Cornell program?

[jayjay1978]

Hey there,

As the ranking deadline nears, I can't decide where to put some of the programs. Cornell being one of them.

I liked it while I was up there, but here are some comments from scutwork--pretty negative (from its own residents):

Schedule
Typical day of work starts between 5:00 AM and 8:00 Am depending on rotation; sign out time when not on call is around 6:00 PM.
Weekly work hours are around 90-100 or so, but can be better when on elective or clinic rotations. Scutwork, unfortunately, is a major part of the day. Drawing blood, transporting patients and spending time on the phone to "get things done" is a daily routine.
Another prominent problem is the lack of a dictation system, increasing the amount of paperwork to be done.

Teaching

Faculty is inconsistent. Some attendings do teach, but the majority simply leave orders on the chart that we are suppose to follow, when we are able to understand the poor handwriting, that is. Didactic conferences are abundant; however, the excessive workload and lack of food during the conferences (when available is limited to one slice of pizza or something similarly insufficient) obviously limit attendance.

Atmosphere

Camaraderie is usually quite good between residents, but we have little relationship with most attendings. The physical environment is actually quite good, with the exception of the call rooms that are extremely poor - small, noisy, lousy beds that are usually not kept clean unless we keep calling and begging to have it cleaned. Foreign medical graduates essentially do not exist in the program. My life outside the program virtually do not exist.

Conclusion

It is overall a poor program; most residents used to be attracted, among other reasons, due to the subsidized housing. Unfortunately, rents have been steadily increasing, and at this pace we should be close to market prices soon. I would not choose this program if i had to reapply, and that is for sure.




Here is another one:


Conclusion

This program can still be considered attractive since the exposure to multiple diseases is high, and the subsidized housing across the street from the hospital is very convenient. However, the lack of camaraderie, the lack of food when on call and the extremely high workload make this program very difficult to endure.



i am strongly considering cornell in my list, but reading these makes me think more than even twice.

any comments?

thank you

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[cardiologydude]

hmmmm....

 

[jimmyjames]

It's disappointing to read those comments as they are not all true. It is always interesting how people who leave negative comments about a program never identify themselves. I am a Cornell resident and am willing to talk with anyone who might have questions about the program. I have copy and pasted my scutwork review. I hope you find it helpful. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to message me or PM me and I can give you my email and/or phone number.

Keep in mind that there are many excellent medicine programs and there are many great medicine programs in NYC. I personally feel that Cornell's program is wonderful and am very happy here.

Making your list is very stressful, but keep in mind that if you are a happy person, you will be a happy person where ever you wind up, if you are a miserable person, you will be miserable where ever you wind up.

Schedule

Typical day begins between 6-8 for an intern and usually around 8 for residents. Interns typically don't work over 80 hours a week. The program is pretty strict at keeping track of your hours. Everyone knows that patient care comes first, so you aren't going to be thrown out of the hospital for working too hard, but there is plenty of back up to help you. The scutwork is a minimum. The nursing varies by floor, but in the unit setting you never draw blood and the nurses are on top of everything. On the floors the nurses might not always draw blood for you, but there is a phlebotomy team and IV team so unless you need the blood draw that second, it will be done. You do your own ekg's, but I don't think that is a big deal. Transport always takes your patients to tests, you just have to go if it is a unit patient on a monitored bed. Like any other place, every rotation differs, you will work much harder on some than others, but nothing is unreasonable.


Teaching

The faculty cannot be beat. Although some faculty are more formal, most introduce themselves by their first name. The teaching is attending specific, but for the most part the teaching is great. On the GI service, there is a specific "teaching attending" and the teaching rounds are great. The noon conferences are usually pretty good and intern report is a highlight. There is always food at the conferences which usually isn't the best, but I didn't pick the program for its food. The amount you learn from your fellow housestaff is pretty amazing because the co-residents are smart and more than willing to share their knowledge. The attendings are always willing to talk your ear off about any topic you ask them about and then start telling you about their research. If you want to get involved in research you will find many opportunities.


Atmosphere

The residents are super friendly and easy to work with. There are happy hours and other get togethers. And there is New York City. The physical environment of the work area is great. The hospital is new and clean. Your life outside of work is what you make of it. The housing can't be beat as far as New York City is concerned.


Conclusion

This is a top notch program with top notch residents. Most graduates go into prestigious fellowships. The residents are really nice and a fun bunch. The thing that stands out most is the consistent quality of the housestaff both academically and personally. People really help each other out. If you like New York City, this is a great program. If you don't want to be in a big city, it probably isn't for you. There are plenty of great programs out there with great teaching so go where you think you will be happy. This program has a dedicated housestaff, interesting pathology, great attendings, great housing and a nice hospital.

 

[germanIMG]

if you have interviewed at Cornell you had a chance to attend the attending rounds as well as the noon conference and morning report.
If they don't pull some kind of mock day for the interviewees...which is really hard to imagine, considering that means over a season fo 3-4 months..AND did not close away their unhappy residents..then

1. you will have realized that the quality of teaching was excellent
2. the overall atmosphere was extremely friendly and supportive
3. the residents are a very tight, fun group

and if anyone chooses a program for its housing or the quality of the food served during noon conference....they need to get their priorities straight

every top or very good program i have been had its unique atmosphere and style...you will have to figure out which will best serve your needs
but don't get mislead by a random ( or maybe not so random) sample of THREE reviews on a program


cheer and GL

 

[lurkerboy]

I interviewed there last year. I moved the program around on my rank list at least three or four times.

Speak to as many residents as possible and get a gestalt for whether you feel like you'd fit in. If you rely on the scutwork reviews, you have to remember that the program is somewhere in between.

 

[jayjay1978]

hey there, thanks for all the input. i ended up talking to one of my friends who is an intern there and it sounds like he is extremely happy at Cornell--which is a great plus.

There is another thread going on about housing and how some people are getting switched around and constant construction etc. Has this affected many people? Here is the link:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=175653