Hey everyone,
Wanted to give a shout-out to the TY Program at Mercy St. Vincent in Toledo, Ohio. I'm currently in the program now and couldn't be happier with it! Like many going for a TY I sought out the "cush" programs and applied/interviewed at "The Harbor Hotel", "Oakwood Jokewood", and any other program I heard about either on sdn or word of mouth that seemed easy... I ended up ranking this program first (mostly for family reasons at the time) and honestly I would recommend anyone looking for a fun TY year to apply to Mercy St. Vincent because you'll end up ranking it among your top choices (even if you have to move for one year to be a part of this program).
The good: The people! The residents and physicians you'll work with will treat you with respect and you'll forge great friendships at this place. I know that I felt that way about a few of the TYs I interviewed at, but I can confidently say now that this program backs that feeling up. The PD here is also a HUGE perk. He fights for his TY residents and we are the most taken care of group in the hospital. We have a large GME stipend and the meal perk is great. The PD takes the happiness of his residents very seriously (no joke) and will go above and beyond in his attempt to help. I had a family issue that required a few days off during my IM month and the PD went above and beyond to support my family, from sending flowers to my sick family member and making sure we had all the connections with good physicians that we needed. Also, the residents I worked with stepped up and took on my work for a few days without any animosity. Sorry to ramble on this point but I still am touched by all the love and support I received...Another perk is the hours. Never will you come close to violating duty hours! Your most grueling rotation will be 4 months of IM and that is a max of 60 hours a week. None of your other rotations will come close to this (all are less than 50). More than half of your year you will get weekends off. You won't find this perk at many other places. Also, you don't have an ICU month.
The bad: The area. The location in Toledo Ohio is not desirable. While the people are great and the Middle eastern food is some of the best in the US (hands down, look it up!), the weather is rough and the summer's don't have a ton to offer. Nonetheless, you're 40 minutes from great restaurants and nightlife in Ann Arbor, a day-trip to Cleveland, Detroit, and Columbus, and a weekend-trip away from Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cincy. The other great thing, you WILL have time to make these trips. You get 4 months of electives during the TY year and all 4 of these months, plus 2 other required months are WEEKENDS OFF. That's half the year where you'll get your weekends off (pretty huge perk).
For those of you going into IR or PMNR there is a great Pain Mgmt rotation that is very hands on. Also, an ortho rotation where you will learn to do whatever joint injections you'd like. There's also electives that are much less hands-on and will allow you to study for step 3.
Hope this helped! It's a great program with a great PD, faculty, and residents!
Wanted to give a shout-out to the TY Program at Mercy St. Vincent in Toledo, Ohio. I'm currently in the program now and couldn't be happier with it! Like many going for a TY I sought out the "cush" programs and applied/interviewed at "The Harbor Hotel", "Oakwood Jokewood", and any other program I heard about either on sdn or word of mouth that seemed easy... I ended up ranking this program first (mostly for family reasons at the time) and honestly I would recommend anyone looking for a fun TY year to apply to Mercy St. Vincent because you'll end up ranking it among your top choices (even if you have to move for one year to be a part of this program).
The good: The people! The residents and physicians you'll work with will treat you with respect and you'll forge great friendships at this place. I know that I felt that way about a few of the TYs I interviewed at, but I can confidently say now that this program backs that feeling up. The PD here is also a HUGE perk. He fights for his TY residents and we are the most taken care of group in the hospital. We have a large GME stipend and the meal perk is great. The PD takes the happiness of his residents very seriously (no joke) and will go above and beyond in his attempt to help. I had a family issue that required a few days off during my IM month and the PD went above and beyond to support my family, from sending flowers to my sick family member and making sure we had all the connections with good physicians that we needed. Also, the residents I worked with stepped up and took on my work for a few days without any animosity. Sorry to ramble on this point but I still am touched by all the love and support I received...Another perk is the hours. Never will you come close to violating duty hours! Your most grueling rotation will be 4 months of IM and that is a max of 60 hours a week. None of your other rotations will come close to this (all are less than 50). More than half of your year you will get weekends off. You won't find this perk at many other places. Also, you don't have an ICU month.
The bad: The area. The location in Toledo Ohio is not desirable. While the people are great and the Middle eastern food is some of the best in the US (hands down, look it up!), the weather is rough and the summer's don't have a ton to offer. Nonetheless, you're 40 minutes from great restaurants and nightlife in Ann Arbor, a day-trip to Cleveland, Detroit, and Columbus, and a weekend-trip away from Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cincy. The other great thing, you WILL have time to make these trips. You get 4 months of electives during the TY year and all 4 of these months, plus 2 other required months are WEEKENDS OFF. That's half the year where you'll get your weekends off (pretty huge perk).
For those of you going into IR or PMNR there is a great Pain Mgmt rotation that is very hands on. Also, an ortho rotation where you will learn to do whatever joint injections you'd like. There's also electives that are much less hands-on and will allow you to study for step 3.
Hope this helped! It's a great program with a great PD, faculty, and residents!
