Congrats, SLUser11! I've heard great things about UT Houston.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of the other places you liked, either in this forum or via PM.
Good luck to everyone else, too!
If interested in CRS, its important to know this by the beginning of your fourth year or so.
As a PGY-4, you should go to the ASCRS annual meeting in May, as you can network there, and there is a meet the program directors reception for the residents. Also, its a really good conference, and you can get a feel for what the specialty is all about, and what issues are controversial or cutting edge. It will help you when interview time comes so you know what questions to ask. If you go to the meeting, theres no reason to stay to the end. The dinner and dance on the last night is aimed toward the older, established CRS docs, not the residents.
When applying, it is important to start getting your CV together in May and June of your PGY-4 year. This is also a good time to start talking to your mentors about writing letters, etc. You should research programs on the FASCRS.org website, and get a feeling for where you want to be.
You can register for ERAS on July 1st (first day of your chief year). Applications can be downloaded by programs on July 15th or so, so you really only have 2 weeks to get your stuff together in ERAS. That means that the CV and personal statement need to have rough drafts prior to July 1. That also means that you need to have your LORs locked up prior to July 1st, then download cover sheets July 1st so the LORs can get in as soon as possible.
Like always, the more boring the personal statement, the better. About half of the interviewers didnt read it as far as I could tell.
One ERAS curveball is that you need to make copies of your ABSITE scores and send them in with an appropriate cover letter. You also need to do the same for your medical school transcript and MSPE (Deans letter), which can be obtained from your med school student affairs office. Forgetting to do this will make your application less complete. You also need to take a picture of yourself and either send it in or upload it. You can usually upload PDF copies of the transcript and MSPE. ABSITE is the only mandatory mail-in.
Dont forget that ERAS and NRMP are two different things. You use ERAS to apply and submit documents, and you register for NRMP to rank programs and actually match. Two separate websites, two separate fees.
All the interviews occur in September and October, with a small few at the end of August. Invites will roll in very slowly, and the more prestigious places tend to wait the longest. Its not uncommon to receive interviews in late August all the way through mid September. There were a couple programs (Louisville and U Penn) that were so late I had to say no since my schedule was full.
I would schedule a light rotation for September and October, and make sure it will allow days off. Interviews are on weekends, during the week, etc, and since they are so close together, sometimes its easiest to do a 2 or 3 interview stint without going home.
As far as competitiveness, the most important factors are your LORs and where you trained. Who you know is extremely important, and if you have a famous mentor, things will be easier for you. ABSITE scores are also important. Research is important to the big 5 (Minn, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Wash U, Lahey).
The interviews are mostly laid back, and the interviewers are trying to assess if you are easy to get along with and work with for a year. The bigger academic places are also very interested in your career plans, as they are only in the business of training surgical leaders/future chairmen/program directors. If you plan on private practice, they will not waste their time with you.
Thank you letters are a must for the PD, and probably a good idea for everyone you interview with. I didnt do this, which I admit, but I was told later on by several PDs and coordinators that this is important. Most of them think an email is adequate.
After you interview, its important that your mentor makes a phone call to the places you like (#1 and #2 or something) and tells them how awesome you are and that you are ranking the place high. This seems like a silly step, and I thought it was dirty, but its still important.
The whole process is a little more under-the-table than residency. Many places are proud of matching people high on their list, so ROLs are possibly changed around based on perceived resident interest. This is why its important to volunteer this info to the places you like.
Feel free to PM me with specific questions. I felt like there wasnt much info out there, and I wish there had been more resources.
I will list the places I interviewed below. I would say that pretty much every place seemed to offer solid clinical training. I think the accreditation process for CRS is pretty strict, so all programs still running strong have got their stuff together. As corny as it sounds, I think any of these places would have been good for fellowship. I picked based on a need for high volume and well-rounded experiences (e.g. mix of hand-assist and straight lap, medial to lateral and lateral to medial, good anorectal volume, physiology labs).
Because of how small the CRS community is, and because I dont have any ill will towards the places where I interviewed, I will reserve any specific comments to people who PM me with specific program questions.
UT-Houston
Ochsner
Lahey Clinic
Ferguson Clinic
OHSU
Wash U
U of Chicago/Northwestern
SIU
UIC
LSU-Shreveport
Creighton
Baylor
Swedish/Seattle
