[2017-2018] Emergency Medicine Rank Order List Thread

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Oregon
Anything else that made you more competitive?: research

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Location, number of ICU weeks

1) OR -- Oregon Health and Science University

2) AZ -- University of Arizona College of Medicine at South Campus

3) CA -- University of California Davis

4) NV -- University of Nevada Las Vegas

5) NH -- Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

6) CA -- Riverside Community Hospital / University of California Riverside

7) MO -- Truman Medical Center/University of MO Kansas City

8) FL -- University of Florida - Gainesville

9) FL -- Florida Atlantic University

10) OH -- Ohio State University Medical Center

11) FL -- University of South Florida

12) CA -- Loma Linda University School of Medicine

13) CT -- University of Connecticut

14) FL -- University of Central Florida at Ocala


Invited to interview, but declined:
UPMC, Orlando Health, Indiana University, Aventura

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[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / High Pass /
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: worked a real job during medical school, EMSIG

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
COL, FIT, boyfriend's thoughts and job availability, weather

1) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine

2) TX -- Baylor College of Medicine

3) FL -- Jackson Memorial Hospital

4) TX -- UT Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas

5) IL -- University of Illinois Hospital - Chicago

6) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center

7) OH -- Ohio State University Medical Center

8) KS -- University of Kansas School of Medicine

9) SC -- Medical University of South Carolina

10) MI -- Spectrum Health Grand Rapids/Michigan State University

11) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine

12) WI -- Medical College of Wisconsin

13) CT -- University of Connecticut
ranked this low because of location. Loved the program

14) OH -- Akron General Medical Center

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: Yes
Medical school region: East coast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Gold humanism, prior ED scribe, multiple leadership positions during med school, unique medical education experience.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Fit and location (originally from Midwest, prefer to go back), reputation, social-ness of residents/city (I'm younger & single). Sports medicine interest. 3=4 for me. Not sure if I'll do academics vs. community, but would like both options available to me.

1) OH -- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Pros: Old, storied program with excellent national reputation. Alumni leaders across country. Superb clinical training, PGY3s run SRU and are busiest docs in Cincy at times. Well-respected and established at hospital, makes for great off-service. Sports medicine fellowship available and multiple past residents have completed it. 6 months elective to pursue interests. Not a "gut feeling" type person but closest I came was during this interview day when Dr. Pancioli (EM chair) spoke.

Cons: 11-hr shifts as interns, residents admitted it was hard work (but have culture of not staying after shift). Neutral about flight experience, can be disruptive to PGY2 shifts. Uncertain about Cincinnati as a city, but residents spoke highly of it.


2) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Pros: Another old program with excellent alumni network nationally. 3-year program that places residents in most competitive jobs/fellowships. Excited about opportunity that brand new ED (so fresh) and Level 1 designation presents. Most fun and social residents I met on the trail. Faculty are great, especially Dr. Babcock (PD). Multiple current residents pursuing sports medicine, although no dedicated faculty. Nice perks with AXA flight program. Love Chicago.

Cons: Uncertainty with new facilities (although exciting!). Likely consult-heavy given academic nature of UChicago. Neutral about heli-flight experience.


3) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Pros: Academic brand-name program. Love the focus on creating leaders in the field. Well-respected in hospital especially with Jim Adams' presence (EM chair and CMO of hospital). Think Dr. Bailitz is taking the program in a great direction. 5 sports medicine trained faculty, PGY1 sports medicine rotation. Trauma at Cook. Gary rotation sounds identity-forming. Residents were impressive and professional, but still easy to get along with. Awesome pre-interview dinner! Facilities are gorgeous, looks like a mall. Love Chicago.

Cons: Likely consult heavy. I worry about the patient diversity given Northwestern Memorial's location in the shopping district off Michigan Ave, although residents say there is plenty of clinical diversity. Questionable trauma load. Tons of ICU (not a critical care focused person).


4) PA -- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Pros: Good integration of multiple training sites (Presby = academic, Mercy = county, Shadyside = community) all within the city limits. Jeep experience sounds amazing, crazy autonomy for residents. Really enjoyed Pittsburgh as a city, which I wasn't expecting. Affordable and lots to do. Solid sports medicine presence with past residents pursuing fellowships, cool opportunities to work Steelers, UPitt and high school games. Residents seemed very tight, were constantly laughing and having a good time.

Cons: Have seen other posts about this program being overworked and getting bad vibez...I didn't get this impression but I guess the thought is out there. Inbred faculty leadership. Share airways with anesthesia at Presby. PD didn't seem the most open/friendly.


5) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
Pros: Great reputation within EM, known for excellent clinical training. Tons of trauma (residents happy that UChicago will dilute their volume), great patient diversity. Single site, so get to know facilities/operations well. Dr. Lovell was relatable/friendly and residents described her as a "bulldog" who will go to bat for you. Lots of moonlighting opportunity. Love Chicago.

Cons: Grandma won't know the program name. Not as strong academics. Didn't get to attend social so didn't meet a ton of residents. Some had a slight arrogant tone, was slightly off-putting. Lack of sports medicine.


6) MI -- University of Michigan
Pros: Very similar to Northwestern, with focus on creating leaders and developing your specific interest. 3 training sites fit different types of practice environments (UMich = academic, St. Joe's = community, Hurley = county). Strong academic culture. Event medicine at the Big House and EM faculty member is football team physician. Great benefits, hospital with lots of $$$. Went to undergrad here, bleed Maize & Blue, family/friends in area. Harbaugh. Beilein.

Cons: ICU heavy (not my favorite). Could be stretched thin rotating through the 3 sites. Commute to Hurley not ideal. Consult heavy at UM. UM hospital overall malignant? Most of the residents were on the older side, settled, seemed less socially active. Not a perfect personality fit.


7) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess
Pros: 3+1 format, cool ability to be junior attending and get extra academic experience (while making good salary). Dr. Rosen and Dr. Wolfe are awesome to have around, designed the program/curriculum. Have own unique EMR system, which seems to function very well. Residents very social and fun, got along well with them. Faculty are team docs for Red Sox, have placed residents into sports med fellowships in past.

Cons: Lots of trainings sites, commute. Block style peds. Most trauma in Boston goes to BMC. Not a huge fan of living in Boston. High COL. Not the friendliest people in Boston. Far from home.


8) PA -- Temple University School of Medicine
Pros: Excellent autonomy and clinical training. County program with resources. Known for penetrating trauma volume. Interns involved in high acuity patients and procedures right away. Well-respected in hospital with Dr. McNamara's presence. Really clicked with Dr. Garg, seems like a great resident advocate. Residents were young and social, got along with them really well. Have resident night out every block.

Cons: Not sold on living in Philadelphia, no connections to the area. Most of the residents were from Philadelphia or had some connection. Hospital is in a sketchy area. Lack of sports medicine opportunities.


9) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
Pros: Amazing national reputation. Known for autonomy and badass clinical training. ED runs the show. County program with resources. Dr. Hart (PD) constantly looking for ways to improve program. Great facilities for a county hospital, really cool hyperbarics chamber. I was impressed by Minneapolis as city, had never been before.

Cons: Multiple floor months. Didn't click with Dr. Hart during interview, couldn't explain it. Residents were friendly but didn't see myself fitting in. Most graduates stay in Minnesota, and majority going into community recently. No sports medicine.


10) MI -- Spectrum Health Grand Rapids/Michigan State University
Pros: Well-established program. Single site training with high volume, Devos children's on same campus makes great peds experience. Coordinator is awesome and super involved. Residents were fun and got along great. Close to family/friends, love the city.

Cons: Current PD stepped down during interview season, so some uncertainty surrounding that situation. Very geared towards community practice and felt like I would be limited in future opportunities. Low trauma volume and unclear on clinical diversity given the single site.


11) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine
Pros: 2 training sites give exposure to community and county-like setting. Opportunity to join specialty tracks, which is a cool bonus to the curriculum and typically only seen in 4-year programs. Large resident class and focus on wellness makes for good work:life balance. Liked that the chair was very involved with the interview day. Close to family/friends.

Cons: Peds floor rotation. Overall, PEM experience seems weak. Lots of ICU. Also geared towards community practice, felt limited in future opportunities. Kalamazoo not a great/fun place to live.


12) RI -- Brown University
Pros: Brown name, national reputation, great network of alumni with program leadership that emphasized how they will go to bat for you. PGY3 sounds like a badass training year in the critical care section of ED with tons of procedures. Great elective options, including Newport and Hawaii. 2 sports medicine faculty.

Cons: Didn't get a good justification for their 4th year. Didn't fit in with residents, most were talking about buying houses/fixing up their house/something about their house during interview day, and I'm not at a "house" stage of my life. Whenever asked about what they do for fun, didn't get good answers and would usually be along the lines of "driving somewhere else."


13) DE -- Christiana Care Health Services
Pros: Single site, essentially unopposed in hospital. Don't consult much, tons of autonomy, excellent clinical training. Great facilities. Very sick patients. Solid academics despite being a more community hospital (write the EMRA abx guide).

Cons: Interview day was very short and didn't feel like I got to interact with program leadership enough - chief resident gave intro talk. Social event and lunch very poorly attended. Only met like 3-5 residents and didn't really click with any of them. Couldn't see myself living in Delaware.


14) MI -- Henry Ford Hospital
Pros: National reputation. Clinical training is excellent. 3 sports medicine faculty and are team docs for Lions/Pistons. Close to family/friends, think Detroit is trending up, really wanted to like the program.

Cons: Nothing felt right on this interview. Social event poorly attended, didn't click with residents I met. Residents appeared over-worked and most tired/worn down I've seen. A friend that rotated there said everyone in the hospital is over-worked (not a great culture). Bad off-services (i.e. OB - scrub c-sections, lots of floor work; plastics - 24-hr call, work clinic; etc). Peds seemed weak.


Anything else to add?
I would be ecstatic at my Top 3. And very happy with any of Top 9. Small drop-off after that. I was surprised that after almost all my interviews, I left feeling like "yeah, I could see myself here."

Applied to:
36 total

Withdrew from before hearing anything:
Cooper

Rejected by:
Loud: CMC, Vandy. Silent rejections: Detroit Receiving, Presence, Allegheny, OHSA, Wake, Arizona

Invited to interview, but declined:
Penn, Wash U, BMC, Cook County, Georgetown, Indiana, Hofstra Northwell, Wisconsin, MCW, Beaumont, Maine, St. Luke's OP - hit submit before adding my silent rejections: Detroit Receiving, Presence, Alleghany, OHSA, Wake, Arizona

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 250s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: 1 rotation that was Pass/Fail only, 1 that I got Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Lots of volunteering, leadership, strong PS. One top 10% SLOE from this scary ass PD who I thought was going to flunk me. Maybe means it was one of those impressed the unimpressable letters that opened up doors.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. Happiness- Summation of lots of factors, location a big part. Maybe this is gut everyone talks about

2. Location - Realized how big this was after college. Diversity is +++. Strong proponent of the yogurt theory. It’s the small things that set great EM residencies apart like that one place you went where the yogurt was amazing and you had the best day.

3. Fit - Ditto with college. I will do best where I’m happiest and feel most comfortable with the people. Diversity is +++

4. Clinical Training - Feels weird to be putting this last of the four but I bought into the all EM programs are great, for those that are “legendary” they have extra appeal for sure but just not enough to by itself overcome other factors. Also 3 > 4 for me. Realized as cool as niche programs sound--I’m a pretty boring person when it comes to career aspirations.

**Couples matching (see more at the bottom) so rankings below are my personal list. For the keyboard warriors intent on shaming people who go on more than what they deem appropriate, know that you're probably contributing to a less than robust ROL thread this year. Also comments are not intended to offend and most are heavily opinion slanted and done so on purpose. Frankly so much of this process is hiding your thoughts and the fear of saying the wrong things so I wrote this as a screw it here’s my honest truth to be helpful for future students and for my own closure’s sake**


1) CA -- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital
Yes SF is expensive. Yes trauma airways shared with anesthesia. I don’t care. There is a feeling I get in SF and it just makes me inexplicably happy. And roommates and eating/spending on a salary wouldn’t change that.UCSF as an institution and its dedication to diversity, wellness, and inclusion is ivory tower of what all other institutions should ascribe to. Biking to work everyday, skiing in Tahoe, how can other cities compare? Residents amazing, down to earth, dedicated to recruiting, even picked up our tab when we went out. Parnassus is beautiful. Not worried about clinical strength given exposure to large homeless population, maybe peds and trauma less strong. Off service rotations will be one of the best. Dedication to wellness with nice shift schedule (18 per block?), no 12s, and 1 hour per week of “individual study” like group rock climbing, biking, running. But honestly, this is a heavy on the feels type place while knowing that I’m saying no to the “legendary programs” out there (and across the bridge).


2) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine
Only reason why this goes number 2 is because of location vs SF. And yes I know it’s in Indiana and I just preferenced location above others. And still, it legitimately hurts to not be able to put this 1. I’ve never felt like I wanted to be more part of a group than here. Second highest turnout on the trail with over 20 residents at dinner and even more kids and SOs. For even the brief glimpse of what I saw, this is the friendliest and most inclusive family of residents, staff, and SO’s you will find. I’ve always felt residencies who pitch the “family” atmosphere as college fraternities who claim to be about community service. I still tell stories about my experience with Indy to everyone who will listen. Truly a remarkable program that checks all the boxes except location. I love diversity, a lack of it breaks most programs for me but honestly, my gut tells me this is one of the few places that I’m willing to make an exception for. Beautiful facilities, Eskenazi is the prettiest county hospital you’ll ever see. It was built for teaching--rounding rooms all have windows. Fantastic gym. Their sim is incredible, have a whole inpatient floor to utilize and an ambulance on the top floor. Computers are connected to Epic even in sim because it’s actually a back up for mass casualty. COL is incredible, some residents were living in a 3br house by themselves because why get a roommate when you can afford not to. It makes my house full of golden retriever dreams real. Moonlighting is $$. International airport next door. Chill shift schedule, 19 per 28 day block. 9 hours usually. One resident said he’s never felt sleep deprieved yet. He was a third year. Show me a program where the clinical experience is a beast, the residents are tight-knit and happy, and you can pay back your debts faster than anywhere else: no where does it better than Indy.


3) CA -- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center / Olive View UCLA Medical Center
Great training sure. Less strong trauma experience. Obviously everyone knows about the 3-4 shifts a month that end up being night shift commute back from Olive View but here’s what matters: 15 minutes from Santa Monica Pier, walking distance from asian food, student housing 2 br for 1400 with 2 parking spaces, happy residents (like legitimately, I’m happy just imaginging how happy they were), amazing and extremely well-funded international experience. Where else do you go to the dinner and drink with the PD, the chair, and the chair’s wife about how amazing life is in the west coast. Also ended up having a great time with the applicants (y’all know who you are) which inextricably factored into my experience.


4) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
You know as high as this is I didn’t actually LOVE Highland like I felt like I should have. The reason this is high is because I can live in SF and have phenomenal clinical training. Probably better than UCSF’s, but 1) I feel like the pendulum is swinging, many if not most of the faculty at UCSF trained at Highland, 2) location is going to start pulling more of those applicants who would have otherwise gone to Highland to UCSF instead. That being said for the time being, happiest shift schedule for a Denver/LAC+USC program. What I did think was amzaing were the faculty. So quirkly and lovable and I drank that kool-aid. The residents were alright. I might have been having an off day but there was a disconnect. Personally don’t think they tried super hard to engage and it’s probably because rumor has it they don’t even have to dip into rank 20 to match their class.


5) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
This is the middle child program for me. Strong but not the best flight program (looking at you Cinci), it’s a super strong academic program but not the most academic in the city (haaaaay Northwestern), new ED and trauma experience but reputation wise its still not Cook, strong international rotations but it’s not UCLA-Olive, a great city but it’s not SF, 8s weekday and 12s weekend shift schedule which is nothing noteworthy. You get the point. Exception: diversity in residents. Bar none the best. Maybe Baylor which I’ll get to. Regardless, why does a program have to be a superlative in one category when it can be the superlative for having the most great categories? Fellowship match list is exactly where I want to end up, tons of Bay Area, LA, and Denver placements with a sprinkle of admin and community positions back at home for me. My favorite residents out of the Chicago programs and one of the best leadership teams. By the way, COL in Chicago is 1) not bad 2) good enough so I can have a high rise view of Lake Michigan for 2k a month. Unreal.


6) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
How do I put this lightly… this is cowboy medicine secondary to limited financial and provider resources. This 3rd and 4th years are unreal. Yeah I know I already said that about a view of Lake Michigan but this is even more unreal. R3’s in the beginning of the year should already be attendings in hospitals. It makes UAB’s interns running 12 bed pods look like a joke. You will learn here because you will be scared of hurting patients. Plain and simple. Prior to the email with the updated shift schedule I told myself I shouldn’t put this high but now that you’re working 12 hours shifts with 2 hours of clean up and going home only to sleep and come back.. I had to move it up my list. Becoming this kind of clinician has always been my dream in medicine and LAC+USC can make it become a reality. Not to mention residents are super close--they honestly feel like a secret cult bound through sheer determination and hard work. And with the hours like they work its not surprising. On the plus side, you get fed real well. I forget what it is but it comes out to like 10K a year. $30 a day I think? Cafeteria is actually really good, personally thought it was better than UCLA’s. Running codes upstairs sounds like the life. Running all of jail ward by yourself… No words. East LA not my favorite but I’d say many live in Silver Lake which is palatable. Good proximity to Chinatown and downtown.


7) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
Honestly still not sure why this is down here. It was my post interview number 1 and once winter came it started slipping down and I haven’t been able to push it up. In my head Minneapolis is this lonely frozen tundra even though its a decently sized city with a surprisingly large amount of diversity. Post interview dinner was fun, meshed well with residents. Program is amazing too. I feel like I keep repeating myself but this is new: they actively work to put EM people into the C suite and other high stake admin positions. The result is they run the hospital. Historically pushing the boundries of EM and continuing to do so today. 2nd highest number of thoracotomies in USA (1st is LAC) but they do left and right sided… Because trauma is a consult service. Like wtf? Who does that. TEE’s on coding patients, saw one in front of me and I had a clinical orgasm watching the LV be compressed on the big screen TV’s in the STAB rooms right in front of my eyes. No notes 3rd year with teaching responsibilty and pitboss role--very few 3 year programs offer teaching responsiblities as profound as this in 3rd year. Paid research assistants to collect your data for you. 8+1 hour shifts. Dragon dictation. Leadership is amazing. Nerve blocks on everything you can imagine. Haven’t found a person who wasn’t impressed with this program yet. I really wish I could bring myself to push it higher but it just sounds so dark, dreary, and depressing up north especially with that Q3 6 week Neuro ICU block (???).


8) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Geez this was a surprise. I’m not sure why this isn’t talked about more. 70% academic, 30% community split? The national average is flipped. Programs are trying to break 50% academics and this program is pumping them out. Literally met three new APD’s on the trail who were all Northwestern grads. Recent fellowship list shows their residents getting academic positions straight out (UPenn and others). Great city, everyone knows 9 months of ICU is a little intense if you’re not into critical care. Residents are cool. Love the business slant, especially with the new MBA program. Biggest reason why it’s number 8 is I realized I could accomplish the same things in my life with a chill 3 year program and that academics aren’t gonna be the center of my life.


9) TN -- Vanderbilt University
I feel like I’m the only person in the country who isn’t ranking this number 1 but I can totally understand why people do and I’ll admit it grew on me. Feels a lot like UChicago in terms of the balance of strong everything but maybe hits a few superlatives including unfortunately one of the least diverse programs (by no means the only program--its a complicated chicken vs egg issue that is dificult to solve but I feel is actively being addressed). I will refrain from saying didactics are great and go further and say compared with many highly sought after clinically strong programs, my opinion is that the didactics are strong to make up for a less powerhouse of a clinical experience. Seems surprisingly consult heavy and cerebral for such an EM strong program. Was initially concerned about Slovis retiring soon but once you meet the guy you kind of realize he’s always gonna be in your court if you need him even if he is in Hawaii sipping Pina Coladas. Ultimately, this will get me into any academic and community position I’d want with all the connections and name brand of Vandy, will put in my 2 cents and say Nashville is a cool city but not my type of city being too Southern or die, unnecessarily pricey, and black and white segregated with little other diversity in between. On the plus side, google fiber 1000mbps.


10) OH -- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Another program I feel like a selfish brat for lowering. Largest turnout on the trail for dinner with the numbers in the high 20s. It has the most impressive alumni list of any program I interviewd at. Only place that beat out Northwestern for having most APD’s I met on the trail, this place has it all and it should be everyone’s number 1. Yes at LAC+USC thoracotomies are as difficult as brushing your teeth, but what is more badass than flying to the scene of an accident in a helicopter putting in bilateral chest tubes in the air? Also the leadership here from the coordinator Jim to the chair Pancioli is incredible. I still don’t feel good enough for this program. Cincinnati is even a pretty cool city. As far as midwest cities go I’d say it beats out Indiapolis and Ann Arbor. Up and coming too from what I can tell. With a great microbrewery scene #clichesofinterviewseason. Honestly, it was the fit factor for me. I just couldn’t see myself doing it and the lack of diversity was a big reason.


11) TX -- Baylor College of Medicine
Really like the Houston area but thought UT Houston seemed a little burned. Not concerned with clinical experience given Ben Taub population is classic county so much as scope of practice being such a new program and worry about IM and Surgery domination. Issues with regional alumni list but here’s the thing about Houston: it is the best job market in one of the biggest cities and boasts a great economy, one of the most diverse populations in the nation, not to mention a great food scene. Leadership with Dr. Pillow (graduate of Chicago) is great and explains the strong committment to diversity. Wins the silver award for most diverse class after Chicago. The international medicine is ridiculously strong for such a new program and tropical medicine is strong.


12) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess
Clinically strong though not as strong as some other programs on the list. Was concerned about the regionalism of the alumni list. I realize that its not that most graduates can’t leave but if no one does, its going to be harder to get those word of mouth positions in the community sites that I’m going to want afterwards. Great name brand for doing things outside of EM but ultimately decided I didn’t need that. 3+1 structure is a huge plus if I change my mind. Boston seemed cool but prefer other cities.


13) CA -- Los Angeles County - Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
I tried, just wasn’t on board with the interview day. Low dinner turnout was a flag for me and of the few residents, two had to leave to go study? Nice facilities aren’t a prerequisite but after searching for parking for 1.5 hours between trailers, being stationed in the resident longue with sofas from the 80s, having cafeteria food for lunch, and seeing only two residents turn out for this, I had a hard time believing anything they said about being a stellar program. This might be picky but after flying all the way to the west, fighting through traffic, and wearing my scatchy interview suit for the 20th time, you can at least put your best foot forward (like every other program) and give us more than two residents and cafeteria food. Also one resident from the class two or three years ahead dropped out to go into surgery. Still though, so many FOAMed resources originate here, faculty are accomplished, clinical training would be strong, and I could think of worse things than living on the beach for 4 years with a humane shift schedule (20 down 2 per year to 14 in R4 I think).


14) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
I love Stanford. It’s such a beautiful campus. The undergrad is exactly what I would’ve wanted to go to. I’m always so impressed with the Stanford people I meet. I think the problem is its too easy to just associate this name with the program. I like the multiple sites, I think it can train you to be a great doc, but it’s just not going to be phenomenal clinical training YET (because $$ does wondrous things). That being said, if you have a passion, a niche, a project, a dream outside of EM, anything that you need guidance, support, and help from other departments, Stanford is THE program for you. I’m not that cool, I just wanna be a happy and badass doc skiing my life away and sipping mimosas in Thailand. And Palo Alto isn’t the international city I want nor is the COL justified (wasssup UCSF).


15) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
This was actually pre-interview season number one. I’d heard great things about the program including its high volume and fast paced 3-4 patients per hour, generous time off (forget how many shifts but not bad), close knit group of residents, and location in Chicago. All of which are still true but the fit just wasn’t there for me compared to the other Chicago programs. Plus the location in a suburb of Chicago just isn’t as enticing as commuting on Lake Shore Drive to UChicago or Northwestern shopping mall of a hospital located on the magnificent mile. Hey, I warned y’all, it’s the small things that distinguish programs for me.


16) OH -- Ohio State University Medical Center
Read a lot of people having problems with the PD and I don’t really see it, he’s a little quirkly but who doesn’t love a little quirky. And we’re talking about people who choose to turn entitled medical students into world class clinicians while sacrificing pay, that alone takes a pretty quirky person. Beautiful ED. Heard some issues with trauma training. One of the residents I know pretty well said it was good training but didn’t seem particular enthused. Residents seem a little tired. New endowment for wellness which seems slightly overdue. Didactics overhaul with the new PD who is a Vandy grad and trying to push the program in that direction. Hawaii rotation as a carrot for being a good horsey for 3 years. Columbus seems cool enough. Another program that I’m sure is strong but just doesn’t really have anything to make it stand out for me. AL -- University of Alabama Also one of the biggest surprises on the trail. I totally understand why, what, 18 people are ranking this as number 1? The PD is young and dedicated. He gave our interview tour himself, never seen that before. He single handedly turned UAB into a decaying program into what I personally think is one of the top programs in the country. Interns manage their own 13 (I think) bed pod. Residents seem very tight knit, enjoyed meeting everything and feel I could be happy in the program even though it’s, again, very lacking in the diversity aspect. Very sick population, strong trauma, acuity high, and procedures easy to go around after talking to residents. Biggest dealbreaker for me was Birmingham. I am from the south but the city was much smaller than a population that size would suggest and it still seems in a transition stage rather than a place where I want to live for 3 years. Moonlighting $$ maybe higher than Indiana and Houston.


18) MD -- University of Maryland
Another strong academic program with strong clinical training. Probably rivals if not superior Chicago with its dedication to research and teaching and home of Shock Trauma. They’re currently working on the Lazarus Project where they hook up their trauma patients to ECMO, patch up their holes in surgery, then restart their heart. They’re literally bringing people back alive. Incredible. Crazy pathology just walking through the ED. One of the few places besides Chicago and LA where a true knife and gun club exists. Ultimately 12 hour shifts across multiple sites requiring lots of commuting + fit gut feeling not there + some tired residents + my lukewarm experience in Baltimore (all the restuarants close at like 9?) just tipped this program lower for me.


19) IL -- Rush University Medical Center
Most likely up and coming Chicago program. Lots of $$$ available to throw around. Dedicated to resident satisfaction. Strong off service rotations. Worried about what niche this Chicago program will occupy however given close proximity to Cook and UIC and with Loyola starting its EM program soon. Rotations in Cook to ensure good trauma experience (much like Northwestern). Ultimately felt good fit with residents and faculty and the idea of helping to start a residency program and being in Chicago was appealing enough to rank this higher than UT Houston.


20) TX -- University of Texas Houston
I liked the residents, gave me a kind of LAC+USC vibe in their closeness which was +++. Definitely like the location (see Baylor), and it might be clinical superior to Baylor in the learn by doing mentality but I heard whispers about some malignancy, older faculty being unpliable, and a resistant to change in upper administration. Combined with issues with global health experiences and some evidence of overworked residents, it was enough to scare me away.


21) MD -- Johns Hopkins
I hear some people call Northwestern an adventure in bougie and I see it, but it was enough at Hopkins to dissuade me. The bit on their website detailing their refusal to participate in doximity rankings seemed a little whiny and pretentious. IM is a big dog here and having experience what this is like at my home EM program, I would rather not do round 2. Some of the residents were cool but many of them were a too little fratty for me. Really like the 4th year light clinical load with access to Hopkins resources but then I realized the only thing better than a light 4th year is no 4th year. No interview with PD which I didn’t really like and the day went on till 5pm. Again, this might be picky but if you took resident feedback, you’d hear the majority (from what I know) overwhelmingly say shorter interviews are better. So the fact that this interview day was so long either means 1) you don’t ask for feedback from residents 2) you don’t listen to said feedback. On the plus side, great name, better peds than UMaryland. See a lot of similarities with Stanford where you lose out on clinical but you can the outside of EM factor if your thing is admin or policy (especially proximity to DC).


22) MI - University of Michigan
Great program. Has many similarities to Northwestern. Both strong academics, one of the best critical care experiences. Multiple sites. Bonus is Michigan has flight. Reason why it’s here is Ann Arbor and the residents were alright. Didn’t fit particularly well, another fratty vibe with less diversity than I’d like. 4th year pushes it farther down.


Anything else to add?
**Final thoughts: Yeah y’all didn’t ask for this but I’m gonna give it to you anyway. Many of my declined interviews were due to my partner wanting to match into the competitive specialty that would cause me the most FOMO and resulting emotional trauma but I digress. Honestly, Michigan doesn’t deserve to be bottom of my list. And neither does Johns Hopkins or UT Houston. Really sucks that I have to choose things to be towards the bottom. Reality is I would be ecstatic to be at Michigan or Hopkins or Houston. All rank lists are are small reasons why you choose to push up and down certain programs for individual factors that can’t be quantified. And while the ranks say 1, 2,3, in reality, you’re still an EM doc about to realize the dreams you’ve had for the last two decades of your life, who can go anywhere you want after you graduate no matter what Doxmity says. So in reality the ranks should be 1.01, 1.02, 1.03. For me, chasing happiness however fleeting was my number one and I trusted that my clinical training would be strongest in the place I was happiest. But someone else they could have easily chosen 1.03, 1.01, and 1.02 and we would both be justified in doing so. As mentioned, part of this list was for documenting for future students and the other part was for me to realize that it’s difficult if not impossible to really know what best program is for you. The grass will always be greener on the otherside and it’s easy to feel jealous of our peers and second guess your decision. But in the end, this is proof that I gave this process my best shot and without the regret of not trying, wherever I end up I can always choose to be happy.**

On couples matching, so many things I wished I did differently. Rejections can turn to invites if your partner kills the interview. Programs talk and can pull for you. Make calls, send emails, be present but not annoying. Schedule programs your partner hasn't heard from first so you can use that as leverage to pull an interview for them. The list goes on. Best advice? Good lucky. Quote from the trail speaking to an interviewer sums it up perfectly: "The worst fights we had in our relationship were during couples matching. He put a ring on it before the process started because he knew it might not have happened afterwards."



Rejected by:
MGH/Brigham, Boston, UPenn, Temple, Thomas Jefferson, Kaiser Permanente, UCSD, UIC, UC Irvine

Invited to interview, but declined:
Denver, Cook, Emory, Brown, Wash U, Regions/Health Partners, UTSW, Georgetown, George Washington, Presence Ressurection, Case Western/Univeristy Hospitals, Riverside, Mayo, UMass, Case Western/Metro, SLU


(Note from @surely - Agree so hard about 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, and about chasing happiness. That captures how I feel about this process pretty well. Best of luck to the two of you!)

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 260s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:
ED Scribe prior to med school
1st generation college student
Strong SLOEs
Boss personal statement (or so I was told)
Decent volunteering

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. "Gut" feeling from interview day
2. Quality of Life in city (big emphasis on weather, outdoorsy activities, etc)
3. Culture of the city (looking for liberal, gay-friendly cities)
4. Work hours and possibility of having a life outside of residency
5. Proximity to friends/family
6. Clinical strength of program


1) CA -- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center / Olive View UCLA Medical Center
This one comes down to a true "gut" feeling. I left my interview day and immediately wrote a note to myself on my phone that this was the program I wanted to go to. The people here were simply amazing. I could see myself hanging out with almost everyone I interacted with, from the interns to Dr. Hendey (the chair). 100% great vibes. Not to mention that I absolutely love LA, and this is in the best part of LA in my opinion. The opportunities here are endless, and clinically, I think this is a very well-rounded program that will get me to where I need to be. I struggled a bit with choosing 12s over 8s, but ultimately decided that 16 shifts/month is worth it. Traffic will suck, but I've already accepted that. I just really, really loved this program and can totally see myself in LA.


2) CA -- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital
I flipped back and forth every single day if this should be my #1 or #2. I did an away rotation here and LOVED this program. The faculty were truly amazing and the teaching here is phenomenal. I also really liked the residents, but don't think I fit in with them as well as I would have hoped. Clinically, I think this program is quite strong but may not be as strong as a few others I checked out. Honestly that wasn't even a factor in my decision. The reason why I wound up ranking this #2 behind UCLA is because I prefer LA over SF. I actually love SF though, and would be thrilled to match here, but the high cost of living and suboptimal weather (I like hot summers) made my decision a bit easier. Still, even though it's too late now, I can't help but question if I should have ranked this #1 because I really do love this program. I think I would be equally happy to match here or UCLA, so I'll just let fate decide.


3) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
I met SO many people on the trail who fell in love with this program. I was not one of them, although I would be very happy here. I will say that the residents here were awesome and I think I'd fit in very well with them. The faculty, however, were a bit quirky, and given the very small number of faculty who work here, I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy working with them so often. Clinically, this is one of the strongest programs in the nation, which is why it's as high as it is. I also prefer SF over Oakland, but that's not a big decision in my rank. This just came down to the fact that I's prefer more balance with an academic center and not purely ac county hospital.


4) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Another gut feeling. UC had one of my favorite PDs on the trail who really sold the program to me. I like the idea of living in Chicago (although the weather is far from ideal), and this program is fairly close to home. The new shiny ED was also a big selling point for me. I realize that my happiness at work is affected by my surroundings, and that actually factored into my decision to rank this highly (and to rank Sinai low). Also loved the residents here and have a bunch of friends in Chicago already. Also 3 years would be dope.


5) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
If this program was in SF or LA, it would be my top choice. Sarah Williams is my favorite PD, bar none. Clinically strong but not as strong as some others, but again, not an issue for me. The selling point here are the amazing resources of Stanford, which would literally allow me to do anything I want in EM. I was so torn about this program and considered ranking it 3 or 4, but ultimately decided that I'd rather live in a big city. I figured 3 years in Chicago would be better than 4 years in the 'burbs. That being said, if I wind up matching here, I'd still be very happy.


6) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Super impressive program. Critical care obviously one of the best, which is a selling point for me. Admin also top notch. Residents have insane placement to fellowship and academic jobs. This could have been higher if not for the vibe I got from my interviewers - I just didn't feel like they were chill people. I also got a somewhat hierarchical impression here, which was a turn off.

7) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
In short, I love Emory for many reasons, but am looking for something a bit different for the next few years. Love the people and residents, but Grady is just too much for me. I learn better with some teaching mixed in with baptism-by-fire, and Grady is just too much the latter. The residents here a truly so happy though, which is a huge selling point, and Atlanta is a great city. Like Highland, this may just be too "county" for me. 3 years would be sick though.


8) NY -- Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center
NYC is awesome. Program seemed well-rounded. Dr. Egan is the man. 3 years is amazing. Nothing really stood out though, and NYC is not my first choice of city for many reasons.


9) PA -- Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
Surprised how much I liked Penn, but couldn't get over the 4 years with 18x 12h shifts and less than ideal location. Philly is fine, but not great. Again, the people here were awesome and I think I'm sure I'd be happy here.


10) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's
Honestly would have ranked this program lower if not for the name recognition. I didn't mesh with any of the faculty or residents. Brigham seems like a hellhole of consults and academics taking turns ****ting on the ED. MGH was sold as "county" but that's just laughable. WAY too academic for me. They also did a terrible job of selling the program - like didn't even talk about their curriculum. I would not want to go here, but could get over it just because of the name.


11) DC -- Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center
Unremarkable program. Would be happy in DC though. Clinically solid but nothing stood out. People were friendly and genuine. Interview was a bit aggressive with lots of "why georgetown" type questions. Just had too many other good options so couldn't justify ranking this higher.


12) WA -- University of Washington Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Most boring presentation of my life = turn off. Seattle is too cold and rainy and not my city. Undoubtedly solid program but not for me.


13) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York
Good God - I could never work in the Sinai main ED. I though I saw busy EDs in the past, but this was just unreal. Its very unfortunate actually because this has the 50/50 split that I'm looking for, and the residents were like some of the chillest people I met on the trail. Just don't think I can handle NYC crowdedness without going insane.


14) MI -- University of Michigan
Only applied here because its near family. I don't want to move back to Michigan, hence the low ranking. This program was actually amazing though. Incredible critical care, education, flight, etc. Pathology mix is great between the sites. Just cant move back to MI yet. Highly recommend this program for someone trying to settle down with a family as Ann Arbor is actually a great town, just not for me at this point in my life.


15) OR -- Oregon Health and Science University
Solid program but nothing stood out. Pacific NW not for me.


16) TN -- Vanderbilt University
So many people loved this program, but I was not one of them. Too conservative of a feel from the PD and faculty, and as a gay man, I don't want to live in Nashville. Training is great, sure, but I'm also investing the next few years in my personal development and I don't think Nashville is where I want to be.


Rejected by: Harbor-UCLA, LAC+USC, NYU-Bellevue, BIDMC

Invited to interview, but declined: UTSW, Temple, GW, Montefiore/Jacobi

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Three top 10% SLOEs. Had a prior healthcare career, lots of publications, community service and leadership. Was told by several interviewers that my personal statement got their attention.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
warm fuzzies, 3>4, academic/county hybrid, EMS opportunities, location.


1) FL -- University of South Florida
Pros: Friendliest, coolest residents and awesome faculty who really care about your success. Residents all hang out outside of work. 10 spots per class, so not too big or too small. 3 year program near the beach with >100k visits, stroke, transplant and LVAD center, with lots of blunt and penetrating trauma. Academic/county hybrid. recently added EM critical care elective and a community elective. Poison center across the street. Also adding an international med and sports med track/fellowship due to resident requests. Lectures seemed interactive and engaging with lots of small groups and utilizes state of the art sim center. Highly active in the local EMS system and helicopters. Off service rotations are useful and well thought out, no IM month, Cheap COL. New schedule has much better hours than past years with hardly any 12s. No graduated responsibility so you're encouraged to jump right in but have plenty of backup and help if you need it. Uses Epic, Free parking and lots of free food. Lots of research opportunities if you want them, but definitely not forced if research isn't your thing, Warm fuzzies.

Cons: There is a big peds hospital 30 minutes away that might compete for some of the more interesting peds cases. They have been working on partnering with that hospital to create a rotation there for the residents, but it hasn't happened yet. Nevertheless, I felt like the peds experience would be adequate as is.


2) FL -- Orlando Regional Medical Center
Pros: 3 year program near family, county/community/academic hybrid, residents seemed very happy like a close-knit family, lots of free food, great reputation in FL, strong EMS opportunities, caring faculty, cool facilities, great peds hospital next door, felt like I would be very happy here

Cons: work all 12s as interns, IM floor month, didn't like the idea of two half mornings a week of lecture as I would rather just knock it all out at once, also rotates through NICU, graduated responsibility


3) TN -- Vanderbilt University
Pros: 3 year program close to family with a big name, curriculum is well thought out with a lot of time in the ED, crazy busy flight program and you can moonlight on the helicopter!!!, Peds hospital next door Nashville is great, Ben n Jerrys AND taco bell in the hospital, seriously what more could you want?

Cons: Got a somewhat preppy vibe from the residents and just didn't feel like they were my people. I hated that I didn't quite click with them because the rest of the program is fantastic


4) NC -- University of North Carolina
Pros: Had great, meaningful conversations with all of my interviewers and felt like they really wanted to get to know me as a person, great EMS opportunities, friendly residents

Cons: lots of 12s, commuting between Chapel Hill and Raleigh is killer


5) AL -- University of Alabama
Pros: I had wonderful interviews here and left feeling like they really wanted to know my character and values, which made me feel like I would be really supported here, the residents were nice and the hospital is huge!, no hallway beds in the ED, Birmingham is cute

Cons: Seems like they still don't quite have traumas worked out yet with trauma surgery taking procedures and anesthesia taking airways. They said that they were starting a new even/odd day system this spring, but it hadn't started yet and it made me nervous that the program has been around this long and they still haven't figured out this turf war


6) NC -- Wake Forest University
Pros: Beautiful hospital, loved the curriculum and the fact that they work all 8s, tons of residents came to the social and they were all super friendly, winston salem is gorgeous, big catchment area, good EMS opportunities, loved that they included the city tour with the realtor on interview day

Cons: Really wanted to love this program but I felt like my faculty interviewers just didn't like me No matter what I answered I felt like they were not happy with what I said. Maybe it was just their poker face, but it was really uncomfortable. I didn't have that experience anywhere else, so I don't think it's me.


7) FL -- University of Florida - Gainesville
Pros: Shands has a great reputation in the south and is a beautiful hospital, location is close to family, lots of cool restaurants and Gator football, free coffee

Cons: residents all sat together at one end of the table at the social and were less than interested in speaking to applicants, they have a good catchment area, but I'm worried a good chunk of my patients will still be drunk college kids, the work area "fishbowls" are kindof claustrophobic and feel a little separated from patients. I've heard the program has had a lot of turnover in leadership over the years, one of my interviewers pimped me on a critical care patient case for half the interview and it really left a bad taste in my mouth


8) FL -- University of Florida - Jacksonville
Pros: strong reputation in the southeast, true county program.

Cons: Jacksonville is kindof weird, the hospital is maybe too county for me with all the beds squished together touching each other, I felt like I would just be thrown to the wolves without much attending teaching or backup, had a weird interview with one of the faculty who asked some aggressive questions, they work a crazy amount of shifts


9) SC -- Medical University of South Carolina
Pros: Charleston is SO cute, the residents and faculty were all super happy and friendly, chick fil a in the cafeteria

Cons: Felt like everyone there either went to med school there or rotated there so it felt a little inbred and like I wouldn't actually have a shot at one of the only 6 spots in the intern class


10) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
Pros: Amazing reputation, got to attend lectures and they were engaging and fun, crazy volume and tons of trauma, I was super impressed by the residents and was totally in awe here, and of course, Code Black

Cons: I just couldn't justify 4 years, plus LA is expensive, crowded and has way too much traffic, two many 12s, floor months, was told by an attending that approximately 30% of admissions are pure social admits and 60% of patients were spanish speaking only. I don't think I speak enough spanish to survive there and that amount of social admits almost feels like it would get in the way of actual medical learning. interns only present to third years and never set foot in the Resus bay.


11) AZ -- Maricopa Medical Center
Pros: Hilarious residents, cool schedule of all 9s with an hour of overlap and sticking all the night shifts together in one month, Burn ICU

Cons: Seemed like a lot of commuting for off service rotations, I don't know anyone on that side of the country so I couldn't justify putting it higher than places closer to home


12) FL -- Florida Atlantic University
Pros: Southeast program near family with friendly and experienced faculty and happy residents

Cons: Program currently only has interns, so kinks are still being worked out, but I do think this will be a solid program one day.


13) FL -- University of Central Florida/HCA GME Consortium of Greater Orlando
Pros: Southeast program close to family, unlimited free food, cheap COL

Cons: Brand new program, HCA, seemed pretty disorganized, Peds and OB rotations still aren't figured out. Not so sure of the pathology that will come in with UF just down the road.


Anything else to add?
At the end of the day, it's all about the SLOEs.

Applied to:
USF, ORMC, UF Jacksonville, UF Gainesville, Florida Hospital Orlando, Kendall Regional, Aventura, UM Jackson Memorial, UCF Gainesville, UCF Osceola, UCF Ocala, FAU, Mt Sinai Miami Beach, Emory, UAB, LSU NO, MUSC, Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Carolinas Medical Center, Vanderbilt, JPS, UT Houston, Baylor, UVA, Denver, UCLA Olive View, LA County USC, Harbor UCLA, Stanford, Highlands, Maricopa, UNLV, NYMC Metropolitan, Mt Sinai St Lukes Roosevelt, NYU, Georgetown, Harvard BIDMC, HAEMR, Boston Medical Center, Yale, Einstein Philly, West Virginia U, Presence Resurrection, U Chicago, U Illinois Chicago, Northwestern, Cook County, Advocate Christ, Rush, Hennepin, Mayo, Indiana, Cincinnati, Wash U Barnes Jewish, UMKC (57 programs total)

Rejected by: HAEMR, BIDMC, Emory, Northwestern, Carolinas Medical Center, Cincinnati, U Chicago, Wash U Barnes Jewish, Stanford, UCLA Harbor, UCLA Olive View. Never heard anything at all from Kendall, Duke, Einstein Philly, Hennepin, Cook County. Also I was waitlisted at Highlands.

Invited to interview, but declined: UCF Osceola, Florida Hospital Orlando, UM Jackson Memorial, UCF Gainesville, Mt Sinai Miami Beach, Aventura, LSU NO, JPS, UT Houston, Baylor, UVA, Denver, UNLV, NYMC Metropolitan, NYU, Mt Sinai SLR, Georgetown, Boston Medical Center, Yale, West Virginia, Presence Resurrection, U Illinois Chicago, Advocate Christ, Rush, Mayo, Indiana, UMKC

Attended interivews at: University of South Florida, Orlando Health ORMC, Vanderbilt, UNC, UAB, Wake Forest, UF Gainesville, UF Jacksonville, MUSC, LAC + USC, Maricopa, FAU, UCF Ocala

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via PM to @surely.

Step 1: 210s , Step 2: 220s
COMLEX Level 1: 550s, Level 2: 570s
EM rotation grades: 4 rotations, all Pass/Fail - Who knows what the SLOEs looked like. School evals were good, though not gushing.
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: SSP, Golden Human Club. Non-trad. Interesting life. Top quartile of class.


Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Family. Geography. Educational quality. Sick pts. Longitudinal trauma involvement. Daily peds. Procedural availability. Resident happiness. Department morale. Strong ultrasound.


1. University of Buffalo (Buffalo, NY):

Pros: 6 hospitals means high variety of practice styles and settings from which to build your clinical bag of tricks. Shifts are 12’s (18/17/16). Lots of fellowships & tracks. Strong U/S & EMS. Seems like a happy, tightly-knit group of residents and attendings. Buffalo is on the upswing. Like just about every city, has lots of good food, beer, music, festivals, etc. Pro sports – potential to get on the Bills sideline 3rd year. Close to skiing, lakes, state parks, Niagra Falls and Toronto. Well-designed city with lots of green spaces and no traffic. Low COL. 4 weeks vacation. They cover health insurance premiums for you, spouse & kids. Never had a 100 degree day. SO loved it here.

Cons: In-house moonlighting only. Low pay. 12’s. Giant windows behind podium in beautiful conference room overlook the city and would make it hard to pay attention. Winter, if you’re not into that kind of thing.

Bonus Points: +1,000,000 for the wings at Duff’s


2. VCU (Richmond, VA):

Pros: Love this place. Rock & Roll emergency medicine. Busy. Urban. Academic. They shoot, they stab, they crash at high speeds. ED has trauma airway. Sick patients. Attendings are the sharpest and most diverse group that I came across. Great PD. Senior residents are rock stars. Shiny ED/bay with lots of bells & whistles. Shifts are 10’s (20/18/18). Residents seem happy. Magnet hospital draws great nurses. Richmond is a happening place – arts, history, beer, food, universities, outdoorsy stuff. The James River runs through town and has class 5 rapids. Close to mountains, DC & Baltimore.

Cons: Big academic center so lots of procedure thieves in the building. No daily peds exposure. Slightly bigger city than I’d like to live in, though it’s easy to get in & out of.

Bonus Points: Best green room coffee. Served real breakfast AND a real lunch. Caribbean Grill food truck outside hospital. Guided trolley tour of the city.


3. Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI):

Pros: Big fan. They call themselves a community/academic hybrid. Two level 1 hospitals, both with a community feel. Total volume around 130,000/year. Shifts are 8’s with a 1 hour overlap, but turnover is soft so most people essentially work 10’s (~20/19/18). See peds everyday. ED has airway in traumas. Former PD is a big dog in the EM accreditation world. Knows how to build a program and is still very actively involved. Residents seem super happy. EM highly respected within the hospital. EMS/flight heavy. ICU heavy. Pig labs, EMS day, wilderness medicine race. Big class means lots of people to hang out and swap shifts with. Sleepy college town full of long-hairs. An hour from lake Michigan. UP within reach. Great support network for SO’s/kids. All off-service done locally. Decent biking/hiking trails for a flat place. Good climbing gym. Beer capital of the Midwest.

Cons: Flat. Flat. Flat. Ultrasound curriculum is weak. They’re hoping to address this by adding a fellowship

Bonus Points: They put you up in a pretty fancy hotel that doubles as a UFO landing pad. Lively pre-interview dinner.


4. Geisinger (Danville, PA):

Pros: Strong program. SICK patients. 40% admit. Transfer heavy. Low volume on paper (50k/y), but residents stay busy. Great vibe. Happy people. Residents claim to have lots of free time. ED has airway in trauma. Big on flight/EMS. Started ultrasound fellowship this year. Old program (1978). High pay, low COL. Family friendly. Shifts are 9’s (20/19/18). Epic. Large tertiary care center in tiny, rural town. Couple of smallish college towns within half an hour. Outdoorsy stuff to do. Couple breweries in town. Lots of festivals locally. All off-service done on site. Killer pre-interview dinner & free hotel at The Pine Barn. Made-to-order omelets in cafeteria.

Cons: May be a little light on procedures. A couple people identified inbreeding as a possible downside, meaning that a huge proportion of the attendings are Geisinger-trained, so they practice in a Geisinger way. Could potentially limit the number of different ways to skin a cat that you’re exposed to. Not for the city lover. Cafeteria is a little pricy. Everyone kept saying ED is old and needs a facelift. Didn’t seem that bad to me.

Bonus Points: Incredibly effective sales pitch/subtle dosing of applicants with scopolamine. I went in lukewarm and left having placed a down payment on a Geisinger-made bridge.


5. Conemaugh (Johnstown, PA):

Pros: Strong community program. Level 1 with big catchment area. 70k/y, though it seemed like pts were a little hard to come by at peak times. 25% admit rate. Shifts are 9’s (20/19/18). ED has airway in trauma. Decent amount of blunt trauma. Plenty of falls. Lots of old, sick people. Daily peds. Flight. Young attendings & older residents. Good vibe. Plenty of jokes. Excellent PD & APD. Solid cafeteria. Good didactics/sims. High pay & low cost of living. $5,000 moving bonus. Everyone seems to like going to Delaware for a month or two for Peds EM and PICU. I think they must have a free masseuse there or something. 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. Pretty good ultrasound curriculum.

Cons: Johnstown is pretty beat down. Limited attending diversity – They’re sharp and seem to enjoy teaching, but are pretty young & many are Conemaugh-trained.

Bonus Points: Proximity to Sheetz


6. Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem, PA):

Pros: Old program with big emphasis on didactics and preparing you to be self-guided learner after residency. ICU heavy. Good guest speakers. Two hospitals. Cedar Crest is a busy level 1 trauma center. Muhlenberg is community with lots of sick, old people. EM runs the ICU there. Good pathology. Shifts are 9’s. I think you’d get great training here.

Cons: 4 years. Too much off-service. Allentown sucks (though Bethlehem seems decent). ED not involved in trauma. No daily peds. Not enough jokes in the department for me. Good chunk of the attendings want medicine-style presentations. Program as a whole has kind of a crusty old white man vibe. Residents seemed stressed. Attendings seemed tired. The program high-ups didn’t seem to like each other. Not sure if anybody really liked anyone. Patient walked into ED and stabbed nurse in the neck. Slow with my SLOE.

Bonus Points: -500 for making me miserable just thinking about the place.


7. Henry Ford Allegiance (Jackson, MI)

Pros: Lots of procedures. No ortho. Sick patients. Busy ED. Nice department. Would come out really well prepared. Level II, though it sounds like plenty of blunt and some penetrating come through. Airway on all trauma. Trade days with trauma PA’s doing procedures in trauma bay. Daily peds exposure. They say that U/S is used and taught often. Potential to use scribes as senior resident. Potential to live in Ann Arbor or somewhere else that is not Jackson

Cons: 4 years. Too much off-service. No critical care until PGY3. Jackson could easily win a reality show in which dead and crumbling cities compete against each other to see which one is deader and crumblier. Interview was 16 “tell us about a time” questions. F that. If I had the luxury to not rank them out of spite, I would do it in a second.

Bonus Points: No way


8. Doctors Hospital (Columbus, OH)

These guys. First they invite me for an interview right after ERAS opens. Then they respond to my acceptance with, “whoops, sorry. Not you. We meant to invite someone else with a name similar to yours. Best of luck.” Did end up interviewing there eventually. Columbus was generic and the program was meh, but I really liked the residents and faculty. Thought I had a great interview until I got an email in late January saying that they weren’t ranking me at all. Not even a little. Ouch. Still ranked them anyway because 8 is my lucky number



Declined/Cancelled: Botsford, Boardman, Cape Fear, Inspira, Mercy Health (Muskegon), St. Mary Mercy (Livonia), Mercy St. Vincent (Toledo)

Reject/Silent: UA-Tuscon, Maricopa, USF-Morsani, MCG-Augusta, U of Iowa, UIC, UI-Peoria, SoIll, Advocate, Baystate, Central Mich, McLaren Oakland, Wayne State, HF MaComb, St John’s Oakland, McLaren MaComb, HF Wyandotte, Sparrow, UMKC, Lumberton, U of Nebraska, Newark Beth Isreal, UNLV, Rutgers RWJ, Atlantic Health, Cooper, Albany, Rochester, SUNY Upstate, Wright State, Akron General, Case Western Reserve, U of Toledo, OHSU, St. Luke’s, Penn State, Drexel, Einstein, St. Vincent Erie, UPMC Hamot, York, Kent, UT-Murf, Christus, Utah, Carilion, Wisc, Olympia Fields, KCU-Joplin, AEDNA-Chilicothe, PCOM, CAMC, Lakeland, St. Josephs

Comments: Crappy scores from a random DO school made me an obvious underdog. Looked at resident profiles and applied everywhere in my geographic area of interest that had >10% DO. Threw a couple hail marys out west (because it’s the best). It was a pain in the ass, but I applied for ~20 aways at my targeted programs through VSAS and another 10 (AOA, mostly) outside of VSAS.

Was approved for 12 aways total, including a couple EM U/S rotations. Went on 4. Once I upgraded, I cancelled the less desirable ones well in advance. Pretty sure that I got 5 of those rotations approved through phone calls or follow-up emails to the coordinator. Of my 15 interview invites, I rotated at 4 of them and cancelled rotations at another 3 of them.

I think my approach was working really well until I got too big for my britches and started cancelling interviews at undesirable places. I only ended up going on 8 of 15 interviews because I felt like none of my cancellations would have cracked my top 5. Also figured that if I can’t match at one of the 4 programs where I spent a month rotating, that maybe I’m not that good at EM and should just find another job. Once Doctors didn’t rank me, I realized that I might have screwed the pooch. Now I’m only realistically ranking 7 programs, two of which (VCU, WMich) are out of my statistical league and only interviewed me because I rotated there.

The take home lesson is that beggars can’t be choosers. If you’re an underdog, apply widely & wisely and go on as many interviews as you can. Remember that an EM program in the asscrack of America is still better than anything in SOAP.



(Note from @surely: Man, as I was reading this, I was like... borderline DO applicant who only ranks 8 places and turns down a bunch of invites?? What the what?? But then I got to the bottom where the OP realizes he/she may have dun goofed, and I appreciate that they shared that insight. OP, I hope this works out for you and you get good news in a couple weeks. I absolutely want to echo your sentiment that people with low stats and anti-DO bias working against them should be very risk-averse in their interview planning!)

 

[medicsb]

1) PA -- Temple University School of Medicine

Cons: ...Worried their alumni network doesn’t penetrate the PNW markets as well as my numbers 2-4.

Multiple TUH grads in the past 10 years have gone to Washington and Oregon. And they didn't go to TeamHealth or Emcare departments either.

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Volunteering, prior work experience, research presentations.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Fit, location, perceived training.

1) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
Pro: Loved the feel of Grady. Really got along with the residents. Thought ATL was awesome. Future, TI, Young Jeezy, etc.

Con: idk really


2) NY -- Jacobi/Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pro: Impressive academic pedigree. Residents seemed a little cut throat but I don't mind that. The allure of NYC. Fat Joe, Slick rick, big pun, etc.

Con: Bronx, 4 years


3) FL -- Mount Sinai Medical Center/Miami
Pro: PD and faculty are very dedicated to resident education. Miami is an awesome city with tons to do. Residents seemed like a really chill group. Rick ross, pitbull, ultra etc.

Con: not a huge academic name, but I am willing to look past it since the chairman (Dr. Farcy) is president-elect of AAEM.


4) AL -- University of Alabama
Pro: Very cush schedule (get two golden weekends every month). Loved the attendings that interviewed me on interview day. Seems like a really solid program

Con: Birmingham is kind of a small city and there is almost no diversity in terms of the current residents.


5) FL -- University of Florida - Jacksonville
Pro: Loved the county feel. Thought Dr. Caro was down to earth and honest. They have tons of acuity. 3 years.

Con: Hear the residents work quite a bit and Jacksonville is whatever - not particularly excited about the city


6) MI -- Henry Ford Hospital
Pro: Huge academic name, tons of pathology. Big Sean, Eminem, etc.

Con: not a great vibe during interview day, residents weren't really my type of people, and not sure how I feel about living in Detroit


7) Medical College of Georgia - Augusta, GA
Pro: Residents seemed really down to earth and knowledgeable. Augusta is an inexpensive city. Master's golf tournament. Got a solid vibe from faculty during interview day.

Con: Augusta is not my type of city, I need a bigger metropolitan area.


8) TN -- University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga
Pro: Pretty good vibe from faculty members during interview day. Had a fun time at the residency dinner. Chattanooga is a better city than I originally thought. Decently close to ATL and Nashville which are much larger.

Con: Smaller program with not as big of an academic name for itself.


9) NY -- Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital
Pro: one of the few NYC area 3 year programs. Faculty were great. Resident seemed to really like the program.

Con: Staten Island - probably my least favorite borough of NYC; at least there is a free ferry to south Manhattan.


10) MI -- Wayne State University Detroit Receiving Hospital
Pro: Really, really loved the residents at this program. Had one of the best pre-interview dinner night experiences here. The faculty members were also really great. Would have ranked much higher if it was in a different city and had a bigger academic name. Big Sean, Eminem, etc.

Con: Not sure how I feel about living in Detroit.


11) TN -- University of Tennessee - Nashville
Pro: Seemed like a solid program. 9 hr shifts all 3 years. Decently close to Nashville. Yung Buck and Ke$ha

Con: Didn't get along with the faculty too well. Residents seem too family oriented. Murfreesboro is ehhh


12) FL -- Florida Atlantic University
Pro: PD seemed very bent on making it into a great program even though only one class of residents. Huge emphasis on research. Seemed very wellness friendly. Resident really seemed to hang out and get along well.

Con: Boca Raton is ehh (it's not Miami). The class size is tiny. It is a newer program so still have some issues to work out.


13) TN -- University of Tennessee College of Medicine at Memphis
Pro: The faculty seemed very invested into resident development and education. They just built a huge simulation center. The residents at dinner seemed really fun. The schedule doesn't seem too bad. Yo Gotti, Juicy J, Project Pat, etc.

Con: Memphis is ehhh

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / Pass / Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: A bit of research, nothing fancy.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Prioritized the following:

1-) 8,9,10 hour shifts above 12s
2-) Location (equally important as number 1)
3-) 3 years over 4 years (Less important than 1 and 2)

Community > Academics

Everyone seems to put a really big emphasis on fit and while I do agree with this, I felt like I got along with most everyone on the interview trail.
Plus I thought it was kind of silly to try and get to know the entire fit of a program from a few hours with a handful of residents/faculty.
I agree if something was an obvious red flag, it would be a cause for concern, but I was more wary about overall fit than the rest of SDN seemed to think. You dont know if that negative interaction with a resident was because of a bad day. You dont know if that positive interaction with a faculty member was just an attempt to sell you the program.

I ended up going with my "gut feeling" with a lot of programs after I ranked what was most important to me.


1) WellStar Kennestone
Pros: Faculty were great. Hospital was amazing. Really enjoyed my interview day. PDs and APDs left a good impression. I ultimately decided to put this 1 because I genuinely liked the idea of starting something new. I except the residency to be unopposed. Great location. 10 hour shifts.

Cons: New program.


2) Medical College of Georgia
Pros
Thought the program was really strong and loved the residents. Liked that it was half military which added to the diversity. Was really torn between this program and Kennestone and kept going back and forth, but I decided that location would affect my overall happiness and made this my second choice. Even though it was an academic hospital i felt like the residents did have a lot of autonomy.
9 hour shifts

Cons
Location.

3) Lehigh Valley Hospital

Pros
Strong program with a great reputation in the north. Gorgeous hospital, probably the best one I've seen. Liked the residents and faculty.
9 hour shifts

Cons
Allentown doesnt have much, but philly is a hour away which is nice.
4 years, but they work 9s
For a community hospital they did emphasize academics/research a lot. Im not sure I liked this that much?


4) St Mary Mercy Hospital

Pros
Surprised that I ended up putting this 4th. Detroit is much nicer than I excepted. I thought the new PD was fantastic and she seemed like she was really dedicated into making the program even better.
10 hour shifts

Cons
4 years
Patient population didnt seem as diverse as i would like.


5) Grand Strand Reg Med Ctr

Pros
Great location, idea of a beach house is awesome!
loved the faculty/ residents.
I liked that the program was 3 years, but they also worked 12s, which is why I put this at 5.

Cons
12 hour shifts.


6) Brooklyn Hospital Ctr
Pros
Great location. I LOVE new york. I really enjoyed the interview day as well as the faculty i met. Thought they were pretty transparent with the history of being on probation and the new PD seems like she was very determined to make the program as strong as possible. The program has gotten a bad rep from the previous PD and thought the interview day wouldnt go well but I was pleasantly surprised.

Cons
12s- they work a crap ton with low pay. but this is true of all NYC programs


7) Arrowhead Reg Med Ctr
Pros
Surprised to get this IV as I had no ties to the west. Similar as my rank 6 (semi nice location, nice faculty, etc.) Only a hour from LA.

Cons
Same as rank 6


8) Mercy Health Muskegon

I loved the faculty I met, but the location made it so this program would be ranked lower.

Nothing bad to say about the program at all.


9) Mercy St. Vincent

Same as rank 8


10) Memorial Health

Same as rank 8


Anything else to add?:
No honors on my SLOEs but the comments were all very positive.

One thing i regret was how I approached the application cycle. I had no idea what I was looking for in a program when the season started. I initially applied to about 50 programs geographically targeting the north, but had a change of heart and added a bunch of southern programs later on. I think this affected my interviews from the southern programs as I heard nothing from them lol.

Applied to about 50-60 initially, then added 20-30 more.

Rejected by too many to list.

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: High Pass/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Leadership roles, interesting hobbies, top 1/3 SLOEs

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Job opportunities for significant other, proximity to family (west coast), 3 > 4 year

1) CA -- University of California Irvine Medical Center
Pros: Impressive residents, young and motivated faculty, strong ultrasound program, loved the emphasis on efficiency

Cons: Crammed workspace, Orange County is a very safe place


2) CA -- University of California San Diego
Pros: Residents are active flight crew members, tons of international opportunities, 6 months of elective time for career exploration, residents seemed really happy

Cons: 4 years, San Diego is also a very safe place


3) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Pros: Residents were super chill, great chance to get a job with Kaiser afterward, loved the PD, attendings do not depend on residents, great work-life balance

Cons: Two weird faculty interviews, one interviewer asked me to compare Kaiser to UCSD, "5 star hotel" of a hospital may not necessarily be the best place for training, definitely not an underserved population, San Diego is very safe


4) CA -- Riverside Community Hospital / University of California Riverside
Pros: Happy residents, free food, they see and do a ton of stuff due to lack of other residency programs in the hospital, PD is a champ

Cons: HCA has had a lot of negative press as being very profits-driven and not patient-centered, new program with only one class, no signout - residents are expected to stay until patients are wrapped up


5) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
Pros: Awesome reputation in the EM world, happy residents, lots of trauma in southside of Chicago

Cons: Little recognition outside the world of EM and possibly outside of Chicago. Chicago cold. Brrr... Applicants at social were jockish. Residents were very social but didn't seem like my kind of people.


6) DC -- Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center
Pros: New and old PD and one of the faculty members I interviewed with were all awesome. Residents seemed very happy and not overworked.

Cons: Not as well-known. DC is stuffy in the summer.


7) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Pros: One of the legendary programs.

Cons: They seemed to be sitting on their laurels a bit. Not very innovative. Not a good use of 4th year. Some of the worst benefits I saw on the trail.


8) IL -- Rush University Medical Center
Pros: Innovative and very responsive to feedback and change. Leadership seems to have a plan to make a solid training program. I really clicked with all the faculty, who were all young and down-to-earth. Good work-life balance.

Cons: Only one class. Chicago cold. Brrrr...


9) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
Pros: I bought into their mission. Opportunities to work with CDC. Pride associated with working at Grady. Atlanta seemed really nice and warm. This was my first time in the deep south and I really felt the southern hospitality here. If not for the poor job opportunities for my significant other, this would be in my top 3-4.

Cons: Didn't quite hit it off with the residents at the social although they seemed cool with interesting backgrounds (directing, circus, Google, etc.). Based on my interactions with residents and applicants, I felt like this program was out of my league.


10) CA -- University of California San Francisco/ Fresno
Pros: Tight-knit residents although most were married with kids. Busiest ED in California, so many procedures. Proximity to outdoor activities, ParkMedic program. Would be ranked a lot higher if not for lack of job opportunities for my SO.

Cons: One resident said he wished there were more residents, which gave me the sense that they were overworked. Graduated responsibility sounds boring. Fresno is lame although COL would be super low (most residents had houses). 4th year did not seem well-utilized.


11) NY -- Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center
Pros: Well-known for resident wellness. Cushest program in NYC.

Cons: Didn't really hit it off with the PD although he seems like a nice guy. Manhattan is crazy and expensive, even with the slightly subsidized housing.


12) NY -- Jacobi/Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pros: I feel like I would be a certified badass if I went to this program. Underserved and diverse patient population. The residents work really hard but they all seem happy and tight-knit. Huge alumni network.

Cons: Bronx. 4 years. Not much teaching. Largest program in US with 84 residents. I don't like the idea of graduated responsibility. Didn't really click with the PD, maybe due to the short interview time.

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 210s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: Pass/Pass/Pass/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Missouri
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Leadership roles and volunteerism.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
"Fit" and location.

1) MO -- Truman Medical Center/University of MO Kansas City
Rotated here and loved it. Great group of residents, attendings are dedicated to teaching, I love KC, and everything about it just felt right.


2) AR -- University of Arkansas
Also rotated here - pretty baller program. Attendings are awesome, and the whole department seemed to have a really unique sense of community. I don't love Little Rock, but I could definitely do it for 3 years.


3) IL -- University of Illinois College of Medicine/St. Francis Medical Center at Peoria
Extremely impressed by this program - if location didn't matter to me this would absolutely be my #1 choice.


4) MO -- St Louis University School of Medicine
Rotated here and was pretty impressed by the program. Solid group of residents and attendings. I don't love STL, but I could do it.


5) AZ -- University of Arizona College of Medicine at South Campus
Had a last minute interview here and was pleasantly surprised by both the program and the town of Tucson. Main drawback is that its a pretty small program - this lends itself to fantastic camaraderie amongst residents/attendings but also some unique issues.

 

[surely]

Finally caught up on posting the 43(!!!) new ROLs that were submitted to the form this week, plus the handful that were PMed to me. Keep submitting them here: 2017-2018 SDN Emergency Medicine Rank Order List Anonymous Form

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: 3rd year grades, unique & extensive extracurriculars, awards

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. Clinical Training & Additional Opportunities: Looking for places that provide the best clinical training while also providing the time and opportunity to develop a niche/leadership (4 > 3 year)
2. Location
3. Fit - Interaction with residents and faculty.

1) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's
Pros: Not only are the resources absolutely unmatched, but the program has an emphasis on mentorship and community that really took me by surprise. At some other programs I didn't even get to meet the PD, but here you meet the PD and both chairs (who are superhuman...). One of the interns recalled during the lunch how her advisor arranged a meeting a meeting with Atul Gawande just because she mentioned a passing interest in medical writing. Residents can choose to do fellowships, but many just get the best academic jobs straight off the bat (or whatever private practice job they want). The clinical training and off service rotations are fantastic. The residents are fun, kind, down to earth, incredibly accomplished, and humble. Incredible faculty with EM leadership that is high on the hospital food chain (Ron Walls is the COO of the Brigham!). Unlimited opportunity. Time to take over the world? I think so.

Cons: Initially concerned because big academic programs get a rap for being overly consult heavy to the point of compromising clinical training, but consensus from advisors is that you come out a clinical boss here (last year one of their residents went straight to being USC faculty). Shifts usually 10s instead of 8s. Boston, while a cool city, is expensive and cold. Maybe I’ll buy one of those blue happy lights…


2) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Pros: Legendary training in the bay area with the most humane schedule I saw on the trail. Their tight-knight faculty and residents are really a family and one that pretty much runs the hospital- usually I’ve seen that listed in the cons but I really think here this is a well oiled machine where you effectively learn IM and a parts of a couple of other subspecialties while you are at it. Residents are probably the happiest on the trail and incredibly accomplished. The program is the most supportive I saw of any outside interests, with little bureaucracy and incredible flexibility to help you do whatever it is that you want, but you have to be self motivated to create your own opportunities. Enough time is spent at UCSF to master the quaternary care stuff (and word on the street is that other UCSF services sing praises of Highland EM residents while they are there). Strong social mission. Exposure to the Kaiser system. In love with the bay area. Do you drink the kool aid? Oh yeah.

Cons: As a standalone county hospital, they simply don’t have the money/resources/connections of a big medical center. While I think this program would probably train me into an amazing clinician, my top choice gives me the opportunity to affect EM (and medicine) as a whole on a different scale. Reputation is unknown outside of Emergency Medicine. Bay area is an amazing place to live, but I fully admit COL is absurd. One of the residents noted that because the faculty is so small, there is “nowhere to hide” if you are clinically weak on something. Probably part of the reason why they produce such outstanding doctors, but something to keep in mind.


3) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Pros: Incredible resources- with its recent transition to 4 years and the program poaching Gisondi from Northwestern, it clearly gearing up to become the academic powerhouse of the west, if not the country. Blend of University/County/Community is excellent and prepares you for anything, though the percentages could be optimized. Rumor has it that the acuity is less than stellar on the peninsula, and while it is certainly not a gun and knife club, you will see enough to become an outstanding physician. PD is one of the most committed to wellness that I have seen on the trail. Access to the Kaiser system! Can’t argue with the power of the Stanford name.

Cons: Maybe in a couple years, this program will have worked out all of its kinks, but for now there are a few too many unknowns and I think residency is hard enough that I don’t want to be a guinea pig for all of the bumps with the 4 year transition, brand new hospital opening, etc. etc. If they are able to work out more time at Santa Clara Valley, I think this program might be able to dethrone In-and-Out burger as the best of all worlds. COL in Palo Alto is just as high as SF proper, though Stanford pays residents the most in the country (starting ~73k as an intern).


4) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess
Pros: One of the best 3 year academic programs. The +1 model is excellent. The BI mothership has the highest acuity ED that I came across, with an absurd 39% admit rate. Plenty of procedures to go around and community sites supplement for an all-around outstanding clinical experience. Access to Harvard resources. One of the best interview dinners on the trail.

Cons: Did not want to have to deal with a car and commuting in the Boston winters for all of their other hospital rotations. Have been told that BI as a hospital lives under the shadow of MGH and the Brigham, even though 100% not true for EM specifically (In fact, BI is considered to be the more clinically oriented of the two Harvard EM programs). Still- loved this program to death.


5) CA -- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center / Olive View UCLA Medical Center
Pros: Incredible family feel. Program where I felt residents and faculty were closest to each other. Fantastic county/academic split. You get scribes! Antelope valley sounds like a blast. Tons of resources to do anything you want! SoCal weather.

Cons: LA. LA traffic. Commutes- worried that I will die in a car accident after falling asleep post night shifts (though they offer free uber rides!)


6) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
Pros: Ultimate county training- the quintessential EM program for cowboys of all sorts. I think the interview day makes everyone spellbound while they are there. New PD now has significant wellness emphasis with dramatically improving hours, which makes it so very sexy and appealing. Some of the coolest & most fun residents. USC is there as a big university with research/resources.

Cons: LA traffic. Death by smog. Less opportunity to have cool projects outside of EM. Would miss some of the quaternary referral insanity- I’d like some ECMO and a side of liver transplant with my left-sided thoracotomies please...


7) PA -- Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
Pros: Totally underrated program. Philly is a hidden gem- great place to live as a resident. Incredible peds with CHOP integration. No county hospital in philly means you get the best of academic and county hospitals in one. Tons of support and opportunities to develop into a leader. Awesome faculty. Love the PD.

Cons: Got the sense that EM sometimes gets the short end of the stick with the other high powered departments in the Penn system. 12 hour shifts.


8) CA -- Los Angeles County - Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Pros: On paper, the most academic of the county programs. Rockstar faculty, amazing training. Teaching rounds are such a cool thing.

Cons: Just got a strange gut vibe couldn’t shake. Residents maybe weren’t as close as with each other as other programs. Otherwise could see this program ranked way higher. Also… as stated above… LA traffic makes me want to murder baby goats.


9) WA -- University of Washington Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Pros: Seattle is a gorgeous city. All the bones are there for this to mature into an an incredible program with awesome county site at Harborview and university site at the U. Big resources with county training. Loved the PD.

Cons: Still fighting some turf battles as a newer program. Scared of the big earthquake that will destroy the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years.


10) CA -- University of California San Diego
Pros: San Diego. San Diego. San Diego. Incredibly chill and happy residents. Strong academic bent and research opportunities. Just all around cool people. Did I mention San Diego?

Cons: Weird trauma system. Way too many sites- could barely keep track of it on interview day


11) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Pros: Academic EM powerhouse with absurd grad placement. Most put-together interview day of the trail. Jim Adams is a god and I want to learn from him.

Cons: I just don’t think I can handle Chicago winters, despite it being such an awesome city. Lots of commuting between sites- including having to go to Gary Indiana, which sounds like an awesome experience but miserable place to be.


12) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Pros: This will be the “it” program in Chicago once their lvl 1 trauma center opens up- they will do it all, academics, awesome training, amazing PD, only 3 years?!?. Awesome residents. Flight program is incredible.

Cons: Don’t want to deal with growing pains of new ED. Pretty sure I would freeze to death and die in Chicago, otherwise Chicago programs would be much higher.


13) RI -- Brown University
Pros: Probably the best training one can get at an academic hospital, which compounded with ivy league resources makes this such a powerhouse. Amazing PD. So impressed by their patient population, volume, and their residents. Honestly this program deserves to join the “legendary” pantheon, if it hasn’t already. Super cool faculty- many cursed during interviews

Cons: Really- I just don’t think I could do 4 years in Providence.


14) CO -- Denver Health
Denver last. Cliche? Perhaps. For the record, did not think it was malignant at all. If I could pick only one program’s graduates to run a single coverage crazy ED, it would be Denver by a mile. They see more patients than any other program grad by a huge margin, and develop the clinical ability to blow through patients more efficiently than anyone else. Super intense but happy residents as far as I could tell. Not sure that I am outdoorsy/intense enough to go from an overnight shift to the ski slopes. Ultimately, I have enough outside interests that I want to pursue that I’d rather not spend all of my willpower focused on clinical excellence, but all my respect to those who do.


Rejected by: Waitlisted: UNC, UCSF-SFGH (ouch), OHSU Rejected & Silent: Vanderbilt, Mount Sinai, BMC

Invited to interview, but declined: Duke, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Temple, Cincinnati, University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, NYU-Bellevue, Yale, New York Presbyterian

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors/High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Significant global health experience, MPH, GHHS

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Gut, geographic location, clinical training, interested in academics

1) OH -- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
+ - Loved the residents and faculty; one of the most intentionally crafted curriculum with 6.5 elective months; ability to blend global health and pre-hospital care/EMS; finance and leadership focused on further developing global health in coming years; flight experience; network of alumni all over the country; surprisingly, really enjoyed Cincy and its kind of "resurgent" status; split the difference between my family and that of my SO

- initially, location was a bit of a hard sell for my SO, but he really appreciated the city when we visited; outdoorsy things are a little stunted by comparison, but I'm sure I can make it work with Red River Gorge nearby


2) MO -- Washington University St. Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital
+ - Again, loved the residents and the faculty; some of the most thoughtful questions on the interview trail that blended into hilarious, honest conversations; appreciated its innovative, cutting edge approach to residency design; emphasis on advocacy and leadership; good patient protoplasm for training; STL is a pretty awesome city when you give it a chance

- Some questions about safety in STL and living in the Midwest, far from family and ocean as a East Coast girl, but obviously not a huge issue given where my #1 is as well.


3) TN -- Vanderbilt University
+ - Again, really jived with the faculty on interview day, loved the new PD and APDs; ditto on what's been said before re: didatics and curriculum; great training; would open doors; my SO and I really love the city

- I think it was just a matter of limited exposure, but I didn't have awesome interactions and chemistry with the residents in the same way I did with my # 1 and # 2; job prospects for SO were more limited than initially thought


4) MA -- Boston Medical Center
+ Love the social mission of this residency and hospital more generally; great training; incredibly diverse patient population; integrates public health training, research, and practice almost seamlessly with residency given the programs in place; residents integrated into leadership and admin really well; I really wanted to live in Boston, and I still have family there, so the location wasn't an issue for me, but...

- High COL; my SO wasn't as keen on the city


5) NC -- University of North Carolina
+ Great 3 year program; loved both the faculty and residents - very chill, capable, driven towards inquiry in a non-blustery, boastful way; decent placement into fellowships


6) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess
+ Diverse locations and exposure; great research foundation; 3+1 option; love Boston (as stated previously); while I didn't dig my night out before the interview, I really liked the residents and faculty the day of

- Different EMRs and locales (plus shuttling between all of them) is both a strength and detractor; SO not as keen on city


7) VA -- University of Virginia Health System
+ Loved the residents and staff; solid training and autonomy; Charlottesville is gorgeous, incredible access to the outdoors; great tox, suprisingly enough

- Just need to try a different place for residency


8) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's
+ Resources, people, connections

- Wasn't as keen on all of the faculty or residents; perhaps some braggadocio that, while well earned perhaps, was a bit of a turn off; didn't justify their curriculum


9) NC -- Wake Forest University
+ Wonderful people; very solid training

- A lot of the residents seem to go into community medicine, which is not necessarily my path


10) PA -- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center


11) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
- SO not as keen on Atlanta, even though I love the city and global health opps. Ultimately, decided that it wasn't the right fit for me regardless.


12) PA -- Hospital of University of Pennsylvania


13) VA -- Carilion Clinic - Virginia Tech Carilion Emergency Medicine Residency
This is an awesome program, loved the PD, one of the most stimulating presentations on the trail. Ultimately, just didn't see ourselves living in Roanoke


14) ME -- Maine Medical Center
Just didn't jive with people as much, but cool program


Applied but withdrew before hearing anything:
Medical College of Georgia, SLU, University of Rochester, Ohio State University, USC/Palmetto Richlands

Rejected by:
Denver, CMC, Duke (never heard from?), VCU (never heard from?), University of Maryland, Temple, Brown, University of Washington (never heard from?)

Invited to interview, but declined:
WVU, Yale, Christiana, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins, Hennepin, East Carolina/Vidant, Oregon Health Sciences University, EVMS, University of Wisconsin

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors/Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Worked as a medical assistant for several years before med school. What made me less competitive was coming from a DO school

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Fit, lifestyle, happiness

1) AZ -- Maricopa Medical Center
Pros
-Well established program with great reputation
-County program but still has up to date equipment
-Residents get along very well and seem chill
-Good location with cheap COL
-Highly adaptable, makes tons of changes to program quickly (didactics)
-3 electives every year
-Level 1 peds trauma
-Groups night shifts into 1 month instead of losing days to switching shifts

Cons
-Small ED
-1:3/4 attending to resident ratio
-Graded responsibility


2) TX -- University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
Pros
-Residents are super chill and happy and seemed strong
-Faculty seemed very much into teaching
-Good salary
-Incredibly beautiful and clean hospital
-Level 1 trauma but trauma team only comes down for level 1 so all other trauma is taken cared for by ER residents
-Great city location
-Great work/life balance
-Free food

Cons
-Expensive COL
-Some traffic
-Less patient volume


3) MI -- Wayne State University Detroit Receiving Hospital
Pros
-Well established program with great reputation
-County/Academic program
-Interactive conference
-Coolest residents by far, best culture, best community feeling among residents, super chill and all get along
-Tons of pathology and trauma
-3 electives every year
-Good location w/ decent COL
-Tons of ICU/Critical Care rotations and no floor months
-Level 1 Peds trauma
-Heavy US emphasis

Cons
-Less ED months during intern year but compensated with heavy ED months in 2nd and 3rd year
-Possible nursing issues/draw own labs at times
-No protected conference time
-Cold snowy weather
-Can moonlight after PGY3 although it is not emphasized


4) NV -- Sunrise Health GME Consortium
Pros
-Core faculty are incredible and super smart and will make a strong program
-Very supportive ancillary staff
-Free food, brand new residency lounge
-Decently sick patient population
-Interactive didactics with protected time
-Vegas/Henderson is cool

Cons
-New program so lots of unknowns
-Unknown if enough ED hours
-Unknown extent of trauma involvement at sunrise
-Unknown if level III trauma accreditation


5) NV -- University of Nevada Las Vegas
Pros
-Location
-High volume high acuity county experience with lots of trauma
-Lots of longitudinal peds and trauma shifts on regular ED months
-Extra ICU month
-2 electives
-Location
-Lots of independence, learn by doing
-Protected time before didactics

Cons
-12 hour shifts
-Maybe too much independence
-Less emphasis on bedside teaching
-PD is kind of weird
-Weird vibe on interview day from some residents


6) CA -- Desert Regional Medical Center
Pros
-Residents are very happy and are all super cool and chill
-Basically unopposed program so tons of procedures
-Large safety net area so lots of pathology
-Level II trauma so ER residents are heavily involved
-Socal location, close to home/LA
-Decent salary and benefits

Cons
-Small city location
-Large AIDS population
-Smaller ED and less modern but not dirty
-COL is higher than other places but less than big cities in socal
-Newer program with unknown board pass rates or job placement


7) FL -- Jackson Memorial Hospital
Pros
-Largest public hospital and high volume and pathology
-Only level 1 trauma in town
-Unionized residency with tons of benefits
-Strong faculty

Cons
-Newer program
-High COL, Miami is gross
-Traffic
-Mainly spanish speaking patient population
-Less involvement in trauma
-Only 1 elective


8) TX -- CHRISTUS Health / Texas A&M
Pros
-Residents are all very happy, friendly, and seem strong
-Faculty seems strong
-Unopposed program so tons of procedures
-All trauma handled by ED residents
-Cheap COL, outdoor stuff to do

Cons
-Small dumpy town
-Location


9) OH -- Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center
Pros
-Well established program
-PD has been there a long time and is chief of staff so gets **** done for residents
-Very flexible and adaptable
-Cheap COL
-Good work/life balance
-Not research heavy
-Can moonlight beginning of 2nd year
-Brand new large ED
-Groups days/night shifts together so you’re not losing out too many days to switching

Cons
-Location and cold weather
-Few residents showed up on interview day => hard to gauge how residents interacted with each other
-1 elective in 3rd year only
-Inbreeding among faculty
-PD on his phone during interview and seemed not interested in anything I was saying => whack


10) MI -- Lakeland Health Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Pros
-Residents are very happy, smart, strong
-ER is nice and expanding
-PD is really intense but means well for his residents
-Faculty seems interested in teaching
-Unopposed program so tons of procedures
-Trauma is all taken care of by ED residents
-2 different hospital sites with mix of urban, community, and rural settings with both blunt and penetrating trauma
-Free food to order and can be delivered
-Cheap COL, beautiful area, tons of breweries, outdoor activities
-No triage doc system, ED residents work every patient

Cons
-4 year program
-Small city location
-Patient volume is unknown, possibly lacking during slow season


11) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine
Pros
-Very high board pass rates
-Very impressive faculty
-Great EMS opportunities
-Cheap COL
-2 locations with mix of academic and community seeing both urban and elderly patient populations
-Large patient volume
-Decent trauma

Cons
-Large residency class
-Hospitals are a little grimey and older
-Location is not the best
-Only 2 residents showed up on interview day => whack


12) CA -- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Pros
-High volume high acuity county experience with lots of trauma
-Lots of independence
-Socal location
-Cheap COL
-Can moonlight beginning of 2nd year

Cons
-4 year program
-IM floor months
-Unorganized interview day. Such a messed up day, really turned me off to the program
-Too much independence


13) PA -- Lehigh Valley Health Network
Pros
-Residents are super happy, smart, and strong
-Beautiful hospital with great facilities and support staff
-Very friendly attendings who love to teach
-Great sim lab
-Very cheap COL, outdoor activities
-Good salary and great benefits

Cons
-4 year program
-Rural location
-Large academic center
-Almost too nice of an ER
-Lack of variety in pathology
-Lack of acuity and trauma


14) MI -- Genesys Regional Medical Center
Pros
-Residents are super cool
-Didactics are interactive and separated at times by years
-Beautiful hospital
-Very cheap COL

Cons
-4 year program
-Very rural ****ty location
-No real good food in the area
-Not super impressed with resident knowledge
-Triage doc system
-Weird PD

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 210s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors/High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:


Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:

1) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
2) MD -- Johns Hopkins Hospital
3) NY -- New York Presbyterian Hospital
4) CT -- Yale New Haven Medical Center
5) PA -- Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
6) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
7) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
8) MI -- University of Michigan
9) NC -- University of North Carolina
10) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York
11) DC -- Georgetown University Hospital/Washington Hospital Center
12) NY -- Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center
13) CA -- Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center
14) NY -- SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital


Invited to interview, but declined: Jacobi/Montefiore, LSU New Orleans, Christiana, UMass, Indiana

 

[doggydog]

Before this happens again this year, when you see a rank list with stats that don't correlate, don't immediately think it's fake.

Just remember that medical school name actually matters more than you thought.

 

[surely]

Submitted by @CSB12 via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors/High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?:
National leadership positions during MS3 and MS4 years, which I am sure got me some interviews just based on my MS4 position. Longitudinal global medicine experiences. Mix of H/H/E on core rotations MS3 year, as well as great MSPE comments (for those programs who even took the time to read them haha). I am guessing great SLOE comments (based on interviews)?

Red flags: 220 on Step 1 (not really a red flag, but definitely below average). Had to remediate a final exam during my MS1 year, which was whatever but did show up as NP/T (no pass, test out pass) on my transcript and had to be explained on my MSPE.

This is 100% risking my anonymity, and I look forward to the "nice rank list" texts I am going to get after posting this haha, but I want to give hope to those with lower Step scores. Get out there and get involved, as well as rock your EM rotations. Networking and solid SLOEs were key for me.


Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. Fit with faculty and residents. Feeling like I belonged.
2. I want to be a Clerkship Director after residency, so ability for me to do medical student MedEd stuff. This includes cliquing with the program's clerkship director, as they will obviously be a mentor.
3. Proximity to SO. Ease of transportation from home state to each program, as he is not leaving his job.
4. Things I did not consider at all - food allowance, shift length or number per month, parking, benefits.

1) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
+ Rotated here, both in the ED as well as most of my medical school clerkships. Allowed me to fall in love with both the EM program, as well as the hospital and other services in general. Also allowed me to rotate with the EM residents outside of the ED, and they are extremely competent and overall cool people. A lot of my ROL is based on feel, and I can't explain it but I just feel as though this is the place for me. I get the warm and fuzzies each time I walk into the ED. I could see myself being a lifer. EM runs the show. Ultrasound machines everywhere. Pit Boss role as PGY-3 where you run a team center, as well as run all critical cases that are brought to the STAB room. Trauma is a consult service, heyyyyy yeah you read that right. I mention this below on other programs, but watching the badass female Pit Bosses here throughout medical school made me want to come here from the first day I laid eyes on the STAB room. STAB conference on Thursdays is standing room only on some weeks and includes prehospital staff. MedEd opportunities, both with students in the department, as well as opportunities to help with MedEd at UMN campus. Underserved population in the ED, this is very important to me. I am going to put the weather up here in positives because I genuinely love the winter, and spring/summer/fall in MN is worth living through the winters.

- I don't see the graduated responsibility as a con, but I will put it down here because some people do. To me, I have watched the way Hennepin trains EM physicians work, both at HCMC and outside in the community when I was a scribe prior to medial school. I think that the opportunity to be a Pit Boss would be well worth the wait. 6 weeks of neurosurg is a bummer, but whatever. PEDs experience is not as strong as some programs, but Dr. Hart (PD) has already increased PEDs exposure during her first two years, and she is extremely receptive to resident feedback.


2) MN -- HealthPartners Institute/Regions Hospital
+ Rotated. Extremely different vibe than Hennepin, but I also loved my time here. Interns can do procedures on day 1. Dr. Hegarty (PD) is amazing, and he not only cares about his residents, but the medical students who rotate through Regions as well. He is all about wellness. There is much more of a family vibe here, as in the program leadership and residents are truly one big family. More female residents than the average program, which was a plus for me. MedEd opportunities, both with students in the department, as well as opportunities to help with MedEd at UMN campus. All in all, I know that Dr. Hegarty is an extremely supportive PD and would help me accomplish my post-residency goals. Bonus: PGY-3s get to be on the field for Vikings games in case anyone needs an airway placed.

- I was/am concerned that if I match here their style of teaching does not line up with mine as well as programs like Hennepin and Denver, for example. I tend to do better with a learn by seeing and doing, rather than more discussion based. That being said, one of their female PGY-3s last year seemed to have a similar teaching and leading style as I have, and she was extremely well liked and respected in the department, so I know that I could fit in as well.


3) NJ -- Cooper Hospital
+ I applied here because a resident at Hennepin told me he loved it there. Holy cow, I am honored that they interviewed me because I loved it there, too. PD is fabulous, and I felt as though I cliqued with both Dr. Tara Cassidy-Smith, as well as Dr. Alexis Pelletier-Bui, one of their clerkship directors. Dr. Chansky, their Chair, gave this inspiring speech on interview day, and he interviews every single applicant. They are very upfront there about how they are looking for residents with unique experiences, and that they hand pick every applicant to interview not solely based on scores. They are doing something right because the residents are amazing (both socially and clinically), I had a great time with them at the pre-interview get together. I know that I could work with Dr. Alexis Pelletier-Bui and other faculty there who are interested in medical student education to do great things. They have a newer medical school at Cooper, so ample opportunities for MedEd outside of the department. MedEd resident track. This decision was completely based on feeling as though I belonged and that I can see all of the faculty here already as great mentors. Other than that, trauma is separate area for trauma activations and run by the trauma team, but you rotate on the trauma team for 10 designated weeks, and also see non-activations in the main ED. Camden has ample underserved population, which is important to me.

- None, other than location.


4) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
+ PD, Dr. Melissa White, is fabulous. I went to the interview for her and the reputation of Emory. It is high on my list because it did not disappoint. Ample medical student education opportunities. Diverse residents, with interesting things they have done before residency. I know that I would come out of here well trained and be competitive for fellowship, if I decide to do one.

- Location not ideal, but easy flights from home for SO. Interview with one of the aPDs was awkward, he kept looking at his watch and I almost wanted to ask him if I was boring home. I did hear that he did this for other applicants as well, but still, either be interested in hearing about all the cool stuff applicants at your program are doing or don't interview. Switch procedures with trauma based on day (odd, even, devisable by 3, something like that), not ideal but not a deal breaker as Grady sees more than enough trauma.


5) CO -- Denver Health
+ Rotated here. Loved it. The residents are badass, and I know I would come out of here with amazing training. Reiterating that the program is not malignant, but they are very upfront with their expectations that everyone works hard here. They use the 4th year well, and on that note PGY-2s run the medical side of the ED and PGY-3s run the trauma side of the ED. I loved the idea of being thrown in right away PGY-2 year running a side of the department. PGY-4s get to work with medical students and interns, and PGY-4s are expected to know all patients in the department at DH (University ED is run by the PGY-3). There were a ton of badass and strong female physicians (attendings, residents, PD), which is something I was looking for in a program. Enjoyed working at both sites (county + academic settings).

- The fact that my SO would not be coming with me, and I even though I know our relationship could survive long distance for 4 years, I would just rather not. If I was single this program would be my #2 or #3.


6) NE -- University of Nebraska Medical Center
+ Biggest surprise of the season. Honestly only applied because SO is from here, but I had met some of the residents at the EMRA Residency Fair at ACEP and they were super chill and had great things to say about residency leadership. They have great Sim and cadaver lab 2/2 Warren Buffett donating a ton of money to UNMC. Great opportunities for medical student education, with both Creighton and UNMC. I know that their PD would get me access to the opportunities that I would need to either be a CD right out of residency or secure a fellowship position.

- Not as diverse of patient population as I would like, and I am much more of a county person, but Creighton's ED that was just north of UNMC moved about a year ago, and the residents said that due to this they have received a somewhat more diverse patient population, and now they don't switch off trauma activations with Creighton and they have received more penetrating trauma since that change. Location is not ideal, as Omaha is just okay.


7) AZ -- Maricopa Medical Center
+ Friend who is an intern here and loves the training and faculty. Dr. Epter (PD) is President of CORD, and I know from my friend who goes there that he truly cares about resident input. If residents want a rotation changed, Dr. Epter will get it changed (within reason, of course). County program, diverse patients, learn as you go. Burn rotation is unique.

- Just didn't jive with the interviewers (they were all male, which was disappointing), and didn't overall feel as though I fit in with the residents, which was equally disappointing because I went into interview season with this as my #3/#4. I would still be extremely happy to train here.


8) NV -- University of Nevada Las Vegas
+ County program. Medical school campus opening in Vegas, which would be a great opportunity for MedEd. The residents were super chill and were not concerned about their 12 hour shifts. Event medicine opportunities. SO loves Vegas and fast/cheap flights there, so it would be a good location. Stronger PEDs, as primary PEDs care is not great in NV, so great pathology that comes into the ED.

- The PD was very off-putting during my interview with him, and I was not the only applicant who had this experience. Every question that I asked he answered in a way that seemed as though I offended him with my question. For example, "What kinds of opportunities are there for medical student education for the MedEd Chief," and he started with "well, of course I cannot guarantee that you would be selected to be the medical student education Chief, so I don't want you to choose to come here based on that idea." Ummmm excuse me, what? I normally ask about lack of females in the residency program, if present, but I didn't even feel comfortable asking him because I felt so uncomfortable.


9) WI -- Medical College of Wisconsin
+ Residents were some of my favorite on the interview trail. Super chill. Very strong PEDs experience with PEDs ED right next door. Old county hospital, so they still see underserved patient population. Sorry, I am getting tired of typing. Overall, I liked the PD and most faculty that I met. I like Milwaukee, seems similar to Minneapolis.

- Off-putting interview with the MS4 clerkship director. I felt like he was not interested in anything that I was talking about, and I could not envision him being my mentor for 3 years. Also, one of the PGY-3s made it sound as though they don't get to do much when traumas roll in. VA rotation was a negative for me, as I prefer to see a higher volume of patients.


10) IA -- University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics
+ Tons of global health opportunities, with APD as the co-founder of Community Health Initiative (CHI) - Haiti, which to be honest I have done a lot of work with. I know physicians who have trained here and they are very well trained (worked with them as a scribe, as well as in Haiti). Dr. Hans House (Vice Chair for Education) is very involved in ACEP, and during my time in my current leadership position I have heard about his fantastic dedication to resident education.

- Lack of female leadership and faculty. Not a fan of patients coming in via transfer, which happens a lot here. Lack of penetrating trauma. PD was very nice, but did not clique with him. Iowa City is okay, but not big enough for me.


11) PA -- Thomas Jefferson University
+ I applied here because Dr. Nick Governatori (APD) and a current intern are obsessed with their lives and love it there. Dr. Robin Naples (PD) was great, and I felt as though I could envision her as my PD. Dr.
Kory London (APD) is hilarious. Dr. Dimitrios Papanagnou is in charge of their MedEd fellowship, and he is doing great things both at Jefferson and nationally. Overall, I loved the faculty here and I know that I could get all the MedEd opportunities that my heart desired.

- This was so hard for me. I LOVE the leadership at Thomas Jefferson, and most of the residents I really liked. The fact that they rotate at ~4 different hospitals was not ideal for me, but I know that some physicians come out of residency thankful that they were able to adapt to multiple learning environments. I also came to realize that I am such a county person at heart. Seriously, they are doing amazing things at Jefferson, and I encourage you to apply there if you are interested in more of an academic/university vibe.


12) IL -- Presence Resurrection Medical Center
+ Residents were chill. PD was hilarious, and overall I enjoyed all of the faculty I interviewed with. PD and I discussed my hate for the SVI, which I enjoyed. He made me feel as though I would be 100% supported at the program to achieve my life goals and dreams. Sorry, I am just really tired of typing haha. No major red flags at this program.

- Some of the residents just weren't "my people." Once again, I just came to realize that I am not a fan of multiple sites. I also didn't like Chicago. I still left this interview day with the "I could totally train here" vibe, and honestly I loved most aspects of most of the places I interviewed at.


Anything else to add?:
Like I said above - I guarantee that my national leadership position got me at least a handful of interviews based on this alone being on my application, as my Step scores were below average and my red flag with having to remediate a final exam during MS1 year. I am sure that I had great SLOE comments as well, but just to reiterate the importance of networking.

I definitely wish that I had applied to about 10 less programs, knocking some of the high profile programs that #1 were never going to even get to see my ECs because they were going to filter me out based on Step 1 score, as well as the fact that I didn't even want to live in some of those locations.

There are things about each program I interviewed at that I love, and I would be so lucky to train at any of these programs. I did select my interviews based on ability for my SO to fly to in the case that I do not match at my home programs (he is not leaving his job), as well based on programs that current residents I am friends with are either at right now or really enjoyed their interviews there. Reminder to future applicants, your needs (location, future plans for after residency, etc) are going to be different from ours (posts on SDN), so go with your gut feeling and go with programs that would make you happy (personally at the program, outside of work with friends/SO/family, line up well with your plans after residency).

Finally, if you are a MS3 (or MS1 or MS2 or whoever), please reach out with any questions that you have about these programs or about the application/interview process. Also, I would encourage you to join EMRA if you haven't. The organization has helped me immensely, and I can tell you without a doubt that EMRA's Board of Directors/Medical Student Council/staff are all working tirelessly to advocate for EM bound medical students!

Ranked all the programs I interviewed at. Once again, I feel so thankful to have had the opportunities to learn more about these programs by rotation/interviewing. No major red flags, and I would be honored to train at any place on my list, as there are benefits/negatives to every program out there.


Invited to interview, but declined: University of California San Francisco - Fresno, Truman Medical Center/University of MO Kansas City, William Beaumont Hospital, University of Illinois - Peoria, Western Michigan, Carilion Clinic - Virginia Tech, WellStar Kennestone

Waitlisted: Maine, University of Washington (along with everyone and their mother).

Received rejection: Highland, Carolinas, Georgetown, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Temple, University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois - Chicago, LAC+USC, UPMC, WashU.

Ghosted by (never heard any decision from): Advocate Christ, Baylor, Christiana, Henry Ford, Indiana, Cook County, Mayo Clinic, NYU/Bellevue, SUNY Downstate/Kings County, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Wayne State, Detroit Receiving Hospital.

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors/Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Leadership, great SLOEs


Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location, strength of training, work/life balance, county program

1) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
Pros:
- Great acuity
- "County" feel
- Great work/life balance
- Tons of trauma
- Close to family/friends
- Lots of elective time

Cons:
- Dedicated trauma teams so only see "trauma" patients for 2 months
- No brand name recognition
- Not a ton of global health/wilderness exposure


2) CO -- Denver Health
Pros:
- Stellar training
- County/academic mix
- Love Colorado
- Great wilderness medicine exposure
- Lead traumas
- Reputation

Cons:
- 4 years
- 21 shifts per month with no reduction


3) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine
Pros:
- County/academic mix
- Large volume of patients
- Ample elective time
- Mini-tracks

Cons:
- Not a fan of Indy
- Don't get to lead traumas
- Not a lot of wilderness medicine exposure


4) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
Pros:
- Stellar training
- Reputation
- Lead traumas, awesome STAB rooms
- County hospital

Cons:
- Too cold
- Don't intubate until 3rd year


5) WI -- University of Wisconsin
Pros:
- 3+1 program would make me consider a fellowship
- Huge flight program
- Elective time

Cons:
- Far from an airport
- Not the highest acuity
- Not the patient population I'm looking for

6) SC -- Medical University of South Carolina
Pros:
- Love Charleston
- Good work/life balance

Cons:
- Small class size


7) MI -- Spectrum Health Grand Rapids/Michigan State University
Pros:
- Grand Rapids is awesome
- Large volume ED

Cons:
- Program director leaving
- Michigan State scandal to close by, don't want anything to do with it


8) SC -- Palmetto Health Richland
Pros:
- Ultrasound huge
- Tons of global health
- Great shift scheduling
- County-ish

Cons:
- Not a huge fan of Columbia


9) NC -- Wake Forest University
Pros:
- Elective time
- Large center

Cons:
- Too far from airport
- Not a fan of the area


10) WI -- Medical College of Wisconsin
Pros:
- Lead traumas
- County-ish

Cons:
- Not a lot of elective time


11) GA -- Medical College of Georgia
Pros:
- Wilderness medicine

Cons:
- Least favorite city that I interviewed at


12) IL -- Presence Resurrection Medical Center
Pros:
- Lots of acuity

Cons:
- Too many hospitals to rotate at


13) MN -- Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education
Pros:
- Reputation
- Weird pathology

Cons:
- 2nd least favorite city


14) IL -- University of Illinois Hospital - Chicago
Cons:
- I don't want to live downtown Chicago
- Residents seemed agitated during the interview day

 

[mymembernames]

Thanks to everyone for sharing! All the best!

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 200s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: 2 Years EM scribe before medical school

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
#1: Programs with people that I got along with - staff and senior residents that seemed to gel with my personality and I felt would support me.
#2: Career Interests: Looking to go into community - wanted programs with multiple training sites and opportunities to explore my interests (especially given my somewhat unusal interest in palliative care). Diverse patient population, both culturally, ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically - and opportunities to engage in the community through service & work with community partners.
#3: Living Environment - cost of living (reasonable rent/reasonably priced homes/condos/etc.), traffic, distance from 100% West Coast family, partner's ability to find work in area (per partner request, this was to be rated a "non-consideration" in ranking - so of course I did give this some consideration), prefer mild/cold weather (can't stand the heat!)

Things I did not think about
* Reputation - I'm looking to do community, and every program I interviewed at seemed to be quite capable of turning out competent physicians. Names didn't seem to be much of a factor in that.

1) MN -- HealthPartners Institute/Regions Hospital
Rotated here; loved the people and the staff. Great learning environment with some of the most supportive people I've ever come across in my clinical years. Love the critical care experience & autonomy - EM residents are the only ones who provide 24/7/365 coverage of the SICU. Twin Cities are a wonderful place to live & Regions sees a great intersection of the community - culturally and socioeconomically diverse population. Loved the academic/county structure. Strong commitment to the community & teaching - residents are involved with teaching medical students and do community service activities with the staff. Palliative care training integrated with curriculum. Program director is nicest person on the planet. Hospital on light rail line, so opportunity for cheap transportation without much traffic.


2) OH -- Ohio State University Medical Center
Large program with a ton of resources. Appreciated their enthusiasm for helping residents explore their interests. Very strong ultrasound program. Good vibes from the residents and the staff - program director was a bit intense but ultimately loved his realistic/practical attitude. Program takes resident wellness seriously - not just a vague philosophy but an actual institutionalized structure in place to get residents through rough patches (psychiatry on retainer for crises, flexibility in schedule for residents desiring/needing extra time to master skills, test-taking assistance & coaching). Loved the integrated pediatric experience - EM months are not restricted to 1 location but include multiple locations, including pediatric EM. Feedback system seems a bit overkill with 3x/year coaching meetings, biannual meetings with the board, and an attending to shadow you around the department at times. Unfortunately didn't get to spend a lot of time in the city, but seemed pretty diverse; sounded like the hospital gets a range of pathology as well - urban (GSW, MVA) to rural (ex. farming accidents). Locals loved the hospital and even extolled the virtues of the ED - all over good reputation in the community. Traffic manageable, tons of affordable housing. Big enough city for partner to find work.


3) NE -- University of Nebraska Medical Center
Loved the people and residents - although had one extremely awkward interview with staff who did not seem interested in either asking or answering questions. Program director very friendly. Perhaps odd, but I appreciated that they cared enough to read my personal statement. Academic facility with a lot of resources. Annual census was a bit lower, but "your-patient-your-procedure" policy in the ED meant that residents felt they didn't have to compete for the action. Lots of changes on the horizon to grow the program - program hiring new faculty and adjusting curriculum. Rural community rotations outside of Omaha - housing paid for. Traffic great, lots of affordable housing options. Patient population less diverse. Limited job opportunities for partner.


4) PA -- Albert Einstein Medical Center
Liked the staff and the residents. Also liked the variety in the curriculum and the system of graded responsibility. 4 year program, but it seemed that there were a lot of useful rotations with minimal waste. Appreciated the staff's commitment to building resident confidence. Love the resident diversity, emphasis on service of the under-served, and opportunity to rotate with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (#1 in the country). Drawbacks - Philadelphia is a long ways from my West Coast family, not really a big city girl so would prefer to avoid major metropolises, primary EMR is Cerner (yuck!). Trauma rooms were a bit iffy, but they were tearing them apart for repairs at the time I toured so I'll let them slide.


5) OK -- University of Oklahoma College of Medicine/Tulsa
Liked the residents and the program director. Hospital is smaller, but is one of the few hospitals in the area. Patient population is quite sick and often present in critical condition with frequent drop-off trauma, so they see a high volume of major issues and learn to handle it with less resources. Minimal competition with other services, since EM residents being the only residents in the hospital except for FM and OB/Gyn. Program has a DIY approach to care - wants residents to be ready to handle anything and function in situations with bare bones resources; curriculum includes rural rotations. Residents seemed pretty badass.


6) PA -- Reading Health System
New program, but I was really impressed with the passion and energy of the core faculty. Diverse, interesting community. One of the busiest ERs in the country. Smaller city, but with easy access (1-2 hours) to several major cities. No affiliated medical school, but otherwise has an academic feel while still being a community trauma center. They recently built the "healthplex" where the new ER is, so the whole thing is very new with some great resources (an observation pod for people who would otherwise be social admits, a geriatric section with nurses & staff familiar with caring for these patients' needs). Trauma bay is awesome, imaging is right there IN the bay. Major perks - subsidized housing, free food, free Starbucks, etc. New program does make it a risk - no residents to ask about learning environment, staff, experience, etc. made me a bit wary. Otherwise I probably would have ranked it a LOT higher (top 3). Housing options somewhat limited; affordable overall but Reading proper is apparently not safe while West Reading/Wyomissing is "high-end."


7) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
I know, HCMC is one of those big names in EM, but I just didn't feel that it was a good fit for me personality-wise. I rotated here, felt kind of 'meh' about my learning experience; as a student, it was a place geared towards super independent learners with a lot of confidence and a DIY-gunner attitude (although there are some chill, supportive people there too). Place is awesome though - department pushes for a high degree of autonomy even from other specialties, residents do procedures bedside with US that you wouldn't expect anyone but a surgeon to do after firing the patient through a CT scan a couple times. Hospital has everything you could ever want in terms of resources - ultrasounds, sweet trauma bay, hyperbaric, etc.


8) MI -- William Beaumont Hospital
Hospital is enormous, lots of resources and ED was huge. Simulation center was awesome. Trauma bays felt more like giant tanning beds (the lighting was truly oppressive). Ultimately this came in last because I had a very negative experience with the residents (got verbally attacked by a drunken resident over dinner) and also with the other applicants. While it did feel unfair to judge the program on the other applicants, the proportion of crazy that I met on my interview day made me seriously worried about how they were choosing people for interviews. I also encountered some people there I used to work with pre-medical school who were terrible co-workers (the kind of people who would lie repeatedly about family emergencies last minute).


Applied to:
too many to name or remember - 64 from coast to coast, avoided the South (too hot & humid)

Withdrew from before hearing anything:
none

Rejected by:
Everyone I didn't interview with

Invited to interview, but declined:
none

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 260s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors / Honors /
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: Yes
Medical school region:
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Good SLOEs I guess, I'm pretty standard extracurriculars/hobbies-wise. Top 30 med school (? not sure if that matters)

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location of course, also fit and training. I struggled a lot with location bringing me happiness versus my #1 goal which is being a clinical badass. No SO considerations, so was okay with really going anywhere but I love CA so mostly interviewed there. Looking for training in an urban environment. Want to go into academics after (not research, just clinical teaching).

1) CA -- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital
I want to live in SF. Like another poster said, there's just a feeling I get when I'm there and it's unlike anything. Also have friends there and really like the culture/scene, biking/walking/ubering everywhere. Spent a month there and really loved the residents and faculty. Residents are my type of sort of nerdy but still cool and accomplished people I look up to. All residents seem really close to each other but was really welcoming to sub-Is which is chill, often hang out after shifts and stuff. I really like the county/academic split. Amazing conference food and conference itself. 8 hour shifts and wellness.

Cons are COL, expensive as hell to live in SF, newer program with some remaining turf wars, parking situation is $$ and inconvenient but if I match here will hopefully not need a car. I'm hoping program leadership and new chair to hopefully fight the last of the turf wars.

I had a lot of turmoil about my #1 and #2 due to questions about clinical training and reputation. At the end of the day, I chose happiness/location over more autonomy county training/reputation with the trust that I will work to make myself badass procedurally etc. I also eventually want to end up in Bay area so it made sense to choose SF>LA.


2) CA -- Los Angeles County - Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Would be extremely happy to match here as well. I'm a believer in county training and autonomy making residents badass and that's what I want to be someday. Buy 100% into mission of serving underserved. Hard to logically make this #2 but for reasons mentioned above, I made the decision to put SF first. Better reputation within EM, strongest residency program and runs the show in the hospital. Great trauma scene which would be amazing and exciting to me. Free cafeteria food, free parking (but difficult parking situation). Dr. Pedigo is amazing and I want to be him someday lol. Really like all the other faculty too. Love the teaching before and after shifts and great wellness.

Cons - I'm sort of done with LA/beach living and driving in LA. LA<SF personally, but does have better food scene (mexican, korean). I sometimes get sick of the perpetually sunny weather sometimes and love getting seasons. Don't get a tertiary experience which is +/-. Didn't get to interview with PD which made me uneasy. Overall my cons are pretty moot, would be ecstatic to match here if I ended up here and would appreciate the opportunity to train at one of the most badass programs in the country. Some people cite lower salary but salary jumps up 5k every year which is more than other programs (usually around 2k) and you end up at 67k at PGY4 which is pretty damn good especially when living in Long Beach/South Bay.


3) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Great training, Oakland is bomb. Really love the county/grittiness of Highland. GI rounds every shift with bit of teaching. Residents come out clinically badass. Conference/didactics are lit, 50% teaching 50% memes. Very casual environment (which isn't for everyone). Proximity to Berkeley and Cheeseboard.

Cons - Biggest con was didn't gel with some of the faculty and it's such a small group that you work with same faculty often. Sometimes it's too busy for teaching during shift, and sometimes faculty seem stretched thin especially overnight and residents wait a while to present to attendings.


4) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
West LA and Koreatown has the best kbbq in the US. Love the mission of serving community and underserved. Got chills with C-booth and old hospital. Like running codes for the entire hospital.\n\nCons - 12 hours 12 hours 12 hours"}">Great reputation and county training and clinical badassery etc etc. I can't hang with 12 hour shifts, but couldn't put this lower due to how great of a program it is and how amazing residents become. I could live with 12 hours for 4 years if I had to. East LA > West LA and Koreatown has the best kbbq in the US. Love the mission of serving community and underserved. Got chills with C-booth and old hospital. Like running codes for the entire hospital.

Cons - 12 hours 12 hours 12 hours


5) WA -- University of Washington Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Love Seattle, loved the residents. Residents were great, really welcoming, great turnout for pre-interview dinner, and so so funny. Never laughed so much and everyone seemed really happy with their decision even though interns work a lot. My type of weather with the seasons, I don't mind gloomy which I already get where I live + snow. I'm a huge coffee + bouldering person so perfect city for me. Residents seem to get great training with mix of UW and Harborview + community and rural sites. Although a newer program, I feel like good reputation overall about training and faculty seem to come from different very impressive places to get a good diversity of training which I would really like.

Cons - Had a very off-putting interview with PD. Asked about being a newer program and challenges/changes they made and got a weirdly defensive answer. 3 weeks for vacation.


6) CA -- University of California Davis
Easy/cheap COL in California, proximity to Tahoe, Napa/Sonoma, and SF/Oakland/Berkeley. Seems like a good mix of academic/community/county all at the primary site. Sacramento as a city is leading in diversity and least segregated diversity. Sac seems like a cool place to live, calmer than the big cities but still has great places and restaurants and farmers markets. PD seemed cool and hipster which I appreciated lol. 3 years is a plus, with mostly 10s which I can deal with. I have friends in Davis which is why I put this above U Chicago but if I didn't would possibly put UChicago above.

Cons - Didn't gel with residents but they seemed alright. Not a very diverse residency. Interview questions the entire day were w.e.i.r.d. I don't appreciate the behavioral/hypothetical type questions.


7) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Dr. Babock is the bomb. I love Chicago and would love to live there, but I'm getting sick of heavy snow and bitter cold. Great food scene, art and culture and architecture in Chicago. Residents are really impressive and faculty/leadership work really hard to make sure residents find their niche within 3 years and are really supportive/find mentorship for residents. Really impressive job/fellowship placements for residents, some going out to become admin or residency leadership right away. New ED and trauma 1 makes it really exciting. 8 hour shifts with 12s on weekends to get every other weekend off seems perf to me.

Cons - Getting sick of heavy snow/cold for 4-6 months out of the year. New trauma 1 brings some unknowns about how it will be split with surgery and I wasn't sure I wanted to be the first class to deal with it in case it doesn't go the way of EM.


8) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
I had a hard time differentiating NW and UofC but put UofC first due to 3 years. Location can't be beat in middle of Chicago downtown, really beautiful hospital and facilities, great mix of academic/community/county, trauma experience at Gary, awesome critical care experience, opportunities for research and academics, longitudinal peds experience.

Cons - 4 more years in Midwest winter. Not as much trauma at main site, I love Chicago but far from family, pay for parking both in downtown and also at NW main site, although most residents don't have cars apparently, but then you have to commute to community sites and Gary during residency.


9) CA -- University of California Irvine Medical Center
3 years, good ultrasound and med-ed, Chris Fox as chair seems do be doing lots with fellowships and would be a great mentor for ultrasound which I probably eventually want to do. Surprisingly good amount of trauma and sick patients in Orange County.

Cons - Reputation not as much compared to other CA programs and programs above which ended up mattering to me. Small residency class. Didn't like how all attendings trained at UCI/inbred faculty, I want more of a diverse learning experience and it makes me a bit worried about clinical training. One resident said they don't hang out much outside of shifts because they're so busy/small class size means many people are busy at the same time.


10) CA -- University of California San Francisco/ Fresno
What can I say. Great procedural experience, see everything, do everything, great pathology/acuity, supportive faculty and very progressive program, old respected program, grads go anywhere, shift reduction 4 years, elective time 4th year; cheap COL. Had friends who did sub-Is here and they had nothing but great things to say about this amazing program. Dr. Sawtelle showed some procedural stats: 2+ crics and 5+ thoras, several times the required number of intubations and etc, also no need to record procedures due to new IT program that just records it for you when you document it in EMR.

Cons - sorry Fresno, just didn't want to live there. Too sleepy for me and National Parks are cool but not a big thing for me. Didn't gel with residents who seemed mostly married with kids.


11) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Seems like it has resources for anything and everything you want to do, good mix of academic/community at Kaiser/county at Santa Clara Valley. Good mentorship from faculty.

Cons - Did not gel with residents, with an air of pretentiousness that I did not appreciate. I didn't drink the kool-aid here. Pre-interview dinner was overloaded with conversations about mutual friends, people they knew, and professional connections instead of talking about… things like interests, living in Palo Alto, the program. Felt like I was at a networking event and learned little about the program. Palo Alto is not my scene either. Wish it had more county time. Not a very diverse program.


12) CA -- University of California San Diego
Academic place with good mentorship, seems like good fellowship placement, location in SD, good variety of experiences in academic/county/community.

Cons - clinical experience seemed a bit lacking but maybe due to bias from hearing this from lots of other people, trauma experience seemed lacking as well and no one addressed this during the interview day. Didn't like how trauma was structured out of the ED. I just didn't feel like I would become badass here and most people who came here came for the location. San Diego's too safe and I want more of a urban environment for training.


13) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's
Tons of fellowships and resources, mentorship is a huge thing here, medically sick patients, lots of research opportunities. Multiple different ICUs and PICU, fellowship in CC, neurocritical care is interesting to me.

Cons - Boston isn't my scene. Thought I'd try going to the Northeast to see if I liked it and I did not. Not a lot of traumas, questions about clinical training with so many other training programs in Boston. Did not click at interview day, was grilled on some questions.


Rejected by:
UCLA-Olive View (this still stings), BMC (I was sad about this one too)

Invited to interview, but declined:
Cincinnati, Indiana, Carolinas, Denver, Advocate Christ, Hennepin, OSU, Mt Sinai, Loma Linda, KP San Diego, UPMC, Michigan, Brown, OHSU, Cook County

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 240s
COMLEX Level 1: 590s. COMLEX Level 2: 660s.
EM rotation grades: High Pass / Honors / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:
About me: DO applicant. Had a difficult road during medical school, and so my personal statement was talked about a lot. All top 1/3rd SLOEs. Leadership in medical school, tutoring and TA'ing, mentorship role

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I'm married and close to family, needed to stay in my area. Was slightly handicapped by this, as my SO was adamant about not living in NYC.
Location > gut feel/fit > training = schedule = lifestyle

Was important for the program to have sick patients and good didactics. I eventually want to be a faculty attending, maybe clerkship director.

Didn't care about 3 vs 4 years as long as the 4 years allow moonlighting.

Programs 4-7 were tough to choose between

1) NJ -- Cooper Hospital
Pros: Happy residents, fantastic leadership, organized plans for residents to find niches. Lots of career development support and preparation for the real world. Extremely fond of the PD, chairman, and faculty here. Awesome didactics. Great pathology, lots of procedures, renowned critcare experience. Moonlight in urgent cares starting in 2nd half of 2nd year. 9 hour shifts 22/21/20.

Cons: 22/21/20 days doesn't give you many days off


2) NJ -- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Pros: Had a great interview here. I vibed with everyone really well. Big fan of the PD and the chairman. They're big on diversity and outreach. Lots of trauma, procedures, and sick patients. Schedule is crazy good: 12 hour shifts 17/16/15/14. Seniors work some 8's as well. Residents all couldn't be happier. EPIC

Cons: ED doesn't have admitting privileges but apparently it's not an issue according to everyone there. A lot of scutwork with some nursing and ancillary support issues


3) NY -- Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital
Pros: Rotated here. I had a hard time not ranking this #1. If I match here then I'll probably be just as happy if I match at my #1 or 2. Everyone from top to bottom is amazing to work with. The PD, APDs, and all the faculty are sincerely devoted to teaching. Didactics are very very well done here. Great sim. Lots of sick patients, as SIUH controls two of three hospitals in Staten Island, one of which is the main site and the other is the community site. the residents are strong, easygoing, and happy. EM gets to run trauma on odd days. Strong ultrasound. Protected time for conference the night before and morning of. 12 hour shifts 18/17/16. Moonlighting in 3rd year. Northwell salary is nice too.

Cons: Not much penetrating trauma. Most opioid OD's happen here out of the 5 boroughs. Staten Island traffic makes me nauseous


4) NJ -- Hackensack University Medical Center
Pros: Gut feel had a big part of this one. This place had the most fun pre interview dinner by far -- the residents are extremely tight knit. I want to enter med education and the ED is playing a big part in developing the new med schools curriculum, the faculty were vocal about wanting residents who want to be a part of it. Really busy ED, lots of sick patients come here from all of north jersey because of the advertising. Schedule is dope: 8 hour shifts 20/19/18. EPIC

Cons: they get the shaft by surgery for procedures during trauma, feel like I'll have to fight for chest tubes here. Not sure about didactics here. No moonlighting yet but apparently coming soon. ED is massive - lots of walking


5) PA -- Albert Einstein Medical Center
Pros: I love Philly, it's a cheap(er) city with a lot to do. Sick patients, lots of trauma, good procedures. They have attendings trained in everything here, so it's a really well developed program. They're an older program and have graduates literally everywhere, you'll be able to find a job wherever. Very strong department in the hospital. No more medicine floor! I feel like they sell their fourth year well. Moonlighting is allowed starting during 3rd year. The magenta scrubs are dope.

I personally don't mind the graduated responsibility. But I'm the kind of person that likes jumping into things. Apparently it's not rigid and if you're comfortable doing an airway after your anesthesia rotation you can intubate.

Cons: Really long presentation from PD cut our interviews a little short.


6) NJ -- Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
Pros: great pathology, trauma at NJMS, lots of procedures, vibed really well with everyone. One of the best EMS fellowships. moonlighting starting 2nd half of second year. Will be a great doc coming out of here. EPIC

Cons: unsure of didactics


7) NJ -- St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center/New York Medical College
Pros: also rotated here. high volume, good amount of procedures. Patients here are really sick, a lot of trauma, good peds too. Great PD, APDs, faculty. Amazing culture in the ED. Really strong program. Enjoyed my time here a lot. The current 4th years are ridiculously good docs. Good schedule, they just switched from 12 hours to 8 hours.

Just got an ultrasound director and EMS Director.

Cons: Transitioning from a 4 year to a 3 year just this year, don't want to be a part of potential growing pains. Personally felt that didactics were weak. It's a pod structured ED so if you're with a non-faculty attending, they may not care for teaching. Most of the time interns are paired with faculty in their pods tho. Small point but residents required to wear white coats

Tough to put it 7th, I was back and forth between here and NBI


8) NY -- SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital
I rotated here as well. This would be my #2 program but my SO doesn't want to be in Brooklyn

Pros: Not much needs to be said about Kings county. Mini fellowships are dope. Kings county sees a lot of level 1s, EM runs trauma and gets a **** ton of procedures. Kings county, downstate, and Lutheran give you all the variety in pathology you need. Kings county gets the trauma via EMS, downstate gets the medical emergencies via EMS, so it's interesting to see the mix when you're at one site vs another. Former grads are in leadership positions elsewhere in the US and especially the northeast. Training is amazing, there's a reason the website is named clinicalmonster. Residents are all really happy. They probably make the best use of 4 years on my IV trail

Cons: tough schedule, not a fan of the nurses. NYC is expensive. Downstate and KC are literally across the street but use different EMRs which is weird


9) CT -- University of Connecticut
If this program was closer it'd be in my top 3. SO is not keen on moving to Hartford.

Pros: one of the older programs, well established, grads go everywhere. 3 sites are all very different and offer so much variety. Good mix of trauma, sick people, and rural/community at the 3 sites. Fantastic peds. I had a fantastic interview here and vibed with everyone really well. The sim center here is up there with the best in the country. Lots of opportunities for med ed and fellowships in house. You work 8s, I think it's 20/19/18.

Cons: not a desirable location for many, but I personally don't mind it. Not much to do in Hartford.


10) NJ -- Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Pros: level 1 trauma, lots of sick patients come in, busy ED, currently being remodeled and it's going to be niiice. Opportunities for med ed and an US fellowship.

Cons: Didnt have a great interview day, didn't vibe well with my interviewers. It's a really small program, only two residents came to our dinner and they left early. Spoke to a couple of residents on interview day and they seem pretty happy, but I would have liked more residents to come out to get their input.

All in all, no doubt that this is still a good program, just that my gut feel/fit wasn't there.


11) NY -- Hofstra Northwell SOM at North Shore / LIJ


12) NY -- St. Barnabas Hospital


Anything else to add?
I took bad advice that I could take Step 2 late, and I took it in early October. According to my advisor it made me a weaker applicant by not having my score uploaded by the time ERAS opened. Most likely because I'm a DO.

I applied to 28 and was offered 14 II's. Because of my geographic constraint I only applied to 28, but I wish I applied to about 10-15 more.

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Location and fit

1) CA -- University of California San Diego

2) PA -- Temple University School of Medicine

3) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York

4) PA -- Drexel University - Philadelphia

5) CT -- University of Connecticut

6) PA -- Thomas Jefferson University

7) CO -- Denver Health

8) FL -- Kendall Regional Medical Center

9) IL -- Rush University Medical Center

10) PA -- Crozer Chester Medical Center

11) PA -- Penn State Health Milton S Hershey

12) NY -- Brooklyn Hospital Center

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 210s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / Honors / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Lots of leadership and extracurriculars. A couple first author publications. Random hobbies

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
My SO’s job prospects literally superseded every other reasoning. I have mixed feelings about this, but life is about compromise and I know that I will be happy nearly anywhere on my list!

Also, I didn’t take many notes, so the descriptions you are going to read are mainly my own personal gut feeling! Which may or may not even be helpful haha.

I know I’m going to get hate for how many places I interviewed, but I was told by several deans and my home school PD that my scores were garbage and were going to hold me back.


1) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Rotated here, and fell in love. The PD is my idol and I want to be her some day haha. Had the best plan for the 4th year of all other 4 year programs I interviewed at, especially because I don’t know exactly what I want to do in the future. Didactics were amazing, program is leading the topic of EM wellness, got along with all the residents I worked with. Like that this program literally has something for everyone, and has the resources for it too. Like the area and great for SO. Got to do plenty of procedures, and see some crazing things. Plus I’m from the west coast and really want to get closer to home.


2) CA -- Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Didn’t know how much I would end up liking this program before the interview, but it has everything I want out of a residency. Great peds, including PICU flight Med. Great international medicine experiences, huge focus on wellness. The religious aspect is not a big part of the residency, and in fact many residents said that it only help patients because 7th Day Adventists have the “your-body-is-a-temple” mentality, and that also translated to patient care. I totally drank the coolaid. Also, I’m vegetarian, so the vegetarian cafeteria is a total plus. Residents seemed super competent, and really liked their program. Fit in well here.


3) NY -- Hofstra Northwell SOM at North Shore / LIJ
Really like all the changes that are happening here, leadership is amazing, seem to not have too much trouble with the merger. Overall well known program that won’t hinder me from getting back to the west coast in the future. Phenomenal pediatrics and sports medicine (two things I’m most strongly interested in for fellowship). Residents seemed happy and super competent. Only major downside is 12 hour shifts, don’t seem to focus on wellness as much. Hit or miss for how sick patients are. I like the black scrubs


4) MA -- University of Massachusetts
This is the type of program where you know you will come out ready for anything. No hand holding. Residents all got along, hung out longer after preinterview social. ED is busy and also looks beautiful. PD is big name in EM. Lots of resident bonding stuff, and conference attendance in both PGY1 and PGY3. They seem to hold you hand for board studying stuff, which I need, and PD claims 100% pass rate. Didactics seem good, sim seems good, interview was good.


5) DE -- Christiana Care Health Services
Residents and PD are amazing. Really cool things happening here. Patient population is awesome for what I’m looking for in training, residents seem happy and competent, testing out new educational ideas (itrac system). Makes the EMRA antibiotic guide. Didn’t rotate here, but heard only amazing things from people who did.


6) NY -- Maimonides Medical Center
This program really surprised me on interview day, because I liked it way more than I thought I would. SO likes Brooklyn. Program focused on wellness, especially compared to other NYC programs. GREAT focus on peds. Really cool perk of event medicine in NY and around the country at music festivals. PD has great sense of humor, residents seemed happy. Go to shock trauma for trauma exposure.


7) CA -- Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center
Great area. Great vision for community EM. Leadership is phenomenally trained, are are trying out all sorts of fun things with didactics. Newer program, and not sure yet if I want to go into community medicine, especially the Kaiser system (I love their system, and Love that patients love their system, but I also want to work with underserved populations). Not convinced that my clinical training would be as good as the other places above it, but I don’t think I would be lacking either. Like that the rotated at several hospitals, Good peds, not enough ICU


8) NY -- University of Rochester
This program would be in my top 5 if not for my SO’s work. Residents were amazing and down to earth, PD was really fun to talk to and had great vision for this program. A really cool mix of academics and crazy shenanigans. Have a critical care bay that is ran by PGY2s that seems like it really aids learning how to manage critical patients. This sounds strange, but I really liked he set up of the ED- the pods were half moon shaped, and it just felt like an easier environment to work in because patients were close. Would be totally ecstatic to match here. My SO spent some time looking for jobs here to see if I could rank it higher than this because I loved it so much, but was unsuccessful.


9) CT -- University of Connecticut
This program would be in my top 5 if not for my SO’s work. Great peds (which is something I’m considering for fellowship), great passion for patients, cool catchment area and patient populations, good for training. Had only good vibes from all program leadership and faculty. Literally nothing bad to say about this program. I loved it, and would absolutely be ecstatic to match here.


10) MA -- Baystate Medical Center
This program would be in my top 5 if not for my SO’s work. One of the best PDs on the trail, and some of the most down to earth residents. Really seemed to actually care about wellness. Residents work hard, but in all the right ways. Seemed to hang out a lot and all seemed like they were close and liked each other, even different years. PD came to preinterview social, and it was actually really cool to just relax at the pool hall with everyone, and see the PD as a person who really cares about his residents.


11) MN -- Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education
This program would be in my top 5 if not for my SO’s work. I loved the residents and my interview day. I actually didn’t mind Rochester at all. Family friendly program, literally all the resources and money you could want or need. Huge focus on wellness, including amazing gym with indoor track, swimming pools, cooking lessons, massage room, etc.


12) DC -- George Washington University
Sadly, DC isn’t a great place for SO’s work. PD here seemed great, residents seemed nice, but incredibly overworked especially on off service rotations, and not in the “I’m-tired-but-at-least-I’m-learning” sort of way. Had one weird interview. I really liked their focus on creating great teachers by giving feedback on all resident lectures. Seemed like the residents had their hands held a little, and they didn’t feel as confident as some other residents on the trail at other programs.


13) NJ -- St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center/New York Medical College
Love this program a lot. Don’t really have anything bad to say about it, except that they make you wear white coats see a ton of pathology, most attendings are great, and PD really cares about the program and has good plans for improvement.

This program is one of those lesser name gems that really has top tier clinical training. Some of the most prepared residents I have seen and worked with.


14) NY -- New York Presbyterian Hospital
Residents seemed way overworked, and many seemed to have just chosen it for the name. Interviewers were nice, but there was just a feeling of ego around. I don’t want part of my residency time to just be doing scut work. Also, COL is so crazy high, even their subsidized housing. High salary to make up for it, but even so. You would get good training here, if you wanted a mix of academic and county, and you didn’t mind doing IVs and wheeling your patients to CT a couple times a shift.


15) CA -- Arrowhead Regional
Had a weird vibe on interview day. I enjoyed the residents and faculty I interviewed with and talked with at the preinterview social. Seemed very overworked and tired, but very prepared clinically for the real world. I’m not opposed to 4 year programs (see my number 1) but they didn’t really have a reason for their fourth year in my mind.


16) NH -- Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Loved this program and LOVED the flight med program. SO can’t work up here, but it would definitely be higher if I had my way.


17) CA -- University of California San Francisco/ Fresno
Rotated here, and had a good experience. Partially so low because my SO can’t work here at all, partially so low because I never felt like I really fit in with the residents. (Had a resident tell me if they didn’t like a student they just ignored them, which explained why I hadn’t been able to get another resident’s attention all rotation). Still was amazing clinically, and would never discourage someone from wanting to go here. Faculty was amazing, and exposure is second to none.


18) PA -- Allegheny General Hospital
Seemed like a solid program that has the unfortunate placement of being the step sister to a well known and in some ways overpowering hospital system in Pittsburg. Didn't feel like I would completely fit here, but PD seemed great. As preinterview dinner, residents couldn’t really tell me why they ranked the program highly (didn’t know if I could take this to mean that they didn’t rank it highly, or that they had other reasons for wanting to be in Pittsburg).


19) NY -- Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center
Program was just not for me. Seems like it would be great training if you like the “NYC” residency style, but I discovered I didn’t as I went on the interview trail. PD seemed disinterested, and resident kept talking about B52ing all the psych patients so he didn’t have to deal with them. I like psych patients.


Anything else to add?
Don’t let advisors tell you that you can’t apply into EM because you have low scores. Do aways at reach programs, and really shine. I’m sure I got some interviews solely because I got a great letter from Stanford (and I’m sure that by saying this there are going to be people who know who I am in this spreadsheet haha).

Pick your list based on feel, and try not to get too sucked into name recognition or what other people are saying about programs you really liked when you interviewed. Other people’s thoughts on programs influenced my rank list a lot at the beginning, and I ended up not liking how I felt about it. Ended up feeling much better about what my rank list ended as.


Applied to: Over 70.

 

[surely]

Submitted by @EMorBust via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / High Pass / High Pass / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: DO applicant, 580s / 660s, SSP, EMIG leadership, prior EMT, interesting hobbies talked about during interviews. Not sure if any of this truly made me more competitive....but hobbies, test scores, SLOEs, and personal statement brought up regularly in interviews.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I valued: perceived fit, trauma involvement, EMS opportunities / flight, cheap COL. I had no absolute preference for community vs county vs academic. Overall preferred blends of county/community, county/academic.

Born and raised in southwest, planned to leave for residency, so location was a minor factor.

1) KY -- University of Louisville
Pros: Last minute interview here and loved it. Already like the area, have friends nearby, and was sold on the program on interview day. Big emphasis on "autonomy"; faculty will not hold your hand, but are there to guide you and won't let you hurt people. I specifically asked residents about this on interview day, and they all think the stigma of all the autonomy is overblown. EM owns trauma in "room 9", trauma does not come down until called by EM. Rotate at community site, childrens hospital and rural hospital regularly. 4wks vacation. EMS fellowship.

Cons: Old ED / hospital. Coordinator a little over the top in pre-interview communication.... (but very nice in person)


2) TX -- University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine at San Antonio
Pros: Dr. Muck is hands down the coolest PD I met on the trail. He has a big vision for this place, and it shows. Nice ED / facilities. US training top notch, they want you to come out of here able to teach US. EMS fellowship. Residents all super chill. Still fighting some turf wars in the hospital, but have made big strides in the right direction.

Love Texas, and the idea of practicing here in the future. Cheap COL.

Cons: Newer program. Trauma in separate portion of ED and staffed by trauma attending. However, you do designated shifts in trauma section and PD said he has never had an issue with residents not seeing enough trauma, it is BUSY. Sunrise EMR.


3) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine
Pros: EMS was the selling point on this place for me. Can fly years 2&3. Resident response vehicle starting PGY2, go to all codes and anything EMS requests you at. Housed in 2 level 1 trauma centers, one community, one more county feel. Cerner / EPIC. 8s. Cheap COL. Support group for significant others. Chair is awesome and heavily involved with EM program. EM dominates hospital, few other residencies. Have their own EM team in ICU.

Cons: Kalamazoo sounds so cold..... Small towns don't bother me, but Kalamazoo is probably a turn off to most. PD kinda weird. LONG interview day with standardized questions.


4) MO -- Truman Medical Center/University of MO Kansas City
Pro: This one was a surprise for me. Not expecting much preinterview, but walked away loving this place. Residents all down to earth / chill, pre interview dinner was best on the trail for me. Pleasantly surprised by Kansas City, seems like a cool place. Academic / county hybrid. EM has big role in trauma. Lots of offservice PGY1, but PGY2s run pods of 12ish rooms solo. Cheap COL.

Cons: flight not allowed.


5) AR -- University of Arkansas
Pro: PD has great philosophy about training program and values resident input. Residents cool. Cheap COL. Great access to outdoor activity. Lucrative moonlighting.

Cons: ED meh, don't like how spread out residents sit. Great program, just left feeling so-so. And the "waitlist" process was such a pain in the a**.


6) TX -- John Peter Smith Health Network
Rotated here.

Pro: True county, and BUSY. EM alternates with trauma for running vs procedures. Seems to have good relationship. More learn by doing. Loved Fort Worth. Small town feel, but decent sized city.

Con: Attending / resident ratio low. Word on the street is losing the PD again, but for good reason, she is taking position at TCU's new med school. Losing another APD, I think?, saw on twitter. Wanted to LOVE this place, but something just felt off, can't quite put my finger on it.


7) NC -- East Carolina University/Vidant Medical Center
Pro: Busy community shop. Seems to have good relationship with trauma. EPIC. Dirt cheap COL. Pretty area, nice weather.

Cons: PD kinda weird.... but very supportive. Residents ok. Greenville.


8) NY -- University at Buffalo - SUNY Buffalo
Pros: Rotate at county, community, academic regularly. Solid EMS / flight. Residents cool. PD awesome, seems super down to earth.

Cons: Buffalo itself is the reason for it being so low, otherwise, I think you would come out of this place ready for any environment.


9) IL -- University of Illinois College of Medicine/St. Francis Medical Center at Peoria
Pros: New ED. Great access to attendings for teaching. Some really cool attendings. Flight program. 2 weekends off per month. FREE FOOD, anything you want anytime of day. Great insurance. Cheap COL.

Cons: ED kinda too quiet for my taste. Peoria is blah. Some residents are weird.


10) TX -- CHRISTUS Health / Texas A&M
Pros: Unopposed program. New ED opening later this year or early 2019. Residents all down to earth. All procedures belong to ED. EM runs trauma. Good ocean activities. Great moonlighting.

Cons: Corpus Christi is sleepy run down town. Meditech!


11) IL -- Southern Illinois University
Solid, up and coming program, in meh place. Was pleasantly surprised by what they have going on here, but just couldn't get over the idea of living in Springfield. Didn't gel with residents.


12) TN -- University of Tennessee - Nashville
Really torn about this place. Rotated here, and loved it. However, just couldn't justify putting it higher on the list because I think they are lacking in some areas.

Residents are all super cool, especially this years intern class. Attendings are awesome, and down to earth. It is a SDG here, and they are all very happy with their job. PD is awesome, and nationally known. He values resident input and works hard to improve the program. Nicest hospital I have ever seen. Nice ED. Unopposed, so all procedures belong to EM. However, no trauma designation, so don't get any trauma UNLESS they are home boy drop offs, or too unstable to make it to Vandy by EMS. Granted I did see a GSW while I was there for what its worth. Off service rotations seemed a little weak. And strength of third years varied, some seemed very strong, but others not as much.

Overall, would be very happy on a personal level here, but just would be left wondering about the strength of the training.


Applied to:
66 total. Christus Spohn JPS - Tarrant County Southern Illinois University Uni of Arkansas Uni of Illinois COM - Peoria Uni of Louisville Uni of Missouri - Kansas City Uni of Tennessee - Murfreesboro Uni of Texas - San Antonio University at Buffalo Vidant / East Carolina Uni Western Michigan University Arkon General Carilion Clinic - Virginia Tech Christiana Care Geisinger Health Grand Strand - South Carolina Hennepin Maricopa Medical Center Medical College of Georgia Medical College of Wisconsin Mercy St. Vincent Metro Health Michigan State Palmetto Health / USC SOM Penn State St. Louis University St. Luke's Uni of Arizona Uni of Kentucky Uni of Tennessee - Memphis Uni of Texas - Austin Dell Uni of Texas - Houston University of Iowa UTSW - Parkland Virginia Commonwealth Wayne State - DRH Wright State University Baylor Duke Indiana University Uni of Florida - Gainesville Uni of Wisconsin Wayne State - Sinai Grace (DMC) William Beaumont Health Carolinas Medical Center Medical Uni of South Carolina Uni of Tennessee - Chattanooga Emory Jacksonville UNC Maine OHSU Vanderbilt WakeForest Greenville Health (SC) University of Kansas University of Utah UAB Denver

Withdrew from before hearing anything:
None

Rejected by:
Emory, Jacksonville, UNC, Maine OHSU, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Greenville Health, University of Kansas, University of Utah, University of Alabama, Denver Health

Invited to interview, but declined:
SUNY Upstate, Baystate, Wellstone Kennestar, Drexel, St Johns, University of Mississippi

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 250s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Second rotation was Pass/Fail only
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Was told I had a really great personal statement at almost every interview. A lot of community outreach experience that was asked about a lot. Sit on a couple national EM committees. I know at least one of my SLOEs was top 10% because an interviewer commented on it.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. Location, location, location
2. 3 > 4
3. Early Autonomy (No graduated responsibility)
4. Gut Feeling/Vibe of Residents

1) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
Program where I walked away with the most butterflies and had the most fun at the social. Maybe it's just because they got me drunk, but felt like these were my people.

Pros: Hands down the program where I vibed the most with the residents. Social was super fun, loved that residents interview the applicants and have a real say. Loved everything about how the program is structured in terms of laid back attitude, 3 years, throw you into the fire, always 1:1 with an attending, EM trained ICU attendings, longitudinal peds and the training to become a true clinical badass all in my dream location Chicago.

Cons: The commute sounds... less than ideal, but I've done it before and know it won't kill me. Also the ED is a little dated (Especially compared to the brand new peds ED). Maybe changes in the volume due to UChicago opening a level 1, but honestly this might be a pro, the residents certainty thought so. Also yes people probably aren't going to gasp at the name when you tell them you got into Christ, but really I think that's the dumbest/most egotistical reason I've ever heard to not go somewhere.


2) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Really went back an forth between this place and Advocate Christ for #1 and I'll cry if I get either one of them on match day.

Pros: very close second to Christ for most awesome residents of the trail and hands down most awesome PD. Loved the flight med and international APEX opportunities. Definitely got a sense that this was a powerhouse for academic and community physicians, but still had the laid back, throw you into the fire mentality (no graduated responsibility) that I was looking for. Also in dream city Chicago.

Cons: Lack of longitudinal peds, unknown situation in terms of new curriculum/role in trauma at UChicago. More urgent care shifts than I'd ideally like.

In the end I chose Christ because I felt I was more excited about the flight med etc at UChicago than the clinical ED experiences and I'm leaning more towards community than academics.


3) IL -- University of Illinois Hospital - Chicago
Kind of the middle child of programs for me. It checked off all my boxes and I enjoyed my interview day, just didn't leave as excited like I did with #1 and #2.

Pros: Actually like the 4 sites thing think it's good to get used to changing places. Early autonomy and chill residents. APD Dr. Snow was a gem. Generally think I could be happy here. Plus of course it's in Chicago and many of the hospitals are in good spots in Chicago as well. ICU experience at Mercy sounds crazy (in a good way).

Cons: Commuting again all over the place, but probably less than my top 2. Again just less exciting to me for some unknown reason. Regardless would be happy here.


4) IL -- Rush University Medical Center
Came in thinking there was no way I was ranking a brand new program this high and boy was I wrong. There was an air of excitement about Rush that was very infectious and really liked all the faculty that I met. PD was excellent.

Pros: Faculty without a doubt were all young, awesome and very excited to be there. Facilities are beautiful and there's a large disaster medicine focus here which I like. Do trauma at Cook County (which is arguably cook's biggest sell), but you finish in 3 years vs. Cook's 4. Faculty stated it was 1:1 with an attending and that there's no graduated responsibility, but it's hard to know how true this is because they only have one residency class right now.

Cons: Obviously the brand new program thing is a little nerve wracking. There's no alumni when you graduate to help you find a job etc. Also didn't vibe with the residents as much as I did the faculty. Still a lot of unknowns in terms of PGY2/3 since they haven't had anyone do it yet. But nabbing up Mt. Sinai as soon as UChicago moved out of there was definitely an A+ move on their part. I expect big things from this program in the next couple of years.


5) TX -- UT Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas
Pros: Floored by how much I enjoyed Dallas after living in the NE/Midwest my whole life. Residents were awesome and there were so many of them! Hospital might be the most beautiful building ever and I frequently had to remind myself that it was county because I just couldn't believe it. I'm sure you walk out of here an excellent ER physician between UTSW and their community sites. 3 years check, early autonomy check. Easy connections to sweet Texas job market.

Cons: It's been said before, but worry about over consulting at such a powerhouse place. Saw some residents who were on trauma that really sounded like they did a lot of scut/clinic days. Sadly the main reason this place is ranked here is that I don't really know anyone in Dallas despite loving the city.


6) TN -- Vanderbilt University
My first interview of the season and they really started off with a bang. After reading all these sdn posts over the years I had high expectations of Vandy and they did not disappoint.

Pros: Faculty were really great and really got along with both the new PD and APD and the residents seemed very tight. Obviously, you can go anywhere after training here and I really bought into the whole Solvis didactic style (if you're playing the Rank list drinking game take a shot for the Slovis shout out). 3 years, but still academic.Heard nothing but good things from classes above me that went here.

Cons: Maybe a little too cerebral and less action than I was hoping for ,but honestly this program would be much much higher for me were it in another city. Nashville seems fine, but as a gay man I really could not see it for myself.


7) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Came into the interview season thinking this would be much higher on my list even with the 4 years. Has the population and the volume I was looking for. Unfortunately, knew people who rotated there who weren't excited about it and felt the same after interviewing.Agree with what has been written on here before in that I feel they are resting on their laurels a bit.

Pros: Location in Chicago. National reputation. Sick sick patient population and all the faculty seemed down to earth and less burnt out than you might think from a program that is slammed as much as this one is. Also 19$ a day for food? Yes please. Everyone I met was really chill here and I'd probably be happy here, but probably more happy somewhere else.

Cons: Major problems from me stem from the 4th year which is the least well used I've ever seen. 3 floor months in intern year etc. Very strict graduated responsibility here was a big turn off and some junior residents admitted that they were frustrated about it. Finally, the separate trauma ED and the q36 hour trauma call sounded like per hell. Why would I subject myself to all this when I could just go to Rush, get the same trauma experience and graduate a year early? (My personal 2 cents)


8) TX -- University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
Pro: PD is amazing. Residents all seemed super chill and very happy. Everyone I met seemed super nice and excited to be there. 18 8s for all three years sounds incredible and I believe it is the lightest schedule of any EM residency. Austin is obviously a very sought after location and would be great to live in for 3 years at least. Plus getting you into that Texas job market. No graduated responsibility.

Cons: Minor, but only 8 residents a year seems lonely after interviewing at so many other bigger programs. COL in Austin is high for the size of a city it is and didn't really think I fit the typically "Austinite" in that I don't give a **** about organic things etc. Residents are a little more formal than I'd like (don't call attending by first name again minor points here), got the feeling they may not have a super high volume and that a lot of the real teaching happens in the smaller community EDs.

In the end it's ranked lower because of the location again and were I move to TX I'd pick Dallas over Austin (I know, I'm crazy, I know)


9) NY -- Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center
Clearly I'm not feeling NYC as all the programs are ranked at the bottom but here we go.

Pro: Only 3 year I applied to in NYC. PD is great. Know residents here personally and they are super happy and love the program. Location in NYC cannot be beat (especially as a gay man haiii hell's kitchen). Housing is cheap and centrally located (however heard it's increasing 40% this year!!). Both sites look pretty modern especially for NYC hospitals.

Cons: NYC hospitals and all the **** that comes with them. Trauma and peds experiences much less than I'd get basically anywhere else in the US. Between the COL and this I just can't justify ranking anywhere in NYC higher than this.


10) NY -- NYU/Bellevue Medical Center
Rotated here and really loved everyone that I worked with and the academic nature of the place. "Random SDN user if you loved it so much why is it ranked number 10?" you ask? Simple. 4 years, NYC nuff said.

Pros: Faculty and residents are all really amazing people who believe in NYU's mission of serving the undeserved. Will get support to do whatever project you might want to work on. If you like Admin they have you covered on the Tish side as well. Morning reports were all superb. If I thought I wanted to do fellowship this place would be higher because they've got some that are A+. Patient population and volume that I was looking for. More graduated responsibility than I'd like albeit less than Cook County. Neighborhood within NYC is A+ as well.

Cons: NYC. 4 years. Similar to SLR but it's also a NYC hospital. Much less trauma than you might expect even though this is county. Peds is pretty dead here. COL is even higher here as there's very minimal help with housing.


11) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York
Pros: Elmhurst seems crazy in a good way. Everyone seemed chill. PD is young and enthusiastic (do I sound like a broken record yet?). Probably more trauma than the other Manhattan programs. UES is decent.

Cons: 4 years. NYC. Less peds than desired. Again seems fellowship heavy. Commuting to Elmhurst seems like quite the bitch. COL.


12) NY -- SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital
Pros: Up there with Christ and UChicago for chillest residents of the trial. Really got a long with them and know some of them personally as well. All love it here and I can see why. Definitely the volume and patient population I'm looking for. A place in NYC that actually gets crazy trauma and peds cases. Brooklyn is getting more hip by the day.

Cons: 4 years. NYC. Scut, scut, scut. Only interview where residents felt they needed to address that they don't get a long with nursing even though that's a pretty NYC wide problem, so it must be pretty bad here. Less Spanish patients than I'd like and a lot of translator Creole time for me. COL. PD seemed standoffish. Apparently that's just how she is for interviews, but I don't seem why she has to be that way as she kinda just seemed over the whole process and barely spoke on my interview day.


13) NY -- Jacobi/Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Rotated here and despite having a truly wonderful rotation I could not see myself here long term in the slightest.

Pros: People are great. PD is young if a little aloof. Large class size. Definite trauma, definite peds. Lots of spanish. Reputation.

Cons: 4 years. NYC. Location within NYC (Bronx) is the worst of anywhere on the entire interview trail and commuting from Manhattan is a bitch and a half. Nursing is meh. Residents definitely over worked and burnt to a crisp, yet the program seems to pride itself on that for some reason? No community sites and limited elective time for a 4 year program.


Anything else to add?
Only applied to 25 programs because I felt I was a decently competitive applicant and only wanted to apply to places I'd thought I'd go to more than my home program. Perhaps that was a bit of a risk but it turned out just fine and in general people with good stats way over apply in my mind. I tried to do my best not to interview hoard, but I know I went over 11 interviews (Sorry guys!). If I were to repeat the process I'd make doing an away outside of NYC a priority since clearly I wasn't a fan, but I think it worked out either way.



Rejected by:
Duke, Carolinas, Northwestern (this one stung), UCSF, Kaiser San Diego, New York Presbyterian Cornell/Columbia, USC/UCLA, UCLA Oliveview

Invited to interview, but declined:
Presence Resurrection, UT San Antonio, UCSD, Johns Hopkins

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

DO student
COMLEX Level 1: Low 600s, Level 2: High 600s
Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Second was PassFail only / High Pass / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: West coast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Nothing out of the ordinary

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Proximity to SO's future grad school. Want cool city. Reasonable shift structure.

1) DE -- Christiana Care Health Services
Pros: Super exciting interview with the PD. 3 year site run by a private group. Pretty good volume between the two main hospitals. Opportunities for moonlighting. Fun residents on pre-interiew social. Beautiful shift structure with 1 month of nights, then only 1 night/month for the rest of the year. Alumni distributed widely

Cons: pretty small town to be in, but honestly 45 min out of Philly is nothing too severe.


2) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Pros: It's Stanford. Unlimited resource for whatever passion you might have. Electives up the wazzoo, >10 EM fellowships. Uses Epic, should have a new ED soon. Variety of training sites. Pay. Passionate PD.

Cons: COL. 4 years. Traffic. Not much moonlighting at this point.


3) PA -- Drexel University - Philadelphia
Pros: Old program with strong critical care training (something like 2x as many months as other programs). PD was pretty nice. Get exposure to community sites as well. In a big city that isn't stupid expensive. 3 years.

Cons: Undergoing different contract in the next year, not sure what to expect. Not all interviewers on interview day were impressive.


4) NC -- Wake Forest University
Pros: Very exciting PD that seems active in improving the program and involved in EM community. 3 years. 8 hour shifts. Moonlighting available. Supposedly nice traffic. Stupid low COL. Pretty content residents.

Cons: Pretty far from any big city. Wasn't able to get a solid number on shifts/month but it sounds like around 22-23, which is just a lot of days of work once conference is added in.


5) NY -- Hofstra Northwell SOM at North Shore / LIJ
Pros:3 years with +1 optional. Friendly residents, lots of cool research here. Supposedly not afflicted by NY nursing. 2 differently hospital sites, within close proximity. Best pay I saw on the trail. Guaranteed at least 2 full weekends off each month.

Cons: A little outside the city, need a car.


6) NY -- New York Methodist Hospital
Pros: Bought out by Cornell, has been improving every since. Better shifts than most NY programs. Good pay. Residents were happy and ultrasound fellows seemed very knowledgeable.

Cons: PD said nursing ratio had improved from 17:1 down to about 8:1. Getting better but still no West coast. Super high COL.


7) NY -- Maimonides Medical Center
Pros: 3 years, no medicine month. All residents were very satisfied, 3rd years had good jobs. Tons of young attendings (some were former residents at program) that make environment energetic. Shift lengths vary, not too many overall hours though. Have a shift where you strictly see critical patients. Very forward-thinking pain management done in ED. Access to event medicine

Cons: NY nursing. Tons of patients literally physically impeding your ability to get to other patients. Use the translator phone for about half of patients (Mandarin, Russian, Yiddish). AllScripts EMR.


8) MI -- Michigan State University/Sparrow Hospital - Lansing
Pros: Residents seemed chill and happy, good vacation around holidays. Program director was nice and had been around a while. 2 sites. COL stupid low. No traffic ever, sites are within 10 min of each other. 3 years.

Cons: Area isn't that exciting for me. A few questionable rotations in curriculum (cardiology, medicine month, no anesthesia).


9) CA -- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

Pros: Tons of trauma (MVCs), lots of sick patients. EM is stronger procedurally than a lot of other residencies at the hospital. Very moonlighting friendly. PA's see lower acuity up front. Easy to get along with residents. Everyone here will speak Spanish or English. Almost no translator phones.

Cons: 4 years. Academia isn't too strong. Medicine month. Just recently switched to electronic charts, uses MediTech. Interns thrown into it very early on. Hit or miss with attendings. 12s all 4 years. 4th year is one of the least justified I have seen.


10) NY -- Arnot Ogden Medical Center
Pros: Program director was easy to talk to. Most residents were friendly and nice at dinner, very relaxed about their schedule. Most had jobs lined up and said had no issues getting them.

Cons: Newer, not a ton of volume. Still working out their trauma rotations at Rochester. Town is small and sleepy. Didn't love all the residents I met.


11) TN -- University of Tennessee - Nashville
Pros: Some of the most easy to interact with attendings I have seen. All of them eager to teach. Only other residencies on site are Ob and Family, so no one is fighting for procedures. Excellent ancillary staff. Access to physician lounge with good food. ED is pretty new and spacious. Nurses can put in U/S guided IVs. Epic with Dragon. Pretty well-connected PD. 9.5 hour shifts

Cons: Not near grad school for SO. Relatively new program. Not a huge amount of trauma. Vandy will get a lot of the more complicated patients and most peds issues.



Anything else to add?

I rotated at 4 of my interview sites. Frustrated to see 8/~75 invites (excluding ones I "earned") with no red flags.

Applied to:
Almost 80


Rejected by:
Lol there's a character limit isn't there

Invited to interview, but declined:
Hackensack



(Note from @surely: lol character limit, roooouuugh)

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: East coast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Solid SLOEs, EMS background, non-trad w/ unusual career trajectory?

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Feels, EMS / flight opportunities, critical care exposure, 3 > 4 in general, COL, no particular geographic preference.

1) OH -- University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Pros: Had ALL THE FEELS here. Like, didn't want to leave at the end of the interview day. Strong EMS division. Air Care is amazing. Residents can be assistant medical directors. Clear goals and focus for each year of training. Great faculty, great residents, great PD -- felt like these were my people. Good COL.

Cons: 4 years. Location might not be ideal for some, but I like smaller cities. Boarding issues in the ED.


2) TN -- Vanderbilt University
Pros: Commitment to teaching. Really liked PD. Good EMS opportunities. Moonlighting on the helicopter. I like country music.

Cons: Maybe too much focus on learning by talking? Pre-interview dinner was kind of awkward.


3) MI -- University of Michigan
Pros: Amazing critical care w/ EC3, ED ECMO. Good mix of academic, county, community sites. Survival Flight. Well-developed EMS track. Honestly a better fit than my #2.

Cons: 4 years -- only reason it wasn't #2, still kinda wish I'd put it there. Commuting. Not the best weather.


4) NC -- Carolinas Medical Center
Pros: Residents are fantastic. Great clinical training w/ early autonomy. Amazing faculty. Charlotte is fun.

Cons: Less structured EMS/flight exposure than other programs on my list.


5) PA -- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Pros: EMS powerhouse. Jeep is badass. Good mix of clinical sites. Really liked residents.

Cons: Didn't have the feels I was expecting. No longer fly as second crew member on Stat MedEvac. EM shares airway.


6) WI -- University of Wisconsin
Pros: PD is an absolute boss. Department has a rich uncle who buys them nice things. Med Flight. 3+1 w/ HEMS fellowship. Madison seems cool.

Cons: Had one super weird interview. Some concerns re: volume/diversity/acuity of patient population. Less feels than expected.


7) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Pros: Early autonomy w/ interns seeing sickest patients. Good volume/diversity between sites. Should have huge trauma volume as new Level 1. Great flight experience w/ UCAN. AXA is cool as well.

Cons: Just don't think I want to live in Chicago, otherwise would be much higher.


8) NC -- Wake Forest University
Pros: Surprised by how much I liked it here. Solid EMS opportunities w/ potential for flight. Huge pre-interview turnout, residents seemed happy. Super cheap COL.

Cons: W-S is sorta meh.


9) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine
Pros: Clinical training is phenomenal, learn to manage huge volume of patients. Residents seemed really close. I liked Indianapolis.

Cons: EMS more focused on event/disaster medicine, which is not my thing.


10) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
Pros: Training at Grady would be insane.

Cons: Didn't love Atlanta. Heard nightmares about traffic.


11) TX -- UT Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas
Pros: Great practice environment in TX. Beautiful facilities. Can go to New Zealand.

Cons: Limited EMS options. Airway only on traumas. Lukewarm on PD.


12) SC -- Palmetto Health Richland
Pros: Residents seemed happy. Cool hours bank setup. Lots of international opportunities. Supportive PD.

Cons: PD has a hotmail account?


13) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Pros: Legendary program. Tight-knit residents. Conference was great. Had one of my favorite faculty interviews here.

Cons: Didn't get to interview w/ PD. Thought 4th year was poorly justified. High COL. Limited EMS.


14) CO -- Denver Health
Pros: Churns out clinical badasses. Love Colorado. Residents seemed happy, great pre-interview turnout.

Cons: 4 intense years. Training philosophy not ideal for me, personally. Think I would learn a ton here, don't think I would be happy.


15) CA -- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital
Pros: Great academic/county split. SF is an awesome city.

Cons: Poorly justified 4th year. Insane COL. I don't want roommates. Limited EMS.


Anything else to add?
Hard to overstate the importance of good SLOEs. Pretty sure that's why I got interviews at a lot of the places I did w/ decidedly average stats.


Withdrew from before hearing anything:
A lot, definitely over-applied.

Rejected by:
LAC+USC, UCSD, Cleveland MetroHealth.

Invited to interview, but declined:
Harbor-UCLA, Ohio State, UAB, Arizona, New Mexico, Christiana, others.



(Note from @surely: LOL hotmail account what on earth)

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: Pass / High Pass / Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Texas
Anything else that made you more competitive?:

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Sick patients, busy ED, opportunites for procedures, fit for myself and my family, 3>4.

1) TX -- CHRISTUS Health / Texas A&M
I absolutely loved it. Extremely sick patients and tons of opportunities for procedures since the only other residency in the hospital is FM. The residents and their families were the best I met and I felt like my family would've fit in well here. Huge support system for spouses and children. I really love the people in South Texas. Very low COL and comparably high salary. I believe shifts are either 8 or 8.5 hours. They're finishing up their new ED soon. The faculty are awesome. They are absolutely supportive and push the residents to always see the sickest patients. These residents are coming out very well prepared and I would be so happy to come back here.

Cons: really hot summers....if the beach and heat aren't really your thing


2) IL -- Southern Illinois University
My last interview. I went in with very few expectations as I didn't know much about the program or area. I was blown away. Once again, very sick patients and really busy EDs. One of my favorite things is that you rotate through three hospitals. If I remember correctly, one is where most other residencies work (big academic feel), one has very few residents from other specialties rotate through and a lot of the trauma goes there (opportunities for procedures), and one is a rural hospital. It pretty much has all three of the types of hospitals I'd want to train at. Springfield seemed like a place I could take my family and fit in well. Plenty to do, low COL, and within a short drive to St Louis for bigger city things. I believe shifts were 8.5 or 9's, with some additional shift benefits. Dr Waymack and Dr McDowell, and all the other faculty I met were great. I felt like my personality meshed well with their's and that I'd be happy to work there


3) PA -- Allegheny General Hospital
Rotated here and had a great experience. Very sick and busy ED. Lots of other residents in the hospital, so procedures weren't as abundant as I would've preferred. That said, those residents and faculty were always great and willing to teach. As a student, I was able to help or perform reductions and lines, and there was never a problem. Most of the residents and faculty I met were extremely nice and the type of people I'd want to be good friends with/work night shifts with. Pittsburgh is big and I have never lived in a big city with my family. It would definitely be an adventure with a ton of stuff to do and see. They work 10's with a lot of ICU time. I was studying and took Step 2 while I was here. Combined with a terrible living situation with my AirBnB (no A/C, dogs messing the floors all the time, really noisy roommates), I feel like my impression was tainted. I was so happy to go back on interview day and realize all of my bad feelings were associated with the bad living situation rather than the hospital and residency. I'd be really happy to go back again to train.

PNC Park (Pirates....baseball...) is my favorite new stadium in the country. During my month there I think I went to eight games.

Cons: Perogies are weird, but tasty. The dialect can be difficult to interpret and understand as well


4) MA -- Baystate Medical Center
Really sick patients and these residents were bosses at handling it all. It felt like everyone gets involved when there's a code or really sick patient. This was my, perceived, most academic program I interviewed at. Didactics were awesome and the sim/procedure experience they have every July is second to none. They work 8 or 8.5's. A big perk is you get your schedule for the whole year in July, so planning or trading for vacations is a lot easier. Dr Osborne is amazing and a huge advocate for his residents. The ED is really nice and huge, with plenty of space. Springfield has a lot of nice towns in the surrounding area. COL is higher, but the salary here was the highest out of all my programs.


5) OK -- University of Oklahoma College of Medicine/Tulsa
My favorite PD I met on the trail, Dr Burns is such a great advocate for his patients. The hospital seems busy with a huge percentage of sick patients. Very few other residencies in house, so plenty of procedures. Tulsa was a cool place with a very low COL. Residents choose 10's VS 12's...most classes have chosen 12's. My experience here was a little weird...due to weather problems I missed almost all of the night before he interview so only met 2 or 3 residents total. It made it hard to see if it would be a good fit for myself/family. My impression is i would love being here and to have the chance to work personally with Dr Burns.


6) PA -- Wellspan York Hospital
Very cool program in a small/older town. The ED is newer and very nice. All the faculty I met and worked with were amazing and very supportive. I felt very close to Dr Stuntz and Dr Stephens during my time there and feel they could be great mentors. I believe they do 10's. Cadaver lab in Baltimore was a good experience. I feel like i fit in well with the residents and a lot of them have families as well. I would be very happy to match here.


7) PA -- Geisinger Medical Center
I was always interested in this program and was so excited i received an interview. Beautiful location, giant hospital, and growing ED. Outside of the program in Corpus Christi and Kent Hospital, I feel like my family and I would get along best with the culture and people in the residency here. Dr Cooney is an amazing director and educator, and I really like his ideas on the Flipped Classroom....matches my learning style well. The town is small. It's something I knew going into it, but that would be an adjustment if I matched here. It might have seemed smaller since I had interviewed in Pittsburgh the day before. Great program with solid history in EM. Would be thrilled to match here.


8) LA -- Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Very sick and very busy ED. The faculty and director all seemed very nice. I was late on the interview day, and that kind of made me feel sheepish and very embarrassed all day...there's no doubt it affected my impression of the program. It seemed like a good portion of the residents had kids and families while the other half were single, so a very good mix. Shreveport was a bit edgy for me, but I really only saw the part of town with the casinos and around the hospital. Part of me wants to work in a city that has room for improvement while the other part of me wants to live somewhere very comfortable for my family. This program is great and I know I'd come out feeling very confident and capable.


9) RI -- UNECOM - Kent Hospital
My first interview of the season and I absolutely loved it. I had never been to Rhode Island before and was there in the heart of the autumn foliage. Absolutely beautiful. The residents the night before were amazing, the faculty friendly and motivated to improve, and the opportunities they have available are great. Training at Shock Trauma, in Boston for Tox, and at the women's hospital in providence to name a few. My family would fit in extremely well with the residents and their families as we share much of the same cultural background. The only reason this isn't number two or three on the list is 4 years. The whole interview season it would bounce from 9th or so back to the top and then back down again as the thought of an extra year grew on my mind. I'd secretly be very VERY happy to match here....my family might be saddened by the extra year.


10) PA -- Reading Health System
New program in a very busy and beautiful ED. I think it would be exciting to be in a first class of a program, but a bit intimidating as things get worked out.


11) MI -- Lakeland Health Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Great up and coming program with solid faculty and leadership. St Joseph is small but beautiful. Far from a large airport and very cold. Once again, would be much much higher if it wasn't 4 years for the reason listed above.


12) WV -- West Virginia University
Not my favorite city. Residents I met were great and my family would get along well with them. The PD fell asleep during my interview....made the program drop super far down my list. I guess I'm just that exciting for him?


13) MI -- MSUCOM/Mercy Health Muskegon
Good hospital and ED. The few residents I met were pretty nice. I couldn't attend the night before so I didn't get to meet many of them. There was no introduction to the program on interview day which seemed a bit weird to me. We went to a bit of their didactics and then had a bunch of long interviews in a row. The questions I was asked there were very strange and learned they had dismissed a couple of residents in the past...it just made me a bit wary. 4 years



Invited to interview, but declined:
Livonia, MI, Desert Regional, CA, Arrowhead Regional, CA

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Former scribe, interesting extracurriculars, leadership experiences

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Most important consideration for me was fit and just the general interview day vibes. Next is location, COL, and proximity to family.

1) TX -- TX A&M Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Pros: cost of living, no commute, one hospital with both affluent and underserved populations, trauma (or the possibility of it) on every shift, 9-10 hour overlapping shifts as 2nd and 3rd years, residents enjoy spending time together in and out of the hospital, family friendly, one hour from Austin and 2 from Dallas, meal stipend, the PD (Dr. Drigalla) seems like a down to earth man that would go to bat for his residents.
Cons: 12 hour shifts as interns, VA floor month, not much night life, very small town.


2) TX -- University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
Pros: 18 eight hour shifts all 3 years, two weekends guaranteed off/month, free food, happy residents, new hospital, it’s in Austin, great didactic curriculum, multiple different community sites (urban, free-standing, etc)
Cons: not as much trauma as some other programs in big cities, cost of living is pretty high, traffic in Austin can really suck, less-established program (on the rise though).


3) TX -- University of Texas Houston
Pros: Busiest trauma center in the country, EM runs levels 2s and above solo, EM always gets airway on level 1s, residents seemed pretty excited about the new PD, academic/county hybrid, one of the most fun pre-interview dinners i've been to, really liked all the residents I met.
Cons: I don't speak spanish, I'm not into big cities, but I could acclimate - this is why Houston isn't higher. I otherwise really liked it.


4) TX -- University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine at San Antonio
Pros: PD seemed great, I appreciate their mission to serve the underserved, residents seemed happy, COL is very reasonable, great food in SA, Go Spurs Go
Cons: the lack of autonomy in the ED in regards to trauma


5) NC -- University of North Carolina
Pros: I really liked the academic/community split between UNC and WakeMed, residents were all great and fun to hang out with, you get scribes on some shifts, UNC campus is really cool
Cons: the distance between the two hospitals means I'd have to live farther than I'd like from one of the hospitals, farther from family


6) OH -- Case Western Reserve University/Metro Health Medical Center
Pros: lots of trauma, Cleveland is surprisingly cool, I just got a good vibe from them when I came out to interview
Cons: far from family, don't want to deal with snow


7) SC -- Greenville Health System
Pros: PD is enthusiastic and has a clear vision for the program, leadership is receptive to feedback, faculty brought in because they enjoy teaching, lots of U/S, great sims, plenty of opportunities to teach med students
Cons: yet to graduate a class so it's still an unknown entity (even though I feel that it's a great program). If there wasn't such a question mark over it, I would rank it much higher than 7.


8) LA -- Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge
Pros: Not many other residencies in BR, PD was great, residents like to have fun together, COL is pretty cheap, SEC athletics
Cons: Didn't really like BR - just general vibe when visiting, can't really pinpoint the reason.


9) NC -- Duke University Medical Center
Pros: I really like the Raleigh/Durham area, PD was one of the nicest on the trail, I like the vision they are selling, the residents were nice and incredibly welcoming.
Cons: Too academic for me (I'm just not academically inclined enough to really take advantage of all the opportunities Duke can provide).


10) FL -- University of South Florida
Pros: Tampa is a cool city, the hospital location is great (right on the water on an island), the different interest tracks were great, emphasis on U/S, happy and no longer overworked residents (new PD made lots of changes - per residents)
Cons: Far from home, didn't really have a lot in common with the residents I met


11) FL -- Florida Hospital Medical Center Orlando
Enough has been said about this program on the spreadsheet. just overall was not impressed by my day and didn't get a good vibe.


Rejected by:
Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Georgetown, Baylor, Carolinas, UT Southwestern, Palmetto Health, Cincinnati

Invited to interview, but declined:
Mississippi, Emory, Wake Forest, OSU, UF-Jacksonville, UF-Gainesville, MUSC, ECU

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 250s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Research, strong SLOEs according to interviewers

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Location, social support, clinical training

1) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York
Pros: loved the residents and faculty I met, liked the combination of Elmhurst and Sinai, have lots of friends in NYC, close to home. Residents seemed really close and like they have a lot of fun, great for critical care, great reputation, great teaching, residents seemed like a lot of fun

Cons: Commute, overcrowding in NYC EDs, ancillary staff in NYC EDs (although this seemed to be less of an issue here than at other NYC programs), 4 years, 12 hour shifts


2) NY -- NYU/Bellevue Medical Center
Pros: Love the location, the social mission, the combination of Bellevue and Tisch, no commute, great reputation, great teaching, close to friends and family for me

Cons: Bellevue seems lower acuity, 4 years, very low trauma exposure, overcrowding in NYC EDs, ancillary staff, 12 hour shifts


3) NY -- SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital
Pros: love the location, clinical training is amazing, great breadth of pathology, residents seemed really fun

Cons: PD was kind of cold, don't speak any Haitian Creole, ancillary staff seems like a bigger deal here than at other NYC programs, 4 years, 12 hour shifts


4) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Pros: love the residents and faculty here, great social mission, new level 1 trauma center being built, 3 years, love Chicago, good COL (compared to the rest of the cities on my list at least), mostly 8 hour shifts and guaranteed weekends on ED months, love the PD

Cons: a little concerned about being the guinea pigs for the new trauma center, Chicago winters


5) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Pros: amazing clinical training, residents seemed fun, great social mission, love the faculty, love Chicago, good COL, 8 hour shifts, love the PD

Cons: Chicago winters, unclear as to the utility of the 4th year, ancillary staff, lots of floor months


6) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Pros: amazing clinical training, great weather, great city, 8 hour shifts, great reputation, residents seemed fun and close

Cons: 4 years, high COL, really far from home so I don't have great social support


7) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess
Pros: great clinical training, 3+1

Cons: PD seemed a little cold, commutes to the many different sites, don't love Boston, Boston winters


8) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's
Pros: surprised by how much I liked the residents and faculty, lots of resources

Cons: clinical training not as strong, focus seemed to be on ancillary stuff rather than clinical training, don't love Boston, Boston winters


9) MD -- University of Maryland
Pros: amazing clinical training, amazing teaching, close to home, good social support, 3 years (as I write this out, feels like I should have ranked this program higher...)

Cons: Don't want to live in Baltimore, residents seemed more burned out and not as close, 12 hour shifts


10) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
Pros: amazing clinical teaching, great reputation, warm weather

Cons: Don't have social support in LA, so far from home, residents seemed more burned out, 12 hour shifts, don't like the culture of LA


11) MD -- Johns Hopkins Hospital
Pros: great clinical training, tons of resources, liked the faculty I interviewed with a lot, close to home and friends

Cons: didn't like the residents I met at the dinner as much, Baltimore


12) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Pros: Clinical training seems strong although may be hindered by the Palo Alto population a bit

Cons: 4 years, don't want to live in Palo Alto, didn't vibe with the residents as much


13) PA -- Temple University School of Medicine
Pros: amazing clinical training, loved the residents and faculty, focus on wellness, 3 years

Cons: ultimately didn't want to live in Philly


14) TN -- Vanderbilt University
Pros: amazing teaching, great clinical training, amazing reputation

Cons: ultimately didn't want to live in Nashville


15) DC -- George Washington University



Rejected by:
UCLA-Olive View, UCSF, Emory, Georgetown, UPenn

Invited to interview, but declined:
UCLA-Harbor, Jacobi, UIC, Christiana, Jefferson

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

2/26/2018 10:06:09 Step 1: 210s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: West coast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Extracurriculars

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:

1) CA -- Loma Linda University School of Medicine

2) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County

3) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine

4) CA -- University of California San Diego

5) TX -- University of Texas Houston

6) MI -- William Beaumont Hospital

7) IL -- University of Illinois College of Medicine/St. Francis Medical Center at Peoria

8) MI -- Lakeland Health Emergency Medicine Residency Program

9) OH -- Doctors Hospital-Ohio Health

10) LA -- Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge

11) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine

12) FL -- Florida Hospital Medical Center Orlando

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 250s , Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Northeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location (NYC area preferable), clinical training, QOL, prestige

1) NY -- Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York
Pros: Prestige, good training, good academics
Cons: 4 years, NYC ancillary staff, commuting between 2 hospitals


2) NY -- Maimonides Medical Center
Pros: 3 years, 45 hours/week average
Cons: Less prestige


3) NY -- SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital
Pros: Good training, brooklyn > manhattan, Downstate and Kings county close to each other, trauma
Cons: Poor ancillary staff


4) NY -- Hofstra Northwell SOM at North Shore / LIJ
Pros: 3 years, $$$
Cons: Location, commuting between 2 hospitals


5) NY -- Jacobi/Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pros: good training
Cons: bronx


6) NY -- New York-Presbyterian - Queens
Pros: Happy residents, 3 years, Queens
Cons: Low prestige


7) NY -- New York Methodist Hospital

8) MA -- Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess

9) NY -- New York Presbyterian Hospital
Cons: got the feeling residents work super hard

10) NY -- Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital

11) MA -- University of Massachusetts

12) NY -- Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center
Pros: lots of trauma, good training
Cons: unjustified 4th year, long shifts, poor ancillary services

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: High Pass / High Pass / Choose this if only Pass/Fail grading was available for this rotation /
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: California
Anything else that made you more competitive?: international research experience, pre-med school ED scribing

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
- want to stay in California
- 3 yr >> 4 yr
- community > academic > county
- strong clinical training
- small program with more of a teaching focus
- favorable shift structure that minimized 12hrs
- wellness factor emphasized
- location should have a diverse population

1) CA -- Riverside Community Hospital / University of California Riverside

2) CA -- Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center

3) CA -- University of California Irvine Medical Center

4) CA -- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center / Olive View UCLA Medical Center

5) CA -- Kaweah Delta Health Care District

6) CA -- University of California San Francisco/ Fresno

7) AZ -- University of Arizona

8) AZ -- University of Arizona College of Medicine at South Campus

9) FL -- Orlando Regional Medical Center

10) CA -- Desert Regional Medical Center

11) TX -- University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine at San Antonio

12) NV -- Sunrise Health GME Consortium

13) CA -- Kern Medical

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Choose this if only Pass/Fail grading was available for this rotation / /
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Research. Good SLOEs. Am not a serial murderer.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1. Gut.
2. Location
3. Attending support
4. Clinical training
5. Significant other
6. Opportunity for MedEd



1) AL -- University of Alabama
Pros: Amazing program. Hands down my favorite residents. Young attendings, who love teaching and are very active in medical education. Alternating traumas with surgery next year. Dr. Edwards obviously cares about his residents and was the only PD who took me on a tour of the ED. His Fran time is pretty sick too.
Moonlighting starts 2nd year, is encouraged, and pays significantly better than anywhere else I interviewed.
Birmingham has Top-Golf now.
Resident wellness and work/life balance is top notch.

Cons: Alabama almost elected Roy Moore.


2) KY -- University of Kentucky
Pros: Lexington rules. The ultrasound program is outstanding (see Jacob Avila, Matt Dawson). Super heavy into medical education. They own a castle. New ED. Very sick patients. This was a very close second for me.

Pro/Con: they get the airway for all the codes in the hospital while on shift. Seems like a pretty excellent opportunity to build relationships with consults, but the residents made it sound like a pain in the ass.

Cons: Super weird pre-interview dinner. Got stuck with a resident who was an ass and one who didn't say anything. I can be awkward sometimes, so normally I would blame it on myself, but my super charismatic and chatty SO was there to confirm. Don't let this turn you off from the program. Literally every other resident I ran into after that was hilarious and cool.


3) GA -- Medical College of Georgia
Pros: Residents seemed super capable. Averaged in the 90th (I think) percentile on their in service exams. No required textbook reading and short 15-20 minute lectures. They practice procedures in a live pig lab. APD who interviewed with me was super friendly and super involved in MedEd. They are definitely the best residency program in the hospital so they don't get a ton of **** from other services.

Cons: Augusta is lame. I don't like golf.


4) TN -- University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga
Pros: PD was hilarious. Residents and attendings love teaching. Chattanooga is the best city I interviewed in.

Cons: The ED is has tons of hall beds.


5) WV -- West Virginia University
I wrote this on the interview tab, so I copied it.
Pros: Brand spanking new department. Opened this year and is very nice. Psych boarding is super short (I wanna say averages less than 12 hours)
PD is super nice and obviously cares about residents. Hospital is right next to stadium. Pediatric and adult combined shifts. Outdoorsy if you like that stuff. Strong 1 month rural rotations. They are one ET tube away from being straight up wilderness medicine rotation. Push lytics for STEMI on the reg. Housing is cheap

Cons: Only saw like 10 residents total the whole time I was there. They admit >30% of total ED traffic, but it seemed like its almost all transfers. ED is a drunk tank on weekends. Population consists of hillbillies and undergrads. Mostly undergrads.


6) LA -- Louisiana State University - New Orleans
Pros: Most fun I have had at a preinterview dinner. NOLA is cool. New hospital and the ED looks like the floor plan for a Google office.

Cons: 4 year program.


7) TN -- University of Tennessee - Nashville
Pros: PD is a boss. He works out with Titans football players and can bench like 380. Hell yeah. They work in a private hospital, but actually sold me that this was a positive. Residents seemed cool. Murfreesboro is a young, cheap and growing city.

Cons: Murfreesboro is very hard to spell. I was not convinced that they have a robust trauma experience.


8) KY -- University of Louisville
Pros: Most procedures of anywhere I interviewed. Residents talked about cracking chests on the reg and even the occasional perimortem cesarean. Trauma doesn't come down unless invited by ED. Residents are cool. Honestly, after typing this I wish I had ranked it higher.

Cons: SO did not like Louisville at all. Big selling point was that they had some big name text book writers which did not appeal to me. FOAM or die, mother****er.


9) TX -- UT Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas
Pros: Doximity likes it. Big fancy ED. Cranks out competent residents. Residents were very nice.

Cons: They work 11's as interns and 10's (8+2's) as R2s and R3s. One of the residents likened their residency experience to being "put through hell to come out the other side the best doc possible." Needless to say this left some question about resident wellness and work/life balance.


10) MS -- University of Mississippi
Pro: Really strong program. Clearly responds to resident complaints (recent switch from 4yr to 3yr and reduction in 12 hour shifts.) All interviewers were very nice.

Cons: SO suggested divorce as an alternative to living in Jackson for 3 years. Happy wife, happy life.


11) SC -- Palmetto Health Richland
Pro: SO loved the city. Residents I interviewed with were cool. Doximity thinks its good.

Con: Seriously negative experience at pre-interview dinner. One of the few resident who showed up expressed concern over attending teaching and support. There have been several other people expressing this in the chat, but the comments were deleted.

They claim to be an ultrasound super power, but they still have to import ultrasounds via flashdrive.

I did not click with the PD.

I am very wary of places that over emphasize trips to other locations as a strong point.
- "Would you pick Palmetto again?" "The 3rd year Hawaii rotation is really excellent"
-"How is your relationship with trauma?" "Have we told you about the month in Hawaii?"
- "One of your residents expressed some concern over attending su-" "HHHHAAAAWWWWWAAAAIIIIIII"

This is the only program that I would be bummed to match at.



Rejected by:
Lots



(Note from @surely: Lost it at "SO suggested divorce as an alternative to living in Jackson for 3 years" and again at Hawaii.)

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 220s , Step 2: 230s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Prior career with significant accomplishments, honored 4 rotations in 3rd year, GHHS. Pass on CS.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
3>4 years, training site with less reliance on consult services, location, urban setting, volume, resident/faculty impression, # of sites, traffic, commute, considerations for family (school system), patient population (underserved), alumni network, international elective opportunities


1) IL -- Advocate Christ Medical Center
Pros:
-Amazing residents and faculty. I had heard they were happy prior to interviewing and found them to be super smart, friendly and fun. These were my peeps.
-Not a huge academic center with 1000s of other residents -fewer consults.
-1-on-1 Faculty-resident training, every shift. Never report to residents.
-Huge volume. I have 3 years to get this done, I want volume.
-Very needy patient population. I want to help those with the least.
-3 years
-16-18 shifts/month
-non-graduated responsibility. I want the option of stepping-up, when ready.
-Lots of elective time (3 months) to pursue my own endeavors
-Lots of critical care training
-Great suburbs within 20 minutes, great schools for family
-One site
-COL is low in midwest

Cons:
-Not well known outside of EM world, which wasn't a big factor for me


2) IL -- University of Chicago Medicine
Pros:
-3 years
-I would say amazing PD, and I'm sure she is, but I only spoke to her for 15 minutes so I'll leave it with - seemingly amazing PD in the 15 minutes of time we spent together. Overall the faculty and residents were great - fun, smart and very friendly.
-Flight program seemed like a nice diversion to the grind. It also paid for a very generous wellness program.
-2 3-day weekends/month - amazing
-16-18 shifts/month
-Underserved population
-new ED
-non-graduated responsibility

Cons:
-Location - Hyde Park is not a great fit for the family
-Commuting between sites is going to be a bear


3) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Pros:
-The faculty were some of my favorite on the trail. Loved Dr. Bowman and my interactions with the rest of the group.
-Shadowed for an afternoon with Dr. Amin and I found her to be one of my favorite attendings. She was super smart, down to earth and loved to teach.
-Very needy patients, mission to serve mission statement
-Huge volume
-8 hour shifts are nice

Cons:
-4 years
-Location not ideal for family, long commute


4) IL -- McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Pros:
-Great alumni network
-Really liked Dr. Bailitz, PD
-8 hour shifts
-Exceptional didactics, very well thought-out and deliberate training
-Well known program, name recognition
-Well funded

Cons:
-4 years
-many training sites
-Location not ideal for family, long commute


5) CA -- University of California Davis
Pros:
-3 year program
-Great faculty
-Underserved population, Davis functions as the county hospital
-Large catchment
-Love the mountains

Cons:
-Sacramento seemed too slow paced


6) UT -- University of Utah Hospital & Clinics
Pros:
-Outdoor paradise
-3 years
-Cheap COL
-great international opportunities
-Enjoyed interaction with PD
-Park city clinic - great sports med opportunity

Cons:
-Smog
-Patient population didn't seem to be super diverse
-not an urban center
-lower volume


7) OR -- Oregon Health and Science University
Pros:
-Portland seemed fun, lots of outdoor activities
-3 years
-large catchment
-some rural medicine training

Cons:
-Residents seemed burnt out


8) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Pros:
-Residents were awesome, really clicked well with them during social and throughout the interview day
-Reputation
-Underserved population

Cons:
-Didn't jive with faculty, didn't like the interview questions
-4 years
-Location not ideal for family, long commute


9) CA -- University of California Irvine Medical Center P
ros:
-3 years
-Friendly faculty, residents
-amazing ultrasound training
-Diverse patient population
-1on1 faculty-resident training

Cons:
-Seemed like it was kind of a grind, residents seemed a bit burnt out.
-Many training sites in LA traffic
-SO not excited about living in LA


10) WA -- University of Washington Emergency Medicine Residency Program
Pros:
-Great interactions with faculty and residents
-Huge catchment area
-Some rural med opportunities
-Didactic curriculum well thought-out

Cons:
-4 years
-COL high


11) CA -- University of California San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital
Pros:
-Amazing faculty, really enjoyed the interaction throughout the day

Cons:
-4 years
-My family would be living in a shoebox for 4 years
-Traffic


Rejected by:
HAEMR, Carolinas, Wake Forest, UCSD, LAC/USC, UIC, University of New Mexico, Vanderbilt


Invited to interview, but declined:
U or A, George Washington University, Emory, UNC, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Harbor-UCLA, Denver

 

[Fox800]

I cannot believe that MD applicants with 250s/260s are going on 20+ interviews. Like, seriously. Give it up. We get it, you're a stud.

 

[surely]

I cannot believe that MD applicants with 250s/260s are going on 20+ interviews. Like, seriously. Give it up. We get it, you're a stud.

Literally only one person listed 20+ programs, and they're couples matching. No judgement here.

(I guess you could say they're a stud and a stud.)

 

[jw3600]

Literally only one person listed 20+ programs, and they're couples matching. No judgement here.

(I guess you could say they're a stud and a stud.)

Maybe their partner looks like Buzz’s girlfriend. Woof.

 

[hopefullEM18]

I honestly tried my best to responsibly apply and interview (ultimately went on 14 interviews as an average applicant) but the staggered interview invites really complicated things for me. I accepted early invites (and scheduled them early) for fear of not getting others, and these programs ultimately ended up being at the bottom of my list. Ultimately I think that people have a lot of different factors playing into why they accept/reject interviews and I don't think it is fair to shame people for going on "too many" interviews. The name of the game is matching, and as EM becomes more competitive and more applied to, people have to consider what is best for them above what is best for the group. Obviously everyone wants themselves to match and wants all of their peers to match, but sometimes things get complicated and as fellow applicants we need to suspend judgment, especially when people are sharing valuable program reviews and experiences. Thanks to everyone who has contributed!! Let's try to build a more supportive community of future EM docs!

 

[enalli]

What's with this fear of people over-interviewing? It would be a problem if EM programs constantly didn't fill because a small group of people was taking all of the interviews. As far as I know, this isn't happening, so what's the big deal?

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

I cannot believe that MD applicants with 250s/260s are going on 20+ interviews. Like, seriously. Give it up. We get it, you're a stud.

This is a new and refreshing take that we most certainly need to discuss right now.

 

[AlgernonMed]

More lists please! Help this next week go by faster with a good distraction!

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s, Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Pass / High Pass / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?:


1) IL -- University of Illinois Hospital - Chicago

2) CT -- University of Connecticut

3) MO -- Truman Medical Center/University of MO Kansas City

4) OH -- Case Western Reserve University/Metro Health Medical Center

5) NE -- University of Nebraska Medical Center

6) NY -- University at Buffalo - SUNY Buffalo

7) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine

8) IL -- Southern Illinois University

9) MI -- Central Michigan University College of Medicine Affiliated with Covenant Healthcare and Saint Mary's of Michigan

10) MI -- St John Hospital & Medical Center

11) NY -- New York Medical College/Metropolitan

12) MI -- Genesys Regional Medical Center

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 260s, Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: 3 Pass/Fail rotations (or just unknown grades)
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Non-trad with both non-medical and medical career before med school. Unknown what my SLOE grades are but was told they contain good things at interviews

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location (warm, culture, COL, terrain, family access, spousal preference), perceived quality of training (census, patient pop, vibe from faculty and residents on interview day, didactics), ultrasound a strength of program, peds, trauma, gut feel

1) AZ -- Maricopa Medical Center
Pros: Ultrasound fellowship and it seems to be a strength (it's integrated in EMR); 3 electives; PD is awesome and strongly encourages individual initiative and creating a niche; 5 critical care blocks including burn ICU; longitudinal peds; happy residents; location and program best overall fit for me

Cons: Graduated responsibility; small-ish ER (especially for number of residents), brutal hot summer


2) TX -- University of Texas Houston
Pros: Happy residents; crazy trauma; ultrasound and peds a strength; academic and also county in that a significant number (1/3) of EM shifts at LBJ which is county; no graduated responsibility; has a one year CC fellowship (not ACGME certified, but allows you to work at the ICU there); didactics revamped, flipped classroom, etc.; I like Houston (warm weather, great food)

Cons: Main hospital is very academic with a lot of consults, flat terrain and far from any family


3) NV -- University of Las Vegas Nevada
Pros: Interns thrown into fire, learn by doing; not overly consult-heavy (has ortho, but they don't come to the ED much), longitudinal peds and trauma; ED responds to codes in hospital; liked residents; 12 hour shifts (pro for me); location good fit for me

Cons: Lack of bedside teaching secondary to volume / resident-attending ratio; ultrasound not a strength of the program; didactics overly powerpoint heavy


4) VA -- Eastern Virginia Medical School
Pros: *Some* other residencies, but not ortho or anesthesiology; big emphasis on ultrasound; longitudinal peds experience; salary of core faculty based on teaching scores; didactic less lecture-based; simulation emphasized; chill residents; mild winters and beach access

Cons: Insurance cost really high for families; not quite the warm and fuzzies as some other interviews; location kind of isolated and away from family (for me)


5) OH -- Case Western Reserve University/Metro Health Medical Center
Pros: Strong in ultrasound and trauma, revamped didactics, not overly consult heavy); interesting mix of county at metro and academic at cleveland clinic; longitudinal peds; I like Cleveland; cheap COL

Cons: Weather


6) MI -- Spectrum Health Grand Rapids/Michigan State University
Pros: Huge beautiful facility; large census; big emphasis on ultrasound; longitudinal peds; great undercover city

Cons: Other residencies possibly competing for procedures (most of time at one location with tons of other residencies); weather


7) MI -- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine
Pros: No graduated responsibility; strong critical care; specialty tracks; possibly top sim center in nation; strong psych service; EM largest residency, respected in hospital; small surgery residency, they're not the dominant role in trauma; "Med Mates" funded organization for resident significant others; cheap COL

Cons: Ultrasound not a strength; reductions when not on ortho service per attending discretion (ortho residency exists); weather; location uninspiring


8) CO -- Denver Health
Nothing I need to say not said by others. I like the program, residents, and location. If I was without a family, it would probably be number one.


9) TN -- University of Tennessee - Nashville
Pros: Awesome PD; No other residencies; PD says it makes residents more prepared; 1:1 or 2:1 resident:attending ratio; Leadership development; 2 ultrasound fellows on staff; mild winters; cheap COL

Cons: Trauma and peds not as strong as other programs I interviewed at


10) IL -- University of Illinois College of Medicine/St. Francis Medical Center at Peoria
Pros: They tout their program as having county and academic aspects as well them being a community program; ridiculous simulation center; longitudinal peds; newer and state of the art ED with high functioning layout; 6.5 months; has a newer critical care fellowship (pulmonary) that accepts EM doc applications (but no EM docs yet); all food free in cafeteria; cheap COL

Cons: Major religious influence in the hospital (some examples are no OCPs prescribed, and another is non-ruptured ectopics require ethics consult for methotrexate); Didn't vibe so well with the residents; location uninspiring; weather


11) IL -- University of Illinois Hospital - Chicago
Pros: - Varied experiences, can experience it all and decide where you want to practice; sounds like good trauma; I liked the program leadership; no graduated responsibility; loved the residents

Cons: Varied locations, sitting in some traffic inevitable; living in chicago related headaches; weather


12) PA -- St. Luke's University Health Network
Pros: Major warm and fuzzies with the people I interviewed with (although I think everyone had this who interviewed); program director really emphasized how ER does a lot of reductions in spite of there being ortho residency; interesting critical care fellowship; low cost of living; nice location, good for family; residents run codes in hospital

Cons: - Lower census (55k); no PICU, so sick kids gets transferred out; weather; far from any family


13) NY -- Albany Medical Center
Pros: Busy, high census, a lot of trauma; critical care fellowship, critical care fellows on staff, and EM grads in CC fellowship; high salary and lowish COL

Cons: Ortho residency and ortho does reductions (and no ortho rotation); weather, isolated (for me)


14) PA -- UPMC Hamot
Pros: Lack of competing services (trauma level 2); very low cost of living

Cons: No ultrasound trained fellows; move the meat mentality (bad census to beds ratio?); weather

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 250s, Step 2: 260s
EM rotation grades: Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: West coast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: Medical school/undergraduate name. Heavy EM research with multiple 1st authored pubs. Great ERAS picture.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1) Ability to reach career goals, this is very nebulous but my career goals are already determined and specific
2) PD/Resident interactions
3) 3 = 4, doesn't really matter to me
4) Location doesn't matter as long as the institution is prestigious enough to get me back to my home state after residency
5) Multiple practice settings

1) MI -- University of Michigan
Top research program in county in terms of NIH funding. Wonderful PD who was very eager to help me reach my career goals. Had fun with the residents, seems like a good mix of age groups and personality types. Get the three practice settings, county/community/academic, which is fantastic to get all three in one. Flight shifts every months all three years. One of the only programs that could convince me to leave the West coast, will for sure allow me to get a job back home after.


2) MN -- Hennepin County Medical Center
This program has been listed 50 times, don't have anything useful to add. Minneapolis is dope.


3) CA -- Alameda Health System - Highland Hospital
Top program in California, IMO. One of the top programs in the country, really. Don't have my specific research niche but would allow me the opportunity to start it myself. Residents were cool, seemed a little overworked.

Cons:
COL in SF


4) CA -- Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center
The best program in the country in terms of training, will mold me into the absolute best doctor I can be. The shift burden is insane though. Residents were a little quirky, but not too much. Loved the PD.


5) CA -- Los Angeles County - Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
LAC/USC's lil bro. Lifestyle would probably be better at this program but they still get worked. Residents were fun. Something about Wikem.


6) OR -- Oregon Health and Science University
Only this high due to location. I'm slightly worried about acuity if I match here but I don't think it would be that big of an issue. The residents were the absolute coolest I met on the trail. A lot of fun stuff to do around the area.


7) MA -- Boston Medical Center
Baddest program in Boston. I know I'm a research guy but I would only come to Boston for this program. Residents were fun, PD was great. A lot of ways to get involved in research here, even though it's probably less research focused than MGH


8) IL -- John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Been mentioned tons of times, not much to add.

Not a fan of Chicago, but it's manageable for residency.


9) NC -- Carolinas Medical Center
North Carolina was pretty, but not for me. Program itself was badass, just limited by location.


10) CA -- University of California San Diego
Too low acuity, not enough patients. Not enough research. Close to home though.


11) CA -- Stanford University Medical Center/Kaiser Permanente Medical Center
Seems like they are making changes to make this program better but don't want to walk into a situation where I'm hoping it improves.


12) UT -- University of Utah Hospital & Clinics
Way too low acuity, mountains are cool though.


13) CO -- Denver Health
Man, this program seems miserable. If I match here then I deserve to be worked into the ground for the lifespan of my residency. At least when i graduated I could go get some cush job and work 4 shifts a month for ten years until I recovered.



Withdrew from before hearing anything:
NY Presbyterian, Advocate Christ, Kaiser San Diego, UNM, Wake Forest

Rejected by:
UNC, Duke, Emory, Maine

Invited to interview, but declined:
MGH, BIDMC, NYU, UTSW, Yale, Henry Ford, Temple, Penn, WashU, Northwestern, UChicago, Washington, UCSF Fresno

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 230s , Step 2: 250s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?: research, lots of involved extracurriculars, strong SLOE from "classic SDN competitive" program

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
instinct, fit with residents, location, significant other, quality of training

1) AL -- University of Alabama
Pros: best residents and best faculty on the trail. faculty are fun, passionate about what they do, and becoming names in EM around the country. sick and diverse population-UAB hospital literally gets anything and everything. location good for family and significant other.

Cons: peds experience seems meh, diversity of residents is not good, and I second whoever said Alabama almost voted Roy Moore, ouch


2) NC -- Carolinas Medical Center
Pros: has the reputation for a reason, awesome training and residents are well respected in the hospital. charlotte is a fun mid sized city.

Cons: very little diversity!! must be a southeast thing. random off service rotations :/ vacation schedule is weird too


3) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine
Pros: fun, hilarious residents, awesome training, awesome procedural experience, sick sick patients, although county still have benefits of academic program as well

Cons: lacking diversity of patients at Grady, residents said they went home and did 20 notes on the reg, atlanta traffic


4) NC -- Duke University Medical Center
Pros: PD was amazing, better than i expected. although very academic, still get good patient variety and volumes. top notch research. city is cute.

Cons: still a division and may be going through change to a department in the next few years, ED set up weird


5) FL -- University of Florida - Jacksonville
Pros: good procedural experience, PD was really cool, residents fun and are proud of their program

Cons: city was meh, but at least the beach is less than 30 min away, residents and faculty kept emphasizing county nature of program which is def not a bad thing but makes you wonder if theres also some "county problems" within the program


6) IN -- Indiana University School of Medicine
Pros: fun residents, really made you feel like family, great training, nice hospitals

Cons: Indiana is flat and cold


7) NC -- Wake Forest University
Pros: beautiful city, seems to be a great, well rounded program, also a surprise on the trail

Cons: winston salem seems a little dull and might be a boring place to live for 3 years

 

[surely]

Submitted anonymously via Google Form.

Step 1: 240s , Step 2: 240s
EM rotation grades: Honors / High Pass / Honors / Honors
Inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha: No
Medical school region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive?:

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: feel and location

1) NC -- University of North Carolina

2) PA -- Thomas Jefferson University

3) GA -- Emory University School of Medicine

4) MA -- Baystate Medical Center

5) PA -- Albert Einstein Medical Center

6) SC -- Palmetto Health Richland

7) SC -- Greenville Health System


Rejected by:
oh so many


(Note from @surely - I'm surprised this person seemingly only got 7 interviews!)