- Joined
- Jun 8, 2005
- Messages
- 944
- Reaction score
- 9
Well, I finally saw Christ yesterday, and no it wasn't in a vision or in a dream 
And since my blog page is about 7 interviews behind, I'll just go ahead and use this thread to discuss what I saw. First of all, I never made it to the Bear's game because I decided my time would be better spent exploring the neighborhood. My plane got in at 9AM the morning before my interview so I literally had the entire day to venture. I started at Christ and used it as my reference point on the map. I went east a few miles, and it took nearly 30 minutes before I hit a part of town that started to make me uncomfortable....true south Chicago proper. Then I worked my way back through back neighborhood streets and found them to be exactly as I thought....a mix of blue collar and white collar people living together in a true middle class existence. The tree-lined streets looked like a scene out of a typical middle-class America flick. I was expecting to see John Cuso or Molly Ringwold walk out of one of the houses at any moment!
I found the coolest Italian deli down around 103rd a couple miles southeast where there were some million dollar homes nestled in some century old live oak trees. So much for the ghetto feel I was trying to find heh? The deli I went to had "real" Italian people speaking Italian. How do I know it was Italian???....because I speak Spanish pretty darn well and I only understood about 1/3 of it. And every other word ended with "ino" or "ito". While waiting for my "Calabrese" sandwich (I had no freaking idea what the hec this was, and I undoubtedly butchered the pronunication because the girl corrected me with a word that sounded nothing like what I called it). Okay, enough about my sentimental experience in the windy city....on to what makes Christ worth coming to (no pun intended...well sort of
The day started out with Dr. Harwood himself giving us a slide presentation that was like playing Jeapordy. He had categories of topics listed in Jeapordy-fashion on the screen, and he entertained questions about the topics (and anything else you wanted to ask). Each topic had a slide that went with it and answered everything you wanted to know about it. It was very casual, as there were only 3 of us interviewing. From the word go, there were residents all around and involved in our day. They have a true say in who their new counterparts are going to be, and I believe it helps them attract the quality of people they have. The individual interviews were next, and I have to admit once again that these were some of the best interviews I have had along the way. I believe it all starts with the small interview group. This is the cornerstone of a what makes this day special in my opinion and it all comes down to salesmanship. I could tell that each interviewer had reviewed my file intimately. I think they probably even knew who my high school girlfriend was and how many home runs I hit in my junior year of baseball. The interviews were more conversational than anything else, which in my opinion is way more useful than "Tell me your favorite color in a tie dye shirt and explain how it relates to your present emotional state". When they started to get slow, the interviewers had a list of questions that were not difficult to answer and helped get back on the conversational track.
On to lunch....the residents are what make Christ such an awesome place. To tell you the truth, I was a bit worried that I would show up and meet nothing but Dr. Bill Gates clones. This is because Christ is known for having only the top students enter their program. Of all my friends on the interview trail, I was the only one that got an interview at Christ. And these friends got interviews at places like Vandy, Carolinas, and Wake where I got rejected. I think it was the DO thing though in retrospect, and Christ has NO care in the world whether you are a DO or an MD. The whole hospital is full of DO's, as is the residency. The residents were anything but a group of geeks though. You could tell they were sharp, but they were social butterflies and more than capable of holding their own in a game of quarters I assure you. There was a great mix of single guys and gals, married with kids guys and gals, and an ethnic mix that only could exist in a place like Chicago. The choices are broad for social interaction, as they go on tons of trips together to SAEM, ACEP, and just fun outings to games, skiing, etc...
After lunch we had the resident presentation, the first of its kind I had witnessed along the trail. They literally took over after lunch and for 3-4 more hours we were theirs. There must have been 8 residents who took an entire day to devote just to hanging out with the 3 of us. It was absolutely incredible and made me feel like I was being recruited by the White Sox. I had to pinch myself a few times to realize I was not dreaming this all up. THIS IS THE REASON THEY GET THE BEST PEOPLE! I mean lets face it, when you come this far, and work this freaking hard to make it to the top, the last thing you want to happen is to leave an interview day wondering where the hec you stand with them.
So lets throw all this in a pot and let it boil over.....this is what is left to skim off the top from what I just said, and I will throw in some tidbits of EM stuff.
1) Probably the most human yet intelligent residents overall I have met, though every program had some, this place had tons of them!!
2) One solitary facility to learn the ropes in, and it is truly the mix of Wishard and Methodist in Indy...under one roof. What I mean is you get county, private, and a diverse population of patients without having to travel.
Side note: Now it makes sense what the esteemed Dr. Chisholm said in Indy when he allowed me to ask him a question during my interview. I directed his famous interview advice back at him and asked him what programs he felt were as good as his own. I knew this question would illicit a jackpot and I am so glad I asked it. He specifically stated without hesitation.........."I would say our program is a combination of Christ, and Cook County".
3) Faculty that have this drill down to a science. They have been doing this for 20+ years, and they exceed the RRC requirements in EVERY category by leaps and bounds. They are talked about so highly by the residents, and since the residents all come across so well, you believe them for sure.
4) There is no graduated learning at this place!! This means that if your learning curve is faster than someone elses, your level of autonomy can be earned more quickly and is not based on your PGY level alone.
5) Oak Lawn is a very nice place, and is a diverse city neighborhood pretty far removed from the big Chicago in the loop, but close enough to have any American's dream weekend vacation in just a 30 minute drive.
6) Internal moonlighting in the cardiac emergency unit, that allows you to easily add 20% or more to your income if you so choose. You can do it as an intern even once you complete a couple of required rotations!! What a beautiful thing!!!
7) No floor medicine month...God I love it...sign me up for this reason only!
8) In emergency medicine, this place carries a big name with all the others like Indy, Carolinas, Cinci, Pitt, etc... and if grandmother can't handle you not going to a place called Harvard, Mayo, Einstein, or Barnes Jewish, just tell her you are at University of Illinois-Chicago Christ Advocate, because they have some sort of affiliation.
9) Unlike some programs that find it necessary to work 60 hours a week in the ED, with 22 twelves a month, you will only work 16-18 10 hour shifts in a 4 week period. This probably means 20 per calendar month or less on average, equaling an incredible amount of time to read or chill.
Reasons NOT to come to Christ (God I feel like I am sinning when I say that):
1) Don't come if you are socially inept. These guys rival a group of Navy Seals when it comes to balancing fun with work!
2) Don't come if you think ghetto is defined by houses built before 1940, or if you get nervous when you see people with varying amounts of migratory neural crest cells in their dermis. This place is comfortably diverse....and thank God I saw no "W" stickers on any cars.
3) Don't come if you don't want to work hard as hell. They see 80,000 plus among 11 residents a year compared to many RRC accredited places I have visited that see like 35,000 for a class of 6-8. Do the math...there is no sitting on your butt around Christ (think I just sinned again with that phrase).
4) Don't come if you are going to bi**h about the cold all the time. Yes, Chicago gets cold, but it has 4 seasons that are all equally represented. All my favorite places have weather like Chicago or worse, and I am from Texas for God's sake! Suck it up
5) Don't come if you can't handle not having a big name on your wall in ten years. This is a big name in our world of EM, and if you can't understand that then you are coming for the wrong reasons.
6) And lastly, don't come if you think you already have your match ROL made, just expecting to bump up your number of programs for a safety net (I certainly didn't come for this reason, but it is honestly the reason I visited some programs). You could find yourself falling for this place, and it will totally ruin all the hard work you put into your ROL!!! There is no doubt that Christ has risen in my opinion........(on my list as well )!!!
So, thats my impression of Christ, and I hope it allows you to have a visual of what type of experience you might have if you decide to apply and are fortunate enough to receive an interview with them. All kidding aside....if your intention is to be the best EM physician you can be, then you should give Christ a very close look. Its worth it!!
And since my blog page is about 7 interviews behind, I'll just go ahead and use this thread to discuss what I saw. First of all, I never made it to the Bear's game because I decided my time would be better spent exploring the neighborhood. My plane got in at 9AM the morning before my interview so I literally had the entire day to venture. I started at Christ and used it as my reference point on the map. I went east a few miles, and it took nearly 30 minutes before I hit a part of town that started to make me uncomfortable....true south Chicago proper. Then I worked my way back through back neighborhood streets and found them to be exactly as I thought....a mix of blue collar and white collar people living together in a true middle class existence. The tree-lined streets looked like a scene out of a typical middle-class America flick. I was expecting to see John Cuso or Molly Ringwold walk out of one of the houses at any moment!I found the coolest Italian deli down around 103rd a couple miles southeast where there were some million dollar homes nestled in some century old live oak trees. So much for the ghetto feel I was trying to find heh? The deli I went to had "real" Italian people speaking Italian. How do I know it was Italian???....because I speak Spanish pretty darn well and I only understood about 1/3 of it. And every other word ended with "ino" or "ito". While waiting for my "Calabrese" sandwich (I had no freaking idea what the hec this was, and I undoubtedly butchered the pronunication because the girl corrected me with a word that sounded nothing like what I called it). Okay, enough about my sentimental experience in the windy city....on to what makes Christ worth coming to (no pun intended...well sort of
The day started out with Dr. Harwood himself giving us a slide presentation that was like playing Jeapordy. He had categories of topics listed in Jeapordy-fashion on the screen, and he entertained questions about the topics (and anything else you wanted to ask). Each topic had a slide that went with it and answered everything you wanted to know about it. It was very casual, as there were only 3 of us interviewing. From the word go, there were residents all around and involved in our day. They have a true say in who their new counterparts are going to be, and I believe it helps them attract the quality of people they have. The individual interviews were next, and I have to admit once again that these were some of the best interviews I have had along the way. I believe it all starts with the small interview group. This is the cornerstone of a what makes this day special in my opinion and it all comes down to salesmanship. I could tell that each interviewer had reviewed my file intimately. I think they probably even knew who my high school girlfriend was and how many home runs I hit in my junior year of baseball. The interviews were more conversational than anything else, which in my opinion is way more useful than "Tell me your favorite color in a tie dye shirt and explain how it relates to your present emotional state". When they started to get slow, the interviewers had a list of questions that were not difficult to answer and helped get back on the conversational track.
On to lunch....the residents are what make Christ such an awesome place. To tell you the truth, I was a bit worried that I would show up and meet nothing but Dr. Bill Gates clones. This is because Christ is known for having only the top students enter their program. Of all my friends on the interview trail, I was the only one that got an interview at Christ. And these friends got interviews at places like Vandy, Carolinas, and Wake where I got rejected. I think it was the DO thing though in retrospect, and Christ has NO care in the world whether you are a DO or an MD. The whole hospital is full of DO's, as is the residency. The residents were anything but a group of geeks though. You could tell they were sharp, but they were social butterflies and more than capable of holding their own in a game of quarters I assure you. There was a great mix of single guys and gals, married with kids guys and gals, and an ethnic mix that only could exist in a place like Chicago. The choices are broad for social interaction, as they go on tons of trips together to SAEM, ACEP, and just fun outings to games, skiing, etc...
After lunch we had the resident presentation, the first of its kind I had witnessed along the trail. They literally took over after lunch and for 3-4 more hours we were theirs. There must have been 8 residents who took an entire day to devote just to hanging out with the 3 of us. It was absolutely incredible and made me feel like I was being recruited by the White Sox. I had to pinch myself a few times to realize I was not dreaming this all up. THIS IS THE REASON THEY GET THE BEST PEOPLE! I mean lets face it, when you come this far, and work this freaking hard to make it to the top, the last thing you want to happen is to leave an interview day wondering where the hec you stand with them.
So lets throw all this in a pot and let it boil over.....this is what is left to skim off the top from what I just said, and I will throw in some tidbits of EM stuff.
1) Probably the most human yet intelligent residents overall I have met, though every program had some, this place had tons of them!!
2) One solitary facility to learn the ropes in, and it is truly the mix of Wishard and Methodist in Indy...under one roof. What I mean is you get county, private, and a diverse population of patients without having to travel.
Side note: Now it makes sense what the esteemed Dr. Chisholm said in Indy when he allowed me to ask him a question during my interview. I directed his famous interview advice back at him and asked him what programs he felt were as good as his own. I knew this question would illicit a jackpot and I am so glad I asked it. He specifically stated without hesitation.........."I would say our program is a combination of Christ, and Cook County".
3) Faculty that have this drill down to a science. They have been doing this for 20+ years, and they exceed the RRC requirements in EVERY category by leaps and bounds. They are talked about so highly by the residents, and since the residents all come across so well, you believe them for sure.
4) There is no graduated learning at this place!! This means that if your learning curve is faster than someone elses, your level of autonomy can be earned more quickly and is not based on your PGY level alone.
5) Oak Lawn is a very nice place, and is a diverse city neighborhood pretty far removed from the big Chicago in the loop, but close enough to have any American's dream weekend vacation in just a 30 minute drive.
6) Internal moonlighting in the cardiac emergency unit, that allows you to easily add 20% or more to your income if you so choose. You can do it as an intern even once you complete a couple of required rotations!! What a beautiful thing!!!
7) No floor medicine month...God I love it...sign me up for this reason only!
8) In emergency medicine, this place carries a big name with all the others like Indy, Carolinas, Cinci, Pitt, etc... and if grandmother can't handle you not going to a place called Harvard, Mayo, Einstein, or Barnes Jewish, just tell her you are at University of Illinois-Chicago Christ Advocate, because they have some sort of affiliation.
9) Unlike some programs that find it necessary to work 60 hours a week in the ED, with 22 twelves a month, you will only work 16-18 10 hour shifts in a 4 week period. This probably means 20 per calendar month or less on average, equaling an incredible amount of time to read or chill.
Reasons NOT to come to Christ (God I feel like I am sinning when I say that):
1) Don't come if you are socially inept. These guys rival a group of Navy Seals when it comes to balancing fun with work!
2) Don't come if you think ghetto is defined by houses built before 1940, or if you get nervous when you see people with varying amounts of migratory neural crest cells in their dermis. This place is comfortably diverse....and thank God I saw no "W" stickers on any cars.
3) Don't come if you don't want to work hard as hell. They see 80,000 plus among 11 residents a year compared to many RRC accredited places I have visited that see like 35,000 for a class of 6-8. Do the math...there is no sitting on your butt around Christ (think I just sinned again with that phrase).
4) Don't come if you are going to bi**h about the cold all the time. Yes, Chicago gets cold, but it has 4 seasons that are all equally represented. All my favorite places have weather like Chicago or worse, and I am from Texas for God's sake! Suck it up
5) Don't come if you can't handle not having a big name on your wall in ten years. This is a big name in our world of EM, and if you can't understand that then you are coming for the wrong reasons.
6) And lastly, don't come if you think you already have your match ROL made, just expecting to bump up your number of programs for a safety net (I certainly didn't come for this reason, but it is honestly the reason I visited some programs). You could find yourself falling for this place, and it will totally ruin all the hard work you put into your ROL!!! There is no doubt that Christ has risen in my opinion........(on my list as well )!!!
So, thats my impression of Christ, and I hope it allows you to have a visual of what type of experience you might have if you decide to apply and are fortunate enough to receive an interview with them. All kidding aside....if your intention is to be the best EM physician you can be, then you should give Christ a very close look. Its worth it!!
