Bad Programs in Dermatology

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Great post! I guess what we're hoping for is for people to list programs with obvious or not-so-obvious deficits to help us in making decisions about where to apply, where to interview (if conflicts occur), and ultimately where to rank. Sometimes it's really hard to get a feel for the bad aspects of a program without rotating there, even if you talk to residents during the interview day. Even when you do rotate at a program, you may not pick up on the less obvious negatives.

One person's positive is another person's negative. Since a lot of people can't/won't apply to every program in the country, when choosing where to apply, you should look for: (a non-exhaustive list)

1) Size
The "feel" of a small (e.g. 1-2 per year) versus a large (e.g. 5+ per year) is different. You may be the kind of person who likes a large program and the opportunity to work with more specialized faculty and have more research support at your disposal. Or you may like a small program, and close-knit environment and relationships between the residents and the faculty.

2) Inpatient vs. Outpatient
Look at how much time you spend on inpatient consults. Maybe you're the kind of person who likes this, or maybe you'd rather spend all of your time in clinic.

3) Didactics
Some programs take a "learn as you go" approach, which rewards self-motivation and learning by doing. Others schedule traditional lecture time (+/- homework) which you may like. Derm is a lot of material to absorb, after all.

4) New vs. Old
An established program has the advantage of experienced faculty who may be leaders in their field. New programs have new faculty, working to make a name for themselves and who may have been residents themselves recently.

5) Location
City size, weather, and local culture are all personal decisions, and apply just as well to dermatology as to other specialities.

Others, feel free to add to this list.

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[Dral]

6) Research
Programs can tend to be clinical or research oriented (or everything in between). This is obviously a positive or negative per resident.

 

[DermViser]

There's a group of folks on SDN who like my posts and there is a group who do not (clearly, you're in the latter). It's the people in the former group, several of which are mods (I suspect), that keep my account from being banned.

What I am sir, is a foil. I joke. I add levity. It is my function here, and I enjoy it.

Thanks to the freedom of speech we enjoy, I will continue posting as I do, and you are welcome to ignore my screen name. My posts are lost on folks like you anyway.

The group of people who find your posts, esp. the first one to the OP amusing, are probably those deficient in neurons or have had a TBI. You are a joke, and you hardly contribute any levity, but rather stupidity.

Freedom of speech does not apply on a privately owned message board, genius. That's why you can be banned, as you should be for the complete lack of anything useful in your posts.

 

[sore eye asses]

The group of people who find your posts, esp. the first one to the OP amusing, are probably those deficient in neurons or have had a TBI. You are a joke, and you hardly contribute any levity, but rather stupidity.

Freedom of speech does not apply on a privately owned message board, genius. That's why you can be banned, as you should be for the complete lack of anything useful in your posts.

I can't get under your skin. Your epidermis is too thick. You see through all my bs. The people who voted in the recent poll for me to keep posting are delusional. Eventually they'll see it your way, the only right way.

 

[DermViser]

I can't get under your skin. Your epidermis is too thick. You see through all my bs. The people who voted in the recent poll for me to keep posting are delusional. Eventually they'll see it your way, the only right way.

Ah, you mean the poll you closed early once you were losing, panicked, and now have magically "won" by the same number? Oh yes, I see it.

Yes, I'm not think skinned as you seem to be.

 

[sore eye asses]

Ah, you mean the poll you closed early once you were losing, panicked, and now have magically "won" by the same number? Oh yes, I see it.

Yes, I'm not think skinned as you seem to be.

you must be typing feverishly with little thought of proofreading your posts before slamming on the 'submit post' button like a doofus gorilla.

as for the poll, it was set for 20 days, and it went 20 days. so, ummm, yeah...

 

[Nellyakgo]

Thanks (?) to the bickering, this thread has come up on my radar screen again and prompted the following question:

I was told by a medical adviser in one of the USMLE training institutions that if one applies to the match one year and does not match, then applies for the 2nd year, the programs will see that this is the person's 2nd match attempt and this will make them a less desirable candidate and lower their chances of matching even further in the 2nd year. Is this correct? Or do I have the wrong context perhaps?

For perspective, I'm not thinking a scenario of not ranking some institutions the first year or only appliying to a select few. Rather, I would apply to everything. But if I didn't match, I would work on making my application stronger for the second year.

The reason why I would take a guaranteed spot in the worst program vs taking my chances in the match is not because derm is "impossibly hard to get". It is because of the following:


-If you're set on doing derm and you are going to keep trying until you get it, the harm you do to yourself by not matching is so much greater than the benefit you would gain by potentially matching at a better program. If you just consider it from an income standpoint, you're costing yourself at least $200K (this is a conservative estimate and when you consider how much that will turn into if you invested it, it is even more), if your career is delayed by only one year. There no way that a chance at matching at a better program is worth that much. And that's not the only cost of not matching. There is stress, disruption to your life, etc.

 

[N-Surge]

This thread still puzzles me... The only bad dermatology program is the one you didn't Match in. But once you Match into the one good program the rest is history and there are no hard feelings.

 

[DermViser]

Thanks (?) to the bickering, this thread has come up on my radar screen again and prompted the following question:

I was told by a medical adviser in one of the USMLE training institutions that if one applies to the match one year and does not match, then applies for the 2nd year, the programs will see that this is the person's 2nd match attempt and this will make them a less desirable candidate and lower their chances of matching even further in the 2nd year. Is this correct? Or do I have the wrong context perhaps?

For perspective, I'm not thinking a scenario of not ranking some institutions the first year or only appliying to a select few. Rather, I would apply to everything. But if I didn't match, I would work on making my application stronger for the second year.

This is probably more the case for Dermatology vs. other specialties. Yes, if you apply to Dermatology the first time, and don't make it in, there are a few programs, but not a majority, who will not look at your application when you apply again whether it's during internship or during a derm research fellowship. Thus, you should work on improving your application the second time as much as you can before going through ERAS and the NRMP.

 

[sore eye asses]

This thread still puzzles me... The only bad dermatology program is the one you didn't Match in. But once you Match into the one good program the rest is history and there are no hard feelings.

you silly billy! don't be puzzled! at it's core, this is a thread about glue huffing. sure there have been intermittent comments on which derm programs are bad and who should apply where and all that jazz, but glue is the glue holding this thread together.

The great thing about huffing glue, is that it clears your mind and you can do what your cerebellum would want you to do, which is eat a sandwich, go poop, and not think too hard about which programs are bad and which are not, and the reasons for badness and not badness.

do what reno911 said, apply everywhere. KISS.

 

[Nellyakgo]

oh but sore eyes, ooohh,...

if glue holds it is no longer huffable
and if you huff it too much, perhaps it won't hold..
hmm..

 

[sore eye asses]

oh but sore eyes, ooohh,...

if glue holds it is no longer huffable
and if you huff it too much, perhaps it won't hold..
hmm..

clearly, you need a course on gluery.

first, glue is always huffable. if it's dry you just have to huff harder, but you burn more calories that way, so it's really a benefit.

also, i don't know where you're getting your s, but my glue holds in all conditions, even after extended verbal assault (the unavoidable conclusion to any serious glue huffing session ends with a vituperative tirade directed squarely at the glue you have just huffed).

 

[Nellyakgo]

Sire, I will work harder to master gluerry..

 

[N-Surge]

do what reno911 said, apply everywhere. KISS.

That's what I would suggest.

Also, I was almost named Billy! However, my great grand-mother on my mom's side wanted to name me Harry. Would have been fitting, don't you think?