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I would but I'm not sure I'd want all the pros and cons of why they liked me/didn't like me listed. I might need therapy after that.
Rol 2009-2010
- Thread starter It'sElectric
- Start date
I would but I'm not sure I'd want all the pros and cons of why they liked me/didn't like me listed. I might need therapy after that.
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If you decide to put up your ROL, please consider participating in the 2010 SDN EM applicant survey (click here for link to instructions). Your thoughts RE: your ROL help us future applicants make intelligent decisions about the Match, so continue to do so by contributing to the survey.
Best of luck to everyone!
Best of luck to everyone!
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omg I JUST spent so lonnng writing up a very nice and informative ROL with pros and cons that the damn thing logged me out and i lost it all! here it is short and sweet:
1. UA/UPH
2. Baystate
3. Corpus/ Christus Spohn
4. UF Shands
5. Texas Scott White
6. SUNY Upstate
7. Albany
8. MCG-Augusta
9.Baton Rouge LSU
1. UA/UPH
2. Baystate
3. Corpus/ Christus Spohn
4. UF Shands
5. Texas Scott White
6. SUNY Upstate
7. Albany
8. MCG-Augusta
9.Baton Rouge LSU
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1. Chrsit- Really was the underdog when I started, totally considered being a west coast guy and fell in love with the residents, program and really couldnt justify leaving Chicago. Has all the things I wanted, sick county patients, excellent teaching by faculty members, an incredibly busy ED (especially with the size vs number of residents/year) and definitely the coolest group of residents on the trail. Only negatives for me, probably isnt the most academic hospital, which in the end I realized I can make my residency as academic as I want it to be (research, and the way I practice) and all of your rotations are done at Christ which I think a little diversity would help me in my practice someday. In the end this program provides you with all the tools in my mind to be a great ED doc anywhere.
2. Highland- if this wasnt in Oakland and my SO didnt love Chicago I would have had a harder time picking between the two. I absolutely loved the program and the residents, and Oakland is a great spot (this is coming from a Midwestern so if you are Californian keep his in mind). Also the attending here are incredibly intelligent and work very hard to make the residents on top of their game, and enjoy their life at the same time.
3. Cincinnatti- I gotta say this program has probably the best clinical training in the country. Its aircare, off-service rotations and 6 months of electives are killer for anyone doing EM. The faculty are all super intelligent, I did however think the attendings did not get along with the residents as well, and thought the program did have a more surgery type feel to it. Also residents older/married and 21 12hr shifts as an intern sounded tough.
4. University of Michigan- After I left this program I was certain I was going here. I went home and thought about what I wanted out of residency and it did sound like Ann Arbor had it all. I think the reason it fell on my list was that I thought at U of Michigan there would be a lot of people to consult, and you give up more of a county experience (I know you rotate at flint) for a more academic experience the guy with a UTI and liver transplant is never just a UTI. It was definitely tempting to rank them number one and at one point I didnt want to be anywhere else. Part of me still wishes I could have ranked them higher.
5. Cook County- great program and name with faculty from all over. I would have liked less floor medicine months, a stronger camaraderie amongst residents (IMO), and I didnt like that there ED was so busy, but some of the business seemed related to an acute care clinic (med refills cant see my PCP type of complaints ). Wasnt thrilled about off-service rotations either
6. Denver- Great program excellent pathology, great location, and would graduate an excellent ED doc. Everyone bragged about how the senior residents signed out like 40some patients to the oncoming senior. I saw it and wasnt terribly impressed by that. I think the workload of the residents and their scheduling with circadian rhythm made it hard to switch if you needed days off and they seemed stretched pretty thin moved it down on my list.
7. Vanderbilt- was a lot like Christ in their residency format and the type of residents they attracted except for two things 1.they definitely had the ivory tower experience with an outrageous looking hospital (lets be honest Christ needs a makeover), 2. there was significant graduated responsibility. Add that upon a very undiverse residency class in Nashville and it didnt make a lot of sense for me.
8. MCW- to be honest there wasnt a whole lot of bad about MCW residency program. They have excellent attending, a great little hospital carved out in a city that has a lot of trauma around it and they pay you really well. I think I wasnt a Milwaukee guy and the residents werent my favorite on the trail, a few seemed pretty odd so I moved them down. If you can live in Milwaukee and maybe have a SO this program will definitely surprise you.
A few others fell to 9-11 but Im tired and dont want to write anymore.
2. Highland- if this wasnt in Oakland and my SO didnt love Chicago I would have had a harder time picking between the two. I absolutely loved the program and the residents, and Oakland is a great spot (this is coming from a Midwestern so if you are Californian keep his in mind). Also the attending here are incredibly intelligent and work very hard to make the residents on top of their game, and enjoy their life at the same time.
3. Cincinnatti- I gotta say this program has probably the best clinical training in the country. Its aircare, off-service rotations and 6 months of electives are killer for anyone doing EM. The faculty are all super intelligent, I did however think the attendings did not get along with the residents as well, and thought the program did have a more surgery type feel to it. Also residents older/married and 21 12hr shifts as an intern sounded tough.
4. University of Michigan- After I left this program I was certain I was going here. I went home and thought about what I wanted out of residency and it did sound like Ann Arbor had it all. I think the reason it fell on my list was that I thought at U of Michigan there would be a lot of people to consult, and you give up more of a county experience (I know you rotate at flint) for a more academic experience the guy with a UTI and liver transplant is never just a UTI. It was definitely tempting to rank them number one and at one point I didnt want to be anywhere else. Part of me still wishes I could have ranked them higher.
5. Cook County- great program and name with faculty from all over. I would have liked less floor medicine months, a stronger camaraderie amongst residents (IMO), and I didnt like that there ED was so busy, but some of the business seemed related to an acute care clinic (med refills cant see my PCP type of complaints ). Wasnt thrilled about off-service rotations either
6. Denver- Great program excellent pathology, great location, and would graduate an excellent ED doc. Everyone bragged about how the senior residents signed out like 40some patients to the oncoming senior. I saw it and wasnt terribly impressed by that. I think the workload of the residents and their scheduling with circadian rhythm made it hard to switch if you needed days off and they seemed stretched pretty thin moved it down on my list.
7. Vanderbilt- was a lot like Christ in their residency format and the type of residents they attracted except for two things 1.they definitely had the ivory tower experience with an outrageous looking hospital (lets be honest Christ needs a makeover), 2. there was significant graduated responsibility. Add that upon a very undiverse residency class in Nashville and it didnt make a lot of sense for me.
8. MCW- to be honest there wasnt a whole lot of bad about MCW residency program. They have excellent attending, a great little hospital carved out in a city that has a lot of trauma around it and they pay you really well. I think I wasnt a Milwaukee guy and the residents werent my favorite on the trail, a few seemed pretty odd so I moved them down. If you can live in Milwaukee and maybe have a SO this program will definitely surprise you.
A few others fell to 9-11 but Im tired and dont want to write anymore.
1. The ohio state- last minute decision. It was down to a classic battle between OSU and Michigan. Caveat- i rotated here. Strongest selling points- incredibly friendly and helpful residents who are generally happy, a growing core of young attendings, non-malignant off service rotations, and columbus ohio which is becoming one heck of a diverse, intellectualy city.
Cons- main ER a little run down, large number of ED shifts-22, 21, 20.
2. Michigan- favorite purely academic program. Pros- the tracks system and where that allows them to place residents, the hospital system, the intellectualism of all the residents, Ann Arbor
cons- residents were a bit older age wise, seemed fairly intense with maybe less down time than other programs(purely subjective)
3. Uchicago- pros- Incredible program director in Dr. Howes who i feel like would always have your back, great ICU programs, friendly residents, international flight experience
cons- the commute between three hospitals, recent loss of staff, chicago cost of living, weather
4. Northwestern- pros- great PD in Dr. Adams who spent whole day with us, friendly and sophisticated residents, great off service experience, academic tracks similar to michigan, beautiful ED
cons- academic focused, chicago cost of living, weather
5. Wash U.- pros- Most friendly residents I met on the trail, great variety of ED shifts from procedures, to ultrasound, to teaching specific shifts, really respond to resident needs to point of doing OB month in arizona, good reputation with lots of people saying up and coming, st. louis(shocking but i lived here and love the city, highly underrated)
cons- very few, just couldn't rank over more established 4 year programs like northwestern or UM.
Cons- main ER a little run down, large number of ED shifts-22, 21, 20.
2. Michigan- favorite purely academic program. Pros- the tracks system and where that allows them to place residents, the hospital system, the intellectualism of all the residents, Ann Arbor
cons- residents were a bit older age wise, seemed fairly intense with maybe less down time than other programs(purely subjective)
3. Uchicago- pros- Incredible program director in Dr. Howes who i feel like would always have your back, great ICU programs, friendly residents, international flight experience
cons- the commute between three hospitals, recent loss of staff, chicago cost of living, weather
4. Northwestern- pros- great PD in Dr. Adams who spent whole day with us, friendly and sophisticated residents, great off service experience, academic tracks similar to michigan, beautiful ED
cons- academic focused, chicago cost of living, weather
5. Wash U.- pros- Most friendly residents I met on the trail, great variety of ED shifts from procedures, to ultrasound, to teaching specific shifts, really respond to resident needs to point of doing OB month in arizona, good reputation with lots of people saying up and coming, st. louis(shocking but i lived here and love the city, highly underrated)
cons- very few, just couldn't rank over more established 4 year programs like northwestern or UM.
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I'd like to read it if you get bored and want to retype. Yours is the first list which actually had a lot of the programs I interviewed with so it would be interesting to read what you thought.
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done!
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#1 University of Maryland: Dr Mattu, amazing faculty, high acuity, shock trauma, rotations including trauma anesthesia, a lot of critical care rotations, the smoothest codes I've ever seen run, love the didactics, fellowship opportunities. the residents seem happy, even the interns.
#2 Upstate: very unique relationship with surgery and hospital CEO is EM. the chief i interviewed with has done multiple thoracotomies. Dr. Cantor. Amazing sim lab. Happy residents, good flying opportunities, good tox rotation, great peds exposure.
#3 St Lukes: have a trauma/cc fellowship for EM. lots of critical care rotations. RDMS cert. good didactics. lots of young energetic faculty.
#4 Hershey: pinnacle tox rotation, great ems exposure, staffing penn state football games, good u/s exposure, critical care fellowship, good sim lab.
#5 Lehigh Valley: great didactics, good research support, pinnacle tox rotation, RDMS cert, great trauma rotations, good peds exposure. only thing i didn't like is that it's a 4 year program.
#6 York: they pay oh so well, pinnacle tox, finally level 1 trauma
#7 WVU: Dr. Larrabee, great pathology
#8 St Vincents Toledo: awesome flight program. didn't get to meet PD during interview.
#2 Upstate: very unique relationship with surgery and hospital CEO is EM. the chief i interviewed with has done multiple thoracotomies. Dr. Cantor. Amazing sim lab. Happy residents, good flying opportunities, good tox rotation, great peds exposure.
#3 St Lukes: have a trauma/cc fellowship for EM. lots of critical care rotations. RDMS cert. good didactics. lots of young energetic faculty.
#4 Hershey: pinnacle tox rotation, great ems exposure, staffing penn state football games, good u/s exposure, critical care fellowship, good sim lab.
#5 Lehigh Valley: great didactics, good research support, pinnacle tox rotation, RDMS cert, great trauma rotations, good peds exposure. only thing i didn't like is that it's a 4 year program.
#6 York: they pay oh so well, pinnacle tox, finally level 1 trauma
#7 WVU: Dr. Larrabee, great pathology
#8 St Vincents Toledo: awesome flight program. didn't get to meet PD during interview.
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LOOONG List
1.) Vanderbilt- Pros: Awesome ED, teaching, fun/friendly residents. Great name, great training in 3 years Nashville has a great bar scene and pro hockey, so I'm sold. Cons: Maybe a little too "ivory tower" (but honestly I'm just searching something negative to say)
2.) UT Southwestern- Pros: A true county experience that still believes in innovation. You will see everything under the sun several times during residency. Tons of opportunities to speak spanish. Fun residents, Dr. Wainscott, great benefits. Dallas has a ton to do and you can actually afford to do it. Cons: It's always crazy there, and the teaching might not be as strong as some other programs.
3.) UC Irvine- Pros: It's in paradise. I want to live in Orange County forever and surf until I'm dead. The residents seemed to have the same attitude, so we clicked. Lots of opportunites for U/S and best U/S fellowship in country (important for me). Heavy on leadership. Cons: Small class, smallest volume ED of any I interviewed at. PD situation is kind of in flux. I liked most everyone here, but the location definitely bumped it way up.
4.) NYU- Pros: Old, established, way more friendly than you'd expect- had some great interviews and got along great with residents. Great teaching. New York City. Cons: 4 year program, trauma exposure (more of an NYC problem than an NYU problem.
5.) U of New Mexico- Pros: Nicest PD of all the places I interviewed. Loads of Spanish speaking pts. Well known and respected program. New Mexico is unbelievable (300+ days of sunshine). Cons: NM is known as the "Land of Entrapment"- not sure I want to live in ABQ forever. Far from my and my SO's family.
6.) LAC + USC- Pros: Best training/exposure in the country. Cowboy medicine in SoCal. Probably the smartest and most prepared residents I met. Cons: 4 year, SO was not in love with the LA programs.
7.) Maryland- Pros: I mirror the poster who said "pink scrubs". Shock trauma, Dr. Mattu, great clinical and didactic experience, my hometown. Cons: My ex-girlfriend is a nurse at shock trauma. Residents were smart but seemed like they worked hard to get that way (aka beatdown).
8.) Beth Israel NYC- Pros: Great location/benefits in a 3yr program in NYC. Solid training, friendly residents. Cons: Level II trauma center, questionable name recognition outside of the tri-state area.
9.) UC Davis- Pros: Rotated here and actually loved the program. Friendly and laid back faculty, residents, and great ancillary staff. Great trauma. New ED. Sac is cheap for CA and there's actually a lot to do (and it's close to SF and Tahoe). Would be much higher if not for the cons: way too close to my in-laws, and the most grueling work schedule I encountered. but mainly the inlaws.
10.) MUSC- Pros: Dr. Bourne is super friendly, and while the program is new they are very enthusiastic about it. Charleston is amazing. Cons: Still has some growing pains to work out, and I'm wary about the "new program" stigma. But going to Charleston is hardly a bad thing.
11.) Wake Forest- Pros: An old, well-established program that will prepare you for anything that you may encounter. Cons: Seemed like less fun/more formal than my top choices. Less autonomy than many other places.
12.) Northwestern- Pros: Great name, Chair/PD, lots of ICU. Beautiful location/facilities. AMAZING job/fellowship placement. Cons: SO can't do Chicago winters. Very Ivory tower. 4 years.
13.) Cook County- Pros: Great name, trauma, Dr. Bowman, serves a population that I'd prefer to serve. Cons: The resident giving the tour seriously acted like every question that applicants asked was the stupidest question ever. I'm sorry that you were pissed that someone asked you how many shifts you work a month...you're trying to sell your program.
14.) NYP- Pros: Name, NYC, subsidized housing. That's about it. Cons: No one was particularily happy, friendly, or trying to sell their program. Brutal commute between the two hospitals.
15.) UVA- This is actually a great program with great people, Charlottesville is just way way too small and isolated for me to want to go there. I did the whole fraternity/college town thing in undergrad, and it's out of my system now.
16.) Emory- Pros: Atlanta is an awesome town. Cons: No one seemed particularly happy, Grady is a dump with an unclear economic future. I got strong vibes that the attitude was "well, it's county and the care is free- so the patients can deal with a 20 hr wait".
In short, I'd be unbelievably thrilled to end up at the Top 5, and very pumped to end up in the top 12. But really, as long as I match.....
1.) Vanderbilt- Pros: Awesome ED, teaching, fun/friendly residents. Great name, great training in 3 years Nashville has a great bar scene and pro hockey, so I'm sold. Cons: Maybe a little too "ivory tower" (but honestly I'm just searching something negative to say)
2.) UT Southwestern- Pros: A true county experience that still believes in innovation. You will see everything under the sun several times during residency. Tons of opportunities to speak spanish. Fun residents, Dr. Wainscott, great benefits. Dallas has a ton to do and you can actually afford to do it. Cons: It's always crazy there, and the teaching might not be as strong as some other programs.
3.) UC Irvine- Pros: It's in paradise. I want to live in Orange County forever and surf until I'm dead. The residents seemed to have the same attitude, so we clicked. Lots of opportunites for U/S and best U/S fellowship in country (important for me). Heavy on leadership. Cons: Small class, smallest volume ED of any I interviewed at. PD situation is kind of in flux. I liked most everyone here, but the location definitely bumped it way up.
4.) NYU- Pros: Old, established, way more friendly than you'd expect- had some great interviews and got along great with residents. Great teaching. New York City. Cons: 4 year program, trauma exposure (more of an NYC problem than an NYU problem.
5.) U of New Mexico- Pros: Nicest PD of all the places I interviewed. Loads of Spanish speaking pts. Well known and respected program. New Mexico is unbelievable (300+ days of sunshine). Cons: NM is known as the "Land of Entrapment"- not sure I want to live in ABQ forever. Far from my and my SO's family.
6.) LAC + USC- Pros: Best training/exposure in the country. Cowboy medicine in SoCal. Probably the smartest and most prepared residents I met. Cons: 4 year, SO was not in love with the LA programs.
7.) Maryland- Pros: I mirror the poster who said "pink scrubs". Shock trauma, Dr. Mattu, great clinical and didactic experience, my hometown. Cons: My ex-girlfriend is a nurse at shock trauma. Residents were smart but seemed like they worked hard to get that way (aka beatdown).
8.) Beth Israel NYC- Pros: Great location/benefits in a 3yr program in NYC. Solid training, friendly residents. Cons: Level II trauma center, questionable name recognition outside of the tri-state area.
9.) UC Davis- Pros: Rotated here and actually loved the program. Friendly and laid back faculty, residents, and great ancillary staff. Great trauma. New ED. Sac is cheap for CA and there's actually a lot to do (and it's close to SF and Tahoe). Would be much higher if not for the cons: way too close to my in-laws, and the most grueling work schedule I encountered. but mainly the inlaws.
10.) MUSC- Pros: Dr. Bourne is super friendly, and while the program is new they are very enthusiastic about it. Charleston is amazing. Cons: Still has some growing pains to work out, and I'm wary about the "new program" stigma. But going to Charleston is hardly a bad thing.
11.) Wake Forest- Pros: An old, well-established program that will prepare you for anything that you may encounter. Cons: Seemed like less fun/more formal than my top choices. Less autonomy than many other places.
12.) Northwestern- Pros: Great name, Chair/PD, lots of ICU. Beautiful location/facilities. AMAZING job/fellowship placement. Cons: SO can't do Chicago winters. Very Ivory tower. 4 years.
13.) Cook County- Pros: Great name, trauma, Dr. Bowman, serves a population that I'd prefer to serve. Cons: The resident giving the tour seriously acted like every question that applicants asked was the stupidest question ever. I'm sorry that you were pissed that someone asked you how many shifts you work a month...you're trying to sell your program.
14.) NYP- Pros: Name, NYC, subsidized housing. That's about it. Cons: No one was particularily happy, friendly, or trying to sell their program. Brutal commute between the two hospitals.
15.) UVA- This is actually a great program with great people, Charlottesville is just way way too small and isolated for me to want to go there. I did the whole fraternity/college town thing in undergrad, and it's out of my system now.
16.) Emory- Pros: Atlanta is an awesome town. Cons: No one seemed particularly happy, Grady is a dump with an unclear economic future. I got strong vibes that the attitude was "well, it's county and the care is free- so the patients can deal with a 20 hr wait".
In short, I'd be unbelievably thrilled to end up at the Top 5, and very pumped to end up in the top 12. But really, as long as I match.....
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OK, here's mine. Take the downsides for what they're worth -- I had to rank them somehow, and I'd honestly be happy to train at any place I ranked.
1. Cincinnati. Far and away the most kickass program I saw. Amazing people. Felt like I'd really fit in with the residents. Killer training. Knowing you can go anywhere and do anything coming out of here. This was my "a-ha" moment -- I walked out of the interview knowing there was no way I could rank anywhere else number one. I know a lot of people give the city a bad rap but that's not as important to me -- the things I like to do in my copious amounts of free time are not location-dependent.
2. MCW. Strong program, good patient mix, liked the PD a lot, beautiful facilities, amazing peds hospital, residents seemed friendly and cohesive. Have a lot of friends/family in the area which is what pushed the program high on my list. Decent cost of living and very nice $$.
3. UChicago. Another program with awesome clinical training and great faculty. You either love Dr. Howes or you hate him, and I adored him. Would have been #2 except that I think I'd like to get out of Chicago for a while. The unavoidable hellish commuting for part of the year no matter where you live was also a downside.
4. Hennepin. Great program. Unbelievable U/S. Downsides were that the residents looked like they'd been run over by a truck, and it's farking cold up there. But I liked Minneapolis a lot apart from the weather, and I liked the residents and felt like I'd fit in well.
5. Christ. I had kind of a love/hate reaction to this place. Fantastic patient population and trauma. Really liked the guy who will be taking over as PD. Liked some of the residents a lot; others rubbed me the wrong way. Not a big fan of their emphasis on numbers -- is there really any need to post your residents' USMLE percentiles on your website? I don't think so. Sounds like a little thing, but it bugged me. I think the training would be awesome, though, and that kept this place a little higher on the list than it otherwise might have been.
6-11 in no particular order:
Cook County. Dr. Bowman is fantastic and I am sure that you come out of this place a total BAMF. 1 month of elective in a 4 year program was not attractive, loads of floor months and scut, and didn't really feel like I'd fit in with the residents I met.
Ohio State. On paper it's a nice program but I just didn't get the feeling while I was there and I can't describe it any better than that. Nothing in particular I can point to as a fatal flaw but for some reason I couldn't picture myself there.
Regions. I really liked everyone I met there and I think it's a very nice program but maybe a little bit too cushy for my taste. Didn't care for St. Paul, and again, farking cold.
UIC. Loved some of the faculty, really really really couldn't stand others. Didn't love the speed dating interview style. Had some weird-feeling interactions with some of the residents (but others were very cool and the pre-interview dinner was fun). Ultimately decided that 7 hospitals is just too many for me, plus there's the whole wanting to get out of Chicago business.
UMichigan. Very, very solid program but I didn't click with the residents AT ALL. Also not crazy about Ann Arbor -- felt claustrophobic to me. Didn't see any reason to rank a 4 year program I didn't absolutely love any higher.
UWisconsin. Great PD, gorgeous facilities, and Madison is a fabulous town. Residents were friendly. Cons were the brand-spanking-newness of the program and the low volume.
1. Cincinnati. Far and away the most kickass program I saw. Amazing people. Felt like I'd really fit in with the residents. Killer training. Knowing you can go anywhere and do anything coming out of here. This was my "a-ha" moment -- I walked out of the interview knowing there was no way I could rank anywhere else number one. I know a lot of people give the city a bad rap but that's not as important to me -- the things I like to do in my copious amounts of free time are not location-dependent.
2. MCW. Strong program, good patient mix, liked the PD a lot, beautiful facilities, amazing peds hospital, residents seemed friendly and cohesive. Have a lot of friends/family in the area which is what pushed the program high on my list. Decent cost of living and very nice $$.
3. UChicago. Another program with awesome clinical training and great faculty. You either love Dr. Howes or you hate him, and I adored him. Would have been #2 except that I think I'd like to get out of Chicago for a while. The unavoidable hellish commuting for part of the year no matter where you live was also a downside.
4. Hennepin. Great program. Unbelievable U/S. Downsides were that the residents looked like they'd been run over by a truck, and it's farking cold up there. But I liked Minneapolis a lot apart from the weather, and I liked the residents and felt like I'd fit in well.
5. Christ. I had kind of a love/hate reaction to this place. Fantastic patient population and trauma. Really liked the guy who will be taking over as PD. Liked some of the residents a lot; others rubbed me the wrong way. Not a big fan of their emphasis on numbers -- is there really any need to post your residents' USMLE percentiles on your website? I don't think so. Sounds like a little thing, but it bugged me. I think the training would be awesome, though, and that kept this place a little higher on the list than it otherwise might have been.
6-11 in no particular order:
Cook County. Dr. Bowman is fantastic and I am sure that you come out of this place a total BAMF. 1 month of elective in a 4 year program was not attractive, loads of floor months and scut, and didn't really feel like I'd fit in with the residents I met.
Ohio State. On paper it's a nice program but I just didn't get the feeling while I was there and I can't describe it any better than that. Nothing in particular I can point to as a fatal flaw but for some reason I couldn't picture myself there.
Regions. I really liked everyone I met there and I think it's a very nice program but maybe a little bit too cushy for my taste. Didn't care for St. Paul, and again, farking cold.
UIC. Loved some of the faculty, really really really couldn't stand others. Didn't love the speed dating interview style. Had some weird-feeling interactions with some of the residents (but others were very cool and the pre-interview dinner was fun). Ultimately decided that 7 hospitals is just too many for me, plus there's the whole wanting to get out of Chicago business.
UMichigan. Very, very solid program but I didn't click with the residents AT ALL. Also not crazy about Ann Arbor -- felt claustrophobic to me. Didn't see any reason to rank a 4 year program I didn't absolutely love any higher.
UWisconsin. Great PD, gorgeous facilities, and Madison is a fabulous town. Residents were friendly. Cons were the brand-spanking-newness of the program and the low volume.
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That is a long and somewhat eclectic list. Rest assured that something like 90% get their top three, and you will be fine.
I am sorry that you got that impression of Grady and Emory. It was more likely just a bunch of us residents having beers and blowing off steam at one of the dinners.
The core mission of our department is serving the urban poor, finding innovative solutions, and taking that to public health and policy work. Funding will always be an issue at Grady, like at most county hospital systems. But working with what we have, we have a top trauma and emergency care center, which includes nationally-recognized neuro and cards. Recent examples from our department include: 1) being the national coordinating center for the NIH-funded phase III clinical trial on progesterone in TBI, and 2) recent approval for a fellowship in palliative care (yes, through an EM department).
We would not have such innovation if we practiced with that attitude. We love Grady, good and bad!
It's a shame, DocCartman, that we were not a good fit for you, and I apologize for hijacking this thread. Good luck y'all!
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I ranked 19 places. I wanted a 3 year program. I would just do a fellowship if I wanted to do academics. No one could convince me otherwise. But...the 4 year programs that stood out were Downstate and Jacobi in NYC. I felt they were the only ones worth doing the 4 years of the places I interviewed at.
1) Christiana - best clinical experience in any 3 year program I interviewed at, great benefits, residents seemed happy enough, really chill intern year (16 shifts a month), delaware is only negative, but it will be a nice change of pace for me.
2) North shore - really really happy resdients, great curriculum and subsidized housing with high pay
3) Stony Brook - no reall reason, just felt ppl were happy and curriculum good enough
4) NYHQ - great diversity, really really easy schedule (17, 16, 15) but wayyy too close to parents
5) Beth Israel NYC - great to live in manhattan but expensive, subsidized housing is 1500, also didn't think peds experience is adequate even with 2 months at Jacobi, PD is super awesome, some of facutly too old school for me
6) Maimonides - Great diversity, similar to NYHQ I felt except it's a level 2 trauma center. No real reason to be number 6 but nothing really that great about it either.
7) Emory - prolly another 3 year program with awesome clinicla experience, probably will prepare me for anything, but..atlanta was disappointing and in the end didnt wanna leave Northeast
8) Morristown- happiest residents I saw during interview trail, PD seemed awesome, but biased against New Jersey.
9) Camden - great pathology here I felt, but not a fan of philly as I will always compare it to NYC and i will always be disappointed by it. Otherwise, strong program with happy residents
10) NY methodist - felt like residents didn't get lots of procedures done, not confident I would be prepared
11) U florida gainesville - Nice New ED, seemed like great place with good pathology, but no way I'm moving to florida it's way too humid.
12) Drexel - unhappy residents, too many clinical sites made it seem like you're always traveling and never able to settle into one place, everything just seemed to be terrible at this place. Maybe I was just really tired that day.
13) SUNY Downstate - awesome awesome pathology, prepared for anything, but not doing a 4 year program. But I do think this place and Jacobi ties for best 4 year program in NY.
14) Jacobi - Awesome awesome pathology again, but 4 year program is a no-no. Also, these guys work ridiculously hard..too hard to be happy i feel. 20 12 hour shifts as an intern is crazy. But definitely you will be great if u graduate from here.
15)Mount Sinai - No point of 4 years. Mini-fellowship is not a good idea (why not just do a real fellowship). Manhattan is a plus. But not worth the 4 years. Elmhurst is a really good level 1 trauma center though.
16) Long Island Jewish (LIJ) - no real reason to do 4 year program. Nothing really stood out about htis place to justify 4 years.
17) Brooklyn Hosp center - once again, no reason to do 4 years here, residnet giving talk seemed unhappy. Hospital has financial issues
18) UF jacksonville - great pathology that will prepare you, but JAX is hell...
19) Metropolitan - hospital has no money, no lunch on interview day, facutly didn't seem to care that much, although it's a public hospital in manhattan so patient volume and patholgy shouldn't be too shabby. But the place seemed like a run-down hellhole
1) Christiana - best clinical experience in any 3 year program I interviewed at, great benefits, residents seemed happy enough, really chill intern year (16 shifts a month), delaware is only negative, but it will be a nice change of pace for me.
2) North shore - really really happy resdients, great curriculum and subsidized housing with high pay
3) Stony Brook - no reall reason, just felt ppl were happy and curriculum good enough
4) NYHQ - great diversity, really really easy schedule (17, 16, 15) but wayyy too close to parents
5) Beth Israel NYC - great to live in manhattan but expensive, subsidized housing is 1500, also didn't think peds experience is adequate even with 2 months at Jacobi, PD is super awesome, some of facutly too old school for me
6) Maimonides - Great diversity, similar to NYHQ I felt except it's a level 2 trauma center. No real reason to be number 6 but nothing really that great about it either.
7) Emory - prolly another 3 year program with awesome clinicla experience, probably will prepare me for anything, but..atlanta was disappointing and in the end didnt wanna leave Northeast
8) Morristown- happiest residents I saw during interview trail, PD seemed awesome, but biased against New Jersey.
9) Camden - great pathology here I felt, but not a fan of philly as I will always compare it to NYC and i will always be disappointed by it. Otherwise, strong program with happy residents
10) NY methodist - felt like residents didn't get lots of procedures done, not confident I would be prepared
11) U florida gainesville - Nice New ED, seemed like great place with good pathology, but no way I'm moving to florida it's way too humid.
12) Drexel - unhappy residents, too many clinical sites made it seem like you're always traveling and never able to settle into one place, everything just seemed to be terrible at this place. Maybe I was just really tired that day.
13) SUNY Downstate - awesome awesome pathology, prepared for anything, but not doing a 4 year program. But I do think this place and Jacobi ties for best 4 year program in NY.
14) Jacobi - Awesome awesome pathology again, but 4 year program is a no-no. Also, these guys work ridiculously hard..too hard to be happy i feel. 20 12 hour shifts as an intern is crazy. But definitely you will be great if u graduate from here.
15)Mount Sinai - No point of 4 years. Mini-fellowship is not a good idea (why not just do a real fellowship). Manhattan is a plus. But not worth the 4 years. Elmhurst is a really good level 1 trauma center though.
16) Long Island Jewish (LIJ) - no real reason to do 4 year program. Nothing really stood out about htis place to justify 4 years.
17) Brooklyn Hosp center - once again, no reason to do 4 years here, residnet giving talk seemed unhappy. Hospital has financial issues
18) UF jacksonville - great pathology that will prepare you, but JAX is hell...
19) Metropolitan - hospital has no money, no lunch on interview day, facutly didn't seem to care that much, although it's a public hospital in manhattan so patient volume and patholgy shouldn't be too shabby. But the place seemed like a run-down hellhole
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A few things I've noticed/thoughts:
1) My opinions/ranks of programs are different from other peoples'. I guess the idea that there is "no best program, only best program for you" really is true.
2) Personality matters to everyone, but is viewed differently. The remarks so far have been unexpected and inconsistent from person to person. What one person finds to be a great culture may be hell to another. It also might be because we only get to see a few residents/faculty for a few moments and could have different experiences and judge programs' culture based on a single random sample which varies day to day.
3) Some people love a name. BIDMC; really?
4) This may be helpful in that it demonstrates that there is no consensus on "top programs." Academics, clinical, pathology, location... it's all up to the individual's preferences and views.
5) I'm glad that my favorites aren't everybody's favorites.
"3) Some people love a name. BIDMC; really?"
Do you really feel that people only choose BIDMC because of a name? That is suprising. I rotated there and absolutely loved it. I thought they had some of the smartest residents and nicest faculty I've seen anywhere. Then there is the available fourth year as a junior attending. I know there are so many great programs around the country where people get excellent training but this one just felt right to me...just as another program will feel right to you. To say that people only choose it because of a name though...I don't think that is accurate. On the down side, I wish BIDMC was less popular...looks like I probably won't be training there based on how many people seem to be ranking it #1.
Do you really feel that people only choose BIDMC because of a name? That is suprising. I rotated there and absolutely loved it. I thought they had some of the smartest residents and nicest faculty I've seen anywhere. Then there is the available fourth year as a junior attending. I know there are so many great programs around the country where people get excellent training but this one just felt right to me...just as another program will feel right to you. To say that people only choose it because of a name though...I don't think that is accurate. On the down side, I wish BIDMC was less popular...looks like I probably won't be training there based on how many people seem to be ranking it #1.
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It seems like we have quite a few people putting christiana number one...well im another one! I love the fact that they do 16, 20, 18 as far as shifts go. When you think about it, it actually makes sence that you would do the most shifts after you get your "feet wet." Christiana would be the perfect program if they had electronic medical records!! They also have great U/S training.
1. Christiana, DE
2. LSU-Baton Rouge: yeah the Earl sucks a big one but the people are great. And you are only 1 hr away from NO!
3. University of IL at Chicago: this would have been my number one if it wasnt in Chicago. The weather sucks! They residents and faculty are like family. You can tell that everyone wants everyone else to do well.
4. University of St. Louis: This was almost my number 2 and would have possibly been number one if it wasnt a brand new program...
5. University of Buffalo: great U/S training, great group of residents, mini fellowship possible, you get to ride around in the truck! the weather sucks..
6. University of Chicago: This program would give you a great three yr experence. The flight program is out of this world! Driving between the hospitals is a major blow for me, especially in Chicago traffic...Theres nothing worse than getting off a long shift and then having to drive 1hr+ to get home when you are half sleep with the knowlage that you have to get up tomorrow and do it again, too many icu months
7. William Beaumont: I love this program! and it was in my top three for a long time...the weather, Detroit and the 21 shifts scared me off....part of me wishes that i fall this far so i can match here.
8. St. Vincent Mercy Toledo, OH: I really like this program and it would have been much higher but i didnt get a great vibe from the residents. They make you moonlight during the FIRST yr which is great but Toledo kinda sucks. It would be nice to make 60k as a PGY1 though.
9. University of Rochester: This was number 2 for a long time but it fell a little. The facility is excellent! But i heard that you have to fight to get enough procedures.
10. LSU-Shreevport: Great facility, just didnt get a good vibe from the attendings. The residents were nice enough.
11+: hope i dont fall this far, might have to go to one of those 4yr programs if i do!!
1. Christiana, DE
2. LSU-Baton Rouge: yeah the Earl sucks a big one but the people are great. And you are only 1 hr away from NO!
3. University of IL at Chicago: this would have been my number one if it wasnt in Chicago. The weather sucks! They residents and faculty are like family. You can tell that everyone wants everyone else to do well.
4. University of St. Louis: This was almost my number 2 and would have possibly been number one if it wasnt a brand new program...
5. University of Buffalo: great U/S training, great group of residents, mini fellowship possible, you get to ride around in the truck! the weather sucks..
6. University of Chicago: This program would give you a great three yr experence. The flight program is out of this world! Driving between the hospitals is a major blow for me, especially in Chicago traffic...Theres nothing worse than getting off a long shift and then having to drive 1hr+ to get home when you are half sleep with the knowlage that you have to get up tomorrow and do it again, too many icu months
7. William Beaumont: I love this program! and it was in my top three for a long time...the weather, Detroit and the 21 shifts scared me off....part of me wishes that i fall this far so i can match here.
8. St. Vincent Mercy Toledo, OH: I really like this program and it would have been much higher but i didnt get a great vibe from the residents. They make you moonlight during the FIRST yr which is great but Toledo kinda sucks. It would be nice to make 60k as a PGY1 though.
9. University of Rochester: This was number 2 for a long time but it fell a little. The facility is excellent! But i heard that you have to fight to get enough procedures.
10. LSU-Shreevport: Great facility, just didnt get a good vibe from the attendings. The residents were nice enough.
11+: hope i dont fall this far, might have to go to one of those 4yr programs if i do!!
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my top 6 -
st. lukes-roosevelt: attendings are great and there's a very active social life among the residents. plus, cheap housing near midtown manhattan. whoa dudes.
christiana: most of the positives have been noted above. very relaxed intern year schedule, and your pay check will take you a long way in delaware.
uconn: another program where the admin/attendings are very friendly. 9 hour shifts are a plus, same as christiana.
methodist: great program in the most desirable location in brooklyn. pay is among the highest in the country. not a level 1 trauma center, though.
stony brook: another good university/academic setting in a nice area of long island.
albany med: one of the most energetic and dynamic PDs i've met; has been actively remodeing the residency over the past few years. another very "pro-resident" program.
the rest of my list, in alphabetical order: geisinger, jacobi, long island jewish, maimonides, metropolitan, morristown, UMDNJ-camden
st. lukes-roosevelt: attendings are great and there's a very active social life among the residents. plus, cheap housing near midtown manhattan. whoa dudes.
christiana: most of the positives have been noted above. very relaxed intern year schedule, and your pay check will take you a long way in delaware.
uconn: another program where the admin/attendings are very friendly. 9 hour shifts are a plus, same as christiana.
methodist: great program in the most desirable location in brooklyn. pay is among the highest in the country. not a level 1 trauma center, though.
stony brook: another good university/academic setting in a nice area of long island.
albany med: one of the most energetic and dynamic PDs i've met; has been actively remodeing the residency over the past few years. another very "pro-resident" program.
the rest of my list, in alphabetical order: geisinger, jacobi, long island jewish, maimonides, metropolitan, morristown, UMDNJ-camden
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2. Exactly true. Which is why it is nice when people give more detail about places they spent a month at. Which leads me to the next point,
3. BIDMC? Yes, really. I am glad to see EMMudphud also rotated at BIDMC and is putting it number one. Some names deserve their reputations.
5. Amen to that.
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1. ORMC my number one!
Just had to chime in because they weren't getting any love yet.
I am one of those who really enjoyed reading through past applicants ROLs and opinions....helped me discover a few programs I may have otherwise overlooked (I think I discovered Christiana thanks to sdn!) So I will throw my ROL into the mix. Obviously different applicants are looking for different types of training and different personalities to be around....hopefully this is what will allow us all to be happy on Match Day, right?
1. Christiana:
(+) Loved pretty much everything about this program (as did everyone else this season, ha!); Great use of 2+ sites, high volume and acuity, the curriculum seemed high yield with no floor months and quality ICU months, almost every call month is actually night float (vs places that still employ lots of Q4), I loved the blocking of nights for the EM months, hospital was up to date with tons of parking, I really clicked with the residents and thought the PD was great; DE is close to a lot (beaches, NYC, Philly, DC) but offers very easy living (I have 2 school age kids). Husband voted for this to be #1 b/c his parents are in DC and he has lots of job options around here
(-) I wish the other residency programs there were a little stronger. DE is certainly not the cultural hub of the universe. Whatever, it's 3 yrs, I'm over it
2. UNC (really a tie for #1)
(+) Loved the residents and WOW what great turnout...between the dinner before and lunch the next day I may have met 95% of the residents, great bunch and they seemed to be a good mix of personalities, marrieds/singles, interests etc; the PD was great and very engaging; I felt like the curriculum was beautiful: light on call, but obviously capable of producing bright and competent physicians; the protected night before for didactics intern year is so thoughtful; I loved the use of 2 sites; love Chapel Hill area; Family would be happy here.
(-) mostly 12 hr shifts intern year; there is a bit of a drive between the 2 main clinical sites; not a huge fan of their Ob/Gyn month (more intense than many places)
3. Indy
(+) use of 2 sites, really clicked with the residents here too, obviously offers extremely strong training, appreciated the circadian rhythm scheduling, ICU training is incredibly strong (if somewhat overwhelming), their 3rd yrs seemed like some of the strongest I met; use of 2 sites is what I want (do I sound like a broken record yet?) Indy offers low cost of living and many job options for husband
(-) Not excited about Indy as a city...my husband especially did not like the idea of going to the midwest (otherwise this would have been another program considered for #1); I too was put off by the PD, the ICU training terrifies me (although I know it is awesome training)
4. Yale
(+) this one was a bit of a surprise for me! I was blown away by the resident turnout, I really enjoyed the residents here, good mix of people; the curriculum really stood out for me, solid ICU training PLUS 6 months of electives; many international offerings, I totally clicked with the PD and I thought she went out of her way to make sure my questions were answered and that I talked to residents with similar backgrounds; the program obviously has a ton of money to help you do whatever your little heart desires; use of 2+ sites is appealing to me; I have an acquaintance in the program who assured me that she was very happy there, treated well, and that the program and off-service months were not malignant. the food carts outside the ER = heaven!!! New Haven is not as bad as I thought it may be, being close to NYC would be fun; husband was actually really on board for this one
(-) 4 yr program (I am actually ok with this, but I would prefer 3 yrs if I felt like the training could be equal); 12 hr shifts for 2 yrs (though the # of shifts 2nd yr is low); the most research heavy program I interviewed at (however, enough of the residents were barely interested in research that I felt like you didn't have to be passionate about it to fit in there); New England winters (sigh);
5. UVA
(+) I like the curriculum a lot, residents only work 12 hr shifts on the weekends, the residents go all over the country and are obviously well trained; for some reason I've heard a lot about tox training here (??), my husband and I both love Charlottesville and would love to raise our kids there, close to the in-laws; the residents were very nice and answered all of my questions very thoroughly
(-) nothing i could put my finger on, I just didn't leave the interview with any kind of warm fuzzy feeling; I felt like I was trying to mesh with the residents but didn't quite fit right (there was a relatively low resident turnout my night too); UVA doesn't really use more than 1 site, although they do offer 1 month at a community hospital (which is a plus to me); I worry a little about low volume/lack of varied pathology b/c it is more rural than others on my list; I felt like the PD was not interested in me at all; in the end though, I still believe UVA is a great program and I know I would end up happy here.
6. MUSC
(+) my favorite PD on the trail, I loved Dr. Bourne, she was so enthusiastic and genuine; I think this program will be very strong in about 3 yrs...still a little green at this point (I would be in the 4th intern class) which is one of the main reasons I didn't feel like I could bump it up any higher; the medical center is fantastic; Charleston is amazing, may be my favorite place to live out of everywhere I visited; the beaches, the architecture, the restaurants...my family would throw a party if we end up here
(-) the program is just too new; the main thing that kept me from putting it higher on my list is that I worry about job options when I finish...there will be options, but would this program be recognized as providing strong training anywhere i may want to apply for a job in 3 yrs??? I wish I could definitely say yes. Resident turnout was a little low my night and I wasn't sure how well I meshed with them...the residents I met were almost too laid back for me. Also, they only have 6 per year, which is a small class. Only 1 site for training. I didn't get a great feel for their curriculum as their main presentation was a brief DVD.
7. Duke
(+) well-respected medical center with an EM program that presents itself as very strong; new ED; pretty much a 2 site program...Durham Regional is not really as integrated as the sites at Christiana/UNC/Indy; off-service rotations would be very, very strong; love Durham/Chapel Hill area; the track system is interesting and mildly appealing; the program has money to back up what it offers and the PD is very dynamic (although I didn't really click with her)
(-) While I hit it off with a couple of residents, overall I felt like the group was a little aloof/stand-offish; I became concerned about negative rumors on the trail from applicants who said the residents were unhappy or that Duke residencies in general are malignant/tough...it all just kind of snowballed in my head and I ended up ranking Duke a bit lower than I originally had them. Maybe they are all happy and the joke is on me for listening to rumors. Not a fan of all ICU months in one training year (2nd yr), a fair amount of off-service/floor months
8. Emory
(+) obviously very strong residents; I like the overall curriculum; ATL is where my parents live
(-) sigh, I obviously considered ranking Emory as high as #1 b/c my family is there. But in my heart I know I am just not cut out for county training. Grady is not my cup of tea, though it turns out some rock-star docs. I also had a couple of weird interviews that day, one faculty member was a bit prying about my husband being able to move job-wise and it was a put off. ATL is too big of a city for us and has way too much traffic.
9. Michigan
(+) use of 3 sites; the hospital is unbelievably impressive, Ann Arbor seemed pretty cool. I liked the residents I met a lot; I believe they are exceptionally well-trained and can literally write their ticket and go anywhere in the country; the faculty I interviewed with seemed very interested in me as a person and went out of their way to make me feel like I would fit well there
(-) 4 yrs; could have been higher, but my husband used his veto on this one! Honestly, Michigan is too far from family and seems fairly depressed...worry about my husband being able to find a job and us being able to sell a house in 4 yrs; the winters would be tough; I only met a handful of residents, and though I liked the ones I met, I didn't feel like I had a good enough feel for the people in the program to fight for it to be higher.
10. UF-Jacksonville
(+) I loved the people...residents and faculty were SO awesome, funny, laid back yet obviously very smart; 3rd years obviously are rock-stars, I think you could go anywhere and handle anything after training here; fantastic critical care experience; beaches + FL living;
(-) I don't want all county; tough tough intern year...my mentor even said so! I don't want that level of autonomy my intern year, I think I would pee my pants, not in a good way. 12hr shifts intern year; downtown JAX is kind of ghetto;
11. UF-Gainesville
(+) brand spanking new ER, it is beautiful, with windows and sunlight!!! I like the curriculum; I enjoyed the dinner before with the residents, nice group, though not as impressive as some other places; the program seemed very family friendly; easy town to live in; the 3rd yr residents seemed confident they could go anywhere to practice
(-) It is hard for me to sign up for 3 yrs when I have no idea who the PD will be (they are hiring a new PD "very soon"...hope the new PD will be awesome and on board with the mission they presented, but you don't know for sure until you meet them); again, this is a very new program (I think I would be in their 5th intern class?); hot and humid but no beaches! Gainesville didn't have much going on except for Gator sports, though I'm sure it would be fine for 3 yrs.
Places I still wish I had gotten the nod from b/c I hear so many good things: Carolinas! Maine, New Mexico, Vandy
Place that it killed me to turn down the interview but cost of living is just WAY too high with 2 kids (and 2 dogs!): Georgetown.
Overall, I was really impressed with the programs and people out there (residents and applicants alike) and I enjoyed meeting people on the trail. There are some places I liked better than others, but I think in the end I'm going to be thrilled with any of the 11 on my list. I'm looking forward to working with some of you! Good luck in the Match
1. Christiana:
(+) Loved pretty much everything about this program (as did everyone else this season, ha!); Great use of 2+ sites, high volume and acuity, the curriculum seemed high yield with no floor months and quality ICU months, almost every call month is actually night float (vs places that still employ lots of Q4), I loved the blocking of nights for the EM months, hospital was up to date with tons of parking, I really clicked with the residents and thought the PD was great; DE is close to a lot (beaches, NYC, Philly, DC) but offers very easy living (I have 2 school age kids). Husband voted for this to be #1 b/c his parents are in DC and he has lots of job options around here
(-) I wish the other residency programs there were a little stronger. DE is certainly not the cultural hub of the universe. Whatever, it's 3 yrs, I'm over it
2. UNC (really a tie for #1)
(+) Loved the residents and WOW what great turnout...between the dinner before and lunch the next day I may have met 95% of the residents, great bunch and they seemed to be a good mix of personalities, marrieds/singles, interests etc; the PD was great and very engaging; I felt like the curriculum was beautiful: light on call, but obviously capable of producing bright and competent physicians; the protected night before for didactics intern year is so thoughtful; I loved the use of 2 sites; love Chapel Hill area; Family would be happy here.
(-) mostly 12 hr shifts intern year; there is a bit of a drive between the 2 main clinical sites; not a huge fan of their Ob/Gyn month (more intense than many places)
3. Indy
(+) use of 2 sites, really clicked with the residents here too, obviously offers extremely strong training, appreciated the circadian rhythm scheduling, ICU training is incredibly strong (if somewhat overwhelming), their 3rd yrs seemed like some of the strongest I met; use of 2 sites is what I want (do I sound like a broken record yet?) Indy offers low cost of living and many job options for husband
(-) Not excited about Indy as a city...my husband especially did not like the idea of going to the midwest (otherwise this would have been another program considered for #1); I too was put off by the PD, the ICU training terrifies me (although I know it is awesome training)
4. Yale
(+) this one was a bit of a surprise for me! I was blown away by the resident turnout, I really enjoyed the residents here, good mix of people; the curriculum really stood out for me, solid ICU training PLUS 6 months of electives; many international offerings, I totally clicked with the PD and I thought she went out of her way to make sure my questions were answered and that I talked to residents with similar backgrounds; the program obviously has a ton of money to help you do whatever your little heart desires; use of 2+ sites is appealing to me; I have an acquaintance in the program who assured me that she was very happy there, treated well, and that the program and off-service months were not malignant. the food carts outside the ER = heaven!!! New Haven is not as bad as I thought it may be, being close to NYC would be fun; husband was actually really on board for this one
(-) 4 yr program (I am actually ok with this, but I would prefer 3 yrs if I felt like the training could be equal); 12 hr shifts for 2 yrs (though the # of shifts 2nd yr is low); the most research heavy program I interviewed at (however, enough of the residents were barely interested in research that I felt like you didn't have to be passionate about it to fit in there); New England winters (sigh);
5. UVA
(+) I like the curriculum a lot, residents only work 12 hr shifts on the weekends, the residents go all over the country and are obviously well trained; for some reason I've heard a lot about tox training here (??), my husband and I both love Charlottesville and would love to raise our kids there, close to the in-laws; the residents were very nice and answered all of my questions very thoroughly
(-) nothing i could put my finger on, I just didn't leave the interview with any kind of warm fuzzy feeling; I felt like I was trying to mesh with the residents but didn't quite fit right (there was a relatively low resident turnout my night too); UVA doesn't really use more than 1 site, although they do offer 1 month at a community hospital (which is a plus to me); I worry a little about low volume/lack of varied pathology b/c it is more rural than others on my list; I felt like the PD was not interested in me at all; in the end though, I still believe UVA is a great program and I know I would end up happy here.
6. MUSC
(+) my favorite PD on the trail, I loved Dr. Bourne, she was so enthusiastic and genuine; I think this program will be very strong in about 3 yrs...still a little green at this point (I would be in the 4th intern class) which is one of the main reasons I didn't feel like I could bump it up any higher; the medical center is fantastic; Charleston is amazing, may be my favorite place to live out of everywhere I visited; the beaches, the architecture, the restaurants...my family would throw a party if we end up here
(-) the program is just too new; the main thing that kept me from putting it higher on my list is that I worry about job options when I finish...there will be options, but would this program be recognized as providing strong training anywhere i may want to apply for a job in 3 yrs??? I wish I could definitely say yes. Resident turnout was a little low my night and I wasn't sure how well I meshed with them...the residents I met were almost too laid back for me. Also, they only have 6 per year, which is a small class. Only 1 site for training. I didn't get a great feel for their curriculum as their main presentation was a brief DVD.
7. Duke
(+) well-respected medical center with an EM program that presents itself as very strong; new ED; pretty much a 2 site program...Durham Regional is not really as integrated as the sites at Christiana/UNC/Indy; off-service rotations would be very, very strong; love Durham/Chapel Hill area; the track system is interesting and mildly appealing; the program has money to back up what it offers and the PD is very dynamic (although I didn't really click with her)
(-) While I hit it off with a couple of residents, overall I felt like the group was a little aloof/stand-offish; I became concerned about negative rumors on the trail from applicants who said the residents were unhappy or that Duke residencies in general are malignant/tough...it all just kind of snowballed in my head and I ended up ranking Duke a bit lower than I originally had them. Maybe they are all happy and the joke is on me for listening to rumors. Not a fan of all ICU months in one training year (2nd yr), a fair amount of off-service/floor months
8. Emory
(+) obviously very strong residents; I like the overall curriculum; ATL is where my parents live
(-) sigh, I obviously considered ranking Emory as high as #1 b/c my family is there. But in my heart I know I am just not cut out for county training. Grady is not my cup of tea, though it turns out some rock-star docs. I also had a couple of weird interviews that day, one faculty member was a bit prying about my husband being able to move job-wise and it was a put off. ATL is too big of a city for us and has way too much traffic.
9. Michigan
(+) use of 3 sites; the hospital is unbelievably impressive, Ann Arbor seemed pretty cool. I liked the residents I met a lot; I believe they are exceptionally well-trained and can literally write their ticket and go anywhere in the country; the faculty I interviewed with seemed very interested in me as a person and went out of their way to make me feel like I would fit well there
(-) 4 yrs; could have been higher, but my husband used his veto on this one! Honestly, Michigan is too far from family and seems fairly depressed...worry about my husband being able to find a job and us being able to sell a house in 4 yrs; the winters would be tough; I only met a handful of residents, and though I liked the ones I met, I didn't feel like I had a good enough feel for the people in the program to fight for it to be higher.
10. UF-Jacksonville
(+) I loved the people...residents and faculty were SO awesome, funny, laid back yet obviously very smart; 3rd years obviously are rock-stars, I think you could go anywhere and handle anything after training here; fantastic critical care experience; beaches + FL living;
(-) I don't want all county; tough tough intern year...my mentor even said so! I don't want that level of autonomy my intern year, I think I would pee my pants, not in a good way. 12hr shifts intern year; downtown JAX is kind of ghetto;
11. UF-Gainesville
(+) brand spanking new ER, it is beautiful, with windows and sunlight!!! I like the curriculum; I enjoyed the dinner before with the residents, nice group, though not as impressive as some other places; the program seemed very family friendly; easy town to live in; the 3rd yr residents seemed confident they could go anywhere to practice
(-) It is hard for me to sign up for 3 yrs when I have no idea who the PD will be (they are hiring a new PD "very soon"...hope the new PD will be awesome and on board with the mission they presented, but you don't know for sure until you meet them); again, this is a very new program (I think I would be in their 5th intern class?); hot and humid but no beaches! Gainesville didn't have much going on except for Gator sports, though I'm sure it would be fine for 3 yrs.
Places I still wish I had gotten the nod from b/c I hear so many good things: Carolinas! Maine, New Mexico, Vandy
Place that it killed me to turn down the interview but cost of living is just WAY too high with 2 kids (and 2 dogs!): Georgetown.
Overall, I was really impressed with the programs and people out there (residents and applicants alike) and I enjoyed meeting people on the trail. There are some places I liked better than others, but I think in the end I'm going to be thrilled with any of the 11 on my list. I'm looking forward to working with some of you! Good luck in the Match
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1. University of Pittsburgh- I have many reasons to want to stay in Pittsburgh. Unique and excellent program, fingers crossed.
2. Cincinnati- Amazing place, like the PD, great pre-hospital stuff. Brutal 1st year by EM standards (23 x 12hour/month? wow) but I could deal with that. Biggest reason I didn't rank it 1st was that I have cause to stay in the 'burgh.
3. Northwestern- Vast resources. Good sites, and sounds like they really have a plan for how they educate residents. Not so sure about PD, she didn't seem honest with me.
4. University of Michigan- Really like this program, would have ranked it 3rd if not for geographical reasons. No complaints, I liked Ann Arbor, and their flint site seems off the hook.
5. Cleveland Metrohealth
6. Ohio State
7. Cook County
8. University of Maryland
9. Washington University/St. Louis
10. Christiana
11. UIC
2. Cincinnati- Amazing place, like the PD, great pre-hospital stuff. Brutal 1st year by EM standards (23 x 12hour/month? wow) but I could deal with that. Biggest reason I didn't rank it 1st was that I have cause to stay in the 'burgh.
3. Northwestern- Vast resources. Good sites, and sounds like they really have a plan for how they educate residents. Not so sure about PD, she didn't seem honest with me.
4. University of Michigan- Really like this program, would have ranked it 3rd if not for geographical reasons. No complaints, I liked Ann Arbor, and their flint site seems off the hook.
5. Cleveland Metrohealth
6. Ohio State
7. Cook County
8. University of Maryland
9. Washington University/St. Louis
10. Christiana
11. UIC
Interviewed at a lot of great places, but in the end location won out as I am itching to go back to California. That being said, I didn't have many negative interview experiences and would be happy to match at any of the programs I ranked. Another long list...
1. Highland - Rotated here and had an awesome experience. I consider the Bay Area home as I went to undergrad there, lived there for 10 years, and all of my good friends are still there.
(+) County-heavy experience but with rotations at UCSF still in place for the next several years, excellent faculty, super-nice PD and associate PD (people I would be happy to work for), great residents who have fun at work, strong didactics, strong ultrasound, underserved county population, sick patients, good amount of trauma (blunt and penetrating), residents run the show, lots of autonomy, Bay Area, strongest program in the hospital, I could go on and on...
(-) Oakland isn't the greatest city, cost of living, not-so-strong off-service rotations at Highland, cafeteria food (I'm just nit-picking now)
2. UCSF-SFGH - Rotated here as well and also had a great experience. Probably closer to "1b" than "2" as this program has a lot the qualities that I am looking for. Pretty good balance of academic/tertiary (UCSF) experience and county (SFGH) experience. Bay Area is home for me.
(+) Good balance of tertiary and county experiences, SFGH (this place is CRAZY... but in a good way), diverse patient populations, good amount of trauma at SFGH, great residents, excellent attendings, San Francisco, good amount of autonomy, strong off-service rotations, strong "name"
(-) Still a relatively new program (we will be the 3rd entering class), 12 hour shifts at times, cost of living, super-strong consulting services, I think anesthesia still has airway at SFGH (but not completely sure), the UCSF ED can be slow at times
3. Harbor-UCLA - I guess more like "1c" as I have a lot of friends in LA as well and my actual hometown is San Diego. This place is as close to pure county as you can get, the ED is crazy busy, and the patients are sick as heck. Seems like a "trial by fire" place with very little hand-holding. I thought the residents were awesome to be around and I could tell that they all get along well together.
(+) County environment, underserved patient population, great amount of trauma, residents run the show, excellent faculty, long-standing program with an excellent reputation, strong off-service rotations, bigger ED in the works, great US experience, surrounding beach cities (Long Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach), weather
(-) Maybe a bit too county, not much academic/tertiary experience, cost of living, LA traffic, Torrance itself doesn't seem to have much to offer
4. Loma Linda - Was a little iffy ranking this place so high because of it's location. Loma Linda is not all that exciting, but I guess LA proper is accessible. Otherwise, the strength of the program and the fact that it is in California bumped it up my list.
(+) Program is strong in areas that I am interested in (US, international medicine), friendly residents, excellent faculty, super-nice PD, great balance of academic/tertiary and county experiences, diverse patient populations, 3 years (survivable length of time in Loma Linda), it's in California
(-) It's in Loma Linda, Seventh Day Adventist thing (might be a bummer to not have meat or coffee available for purchase in the hospital, but you can bring it to work and coffee is available at nursing stations), not sure about the strength of the off-service rotations
5. Brown - I think this was the only program where "gut feeling" beat out location. Had a great time at the pre-interview social, met a lot of the residents, and could see myself getting along with everyone. Not sure how I feel about Providence, but at least Boston is close by. Overall the program seems pretty solid.
(+) Rhode Island Hospital (pretty much the only game in town so you see everyone and everything here), great patient diversity, large modern ED, super friendly and happy residents, excellent faculty, seems like a great combination of academic and county experience in the same hospital, strong off-service rotations, great simulation training and sim center, good US experience, great Peds experience, cost of living seems to be manageable
(-) Location, weather, can't think of much else
6. Cook County - This program and Boston were in a heated battle for the #6 spot. In the end, my familiarity with the program (I did a 3rd year rotation here) and the fact that I wouldn't have to move (I go to school in Chicago) won out. Strong program with the environment that I'm looking for. Felt that I got along with the residents and would fit in.
(+) County environment, residents run the show, lots of autonomy and responsibility, great US experience, good didactics, friendly residents, great attendings who take the time to teach you some clinical pearls, one of the stronger programs in the hospital, large modern ED, underserved patient population, high-acuity, Chicago offers you a ton of things to do in your spare time, 8 hour shifts
(-) 3 months of floor medicine (yikes!), only 6 weeks of elective time in a 4-year program, paper charting and orders, not much academic or ivory tower experience, not-as-strong off-service rotations, trauma separate from the main ED, high cost of living, craptacular weather, Chicago traffic
7. Christ - Great program and I'm very familiar with the hospital (did a lot of 3rd year clerkships here), but I felt that I would fit in better with the Cook residents so that's why I put Cook above Christ. Otherwise, a very strong program at a place where you'll see everyone and everything.
(+) Super-smart residents, excellent faculty, the hospital in general is really dedicated to teaching, residents run the show, lots of autonomy, lots of procedures, truly diverse patient population, great amount of trauma (blunt and penetrating), high-acuity patients, probably the strongest program in the hospital, great US experience, 3 years, Chicago has tons to offer
(-) Only one site (I'm looking for at least one other rotation site), high cost of living, craptacular weather, Chicago traffic, not-so-strong off-service rotations
8. Boston - I had a tough time deciding where to put this program as I think that the curriculum is really strong and Boston is a pretty decent location. However, like I said first-hand experience won out so Boston fell to #8. That being said, this is an awesome program with a great curriculum and friendly residents.
(+) Academic center but a county patient population, busy ED, underserved patient population, lots of trauma handled in the department, friendly residents who seemed happy, excellent faculty, strong US and international/public health, strong reputation within the hospital, Boston has lots to offer, 5 months of electives
(-) 12 hour shifts for the first 2 years, high cost of living, doesn't seem very strong in Peds, it might take you a while to figure out how to drive around in Boston, weather
9. U of Chicago - Another great program with a strong national reputation. Boston beat out U of C because I'm not really interested in flying and that is required at U of C. To me, all of the negative press and change in some of the faculty are no longer an issue. No pre-interview social makes it tougher to feel out the residents, but I got a good sense of them during the interview day and felt that I could fit in.
(+) Long-standing program with a great reputation, county-type patients at a huge academic center, diverse patients, high-acuity and complex patients, diverse clinical sites, good amount of autonomy, I liked the PD and associate PD, friendly residents, flight experience, good ICU time, no call months third year, Chicago
(-) Weather, too many clinical sites, Chicago traffic, high cost of living, main hospital not a Level II trauma center, REQUIRED flight time during shifts as an R2
10. Maryland - I did a rotation here and had an awesome experience. This was purely a location thing (and I'm trying to not do 12 hour shifts) because I think Maryland is an awesome program with a great curriculum.
(+) County-type population at an academic institution, excellent teaching by attendings and residents, strong US, Shock Trauma, modern ED, enough patient volume to not be bored but not so much that you're super-overwhelmed, very good didactics, PD is a great guy and teacher, residents were super-nice and got along well together, seniors act as junior attendings, affordable cost of living, 3 years
(-) Baltimore (has some nice spots but not too many), not a really diverse patient population, 12 hour shifts, maybe Peds is not so strong?
11. BIDMC - A bit too academic for me as I am looking for a more county experience. I think you would great teaching here, however, and the residents and attendings seemed nice enough. Just not the environment I'm looking for.
(+) Great name, strong academic setting and exposure, optional 4th year as a junior attending (a huge plus in my opinion), good teaching, modern ED tracking and EMR, sick patients, diverse patient populations, working at BoSox games, Boston seems like a cool place to live for a few years
(-) Weather, getting lost driving around Boston, too academic for me, high cost of living, didn't have the most positive experience during the pre-interview social
12. Hopkins - I actually was pretty impressed with Hopkins after my interview day. I actually liked the fourth year with focused tracks and had good vibes with the residents and faculty during the pre-interview social and interviews. Ultimately, location won out otherwise this might have been higher.
(+) Great name, excellent and well-known faculty, friendly residents that were involved throughout the interview day, the new PD seems really nice and motivated, good didactics, new medical center on the way (but not for the next few years), urban patient population, great trauma experience, affordable cost of living
(-) Location, not a very diverse patient population, not sure of the relations with other services in the hospital, no moonlighting (yet), relatively old and small ED (nitpicking as I don't really care much about facilities... as long as I have a place to work)
13. MetroHealth - If this wasn't in Cleveland it would be much higher on my list. Good mix of academic/tertiary and county with the two sites (Cleveland Clinic and Metro), great exposure in the areas I'm interested in, diverse patient populations.
(+) Two great and different clinical sites, diverse patient populations, county exposure and complex medical cases (transplant patients), strong exposure in US and critical care, good trauma experience at Metro, optional flight experience, moonlighting options, 3 years, low cost of living
(-) Location, didn't get a good sense of the residents as only 2 showed up for the pre-interview social (the residents I met during the interview day were all cool and nice, but I still would have liked to see a better turnout), didn't get a good sense of the amount of teaching that goes on, you'll work very hard here (which isn't really a negative for me but it's not a positive either)
14. Georgetown - Funny story. I was scheduled to interview here in December and was in town for the huge snowstorm that dropped 20 inches of snow in DC. I was called by the PC the Saturday before my interview (which was on Monday) and was told my interview was canceled and that I could reschedule (which I couldn't because all of their available dates didn't work with my schedule). So, I didn't interview here but decided to rank them anyways because it seems like a good program on paper, I liked the location (D.C.), and would rather not scramble (of course this would depend on if they ranked me as well). So it made it on the list.
15. Arizona/UPHK - I had a great interview day and all of the faculty are from the University, but in the end I wasn't too comfortable going to a brand new program in a city where I have no friends or family. Although it is closer to California than Chicago is. Also, rotation specifics were not really made available to us during the interview day, so I had to assume that it would be similar to UA's rotation schedule.
(+) UA faculty along with their years of experience in training residents, county-type patient population at Kino, theoretically a good mix of county and academic with you doing some rotations at UA, underserved patient population at Kino, border medicine, great weather while I was there (70s in January... beautiful), I had great interviews with the PD and associate PD, the other applicants were pretty cool, 3 years, low cost of living
(-) Brand-newness of the program (despite the experience of the UA faculty), didn't learn much about the specific rotations during the interview day, only met 1 UA resident at the pre-interview dinner
(+/-) Tucson. Seems to be great for outdoor activities and year-round great weather, but a little to small of a city for me
16. Resurrection - Had a great interview day, but in the end it didn't have the county environment that I was looking for.
(+) Friendly residents and attendings who seem to get along great together, good US exposure with an in-house fellowship, diverse patient populations, diverse training sites, manageable work load, Chicago has lots to offer
(-) Not county enough for me, driving to the multiple sites in Chicago traffic could be bad (see UofC), craptacular weather
17. University Hospitals Case - Again, the newness of the program and the location made the program lower on my list. It being ranked last is no reflection on the people I met or the program in general... it's just how things worked out in the end. Someone has to be on the bottom.
(+) Good amount of ICU time, manageable work schedule, friendly residents and attendings, affiliated with Case Western, low cost of living, 3 years
(-) Newness of the program, location, weather
Writing out this list and doing residency reviews allowed me to see that I interviewed at some great programs. I honestly would be happy to match at any of the programs I ranked (which is why they were ranked in the first place). Good luck to everyone on Match Day!
1. Highland - Rotated here and had an awesome experience. I consider the Bay Area home as I went to undergrad there, lived there for 10 years, and all of my good friends are still there.
(+) County-heavy experience but with rotations at UCSF still in place for the next several years, excellent faculty, super-nice PD and associate PD (people I would be happy to work for), great residents who have fun at work, strong didactics, strong ultrasound, underserved county population, sick patients, good amount of trauma (blunt and penetrating), residents run the show, lots of autonomy, Bay Area, strongest program in the hospital, I could go on and on...
(-) Oakland isn't the greatest city, cost of living, not-so-strong off-service rotations at Highland, cafeteria food (I'm just nit-picking now)
2. UCSF-SFGH - Rotated here as well and also had a great experience. Probably closer to "1b" than "2" as this program has a lot the qualities that I am looking for. Pretty good balance of academic/tertiary (UCSF) experience and county (SFGH) experience. Bay Area is home for me.
(+) Good balance of tertiary and county experiences, SFGH (this place is CRAZY... but in a good way), diverse patient populations, good amount of trauma at SFGH, great residents, excellent attendings, San Francisco, good amount of autonomy, strong off-service rotations, strong "name"
(-) Still a relatively new program (we will be the 3rd entering class), 12 hour shifts at times, cost of living, super-strong consulting services, I think anesthesia still has airway at SFGH (but not completely sure), the UCSF ED can be slow at times
3. Harbor-UCLA - I guess more like "1c" as I have a lot of friends in LA as well and my actual hometown is San Diego. This place is as close to pure county as you can get, the ED is crazy busy, and the patients are sick as heck. Seems like a "trial by fire" place with very little hand-holding. I thought the residents were awesome to be around and I could tell that they all get along well together.
(+) County environment, underserved patient population, great amount of trauma, residents run the show, excellent faculty, long-standing program with an excellent reputation, strong off-service rotations, bigger ED in the works, great US experience, surrounding beach cities (Long Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach), weather
(-) Maybe a bit too county, not much academic/tertiary experience, cost of living, LA traffic, Torrance itself doesn't seem to have much to offer
4. Loma Linda - Was a little iffy ranking this place so high because of it's location. Loma Linda is not all that exciting, but I guess LA proper is accessible. Otherwise, the strength of the program and the fact that it is in California bumped it up my list.
(+) Program is strong in areas that I am interested in (US, international medicine), friendly residents, excellent faculty, super-nice PD, great balance of academic/tertiary and county experiences, diverse patient populations, 3 years (survivable length of time in Loma Linda), it's in California
(-) It's in Loma Linda, Seventh Day Adventist thing (might be a bummer to not have meat or coffee available for purchase in the hospital, but you can bring it to work and coffee is available at nursing stations), not sure about the strength of the off-service rotations
5. Brown - I think this was the only program where "gut feeling" beat out location. Had a great time at the pre-interview social, met a lot of the residents, and could see myself getting along with everyone. Not sure how I feel about Providence, but at least Boston is close by. Overall the program seems pretty solid.
(+) Rhode Island Hospital (pretty much the only game in town so you see everyone and everything here), great patient diversity, large modern ED, super friendly and happy residents, excellent faculty, seems like a great combination of academic and county experience in the same hospital, strong off-service rotations, great simulation training and sim center, good US experience, great Peds experience, cost of living seems to be manageable
(-) Location, weather, can't think of much else
6. Cook County - This program and Boston were in a heated battle for the #6 spot. In the end, my familiarity with the program (I did a 3rd year rotation here) and the fact that I wouldn't have to move (I go to school in Chicago) won out. Strong program with the environment that I'm looking for. Felt that I got along with the residents and would fit in.
(+) County environment, residents run the show, lots of autonomy and responsibility, great US experience, good didactics, friendly residents, great attendings who take the time to teach you some clinical pearls, one of the stronger programs in the hospital, large modern ED, underserved patient population, high-acuity, Chicago offers you a ton of things to do in your spare time, 8 hour shifts
(-) 3 months of floor medicine (yikes!), only 6 weeks of elective time in a 4-year program, paper charting and orders, not much academic or ivory tower experience, not-as-strong off-service rotations, trauma separate from the main ED, high cost of living, craptacular weather, Chicago traffic
7. Christ - Great program and I'm very familiar with the hospital (did a lot of 3rd year clerkships here), but I felt that I would fit in better with the Cook residents so that's why I put Cook above Christ. Otherwise, a very strong program at a place where you'll see everyone and everything.
(+) Super-smart residents, excellent faculty, the hospital in general is really dedicated to teaching, residents run the show, lots of autonomy, lots of procedures, truly diverse patient population, great amount of trauma (blunt and penetrating), high-acuity patients, probably the strongest program in the hospital, great US experience, 3 years, Chicago has tons to offer
(-) Only one site (I'm looking for at least one other rotation site), high cost of living, craptacular weather, Chicago traffic, not-so-strong off-service rotations
8. Boston - I had a tough time deciding where to put this program as I think that the curriculum is really strong and Boston is a pretty decent location. However, like I said first-hand experience won out so Boston fell to #8. That being said, this is an awesome program with a great curriculum and friendly residents.
(+) Academic center but a county patient population, busy ED, underserved patient population, lots of trauma handled in the department, friendly residents who seemed happy, excellent faculty, strong US and international/public health, strong reputation within the hospital, Boston has lots to offer, 5 months of electives
(-) 12 hour shifts for the first 2 years, high cost of living, doesn't seem very strong in Peds, it might take you a while to figure out how to drive around in Boston, weather
9. U of Chicago - Another great program with a strong national reputation. Boston beat out U of C because I'm not really interested in flying and that is required at U of C. To me, all of the negative press and change in some of the faculty are no longer an issue. No pre-interview social makes it tougher to feel out the residents, but I got a good sense of them during the interview day and felt that I could fit in.
(+) Long-standing program with a great reputation, county-type patients at a huge academic center, diverse patients, high-acuity and complex patients, diverse clinical sites, good amount of autonomy, I liked the PD and associate PD, friendly residents, flight experience, good ICU time, no call months third year, Chicago
(-) Weather, too many clinical sites, Chicago traffic, high cost of living, main hospital not a Level II trauma center, REQUIRED flight time during shifts as an R2
10. Maryland - I did a rotation here and had an awesome experience. This was purely a location thing (and I'm trying to not do 12 hour shifts) because I think Maryland is an awesome program with a great curriculum.
(+) County-type population at an academic institution, excellent teaching by attendings and residents, strong US, Shock Trauma, modern ED, enough patient volume to not be bored but not so much that you're super-overwhelmed, very good didactics, PD is a great guy and teacher, residents were super-nice and got along well together, seniors act as junior attendings, affordable cost of living, 3 years
(-) Baltimore (has some nice spots but not too many), not a really diverse patient population, 12 hour shifts, maybe Peds is not so strong?
11. BIDMC - A bit too academic for me as I am looking for a more county experience. I think you would great teaching here, however, and the residents and attendings seemed nice enough. Just not the environment I'm looking for.
(+) Great name, strong academic setting and exposure, optional 4th year as a junior attending (a huge plus in my opinion), good teaching, modern ED tracking and EMR, sick patients, diverse patient populations, working at BoSox games, Boston seems like a cool place to live for a few years
(-) Weather, getting lost driving around Boston, too academic for me, high cost of living, didn't have the most positive experience during the pre-interview social
12. Hopkins - I actually was pretty impressed with Hopkins after my interview day. I actually liked the fourth year with focused tracks and had good vibes with the residents and faculty during the pre-interview social and interviews. Ultimately, location won out otherwise this might have been higher.
(+) Great name, excellent and well-known faculty, friendly residents that were involved throughout the interview day, the new PD seems really nice and motivated, good didactics, new medical center on the way (but not for the next few years), urban patient population, great trauma experience, affordable cost of living
(-) Location, not a very diverse patient population, not sure of the relations with other services in the hospital, no moonlighting (yet), relatively old and small ED (nitpicking as I don't really care much about facilities... as long as I have a place to work)
13. MetroHealth - If this wasn't in Cleveland it would be much higher on my list. Good mix of academic/tertiary and county with the two sites (Cleveland Clinic and Metro), great exposure in the areas I'm interested in, diverse patient populations.
(+) Two great and different clinical sites, diverse patient populations, county exposure and complex medical cases (transplant patients), strong exposure in US and critical care, good trauma experience at Metro, optional flight experience, moonlighting options, 3 years, low cost of living
(-) Location, didn't get a good sense of the residents as only 2 showed up for the pre-interview social (the residents I met during the interview day were all cool and nice, but I still would have liked to see a better turnout), didn't get a good sense of the amount of teaching that goes on, you'll work very hard here (which isn't really a negative for me but it's not a positive either)
14. Georgetown - Funny story. I was scheduled to interview here in December and was in town for the huge snowstorm that dropped 20 inches of snow in DC. I was called by the PC the Saturday before my interview (which was on Monday) and was told my interview was canceled and that I could reschedule (which I couldn't because all of their available dates didn't work with my schedule). So, I didn't interview here but decided to rank them anyways because it seems like a good program on paper, I liked the location (D.C.), and would rather not scramble (of course this would depend on if they ranked me as well). So it made it on the list.
15. Arizona/UPHK - I had a great interview day and all of the faculty are from the University, but in the end I wasn't too comfortable going to a brand new program in a city where I have no friends or family. Although it is closer to California than Chicago is. Also, rotation specifics were not really made available to us during the interview day, so I had to assume that it would be similar to UA's rotation schedule.
(+) UA faculty along with their years of experience in training residents, county-type patient population at Kino, theoretically a good mix of county and academic with you doing some rotations at UA, underserved patient population at Kino, border medicine, great weather while I was there (70s in January... beautiful), I had great interviews with the PD and associate PD, the other applicants were pretty cool, 3 years, low cost of living
(-) Brand-newness of the program (despite the experience of the UA faculty), didn't learn much about the specific rotations during the interview day, only met 1 UA resident at the pre-interview dinner
(+/-) Tucson. Seems to be great for outdoor activities and year-round great weather, but a little to small of a city for me
16. Resurrection - Had a great interview day, but in the end it didn't have the county environment that I was looking for.
(+) Friendly residents and attendings who seem to get along great together, good US exposure with an in-house fellowship, diverse patient populations, diverse training sites, manageable work load, Chicago has lots to offer
(-) Not county enough for me, driving to the multiple sites in Chicago traffic could be bad (see UofC), craptacular weather
17. University Hospitals Case - Again, the newness of the program and the location made the program lower on my list. It being ranked last is no reflection on the people I met or the program in general... it's just how things worked out in the end. Someone has to be on the bottom.
(+) Good amount of ICU time, manageable work schedule, friendly residents and attendings, affiliated with Case Western, low cost of living, 3 years
(-) Newness of the program, location, weather
Writing out this list and doing residency reviews allowed me to see that I interviewed at some great programs. I honestly would be happy to match at any of the programs I ranked (which is why they were ranked in the first place). Good luck to everyone on Match Day!
- Joined
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thanks to everyone for posting so far.
1. Maricopa: County is def my preference. really like the residents, PD, all the different looks the community rotations will give you in addition to being at the county hospital. Stapchinski (sp). Phx is cool enough. only negative's really hot in the summer and its even farther from family on the east coast.
2. UF jax, again super pathology, loved the faculty. I grew up in FL, and have seen and worked with grads from uf jax and ormc for over a decade. I prefer the jax approach and personality more then the other FL programs
3. Henry ford, great path, well funded program have family in the area. detroit is post apocalyptic with an eternal winter. I'll get to tell everyone I trained in the movie mad max thunderdome. I really liked the residents. negative: no moonlighting except the in house thing third year. and I really don't love the cold. I felt the faculty was a little more geared to teaching than Det rec. Oh, fyi. Rivers is super nice.
4. USF, best ED I've ever seen. got along well with the faculty and residents. I've worked at tampa general before that's a plus minus for me as I'd like to try something different. Davis island and tampa are really nice to live in. negative still new. maybe some overtone in the residents of them working you really hard for the sake of working you really hard. I enjoyed their lecture series.
5. Detroit Receiving, I like the county style lots of autonomy. great path. didn't care for one of the assistant PD, every one else was great.
6. MUSC, diverse faculty, great city and residents. I don't like the division of medicine thing, or the newness, but I think it's really moving forward. The interns were all top notch people
7 ORMC, this is home. I think the training is excellent. I didn't mesh with the residents, got an arrogant vibe from some of the residents. I never joined a frat, but I think that's what it's like there. "lets live in orlando, and meet chicks". Not my thing, but the training and being home keeps it here.
8 Christus Spohn, I like that it's just EM and family med. I think a motivated person would walk out of here better trained then most. corpus has great weather, and is a decent city to live in. I thing they've had some problems with accreditation, that have been all resolved. Still it makes me nervous that it's still a little new. The residents were nice, but a little overly focused on moonlighting to the point of detriment to training. Saw a guy coming in after working all night, he was working the next day. residents kept saying over and over how great the moonlight is. I want moonlighting but as a part of training and in moderation.
9 MCG, nice residents, liked the US training operation medicine is strong too. Augusta was better than what you would think listening to other people.
10 ECU, pitt county: residents were a little dull, otherwise good program nice little town I'd be fine going here.
11 UT Chattanooga, love Chattanooga I think they'll be great in 3 years. I don't like the division of surg thing, I really thought one faculty member there was a huge jerk, residents were nice enough, PD was really a joy to be around.
12 Sinai Grace Wayne state: lots of path, I didn't even get the idea they were interested at all in teaching, but just pushing patients through as quickly as possible and having that be how you learn exclusively. I want county plus teaching not just working to move patients with little to no help ever.
13 UAMS, little rock is nice. this program has critically low patient volume, little in the way of pathology, the program is the second weakest on campus second only to family medicine. they carry no respect, didactics are terrible residents present 15 minutes then stand around for an hour. they're really nice people in general to work with, but nice is not enough. two faculty and a few residents are top notch doctors and teachers the rest are just clock punching.
14 florida hospital. not impressed lakeland sees it's share of trauma, but is an not enough to be a trauma rotation. US program ok. no sim lab, no pig lab. They don't have it going yet and it could be a while. you can't learn just because the sun shines and you live in orlando. This place was so wanting in my opinion it was a real decision to even put them on my list.
really interested in what other's think of those top 3 programs especially maricopa.
1. Maricopa: County is def my preference. really like the residents, PD, all the different looks the community rotations will give you in addition to being at the county hospital. Stapchinski (sp). Phx is cool enough. only negative's really hot in the summer and its even farther from family on the east coast.
2. UF jax, again super pathology, loved the faculty. I grew up in FL, and have seen and worked with grads from uf jax and ormc for over a decade. I prefer the jax approach and personality more then the other FL programs
3. Henry ford, great path, well funded program have family in the area. detroit is post apocalyptic with an eternal winter. I'll get to tell everyone I trained in the movie mad max thunderdome. I really liked the residents. negative: no moonlighting except the in house thing third year. and I really don't love the cold. I felt the faculty was a little more geared to teaching than Det rec. Oh, fyi. Rivers is super nice.
4. USF, best ED I've ever seen. got along well with the faculty and residents. I've worked at tampa general before that's a plus minus for me as I'd like to try something different. Davis island and tampa are really nice to live in. negative still new. maybe some overtone in the residents of them working you really hard for the sake of working you really hard. I enjoyed their lecture series.
5. Detroit Receiving, I like the county style lots of autonomy. great path. didn't care for one of the assistant PD, every one else was great.
6. MUSC, diverse faculty, great city and residents. I don't like the division of medicine thing, or the newness, but I think it's really moving forward. The interns were all top notch people
7 ORMC, this is home. I think the training is excellent. I didn't mesh with the residents, got an arrogant vibe from some of the residents. I never joined a frat, but I think that's what it's like there. "lets live in orlando, and meet chicks". Not my thing, but the training and being home keeps it here.
8 Christus Spohn, I like that it's just EM and family med. I think a motivated person would walk out of here better trained then most. corpus has great weather, and is a decent city to live in. I thing they've had some problems with accreditation, that have been all resolved. Still it makes me nervous that it's still a little new. The residents were nice, but a little overly focused on moonlighting to the point of detriment to training. Saw a guy coming in after working all night, he was working the next day. residents kept saying over and over how great the moonlight is. I want moonlighting but as a part of training and in moderation.
9 MCG, nice residents, liked the US training operation medicine is strong too. Augusta was better than what you would think listening to other people.
10 ECU, pitt county: residents were a little dull, otherwise good program nice little town I'd be fine going here.
11 UT Chattanooga, love Chattanooga I think they'll be great in 3 years. I don't like the division of surg thing, I really thought one faculty member there was a huge jerk, residents were nice enough, PD was really a joy to be around.
12 Sinai Grace Wayne state: lots of path, I didn't even get the idea they were interested at all in teaching, but just pushing patients through as quickly as possible and having that be how you learn exclusively. I want county plus teaching not just working to move patients with little to no help ever.
13 UAMS, little rock is nice. this program has critically low patient volume, little in the way of pathology, the program is the second weakest on campus second only to family medicine. they carry no respect, didactics are terrible residents present 15 minutes then stand around for an hour. they're really nice people in general to work with, but nice is not enough. two faculty and a few residents are top notch doctors and teachers the rest are just clock punching.
14 florida hospital. not impressed lakeland sees it's share of trauma, but is an not enough to be a trauma rotation. US program ok. no sim lab, no pig lab. They don't have it going yet and it could be a while. you can't learn just because the sun shines and you live in orlando. This place was so wanting in my opinion it was a real decision to even put them on my list.
really interested in what other's think of those top 3 programs especially maricopa.
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Here is My ROL. Keep in mind I'm couples matching and applying to the peds/EM programs
1 Wash U - solely b/c the wife wanted STL #1 I would have had Indy here otherwise with WashU at about 5
2 Indiana Univ combined EM/Peds - see #1
3 Indiana Univ - Just felt most at home with Indiana
4 UAB
5 UTSW
6 Emory
7 Louisville
8 UF-Jacksonville - did an away here and if I weren't couples matching this would have likely been #1 or at least top 3 with Indy's programs
9 Duke
10 Duke - listed twice b/c couples match
11 MCoG
12 Maryland combined EM/peds
13 Maryland
14 Vanderbilt
15 UTSW couples match paired with Baylor Dallas
16 LSU-NO
17 Arkansas
18 Duke - again couples match
19 ORMC
20 UF-Gainesville
21 LSU-BR
22 VCU
23 USF
24 LSU-NO - must I say again couples match
25 LSU-BR - couples match again, and again and again
programs I didn't even rank: SLU (too new), Fla Hosp-Orlando (got a completely weird vibe and again too new)
now if I weren't in couples match my list would have probably looked similar to this
1. Indy peds/em
2. UF-Jax
3. Maryland peds/em
4. Indy
5. LSU-NO
6. Maryland
7. Wash U
8. UT-SW
9. ORMC
and then everyone else
BTW - 21 interviews is far too many and hella expensive I would advise it for noone.
1 Wash U - solely b/c the wife wanted STL #1 I would have had Indy here otherwise with WashU at about 5
2 Indiana Univ combined EM/Peds - see #1
3 Indiana Univ - Just felt most at home with Indiana
4 UAB
5 UTSW
6 Emory
7 Louisville
8 UF-Jacksonville - did an away here and if I weren't couples matching this would have likely been #1 or at least top 3 with Indy's programs
9 Duke
10 Duke - listed twice b/c couples match
11 MCoG
12 Maryland combined EM/peds
13 Maryland
14 Vanderbilt
15 UTSW couples match paired with Baylor Dallas
16 LSU-NO
17 Arkansas
18 Duke - again couples match
19 ORMC
20 UF-Gainesville
21 LSU-BR
22 VCU
23 USF
24 LSU-NO - must I say again couples match
25 LSU-BR - couples match again, and again and again
programs I didn't even rank: SLU (too new), Fla Hosp-Orlando (got a completely weird vibe and again too new)
now if I weren't in couples match my list would have probably looked similar to this
1. Indy peds/em
2. UF-Jax
3. Maryland peds/em
4. Indy
5. LSU-NO
6. Maryland
7. Wash U
8. UT-SW
9. ORMC
and then everyone else
BTW - 21 interviews is far too many and hella expensive I would advise it for noone.
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Preface: I ranked entirely based on instinct. I'm of the belief that I'm going to get awesome training wherever I go, so my rank list reflects where I felt I'd be happiest in terms of personalities, location, and general atmosphere of the program. Honestly, I had awesome experiences at (almost) all of my interviews, and I'd be delighted to end up at (again - almost) any of them. I'm not going to review these unless someone asks me to, since there are excellent/detailed commentaries on all of them already on this site (and because I'm laaaaazy right now... and on call - blah).
1) SLRHC
2) BIDMC
3) NY Presby
4) Brown
5) Yale
6) Penn
7) BMC
8) Mt. Sinai
Not putting the last couple, cuz they're awesome programs, but I just didn't feel like I fit in - and I don't wanna sway anyone against them.
1) SLRHC
2) BIDMC
3) NY Presby
4) Brown
5) Yale
6) Penn
7) BMC
8) Mt. Sinai
Not putting the last couple, cuz they're awesome programs, but I just didn't feel like I fit in - and I don't wanna sway anyone against them.
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I'm glad to see that no one has put my top 2 choices at #1 yet.
Care to share?
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Congratulations to you all for being done with such an important part of your life (ROL certification). I am in a slightly different position as I am about to finish my residency, and its really interesting to see the perspective difference on what I value as important now and what has been helpful to me in my training compared with what I used to think as a medical student and what many of you comment upon. Also, having rotated at many of the places that are consistently believed to be, "top" programs as a resident as a medical student its interesting to see the discrepancy in what people believe to be "great pathology," and "great training," are as training progresses.
For what its worth, I know it seems as though all of your assessments are greatly detailed and you have an idea which programs have the greatest pathology and greatest teaching...dont worry most of you don't really get what the most difficult things for Emergency Medicine really are and which residencies see the "sickest" patients, but you will learn.
Sit back, enjoy the ride from here, its an awesome one! No matter where you end up, you all are going to become great clinicians if you put in the effort. Most residencies will meet every drop of enthusiasm you bring to the table and then some, as long as you stay hungry to learn and to help people.
Good luck everyone and try not to sweat the match that much!
TL
For what its worth, I know it seems as though all of your assessments are greatly detailed and you have an idea which programs have the greatest pathology and greatest teaching...dont worry most of you don't really get what the most difficult things for Emergency Medicine really are and which residencies see the "sickest" patients, but you will learn.
Sit back, enjoy the ride from here, its an awesome one! No matter where you end up, you all are going to become great clinicians if you put in the effort. Most residencies will meet every drop of enthusiasm you bring to the table and then some, as long as you stay hungry to learn and to help people.
Good luck everyone and try not to sweat the match that much!
TL
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It is frightening how much I undervalued some aspects of residency and overvalued others as a student. The interview process definitely skews one's perspective toward bright shiny things and not the true nitty gritty of residency. Oh well, there is no use in trying to convince any of this now, it comes with experience. Good luck to all.
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It's over and done with now for the Class of 2010, but I would love to hear some examples now that 2 of you have chimed in!
Care to share?
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Exactly. I asked this exact question while on the interview trail and never really got a straight answer. Some said forget the spread sheets, rank on your gut; others recommended paying more attention to ED flow, documentation, and career guidance. However, most of the time the answers I got did little to improve my ability to evaluate a program. I feel that it is less about being attracted to "shiny things" and more about trying to base a decision on the few things you are exposed to during a short interview experience.
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Here are some examples:
o Trauma: I know a lot of y'all are more sophisticated about this now, but still, many interviewees seemed overly focused on it. I do believe that most places you go will more than adequately train you to handle it. Better questions: Who has the airway? And once you've mastered that, who runs the entire trauma exercise?
o Pathology: I hear lots of "I think that X program wouldn't give you diverse enough pathology." I call total BS. I'm at an academic program on the East Coast and you would think that our pathology might be limited given our geography. Oh HECK no. It's insane the stuff that we see and it's totally not something that could have been gleaned from our or anyone else's interview day.
o Your role in the ED: Something that I never thought to ask but which is incredibly important, as it plays into how you'll feel as you approach graduation. At my program starting second year, you're responsible for your side of the ED. That is, you advise interns, help manage flow, take ground EMS calls, manage traumas, deal with flow issues, and still are expected to manage a LOT of pts, more so than as an intern. (as an aside, I'm intrigued by what BIDMC is doing but not sure at this point if it would be worth it).
o Electives: it's hard to know now what you'll want to do in EM, just as it was hard to know prior to coming to med school. However, it should be a little easier. I would gravitate to those programs that are less rigid and more flexible that way.
o Interactions with the residents and attendings: one thing that I hear over and over is that "residents were cool/not cool." You obviously want to see yourself in a place where you'd get along and have a good time. But don't forget that you're here to get professional training, not revist the glory days of college or med school. It helps to be around nice and fun, but critically important that they be smart and driven as well. They'll raise your game! Also, wrt attending interaction: at my program it's very much of a collegial thing with the attendings rather than a top-down approach, whereas at another program that I rotated at the residents were given minimal leeway and instead were there to Move the Meat.
Just my two cents.
o Trauma: I know a lot of y'all are more sophisticated about this now, but still, many interviewees seemed overly focused on it. I do believe that most places you go will more than adequately train you to handle it. Better questions: Who has the airway? And once you've mastered that, who runs the entire trauma exercise?
o Pathology: I hear lots of "I think that X program wouldn't give you diverse enough pathology." I call total BS. I'm at an academic program on the East Coast and you would think that our pathology might be limited given our geography. Oh HECK no. It's insane the stuff that we see and it's totally not something that could have been gleaned from our or anyone else's interview day.
o Your role in the ED: Something that I never thought to ask but which is incredibly important, as it plays into how you'll feel as you approach graduation. At my program starting second year, you're responsible for your side of the ED. That is, you advise interns, help manage flow, take ground EMS calls, manage traumas, deal with flow issues, and still are expected to manage a LOT of pts, more so than as an intern. (as an aside, I'm intrigued by what BIDMC is doing but not sure at this point if it would be worth it).
o Electives: it's hard to know now what you'll want to do in EM, just as it was hard to know prior to coming to med school. However, it should be a little easier.
I would gravitate to those programs that are less rigid and more flexible that way. o Interactions with the residents and attendings: one thing that I hear over and over is that "residents were cool/not cool." You obviously want to see yourself in a place where you'd get along and have a good time. But don't forget that you're here to get professional training, not revist the glory days of college or med school. It helps to be around nice and fun, but critically important that they be smart and driven as well. They'll raise your game! Also, wrt attending interaction: at my program it's very much of a collegial thing with the attendings rather than a top-down approach, whereas at another program that I rotated at the residents were given minimal leeway and instead were there to Move the Meat.
Just my two cents.
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Interesting.
Here on SDN and IRL I've advised many students to pick their research labs not because of a flashy project or lab prestige, but on the strength of the mentor - how much the PI develops you as a scientist and how much they see you as a person worth teaching and improving. My experience in research has been that the PIs who invests in their students gives the learner a much more worthwhile and fun experience, and lab productivity/papers naturally follow.
Food for thought.
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Think about what your practice environment will be like when youre done. This is the key consideration. The only consideration.
Unless you are planning to be part of a flight team as an attending (I'm not sure where you can do that), having a strong flight resident presence is a perk and not a key decision in ranking.
As was just mentioned, trauma is an overvalued part of residency by medical students, but as residents progress, it becomes very easy and sometimes more of a chore. Trauma is quite easy for EM, stabilize the patient and get more definitive care. If you work in a trauma center, you aren't even the only one involved in the stabilization. Furthermore, I have begun to appreciate the best practice trauma care is not necessarily correlated with volume, and so "seeing the most trauma," doesnt mean practicing the "best trauma care." This may be the right training setting for someone whose eventual plan is to work in a similar setting with similar resources, and constraints; however, it is not going to be acceptible practice in an environment where evidence based practice rules, and cost effective practice is a key metric in your evaluation as a physician.
As a medical student, I was so focused upon procedural numbers....heres the ugly truth of this: everyone is comfortable with central lines, intubations, chest tubes etc. It only takes so many until you feel comfortable doing the procedure, and every resident is amazingly trained from every residency. Also, in the off chance, you dont feel entirely comfortable with every patient, you will continue to improve after graduation and will eventually gain the experience you need to feel like its second nature.
Most medical students undervalue the importance of seeing the "sick" medical patients (by this I mean, the non-trauma). Also, those that know to ask the question, dont ask, what makes a patient "sick?" because many hospital claim to have these patients...I have to admit, its a hard thing to fully explain, but I will say having COPD, CAD, DM, Hx of PE all in one really isnt a sick patient...its unfortunately the standard in America today. Sick is critical care...it is transplants, acute central vascular calamities...with the above comorbidites mixed in. This is the most difficult part to assess I think as a student on an interview...but remember, there is no "sick patient team" to come and help with these folks. The EM physician stands alone when they come to your ED, so you better be great and be comfortable! Not all residencies are equal in this training.
Evidence based practice is a label that is thrown around frequently. The reality is there is a clear difference when you hear an Evidence Based lecture and one that is not. Your comfort as a physician that you are providing the best care, the most cost effective care, and the most cutting edge care increases with your ability to know, analyze, and discuss the current literature. Different places breed this differently. Also, even if an institution wishes to teach evidence based care, not all hospitals have the resources to practice cutting edge care, and you may find yourself at the end of your residency believing you know the best practice, when in actuality you know the best practice for your institutions constraints. This again, gets back to knowing your eventual practice environment...and targetting your training to that education.
My final thought (and again, these are just my opinions on this...if they make sense to you, use them, if not disgard them), is that no one hospital will train you for everything in EM. Some places will see dysbarisms, others will see envenomations, some have hypothermic patients, others have hyperthermic ones, tick born illnesses are seen some places, where as you may have spelunking illnesses elsewhere...so appreciate that this is what makes our specialty so great, and try and take time to travel around the US (or the world), and learn from the patients that are in each locale. This is the only way to make sure you are ready for everything, everytime, anywhere (my version of an EM physician).
These are just my personal views on this subject, and each of you will formulate your own, and will love this job if you put in the effort...
Have fun,
TL
1. Maine- spent a fantastic month here. Friendly, engaged, motivated residents with a variety of interests. Great faculty, and everyone loves Jane Kane. Thought faculty/resident interactions were very collegial and thoughtful. Program is focused on teaching. New sim lab coming. Portland is awesome. This was, in the end, my "gut" choice.
2. Utah- struggled to put this #2 vs. #1 as I was totally and unexpectedly blown away by their program. Two great hospitals, procedures galore, awesome residents, skiing... but I have a spouse who needs a job and we have NO connections in SLC. I would really be thrilled to match here though.
3. BIDMC- had a great month here as well. This is a phenomenal program, nice (and super-competent) residents, great teaching and academics... I just would prefer not to live in Boston, which drove it down the list.
4. UNM- VERY impressed with this program and the PD, lots of innovations (ie involvement of the dept in public health issues, new fellowships, etc), great department... again, this one was largely location-driven: ABQ didn't strike me as where I wanted to spend the next chunk of my life.
5. BW/MGH- the one program I felt I really didn't "fit" at. Seemed a little more formal than some of the others as far as teaching and attending/resident interaction went. Just didn't like it, especially for four years. BUT some of my favorite attendings elsewhere graduated from this program, so it makes great docs. Of course.
(And yes, I only took 5 interviews. I knew I'd be really happy at either of the places I rotated, weeded down the others to places I was very interested in, and left it at that.)
2. Utah- struggled to put this #2 vs. #1 as I was totally and unexpectedly blown away by their program. Two great hospitals, procedures galore, awesome residents, skiing... but I have a spouse who needs a job and we have NO connections in SLC. I would really be thrilled to match here though.
3. BIDMC- had a great month here as well. This is a phenomenal program, nice (and super-competent) residents, great teaching and academics... I just would prefer not to live in Boston, which drove it down the list.
4. UNM- VERY impressed with this program and the PD, lots of innovations (ie involvement of the dept in public health issues, new fellowships, etc), great department... again, this one was largely location-driven: ABQ didn't strike me as where I wanted to spend the next chunk of my life.
5. BW/MGH- the one program I felt I really didn't "fit" at. Seemed a little more formal than some of the others as far as teaching and attending/resident interaction went. Just didn't like it, especially for four years. BUT some of my favorite attendings elsewhere graduated from this program, so it makes great docs. Of course.
(And yes, I only took 5 interviews. I knew I'd be really happy at either of the places I rotated, weeded down the others to places I was very interested in, and left it at that.)
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I completely agree. Ultimately, I think this just speaks to the mantra that the best program is the one you're in.
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I have to say that, there are, however, many medical students that are looking for the right things. I am at a level II trauma center, with what I think is a perfect combination of extremely sick patients + minimal fast-track-drunks-drug seeker BS + minimal scut + pro-resident admin + diversity, and I try not to roll my eyes when applicants say "The program is great BUT it's not a Level I"(and this is in NYC, where Level I doesn't even see much) It's a hard sell but I even try to tell the applicants that it's an advantage that we don't waste too much time doing "trauma scut" but some people just don't buy it. However every year I'm just a tiny bit delightfully suprirsed that we match the type of residents that are looking for us and what we are looking for.
At the end, I think it works out that you get what you ask for and you don't get what you don't ask for, and everyone will get to be an attending in 3/4 years time.
One advice that I do have in terms of what applicants should look for, is that if the residents at a program tell you that they have "good training", that's kind of like a SLOR saying that you are a "good applicant." Everyone will say postive things about their program. BUT, if the residents can look you straight in the eyes and tell you that "this is some of the BEST training out there" then believe that and you got a winner.
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Sure... but what resident can honestly say that without having trained anywhere else?
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and on top of that, cognitive dissonance. as long as one isn't completely miserable, most people will convince themselves (genuinely) that they're in a very good fit at a very good program, wherever they end up. not that that's such a bad thing.
in the end, i think it comes down to a very simple set of concrete and objective differences - location, 3 or 4 year program, 9/10/12 hour ED shifts, and whether or not you're friends with other residents in the hospital. i think that's pretty much it. everything else people say to sell a program: "we have great pathology", "there's a lot of camaraderie", "we place people very competitively when they graduate", etc. these are all interchangeable among programs and a little cliched.
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FWIW, I think a lot of those "Duke is Malignant!" rumors stem mostly from the general surgery program. The surgical residents used to have to wear white pants, white shoes, and a short white coat during Intern year and it goes without saying that a 7 year general surgery program is rough even without the "omg Sabiston" environment. Having done my gensurg clerkship in the depths of it, I can't say that Duke Surgery doesn't deserve the reputation. HOWEVER, I think Duke EM is too new still to have a reputation like that and, if they do, it's likely undeserved. Most of the residents I've talked to in EM here are pretty happy, particularly given the recreational opportunities Duke/NC have to offer, and in all truth from a ms4 perspective the "feel" of being in the ED at Duke is totally different than that of being in the OR or on the surgery floors. Plus the ED is gorgeous.
$0.02.
Thanks for the feedback PageEmma. What you say makes a lot of sense. I wish I had heard the negative things BEFORE my interview so that I could have asked the residents about it while I was there...or at least tried to more specifically gauge how happy they really were. This was the one place I felt like my own (brief) impression of a program and the things I was hearing from other applicants were really not lining up. I'm reassured that you felt like they were a good group. And yes, the ED was beautiful!
Good luck with the match!
Good luck with the match!
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The ROL's from previous years benefitted me enormously throughout this process. When deciding where to apply and interview, they provided tangential encapsulations of high and low points of each place; while interviewing, they gave me an idea of what sort of crowd each place attracts; and while making my own list, they provided alternative insights into the opportunities and weaknesses of various future homes. With that in mind, I want to offer up my list for future applicants.
Caveats in reading it:
-My S.O. (not in medicine) and I looking pretty much across the country.
-The order of programs was altered heavily by personal factors for myself and my S.O. In other words, don't interpret my ranking Program X on spot above Program Y to mean that the one is clearly better than the other. In fact, there are some really fantastic programs buried in my list just because of personal factors for us as a couple.
-From the start, I knew I wanted a heavily academic program. During interview season, I realized that I would not be well-served in a straight county program and became drawn to programs that to a good job balancing this experience with one at a strong tertiary center.
-Regarding the eternal 3 vs 4 debate: I've been open to both types of programs throughout the process. Who's right?I ultimately think it's those who say that the ideal EM residency would be 3.5 years. In the end, from each 3-year program, I wanted see solid research and teaching opportunities to let me begin developing those skills before fellowship. From each 4-year program, I wanted to see distinct pathways to help me develop said research and teaching skills, while also fostering further clinical leadership in the fourth year.
1. UCSF-SFGH - Just had an incredibly strong "at home" feeling here from the start of the pre-interview social throughout the whole interview day. My mentor warned me that this would happen at a few places and that I should trust it when making my rank list. I adhered to her advice.
(+) New program with the chance to mold its reputation. "New" program in name only, as faculty have taught Highland and Stanford residents forever and are huge in academic EM. Fantastic research possibilities/mentorship. Intellectually passionate EM residents with whom I felt great kinship. Intellectually passionate residents in all other specialties. Very strong off-service rotations. "Areas of Distinction" to develop niche. SFGH is only Level I in SF, so trauma (though not the hardest part of the job) will be undiluted while at that site. Curriculum combined all the best elements from everywhere else that I interviewed. Fantastic educators throughout program hierarchy. Dr. Promes would fight a bear to get something that she felt was needed for her residents. Chance to work with SDN's own Roja (woot woot!). SF is beautiful and full of wonderful opportunities for S.O. Though S.O. and I are not from CA, we've got a lot of friends in the Bay Area. Every recreational activity imaginable within two hours of SF.
(-) New program still carving out its role at two major clinical sites. Solid, but not fantastic peds experience. Question of how CA budget woes will affect them in the next few years. COL in SF. Still developing their model for graduated responsibility.
2. BIDMC - Another place that exuded a"home" feeling. I rotated at BWH/MGH, but came to feel that I could better capitalize on my potential across the street. (However, would be thrilled to match at either HAEMR program, and definitely would have ranked the other higher if I had more of an interest in international EM.)
(+) Program that has solidly established a great reputation for itself. Amazing research. 3+1 gives unique opportunities regardless of which practice pathway one ends up taking. Strong graduated responsibility patterned after Denver model. Awesomely interested chairman. Ethos of institution as "Harvard with a heart" per one of my interviewersi.e., they're dedicated to clinical and research excellence, but don't get caught up in it. Loved the residents. Feel like the Dashboard EMR would help me to follow-up on patients better and thus learn more. Diversity of seven sites. Diversity of faculty backgrounds. Boston is fun and have family in the area.
(-) Travel issues with seven sites. Not huge county experience (though BIDMC itself and several other site provide some experience). No integrated peds, though do see peds pts in ED's at several of secondary sites. S.O. and I have both lived in Boston, but want to experience somewhere else for a few years. COL in Boston.
3. University of Chicago - Ditto the "home" feeling. After the turmoil of last year, I was very wary about the program initially. As the season progressed, my worries melted away regarding its future. Still, the program has lost a few faculty and may need a few years to return to its previous level of awesomeness.
(+) Unique combo of SICK patients at UofC site: transplant/chemo/congenital pts balanced with more-county-than-a-lot-of-county-places locals undergoing florid decompensation of untreated chronic illnesses. (Honestly, when people talk about being an "EM monster" once you graduate, I'm always amused that this place gets overlooked.) Diversity of clinical experience at four sites (including great concentrated trauma months at Sinai and bread-and-butter EM at Lutheran and North Shore). Dr. Howes: there are few PDs more dedicated to their program and more distinguished/connected throughout the country. Associate PD, Dr. Babcock, has pumped enthusiastic fresh blood into leadership hierarchy. Lots of ICU. Fantastic peds at UofC mixed with steady bread-and-butter at other sites. Big service component to working here. Flight experience that teaches you to call the shots entirely on your own at an early stage of residency. Strong graduated responsibility. Diverse and fun residents. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Aforementioned penumbra of issues from last year. Travel issues with four sites. Their graduated responsibility model is perhaps a little too accelerated for me. No floor months (I know I'm in the minority, but I do see some value in these). Clinical experience seems so stuffed that may not have as much opportunity to develop research skills as well as at other places (but hence is the purpose of a fellowship). Cold Chicago winters.
4. UCLA/Olive View - loved the feel of the place, but it just wasn't quite the fit for myself and S.O. as the three programs above it. Would still be thrilled to match here, as still had a deep "home" feeling.
(+) Balance of pathology between two main sites, plus great no-holds-barred experience at Antelope Valley and healthy supplement of another ivory tower at Cedars Sinai. Very, very strong research mentors. Broad intern year to help you build foundations for rest of residency and the rest of your clinical career. 3-month elective block in fourth year to really flesh out your training. Program leadership that clearly cares about resident wellness (and who could sell ice to Siberians). Uber-happy residents. Strong family feel throughout program. For fun, everything you could want is within a two hour drive of LA.
(-) Commute can be brutal at times no matter where you live in LA. Lack of strong graduated responsibility at OV. Still in the midst of transition from 2-4-->1-4 and inevitable bumps in the road that come with it. Middle-of-the-road peds experience. COL in LA. S.O. and I have never seen ourselves as LA people and don't want to trade our current bad traffic experience for an even worse one.
5. Advocate Christ - Sleeper program of year for me. Outstanding clinical experience that I could then supplement with fellowship in eventual niche.
(+) Great pathology: no doubt that you'll leave here having feeling comfortable with every procedure under the sun. Strong integrated peds. True family feelright down to sizable resident role in the interview day and ranking process. Friendly people throughout the residency and department. Accelerating development of research program. Moonlighting potential from second month of residency. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Single site. EM residents are strongest in the hospitalwhen I'm off-service, I want there to be no doubt that I can learn a lot from my co-residents and faculty. See sickest patients from day one, but with little graduated responsibility. Cold Chicago winters.
6. BWH/MGH - as mentioned, I rotated here and loved it. Like almost all things Harvard, it shines with people who are driven to excel in their chosen fields and who want to take advantage of collaborative opportunities offered at the Big H. Would still be overjoyed to match here, but it dropped because I just don't think that the fourth year is intrinsically justified here (though if one crafts their experience appropriately, there's no doubt that they'll come out with an incredible CV).
(+) Complementary experience of BWH (super-tertiary/quaternary care) and MGH (tertiary plus county). Essentially two full departments stuffed with amazing academic faculty. Very strong research mentorship. Excellent off-service experiences. Program leadership that is dedicated to helping you reach the extremes of your potential. Clicked well with residents. International contacts/experience are almost unparalleled. Family in the area.
(-) Graduated responsibility, but didn't see it run as smoothly as other places on the trail. Don't think that BWH/MGH gets quite the breadth of clinical experience as BIDMC since it lacks the other sites. COL in Boston. Ultimately felt that if I'm gonna be in Boston, 3 years of residency + 1 year of junior attending at $110K with opportunity for research/MPH is better for my interests than 4 years of residency. (Though again: if I had even a modicum more interest in international work, this calculus would be reversed.)
7. Northwestern - It would be easy to be happy here. I just felt that the six programs ahead of it offered a slightly better fit overall.
(+) Phenomenal curriculum, faculty mentorship, and reputation for producing academicians. "Colleges" allow for superlative development of niche in four-year residency. Integrated peds. Very, very strong research. Carefully-crafted progression of rotations. Beaucoup de ICU. Great in-house moonlighting opportunity. Dr. Collings will do anything and everything to improve her program. Chairman who helps in cultivating the residency and residents. Replacing Evanston with Gary is a huge positive in my bookit removes a duplicate clinical experience and adds a new in-the-trenches component. Gorgeous facilities. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Didn't click with residents across the board. Lack of floor months. Just didn't feel that pathology here stacked up with other two Chicago programs. Cold Chicago winters. Somewhat inbred faculty.
8. Highland/Alameda County Medical Center
(+) Great pathology and graduated responsibility. Very strong service component to training here. Clicked very well with most faculty and residents. Vigorously smart but hilarious residentsexactly my sort of people. Strong faculty for both clinical and research mentorship. Cheaper side of the Bay. Very good pay.
(-) If they still had their old experience at UCSF, it could have been my perfect program. As it currently stands, it's just a little too county for me. Strongest residents in the hospital. COL in Bay Area.
9. Brown - another "home" feeling.
(+) Underrated pathology and clinical experience: in particular, I really like the "critical care" shifts in the department that you do as an R2/R3. Clicked perfectly with residents and faculty. Chairman, Dr. Zink, is awesome and taking the program in a great direction. Although small, Providence is beautiful and full of diverse culture. Beaches and sailing nearby. Family in the area.
(-) Big one was that it doesn't offer an ideal fit for my S.O. Not quite the research strength of some of the programs above it. Admin offices are separated by shuttle from the hospitaljust felt that this would make it slightly less easy to develop rapport with faculty, work on research, etc.
10. Carolinas - another "home" feeling.
(+) Research and reputation is phenomenal. Only big game in town clinically, so pathology is totally undiluted. I'd seriously love to work for Dr. Hays for three years. Very bright yet equally unpretentious residents. Strong off-service rotations that are lauded by graduates of the program year-after-yeargiven the reputation of these grads, I agree with Dr. Hays's assessment that he doesn't need to alter a good thing. Charlotte was not as beautiful as Chapel Hill to me, but offers a lot within two hours. EM residents are some of strongest in hospital, but not the only "big dogs" in CMC. Didactics QMonday-Friday. Charlotte COL.
(-) Charlotte lacked opportunities for S.O. Heart of NASCAR nation. State just recently passed first anti-smoking measure of any strengthI know Tobacco Road and all, but seriously, what the heck NC?!? Although likely to become flagship teaching hospital for UNC-Charlotte in the future, not as much teaching to be done in the department at the current time as other programs. Really, I'm just nit-picking: I think that CMC probably offers the best 3-year residency of all the places that I interviewed.
11. Cincinnati - Possibly my strongest "home" feeling on the interview trail, but Cinci just not a good fit for the S.O.
(+) Motto says it all: "Leadership, Excellence, Opportunity". Ideal graduated responsibility. A spotless curriculum. Jaw-dropping research. Integrated peds at top ten children's hospital. The most phenomenal program coordinator alive in Lisa Surette. Good salt-of-the-earth people in the program and town. Residents who combine incredible drive with equally incredible niceness. A flight experience that also teaches you to make the hard calls early, as well as offers an added bonus to one's EMS experience. Interviews with Drs. Levy and Pancioli gave me some of the greatest insight into my possible career paths in EM as I've had over the past year. A town that was far prettier than I expectedright on the river, with a strong preservationist impulse toward its architecture, and an unexpected funky sub-culture. A plethora of outdoor activities in Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky.
(-) Cinci's opportunities for my S.O.'s future. Cinci in winter. Seriously, that's about it.
12. Vanderbilt
(+) Only game in town for high-level pathology. The amazing educational duo of Drs. Slovis and Wrenn. The most affable residents out there. Strong emphasis on developing teaching skills (even if you only absorbed it through osmosis, you'd come out in the top 25% of graduates in the country). Thoughtful off-service rotations. Burgeoning research. Nashville outdoor activities. Nashville COL.
(-) S.O. semi-vetoed the city. I'm no foodie, but staying with friends through the weekend, I was wholly unimpressed by the dining options in Nashville. (Again, really picking nits beyond the S.O. preferences.)
13. UNC - good "home" feeling.
(+) Very strong blend of clinical experiences between UNC and WakeMed. Dr. Biese is doing some good tinkering with the program and is a huge resident advocate. Solid research. Working with Dr. Tintinalli. Happy, happy residents. Chapel Hill and environs are beautiful. Low COL.
(-) Commute between sites (but well worth it clinically). Graduated responsibility a little lacking. Not a fantastic fit for my S.O. now, but we would love to end up here long-term.
14. Denver
(+) Fourth year residents who can run a department like no one else. The apex of graduated responsibility. Good clinical combo between Denver Health and U of Colorado Hospital. Broad-based curriculum that focuses on preparing for your career, not just getting you into the department as soon as possible. Focus on excellence. "Tracks" to help you develop a niche. The mountains and outdoors being just a stone's throw away.
(-) The "malignant" reputation is B.S. However, the residents work very hardtoo hard for me with a S.O. whom I already love and want to keep in residency. Going here would not be the strongest thing for our relationship, but we could get by. If I was single, it would be higher on the list. And again, city doesn't offer the best opportunities for S.O.
15. Christiana EM/IM - The combined programs offer intrinsic value to me and could serve my academic interests well, but my S.O. and I ultimately decided that none of them were in locations that suited us equally. Thus I didn't interview at many of them, and those that I did interview at I didn't end up ranking highly.
(+) Only-game-in-town pathology. Love its hybrid model as a community hospital with academic focus, which further concentrates both the EM and IM clinical experiences. Clicked with the PD/Chair, Dr. Reese, and all the EM/IM residents. Strong ultrasound. Great benefits.
(-) EM experience noticeably stronger than IM experience. Delaware doesn't offer much for S.O.
16. BMC
(+) Diverse pathology and strong service component to training in South Boston. Best EMS experience in the city. Great patient flow through the hospital. Provides great opportunities for continuing research that I've worked on as in medical school.
(-) Straight county. Adjustment pains of 2-4-->1-4 switch. Didn't click with many residents or faculty.
17. Christiana - if I saw myself going straight into community EM, Christiana would have been very high on my list.
(+) Undiluted pathology and great clinical experience balanced with good research and teaching.
(-) Didn't click with a lot of the straight-EM residents, though I liked them all.
18. Maryland EM/IM
(+) Serving some very underserved (and thus very sick) patients. EM and IM experiences here are evenly matched. Thoughtfully developed off-service rotations that take advantage of strengths of the program (ex. Trauma Anesthesiology). Adored the "let's live up-to-date EBM in residency" curriculum. If I can achieve 10% of Dr. Mattu's awesomeness as an educator, I'll be very successful in my career. Clicked well with EM/IM residents.
(-) Baltimore not a good fit for us as a couple.
19. Maryland
(+) As above.
(-) Didn't click with any straight-EM residents. Straight 12-hour shiftsI want to experience a variety in residency to see what will suit me best in the future.
DNR: Harbor/UCLA - probably the only person who interviewed there who didn't rank it.
(+) Phenomenal pathology and strong service component. Research pedigree and opportunities.
(-) Didn't click with a lot of faculty (felt they we're looking down their noses at me like I wasn't hardcore enough) and a good number of residents. Straight county. LA not for us if it's this program; "fit" was completely lacking.
Ultimately, I'd be thrilled at any of my top seven and really happy through number thirteen. Fingers crossed, of course.
Best of luck to all!
Caveats in reading it:
-My S.O. (not in medicine) and I looking pretty much across the country.
-The order of programs was altered heavily by personal factors for myself and my S.O. In other words, don't interpret my ranking Program X on spot above Program Y to mean that the one is clearly better than the other. In fact, there are some really fantastic programs buried in my list just because of personal factors for us as a couple.
-From the start, I knew I wanted a heavily academic program. During interview season, I realized that I would not be well-served in a straight county program and became drawn to programs that to a good job balancing this experience with one at a strong tertiary center.
-Regarding the eternal 3 vs 4 debate: I've been open to both types of programs throughout the process. Who's right?I ultimately think it's those who say that the ideal EM residency would be 3.5 years. In the end, from each 3-year program, I wanted see solid research and teaching opportunities to let me begin developing those skills before fellowship. From each 4-year program, I wanted to see distinct pathways to help me develop said research and teaching skills, while also fostering further clinical leadership in the fourth year.
1. UCSF-SFGH - Just had an incredibly strong "at home" feeling here from the start of the pre-interview social throughout the whole interview day. My mentor warned me that this would happen at a few places and that I should trust it when making my rank list. I adhered to her advice.
(+) New program with the chance to mold its reputation. "New" program in name only, as faculty have taught Highland and Stanford residents forever and are huge in academic EM. Fantastic research possibilities/mentorship. Intellectually passionate EM residents with whom I felt great kinship. Intellectually passionate residents in all other specialties. Very strong off-service rotations. "Areas of Distinction" to develop niche. SFGH is only Level I in SF, so trauma (though not the hardest part of the job) will be undiluted while at that site. Curriculum combined all the best elements from everywhere else that I interviewed. Fantastic educators throughout program hierarchy. Dr. Promes would fight a bear to get something that she felt was needed for her residents. Chance to work with SDN's own Roja (woot woot!). SF is beautiful and full of wonderful opportunities for S.O. Though S.O. and I are not from CA, we've got a lot of friends in the Bay Area. Every recreational activity imaginable within two hours of SF.
(-) New program still carving out its role at two major clinical sites. Solid, but not fantastic peds experience. Question of how CA budget woes will affect them in the next few years. COL in SF. Still developing their model for graduated responsibility.
2. BIDMC - Another place that exuded a"home" feeling. I rotated at BWH/MGH, but came to feel that I could better capitalize on my potential across the street. (However, would be thrilled to match at either HAEMR program, and definitely would have ranked the other higher if I had more of an interest in international EM.)
(+) Program that has solidly established a great reputation for itself. Amazing research. 3+1 gives unique opportunities regardless of which practice pathway one ends up taking. Strong graduated responsibility patterned after Denver model. Awesomely interested chairman. Ethos of institution as "Harvard with a heart" per one of my interviewersi.e., they're dedicated to clinical and research excellence, but don't get caught up in it. Loved the residents. Feel like the Dashboard EMR would help me to follow-up on patients better and thus learn more. Diversity of seven sites. Diversity of faculty backgrounds. Boston is fun and have family in the area.
(-) Travel issues with seven sites. Not huge county experience (though BIDMC itself and several other site provide some experience). No integrated peds, though do see peds pts in ED's at several of secondary sites. S.O. and I have both lived in Boston, but want to experience somewhere else for a few years. COL in Boston.
3. University of Chicago - Ditto the "home" feeling. After the turmoil of last year, I was very wary about the program initially. As the season progressed, my worries melted away regarding its future. Still, the program has lost a few faculty and may need a few years to return to its previous level of awesomeness.
(+) Unique combo of SICK patients at UofC site: transplant/chemo/congenital pts balanced with more-county-than-a-lot-of-county-places locals undergoing florid decompensation of untreated chronic illnesses. (Honestly, when people talk about being an "EM monster" once you graduate, I'm always amused that this place gets overlooked.) Diversity of clinical experience at four sites (including great concentrated trauma months at Sinai and bread-and-butter EM at Lutheran and North Shore). Dr. Howes: there are few PDs more dedicated to their program and more distinguished/connected throughout the country. Associate PD, Dr. Babcock, has pumped enthusiastic fresh blood into leadership hierarchy. Lots of ICU. Fantastic peds at UofC mixed with steady bread-and-butter at other sites. Big service component to working here. Flight experience that teaches you to call the shots entirely on your own at an early stage of residency. Strong graduated responsibility. Diverse and fun residents. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Aforementioned penumbra of issues from last year. Travel issues with four sites. Their graduated responsibility model is perhaps a little too accelerated for me. No floor months (I know I'm in the minority, but I do see some value in these). Clinical experience seems so stuffed that may not have as much opportunity to develop research skills as well as at other places (but hence is the purpose of a fellowship). Cold Chicago winters.
4. UCLA/Olive View - loved the feel of the place, but it just wasn't quite the fit for myself and S.O. as the three programs above it. Would still be thrilled to match here, as still had a deep "home" feeling.
(+) Balance of pathology between two main sites, plus great no-holds-barred experience at Antelope Valley and healthy supplement of another ivory tower at Cedars Sinai. Very, very strong research mentors. Broad intern year to help you build foundations for rest of residency and the rest of your clinical career. 3-month elective block in fourth year to really flesh out your training. Program leadership that clearly cares about resident wellness (and who could sell ice to Siberians). Uber-happy residents. Strong family feel throughout program. For fun, everything you could want is within a two hour drive of LA.
(-) Commute can be brutal at times no matter where you live in LA. Lack of strong graduated responsibility at OV. Still in the midst of transition from 2-4-->1-4 and inevitable bumps in the road that come with it. Middle-of-the-road peds experience. COL in LA. S.O. and I have never seen ourselves as LA people and don't want to trade our current bad traffic experience for an even worse one.
5. Advocate Christ - Sleeper program of year for me. Outstanding clinical experience that I could then supplement with fellowship in eventual niche.
(+) Great pathology: no doubt that you'll leave here having feeling comfortable with every procedure under the sun. Strong integrated peds. True family feelright down to sizable resident role in the interview day and ranking process. Friendly people throughout the residency and department. Accelerating development of research program. Moonlighting potential from second month of residency. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Single site. EM residents are strongest in the hospitalwhen I'm off-service, I want there to be no doubt that I can learn a lot from my co-residents and faculty. See sickest patients from day one, but with little graduated responsibility. Cold Chicago winters.
6. BWH/MGH - as mentioned, I rotated here and loved it. Like almost all things Harvard, it shines with people who are driven to excel in their chosen fields and who want to take advantage of collaborative opportunities offered at the Big H. Would still be overjoyed to match here, but it dropped because I just don't think that the fourth year is intrinsically justified here (though if one crafts their experience appropriately, there's no doubt that they'll come out with an incredible CV).
(+) Complementary experience of BWH (super-tertiary/quaternary care) and MGH (tertiary plus county). Essentially two full departments stuffed with amazing academic faculty. Very strong research mentorship. Excellent off-service experiences. Program leadership that is dedicated to helping you reach the extremes of your potential. Clicked well with residents. International contacts/experience are almost unparalleled. Family in the area.
(-) Graduated responsibility, but didn't see it run as smoothly as other places on the trail. Don't think that BWH/MGH gets quite the breadth of clinical experience as BIDMC since it lacks the other sites. COL in Boston. Ultimately felt that if I'm gonna be in Boston, 3 years of residency + 1 year of junior attending at $110K with opportunity for research/MPH is better for my interests than 4 years of residency. (Though again: if I had even a modicum more interest in international work, this calculus would be reversed.)
7. Northwestern - It would be easy to be happy here. I just felt that the six programs ahead of it offered a slightly better fit overall.
(+) Phenomenal curriculum, faculty mentorship, and reputation for producing academicians. "Colleges" allow for superlative development of niche in four-year residency. Integrated peds. Very, very strong research. Carefully-crafted progression of rotations. Beaucoup de ICU. Great in-house moonlighting opportunity. Dr. Collings will do anything and everything to improve her program. Chairman who helps in cultivating the residency and residents. Replacing Evanston with Gary is a huge positive in my bookit removes a duplicate clinical experience and adds a new in-the-trenches component. Gorgeous facilities. Lots of friends in Chicago.
(-) Didn't click with residents across the board. Lack of floor months. Just didn't feel that pathology here stacked up with other two Chicago programs. Cold Chicago winters. Somewhat inbred faculty.
8. Highland/Alameda County Medical Center
(+) Great pathology and graduated responsibility. Very strong service component to training here. Clicked very well with most faculty and residents. Vigorously smart but hilarious residentsexactly my sort of people. Strong faculty for both clinical and research mentorship. Cheaper side of the Bay. Very good pay.
(-) If they still had their old experience at UCSF, it could have been my perfect program. As it currently stands, it's just a little too county for me. Strongest residents in the hospital. COL in Bay Area.
9. Brown - another "home" feeling.
(+) Underrated pathology and clinical experience: in particular, I really like the "critical care" shifts in the department that you do as an R2/R3. Clicked perfectly with residents and faculty. Chairman, Dr. Zink, is awesome and taking the program in a great direction. Although small, Providence is beautiful and full of diverse culture. Beaches and sailing nearby. Family in the area.
(-) Big one was that it doesn't offer an ideal fit for my S.O. Not quite the research strength of some of the programs above it. Admin offices are separated by shuttle from the hospitaljust felt that this would make it slightly less easy to develop rapport with faculty, work on research, etc.
10. Carolinas - another "home" feeling.
(+) Research and reputation is phenomenal. Only big game in town clinically, so pathology is totally undiluted. I'd seriously love to work for Dr. Hays for three years. Very bright yet equally unpretentious residents. Strong off-service rotations that are lauded by graduates of the program year-after-yeargiven the reputation of these grads, I agree with Dr. Hays's assessment that he doesn't need to alter a good thing. Charlotte was not as beautiful as Chapel Hill to me, but offers a lot within two hours. EM residents are some of strongest in hospital, but not the only "big dogs" in CMC. Didactics QMonday-Friday. Charlotte COL.
(-) Charlotte lacked opportunities for S.O. Heart of NASCAR nation. State just recently passed first anti-smoking measure of any strengthI know Tobacco Road and all, but seriously, what the heck NC?!? Although likely to become flagship teaching hospital for UNC-Charlotte in the future, not as much teaching to be done in the department at the current time as other programs. Really, I'm just nit-picking: I think that CMC probably offers the best 3-year residency of all the places that I interviewed.
11. Cincinnati - Possibly my strongest "home" feeling on the interview trail, but Cinci just not a good fit for the S.O.
(+) Motto says it all: "Leadership, Excellence, Opportunity". Ideal graduated responsibility. A spotless curriculum. Jaw-dropping research. Integrated peds at top ten children's hospital. The most phenomenal program coordinator alive in Lisa Surette. Good salt-of-the-earth people in the program and town. Residents who combine incredible drive with equally incredible niceness. A flight experience that also teaches you to make the hard calls early, as well as offers an added bonus to one's EMS experience. Interviews with Drs. Levy and Pancioli gave me some of the greatest insight into my possible career paths in EM as I've had over the past year. A town that was far prettier than I expectedright on the river, with a strong preservationist impulse toward its architecture, and an unexpected funky sub-culture. A plethora of outdoor activities in Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky.
(-) Cinci's opportunities for my S.O.'s future. Cinci in winter. Seriously, that's about it.
12. Vanderbilt
(+) Only game in town for high-level pathology. The amazing educational duo of Drs. Slovis and Wrenn. The most affable residents out there. Strong emphasis on developing teaching skills (even if you only absorbed it through osmosis, you'd come out in the top 25% of graduates in the country). Thoughtful off-service rotations. Burgeoning research. Nashville outdoor activities. Nashville COL.
(-) S.O. semi-vetoed the city. I'm no foodie, but staying with friends through the weekend, I was wholly unimpressed by the dining options in Nashville. (Again, really picking nits beyond the S.O. preferences.)
13. UNC - good "home" feeling.
(+) Very strong blend of clinical experiences between UNC and WakeMed. Dr. Biese is doing some good tinkering with the program and is a huge resident advocate. Solid research. Working with Dr. Tintinalli. Happy, happy residents. Chapel Hill and environs are beautiful. Low COL.
(-) Commute between sites (but well worth it clinically). Graduated responsibility a little lacking. Not a fantastic fit for my S.O. now, but we would love to end up here long-term.
14. Denver
(+) Fourth year residents who can run a department like no one else. The apex of graduated responsibility. Good clinical combo between Denver Health and U of Colorado Hospital. Broad-based curriculum that focuses on preparing for your career, not just getting you into the department as soon as possible. Focus on excellence. "Tracks" to help you develop a niche. The mountains and outdoors being just a stone's throw away.
(-) The "malignant" reputation is B.S. However, the residents work very hardtoo hard for me with a S.O. whom I already love and want to keep in residency. Going here would not be the strongest thing for our relationship, but we could get by. If I was single, it would be higher on the list. And again, city doesn't offer the best opportunities for S.O.
15. Christiana EM/IM - The combined programs offer intrinsic value to me and could serve my academic interests well, but my S.O. and I ultimately decided that none of them were in locations that suited us equally. Thus I didn't interview at many of them, and those that I did interview at I didn't end up ranking highly.
(+) Only-game-in-town pathology. Love its hybrid model as a community hospital with academic focus, which further concentrates both the EM and IM clinical experiences. Clicked with the PD/Chair, Dr. Reese, and all the EM/IM residents. Strong ultrasound. Great benefits.
(-) EM experience noticeably stronger than IM experience. Delaware doesn't offer much for S.O.
16. BMC
(+) Diverse pathology and strong service component to training in South Boston. Best EMS experience in the city. Great patient flow through the hospital. Provides great opportunities for continuing research that I've worked on as in medical school.
(-) Straight county. Adjustment pains of 2-4-->1-4 switch. Didn't click with many residents or faculty.
17. Christiana - if I saw myself going straight into community EM, Christiana would have been very high on my list.
(+) Undiluted pathology and great clinical experience balanced with good research and teaching.
(-) Didn't click with a lot of the straight-EM residents, though I liked them all.
18. Maryland EM/IM
(+) Serving some very underserved (and thus very sick) patients. EM and IM experiences here are evenly matched. Thoughtfully developed off-service rotations that take advantage of strengths of the program (ex. Trauma Anesthesiology). Adored the "let's live up-to-date EBM in residency" curriculum. If I can achieve 10% of Dr. Mattu's awesomeness as an educator, I'll be very successful in my career. Clicked well with EM/IM residents.
(-) Baltimore not a good fit for us as a couple.
19. Maryland
(+) As above.
(-) Didn't click with any straight-EM residents. Straight 12-hour shiftsI want to experience a variety in residency to see what will suit me best in the future.
DNR: Harbor/UCLA - probably the only person who interviewed there who didn't rank it.
(+) Phenomenal pathology and strong service component. Research pedigree and opportunities.
(-) Didn't click with a lot of faculty (felt they we're looking down their noses at me like I wasn't hardcore enough) and a good number of residents. Straight county. LA not for us if it's this program; "fit" was completely lacking.
Ultimately, I'd be thrilled at any of my top seven and really happy through number thirteen. Fingers crossed, of course.
Best of luck to all!
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Anyone else want to add their list or reviews before match day?
I have to say, it is great to hear about the pros and cons of my program, and it is one of the few chances to honestly see what we can work on. Also, the residency reviews were useful for me when I interviewed and seemed like a down year for them.
I need to know about the creepy resident at our program that moved it down your list, or the weak food spread and power point. What was the deciding factor that made your number 1 so good?
resurrect this thread!
I have to say, it is great to hear about the pros and cons of my program, and it is one of the few chances to honestly see what we can work on. Also, the residency reviews were useful for me when I interviewed and seemed like a down year for them.
I need to know about the creepy resident at our program that moved it down your list, or the weak food spread and power point. What was the deciding factor that made your number 1 so good?
resurrect this thread!
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Just registered, here's my first post!
My ROL is quite different from a lot I have seen here with a few familiar faces:
I have left off my home program (Indiana U).
1) MSU-KCMS Kalamazoo, MI - Great PD, awesome residents. Large program (20/yr), 2 decent size hospitals (70k/yr). Really cool EMS and HEMS stuff for fun. Really fit in. Close to fiancee family. Good structure to ED work, 1-2 resident teams take on a pod of rooms.
2) Summa Health Akron, OH - Very good feeling. Was my first 'real' interview (ie not home not my away rotation). PD was really great. Teaching zone is apparently really good. Very structured learning environment in ED where resident/attending work teh same hours and resident is in charge of a number of rooms and not a free for all. New ED in 2011. Close to my family (Pitt).
3) MetroHealth Cleveland - Awesome program, really top notch. PD went to IU med school like me. Residents were very cool. 10 hr shifts are not my favorite though, but could be worse. ED is a free for all and I don't care for that as much.
4) William Beaumont - Fit in well with interviewers, have a good friend doing radiology there. Nice enough ED but a bit blah. Semi-pod system in ED is good for me.
5) York, PA - Great PD, goes way back with my home PD. Very easy to support raising a family. Good pay. Very in the middle of nowhere but with lots of sick people from the boonies.
6) Allegheny General - Heard that it was meh but I went and enjoyed it. Thought the PD was really cool, played guitar hero at the interview which was awesome. They need to get the new ones though. Very good EMS track if interested. Sees same numbers as U Pitt (no interview there). Close to family.
7) West Virginia - Super awesome PD, she will be a rockstar for years to come. Fairly small hospital though, only sees about 45k/yr. Very small, family feel to the program.
8) Peoria, IL - Have heard good things, fun flight program. New ED looks very promising.
9) Denver - Did my away rotation here. Had a lot of fun, a very outstanding program. If it was 3 yr it would be #1. Don't believe the malignancy hype. 22-24 8 hr shifts per month, most stay about 2 hrs over voluntarily, if you have to get out you can. Everyone is really cool. It's true you can't trade shifts much but your schedule is consisten. Day>afternoon and afternoon > night transitions are like an extra hidden day off.
10) Drexel/Hahneman Philadelphia - Liked the people at this program a lot, and I would be happy here, but it is very far from most family and there are a lot of hospitals. Not the best cost of living either.
Did not rank: Detroit receiving - Did not get a good vibe from residents. They work very very hard. 29 min policy for seeing patients leads to craziness in ED. Pod system is nice, but you are responsible for up to 18 beds which is more than even Denver. Cerner computer system we use here and it is aweful, but the residents were touting it as great. Did not really see that there would be much time for teaching, although they gave thh stock reply 'there is always teaching on the fly from patient to patient.'
Indiana, my home program is in there somewhere. A great program, would be happy here for sure. Attendings are phenomenal. I grew up here so have many roots. I am VP of the EMSIG at IU so i know most of the faculty fairly well. Computer system at Methodist (private) is Cerner, which is not great, but I love the DOS based system at teh county hospital (Wishard). Most make fun of it but it is very efficient and the tweaks have been mostly knocked out as it has been around since 1992, much longer than any of the newer systems that have bugs everywhere and run slow as heck.
My ROL is quite different from a lot I have seen here with a few familiar faces:
I have left off my home program (Indiana U).
1) MSU-KCMS Kalamazoo, MI - Great PD, awesome residents. Large program (20/yr), 2 decent size hospitals (70k/yr). Really cool EMS and HEMS stuff for fun. Really fit in. Close to fiancee family. Good structure to ED work, 1-2 resident teams take on a pod of rooms.
2) Summa Health Akron, OH - Very good feeling. Was my first 'real' interview (ie not home not my away rotation). PD was really great. Teaching zone is apparently really good. Very structured learning environment in ED where resident/attending work teh same hours and resident is in charge of a number of rooms and not a free for all. New ED in 2011. Close to my family (Pitt).
3) MetroHealth Cleveland - Awesome program, really top notch. PD went to IU med school like me. Residents were very cool. 10 hr shifts are not my favorite though, but could be worse. ED is a free for all and I don't care for that as much.
4) William Beaumont - Fit in well with interviewers, have a good friend doing radiology there. Nice enough ED but a bit blah. Semi-pod system in ED is good for me.
5) York, PA - Great PD, goes way back with my home PD. Very easy to support raising a family. Good pay. Very in the middle of nowhere but with lots of sick people from the boonies.
6) Allegheny General - Heard that it was meh but I went and enjoyed it. Thought the PD was really cool, played guitar hero at the interview which was awesome. They need to get the new ones though
. Very good EMS track if interested. Sees same numbers as U Pitt (no interview there). Close to family.7) West Virginia - Super awesome PD, she will be a rockstar for years to come. Fairly small hospital though, only sees about 45k/yr. Very small, family feel to the program.
8) Peoria, IL - Have heard good things, fun flight program. New ED looks very promising.
9) Denver - Did my away rotation here. Had a lot of fun, a very outstanding program. If it was 3 yr it would be #1. Don't believe the malignancy hype. 22-24 8 hr shifts per month, most stay about 2 hrs over voluntarily, if you have to get out you can. Everyone is really cool. It's true you can't trade shifts much but your schedule is consisten. Day>afternoon and afternoon > night transitions are like an extra hidden day off.
10) Drexel/Hahneman Philadelphia - Liked the people at this program a lot, and I would be happy here, but it is very far from most family and there are a lot of hospitals. Not the best cost of living either.
Did not rank: Detroit receiving - Did not get a good vibe from residents. They work very very hard. 29 min policy for seeing patients leads to craziness in ED. Pod system is nice, but you are responsible for up to 18 beds which is more than even Denver. Cerner computer system we use here and it is aweful, but the residents were touting it as great. Did not really see that there would be much time for teaching, although they gave thh stock reply 'there is always teaching on the fly from patient to patient.'
Indiana, my home program is in there somewhere. A great program, would be happy here for sure. Attendings are phenomenal. I grew up here so have many roots. I am VP of the EMSIG at IU so i know most of the faculty fairly well. Computer system at Methodist (private) is Cerner, which is not great, but I love the DOS based system at teh county hospital (Wishard). Most make fun of it but it is very efficient and the tweaks have been mostly knocked out as it has been around since 1992, much longer than any of the newer systems that have bugs everywhere and run slow as heck.
