Sorry this is kinda long, guys.
Review of a number of Chicago IM (traditional) programs
Wrote this up to help myself, but thought some folks might find it useful. A few things to note to help you take all this in context- Im NOT from Chicago, and I plan on pursuing a GI fellowship. These are also not put in any particular rank- just in the order I interviewed. I tried my best to be objective, but again, these are just my impressions, so please clarify if Ive made any factual mistakes. Also, feel free to disagree, comment- I always appreciate other peoples insights!
1) University of Chicago
Overall: A very academic environment with research focus, lots of research opportunities (basic science and clinical), an impressive match list. Particularly strong GI program, if youre interested in IBD, GI onc, most GI disorders, but not strong for liver. Possibly the most personal attention interview day on the Chicago circuit- Associate PD and PD greeted everyone in the morning, chatted individually with all of us- definitely knew our application files backward and forward from memory (it seems, anyway). Smaller program, where it seems like the residents are well taken care of (breakfast and lunch generally provided by the Dept). Heard the international rotation in India was pretty awesome from one of the ID fellows. Schedule is really not as bad as it seems on paper with q4, which residents actually voted to keep.
PD: Friendly, approachable, has been at UofC since residency. Per the residents, really supportive, approachable.
The Chair: Did not get to meet the Chair, as he was out sick, but heard his spiel delivered by the PD focus again mostly on research, with disparities research included. Pulm/CC guy who runs his own lab.
Residents: Friendly people, most from Midwest and East Coast. Very knowledgeable at morning report, and laid back (especially compared to some other academic programs).
Faculty: Spoke with some GI faculty- at interviews, rounds, conference- they are fantastic. Very open to working with residents, very good at teaching. They also all conduct research, and I got the impression its very much bench to bedside type of approach.
Patients: UofC definitely liked to stress that they had a very diverse set of patients with a wide variety of pathology (being a tertiary referral center) and wide range of socioeconomic factors. But for those who really like taking care of the indigent homeless population, Ive heard that UofC is no longer accepting new Medicaid patients- is this true?
Conferences: Got a chance to go the resident morning report not on interview day- very strong morning report, with MKSAP review. Noon conferences are also very strong. I was particularly impressed by the Grand Rounds- very well known speakers, great attendance and participation by the entire medicine department.
Sites/Facilities: UofC mainly. UofC is still papercharting, although labs and films are on the computer.
Location: Not particularly the best surrounding location- although Hyde Park seems like a nice place for families. Most residents live further north, downtown, Lincoln Park. But only 15-20 min on Lake Shore away from downtown, so not bad.
Schedule: Q4 overnight on Big Gen Med (with night float covering admits after 1 AM and crosscover), Cards, Heme/Onc, MICU, Q3 CCU, Q3 admitting Leukemia and Little Gen Med(but no overnight)
Interns: 7.5 months inpatient (including 1 month of cards, MICU, Heme/Onc, Leukemia, 0.5 months of CCU, and 1 month of either Heme/Onc, Cards, Leuk, or MICU), 1 month inpatient, 0.5 months consults, 1 month geriatrics, 1 month outpaitnt, 4 weeks vacay + 1 week at the end of the year.
Schedule gets better with 2nd, 3rd year- with rotations through each of the subspecialities, and most consult services, with some rotations on Gen Med at MacNeal Hospital.
Research: opportunities in both basic and clinical, and research in health care disparities. Spoke with a resident who was pursuing an MBA at UofC during residency, of which PD and program was very supportive of work in other departments. Heme/Onc was brought up as particularly great for research. Lots of encouragement for abstract submissions to ACP, conferences. Funding for conference travel, etc.
Fellowship 2007: 11 Cards (Cornell, BWH, UofC, Tufts, UIC, UT Southwestern, Emory, Cleveland), 5 Heme Onc (Loyola, Sloan-Kettering, Cleveland, UofC, Stanford), 3 ID (UofC, UCSF), 1 Pulm/CC (UofC), 1 Nephrology (UCSF), 4 GI(UofC, BWH, UT Southwestern, Rush)
2) Rush University
Overall: A very strong clinical program that its interview day does not do it full justice. A few things that make it unique- Rushs ER is staffed by Med or Surg residents, so residents do 3 months of ER instead of 1. Preinterview dinner at Pompei was pretty awesome- I had a lot of fun, and the residents were having a good time. They did let me know about the unique interview day. GI seems quite strong at Rush as well (most of them came from Loyola recently), although much more clinical than UofC. Also opportunities to do ID, HIV over at Cook County if you so choose.
PD: Just recently switched to a new PD who has been APD for a number of years. Seemed friendly enough. The old PD, who is very approachable, is now an APD, but because hes also managing curriculum now on the med school side, it seems.
The Chair: The Chair ran the morning report, which was an interesting setup (one resident presenting to him).
Residents: Residents mostly from the Chicago area, but very nice. They didnt seem as tired for q4 call. Again, one of the highlights was the pre-interview dinner at Pompei- residents were all very sociable, very friendly, loved the program.
Faculty: Spoke with some GI faculty- at interviews. Very approachable, also seemed broad and varied in different aspects of GI. Rush does a lot of liver transplants, so there is a lot of transplant hepatology experience, it seems.
Patients: Residents say that there is a lot of patient diversity, but I didnt really get a chance to get a feel about this one way or the other.
Conferences: Didnt really get a chance to evaluate this aspect of it- but the residents state noon conference is generally pretty good.
Sites/Facilities: Rush mainly, with 2 months of inpatient at Cook County, 1 month inpatient at Rush North Shore for community aspect. Note: free parking!
Location: Very close to downtown about 10 minutes by car, also right by El. Across the street or so from UIC.
Schedule: Q4 overnight, 8.5 inpatient months; 1 ER, 1 vacation, 1.5 ambulatory, 1 subspeciality. No chance to do research block first year, but call lightens up to 4-5 senior years with much more elective time.
Research: opportunities in both basic and clinical, and research in health care disparities. Spoke with a resident who was pursuing an MBA at UofC during residency, of which PD and program was very supportive of work in other departments. Heme/Onc was brought up as particularly great for research. Lots of encouragement for abstract submissions to ACP, conferences. Funding for conference travel, etc.
Fellowship 2007: Cards (Rush x 2, UMissouri, Wisconsin), Pulm/CC (Rush, Loyola), GI (Rush x 3, Dartmouth), Endo (Rush), Rheum (Mt. Sinai, Rush x 2) Heme/Onc (Loyola), Renal (Rush x 3, GW) Sleep Med (Rush, Brown) Allergy (Rush), ID (WashU)
3) UIC
Overall: I was pretty excited after their interview day. A very diverse clinical experience, as well as research opportunities- mostly clinical, but basic is also available. UIC will pay for tuition for any of its employees, so several of the residents have pursued MPHs successfully during their years at UIC. Lots of focus on residents as teachers. GI department appears quite strong, as there is a new liver center opening. A number of their subspecialities also have their own inpatient services (Heme/Onc, GI, Liver, Cards), as well as a pretty impressive match list, especially in GI, Cards. Two week Dominican Republic international rotation available, heard it was pretty awesome.
PD: Dr. Zar was very nice, approachable, has been working for 20 odd years as a PD, with the last 5? or so at UIC. He was very friendly- took the time to make the way around during lunch on the interview day, even though it was a relatively bigger interview day. Also very good at leading morning report, but he doesnt always do it. Has a stash of electronic files of all landmark papers in medicine, compiled and organized neatly for residents.
The Chair: Dr. Layden- also spoke to us a bit about the Dept. of Medicine at UIC. Very well-known name in hepatology, so thats definitely a plus for people wanting to do GI. One of his kids went through the UIC IM residency (the other Northwestern).
Residents: Met a number of them at happy hour at Illinois Bar and Grill the night before- with many interns and residents all present- very happy, friendly bunch. Extremely laid back and they get along pretty well. The chiefs were fantastic- definitely getting along with all the residents at lunch, as well as happy hour. Most seem to be again from Chicago or the South, occasional East Coast.
Faculty: Interviewed with two of the faculty, one who has been at medical school. Definitely very resident/student friendly, with clinical research opportunities.
Patients: UIC also has a VA where they work at, but it seems the patients are quite diverse. Also a pretty wide range of pathology.
Conferences: Morning report led by Dr. Zar was pretty good, case was relatively interesting. Residents seemed knowledgeable. Did not get a chance to attend other conferences, although they noted there was a structure curriculum that includes board review course in the last 2 months for noon conference.
Sites/Facilities: Only saw UIC, not the VA, but residents say they love the VA. Full electronic charting with home access, films. Some residents stated ancillary staff is not the best, but has gotten better over the years.
Location: 10 minutes away from downtown, also right next to El stop, across the street from Rush. Lots of folks live downtown, or nearby neighborhoods (Lincoln Park, etc). Apparently, residents can get Bulls tickets, and occasional Bears tickets.
Schedule: Gen Med call is q6. Subspecialty services q 4-6 until 5 pm and on weekends. In house moonlighter (senior UIC resident) covers weekly overnight call. Only thing that a resident noted that was possibly be a con is having to cover other subspecialty services without having rotated on it yet, but notes that there is always backup. ICU blocks is average q4 call. No chance to do research block in intern year.
Intern year- 5-6 ward, 2-3 ICU, 1 ambulatory, 2 week geriatrics, 1-2 consult blocks, vacay
PGY1- 9 blocks call
PGY2 5-6 blocks
PGY3 4-5 blocks
Research: opportunities in mostly clinical, but basic is available.
Fellowship 2007: Cards (UMich, UIC, MCV, Wayne State, Kentucky, UIC), GI (UIC x 2, Kansas, Wayne State, Mayo, UT Houston, Wash U), Rheum (UIC, UofC), Endo (UIC), Heme/Onc(UTSW), ID (UIC), Nephrology (BU, BWH), Geriatrics (UIC x3)
4) Loyola University
Overall: Noted to also be a very strong clinical program, especially for cardiology. Interview day was nice, although resident did tell me that the GI department has recently been depleted with transition of a number of its faculty. However, according to residents and many students who rotated through there, they do note that Loyola is extremely good, especially for general IM, heme/onc also mentioned.
PD: Very enthusiastic, exciting. Dr. Simpson seems very electric and devoted to resident wellbeing. Thought he was very fantastic.
The Chair: Met the Chair- friendly, nice. He and Dr. Simpson seem to get along well, so thats always a plus. He talked to us for a brief time.
Residents: Friendly people, mostly from the Midwest. Q&A with chiefs was definitely pretty interesting, and overall, most of the residents seem relatively laid back.
Faculty: Spoke with some IM faculty- all very much approachable, nice, doing mostly clinical research. Not that much basic science work, but most of that is increasing. Very strong emphasis on teaching residents though, so that was definitely a plus.
Patients: Definitely a variety- with transplants, as well as bread and butter type medicine. Also definitely with its zebras, as seen in their CPCs.
Conferences: Went to an interesting conference at the end of the day- CPC conference (clinical pathophys) where a senior resident presented his/her best case- including path correlations. Definitely interesting.
Sites/Facilities: Loyola, Hines VA- out in Maywood, which is about 12 miles west of Downtown Chicago. I think theyre opening a new wing of the VA. The fitness center is actually pretty neat.
Location: Not particularly the best surrounding location, supposedly, according to some residents. Many live downtown, or further north/south in the burbs.
Schedule: q5-q6 call for 8-9 months intern year, with it decreasing SIGNIFICANTLY senior years. elective time to do research available.
Research: mostly clinical research, with research symposium for residents each year.
Fellowship 2007: Cards (Cook County, Loyola x 2, Lutheran General, Loma Linda), Pulm/CC (Northwestern, Loyola, Wisconsin), ID (UT Southwestern), Nephrology (Loyola x 2), GI(Loyola x3), Endocrine (Loyola). Does seem to be a bit more inbred.
5) Northwestern
Overall: Another very academic environment with research opportunities for self-motivated residents. A very enthusiastic and spunky PD (all her residents ADORE her) who will go to bat for you. Residents are happy, and faculty love to teach. Morning reports are very strong, with residents being very knowledgeable. International rotation available in Bolivia, also noted to be a great experience. Cant beat the hospital facilities (nicest in Chicagoland, I think), with very supportive ancillary staff, as Northwestern residents and students have yet prick an arm for any blood draws that I know of, haha. Also hospitalist and womens health track available, do not require a separate application.
PD: Very enthusiastic, will go to bat for residents. She definitely is very responsive for any changes that need to be made. Introduced simulation training for codes, also starting a medical Spanish class. Also made it available for residents to obtain certificate in basic science research certification (with classes in stats, epidemiology, etc) to help enhance research opportunities. Very much a Yankees fan also.
The Chair: Northwestern currently has their incoming Chair of Medicine possibilities narrowed down to 2, as Dr. Jameson has now become dean of the med school. Interim chair also met with us on interview day. It seems that both Dr. Jameson and Dr. Lowe have been very supportive of residency program in the past.
Residents: Very friendly people, most from Midwest and East Coast. Very knowledgeable, especially at morning report. All very approachable- the ones at lunch were very open, enthusiastic. Met some others (interns included!) at the happy hour thing at Timmys the night before, and they were definitely having lots of fun.
Faculty: Spoke with some GI faculty- approachable, with a lot of focus on eosinophilic esophagitis and manometry. Also with a simulation center where they are working on NOTES. Chair of GI is IBD, and runs his own basic science lab, some research into stem cells. However, variety of GI research does not seem to be as wide as UofC, although residents seem to have no problem getting into GI fellowships. Also got to meet some of the faculty on rounds- very much into teaching, and residents definitely get a lot of autonomy.
Patients: Northwestern definitely liked to stress that they are not just a cush hospital- with definitely an underserved population, as well as the run-of-the-mill. They also work at the VA. Definitely a tertiary hospital set of patients.
Conferences: Morning report was pretty fantastic, and firm conference at NW is impressive in the type of discussion that goes on. Grand rounds speakers are also experts from all over, and definitely well attended.
Sites/Facilities: Northwestern and VA-Westside (not downtown). Full electronic medical records (EPIC outpt and Powerchart inpatient, PACS for radiology). Pretty easy to use. While at the VA, NW residents work with NW teams.
Location: Downtown Chicago, block(s) away from Michigan Ave. Residents point out that having parking at the hospital is great especially if you want to come to downtown for something else. Affordable housing is available, NW gives lots of discounts to gyms, etc nearby also. Cubs tickets also available to residents.
Schedule: Residents are on call every 5th night on the Gen Med service at NW (a variation of short call/long call). At VA-Westside, teams are on an 8 day call schedule which includes overnight call and short call responsibilities. On ICU rotations call is every 4th night for interns and every 4th night for residents. There is a night float team at NW every night from 7:30pm to 7:30am. Night float is two interns who cross-cover patients already in the hospital and one resident who admits new patients. Each resident spends 2 weeks on night float each year.
Research: Opportunities in both basic and clinical. Annual Research Symposium. Was provided a list of publications by residents and presentations by residents- very impressive over the last few years.
Fellowship: No breakdown for the most recent, but from 2001-2006- also no note of how many went where
Allergy-Imm: Baylor, NIH, NW, UNC
Cardiology: Case-Western, Cedars-Sinai, Duke, Emory, GW, Henry Ford, JHU, Lahey Clinic, Loyola, Mayo, NW, UofC, UofI, UofWisconsin, UCLA, Wash U
Endocrine: Emory, JHU, Joslin DM Center, NW, Stanford, UCLA, UofC, Vanderbilt
GI: BU, BWH, Cleveland, emory, Henry Ford, Loyola, Mayo, Medical College of Wisconsin, NW, OHSU, Rush, Wash U, UofC, UCSD, UIC, UMaryland, UMass, UMich, UPenn, UW, Wisconsin
Heme/Onc: Dana Faber, Duke, Memorial Sloan, NIH, NYU, NW, Rush, Cincinnati
Nephrology: BU, BWH, Indiana, NW, Rush, Colorado, Cincinnati, UofC, UMich, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Wash U
Pulm/CC: Cornell, Harvard, JHU, MGH, NIH, NW, OSU, UCSF, Colorado, UMich, Wash U, Yale
Rheum: MGH, NW, UCSD, UCSF, UofC, UPenn
Sports Med: UCLA
Womens Health: Harvard
) and Temple is small compared to what most people would compare it to 60,000 people - this may be an issue for some - didn't bother me much. 
