Happy places

[JaneDough]

Does anybody know what programs have a rep for good camaraderie? If given the choice between a friendly, not quite as prestigious program and a malignant prestigious program, I would take the former. Thanks!

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[LADoc00]

Does anybody know what programs have a rep for good camaraderie? If given the choice between a friendly, not quite as prestigious program and a malignant prestigious program, I would take the former. Thanks!

Im thinking of starting a small residency program at my group with an "Old School" theme, partying, hazing etc. All the residents will have to call me the "Godfather" though. To be honest, path residents are just scut monkeys (although occasionally hardworking little monkeys).

 

[Briggsie]

I have only been here for a little more than a month now, but I can honestly say that we have a fantastic camaraderie here at Hopkins. All the residents, fellows and faculty are amazingly helpful with everything. Our intern class has gone out together on numerous occasions to dinner, etc. It has been a fantastic experience here so far!

Does anybody know what programs have a rep for good camaraderie? If given the choice between a friendly, not quite as prestigious program and a malignant prestigious program, I would take the former. Thanks!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

The camaraderie here at the Brigham is awesome. Residents and fellows here are great to hang with inside and outside the hospital. We try to help each other out as much as possible, it seems. If someone is getting hammered with specimens, other residents/fellows will pitch in to help tuck in specimens. People are readily willing to give advice to make things go even smoother.

We work hard here and hours can be long but it's always nice to spend those hours working with people who are very cool and down-to-earth.

I'm sure this is the case (and I hope it's the case) at many programs. Pathology seems to attract people with good personalities in general.

 

[JaneDough]

The camaraderie here at the Brigham is awesome. Residents and fellows here are great to hang with inside and outside the hospital. We try to help each other out as much as possible, it seems. If someone is getting hammered with specimens, other residents/fellows will pitch in to help tuck in specimens. People are readily willing to give advice to make things go even smoother.

We work hard here and hours can be long but it's always nice to spend those hours working with people who are very cool and down-to-earth.

I'm sure this is the case (and I hope it's the case) at many programs. Pathology seems to attract people with good personalities in general.

Thanks! That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I work harder and am happier when the people I work with are easy going and fun.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Thanks! That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I work harder and am happier when the people I work with are easy going and fun.

Yeah, I interviewed at your typical "prestigious" programs and with the exception of one place (which I shall not mention), the folks I met were really nice. Just because people work hard doesn't mean they have to be mean people. I especially enjoyed meeting the folks at MGH, Hopkins, Brigham, Penn, and UCSF...genuinely nice people. Encountering this at a few of the above places was a surprise but refreshing.

BTW, you will see some negative reviews on Scutwork for a few programs. Be aware that these reviews are quite outdated and don't be surprised if what you encounter at certain programs is different from what you read on Scutwork.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

I work harder and am happier when the people I work with are easy going and fun.

This sounds almost exactly like something I said in my personal statement!!

 

[JaneDough]

This sounds almost exactly like something I said in my personal statement!!

Damn! There goes my opener!

 

[deschutes]

I would say - apply first, visit, and see what you think of the atmosphere. I don't think you're going to find many terribly terribly malignant programs, period.

For my interview lunch here I was taken out by two residents (since we have 4 sites - uni/county/private/VA - whoever is rotating at the U at the time gets to do the honours). At that time I didn't think either of them were particularly bubbly personalities.

And it so happened yesterday that some of the other residents and I were talking in the residents' room - when I mentioned who had taken me to lunch, one resident was like, "Hmm. And you STILL wanted to come here? " And it wasn't a personal attack against those who weren't present at all.

So we have all sorts! Singles, marrieds/with kids, quiets, louds, probably evenly divided between IMGs and AMGs, with IMGs from Europe, Asia, the Americas...

I haven't been out as much as I'd like to this summer, mostly because I have neither a cellphone or a car - but hey, it's Minneapolis-St. Paul, so there's tons to do and see and eat.

 

[yaah]

I found most places I interviewed there was great cameraderie amongst the residents - and at most places as well between residents and staff. Here, for example, the faculty are very approachable and make signouts fun. There are only a handful of programs where one could even remotely consider the environment "malignant" and this is also a debatable topic - what some people call malignant others will call something else. My definition of malignant is not long hours, it is being berated and treated like an inferior. Almost every program will have a couple of attendings like this, but usually they are far outnumbered.

 

[JaneDough]

My definition of malignant is not long hours, it is being berated and treated like an inferior. Almost every program will have a couple of attendings like this, but usually they are far outnumbered.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree. I am not afraid of hard work, I am afraid of being unhappy b/c I work w/ jerks.

 

[desmangt]

My definition of malignant is not long hours, it is being berated and treated like an inferior. Almost every program will have a couple of attendings like this, but usually they are far outnumbered.

I totally agree. I am not afraid of hard work, I am afraid of being unhappy b/c I work w/ jerks.

Columbia actually has TGIF every Friday with food and drinks for all of the department. That's a Happy Place!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I totally agree. I am not afraid of hard work, I am afraid of being unhappy b/c I work w/ jerks.

Columbia actually has TGIF every Friday with food and drinks for all of the department. That's a Happy Place![/QUOTE]
Yeah, one of my friends matched there this year. Based on second hand info, I heard he's having a good time there.

 

[bananaface]

Here, for example, the faculty are very approachable and make signouts fun.

Listen to yourself. You are a cheezy infomercial!

 

[cytoborg]

Great co-workers make long hours much easier. We have great comraderie here at UCSF. There is genuine respect among residents and attendings, and we socialize regularly outside the hospital. The majority of programs I visited had great comraderie, but I did encounter a handful that were experiencing tensions and problems - and these didn't necessarily correlate with the program's reputation for malignancy. Like deschutes said, it's best to visit yourself and talk to a lot of the residents there before formulating an opinion. Programs change, and you may miss out on a great program if you believe rumors which are often outdated and/or inaccurate.