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Applicant Summary:
Step 1: >235, Step 2: >235
EM rotations: HP/P (Pass/Fail only)
Medical school region: Southish
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Was told Strong SLOES, EM Leadership, Good ECs, Pre-Med school life was "interesting" and a talking point in my interviews. Non-EM research with pubs - Pretty avg student otherwise
Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Fit, Fit, Fit, location, 3>4 years, SO preference, proximity to outdoor activities.
1) Wake Forest -
Pros: Very well established program. Really enjoyed my interview day here and the pre interview dinner was great- Big resident turnout and they all seemed very happy. Very family oriented. Got along well with the PD and all my interviewers were great. Liked the 8 hour shifts, and seems like they do a lot of EMS and Wilderness Medicine stuff which is cool. ED is a little older with plans to have a new one built, but I liked the current set up just fine. I liked Winston-Salem and seemed like a good place for couples/families to be. I can understand why some people don't like it as it is not the most happening town, but has everything we need. Really love the ED heavy curriculum. Close to outdoors and short drives to the mountains and beaches.
Cons: Work a good bit of shifts, but they are only 8 hours. As mentioned, WS can be quiet, but that's alright by me.
2) University of Arkansas -
Pros: Awesome interview day and really loved the PD and other faculty I interviewed with here. Dinner the night before was at a residents house and all the residents were super friendly and people I could see myself getting along with really well. Shared similar interests. Strong U/S experience which is great. I love Little Rock, and it is really close to a lot of great outdoor activities. Love how their schedule is set up, especially with 12s on the weekend to give you an extra weekend off. Only Level 1 in the state so I assume they get to see a ton with that large catchment area.
Cons: Still seems like they are tinkering with the curriculum a little bit, and they will have a few new faculty members in the upcoming year, which all those things can be good or bad. Month of Night OB.
3) Greenville Health Systems- South Carolina -
Pros: As people have mentioned already, was blown away by this place from the dinner the night before until I stepped foot off campus. Dinner was only with faculty as this is a brand new program, but they were all nice and approachable and were very excited to talk about the program/answer any questions. The entire interview day was very well run, and the curriculum is well thought out. You can tell they have been preparing for a while to start this program, and it really shows. SIM center is ridiculously nice. Greenville is an awesome city with a cool downtown area with a river flowing through it. The hospital was the nicest I've ever seen (besides the new charity in NOLA), and the benefits are great. Really wish they had just a couple of classes or even just one and it would probably be in the running for #1. I have no doubt it will be a very competitive program in just a few years.
Cons: Brand new program so there are a lot of questions still up in the air, although they've done their best to answer most of them. Will have to be on the forefront of fighting some turf battles.
4) JPS -
Pros: Solid program, and even though its relatively new, it's becoming more and more competitive. Incredibly nice residents at the dinner and met even more during the interview day. Really seemed to get along with each other and genuinely love their program. PD is awesome and she seems to have a great vision/plan for the future of the program. Fort Worth seems like a cool place to live. All the benefits of a big city and having Dallas right next door, but not having to deal with Dallas traffic. Nice Hospital with amazing benefits. See tons of patients and procedures galore. Also like how they keep track of your metrics to make it a little competitive with your co-residents and shows areas in need of improvement. Great moonlighting opportunities as well
Cons: Not so sure about living in Texas, just didn't feel as good as my top 3, but overall a great program and would be thrilled to come here to train.
5) UT Memphis -
Pros: Newer program (would be 3rd class to enter). Probably got the most procedures out of anywhere I interviewed. Pretty sure one second year said he got all his procedures necessary for graduation by the end of his intern year. Really liked their ED set up. Great Disaster Medicine opportunities which could be cool. Only met a few residents, but they were all nice and spoke very highly of their training thus far and seemed happy. I like the city of Memphis- plenty to do around the city.
Cons: Rotate at 4 different hospitals with several different EMRs, Not sure I would like to have my trauma months at a separate location (although it is at the Med which is one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation). Haven't had a class graduate yet, so not sure about job prospects although I doubt they would have an issue. Smaller program. Interview day was good, but it seems like they still have a few things that need ironing out. With the Memphis population and crime, this program will be awesome in a few years once they have all their ducks in a row.
6) Carilion Clinic Virginia Tech -
Pros: Probably my favorite location on the trail- Roanoke is awesome. I can see why some people don't like the PD, but I liked what he was saying and bought in to his training philosophies. Feel like I would leave here very well trained and ready for anything. All my faculty interviews were great and hit it off with pretty much all of them. They had done some research on my app and ask me very specific questions were you could tell they had taken time to research additional information about something I did/said/where I was from etc.. made me feel like they really cared about the process and I appreciated their effort. Residents were all really nice and outdoorsy. They do a thing similar to JPS and keep track of all your metrics and it seemed like it has helped their grads get jobs. Liked their curriculum and they see a crazy volume and get tons of procedures.
Cons: SO job opportunities here are limited. Roanoke is a little secluded which is both a pro and con. Didn't jive with a couple of the residents but really hit it off with others so who knows.
7) U of Mississippi -
Pros: Big surprise for me on the trail. Somewhat of a diamond in the rough type program IMO. Residents were great at the dinner the night before. They see a ton of patients and it's the only level 1 in the state, so they see it all. Per a couple of residents, Jackson is a rougher town that definitely has the "knife and gun club" as well as the medically sick patients from all over. They get tons of procedures and can/do moonlight a ton for extra money. Very ED heavy curriculum which is nice. Newer department that is very nice, and they showed us this medcom place that coordinates the state's EMS and whatnot and it looks like something out of a movie. Faculty interactions were good and they seemed to care about their residents.
Cons: as others have mentioned, not sure I could live in Jackson. 12 hour shifts is big con. SO job opportunities limited and she didn't really care for Jackson. Interview day car ride around Jackson and surrounding areas was really long. Most faculty were from MS or did their training there.
8) VCU -
Pros: Best PD on the trail. We got this booklet that had everything we could ever ask about and a ton of additional information about the program and FAQs- so it was nice to have after the interview. He individually went around and sincerely thanked all of the residents that came to hang with us during our lunch. (I think the interview day was right by a holiday/weekend). Thats the kind of PD you want on your side. Residents were all awesome at the dinner the night before. Their ED setup is pretty cool with their huge trauma room. All my faculty interviews and chief interview were awesome. Really sad it dropped so far down my list after SO somewhat nixed it due to location. I almost envy people who match here- solid program with great faculty/residents. You can tell they also value diversity in their program, so that is a plus, too.
Cons: Wish they had more ED months, SO didn't care much for Richmond.
9) Med College of Georgia -
Pros: Enjoyed my interview day here.. just didn't quite click with all of the faculty and residents. Everyone was nice and I loved the program, but seemed like a place I would just go to work my shift and go home- not a whole lot of meshing with residents. I like their curriculum, and you get to work at the Master's and they do a ton of wilderness medicine which is neat. Their ED is really nice. The PD that gave the morning speech was super passionate about the program and his residents- seemed like a great guy to work with.
Cons: wasn't a huge fan of Augusta, Very sharp differences in personalities of residents that were civilian vs. army so that was interesting. Most residents said they go out of town to do stuff.
10) LSU New Orleans -
Pros: Really fun program. They all embody the very laid back New Orleans attitude from the interns all the way up to the PD and Chair. Pre-interview dinner was crawfish at a local brewery- so that was awesome. Had a great turnout and all the residents were friendly and would be great to work with. PD interview was awesome.. funniest and most laid back PD on the trail. 4 year program, so their ED schedule was light, and their off service months were good. You get to do a community rotation in south Louisiana at a bare bones hospital, so that would be very beneficial. Plenty of elective time in the curriculum. New Orleans is...... New Orleans. I'm sure I'd adapt to living there just fine, but its still a very busy city with lots of traffic and is somewhat dangerous even in places that are "safe." Great food and always something going on!
Cons: not sure the 4th year would be worth it there. They sold it well and every interviewer asked if I had concerns about the 4th year- but I just didn't see the value personally.
11) West Virginia -
Pros: Probably the friendliest residents and faculty I met on the trail. Seemed like they would be great people to work with. PD is nice and has been there for a long time and everyone loves her. Interview day was well run, and the residents were everywhere and very involved with the interview day which was awesome. Solid group of folks.
Cons: Morgantown didn't have the best job opportunities for SO. Kinda far from family, lower volume despite large catchment area. Most residents were either from WV or had some tie to WV, same with faculty
12) UT Chattanooga -
Pros: awesome location, good curriculum, do a lot of stuff with disaster response and wilderness med. Only met a few of the residents, but they were really nice. Grads get good jobs wherever they want to go. ED was really busy on interview day
Cons: only a couple of residents at dinner and one had just gotten off an ICU shift and looked tired and miserable, weird interview with chair of the dept- seemed like he would've rather been anywhere else in the world than interviewing me. Another interviewer was almost abrasive. And some of the residents openly spoke poorly of other specialties in the hospital which was kind of awkward. Maybe I caught them all on an off day or something (or they hated me)...who knows.
13) U of Louisville -
Pros: Very established program. Residents get tons of procedures and seemed very busy. Get a good bit of autonomy as everyone has mentioned. Know I would leave here being able to handle everything that came my way. PD was great and really liked how she took an individualized approach to training the residents- really enjoyed my interview with her
Cons: Just didn't gel here at all. Didn't really have much in common with the residents at the dinner. I like the autonomy the program seems to give its residents, but its almost too much. One resident at the dinner said she "didn't know where the attending was for over an hour so she was basically running the show." I see how some people love this idea, but it just wasn't for me. She may have been embellishing some.. but its just not my learning style. Couple of awkward interviews with faculty (one who asked very forward and personal questions). SO didn't much care for the city and neither did I. I no doubt would be a solid physician leaving this program, but it just didn't fit for me personally.
Other:
Declined interviews - UT Houston, Texas A and M Scott & White, Eastern Virginia, UT Murfreesboro, U of Oklahoma, LSU Baton Rouge, ECU Vidant
Waitlisted - Indiana, Boston Medical Center, U of Washington, Baylor
Rejected Silent/Hard - Emory, UTSW, Utah, Palmetto, UNC, Duke, Carolinas, Cinci, UVA, UK
Applied around 35, Received 20
Overall would be very happy to match pretty much anywhere. From my experience, Im glad to see it's true that there aren't really any bad places to train for EM. Congrats on the great accomplishment of matching, and best of luck to everyone on Friday!