Residency Review Discussions

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Coleman

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I thought I would start a thread, now that the season is upon us, of various experiences we all have had while interviewing.

Please comment on any aspect you like, but things to include mayabe:

-Interesting or difficult questions
-format (1:1 interviews vs. panel)
-Great or Horrible interviews
-embarrassing moments (be honest folks)
-what you would have done different
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I have had 3 so far, I have 10 more scheduled.
All were fine.
The wierdest one started on by the woman introducing herself ( in which I already knew her and worked with her) by stating, " I went to medical school at John Hopkins graduated at the top 5% of my class, I then did my residency at John Hopkins, I am BLANK BLANK of this UNNAMED NATIONAL ORG, I have this many articles published and have authored these chapters in these texts, and I have this many manuscripts in process of publication.
Not a bad interview, but weird lady, I do not think you could impress her even if you told her that you were the LochNess monster or even God.

Program will go unnamed.
 
actually, when I told an interviewer I was the loch ness monster and devoured his fish tank, he was obviously impressed. Later I told the SWAT team dude I was God and they launched even more teargas. Do you think they will still rank me?
 
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So far I'm been on two interviews-fairly painless. Most of the questions were based off of my ERAS but I did get a few that I had to think about:
As an EM doc you are going to have conflicts with consults,patients,etc.Tell me about a conflict that you've had while in medical school and how you dealt with it.
What was your worse moment in medical school?
Present to me an interesting case(got asked this in 3 of my 4 interviewers at one place)

Fortunately my first interview was at my home school and they were kind enough to give us feedback at the end as to how we did so that we can prepair for our future interviews. The key is even when asked a negative question, try to answer it in a positive light ie. when describing a conflict emphasize want you learned from it,etc. Also always have one favorite case in mind-it can be pretty hard to pull one out of your butt when someone catches you off guard.
-limabean
 
Just got done with both these 4 year programs. The interviews were completely painless... each one was a series of 4 15-minute interviews and they felt a little rushed (the program coordinators were hard-core about keeping the interviewers, even the PDs, on time) but other than that went really well.

A few talked about specifics of my app (research, pubs, school, activities, etc...) but most focused on random things from my essay and hobbies. I talked to one guy who has a harley about my new bike for the full 15 mins. other interviewees had similar completely random conversations and not one person had an uncomfortable or even awkward experience.

You can get some really good hotel deals in Philly off of hotels.com and priceline and apparently they're running some sort of buy one night, get one night free special that I didn't take advantage of since I only stayed for one night.
 
Hey all,

Just a small plea for continued posting on this thread. Wouldn't it be great if we could have a little "inside info" on an program before we even arrive for our interviews?

I promise to post small tidbits on each and every interview I attend and I hope you all do the same. This thread has the potential to be extremely informative and useful!

Dwgs.
 
iwakuni-

I did a month's rotation at Univ of MD... thought so highly of it i ranked it #2... I would have been extremely happy to have matched there had I not gotten my #1. Their training there is excellent, adn their third year residents incredibly strong (and got all the job offers they wanted).

Q, DO
 
Iwanuki,
Very helpful!
Your comment about the working chair was interesting. Do you think it matters? I don't think this is true at most of the programs.
 
Hey guys

I was just wondering if any of you have any impressions about GWU in DC...I'm due there next week and I can't seem to find a whole lot of resident/applicant opinions on that place.

Thanks and happy new year everyone! :)
 
Anymore of these great stories. I really find this thread interesting. Thanks and good luck.
 
...needmy...
I havent been to GW, but tell me bout it when you get back. I think we've actually been to many of the same spots. Im going to GW in February, my last interview actually.
 
Loma Linda used to be a DO school. Yes, back in the day they were an osteopathic school but appealed to the Board of Blah Blah to become accredited as an allopathic school (so long as they dropped that manipulation nonsense - eh, Quinn?), citing the unjust stigma attached to DO graduates.

The Board of Blah Blah approved, and voila! Loma Linda was reborn overnight as a school of MDs.

(This is how one of their recent grads relayed the story to me, anway.)

Their application materials used to say, as recently as 1998, when I applied to med school, that they sought applicants with "a strong Christian background". I don't know if the app or website still say that.


HORNET
 
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Hornet871 said:
Loma Linda used to be a DO school. Yes, back in the day they were an osteopathic school but appealed to the Board of Blah Blah to become accredited as an allopathic school (so long as they dropped that manipulation nonsense - eh, Quinn?), citing the unjust stigma attached to DO graduates.

The Board of Blah Blah approved, and voila! Loma Linda was reborn overnight as a school of MDs.

----

I seriously doubt this is true. The hospital that UCI currently occupies (main campus) used to be a DO institution, but UCI was never anything but allopathic. The place was unused for a while, then UC took it over.

LLU Medical School has always been allopathic. If I'm wrong, please show me where it states otherwise.
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Yeah, sean wilson's right, the campus that UCI currently occupies used to be called College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (COPS). lol Loma Linda was always Loma Linda.
 
If you are a DO, Loma Linda won't look at you unless you take the USMLE. I knew an attending there, and this is their rule...They want to make sure that all applicants have taken the same exam, so as to compare apples to apples I guess...I never took the USMLE, and matched at a program very high on my ROL.
UCI was a DO school, not LLU. UCI is not DO friendly as far as EM goes. I rotated there as MS4, got to know all the "brass", let them know my interest in their program, yet wasn't even granted an interview there...They basically told me flat out that they will never take a DO into their program....Harbor UCLA and UCSD are also not DO friendly...Unfortunate, but true....
Of course all this was true in 1998 when I was applying to residencies...Who knows, maybe things have changed since, but we all know old habits die hard!
Mark
 
margaritaboy: are you DO or MD applicant? Just curious...wondering if any DO applicants had been granted interviews at Loma Linda. I have heard that UCSD & Harbor-UCLA are extremely non-DO friendly, although I have not heard much about Loma Linda. Any input from anyone? Thanks!
 
IMHO, I don't how much of the name, UPenn, can carry you in the world of EM, as it potentially can to the field of Med or Surg. Same case go to Hopkins.
 
Then again, I guess a name like Hopkins or Penn can only help you when you are outside of academic emergency medicine...
 
Please don't get me wrong. I don't mean to put down Upenn or Hopkins. I have met several people from these school on my interview trail, and they pretty much said the same thing...
 
hello23 said:
IMHO, I don't how much of the name, UPenn, can carry you in the world of EM, as it potentially can to the field of Med or Surg. Same case go to Hopkins.
Click to expand...

On the flip side... What program names are you implying can potentially carry you in the EM world?
 
I plan to say "I know that Quinn guy" a lot.

Oh, program names? Ehh, I don't think any of them can "carry" you, but some might maybe get attention. Give 'em something to ask you about. I assist/ observe/ push beds and do tech stuff at... a certain place. With a good name in EM. Which gives me stories to tell, names of people I know and who know me, things I've picked up here and there... and confidence.

This and a buck will get me vending machine coffee, of course. But along with the name of the place, it all adds up to something I have that many others don't.
 
Seems like a lopsided interview review so far, please share your interview experiences and thoughts with the rest of us. I still have quite a few interviews to go and would like a head's up.
 
Just checking to see if anyone had any insight to add to these posts... I interviewed there for med school, and so I have a good feel for the community/region, but otherwise am really unfamiliar with the program...
 
There is a shuttle that goes between mt sinai and elmhurst. i am not sure how frequent it is but it seemed pretty convienent
 
Finished with the interview trail!! I hope many of you are too! I also interviewed at Hopkins, MGH/BW, and St. Luke's, but I feel those programs have been represented well by others and do not warrant a review. If you have any particular questions about any of them, please feel free to PM me. I also canceled my interview with NYP so there may be an opening for Monday Jan 30.

I enjoyed meeting many of you on the interview trail, even if it was anonymous. There are some amazing people out there! And I would be honored to work with most of you. I look forward to it.

Good luck with the match! I hope you all get your #1. I finally realized all too late....that location, location, location is key! Training is virtually the same everywhere you go, what makes the difference is how you fit into the program and where you want to spend the next four years of your life. Don't get too caught up with the reputation of the place. Residency is what YOU MAKE OF IT!
 
NinerNiner999 said:
I thought the residents and faculty were very happy there when I interviewed last year. I ended up ranking it number 12 of 12, however, because as a previous poster mentioned, the city of Morgantown absolutely blows. There is one main road in town and unless you are a huge lover of the mounain life, there wasn't much close unless you wanted to take an hour drive to Pittsburgh. Also, my SO would have had nothing - zero - zilch - for job oppurtunities. I think I would have enjoyed the program, but there was no way I could ever leave the hospital and be happy...
Click to expand...

Like there's much more to do in Baltimore...

Yeah I am at MU School of Medicine...so whether Morgantown was good or bad, I would still say it was bad. Luckily, it really does suck so I don't have to pretend.
 
Thanks for everyones imput. Firebird.......you do know that you are in Huntington right? Last I checked it wasn't that great of a place....but still thanks for your imput.
 
EMwannabe said:
Thanks for everyones imput. Firebird.......you do know that you are in Huntington right? Last I checked it wasn't that great of a place....but still thanks for your imput.
Click to expand...


Yeah I know. I really thought that it was obvious that I was speaking from a rival's position, which is not a rational position. In fact, I've never even been to Morgantown but I always knock it just for the fact that I'm at MU.

I'll bet we have better restaurants, though...another tongue in cheek comment for the sarcastically challenged.
 
Hey Everybody,

Some folks have told me this review was helpful, so instead of starting a new thread...I thought it would be helpful to keep this thread going. Please feel free to include your experiences on the interview trail with the rest of us.
 
papichulodoc said:
Hey Everybody,

Some folks have told me this review was helpful, so instead of starting a new thread...I thought it would be helpful to keep this thread going. Please feel free to include your experiences on the interview trail with the rest of us.
Click to expand...


I, for one, just wanted to say thanks for doing this all in the first place. It helped me immensely when looking at places I might apply. I'll try, along with whoever else might be on the interview trail as well this year, to add to it and help others out in the future.

Thanks again papichulodoc.

CS
 
papichulodoc said:
Hey Everybody,

Some folks have told me this review was helpful, so instead of starting a new thread...I thought it would be helpful to keep this thread going. Please feel free to include your experiences on the interview trail with the rest of us.
Click to expand...

Maybe turn the thread into a sticky?
 
Hey mods can we get some sticky love for this thread?
 
+pad+ CS I think you were interested. I also think it would be helpful if we did this for this yr. Maybe not quite as detailed but drop some knowledge on the rest of us..
 
Thanks quinn. Hopefully people can give a little insight on places that they are interviewing. This would be quite helpful!
 
I am in the process of creating a blog site to be affiliated with SDN that is all about my experiences applying to emergency medicine. It is still very much in the early stages but I am detailing each interview much more fully than I am doing on this thread. Feel free to check it out at

www.emergencymedicinequest.blogspot.com

Hopefully it will be a great way to consolidate much of the useful information I am getting here. I will include links to all the great stickies as well as some of the more interesting threads I have read in the past. It will be more for the class of 2007 and beyond obviously but I think it will be a nice aid.
 
corpsmanUP perhaps you can also cut and paste your stuff on here? Your call obviously. Hopefully others will also post their stuff beyond just the 2 of us.
 
EctopicFetus said:
corpsmanUP perhaps you can also cut and paste your stuff on here? Your call obviously. Hopefully others will also post their stuff beyond just the 2 of us.
Click to expand...

I would be more than happy to, but if you have seen the length of my interview experiences they are quite long. I try not to leave out too many important details because I don't know which ones might be important to who. I'll play it by ear though Tubal!! ;)
 
Poncho said:
BIDMC (cont.) - Another unique aspect is that the ED is truly resident run with the 3rd year managing the dispo of 30-35 patients on the acute side and the attending running around in the background and there for advice and teaching. Will I have not been to other 3 year programs, this has to be among the best for academic 3 years in the country.
Click to expand...


Poncho-


This is probably not as rare as you think. However, it illustrates a VERY important concept- that you MUST ask how teams are constructed and how they are run. This can vary significantly and 3 vs 4 has almost nothing to do with it.

At our program (3 year) The second years 'run' thier own team seeing anywhere from 20-30 patients with direct supervision from an attending.
As third years, we run half the ed supervising our interns. we see ~40 pts a shift w/ attendings only to teach
 
tiene dolor? said:
Don't be shy now. Tell us how you really feel.. :laugh:

I would caution against over idealizing any program. ;)
Click to expand...

You might not have noticed, but I have been pointing out the high points of each of the places I have looked at. I am not here on this forum to talk negatively about any program because I think that any program you go to will educated you to be a great ED doc. I never said that Indy or any other program was not without fault. I think we all know there is no Easter Bunny! ;)
 
Did Wash U and was very impressed. I am traveling right now but when i get back ill leave my $0.02. EXTREMELY impressive place.
 
corpsmanUP said:
You might not have noticed, but I have been pointing out the high points of each of the places I have looked at. I am not here on this forum to talk negatively about any program because I think that any program you go to will educated you to be a great ED doc. I never said that Indy or any other program was not without fault. I think we all know there is no Easter Bunny! ;)
Click to expand...

No easter bunny??! :eek:
 
I suppose that means that Santa Claus isn't real, either...and what about the tooth fairy??? :confused: :scared: :confused:
 
Hawkeye Kid said:
I suppose that means that Santa Claus isn't real, either...and what about the tooth fairy??? :confused: :scared: :confused:
Click to expand...

Santa Claus is real. I treated him yesterday for seasonal affective disorder. I think there is a tooth fairy too. He lives in San Francisco :laugh: .
 
I've interviewed at Mayo, Regions, Iowa, Nebraska so far..........i don't have the energy to give big details about all of them, but feel free to PM me if you have any questions and want my humble opinions.

later
 
turtle said:
Santa Claus is real. I treated him yesterday for seasonal affective disorder. I think there is a tooth fairy too. He lives in San Francisco :laugh: .
Click to expand...
Wouldn't Santa's seasonal affective disorder be a summer problem? He's freaking Santa!
 
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