Interview Experience Thread

[cali-ob]

USC: they did a very good job addressing their issues on probation, and I felt sufficiently convinced that the issues were not really that big of an issue and if so, they certainly seemed committed to resolving them. That said, if you're into a lot of high risk and working really hard, this is the place to be. almost every patient they see is high risk, and many are walking medical disasters-pretty cool to me since I love high risk, but could be stressful for a new intern unfamiliar with the population in that area, and a new hospital,and, and and... I was turned off by a few things during interview day, but overall, this institution would be a good training facility. They have the only OB faculty member in the area who performs fetal surgery there, and the residents have the opportunity to participate.
The residents were overall pretty nice, and the night before was a very nice appetizer like meal at the campus dr's club restaurant.
It really seemed like they worked very hard, harder than at other places. One pro: most residents live in Glendale and Passadena, which are beautiful areas
con: lowest pay in all of california, and although Glendale and Passadena are nice, they are very pricey

UCI: I loved this program. The dinner before was at the El Torritos across the street. Many residents showed up and they were all really nice. The cheif resident brought his wife and son, which is encouraging. The program director was really nice, and the residents seemed to really respect her. The residents were all very nice, and the program is really strong.
MM conference was very "gentle" didn't feel like the residents were getting grilled or humiliated, (I did feel kind of like that at USC which is one of the things that turned me off). It was a small interview group. Program coordinator was really nice, and kind of like a mom to everyone. Most residents live in Long Beach or Irvine.
Pro: nice pay, nice location, great call schedule home call for gyn-onc, little to no call as a fourth year.
Con: REI is a little weak due to the "unfortunate incident" several years back with the previous director of REI, but they're looking to hire some new people soon.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[luvOB]

oops, didn't see your post above, cali-ob. agree completely with what you said. by the way, thanks for the reply re: kaiser oakland, i felt the same way about the residents but couldn't quite put my finger on it!

anyway, my 2 cents:
interview day with pretty large group of applicants, ~20? program director just became chair recently. she is really warm and dedicated to the residency. explains that probation is due to problem with logging numbers, site will be revisited in oct '07 which they expect will resolve the probationary status as numbers have been good recently (although they've been on probation for at least 3 yrs now.) other consideration is that the entire hospital is moving into a brand new facility in Nov. i didn't get a good vibe about this from the residents and faculty although i don't see why it wouldn't be a plus. rite now the hospital is pretty shabby and if you get a consult you have to literally run up the hill and some 64 steps with a gyn tray in your arms to the main hospital. M&M/stats can be intimidating, east-coast style with alot of older professors and their different opinions. residents present in auditorium and may get pimped/grilled. but they emphasize that it's good practice for oral boards. interesting thing about usc is the lack of rotations off service (no medicine, er, etc.) also, a kaiser rotation in hawaii!!! residents also have a great deal of autonomy here, often learning from their seniors. very academic, research oriented, lots of usc pride. not sure yet how i feel about the program overall...let me know if you have specific questions. and sorry, didn't interview at UCLA but have not heard good things.

 

[11MD2B]

Bump, Bump, Bumpadelphia...

Current Interns, please feel free to share your experiences if you are inclined!
Thanks!

 

[JacobMedical]

Bump!

 

[GeneticsGoddess]

Anyone want to update the interview feedback? I'm sure we would all appreciate it greatly. I am particularly interested in palmetto health in South Carolina, LSU in Baton Rouge and Shreveport, riverside regional in Newport News VA, and morehouse in Atlanta, GA. Please help us applicants if you can! Thanks!

 

[hurryupandwait]

Univ of Illinois: Positives- PD is amazing, sold program really well, had a lot of deficits in past but have plugged all those holes and hired tons of new faculty who are super young and energetic, very diverse patient population, increasing number of residents going to fellowship, four fellowships (FP, MFM, global health, recurrent preg loss) + possibly adding gyn onc in future, interns get every Friday off!, great laproscopic training, good resident morale/vibe, resident social was great, 2nd highest OB volume in illinois? Negatives: dingy main hospital, drive pretty far to go to community hospitals, don't do circs, no external rotations, chicago is expensive

Boston Medical Center: POsitives: nice program directors, very diverse patient population with use of translators/foreign languages daily, very unique clinics (refuge, adolescent, addiction), off service rotations helpful, free parking, residents have lots of say in department, $750 stipend, 50% of residents to fellowship each year, RYAN program w/FP fellowship Negatives: no exposure to private practice, research program still week, all interns violate work hours, drive 30 min to community hospital,

Temple: Positives: residents super nice made huge effort to get to know students, associate PD really energetic and invested in residents, advanced formal robotic training curriculum, diverse patient population, rotation at Holy Redeemer is mainly OR time little rounding or busy work - good exposure to private practive, $500 stipend, free parking, interns do CS's later in year, have done well matching people to fellowship, Philly is a relatively cheap city Negatives: temple area is ghetto (but no one lives there), hospital is kind of dingy, no fellowships, no external rotations,

GWU: Positives: diverse patient population, residents love each other (group of interns live together), decent hospital facilities, interns operate, have intern boot camp + intern only lectures for 8 weeks, formal curriculum for residents as teachers, brand new sim center, helpful external rotations, rotate at VA hospital, do well matching people to fellowship Negatives: Going from 10 residents to 7 bc of end of Inova partnership, drive to Holy Cross is terrible in rush hour, weak US skills

NYU: Positives: great residents good mix of single and married, beautiful SIM center, no commuting, helpful external rotations, diverse patient population absorbed more from other hospital closings, interns operate, intern boot camp, unique clinics (Trauma etc), interns operate, RYAN program, great PDs, fellowships in MFM, gyn onc, REI Negatives: NY is expensive, have to do a lot of nursing work at Bellevue, did not get more than two min w/PD at interview,

 

[Moosemilk86]

Drexel:
Positives:Residents get a long well and have lives outside of the hospital. Program director is friendly and involved in the politics and academics of Ob/Gyn at a national level. Residents match Gyn/Onc, REI, MIGS in recent years. Fellowships in UroGyn and MIGS on site. Plenty of research opportunities.

Negatives: Hospital is labyrinthine and little dumpy. Currently on probation for a few reasons: 1) they were not logging procedures correctly at an out-patient site which caused them to be under the number of required procedures for their resident compliment. Because of this they will be 1 resident short (5 instead of 6). 2)They also got dinged because they were scheduling continuity clinic as a month long block instead of weekly. They are being allowed to keep it this way (which I like) but they have to wait until the next site review to be cleared of probation.

Lehigh Valley
Positives: brand new hospital, looks like 5 star hotel inside. 6 residents. Residents get a long well. Exposure to sub-specialties early on. Exposure to robotics training in first year. Friendly PD and faculty. Excellent sim-center.

Negatives Lehigh valley isn't the most happenin place on earth. Community program with no fellowships. Multiple sites, so you need a car (but when you're there, you're there for the whole day)

 

[dreambig1387]

Thank you! This is super helpful. BUMP!

 

[hurryupandwait]

Thank you! This is super helpful. BUMP!

BUMP

 

[hurryupandwait]

Does any one have any insight on the following programs: Emory, Hopkins, NYU

 

[Moosemilk86]

Rutgers - NJMS
Pros: Holds research and teaching to high importance. Great variety of pathology. You spend half of your time at Hackensack hospital which is very nice. REI and MFM fellowships in house.

Cons: Tough program. Residents transport patients, draw blood, and other menial tasks. Hospital is run down. L&D at University Hospital is literally a hallway with 8 rooms too small to deliver in, therefore deliveries take place in the OR. Newark is a bad area and people have been mugged right across the street.

SUNY Upstate
Pros: Friendly residents and faculty. Chairman is very friendly. Major tertiary care center for upstate new york. Wide variety of pathology available. Strong MFM with possible fellowship in the works. Crouse hospital is nice and has a 24 hour Tim Hortons and Coldstone. Cheap cost of living.

Cons: Syracuse is cold and can be a bit boring. No fellowships. Research is minimal, but they are making steps to improve this.