Mission Nephrology Fellowship 2009-2010

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guys
im sure many of u ve done interviews already
can u please share ur experience....will help people like me....who dont ve much iv experience.
my iv is on 19th at wisconsin
thanks

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Just reviewing the data from last year's matches...
 
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Just reviewing the data from last year's matches...

UCSF has a quota of 5 for clinical nephrologists, but only matched 2?
Why?

San Antonio had 4 spots, only matched 2?
Why?


where did you get this info from?
 
NRMP fellowship match data. On their webpage.
(posted in other threads as well)
 
Just reviewing the data from last year's matches...

UCSF has a quota of 5 for clinical nephrologists, but only matched 2?
Why?

San Antonio had 4 spots, only matched 2?
Why?

I remember UCSF switching around quotas and program codes towards the ROL submission deadline. Even though they may say they have 5 it doesn't necessarily mean that all those 5 spots are for the clinical nephrology track. Probably they were offering 2 spots for clinical fellowships and the other 3 went for research fellowships. Programs might change their quotas based on the number of applicants that show interest in the different training tracks. The combination of total number of clinical versus research spots is fluid and changes from year to year.
The other thing to consider is that programs may have offered spots outside of the match so that if you started with a quota of 5 and you pre-matched 2 applicants, you would only be submitting a quota of 3 at the time of ROL submission. Remember that programs don't need to offer all their spots through the match....I think I remember this accurately but feel free to correct or add to my post
 
Finally my back up interview from Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Rej from Uni of Arkansas
 
hi friends
does any1 know abt UC Davis program,CA
do they offer H1!!!!!!!!
thanks
 
Hope everyone's interviews are going well.
 
forum is painfuly slow. Please make it more alive with questions and your interview experiences. The heme/onc and critical care forum is on fire with activity :love:
 
cool program....almost fully ..a clinical program.....PD is a very nice person..he gives the tour....comes along with u upto the front gate of hospital when u leave....a down to earth person.
asked abt any weakness I have....anything that I will consider as a weakness??
 
Any thoughts on Hopkins vs Duke vs Mount Sinai?
 
I have heard that the NYC programs are interviewing up to 80 applicants for 2-3 spots. Anyone else have knowledge on this?

After a few interviews, I'm beginning to realize most programs are pretty good programs. You just have to pick where you'd rather live...and I like warm :cool:
 
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I have heard that the NYC programs are interviewing up to 80 applicants for 2-3 spots. Anyone else have knowledge on this?

After a few interviews, I'm beginning to realize most programs are pretty good programs. You just have to pick where you'd rather live...and I like warm :cool:

would love to hear some feedback from people on programs in different parts of the country.

what have your experiences been thus far Ash?
 
Good luck to everyone...
 
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It seems as if the board has really slowed down. I presume this is because those following the board are currently busy with interviews. That being the case I think this is a perfect time to make the transition like many of the other specialties have to give their interview impressions.

I will get things kicked off. Hopefully others will follow. I think the format used on the Heme/Onc thread would be a good one to follow.

Program: UPMC

# of available spots: 6

# of applicants on IV day: 3-5

# of applicants interviewed: appox 50-60

Research opportunities: The program has a great deal of NIH funding and subsequently also have a T32 training grant for fellows interested in pursing the research tract. There are opportunities for clinical and basic science research. The second year is primarily reserved for research.

Facilities: The UPMC hospital system has approx 22 hospitals throughout the western Penn region. Of that the fellows rotate through 6 hospitals. The 2 main hospitals are Presbyterian & Monteforie which are connected by a sky bridge. All of the UPMC hospitals are quite old but going through renovation. The other hospitals are the Womens hospital which is down the road, the Mental Health hospital located near by, the VA hospital which is up the hill and two other smaller hospitals not located too far away. The fellows are spread out among these hospitals.

PD: The program director was quite nice and seemed to be very dedicated to clinical education of the fellows. His interest lies in quality improvement (this is big for UMPC) and much of his research/projects are geared towards that. The division chief is much more of a basic science researcher. All in all between the two there is a good balance of clinical and basic science emphasis.

Training: There is a great deal of renal pathology that is seen at UPMC. This is naturally the case as the hospital system is so large and all the complicated cases get referred to the main hospitals. Additionally it is the referral center for all of Western Penn State and much of the surround areas. They do a great deal of transplant work there, due to the strength of the surgery program. This is good in that there is lots of transplant exposure but on the down side since UPMC is know to be a surgical powerhouse it results in the nephrology fellows being put on the back burner to the surgery residents who call the shots on the transplant patients (inpatient & outpatient). There is a great deal of critical care exposure, once again thanks to the strength of UPMC's huge critical care program. Lots of CRRT; there is a growing PD program and some exposure to home hemo. As stated before all the clinical experience is done in the 1st year. The break down is 4 months on acute/chronic consult service, 2 months VA, 2 months womens hospital, 2 months transplant & 2 months clinics. 2nd year lends to electives and research. There are things that I felt the program lacked; there is essentially no exposure to heme/onc patients. Those patients are sent to one of the other hospitals in the UPMC system where the heme/onc fellowship is. That means very little exposure to renal disease associated with chemo and also cancer related disease processes.
Average consult census: 60 pts divided between 2 teams
Average transplant census: 15-20 pts
Average VA census: 15-20 pts

EMR: UPMC is fully electronic throughout their hospitals. Very nice system.

Location: Pittsburgh itself is a decent city. It still has that old industrial feel but much of the city is getting a face-lift and new trendy areas to live are popping up. Cost of living is comparable to the midwest. Many of the fellows live in the city or surrounding suburbs. Most people rent but there is a decent portion that own, as it is not impossible to afford a house on a fellows salary there. The weather can be quite harsh and if driving in the snow or rain isn't something you are willing to deal with then i'd avoid the city. Keep in mind that snow and rain are a factor as well on a daily basis as you do leave the hospital to travel from one location to another, including the parking garages which are not located very close.

Overall Impression: Very nice program with a good mix of clinical and research opportunities. The program is a very busy, was told by fellows to be the busiest fellowship in the hospital system. Upside is that it is completely a consult only fellowship. Downside is that the surgeons run the show on transplant and renal fellows appear to have little input. The city seems to be up and coming. The weather can be harsh but all in all I think it's a good program.


** I thought I would start with my impression. I hope others will post on their experiences at other programs. I will post on other programs that I have visited over the next couple weeks.

Lets keep the thread alive.
 
Nice review Neph...but that place is chillllly
 
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Got a rejection from Baylor UMC...they have "selected an applicant"...one spot...are you serious?

Really, no one is posting anymore.
 
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I don’t know why every body is silent, including me J
I went for 5 interviews so far; to me all are the same other than the location.
I like warm areas, so I am biased so far to UT San Antonito
I am going to Tamp next month. Still I don’t have any idea about their program
 
Anyone with opinions on USF/Tampa?

One word about that place: Nice

Got a rejection from Baylor UMC...they have "selected an applicant"...one spot...are you serious?

Really, no one is posting anymore.

Is it because you have been offered a spot and don't want to say anything...or the other way around...no spot and no place to go?


I think posting a review would be more helpful then "one word about that place: nice"

give us some info on the program.

mykidney... tell us a little about UT San Antonio and other than the weather how the program operates and is different from the 5 programs you've seen.

Seems as if everyone is sitting back and watching the thread but no one is contributing. Lets get involved otherwise we might as well just close the thread.

Sorry to sound frustrated but this thread could be a wealth of knowledge for all of using going through the interview process. It is tough to get a feel for any program on a 1 day visit, so to have multiple views from various applicants paints a better picture of the program. Obviously internal applicants could give the best insight. I have offered my review of one of the programs I visited and plan to post more but seeing as no one else is giving their input I don't feel my effort is worthwhile.
 

Program: UT San Antonio

# of available spots: 5

# of applicants on IV day: 10-12

# of applicants interviewed: appox 50-60

Clinical/Research opportunities: it is mainly a clinical program; however, there are opportunities for clinical and basic science research. The inpt consultation months are divided between the 2 yeas.


Facilities:
University Hospital( medical center) and VA with couple outpt dialysis units.

PD: The program director is an old guy. the associate PD is the one who is running the show. He was quite nice and seemed to be very dedicated to clinical education of the fellows.


Training: it is busy training, but there is plenty of fellows. Always 2 fellows on acute consultation service at the
University Hospital, which makes it very smooth and easy. There is good transplant exposure. Calls divided almost equally between 1st and 2nd year. Acceptable consult and transplant census. The downside, there is no enough PD exposure, and you need some Spanish speaking skills.

Location: sunny and warm, Cost of living is very reasonable. Many good condos and apts close to the medical center.


Overall Impression: Very nice program, mainly clinical, with good research opportunities, if you are interested. The fellows seem happy; most of them go to private practice. The weather is great if you like the sun.
 
I'll contribute now and then based on what I can remember from last year...wanna keep the forum going.

Program: Darmouth

# of spots : 2 per year

Training: mostly a clinical fellowship centered at Darmouth Hitchcock Hospital. I remembered that there were two renal teams on simultaneously so workload appears to pretty balanced. Their transplant experience is weak but program director acknowledged this and seemed genuinely interested in improving.
They have teleconferences with the Beth Israel Deaconess renal teams once a month where they basically go over an interesting case. I got the impression that the attendings valued teaching a lot.

Research Opportunities: they have a leadership in preventive medicine program in which you get an MPH through Darmouth if you are interested. Most residents that apply end up getting accepted to this track.

Program Director Dr.Block appears very involved in all aspect of training. He is also a program director for the internal medicine residency so he is very well versed in residency education.

Location: Lebanon, NH is a pretty secluded New England town. The closest big town is Boston which is about 2 hours drive. If you have a family it might be a nice quite and affordable town where you raise your family. If you are single and ready to mingle, you might have a challenge living there. I assume that most of the action centers around the Darmouth students so it might be ideal for people who are looking for a more mature audience.

Overall impression: Good name recognition and decent clinical training with weak transplant exposure. It is a relatively new program so maybe in the next few years it will continue to become stronger. Among the other New England programs probably the Boston programs and Brown in RI are better options if you really want to be in New England.
 
Can anyone comment on which programs in Chicago (University of Chicago, Northwestern, UIC, Loyola, Rush) are considered the best?
 
Can anyone comment on which programs in Chicago (University of Chicago, Northwestern, UIC, Loyola, Rush) are considered the best?
Don't know much aboout the Chicago programs but would assume that Uchicago>Northwestern>Rush based on national reputations. Rush consistently fill from within so don't waste your time and money applying there.
 
Hi I am an IMG applying through NRMP for fellowships. . How are they rated. Has anyone heard from Columbia, Duke, Penn, WashU, cleveland clinic. How are these programs rated? What are the top programs in the country? Thanks
 
Program: UT San Antonio

# of available spots: 5

# of applicants on IV day: 10-12

# of applicants interviewed: appox 50-60

Clinical/Research opportunities: it is mainly a clinical program; however, there are opportunities for clinical and basic science research. The inpt consultation months are divided between the 2 yeas.


Facilities:
UniversityHospital( medical center) and VA with couple outpt dialysis units.

PD: The program director is an old guy. the associate PD is the one who is running the show. He was quite nice and seemed to be very dedicated to clinical education of the fellows.


Training: it is busy training, but there is plenty of fellows. Always 2 fellows on acute consultation service at the
UniversityHospital, which makes it very smooth and easy. There is good transplant exposure. Calls divided almost equally between 1st and 2nd year. Acceptable consult and transplant census. The downside, there is no enough PD exposure, and you need some Spanish speaking skills.

Location: sunny and warm, Cost of living is very reasonable. Many good condos and apts close to the medical center.


Overall Impression: Very nice program, mainly clinical, with good research opportunities, if you are interested. The fellows seem happy; most of them go to private practice. The weather is great if you like the sun.


And I loved San Antonio as well. Yes there are five spots, but only two are actually open. The other three are already spoken for.

Key question during interviews: "How many internal applicants you taking?"
 
Program: USC

# of available spots: 2 for 2011

# of applicants on IV day: 7

# of applicants interviewed: 30-40

Clinical/Research opportunities: it is mainly a clinical program;
Lots of clinical. Research is sort of stressed, as you can join in with someone elses on going research

Facilities:
University, VA, Cancer center. A sea of 200 HD patients daily. All of which you see over the course of a month.

PD: The Man. I had so much respect for this person. The program director runs the show and been running it for 30 years. He was nice, is very dedicated to clinical education of the fellows, and never be late for anything that he is going to be at eg lecture, meeting, etc.


Training: it is very busy training, usu. 3 fellows, but only two being taken this year. I have no idea why. Maybe somebody deferred until this year. Acute consultation service at the
UniversityHospital is usually two. Great transplant exposure. Calls divided almost equally between 1st and 2nd year. Lots of biopsies and lines. Fellows typically have at least 20. But you are always home by five.

Location: sunny and warm, Cost of living is well...LA. 2500/mo for a one bedroom close by.


Overall Impression: Awesome program, mainly clinical, with decent research opportunities, if you are interested. You come out incredibly strong! The fellows are happy-you're in paradise; most of them go to private practice. The weather is great and so is the location. You can see the Hollywood sign from the ICU.


Highly recommended if you are chosen. But this year is tight...better rank it high if you want to go.

 
Program: Emory

# of available spots: 3-4

# of applicants on IV day: 2

# of applicants interviewed: ~50

Clinical/Research opportunities: Emory has a great mix of clinical and bench research opportunities. The program is very heavily front loaded with most of the clinical duties in the 1st year and most of the research through the 2nd year. They have plenty of NIH funding coming in and thus also have a training grant for a research fellow if interested. The fellows appear to be successful in getting their research accepted for presentation at national meetings and are encouraged to attend.


Facilities:
For me this was the major downside of the program. They cover 4 hospitals, Emory University hospital & the VA medical center which are located in Decatur, GA and then they cover Grady Hospital (huge public/charity hospital) in downtown Atlanta & then they cover Midtown Emory hospital which is in Midtown Atlanta. On the map they don't seem that far but the fellows do spend a lot of time in their cars traveling from one location to another. Also the traffic in Atlanta does make commuting around unpredictable.

PD: The program director was a very nice man. He truly seems to be receptive to the fellows wishes. Many changes have been made to maximize fellow education. The leadership in the program has great stability.

Training: The training at Emory is great in that fellows get exposure to the whole socio-economic
spectrum working through the 4 hospitals they train at. The pathology is vast and the fellows can relocate to anywhere in the country and feel as if they have seen "everything." The transplant program is great and their is a good balance/relationship between the transplant surgeons and nephrologists. The fellows admit that they do work very hard but do not feel that it compromises their education as attendings will hold their pagers while they can attend conferences. The call schedule appears to be pretty standard and of course quite busy. There is a good mix of fellows going into academics and private practice after the completion of their training.

Location: ATL is a nice city, as you can imagine it was cleaned up after the summer olympics and in the 90's and has been well maintained since. The city has some pretty bad traffic but if you are fortunate enough to find a central location to all 4 hospitals to live it may not be a big issue.


Overall Impression:
Emory is definitely one of the busiest programs that I visited, partly due to the fact that there is just a large volume of patients (indigent & private) spread over 4 hospitals, but also it is a program that offers great training at every level (general nephrology, transplant, bench research, clinical research, and clinical educator). ATL is a nice city to live in and has great suburbs (although it would be tough to commute with the traffic). The cost of living isn't too bad compared to other major cities on the west coat or north east. I think it's a great program with everything to offer and still in a big city that is affordable.
 
Hey guys..nice to see every one finishing up interviews at really big places. Wish every one gets what they want. coming to me i got 5 invs attended 4 and will be ranking 3...so i guess my chances of matching are pretty low...but havin said that the hopitalist job opportunities are really very tempting! At one stage i thought a lot whether even rank or not...anyways....i did rank and lets see what happens.its waiting game now. eigther way its good.
 
Want to wish all of you well and good luck in the match.
 
Wish every one good match season. I still has two interview to go to close the interview season. I'm currntlly doing my ranking list and I faced one problem. I interviewed at Mount Siani / Elmhurst program in new york and their program is not listed in the NRMP website. I'm not quite sure what to make out of this. Does that means that the program chose their fellows outside the match. Any ideas.
 
Wish every one good match season. I still has two interview to go to close the interview season. I'm currntlly doing my ranking list and I faced one problem. I interviewed at Mount Siani / Elmhurst program in new york and their program is not listed in the NRMP website. I'm not quite sure what to make out of this. Does that means that the program chose their fellows outside the match. Any ideas.

Call them directly. Something like this happened with Maine Medical Center last year and they were able to fix the mistake. They did not withdraw themselves from the match...the only way to be sure is by asking them directly. Good luck
 
Wish every one good match season. I still has two interview to go to close the interview season. I'm currntlly doing my ranking list and I faced one problem. I interviewed at Mount Siani / Elmhurst program in new york and their program is not listed in the NRMP website. I'm not quite sure what to make out of this. Does that means that the program chose their fellows outside the match. Any ideas.

BbOoShI, what do you think of Tufts?
 
Have anybody recieved a thank you letter by snail mail from UAB? it sounds a general letter.....
 
I interviewed in UAB and have received a postal letter, sounds generic "UAB is thinking about you, hope you are thinking positively about us". I do not know what to make out of that. Obviously, UAB is one of my top choices but I did not get much feedback from the PD after the interview except this letter. ANybody else in the same boat?
 
the same, I just recieved this letter after a month and half of the interview. She didn't reply to my email.
 
I interviewed in UAB and have received a postal letter, sounds generic "UAB is thinking about you, hope you are thinking positively about us". I do not know what to make out of that. Obviously, UAB is one of my top choices but I did not get much feedback from the PD after the interview except this letter. ANybody else in the same boat?

Don't put too much thought into this. It is more common not to hear back back from programs. Make sure that once you figure out which program you'll rank first to let them know explicitly of your plans.
 
When we see less number of positions in NRMP quota for a single program, does this mean that they already had positions filled? Do we need to check the quota every once and while to see if this has changed, or it is final?
For example, SLU suppose to have 4 positions, however in NRMP/rank list showing only 3..
 
I didn't hear back from anybody, but it doesn't matter now.
 
Don't put too much thought into this. It is more common not to hear back back from programs. Make sure that once you figure out which program you'll rank first to let them know explicitly of your plans.

Thank you so much Pedronavaja for being around to help us all during this crucial moments. I am sure all of us appreciate it.

Echoing mykidney's concerns, my first choice program (a famous CA program) also has only 1 spot in the clinical tract (the program director asked me to rank in this tract for the purpose of match, as I am on visa and can not get on a research tract funded by T32). I really do want to go to the program and their positive response seems genuine. At the same time my 2nd choice program (a famous southern program, big transplant center) has 4 spots for the tract and I am in a dilema whether to go for 'number of spots" over my actual wish! I am sure many of us are in the same scenario. What do you people say?
 
Thank you so much Pedronavaja for being around to help us all during this crucial moments. I am sure all of us appreciate it.

Echoing mykidney's concerns, my first choice program (a famous CA program) also has only 1 spot in the clinical tract (the program director asked me to rank in this tract for the purpose of match, as I am on visa and can not get on a research tract funded by T32). I really do want to go to the program and their positive response seems genuine. At the same time my 2nd choice program (a famous southern program, big transplant center) has 4 spots for the tract and I am in a dilema whether to go for 'number of spots" over my actual wish! I am sure many of us are in the same scenario. What do you people say?

The beauty of the match is the ROL. Go with your "actual wish" and rank the CA program #1 even though they only have 1 spot. If the program was truly genuine you will match there without any concern, on the other hand if you don't match there, then the NRMP will automatically drop you to your #2, which in your case has 4 spots and if they ranked you high enough you will match there. There is no reason for you to rank the program in the South over the CA program.

I am in a similar dilemma as you, my #1 program only has 1 spot in the clinical track and 2-3 in the research where as my #2, #3, #4 each have >3 spots in the clinical track.
 
Any body has interviewed at U of Florida-Gainesville, I am thinking about canceling it. How are the program/people and the city?
 
The beauty of the match is the ROL. Go with your "actual wish" and rank the CA program #1 even though they only have 1 spot. If the program was truly genuine you will match there without any concern, on the other hand if you don't match there, then the NRMP will automatically drop you to your #2, which in your case has 4 spots and if they ranked you high enough you will match there. There is no reason for you to rank the program in the South over the CA program.

I am in a similar dilemma as you, my #1 program only has 1 spot in the clinical track and 2-3 in the research where as my #2, #3, #4 each have >3 spots in the clinical track.

Thanks Nephro2011 for your input! I wish all the best to all of us for the match!
 
Echoing mykidney's concerns, my first choice program (a famous CA program) also has only 1 spot in the clinical tract (the program director asked me to rank in this tract for the purpose of match, as I am on visa and can not get on a research tract funded by T32). I really do want to go to the program and their positive response seems genuine. At the same time my 2nd choice program (a famous southern program, big transplant center) has 4 spots for the tract and I am in a dilema whether to go for 'number of spots" over my actual wish! I am sure many of us are in the same scenario. What do you people say?[/QUOTE]

Rank the CA first if it is where you want to go and leave the rest to the match...you can't do more than that. Make sure that you tell them that they will be your #1 in your ranking list and don't be vague about it....be very specific and email/send thank you letters to each single interviewer you had as well as the program coordinator. I'm sure that there are other aspects of the program other than the name recognition which made you feel that this was the best fit your you.
Now some perspective re: clinical renal tracks in large and famous programs. The clinical tracks may get more applicants per spot so the competition might be tougher. Most people still want to do a 2 year clinical fellowship and applicants will try to get the 2 year spot in the best program possible. It's great that you are getting positive feedback from the CA program but unfortunately I don't think that there is a way of really finding out how much they really want you unless they specifically tell you so.
The first time I applied I got great feedback from most top programs I went to and yet didn't match (I was very shocked not because I felt I was the bomb but because the feedback basically guaranteed that I would definitely match with no problems).
The second time I applied, a very well-known program (which I interviewed at a week earlier) contacted me and asked me if I would be available for an early fellowship spot and they were very interested in having me. They kept saying things like "you are one of our top candidates for the spot, we are still very interested in you, you are a great match and so on and at the end of the day they gave the spot to a different candidate...so take those comments with a grain of salt and remain objective but don't change your ranking based on the perception that you may have a better chance of matching at a different program....you never know until match results are in!!
 
Any one interviewed in SUNY downstate, Brooklyn NY. They sent an invitation and I scheduled it next week. any idea about the program? Do they take anyone outside of their program?
 
Any one interviewed in SUNY downstate, Brooklyn NY. They sent an invitation and I scheduled it next week. any idea about the program? Do they take anyone outside of their program?

Downstate claims to take many of their own residents for fellowship spots so Im assuming the same would apply for renal. I know of a fellow who did his residency at a NYC program so having the NYC connextion might help your chances.
 
Downstate claims to take many of their own residents for fellowship spots so Im assuming the same would apply for renal. I know of a fellow who did his residency at a NYC program so having the NYC connextion might help your chances.


Thanks a lot, pedronavaja2005.
 
Hi,
I interviewed there last year for 2010. The Div Chief Dr Friedman is regarded as one of the pioneers on dialysis in this country, he is up to retirement. The PD has an advanced degree in epidemiology and several publications in clinical research, his name is Dr Salifu unfortunately I did not meet him.
Program is very clinical and very busy I even think second years take calls also.
The hospital is an old one and the atmosphere is typical from NYC based programs.
Inbreeding is an issue , all the fellows I met that day were from SUNY downstate.
I ranked it quite low as I had better options for me and I do not know where they ranked me if they did it.
Hope this help
NA
 
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