large part to the late Dr. Podos, the former chair. The current chair, Douglas Jabs, is also well respected. clinical sites are a mix of Bronx VA, Mount Sinai Hospital (border of UES and Spanish Harlem) and Elmhurst Hospital in Queens (major trauma numbers). Residents are busy, but seem fairly happy. I think the one thing that worried me was the statement "you make of it what you want" but i think its become more organized since my rotation a year and a half ago.
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Mount Sinai is a great program in New York City. The clinical experience is fantastic, as demonstrated by some of the best numbers in the city (150-200 cataracts). The Bronx Va, Mount Sinai, and Elmhurst lend itself to very different styles of patients, socioeconomic status, and pathologies. The Va patients are...Va patients, likely similar to most Va's. Patients at Elmhurst (a public, city hospital) are mostly without insurance or with Medicaid, and are very grateful for any kind of care they receive. Patients at Mount Sinai are most like other patients in clinics around New York City and in most big cities. There is a downside that the Va and Elmhurst are a 30 minute shuttle ride away from Mount Sinai. Overall, the residents have half of their rotations at Sinai and half at Bronx Va/Elmhurst. There are well known faculty in all of the major subspecialties and Dr. Jabs is very well respected. There are research opportunities and most residents are involved in some projects, although it is not a Wilmer, Wash U, Penn, etc... Residents work hard, but are seeing a lot and doing a lot. Of course, working on the Upper East Side of Manhattan can be great for those who want to spend time in the city. Most residents live by the hospital, but certainly not all and its not necessary.
 
Any thoughts on EVMS (Eastern VA)?
 
"Any thoughts on EVMS (Eastern VA)?"
-I can only offer that 2 friends interviewed there within the past few years and were pleasantly surprised (solid clinical program).

I'd love more info on MUSC. I couldn't find any recent posts on sdn
-I've heard Charleston is beautiful and MUSC is pretty well-respected in the south.
 
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Any thoughts on West Virginia or USF-Tampa?
 
Does anyone know anything about the Brown U program?
 
usernamepasswor said:
NYU vs Case Western.... any thoughts????
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I can't comment on NYU, but case western is on probation for inadequate oculoplastics numbers. They have a strong glaucoma dept and the retina dept is average. They have sole rights to the VA (not shared with CCF). The chairman, Dr. Lass is very well connected and is making efforts to improve the program.
 
Anyone have any strong thoughts on UW versus UW-Madison? I would really appreciate any input.
 
Comments on Brown? Seems like a program with a respectable
name in a good location, but only two residents/yr. Anyone rotate there?
 
Myxomatosis123 said:
On probation? First I had heard of that. Any way to confirm this?
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It's definitely true. I had no idea until my interview this weekend and the PD's announcement. They cited a variety of reasons including poor surgical numbers, unsatisfactory contracts with affiliated hospitals and changing PDs too often. They tried to minimize the situation and said they've resolved the many issues but it was definitely sketchy.
 
anybody have any thoughts on this year's northwestern? i felt great there and am very tempted to eventually rank it higher than some of the traditional solid programs such as oklahoma and utsw. is this a mistake?
 
idoktor said:
anybody have any thoughts on this year's northwestern? i felt great there and am very tempted to eventually rank it higher than some of the traditional solid programs such as oklahoma and utsw. is this a mistake?
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I think it is important to include your interview day feelings on a program into your rank list. Northwestern is a great program, and if you felt like you fit in there, even better. Oklahoma and UTSW have solid reputations as well. Sometimes geography, resident camaraderie, etc. can significantly affect your quality of life during and after residency, so I don't think it is a mistake to factor these things into your list. FWIW, I ranked Northwestern above Bascom, Wilmer, Duke, WashU, and UCSF. Geography/family is more important to me than prestige at this point in my life, but I understand that everybody has their own priorities.
 
NYU versus Boston? Unfortunately I have to choose one interview over the other. They seem pretty evenly matched at first glance, but I honestly don't know *all* that much about either.
 
rstonk said:
NYU versus Boston? Unfortunately I have to choose one interview over the other. They seem pretty evenly matched at first glance, but I honestly don't know *all* that much about either.
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Are you talking about Boston University? I would say NYU has a much stronger reputation than BU. NYU is comparable to Columbia and Cornell, each of those programs have their own strengths and weaknesses, and all do quite well for fellowship. BU has strong cataract numbers (~220), but is extremely weak in most subspecialties. They have a retina fellowship that is decent, but I believe that is their only fellowship currently. The oculoplastics chief recently left to go to MEEI, and another plastics attending left for private practice a couple months ago. Several pedi ophtho attendings have left in the last couple of years. Minimal research.
 
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junkemail86 said:
Are you talking about Boston University? I would say NYU has a much stronger reputation than BU. NYU is comparable to Columbia and Cornell, each of those programs have their own strengths and weaknesses, and all do quite well for fellowship. BU has strong cataract numbers (~220), but is extremely weak in most subspecialties. They have a retina fellowship that is decent, but I believe that is their only fellowship currently. The oculoplastics chief recently left to go to MEEI, and another plastics attending left for private practice a couple months ago. I think the only oculoplastics attending left is straight out of fellowship. Most of the pedi ophtho attendings have left in the last couple of years. The BU fellowship match is fairly weak. Their research is nearly non-existent. So I would only recommend it if you are set on comprehensive or need to be in Boston.
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Thanks for your detailed reply. I myself was leaning toward taking the NYU interview, so your input definitely makes me feel better about that decision.
 
junkemail86 said:
Are you talking about Boston University? I would say NYU has a much stronger reputation than BU. NYU is comparable to Columbia and Cornell, each of those programs have their own strengths and weaknesses, and all do quite well for fellowship. BU has strong cataract numbers (~220), but is extremely weak in most subspecialties. They have a retina fellowship that is decent, but I believe that is their only fellowship currently. The oculoplastics chief recently left to go to MEEI, and another plastics attending left for private practice a couple months ago. I think the only oculoplastics attending left is straight out of fellowship. Most of the pedi ophtho attendings have left in the last couple of years. The BU fellowship match is fairly weak. Their research is nearly non-existent. So I would only recommend it if you are set on comprehensive or need to be in Boston.
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Disclaimer - I am not affiliated with BU or NYU in any way, but do have some knowledge of both NYU and BU.

This is a fairly inaccurate description.
1) I don't think many people consider NYU to have a "much stronger reputation' than BU. in fact I think that in many ways BU offers things that NYU doesn't (for example surgical volume)
2) the BU residents rotate at Children's hospital of Boston unless something has changed recently. So they work with plenty of peds ophtho.
3) I don't know their fellowship match, but unless you have a strong knowledge of what a good fellowship match is for all subspecialties (most med students don't) I'd refrain from stating that their match is weak.
Can't comment on the plastics though it is true that the chief went to MEEI. Is there some shame in that in regards to BU? That seems like it would be a desired position.
 
I don't find it odd to disagree with you without having an affiliation to the program, because it makes my opinion unbiased. I'm not sure why your post made me reply - I've seen larger inaccuracies that I haven't felt the need to comment on (check the Wilmer thread as well as some of the other posts on this thread for evidence). For some reason, your statements triggered me.

But if we're talking about finding things odd, I find it odd that
1) a medical student who has spent considerable time around the program (I guess a BU student) would imply that the peds experience is lacking when the residents spend three months at one of the premier children's hospitals in the country (with several peds ophthalmologists). And I didn't mention that the CHAIR is a PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGIST
2) that you say that you never said the program was terrible, but did say that the attendings don't want to teach, the fellowship match is terrible and their subspecialties are extremely weak. I'm not really reading between the lines here. That sounds like you're saying that BU is a terrible program.
3) that you're so positive that NYU is better than BU. Based on what? Is NYU ranked highly in that (highly unscientific) Ophthalmology Times opinion poll?

My opinion is based on my discussions in several positions over the years with both med students and residents from BOTH institutions. I also know attendings at both institutions. The BU residents would, I think, agree that research isn't as emphasized at BU as at other places. I have heard from more than one NYU resident and med student that the supervision in the general clinics is poor, the private clinics are hands off and the surgical volume is spotty. Take this with a large grain of salt, because maybe these people had an agenda or are the minority view (my opinion is that these statements were exaggerations).

The best people to comment are the current BU and NYU residents. But, to the initial question, my opinion is that the programs both have things to offer but aren't that different in terms of overall strength (though their strengths are different). And I think you really are painting an inaccurate picture of the BU residency.
 
I worked with a grad of the BU residency, who was about 2 months out of residency, just starting fellowship. One of the strongest, most well-prepared, competent, and confident fellows I've ever worked with. This fellow had nothing but great things to say about the BU training, and recommended it strongly. There should be no hesitancy when saying the BU program trains extremely solid residents, who get into great fellowships. Their surgical experience is very strong as well.
 
I was wondering if someone could comment on a criticism I heard about George Washington U having a resident-run attending clinic instead of a true resident-clinic. (In other words, I believe residents present to attendings, then attendings see the patient and may adjust the plan without necessarily informing or including the resident.)

Could someone clarify the actual workflow of the clinic at GWU and how it compares in terms of learning, continuity of care, etc. to the other programs (all else equal)?

I get the impression that this is an issue at many programs other than GWU, and I'm actually curious how much of an impact people feel it has or has had on their training.

Thanks!
 
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