For future applicants:
Based on all my interview impressions and talking to people, here's one person's opinion of the following California internal medicine programs: UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, USC, Harbor-UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, Scripps, and Olive View-UCLA.

UCSF
Pros: Best reputation for IM on the West Coast. Fellowship potential is as good as it gets. Great patient diversity with their 3 hospitals and exposure to HIV pathology.
Cons: This program is not for everyone. UCSF in general tends to attract very intense people, and expectations are extremely high. It has a rep for malignancy, but most residents don’t seem to outwardly complain.
Other tidbits: Very selective for interviews; Away rotations haven’t necessarily helped people. Seems like they favor applicants from UCSF, Yale and Harvard (not so much luck for Hopkins or Columbia people).

Stanford
Pros: Fantastic, well known PD who loves to teach. Fellowship-wise, graduates tend to stay at Stanford but don't seem to have trouble matching into cards/GI at top places like MGH, Duke, UCSF, etc. Laid back, tight knit group of residents and faculty. Salary is relatively high. Ancillary services are really good.
Cons: Not as much exposure to HIV patients and the urban underserved compared to places like Hopkins, UCSF, Columbia, etc. Team S has private patients, but it’s a small part of the training in R2-R3 years. Palo Alto is not the most exciting place.
Other tidbits: Rumors say it's a cush program, but the reality is that the program is pretty tough and residents work hard, although not to the extreme of places like UCSF or Harbor-UCLA. Extremely sought after program by applicants from the West Coast. High grades and numbers will probably get you an interview, but it will still be tough to match there. An away rotation may help.

UCLA
Pros: Big name faculty with big time research. Fellowship potential is really good, with most staying in southern california. The new hospital will be top notch, efficient, with good nursing. Lots of quarternary care and transplant patients, which may be a good thing in the sense that these cases are extremely complex.
Cons: Going through a lot of changes. Was warned by many people not to go here due to malignancy, arrogant attendings, competitive environment, and unstable program leadership. However, some residents seem happy here. There's some bread and butter medicine but not a lot compared to other programs. Its reputation for extreme malignancy may be outdated, with recent changes to the call schedule (now q6 on wards). I’ve heard that residents have trouble with the 10-hour between shifts rule. Not as much resident autonomy as places like Harbor-UCLA.
Other tidbits: Interviews are tough to get here, especially for applicants from the East Coast. An away rotation might not help. They like grads from NYMC and Drexel (or maybe it’s those schools have many Cali natives).

UCSD
Pros: Great PD, universally respected by residents and peers. UCSD had a reputation for being malignant several years ago, which was accurate back then, but they have made some major improvements. I don't think it's that malignant anymore, based on reports from prelims and current residents. Patient diversity is probably better than UCLA because of the multiple hospitals (Hillcrest, VA, and Thornton), and because Hillcrest serves as a county hospital for San Diego. In my opinion, the location is nearly perfect for a resident--sunny weather, manageable traffic, and gorgeous beaches 10 min. away. Lots of research going on here; the UCSD IM Department is consistently in the top 5-10 for NIH funding. SD is particularly strong in Pulm/CC, Heme/Onc, and Cardiology.
Cons: Recent fellowship matches don’t seem as good as other top notch programs. The caveat is that it's hard to judge since many UCSD residents like to stay in southern california for fellowship (high number of cards/GI matches to West LA VA, UCSD, USC, etc.). Hillcrest is an outdated county hospital, and ancillary services aren’t the best. Known for being a tough program, and you will work the full 80 hours and carry a census of ~10 patients consistently.

UC Davis
Did not interview there. Friends I know in the IM program seem happy.

Harbor-UCLA
Pros: Still lives up to the reputation of providing some of the best clinical, hands-on training in California. Residents run the show here. Some of the hardest working residents in the country, and, surprisingly, they seem to be really happy. A real sense of camaraderie you won’t find at other programs. Great patient diversity, a large indigent and immigrant population with incredible pathophysiology. Fellowship potential is pretty decent, with most residents deciding to stay at Harbor or other southern cal programs.
Cons: Scutwork is abound in this county hospital (e.g. you have to run down to pick up xray films, draw your own blood cultures, and often transport patients to imaging). Minimal free time to do research except during elective months. Graduates are mostly recruited to clinically focused fellowships (UCLA system-Cedars and Olive view, City of Hope, USC) versus research heavy places (UCSF, Memorial Sloan). However, a few grads have matched at places like UCSF for GI.

Cedars-Sinai/West LA VA (UCLA affiliate)
Pros: This program is expanding and getting better. Lots of free time to do substantial research with big names, even during ward months. Ancillary services are amazing at Cedars, and you can get a stat MRI in the middle of the night. Patient diversity is pretty good; poor and rich patients from around West Hollywood to Mid-Wilshire go here. Most patients that residents take care of are service patients not private ones. Non-malignant atmosphere. Tends to attract residents who are social and outgoing. One of the best locations in LA, with the West side, Koreatown, and Hollywood close by.
Cons: While Cedars is particularly strong in the MICU, the general medicine ward months aren't as rigorous as places like UCLA and UCSF. Mediocre teaching at morning report, however, the noon conferences are high quality (with great food!). It’s unclear how much autonomy residents have at Cedars. The West LA VA isn’t an efficient hospital. Fellowship matches have been decent but it’s unclear how the expansion of the program to 41 categoricals will affect their chances. The Cards/GI programs at Cedars-Sinai have a track record of favoring MGH, Hopkins, UCLA etc. fellowship applicants over their own, although this may be changing.
Other tidbits: Residents come from a variety of academic backgrounds. For instance, this year's match had applicants from Penn, Stanford, and UCLA, a couple IMGs, and one DO.

Scripps-Green
Pros: This is one of the best, most reputable community programs in the country. I think it’s stronger than the Scripps Mercy program across town. The teaching is really solid (their ABIM pass rate is one of the highest in California). Scripps is the largest non-university research institute, and it has tons of money. There’s ample time to work with big names like Eric Topol, former Cardiology Chair at the Cleveland Clinic, who was recently recruited there. They take their own for fellowships like Cards, Heme/onc, and GI. Really tight knit group of residents and faculty. It’s right next to the beach.
Cons: Small program with 8 categoricals. It might be hard to match in fellowships at big name places like UCSF, UCLA, etc. Residents have autonomy but not as much as other places (e.g. attendings run the codes). UCSD probably has more patient diversity and exposure to HIV patients.

Olive-View UCLA
Pros: Really friendly atmosphere, probably one of the most benign programs in California. Teaching is consistently excellent. Diverse patients who are mostly Spanish-speaking. Grads are favored for fellowships within the UCLA system (UCLA, Cedars, Kaiser, and Harbor).
Cons: Not well known outside of LA. ICU training is not done here; residents go to Cedars for that. They don't have their own formal fellowships, but share some fellowship spots with the UCLA system. It's therefore unclear each year how many spots for Cards/GI, for example, at the UCLA programs will go to Olive View grads.

USC
Unfortunately this program is a mess. I would stay away until the program leadership gets their act together. On the upside, USC has extraordinary patient diversity, and a new hospital is on its way.

this was very helpful. any info on kaiser sunset?

Great post! I like the q6 at UCLA!

Nice review.

Well done. Scripps Green's GI program is outstanding too and they seem to take their own residents (or at least they did prior to the restart of the GI match).

Thank you, thank you...I've been looking for a thread like this for a long time.

Any thoughts on the Kaiser system? Other community programs? And more thoughts on USC - I was perusing their website and it seems like their hosp is set to open very soon, i.e with the next resident batch? I was really attracted to the program from the website based on its exposure to indigent populations, wide variety of pathology, and a pretty good review on sctuwork...

Thank you, thank you...I've been looking for a thread like this for a long time.

Any thoughts on the Kaiser system? Other community programs? And more thoughts on USC - I was perusing their website and it seems like their hosp is set to open very soon, i.e with the next resident batch? I was really attracted to the program from the website based on its exposure to indigent populations, wide variety of pathology, and a pretty good review on sctuwork...

reportedly, the new "lac+usc" hospital will open spring 2008. but then again, there are a lot of rumors abounding about the new hospital- i've even heard one that there will be a tony roma's inside! lol.

Excellent review. Thanks for the update.

Does anyone know anything about:

Kaiser
Huntington Hospital
UCSF-Fresno
Alameda County
Cal Pacific

Thanks!

bump. i also would like to know more about the programs spumoni620 mentioned. thank you...

Thanks so much hagart, that was awesome. Here's my take on a couple left out:

UCSF Fresno:
Great patient population with a lot of diverse pathology. Residents spend half of their time at Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) and a VA. CRMC is a Level 1 trauma center that serves all of central valley California (county and private patients) that is mostly a new hospital and is very nice (moved in April 2007). The IM program seems to be making progress. They recently added cardiology and pulmonology fellowships that they will be expanding next year. Infectious Disease, GI and critical care are in the works. The PD is doing a lot of recruiting and the teaching seems great. The IM program is mostly IMGs and DOs with some AMGs. Prelims are mostly AMGs.

USC:
Amazing patient population with extremely interesting pathology. The new LAC+USC (very state of the art) is set to open May of 2008. My guess is that it will definitely be open by 2009 (the hospital is built--just waiting on permits). Residents have a lot of autonomy and the clinical training is unparalleled. The hospital serves 25% of the traumas in LA County. One of the largest academic medical centers in the country with tons of research. Large class size--I think 54 categoricals each year. A mixture of AMGs, IMGs and DOs. Right now Q4 call for 11 months. Yep, you heard me right, 11 months; most programs have Q4 call for approx 6 months. With the move to the new hospital it will drop to Q4 for 8 months. Ancillary services aren't that great. With the move to the new hospital the amount of beds is significantly dropping with the hope of serving the same amount of patients on a quicker turn around time (more help from ancillary sevices). This should make training a little less intense, especially with less Q4 months. Amazing experential teaching. Decent didactic teaching. Daily core lectures in 7am that make pre-rounding difficult.

As an east coaster who is considering the big move out west...this was excellent to read and provided a lot of pertinent information. Thanks!

I would just add to the above review about UCSF that in my experience and those of my intern classmates, UCSF is NOT a malignant place to work. It is not a perfect experience for other reasons many beyond the control of the program, but I have always been treated with respect and have had great relationships with my teams and consultants. I felt like my mid-west/east coast leaning medical school was much more hardcore and intimidating for the residents and medical students. UCSF may well have been malignant in the past but as a whole from Dr. Hollander and Dr. King on down, this program now encourages smart people to work hard in a collegial atmosphere. if you are really considering UCSF and this is a concern for you, I would encourage you to ask around or come for a second look when the program isn't "on display" and I think that you will see what I am talking about.

So I heard the following rumors from people--please refute if not true

1) UCLA (Westwood) has a ton of organ transplant patients and is mostly made up of upper class patients. Little patient diversity, Latino patients, HIV, etc. Residents say that they are comfortable managing cyclophoshamide toxicity and other organ transplant complications, fungal infections, etc but are uncomfortable with some of bread and butter internal medicine. Supposedly there is little interest in global health at UCLA.

2) UCSD someone said is supposedly malignant. True or not?


Thanks!!

Sorry I just had 1 more rumor. Supposedly Stanford has a not very diverse experience, with few Latino patients (mostly upper class Palo Alto folks) and not much HIV.

But someone said that is balanced by the experience @ Santa Clara medical center, a public hospital.

Are these rumors true or not? Thanks!!

Sorry I just had 1 more rumor. Supposedly Stanford has a not very diverse experience, with few Latino patients (mostly upper class Palo Alto folks) and not much HIV.

But someone said that is balanced by the experience @ Santa Clara medical center, a public hospital.

Are these rumors true or not? Thanks!!

The rumor is somewhat true. Stanford hospital does cater the more affluent population, and Santa Clara to the indigent population. That said, patients who are admitted by way of Stanford ED can vary greatly. Stanford IM housestaff spends something like 3-4 months at Santa Clara over 3 years of residency. It's up to the applicant to decide whether that's enough indigent exposure.

you'd be surprised how diverse the patient population is at stanford. while it's not like a county hospital, it does have a catchment area with a smattering of ethnicities, especially hispanic patients. there are rich patients and plenty of poor patients. one drawback is not a lot of african americans come through.
also keep in mind that many months are spent at the local VA, with its own unique population profile.

The rumor is somewhat true. Stanford hospital does cater the more affluent population, and Santa Clara to the indigent population. That said, patients who are admitted by way of Stanford ED can vary greatly. Stanford IM housestaff spends something like 3-4 months at Santa Clara over 3 years of residency. It's up to the applicant to decide whether that's enough indigent exposure.

Thanks so much hagart, that was awesome. Here's my take on a couple left out:

UCSF Fresno:
Great patient population with a lot of diverse pathology. Residents spend half of their time at Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) and a VA. CRMC is a Level 1 trauma center that serves all of central valley California (county and private patients) that is mostly a new hospital and is very nice (moved in April 2007). The IM program seems to be making progress. They recently added cardiology and pulmonology fellowships that they will be expanding next year. Infectious Disease, GI and critical care are in the works. The PD is doing a lot of recruiting and the teaching seems great. The IM program is mostly IMGs and DOs with some AMGs. Prelims are mostly AMGs.

USC:
Amazing patient population with extremely interesting pathology. The new LAC+USC (very state of the art) is set to open May of 2008. My guess is that it will definitely be open by 2009 (the hospital is built--just waiting on permits). Residents have a lot of autonomy and the clinical training is unparalleled. The hospital serves 25% of the traumas in LA County. One of the largest academic medical centers in the country with tons of research. Large class size--I think 54 categoricals each year. A mixture of AMGs, IMGs and DOs. Right now Q4 call for 11 months. Yep, you heard me right, 11 months; most programs have Q4 call for approx 6 months. With the move to the new hospital it will drop to Q4 for 8 months. Ancillary services aren't that great. With the move to the new hospital the amount of beds is significantly dropping with the hope of serving the same amount of patients on a quicker turn around time (more help from ancillary sevices). This should make training a little less intense, especially with less Q4 months. Amazing experential teaching. Decent didactic teaching. Daily core lectures in 7am that make pre-rounding difficult.


I'd say that the assessment of USC is pretty accurate except for the number of call months. Most interns have 9- 4 week blocks of call. Some others have 10 4 week blocks. Clinical breadth by far the widest in so cal, maybe 2nd to UCSF only. They have the largest county hospital, and also a university hospital with very active liver and renal transplant service. Didactic curriculum is actually pretty amazing, and really teaches the basics of internal medicine during your first year. pre-rounding is actually discouraged. You round with residents at 8 am. There are challenges with the occasional social issues holding up patients, but USC IM is much more friendly in minimizing scut work compared to Harbor UCLA. (never blood draws, getting approval for xrays, etc).


UCSD is also a great place to do clinical training. breadth is good some liver bombs, hiv, and bread/butter with VA, but acuity is generally not. Patinets are not very sick. There is also 10 4 week blocks of call the itnern year. Pulm, cards, heme/onc programs are very strong. I woldn't say the attendings are particularly malignant. atmosphere is on the whole very collegial, and fun loving. support for fellowship in the past has not been great historically, but that is changing.

UCLA CHS sees very sick patients, and definitely with quite a few transplant patients. residents seem very competitive to me, but i can't say for sure. Some have enjoyed their time, others not so much.

Harbor has probably the 3rd-4th most diverse patient population. mornng conference is well run, and residents work hard with patient load as well as scut work. Morale is good, and definitely very tight knit group.

Hello, I'm a second year IM resident at UCLA and after reading about all of the rumors/misconceptions, I felt compelled to clarify/correct several of these myths.

First of all, UCLA is NOT a malignant place to train. Let me repeat, UCLA is NOT a malignant place to train!!! While it may may been "malignant" 5-10 years ago prior to the advent of the 80 hour workweek when most academic IM programs (UCLA included) were working their residents 110+ hours/week, this is NO LONGER THE CASE. The internal medicine program from the top down including our PD, Jodi Friedman, are very serious about complying with the 80 hour workweek and we do! Additionally, UCLA is an extremely collegial place to train, we all get along with each other, many of us are on a first-name basis with our attendings, many of use rarely wear ties except in the outpatient setting. We are NOT competitive amongst each other, we all get along well and help each other out when the sh*t hits the fan, especially during codes or when a resident may be overwhelmed with work/admits/etc. I personally have never been yelled at/belittled by any attending and have never witnessed any of my fellow residents being berated by attendings. Teaching is outstanding, especially our noon conferences, morning reports, and on the wards/ICUs. Please don't confuse our collegial environment to mean it's a cushy residency because it is not. UCLA CHS is an extremely demanding place to train. It is true that the majority of our patients are extremely complex occasionally with 10+ medical illnesses. Transplant medicine is one aspect that make UCLA extremely unique, even amongst most academic medical centers. I believe we perform more heart transplants, liver transplants, kidney transplants (all together) than any other California program. However, our training program encompasses much more than transplant medicine. For example, on the medicine wards, the team usually averages between 5-20% transplant at any given time. I'm not sure where the misconception arose that we only see transplant patients at CHS, that is completely incorrect. Moreover, there is a misconception that we don't see "bread and butter" medicine. As is turns out, many of our patients are highly complex so we will see bread and butter diagnoses like pyelonephritis or community acquired pneumonia, but it may be the in context of a 30 year old female with lupus on high dose steroids and antiphopholipid syndrome presenting with either of these conditions. So we learn to manage all of the common "bread and butter" conditions but frequently in the context of many other illnesses. Also, I should mention that the medicine residents have an extremely high degree of autonomy in managing the service patients on the medicine wards, MICU, and CCU. While it is true that we may not admit many patients at CHS with no medical history who come in with just cellulitis, EtOH intoxication, etc, we do see these patients, just less frequently. On the other hand, at UCLA-Santa Monica hospital which operates like a community hospital, we see more straightforward cases with patients who have few comorbidities. Moreover, we do rotate at other programs like Olive View and Harbor which are outstanding opportunities to supplement our education. I think we do have excellent patient diversity from a psychosocial and ethnic standpoint. We many not see as many patients with HIV/AIDS as places like Harbor or USC but we see enough to learn how to manage these patients.

The major drawbacks include the high cost of living, parking, and the occasional "VIP" who may make your life hell, but this happens infrequently. Also, we will be moving into a new hospital and several of our rotations will change once this happens from a call standpoint. I think it will be exciting to step foot into a brand new hospital but there will certainly be challenges. We are currently q6 on the medicine wards (1 resident, 2 interns) with short call interspersed q6. On the CCU, interns are q5 and residents are q6 and on the MICU, interns are q4 and residents are q6. Our call schedule is very doable and we love the current schedule. Interns cap at 12 patients and residents at 24. Right now, the interns usually average between 6-9 patients on the wards, between 3-5 patients on the MICU and between 5-8 patients on the CCU.

I believe that we have one of the best medicine training programs with the best location in the country. The weather is outstanding and we don't see much precipitation. There are so many things to do in Los Angeles and it's a great place to be. Our fellowship match is amazing, certainly the best among southern California programs. Our attendings are all amazing, especially our hospitalist service where the teaching is nothing short of phenomenal. I hope this post clarifies several things...

I forgot to mention a couple of other perks about our program:

We have 2 retreats during the year, the spring retreat is amazing! 3 days, 2 nights in Oxnard right on the beach with plenty of booze!

End of the year dinner at the ultra-exclusive Riviera Country Club

Housestaff medical insurance is outstanding, just about everything is covered including 100% presciption coverage, no cost if seen at UCLA..

sounds like a great program..
wish almost all of us on here weren't denied!

... very serious about complying with the 80 hour workweek and we do!

Really? One current intern I spoke with said he works up to a 100 hours/week on the wards. Maybe combined with less intense consult/outpatient weeks, perhaps it does average out to 80 hours/week in the end.

How many months of call does Harbor have? Do interns take call during neuro and outpatient months? Residents take call (ward call) during elective months, correct?

Anyone that knows UCI well, wanna give a review?

sounds like a great program..
wish almost all of us on here weren't denied!
haha, so funny, yet so true...I've had multiple IM resident graduates confirm how malignant the program is. They don't even deny it. They state that on ward rounds residents/interns are constantly trying to one-up ppl, But even with that said, they still recommend the program...if u can hang that is

Just to add my 2c... I did a sub-i at ucla (to experience things firsthand) and the interns were able to stay safely under the 80 hour limit. The only person coming close to the 80 hour limit was the resident since he had to wait until the interns were done with their work. I've also heard of the ucla malignancy reputation but I did not experience any maligancy and enjoyed my time there.

UCSF
Pros: Best reputation for IM on the West Coast. Fellowship potential is as good as it gets. Great patient diversity with their 3 hospitals and exposure to HIV pathology.
Cons: This program is not for everyone. UCSF in general tends to attract very intense people, and expectations are extremely high. It has a rep for malignancy, but most residents don’t seem to outwardly complain.
Other tidbits: Very selective for interviews; Away rotations haven’t necessarily helped people. Seems like they favor applicants from UCSF, Yale and Harvard (not so much luck for Hopkins or Columbia people).


Hey, great post, I thought your comments were pretty much spot on, I just wanted to add my take on SF. It was the only west coast program I applied to so I can't really compare it to the other cali schools, but actually what I really liked about it was how laid-back and friendly everyone was. The attendings seemed to have some aversion to ties and the residents were on a first name basis with almost all of them. The residents themselves were among the smartest I've seen but without the arrogance of some other programs and seemed a very cooperative and close-knit group. For being such a high-powered program I found it to be one of the least intense/malignant/whatever--much less so than Duke/JHU/MGH at least. Reminded me of the nice, pleasant midwestern folk I'm used to!

I suppose it depends on what makes a place "intense" or "malignant" for each individual. I'll certainly agree that the people are ambitious and the call schedule, especially intern year, is demanding. But its only one year, intern year is going to be hard anywhere, and when you see how smart and capable those R2s are it seems worth it.

The one major con I think you missed is cost of living in SF, which is significant. Although that housing subsidy seems to help out quite a bit and for those who like it the fun of living in SF makes the housing costs seem a little more worth it. Plus, other than housing, things seem pretty affordable.

You're right that they seem fairly selective with their interviews--they have a large intern class (56 last year) and my understanding was that they were interviewing <200 applicants? Give or take? There seemed to be ~20 people there on the interview day and there are 9 dates. I don't think its as simple as where you go to school, if you're a strong applicant from anywhere I think you can get an invite. But its like that at a lot of programs and makes for nice low stress interview days that become more about recruitment than further "selling yourself."

Who knows, maybe I'm just not in the cali frame of mind, but of that handful of programs that seem to be just a half-step ahead of the rest, SF really seemed to be the happiest place to be! That and the city is amazing. Not to mention that I ride bikes and OH MY GOD, to a guy who has always ridden in the midwest, the cycling unbelievable. My comments are obviously not neutral, I'm a bit smitten, but I thought it was great.

sounds like a great program..
wish almost all of us on here weren't denied!

LOL good point.

Let's clarify the cons: Xrays are now on a computer system no more running around. New 24/7 phleb team for blood cultures. Pt. transport to imaging is done when MD is required i.e. intubated pt. The posting was correct last year, but not any more.

Anyone that knows UCI well, wanna give a review?

+1
Any comments regarding UCI?
How about Loma Linda?

Much appreciated and thanks in advance.

How many months of call does Harbor have? Do interns take call during neuro and outpatient months? Residents take call (ward call) during elective months, correct?


As an intern you take 7months of call including wards, ccu, icu and neuro. Each block consists of four weeks. 5 blocks of wards are the most difficult. During ICU and CCU you go home at 1 if you are not on call. Lastly one block of neuro that turns out to be home call for some. No call during outpatient month.

any comments about san joaquin general hospital im residency?

:)Im also a 2nd year IM resident at UCLA and I wanted to be supportive of Yo Mama's assessment. AND to clarify a few things as well:)

I am incredibly more happy than I thought I could be during residency. Im not sure why that is but it MIGHT be that
1. All the residents, attendings, staff etc seem to get along
2. We have MINIMAL scut with great discharge planners
3. Great weather
4. We get FOOD all the time
5. We pay for NOTHING for health insurance
6. THANK GOODNESS we dont see a lot of "bread and butter" medicine. How BORING is it just see alcoholic 30-somethings, or run of the mill cellulitis. I mean, come on, most 2nd year medical students could manange that- do you REALLY have to go to IM residency to learn those things
7. Laid back atmosphere
8. Great match rate into desired fellowships
9. BEING WITHIN the 80hr work limit all the time
10. As a second year, 6 MOS of my year has virtually no call with weekends off
11. GREAT OUTPATIENT training (although we do feel extremely comfortable with inpatient medicine)
12. Were moving into a BRAND NEW GORGEOUS hospital is 2 mos

Bottom line- im shocked that anyone who actually spent time at UCLA would say that our program is malignant or that the residents are competitive- this is just absolutely not true.

Email one of us (meaning the residents at UCLA)- we'll tell you the truth

Congratulations to all of you and good luck! I hope I get to work with some of you next year! (...Hopefully the some of you that are laid back, like to have fun, and love internal medicine!)

Hello, I also am a second year IM resident at UCLA:

I just wanted to say that I have had a similar experience to the post above. I also do not think that this program is malignant in any way. I have actually enjoyed most of residency and get along very well with my class and the other classes as well. We have a tremendously low level scut work. I have never taken a patient to the be scanned other than as a personal interest and have never been required to draw cultures or start IVs as we have excellent ancillary staff. We have a night float system, so you don't have to cross-cover as an intern on medicine patients while admitting. It is probably sunny 300 days out the year (although it is raining as I right this and actually snowed in the San Gabriel mountains today!). The new hospital is set to open in April of this year and will be an amazing place to train and work. In looking for a residency, I wanted a place that would prepare me to be a good generalist while leaving all my options open for fellowship afterwards, and I feel that UCLA has met my all expectations.

i dunno... the few residents i've met from UCLA have been dbags for lack of a better word. buyer beware...

I dunno... the few residents I've met from UCLA have been dbags for lack of a better word. buyer beware...


This is not the forum to act like a child, keep your posts professional.

i guess what i really meant is that i could see why people would think UCLA is malignant based on the residents that i've met.

i guess what i really meant is that i could see why people would think UCLA is malignant based on the residents that i've met.

What?! for real!? UCLA had the coolest residents on my interview trail.

Here's a thought: maybe all the residents at UCLA aren't the same person! Funny how that works . . .

What 0382938 said... Personally, I thought UCLA had a really chill and fun group of residents. Same "work hard, play hard" feel you get at big-name IM programs in fun cities, but maybe even more chill than I had expected especially considering some of the reviews on SDN.

Does anyone know what the avg board scores are for each CA program? What is considered a good enough score to at least land interviews at UCLA, harbor, cedar etc.

So the relevant people may no longer be reading this post, but for those who have been there, what was your impression of UCSF vs some of the top east coast places (BWH/MGH/Hopkins)? Hopkins sounds like its in a league of its own in terms of the ridiculousness of its intern year, what with there being only two senior residents on during the night (one in the CCU, one in the MICU)... UCSF seemed roughly comparable to MGH in that sense, with BWH having a somewhat less front-loaded thrown-into-the-fire schedule. Is that accurate? think i'm looking to maximize the equation: awesome = ((fellowship placement)x(fed during lunch)+learning)/((terror)x(at-home dictations))...

This is an awesome thread! Any updates on any programs mentioned above? Any thoughts on UCI?

Need a bit of advice. after talking with my chairman and telling him I definately wanna specialize, he advised me to only apply to university based programs. so in cali, i only applied to the university programs and cedar sinai. do u guys agree with this, or are there some other good uni affiliated hospitals that have a high rate of specializing?

Which one would you pick and why? So far they seem pretty even on this thread...

Need a bit of advice. after talking with my chairman and telling him I definately wanna specialize, he advised me to only apply to university based programs. so in cali, i only applied to the university programs and cedar sinai. do u guys agree with this, or are there some other good uni affiliated hospitals that have a high rate of specializing?


your chairman is correct. it will be better to go to a program that has the specialty you are looking for. This will give you opportunities to do research and get letters which will make you more competitive when it come time to apply.

:cool:
Harbor-UCLA
Harbor-UCLA
Pros: Still lives up to the reputation of providing some of the best clinical, hands-on training in California. Residents run the show here. Some of the hardest working residents in the country, and, surprisingly, they seem to be really happy. A real sense of camaraderie you won’t find at other programs. Great patient diversity, a large indigent and immigrant population with incredible pathophysiology. Fellowship potential is pretty decent, with most residents deciding to stay at Harbor or other southern cal programs.
Cons: Scutwork is abound in this county hospital (e.g. you have to run down to pick up xray films, draw your own blood cultures, and often transport patients to imaging). Minimal free time to do research except during elective months. Graduates are mostly recruited to clinically focused fellowships (UCLA system-Cedars and Olive view, City of Hope, USC) versus research heavy places (UCSF, Memorial Sloan). However, a few grads have matched at places like UCSF for GI.

:cool:

Hello applicants, I have first-hand experience at Harbor-UCLA and would like to comment on this old post. It's funny that this was a very helpful post for me when I was trying to determine my rank **last** year.

In any case, we now have fully computerized imaging, everything from chest xrays to ultrasounds to ct scans to mri's. It's all on a program called Synapse, which is easy to use and accessible from every computer.

I didn't understand the "camaraderie" last year while I was interviewing, even though it was one of the most noticeable features of the hospital. Having nearly completed half my intern year, I still think everyone has their own reason for being so happy. For me, it is the fact that no matter how hard I work, at the end of the day, the difficulty and stress crumble under the forces of gratitude from patients and seeing results of hard work. Every day I feel like I make a huge impact on patient care and it makes me happy! :)

"incredible pathophysiology"--understatement

"draw your own blood cultures"--there was this one time that I had to draw 16 blood cultures in one day...noooooooooooot. I don't know why this keeps coming up, but we simply order blood cultures, not draw them. That said, sometimes when I witness a fever, I grab a couple culture tubes and get my own cultures cuz I'm a do-it-yourself kind of guy. ;)

"transport patients"--this only happens when the patient is intubated and needs a doctor to bag or if the patient is on a monitor and needs a doctor in case feces hits the fan. It is a pain in the butt to do, but generally studies don't take long to perform.

There is a lot to say about HARBOR-UCLA and if you have any questions that I can answer, please feel free to private message me, and although I am on wards this month, I will do my best to answer you in a reasonable fashion. Good luck with interviewing!
:D

Anyone know anything about the UCD medicine program?

bump! Any info on UCI or UCD?

I interviewed there for a medicine subspecialty fellowship. I didn't talk to any medicine residents, but it seems like a pretty happy/nonmalignant place and I was favorably impressed. The medical center is all in Sacramento, not Davis. Davis is a suburb that has the main campus and research labs (about 15-20 minutes from the medical center). The hospital/med center looks pretty new and they are still building on. They just opened a new building for their medical students, which is next to the hospital. UC Davis is also starting up a nursing school.

Anyone know anything about the UCD medicine program?

I went to med school there. Generally, the residents are happy and it is a supportive program. The PD is awesome. They had implemented a night float system for awhile last year and the residents did not like it that much, so they listened to them and went back to the traditional q5 call schedule. The upper level residents I worked with as a student all were going on to fellowships of choice--GI, Cards, Pulm/Crit Care, Nephro. Some stay at Davis, some go elsewhere. The noon conferences were usually pretty good. There is good patient diversity since UCDMC is both a county and a tertiary center covering CA north to the OR border.

The major con for many is Sacramento. It's a decent-sized city with some nightlife, great outdoor activities, lower cost of living, good proximity to Tahoe/Bay Area. But it's not SF/LA/SD so you have to decide if it's a good fit for you.

I went to med school there. Generally, the residents are happy and it is a supportive program. The PD is awesome. They had implemented a night float system for awhile last year and the residents did not like it that much, so they listened to them and went back to the traditional q5 call schedule. The upper level residents I worked with as a student all were going on to fellowships of choice--GI, Cards, Pulm/Crit Care, Nephro. Some stay at Davis, some go elsewhere. The noon conferences were usually pretty good. There is good patient diversity since UCDMC is both a county and a tertiary center covering CA north to the OR border.

The major con for many is Sacramento. It's a decent-sized city with some nightlife, great outdoor activities, lower cost of living, good proximity to Tahoe/Bay Area. But it's not SF/LA/SD so you have to decide if it's a good fit for you.

Thanks gleevac!

bump! Any info on UCI or UCD?

I did an extramural rotation at UCI. In general, the residents are very happy, easy going, and are extremely nice and friendly. The attendings tend to teach a lot but most of their attendings are young. They have a good patient population and tend to take their own for fellowships. Since they take their own residents, most of the fellows know the second and third years and are great about teaching. I met with their PD who is extremely nice and seems receptive to feedback from the residents. I am not sure why it's not more popular, especially since it's a UC school.

anyone have any updates on USC since they've moved into the new hospital? is it still a "mess" as stated by the OP? I have an interview scheduled there and am wondering if it's worth the trip to go cross country...

anyone have any updates on USC since they've moved into the new hospital? is it still a "mess" as stated by the OP? I have an interview scheduled there and am wondering if it's worth the trip to go cross country...

I interviewed there last week, and had concerns based on what I had read on sdn. If you want a hard-core county experience it seemed great. The new hospital was very impressive, and the health sciences campus is undergoing a big expansion. They also take a lot of there own for fellowship training. The call is q4 for 9 months and it is a busy place.... I'd love to hear from some USC insiders though...

I am not sure why it's not more popular, especially since it's a UC school.

Not to hate on UCI because I am sure that it is a great program for some people. But to answer your question, a couple of reasons:

1. Research opportunities
2. Academic reputation
3. Fellowship placement
4. Diversity of training experience
5. Geographical consideration

I just IVed at USC and loved the new hospital. I'm a so cal girl so it's on the top of my list. but i do have my fears nonetheless....anyone have any reviews on the program? and perhaps on Loma Linda as well? those are my two so cal programs and i know that they're both VERY different programs so....any reviews would be nice. thanks!

I just IVed at USC and loved the new hospital. I'm a so cal girl so it's on the top of my list. but i do have my fears nonetheless....anyone have any reviews on the program? and perhaps on Loma Linda as well? those are my two so cal programs and i know that they're both VERY different programs so....any reviews would be nice. thanks!

Hmm? Did you read the prior reviews on the program (USC)? I saw at least 2 posts on it. What else do you want to know about it? Sounds like you really want to train in socal. If I were you I would just rank the program I liked better. I don't think one is significantly better than the other.

boF

Hmm? Did you read the prior reviews on the program (USC)? I saw at least 2 posts on it. What else do you want to know about it? Sounds like you really want to train in socal. If I were you I would just rank the program I liked better. I don't think one is significantly better than the other.

boF

i did read the prior reviews of usc but they're also pretty old. nothing new since the opening of the new hospital. and i havent really read ANY reviews on loma linda...? there's no doubt i want to train in socal but i also interviewed at St. Mary's in San Fran, which was great since they've started implementing Healthy San Francisco, a universal health concept. in addition to those three programs, i hit UCSF-Fresno, Bakersfield - Kern, Kaiser Santa Clara, San Joaquin General Hospital, Maricopa in AZ, and Im heading out to UNLV - vegas tomorrow. any reviews would be great! at this point, for me, location is the most imp factor...but every place im IVing at is also a 1 hour flight max, so im open to all.

hello?

hello?

I am glad that you like the new hospital at USC. However the program is really the same. Same strengths and weaknesses as before. Same ridiculous call schedule in intern year, lack of research time, crazy county population, etc.

But compared to the other places that you are interviewing at, I would probably rank it pretty high if only for location.

any opinion on kaiser santa clara or loma linda? thx bof...

:)
6. THANK GOODNESS we dont see a lot of "bread and butter" medicine. How BORING is it just see alcoholic 30-somethings, or run of the mill cellulitis. I mean, come on, most 2nd year medical students could manange that- do you REALLY have to go to IM residency to learn those things


not very nice

bump.

great thread, esp for someone on the outside looking in. it seems hard to penetrate the UC system but i'll keep trying! on the upside, a handful from our fourth year class matched to USC+LAC, Kaiser-fresno, Scripps Mercy.

IM-intern here at USC. Overall, pretty happy here.
if you have specific q's about this program, please post them here or PM.

The rumor is somewhat true. Stanford hospital does cater the more affluent population, and Santa Clara to the indigent population. That said, patients who are admitted by way of Stanford ED can vary greatly. Stanford IM housestaff spends something like 3-4 months at Santa Clara over 3 years of residency. It's up to the applicant to decide whether that's enough indigent exposure.
actually stanford residents spend only 1 month during their training (as an intern). residents can then elect to do another month as an R2 or R3, but then this is assigned by lottery. if you want a county or indigent experience then you should just go to santa clara valley which has it's own residency program which is quite good and friendly.

Can anyone remark on the Kaiser Nor Cal programs (Santa Clara, SF, Oakland). the good/bad of each? They all brag that their residents get fellowships - but can anyone shine anymore light on this?

Also, some food for thought...? I'm interested in Heme/Onc and considering the above programs as well as USC. The addage says "go to the academic program" - but how does the fellowship placement compare between the Kaisers and USC. Not only that, with the malignant rumors of USC abound - would you really make the pick of USC of a Kaiser?

Thanks for your feedback

Rumors about USC being malig are just that...rumors. I'm an intern at USC right now, and its hard work, but not malignant. The residents are super friendly and helpful, even if they aren't the medicine residents.

I was stressed out about a patient once, and my R3's patient was unstable too, and I was in a pinch, and asked a resident who was around for some help/advice, and even though the guy was a urology resident, he took the time to help out. This is what I've noticed for all the residents at USC, no matter what program they are in.

Plus, the patients you will see at USC are amazing. You will see more bread and butter at the Kaisers. :cool:

Rumors about USC being malig are just that...rumors. I'm an intern at USC right now, and its hard work, but not malignant. The residents are super friendly and helpful, even if they aren't the medicine residents.

I was stressed out about a patient once, and my R3's patient was unstable too, and I was in a pinch, and asked a resident who was around for some help/advice, and even though the guy was a urology resident, he took the time to help out. This is what I've noticed for all the residents at USC, no matter what program they are in.

Plus, the patients you will see at USC are amazing. You will see more bread and butter at the Kaisers. :cool:

Thanks for the input USCgal. Any information is good information. How is the new hospital? In regards to the many "rumors" - are there still multiple patients per room (not that this is necessarily a bad thing), I've heard nursing and ancillary staff can be malignant, how about scut work?

Also regarding fellowship placement...how do people usually do? Does USC take a lot of their own? Thanks for your time :)

Thanks for the input USCgal. Any information is good information. How is the new hospital? In regards to the many "rumors" - are there still multiple patients per room (not that this is necessarily a bad thing), I've heard nursing and ancillary staff can be malignant, how about scut work?

Also regarding fellowship placement...how do people usually do? Does USC take a lot of their own? Thanks for your time :)


The new hospital is nice, and has a simple layout. Not a hard place to figure out quickly. As for multiple patients per room, there are single rooms and double rooms. No more than 2 patients per room. And the nursing staff are not bad at all. There are a few nurses (very few) that are less than stellar, but not enough to make me think of the whole nursing and ancillary staff as bad and malig. Plus, you are going to have bad apples at every hospital. Scut work, well there is a little, but nothing excessive. You do have to deal with a bunch of social issues, which you will probably have to do less of at somewhere like Kaiser, since most of those people have insurance and a home.

But the place is very cool. I have a certain interest, and I tell the R3 and R2 I'm on call with, and all of them have been very cool about sending those patients my way if they get them. I also like the way the call schedule is set up. You aren't on call with your team, but for your team. You do cross cover for all the patient on your team. Being on call with a different R3 and R2 is cool b/c you get to see how other people do things. And USC has recently initiated a Green Service, that is a non-teaching service, run by attending. We get to transfer patients to the Green team if they are "rocks" but will be discharged within the next two weeks or so.

As for fellowships, I think they do tend to pull their own, but I don't really know enough about this to be of much help. Ask the chiefs when you come for an interview. :D

KAISER SUNSET:
Director is definitely a great salesman but don't be surprised when you get a lemon.
The breakdown:
ADVERTISED: frequency of call q4-8 during wards, short call to 9pm, research opportunities, academics, program very receptive to change, no overnight call

REALITY: can sometimes have call q2, short call is to 11pm, overnight on Saturdays, barely any faculty does research and very difficult to get started, extra call during winter months, does not practice evidence based medicine, no journal club, no M&Ms, no accountability, if you do not have something positive to say then basically you are ignored and nothing changes or gets addressed, expect to take ICU overnight call without ever doing ICU first, the bottom line is that as an intern you type progress notes and discharge summaries all day long and compile all the consultant notes in one and don't do much yourself as the medicine team, learn to practice defensive and often wasteful medicine, electronic system is great except 1/2 the orders don't go thorough most of the time and everyone copies each others' notes, don't expect good teaching, poor history of taking own residents into fellowship

Q2 call is ridiculous for the wards. I wouldn't even go to a program like that, even if it was 2 months of wards for the whole year. Q4 is bad enough. I can't imaging what ICU call would be like if the wards are Q2.

How about Loma Linda? Any information?

I'm curious about scripps-mercy and scripps-green. Any info on these programs? I know they're literally across the street from UCSD so I would imagine UCSD takes all the complicated and interesting cases.

Q2 call is ridiculous for the wards. I wouldn't even go to a program like that, even if it was 2 months of wards for the whole year. Q4 is bad enough. I can't imaging what ICU call would be like if the wards are Q2.

How about Loma Linda? Any information?

In all probability, that person was a troll, considering this was his/her first post. But I may be wrong.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post; actually 2 years ago; that UCSF offered a housing subsidy. Anyone know if this is factual? I heard a simular rumor about Stanford. This could be very important in decision making, since these are two very expensive places to live.

I'm curious about scripps-mercy and scripps-green. Any info on these programs? I know they're literally across the street from UCSD so I would imagine UCSD takes all the complicated and interesting cases.

Scripps Mercy is a great county program, the house staff looked very happy and their training in general medicine is outstanding. However, their match list didn't look that impressive compared to other programs in Southern California. But, if you are looking to be a hospitalist or a general internist then you will get excellent training there. The housestaff definitely see very interesting cases simply because they are a county program and have a diverse patient population.

Scripps Green is a private hospital and their match list is better than Scripps Mercy but still not as good as other So. Cal programs like UCSD, UCLA, Harbor-UCLA. There are plenty of research oppurtunities and the house staff looked pretty happy here. There seems to be less autonomy here and as far as I know fellows/ attendings run their codes. Their patient population is also not very diverse.. mostly older,affluent patients.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post; actually 2 years ago; that UCSF offered a housing subsidy. Anyone know if this is factual? I heard a simular rumor about Stanford. This could be very important in decision making, since these are two very expensive places to live.

For UCSF:
http://medicine.ucsf.edu/education/residency/application/comp.html

$7,200 (housing stipend) + $2,400 (one-time moving stipend)


Stanford's website does not contain much information:
http://medicine.stanford.edu/education/stipends.html

For me, Stanford remains one of the most nebulous programs out there along with UPenn... hard to find the "word on the street" about either of these excellent programs. Getting an invite from Stanford (250 candidates interviewed a year) is analogous to getting to see Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory... I really hope to get a golden ticket and surely will get a better haircut than Charlie. :laugh:

Stanford is cool but I'm not sure I would put it up there with the Wonka Factory. If anything, you will be more of an oompa loompa than Charlie himself but this is true regardless of where you go. Make sure you kick the tires and look under the hood at Stanford. Not being a resident there but being close by with many friends in or completing the program it has ups and downs.
as to compensation between Stanford and UCSF, when all is said and done, I think that Stanford residents make slightly more than we do. really though, it is NOT hard to live a good like on the salary at either hospital and I wouldn't let that swat your decision in either way.

Thanks for the replies! Last one that I'm strongly considering in CA is Harbor-UCLA. Anyone here with good knowledge of their program? I know they've made vast improvements recently regarding ancillary staff. I also know they have a fairly decent match list. How is the program in general? Good support from staff? Thanks in advance.

can any USC residents remark on how many inpatient medicine months they have to do each year?

can any USC residents remark on how many inpatient medicine months they have to do each year?

I'm not a USC resident, but I know a few years back, it was something ridiculous like 9 or 10. Please tell me it's come down to 6.

I'm not a USC resident, but I know a few years back, it was something ridiculous like 9 or 10. Please tell me it's come down to 6.

I had heard that several years ago it was 11 (ouch!), but they brought it down to a more humane, 9 :rolleyes:

But their website would lead me to believe it's at 5 now!

http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine/departments/medicine/education/residency/rotation.html

I just wanted to get some confirmation/rejection of this...

Thanks for the replies! Last one that I'm strongly considering in CA is Harbor-UCLA. Anyone here with good knowledge of their program? I know they've made vast improvements recently regarding ancillary staff. I also know they have a fairly decent match list. How is the program in general? Good support from staff? Thanks in advance.

I am an intern at Harbor. We have a 24 hour phlebotomy team for labs, blood cultures and ABGs (done by respiratory therapists), PICC line nurses, IV nurses, rapid response team for medical emergencies and patient transportation.

We also have a good match list. http://harboruclamed.com/Alumni.html

There is no doubt that you will get excellent training at Harbor. You will see really interesting cases, work with fun, bright and friendly residents and faculty and have a great time doing it. I have loved my intern year so far. You never feel like you are alone yet you get to make your own decisions. The residents and faculty love to teach and look out for you. You actually enjoy your time in the hospital because of the people around you.

We also have great lectures. Every week we have an evidence based medicine lecture, journal club, primary care lectures, Morbidity and Mortality conference ( my favorite!) and Intern report along with Morning report every day except Tuesdays when we have Grand Rounds.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

KAISER SUNSET:
Director is definitely a great salesman but don't be surprised when you get a lemon.
The breakdown:
ADVERTISED: frequency of call q4-8 during wards, short call to 9pm, research opportunities, academics, program very receptive to change, no overnight call

REALITY: can sometimes have call q2, short call is to 11pm, overnight on Saturdays, barely any faculty does research and very difficult to get started, extra call during winter months, does not practice evidence based medicine, no journal club, no M&Ms, no accountability, if you do not have something positive to say then basically you are ignored and nothing changes or gets addressed, expect to take ICU overnight call without ever doing ICU first, the bottom line is that as an intern you type progress notes and discharge summaries all day long and compile all the consultant notes in one and don't do much yourself as the medicine team, learn to practice defensive and often wasteful medicine, electronic system is great except 1/2 the orders don't go thorough most of the time and everyone copies each others' notes, don't expect good teaching, poor history of taking own residents into fellowship



I’m a Kaiser categorical intern and absolutely love it here at Kaiser. When I ranked Kaiser, I looked for a tertiary care program that provided a nonhostile, friendly environment. Granted, I’m an intern, so I’ve only been here for 4-5 months so I have yet to learn more about the residency program. However, compared to other IM programs that my friends are in, I feel like Kaiser has a very nonmalignant, homey atmosphere with great camaraderie between all the interns/residents and even most attendings.

Calls:
- Kaiser provides a schedule for its interns and residents that follows ACGME requirements. Many times when I log my hours (truthfully), I find that I’m averaging 60hrs/week. This is far less than what my other friends can say about other medicine programs.
- I’m not sure where q2d calls comes from, but I don’t’ think many of us have ever faced that problem. Generally we take 1 call/week, sometimes 2. Call on weekdays and Sundays means that you admit and stay until 11pm. Strict reinforcement has been made that the admitting team does not stay past 11pm. The only overnight call we have on wards is on Saturday nights (which you get at most 1x/month on wards or unit months for a total of 4-7x/year of any form of overnight call). In addition, there is a guaranteed 4hr protected sleep time for any call >24 hours.
- In terms of this “extra call during winter months”, as most of you know, the swine flu is pandemic and is hitting southern California especially hard. As a result of that, our ER and hospital floors have been especially busy even in the summer/fall months and we anticipate it to be even worse during the winter months. Thus, they have asked that each resident/intern be pulled to help with the admissions. This extra shift is from 5-11pm or 12am? and takes place during your less busy months (meaning ambulatory, elective months) and does not include weekends/holidays. At most, you will have MAXIMUM of 1-2 of these shifts during the entire winter months.
- “Expect to take ICU overnight call without ever doing ICU first” – not sure if this is true, and never heard of this.

Faculty/Research/Curriculum
- It is true that many faculty members don’t conduct research, however I don’t think it’s very difficult to get started. Of course, this is a tertiary care/academic program so it won’t be as easy as an academic program, but there are research advisors who are extremely eager and willing to help. There are also more then plenty of research projects at Kaiser itself. Plus there are so many great programs that are so close by (UCLA, USC, Cedars, Olive View, etc) and as interns we have so much free elective time (5 weeks as an intern) that it’s not difficult to network and get plugged into other programs as well.
- In terms of teaching, there’s a fairly good amount of teaching. Plenty of teaching during rounds and most attendings are fairly good about it. There are plenty of lectures for interns/residents (2-3x/week), daily morning rounds, morning report, noon conferences, etc. We are a university affiliated program, hence plenty of teaching happens for medical students as well.
- Any changes to the curriculum does come from the administration, however these issues are always addressed and discussed with the housestaff before implementation.

Fellowships:
- As mentioned above, Kaiser is a academic affiliated program, thus of course there will be less research oriented attendings. However from what I have seen, most fellowships at Kaiser tend to reserve 1 spot for in-house residents. The ONLY subspecialty I have seen that has not been consistent with this is GI. However those residents who are interested in GI tend to match elsewhere to other programs.


Learning:
- as in any residency program, the effort and amount of time you put into your own learning experience and education is what you will get out of the experience. True, as in any residency program, the intern tends to have a more “secretarial” job, but that’s not all what the Kaiser intern year is about. There are plenty of learning opportunities for interns/residents as mentioned above (morning rounds, daily morning report, lectures geared towards interns/residents, conferences, etc). Not only are attendings friendly and approachable here at Kaiser, but so are the higher level residents. One of the beauties of this program is that the residency program has great camaraderie and you truly feel like you’re part of the Kaiser team/family.

Electronic System
- Kaiser has one of the best electronic systems in the country, and in my personal experience it’s better than the VA’s cprs electronic system. Orders, notes, discharge summaries, images, ekgs via one electronic system are all accessible and made to make the physician’s life easier. Pre-made templates for notes and personalized order sets are all possible through the electronic system. However of course with any great thing, there are some downfalls with the system. It is true that copying/pasting is a problem with some interns/residents, and this goes for any program with an electronic system, and of course those people are appropriately reprimanded. There are also still a few glitches in the system including occasionally a few orders aren’t being transferred appropriately after admission but these are minor issues, picked up readily by the nursing/housestaff, and easily fixed with no effect on patient care. All in all, the electronic system has tremendously and effortlessly helped most of our intern lives with less time spent on paperwork/busy work and more time spent on patient care.
- Kaiser’s electronic system is one of the things that drew me to Kaiser in the first place. The entire patient’s history, previous studies, medication history, surgical pathologies/procedures, etc are ALL accessible through this system. History taking and admissions have never been easier with all the information in front of you. Research is also made so much easier with easy/time-saving access to data.


Overall, Kaiser was one of the most resident-friendly, nonmalignant programs I had seen on my interview trail and I still believe that this is true to this day. I’m not saying that Kaiser is a perfect program and of course with any internship/residency, there will be some hardships and grievances along with issues that need to be worked out. However, I did feel that most of the concerns/complaints mentioned above needed to be addressed from a different intern’s perspective.