Interview Impressions 2016-2017

[radsbroo]

Any thoughts/impressions on U Virginia, Northwester, U Chicago and U Maryland programs for DR?

U Maryland

By far the coolest residents on the interview trail. Very social and fun group. Residents seemed happy to go into work and they seemed interested in all the applicants. Overall a pretty solid program academically. From what I've heard by past residents is that there is a strong emphasis on teaching. Good chest rotations

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[Derv]

U Maryland

By far the coolest residents on the interview trail. Very social and fun group. Residents seemed happy to go into work and they seemed interested in all the applicants. Overall a pretty solid program academically. From what I've heard by past residents is that there is a strong emphasis on teaching. Good chest rotations

Maryland had the nicest residents on any interview day I met hands-down. Their program obviously made an effort to make them as visible as possible to applicants, as I think I met almost every resident in their program that day. This really stood out to me. If it weren't for personal issues (not a great fit for SO), I would have definitely ranked it as one of my top 3, if not #1.

 

[Gadofosveset]

I interviewed at University of Maryland a long time ago and even then they seemed like a great group at the dinner.

In retrospect, not sure I would pick Maryland over UVA or NW, but they seem to have more fun.

 

[deleted379552]

Did anyone else interview at Vermont?

I interviewed there because it was relatively close by, but then I left surprisingly impressed. UVM is a relatively unknown radiology program with moderate volume and not much of a name in research, but the residents were coming from some top name medical schools (Hopkins, OHSU, Harvard, UNC). I saw on doximity yesterday that their "top medical school feeders" are way more impressive than the top Rads programs like Emory or Mayo (https://residency.doximity.com/prog...f-vermont-medical-center-radiology-diagnostic).

Medical students must be picking up something from their visit there. Wonder if anyone know anything about the program.

I interviewed there for DR. They don't have an integrated IR program yet.

 

[Fab5Hill33]

So if residents are nice, then you have to wonder if they're not genuine? And if residents are too quiet, then you have to wonder if it's a bad sign?

That makes sense

Was this genuine?


Was this genuine? Always gotta wonder if they are compensating for something else.

Highly unlikely to be pretentious and 'program sanctioned' if all seemed on board, but you never know...

 

[JonnyTalsma]

Anyone have any thoughts on UCLA?

 

[ortholegoo]

Anyone interview at Utah? Is that supposed to be a good program?

 

[JonnyTalsma]

Anyone interview at Utah? Is that supposed to be a good program?

I interviewed there for IR and DR. Seems like a pretty cool program, residents were all very friendly and it seemed like a lot of them were starting families so if you're into that you'll be in good company. The program seems like it places a large emphasis on medical education, is high volume, and from what I remember they're starting to ramp up the research side of things. As far as IR, they seem so high volume as to be overworked. They just hired like 5 new attendings (not sure if they had more that left or just started with only 2?) so the volume may not be an issue moving forward, but I was kind of turned off by how overworked the fellow seemed. I think overall it's a strong program, though I'm ranking it a bit lower as I'm trying to get to California and/or somewhere warmer.

 

[ortholegoo]

I interviewed there for IR and DR. Seems like a pretty cool program, residents were all very friendly and it seemed like a lot of them were starting families so if you're into that you'll be in good company. The program seems like it places a large emphasis on medical education, is high volume, and from what I remember they're starting to ramp up the research side of things. As far as IR, they seem so high volume as to be overworked. They just hired like 5 new attendings (not sure if they had more that left or just started with only 2?) so the volume may not be an issue moving forward, but I was kind of turned off by how overworked the fellow seemed. I think overall it's a strong program, though I'm ranking it a bit lower as I'm trying to get to California and/or somewhere warmer.

Thanks for the advice! Planning on applying both IR and DR there this year and hoping I really like it because I have a ton of family in SLC. Sucks to hear that they seem overworked but it seems like IR residency is going to turn into more work anyway at this point.

 

[ChicagoRad]

U of C,

Probably the most overrated program in the Midwest. Maybe even the "Yale of the Midwest."

Interview day was flat and I walked away feeling sad. Maybe its because I expected a bit more, but its likely the fact that as a group the residents felt withdrawn and were very quiet, in my view a red flag. This didn't surprise me though, as U Chicago is perhaps the most "reputable" program to go unmatched a couple of years back (with three spots unfilled -- unheard of really). Hard to say if that is a cause or an effect of the way the program functions. Add to that things like faculty who mandate that no beverage (or was it food?) shall ever be had in the reading room (you literally have to leave), off site locations that no one likes to talk about, and an association with an undergrad campus that has often been referred to as the place where "fun goes to die," and it all starts to make sense...

I felt the need to comment since these are grossly misinformed opinions.

1. Residents: I'd argue we have the most close knit group of residents of any program. I'm not sure what day you interviewed and why you felt people were withdrawn, but I assure you that is not the norm. I'm sorry you had a poor interview experience, but in general our dinners are consistently well-attended and interview day feedback is overwhelmingly positive. My fellow residents and I all agree our lives as residents are stress free and actually amazing- which makes it easier to have a strong work-life balance.

2. Match: This has been brought up before and I'll reiterate. A few years ago we had unmatched spots which was an anomaly, perhaps due to the worst radiology aplication cycle coupled with a very low number of interviews our program offered.

3. No Food?: This is blatantly false. The residents routinely eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks at our workstations. There is one attending in one reading room that asks for food and beverages to be consumed in a separate area connected to the reading room. A total of 3-4 months out of 48 are spent in this room. Quite trivial.

4. Off site locations: We have ONE off site location which is Evanston Hospital/Northshore. All of us love going there as the programcombines both academic and private practice which is unique to find. We look forward to those rotations as its a change of pace with well-trained private practice radiologists as well as numerous perks.

5. Undergrad: I'm not sure why this is relevant as all. Our institution is extremely well respected and happens to be located on a beautiful campus. As residents, we all exclusively live in the city and have access to everything Chicago has to offer- restraunts, bars, the lakefront with beach access, museums, theaters, and almost anything you can think of. The extent of my involvement on campus includes utilizing the undergrad gym and libraries, as well as working with medical students. "Where fun goes to die" has no effect on resident life. It's quite pleasant to be honest.

6. I would like to address your claims about being "Overrated". We are the most academic program in Chicago with the highest volume of research, publications, etc and are comparable to other highly regarded academic centers across the country. There is faculty in every room that are highly regarded across the country (e.g., Richard Baron who is the president of RSNA, Heber MacMahon is a member of the Fleishner Society, Brian Funaki in IR, among others). Our residents routinely get their top choice from the top fellowships across the country. We have a great program director who deeply cares for the residents- and from a resident perspective having a program director this invested is a great asset to the program. It is a resident driven program with a low number of fellows, meaning residents get high-level cases and procedures from their first year. I did over 100 procedures my first year (IR, MSK, Neuro) and this is excluding routine fluoro cases.

There are a lot of perks we don't need to delve into. Long story short, you all will interview at great places across the country and it is important to find the best fit for you. I wanted to be at a top academic center in one of the most populated cities and I couldn't be happier. If I had to do it all over again, I'd still rank Uchicago #1.

Be cautious of what you read from anonymous sources on forums, some of it may be helpful, but predominantly comments are opinion-based with people who likely have very little knowledge of the details. I'm not trying to get into a debate, just presenting you with the facts. Our achievements are well-documented and easily accessible on our website and our social media platforms (IG, FB, twitter: uchicagorads). I'd be happy to share my CV to prove our success. If you'd like further information, feel free to contact me, [email protected].

 

[MR80]

I felt the need to comment since these are grossly misinformed opinions.

1. Residents: I'd argue we have the most close knit group of residents of any program. I'm not sure what day you interviewed and why you felt people were withdrawn, but I assure you that is not the norm. I'm sorry you had a poor interview experience, but in general our dinners are consistently well-attended and interview day feedback is overwhelmingly positive. My fellow residents and I all agree our lives as residents are stress free and actually amazing- which makes it easier to have a strong work-life balance.

2. Match: This has been brought up before and I'll reiterate. A few years ago we had unmatched spots which was an anomaly, perhaps due to the worst radiology aplication cycle coupled with a very low number of interviews our program offered.

3. No Food?: This is blatantly false. The residents routinely eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks at our workstations. There is one attending in one reading room that asks for food and beverages to be consumed in a separate area connected to the reading room. A total of 3-4 months out of 48 are spent in this room. Quite trivial.

4. Off site locations: We have ONE off site location which is Evanston Hospital/Northshore. All of us love going there as the programcombines both academic and private practice which is unique to find. We look forward to those rotations as its a change of pace with well-trained private practice radiologists as well as numerous perks.

5. Undergrad: I'm not sure why this is relevant as all. Our institution is extremely well respected and happens to be located on a beautiful campus. As residents, we all exclusively live in the city and have access to everything Chicago has to offer- restraunts, bars, the lakefront with beach access, museums, theaters, and almost anything you can think of. The extent of my involvement on campus includes utilizing the undergrad gym and libraries, as well as working with medical students. "Where fun goes to die" has no effect on resident life. It's quite pleasant to be honest.

6. I would like to address your claims about being "Overrated". We are the most academic program in Chicago with the highest volume of research, publications, etc and are comparable to other highly regarded academic centers across the country. There is faculty in every room that are highly regarded across the country (e.g., Richard Baron who is the president of RSNA, Heber MacMahon is a member of the Fleishner Society, Brian Funaki in IR, among others). Our residents routinely get their top choice from the top fellowships across the country. We have a great program director who deeply cares for the residents- and from a resident perspective having a program director this invested is a great asset to the program. It is a resident driven program with a low number of fellows, meaning residents get high-level cases and procedures from their first year. I did over 100 procedures my first year (IR, MSK, Neuro) and this is excluding routine fluoro cases.

There are a lot of perks we don't need to delve into. Long story short, you all will interview at great places across the country and it is important to find the best fit for you. I wanted to be at a top academic center in one of the most populated cities and I couldn't be happier. If I had to do it all over again, I'd still rank Uchicago #1.

Be cautious of what you read from anonymous sources on forums, some of it may be helpful, but predominantly comments are opinion-based with people who likely have very little knowledge of the details. I'm not trying to get into a debate, just presenting you with the facts. Our achievements are well-documented and easily accessible on our website and our social media platforms (IG, FB, twitter: uchicagorads). I'd be happy to share my CV to prove our success. If you'd like further information, feel free to contact me, [email protected].

Nicely done, chief! There are always two sides to a story and understandably what an applicant may be exposed to during the blitz of an interview day may, unfortunately, lend itself to a "sample bias" type experience.

One point of clarification and I might be mistaken here: but it sounds like Chicago's response to the poorest applicant cycle (as you say probably ever) was to offer/conduct a lower than typical number of interviews? Or was it simply an unfortunate set of circumstancss perfectly aligned type of thing? Having trouble following the logic there...

 

[IRorBustguy]

Recently interviewed at UCLA. Residents were great. Most of the interviewers were chill. Really weird interview system though (you walk around with your ERAS folder and each person reviews it during the interview). It was really obvious that the interviewers did not read the applications prior to that. So most of the time, you are answering questions while they are looking at your application (and not looking at you). Little tough when 1) they have no idea who you are and 2) only 15 minutes x 6 interviews. The 15 minutes makes sense if they have read your app before hand, otherwise, it is way too short.

There was one interviewer (associate prof of body imaging) that was really terrible and probably will cause me to bump UCLA down. He would ask you one question, interrupt you midway, and then ask you another tangential question. I don't think I was able to answer one question in its entirety. I have had some really tough interviews because the questions that were asked were really thought-provoking, but it was clear that the intention behind this interviewer's particular interview style was malignant (i.e stress for the sake of causing stress). Without a doubt the worst interviewer I have had on the trail.

Dr. Suh is amazing. Could tell that he really cares about the program.

Overall, a solid program.

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

Anyone willing to provide a unique, insightful or candid review for Michigan and MIR? I'd be happy to but am coming up on a busy weekend here.

Ideal reviews would avoid the following top 5 SDN obvious fillers in the absence of substance adjectives/statements:

1. Top notch
2. World class
3. "Had it not been for my spouse..."
4. "Amazing faculty and residents"
5. Wow

Heck, if what you have to offer can get a chief to come on and provide even more in depth information, that would make for a, well, "top notch" review.

 

[IR4thewin]

Anyone willing to provide a unique, insightful or candid review for Michigan and MIR? I'd be happy to but am coming up on a busy weekend here.

Ideal reviews would avoid the following top 5 SDN obvious fillers in the absence of substance adjectives/statements:

1. Top notch
2. World class
3. "Had it not been for my spouse..."
4. "Amazing faculty and residents"
5. Wow

Heck, if what you have to offer can get a chief to come on and provide even more in depth information, that would make for a, well, "top notch" review.

Nothing too insightful to offer here, but will say that I loved Michigan. As you can tell by my name, I'm interested in IR and they were particularly impressive in that area. One of the few programs doing the full gamut of IR, including complex TEVARs and fenestrations, IVC reconstruction, etc. Dr. Saad is dedicated to make sure you come out of there knowing how to do everything in IR and being very comfortable with it, I found all of them very genuine about that, and it showed even when we reviewed cases from the last week with the resident and fellow. I think Michigan DR offers everything as well, would see lots of complex stuff, as well as VA experience, and good children's hospital as well.

You can look at my previous posts and see that I had a somewhat negative experience with MIR. No one doubts the strength of their program, but on greater reflection, my interview day was tainted by an experience with one particularly brash member of their faculty. Unfortunately, I think that as a resident I would have to interact with this faculty member a lot, so that moved them down on my list. This person was actually brought up on the trail by other applicants, and I later realized that a lot of my critical views of MIR were really due to the bad flavor this person gave off. It's obviously not professional to name names (even on an anonymous forum) but those who interviewed with this person will probably know.

 

[Fab5Hill33]

The only bully on this thread is you. It's one thing to make constrictive criticisms of programs about curriculum, call schedule, and even personalities. But you're impressions amount to just juvenile complaints.

I can understand reporting about being grilled or demeaned by your interviewer, or if you were rudely dismissed by a resident, or if you had a poorly organized interview day. But if you're downgrading Wisconsin, or Maryland or UChicago because they're residents seem too happy or too quiet, then those programs - and the people who will match at them this year - are probably better off without people like you.

No doubt bias could have played a role, which is why we can't let grumpy chiefs/residents/trolls scare us away from providing more impressions for the same programs.

These forums are 100 percent anonymous, unless of course you volunteer your name or the names of your colleagues, thereby waiving that privilege.

Stand up to bullies: leave an impression.

 

[DOFOSHO]

is it bad if the only question the interview asks is, "what can i tell you about our program?" and you ask 5 questions in a row, followed by, "what other questions do you have about our program?" "no, blah blah blah, you and the residents have been tremendously helpful, blah blah blah I think I'd be very happy here". "ok, thanks for coming. Next."

 

[Nevernude4life]

Ms3 here and longtime lurker. Can anybody comment on penn state's program in Hershey? Wife is from central Pennsylvania and am interested in heading out that way. Thanks!

 

[radnonymous]

.

 

[jorts42]

Ms3 here and longtime lurker. Can anybody comment on penn state's program in Hershey? Wife is from central Pennsylvania and am interested in heading out that way. Thanks!

great program and great hospital with no serious weaknesses. less competitive simply due to location. Highly recommended

 

[tco]

Ok, so no serious weakness...thats a start.
To me this says you may have noticed some weaknesses but are reluctant to share them with us, why?

I want to believe that its a great program, but you really give me no reason to. Help me out here.

Every program has weaknesses. If a resident claims they're strong in everything, they're lying. The important thing is for them to provide evidence that they're trying to improve those weaknesses.

 

[Spaceneedle2017]

Any impressions on UWashington? I loved the interview day, but did the residents seem a little tired to anybody else?

 

[jorts42]

Ok, so no serious weakness...thats a start.
To me this says you may have noticed some weaknesses but are reluctant to share them with us, why?

I want to believe that its a great program, but you really give me no reason to. Help me out here.

why are you so negative? BTW I heard Wisconsin is also a great program

 

[Imaging]

Recently interviewed at UCLA. Residents were great. Most of the interviewers were chill. Really weird interview system though (you walk around with your ERAS folder and each person reviews it during the interview). It was really obvious that the interviewers did not read the applications prior to that. So most of the time, you are answering questions while they are looking at your application (and not looking at you). Little tough when 1) they have no idea who you are and 2) only 15 minutes x 6 interviews. The 15 minutes makes sense if they have read your app before hand, otherwise, it is way too short.

There was one interviewer (associate prof of body imaging) that was really terrible and probably will cause me to bump UCLA down. He would ask you one question, interrupt you midway, and then ask you another tangential question. I don't think I was able to answer one question in its entirety. I have had some really tough interviews because the questions that were asked were really thought-provoking, but it was clear that the intention behind this interviewer's particular interview style was malignant (i.e stress for the sake of causing stress). Without a doubt the worst interviewer I have had on the trail.

Dr. Suh is amazing. Could tell that he really cares about the program.

Overall, a solid program.

Was the body attending named Dr. Steven Raman? Because me and a bunch of my friends on the interview trail that year had similar experience with him, totally uncalled for

 

[IRorBustguy]

Ah, it was not him (wasn't one of my interviewers).

 

[jorts42]

Ok, so no serious weakness...thats a start.
To me this says you may have noticed some weaknesses but are reluctant to share them with us, why?

I want to believe that its a great program, but you really give me no reason to. Help me out here.

Below is a review from 2 years ago about Penn State

Program: Penn-State Hershey Medical Center

Location: A bit in the boonies of PA. Drove through some farm towns and some corn fields and then all of the sudden there is an enormously huge and beautiful hospital. The location is an issue for most people since very few people like to live in the middle of nowhere, but for others, it is perfect. Not too far from Philly (1hr 45min), NYC (2.5hrs), Baltimore (1.5hrs). It's also about 10-15min from Harrisburg (the state capitol).

Travel: Rented a car and drove a few hours to get there. You stay on one highway that goes East and West across PA. Mostly farmland on the drive in and out.

Pre-interview dinner: Nice restaurant in downtown Hershey. Casual dress. Can order alcohol but the program doesn't pay for it. However, the PD actually pays for everyone's alcohol out of pocket, which gives her a million cool points in my book.

The Hospital and Facilities: The hospital is absolutely awesome and very clean. It's an enormous tertiary-care 551 bed Level-1 trauma center with a children's hospital on-site as well. It pretty much gets every single patient in central PA as it is the only major hospital in the region. It has all the bells and whistles radiologically speaking -- equipment is all new and nice, monitors and reading rooms are all A+.

The Interview: The interviews involved 1 with a rads faculty, 1 with the PD for 30 min each. In between each interview, you spent 30 min with a resident, at their station in the reading room. So basically, it was 2 interviews, with 2 sneaky resident interviews as well. All were laid-back in usual rads fashion.

Didactics / Conferences / Other Teaching: 1 x 1.5hr didactics lecture every day from noon. They have a nice conference room and the lecture I saw was pretty good. Sometimes they do 2 x 45min lectures, or just 1 1.5hr lecture. All of the residents got involved and even the applicants got to participate.

Residents/Staff/Attendings: Most of the residents were in exclusive relationships and/or married. They were all extremely nice and I never met any odd-ball residents. They all seemed down-to-earth and fun to talk to. So I guess the reading-room interviews with the residents seems to be working out just fine. Attendings I met were very nice as well. Ancillary staff is on-point, aka the opposite of any NYC/Chicago program.

Resident Satisfaction with Program: They all seemed largely satisfied with the program and feel they are trained as well as any resident could be trained. They have graduates that go straight into PP w/o fellowships and feel more than prepared to do so. The training and teaching here really is top-notch and I definitely got that vibe. It is completely resident-run and they give you autonomy for sure. A few IR fellows as well, but they don't get in the way.

Call Schedule: I can't remember exactly, but I know they do call alone with no attending in house. Obviously, you can call and wake them up if you need to and they are fine with that.

Moonlighting: Moonlighting for R2 and above at affiliated locations.

Fellowships: Residents get in strong fellowship programs. They also have any and all fellowship options available at Penn-state

Special or unusually good aspects: If you want some of the best training, then go here. This place has everything you could want in a residency in terms of teaching and training.

Red flags: None

Notes: I think the only reason this program isn't competing with the top ones is because of location. People will forgo better training for a better location, and this is what hurts Penn-state the most. If you don't care about location or love small towns, I can't think of a better place to train.

 

[clutch21]

Can anyone offer up impressions on Wake Forest and UT Southwestern? Would like to hear someone else's opinion on these programs.

 

[Ilikefrankie]

Any thoughts on Duke? and has anyone received any feedback from PD or anyone in the program?

 

[Naijaba]

Q. I got a better impression from Stanford than I think most of the board did. UCSF people seemed chill but on their game and the on call sounded rough but super useful. Obviously love seattle and would love to stay but residents (outside of msk) seemed pretty tired. Michigan seemed well rounded but ann arbor is kinda small and I didnt get a good sense of their weaknesses.

Thoughts and personal opinions?

--------

I did not interview at Stanford or UCSF, so I can't help this person out.

Anyone willing to help out?

My Stanford interview was underwhelming compared to my away rotations and time there as a master's student. I think it's a great place to be if you want to take advantage of their resources outside of radiology. I'll be honest though, living in Palo Alto is not as fun as living in a big city. Stanford said that they now exceed UCSF's reading volume due to recent expansions into East Bay and the lower peninsula, although I'm not sure how much that affects residents. I didn't interview at UCSF so I can't comment firsthand.

I like Seattle as well, and the program director places a premium on resident happiness. The IR and radiology training are both excellent.

 

[fetorius]

What are people's thoughts on using a program's list of jobs after fellowship? When deciding between two similar programs, is this a good deciding factor?

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

What are people's thoughts on using a program's list of jobs after fellowship? When deciding between two similar programs, is this a good deciding factor?

An equally important question is the demographic of the fellows in those same residency programs. For example, if an overwhelming majority of fellows at a residency program are former residents in that same program, that could imply that the fellowships have a hard time attracting external candidates. The alternative argument is that the program has a strong residency program with strong candidates (potentially a self fulfilling prophecy). A homogenous group of residents or fellows is rarely a good thing.

 

[cowme]

Disagree with above. Plenty of the strongest fellowships in every field tend to fill most of their spots internally.

Not sure how residents being so impressed with their training that they stay on an extra year could be a red flag to you...

Unfilled fellowships or unusually high numbers of FMGs is a red flag. Beyond that, I wouldn't place too much weight into the fellowship specifics

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

Disagree with above. Plenty of the strongest fellowships in every field tend to fill most of their spots internally.

Not sure how residents being so impressed with their training that they stay on an extra year could be a red flag to you...

Unfilled fellowships or unusually high numbers of FMGs is a red flag. Beyond that, I wouldn't place too much weight into the fellowship specifics

Any chance you can provide examples of the strongest fellowships that fill internally consistently, and perhaps of places that don't fill?

 

[OrangeJuice1111]

Any chance you can provide examples of the strongest fellowships that fill internally consistently, and perhaps of places that don't fill?

My impression from my interviews at some of the "top" programs was that most of their residents stayed for fellowship, unless they were trying to go to the opposite coast for job purposes.

 

[cowme]

I'm not gonna name names, and the effect is stronger in some fellowships than others. And I agree with above, internal filling has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Historically, IR filled internally at elite programs. MSK has always filled internally at the best places. Mamms tends to fill internally because it's basically the same anywhere you go. Neuro and body is more of a free for all just because so many spots are there to go around.

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

I'm not gonna name names, and the effect is stronger in some fellowships than others. And I agree with above, internal filling has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Historically, IR filled internally at elite programs. MSK has always filled internally at the best places. Mamms tends to fill internally because it's basically the same anywhere you go. Neuro and body is more of a free for all just because so many spots are there to go around.

Colorado (MSK) historically does not take any of its own residents and they are openly honest about this; they claim that after completing residency there, theres not much else for them to offer you.

Would you say Colorado is a top program?

 

[Gadofosveset]

Cowme is right, there's a correlation between the number of home residents that stay for a fellowship and the strength of that fellowship. It's not a perfect correlation, but it's definitely not a bad sign.

The idea that Colorado will not take their internal candidates is just weird. There's no way their resident graduates are at fellowship level at graduation. Perhaps they're saying that their fellowship has little to offer.

 

[Gadofosveset]

The comparative strength of a program's fellowships among its other fellowships is a good thing to ask the program's residents. In my experience, they usually take pride in a good department. If you get a bland generically positive response from a few residents, it's probably a generic department. Anything besides a positive review from a resident means you should be on your guard and verify with other residents (not chief residents).

Always take a resident opinion of another program with a grain of salt, however. Residents often have little to no experience with other institutions besides hearsay. I met the "father of MRI" at about eight different institutions.

No place is equally strong in every department, but malignancy almost always can be discovered if you ask the residents. And if you want to see.

 

[IR4thewin]

Out of all the places I interviewed, Colorado was the only place that said they don't like to take their own residents for fellowships. They also said they don't like to take their own fellows on as attendings. The context was that they described the east coast programs as being inbred and they specifically did not want to replicate that. I have no knowledge of the strength of their fellowships, but I think their decision to do this is independent of their fellowship strength. They are trying to build a place with people from all over.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Gadofosveset]

Out of all the places I interviewed, Colorado was the only place that said they don't like to take their own residents for fellowships. They also said they don't like to take their own fellows on as attendings. The context was that they described the east coast programs as being inbred and they specifically did not want to replicate that. I have no knowledge of the strength of their fellowships, but I think their decision to do this is independent of their fellowship strength. They are trying to build a place with people from all over.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Yeah. Um. That may make sense with attending hires... maybe. Not really. That makes no sense for fellowships. Residents from different programs come to a fellowship to learn, not to share their knowledge from residency.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume this rule is based on some theory rather than trying to make some weakness look like a strength. If so, that theory sounds noble, but I'm having trouble understanding what it actually accomplishes. I don't know what "inbred" means in the context of radiology training. Residents who stay on for fellowship are continuing a longitudinal mentoring process. It's often an honor for the faculty because the resident feels that there's more that the faculty can teach them and they want to learn. Not always, but often.

Choosing to go to a different fellowship to learn new ways of doing things is sometimes a good idea. That depends on the individual and the department. It's the resident's choice and a benefit to the resident to have the choice. Discouraging your residents from staying is a very different thing.

 

[tco]

Out of all the places I interviewed, Colorado was the only place that said they don't like to take their own residents for fellowships. They also said they don't like to take their own fellows on as attendings. The context was that they described the east coast programs as being inbred and they specifically did not want to replicate that. I have no knowledge of the strength of their fellowships, but I think their decision to do this is independent of their fellowship strength. They are trying to build a place with people from all over.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Sounds dumb.

If they have an exceptional fellow who wants to stay, are they going to tell them no, or are they going to break their rule juuuuuuust onceeeee?

 

[IRorBustguy]

Out of all the places I interviewed, Colorado was the only place that said they don't like to take their own residents for fellowships. They also said they don't like to take their own fellows on as attendings. The context was that they described the east coast programs as being inbred and they specifically did not want to replicate that. I have no knowledge of the strength of their fellowships, but I think their decision to do this is independent of their fellowship strength. They are trying to build a place with people from all over.


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i'm glad i'm not the only one with weird vibes them them. i've heard from residents that they have had entire departments turn over and attendings are under a lot of stress, and a lot leave. this is not good for residents looking for stable faculty mentors.

it's one of the few IR/DR and DR programs I am not ranking.

 

[PL198]

An equally important question is the demographic of the fellows in those same residency programs. For example, if an overwhelming majority of fellows at a residency program are former residents in that same program, that could imply that the fellowships have a hard time attracting external candidates. The alternative argument is that the program has a strong residency program with strong candidates (potentially a self fulfilling prophecy). A homogenous group of residents or fellows is rarely a good thing.

Or that people like where they are training and it's location... Lot of people have families and don't want to uproot their lives because the program across the county is number 3 and their home program is number 12. In real world I don't think people are obsessed with prestige like a lot of people on this forum seem to be.

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

i'm glad i'm not the only one with weird vibes them them. i've heard from residents that they have had entire departments turn over and attendings are under a lot of stress, and a lot leave. this is not good for residents looking for stable faculty mentors.

it's one of the few IR/DR and DR programs I am not ranking.

So here's what I'm beginning to think:

Colorado has such a malignant/undesirable program (despite its "name") that really none of their folks want to stay for fellowship after they go through what sounds like a tough residency ride.

But obviously they can't openly say that. So instead, they spin it in a clever way: we don't like to take our own residents bc we don't want to be "inbred" and/or we would have nothing more to offer them (which if true is actually far more concerning).

Perhaps some more state sanctioned propaganda...

 

[cowme]

Damn dude, you are pretty easily swayed. In under 24 hours you went from saying that fellows staying internally is a sign of a weak program to now saying it's a sign of malignancy if this doesn't happen.

Neither is true. It doesn't matter, and you're over analyzing a meaningless factor

 

[deleted564680]

Most adults don't want to move for one year, especially if already at a solid program. That's why most programs are "inbred" for fellowship. The only people who go elsewhere are people from small community programs who have to and those who want academic careers. It's also one of the reasons why you only hear reviews on highly regarded fellowships like MGH, BWH, Hopkins, etc. because they have 7-10 fellows per section and there are actually outside people who match into them. The "2nd tier" of fellowships are often in-filled and can even provide better training but no one knows about them unless you're a resident there.

 

[Light at end of tunnel]

Damn dude, you are pretty easily swayed. In under 24 hours you went from saying that fellows staying internally is a sign of a weak program to now saying it's a sign of malignancy if this doesn't happen.

Neither is true. It doesn't matter, and you're over analyzing a meaningless factor

Fair enough.

I'll tell you what cowme; you seem like a seasoned radiologist (current fellow/former resident). You've also been around for a decade or so...

What's more, you sure do have a lot of opinions about what everyeone else is willing to post.

How about you provide us with an in depth review of your former residency program and current fellowship program so that all of us could switch seats with you and let you know how we feel about your input?

 

[Radsandstuff]

Fair enough.

I'll tell you what cowme; you seem like a seasoned radiologist (current fellow/former resident). You've also been around for a decade or so...

What's more, you sure do have a lot of opinions about what everyeone else is willing to post.

How about you provide us with an in depth review of your former residency program and current fellowship program so that all of us could switch seats with you and let you know how we feel about your input?

Dude. I appreciate all of the reviews you have posted, but I don't get why you always have to attack other posters. People disagree sometimes, it's not a personal affront.

 

[MapoFoSho]

Lol. @Light at end of tunnel.

 

[cowme]

I'm just giving generic advice here, you can take it or leave it bud.

Yes, I've been around for a while, and yes, my input is more valuable than yours since I have been through training and the job hunt and know what matters.

Im sorry I'm trying to help you make an informed decision by telling you what does and doesn't matter. **** me, right?

 

[Ilikefrankie]

Has anyone heard anything from Duke?