Indiana University (Indy) Residency Reviews

[corpsmanUP]

I really don't even know where to begin talking about this place. I had heard great things about IU but to visit it in person was like seeing my first NFL hero in person when I was a kid....much bigger and better than I had dreamed. I am not going to have time to elaborate much right not because I have to get to sleep for my next interview in the morning.

I really thought I had seen some "A list" programs already, but this place would have to be classified in the "AAA" category. The first amazing thing about this program was the city. I thought Indy would be this dreadful midwest town with nothing but run down sprawl. It presented just the opposite with a gorgeous downtown revitalization project that was evident.

Next, the residents were undoubtedly the most proud residents who wanted to sell you their program. To me this was odd because its sort of like going to a Porsche dealership and having to be "talked into" buying it. For God's sake its a Porsche, and in Indy it was like the residents were the best salepeople ever. A program like this can obviously get who they want, and to do this detailed of a recruiting speel was impressive. I was picked up by a nice female resident who you could obviously tell was the intern who is most involved in recruiting. She had been to med school at IU and had stayed for EM. She talked about going to recruiting dinners a lot and she, like her classmates, wanted to make sure they got to take part in selecting their future colleagues.

Next, there are dual PD's. They are nothing less than outstanding. One gave an hour long ppt presentation about the program and thats when it hit me that I was at someplace unique. You don't always realize what caliber of a program you are at until you see a shop like this first hand. I wish everyone on the trail could see Indy because it would sure help you to compare other places to. Thank God I did it this early on!

Their 2 hospitals are both world class, and less than a mile apart. They even have this Disney looking lightrail that takes you from one to the other. The time is split equally in the 3 years between each hospital, which is unique. They have over 100 faculty, and over 55 total residents. The shifts are incredibly scheduled and you work less total hours (but see more total patients ) than most programs.

The EMS and flight experience is unparalleled. As an R2 and above you run the show on the bird. Its just you and a flight nurse, and no medic or 2nd nurse. You are NOT a 3rd wheel on this team like at many other places. Plus, you fly all the time, not just one or two months. The ED's are both huge, and completely tech'd out. Both of the hospitals are literally in downtown Indy, and although they are right by each other, one is completely academic and the other is a lush community hospital. I would say its like combining a place like Christ Advocate and Cook County and merging the best of both programs into one. In fact, I specifically asked one of the PD's during my interview which 2 programs he felt were the closest to offering the same type of caliber of training as Indy. He tried damn hard to come up with a couple and this guy was the type of guy who had nothing bad to say about anyone else's program. He was the one who came up with the Christ vs. Cook analogy.

I have looked deep down my list of coming interviews and I have to say that I cannot imagine another program I have scheduled that will be able to impress me the way this one did. But I have to be realistic and realize that this place probably only has to make it down 20 names before they fill all 17 spots. In fact, I think I heard someone say today that 16 of 17 residents in the intern class ranked it 1st. I really don't even think it is fair to compare most places to Indy. Its like comparing a 3rd world army againts the US Army. Seeing Indy made me proud to be in this profession and even if I don't end up there, I know that I was at least interviewed there and I won't ever forget my experience there. It was truly humbling to be in the presence of so much greatness. Most places I feel like I could shine and maybe even be one of the allstars, but in a place like Indy I would be nothing more than a second string kicker!!

For a 3 year program, I would argue for anyone to find a place that has more to offer and better graduate placements in both academics and community EM. In fact I would bet that more people from here go into academics than many 4 year programs.

My favorite line from one of the PD's was when he said he wished that there would be an earthquake that injured no one, but moved the mountains and ocean to opposite sides of Indy, because those things are the only things lacking in Indy.

So go check them out if you get the chance. You will be completely amazed!

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[tiene dolor?]

Seeing Indy made me proud to be in this profession and even if I don't end up there, I know that I was at least interviewed there and I won't ever forget my experience there. It was truly humbling to be in the presence of so much greatness. Most places I feel like I could shine and maybe even be one of the allstars, but in a place like Indy I would be nothing more than a second string kicker!!!

Don't be shy now. Tell us how you really feel..

Glad you liked Indy. It's a solid program. However, having been through the interview trail myself, I would caution against over idealizing any program. Every program has it's plusses and minuses. If you came away from Indy feeling that everything was perfect, then you likely missed something. My advice is to try and stay objective and don't sell yourself short. It is HIGHLY unlikely that Indy (or pretty much any program) matches 17 by only going 20 deep into its rank list, as you speculate. Keep in mind that Indy, being a competitive program, competes for competitive applicants. Remember, they're competing for people that can match in california, new york, etc. that may not be as jazzed as you seem to be about the prospect of spending so much time in Indiana. The bottom line is that YOU got an interview and, yes, they are selling themselves. Why? Because they want you. I'm sure you have a great shot at matching there if you so desire. Don't sell yourself short. And if any PD tells you that their program is all sunshine and roses, be skeptical.

 

[crewmaster1]

Overall, an amazing program! Of note, the below review is from memory, I cant guarantee everything is right on, but its pretty close. Remember this is my subjective opinion, I hope I don't piss anyone off like I did before.

Residents: There are 16 or 17 residents, plus 2 peds/em residents. They all seemed happy. Mixture of single, married, and married with kids. In my superficial and judgemental opinion, they all looked put together and respectable (as compared to some I've seen at previous interviews). Residents are from a variety of states/schools, usually 1/3 from outside midwest. Most grads stay in midwest, but a fair share go other places.

Shifts: Work 21-22 9hr shifts in intern year, this decreases each year. Circadian rhythm.

Facilities: Awesome. 2 hospitals, one county, one university. Both located downtown within 1 mile of each other with tram/monorail connecting the hospitals. The were not brand new, but sure didn't look too shabby. County has some large rooms with many beds in each, I rate the trauma rooms as 7/10 (with UMass trauma rooms as a 10/10 standard). University is more single room with glass door style. Both places see over 100K patients per year. Plenty of trauma and sick medicine.

Peds: I would expect it to be good given it's the 1st peds/em res. in the US. Sounds like you get a month of peds outpatient/room (sounds like all kids who come to ed unless very sick or trauma). This room is closed during the nights, so peds are integrated so you get longitudinal exposure. Also have a PICU month in PGY2. Interestingly one PGY2 felt peds was a bit lacking, I think that is a rare opinion.

Trauma: Get airway on all traumas (yeah, we assume this is a given, but I've been to at least one program where this isn't the norm--Christ Advocate). Two months of trauma team. I can't remember if you get senior trauma leader stuff. They all seem happy.

Faculty: EDs are staffed with 2-5 attendings at all times. Supposedly lots of teaching from faculty. When crazy busy, attendings will see some patients on their own, but aren't cherry picking they good stuff. 3 PDs, all seemed cool.

Curriculum: Less EM focused than most residencies (the only downside I saw, but a pretty important one)! They do 4 months plus the peds room month in PGY1, 6 months in PGY2, and 6 months in PGY3. Dont freak out yet....on all offservice months without call you do ~5 ED shifts. I'm not sure how many months this is, but I gues about

Patient Pop: Sounds mixed with lots of white, AA, and hispanic. Well represented per PD/residents.

Location: Being honest, I went here from the Northwest thinking this will be a craphole town that I will just deal with for 3 years then lean ASAP. Wrong. I was very surprised. Downtown, cool, plenty of bars and cool looking places to eat. I also saw a comedy club, jazz and blues bars, fun stuff. Very updated downtown. Decorated for the holidays. Lots of shopping, people walking all over. Nice river right through downtown with river walk and apartments/condos lining the water. Looks like a great place to live. Per the residents there is no traffic and I sure didn't see any while I was here. Housing is dirt cheap!!!!! Avg price 110,000!!!! Most own. I was just looking online....for 300,000 (yeah, I have a sugar momma!) I can live 12 miles from downtown (max 15min commute) in a newer 4 bedroom house with a huge deck and dock on a lake (waterskiing!). There are many lakes in the area. 7 professional sports teams and NCAA stuff all the time.

Random facts:
1. Moonlighting: paid for evening helicopter shifts (but not able to pick up extra), urgent care moonlighting. Can do outside stuff, but not really encouraged to.

Other major Positives not listed elsewhere:
1. Aeromedical experience. 80% interfacility. Dedicated shifts 2-3 per month in r2/3. Some night shifts after working day shift. Get extra "moonlighting" 100.00 per night shift plus 100.00 for each call (both amounts increase to 150.00 on fri/sat nights). Safe program.
2. Mass gathering medicine with all the motorsports stuff here.
3. Strong EMS with fellowship. In future fellowship will likely increase to 2 years with mix of EMS/mass gathering/motorsports emphasis
4. Getting new sim. lab
5. Medicine ICU months directly 1 on 1 with attending, sounds good
6. Get 3 elective months
7. Everyone comes out "ultrasound certified", but then one of the PDs was talking about how they don't do gallbladder ultrasounds (I'm not sure how this works, and I forgot to followup with a question about this, but I'll try to write and email and see what I hear).

Dowsides:
1. Less ED months than most programs (not knowing which off service rotations don't have call...at best you will be getting an extra 50 shifts by having the random 5/month during off service, this would be equal to an extra 2-3 months of ED time).
2. Quite a few residents from Indiana university (~12 or 13 in the whole program) causes a little less diversity. Not an impressive number of residents from outside the midwest, but some (some would disagree with me) Not a ton of residents from big name med schools (yeah, I know I'm going to hear about this comment, I guess thats why this is my subjective review, true a big name doesn't mean quality and as I already said, these residents seemed very put together)

Overall: Awesome program. Residents are happy and can live a good life with the low cost of living. Strong academics, with good university and county experience without having to rotate at 10 different hospitals. Easy commute to work with close hospitals. The city is much better than most would expect. Strong aeromedical/EMS experience. Overall, this seems like a top notch program. I would love to be a resident here!

Feel free to PM me with questions.

 

[Emergen-C]

I am happy to elaborate more about the places I interviewed...
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1) Denver: (+): amazing program, amazing location, 4th years blew me away managing ED. (-): almost no elective time
2) Hennepin: (+): very surgery-based program, Pitbosses run the ED 3rd year, critical care emphasis. (-): Minnesota.
3) Highland: (+): autonomous training, great group of people, nice location, self-sufficient residents. (-): unsure about strength of off-service rotations.
4) MGH/BWH: (+): great city, great resources, phenomenal international health program. (-) young program, 1 million potential consultants to be called
5) New Mexico: (+): great program, super nice people, SICK patients, nice outdoor recreation nearby, critical care strong. (-): location seemed a little ghost-townish for me, issues with movement of pts through department & flow
6) UMichigan: (+): huge critical care, no medicine wards, diverse training sites. (-): not a huge fan of the location/weather, worried about the # of consultants that could be called.
7) Bellevue: (+): big time autonomy, self-sufficient residents, reputation. (-) I am a little intimidated about the idea of living in Manhattan .
8) Maine: (+): the most friendly people ever, location. (-) seemed a little cushy for me
9) BMC: (+): location, underserved patient population, lots of trauma. (-): 2-4, PGY2s do ALL procedures in dept.
10) OHSU: (+): location. (-): didn't gel with the people
11) UC Davis: (+): sick pts. (-): nothing really set them apart, location
12) UCSF Fresno: (+): Yosemite, nice people. (-): couldn't really see value of 4th year, living in Fresno.
13) Stanford: (+): Paul Auerbach, lots of resources, bay area. (-): pts not sick enough, a little too academically snooty for me
14) BIDMC: (+): location. (-): unfriendly, extremely academically snooty people
15) Indiana: (+): fantastic program. (-): location

I also interviewed for the UVM Preliminary Medicine Year and the Transitional year at UC San Diego, so feel free to ask me about those...

Please note: the (+) and (-) are only my opinion. I'm sure there are several other people who had totally different experiences and therefore completely opposite opinions (which is why the match works!)

 

[EvoDevo]

17 residents/yr, 2 sites (total volume 200K) with BOTH being level I trauma centers. Peds patients seen in regular ED at one site, with an "urgent care" for peds at the other that is closed at night (I could be off on the exact details here). You do one month of peds urgent care. 9 hr shifts, circadian rhythm.

Residents: midwest focus, but take from all over. Make an effort to keep the class varied - so not too many homegrown residents (much to the dean's chagrin, apparently).

Notable off-service rotations - PICU x2. One at Methodist which is "bread and butter" PICU - acutely ill children. One at Riley Children's Hospital - more acute on chronically ill. Also do a month of peds urgent care.

Special features: mass gathering medicine (Indy 500, NASCAR, mini-marathon), work Colts games. Used to fly with a for-profit company on a voluntary basis, but residents are no longer allowed to fly due to number of aeromedical crashes (and at least one involving this company) in the last few years. Instead work as part of a ground team - once well-established can work on a paramedic/doc team without 2nd EMS provider. Lots of emphasis on teaching (EVERY Indy student is required to rotate in EM) including teaching elective beginning in year 2. Moonlighting in urgent care from 2nd year on, outside in third year. You do a few EM shifts in every non-call off-service month - so even though you have fewer EM months on paper this actually adds a lot of shifts. I attended some of the didactics and definitely found them engaging, interesting, and relevant to emergency medicine.

There are 2 co-PDs who have been at this for a long time. Both interview EVERY candidate. They openly admit that they are looking for residents who will fit in their idea of residency as a family. You are expected to pitch in without being asked when someone is sick, goes out on the DMAT team, etc.

Grads: VAST network, about 70% community, 30% academic/fellowship I believe.

Overall: seemed like a great program with almost all the things I wanted. The only thing I would like more is less PICU time (I feel like 2 mos is overkill) and time in the ED at a dedicated childrens' hospital. This program will fall to the middle of my list due to the fact that it is a 3 year program without the elective time that I'd like to have. If I was looking for a 3 year program it would float VERY high on my list.

 

[monkeybutt]

I'll post this caveat before each of my reviews: I'm not really a numbers person, so I don't really remember all the details like annual number of patients seen, board pass rates, etc. etc. So, forgive me if some of my details are slightly off and feel free to correct them.

Residents: About 20 residents showed up to the dinner at a resident's condo the night before. Everyone seem socially well-adjusted and friendly and trying to sell me on their program. To a person, each resident spoke about how much of a family this residency was, which was really the most impressive thing about this residency to me. The few residents I met while shadowing in the ED seemed competent.

Faculty: From my limited interaction, the faculty seemed fine. I loved Dr. Chisholm. I was actually warned by some of the residents about his interview style, but I thought it was very professional and comprehensive. Residents were adamant about how well the faculty look after their residents in terms of observing work hours, finding benefit in off-service rotations, and helping graduating seniors find jobs. I got the sense that this was a very resident-centric residency, if that makes sense.

I thought the interview with Dr. Rogers was slightly more awkward. A number of people have already mentioned his weird interview question about generational cohorts and how Gen Y are all lazy and unmotivated, but I didn't think it was that bad. The rest of my interviews were great.

Residents said they regularly went out socially with the faculty and everyone was on a first-name basis. This was big selling point to me.

Curriculum: 3 year program with lots of ICU and lots of electives (3). I tried to ask if international electives were paid for by the program. Dr. Chisholm mentioned something about scholarships, but I didn't feel really assured by the answer. I loved that ICU rotations were 1:1 with the attending (I learn better that way). There are 3 tracks of emphasis you can do during the residency -- academic, advocacy, and EMS. I'm not sure how many people do the tracks or how helpful they are. Lots of ED time including shifts when you're on non-call months away from the ED. They do have a medicine floor month, which was, eh.

Location: What can you say about Indianapolis? Everyone says it's better than they expected, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. It's a decent town, very flat, lot's of strip malls. But very affordable. It's kind of the epitome of the Midwest, for whatever that's worth.

Negatives: I asked residents what they didn't like about the residency and here's what I got: no one seemed to like the medicine month. One resident told me that with the PDs being ex-military people it can be regimented at times with lots of paperwork and overhead. And as much as people try to convince me otherwise, the location is a negative to me. Also, they don't let you fly.

Other points: There are lots of opportunities for moonlighting, starting in the 2nd year when you can moonlight in the fast track area while still having attendings to help if you need it.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention two other things I loved about this program. 1) You get to work the sidelines of the Colts games (how cool is that?); and 2) they have excellent benefits such as comprehensive insurance for the whole family.

Overall: This will be my number 1 or 2 choice. I loved this program, loved the faculty, and loved how tight-knit everyone was even though it was a fairly large residency. It also has a great reputation with a large web of alumni when it's time for the old job-search. I'm a little scared that so many of the graduates stick around the Midwest, but whatever.

 

[reviews]

Well after match day, but I will post my list because I appreciated others doing so in the past. Many very good programs out there...

Indiana - The most impressive program I saw. Two larege hospitals each serving over 100,000 plus a childrens hospital, lots of ICU time (8 months), offservice rotations seem high yield (no more internal medicine), circadian shifts, all shifts are 9 hours, 2nd and third 3yrs given same responsibility in Ed, residents see a large number of patients per shift and work perhaps slightly below average number of shifts, residents friendly and enthusiastic about program, I liked indianapolis, indianapolis is 12th largest city but has minimal traffic and very affordable housing, no flying, seemed liked the place where you would be most prepared for anything after residency given busy EDs and large amount of ICU time

 

[SuziQ]

This is a couples' match list...if it were just me, my list would likely look pretty different. Some programs would have been higher on the list (especially Cinci), but Vandy definitely would still have been my #1.

I interviewed at 18 programs, and ranked all 18. This ROL is obviously just my (and my fiance's) opinion- no offense to anyone is intended. It was really helpful for me to look through ROLs from past years, so I thought I should reciprocate by posting mine.

I felt so fortunate to get to interview at these programs and honestly thought each of them had notable strengths. The couples match certainly complicates things (and requires LOTS of negotiation) but luckily I feel like I would be happy at a lot of these places.

Let me know if you have any questions about my list or the programs I visited. I'm happy to give my advice/thoughts to next year's applicants too- just message me!

1) Vandy: I am absolutely in love with this program. Love the faculty, love the Chair and PD, love the residents. It's one of the most resident-centric programs I have seen, with the best teaching in the country. Very busy ED with so many critical care patients. Tons of trauma because of huge cachement area; great relationship with trauma surg. Curriculum extremely well thought-out, including no floor months. Residents are very close and are amazing people. Very diverse patient population (tertiary care, uninsured/underinsured, bread and butter EM, peds, immigrants). Nashville is a really fun city, great COL, easy to live right by the hospital. Grads go anywhere in the country they want. This program has everything I want.

2) UCLA-Olive View: Truly amazing PD who has the residents over to his incredible house (and he was the medical director for the show ER- I thought that was pretty cool), and distinguished faculty. Well thought-out integration of county and tertiary care experience. Ronald Reagan is an incredible facility, and Olive View is a nice little hospital that has a new ED opening this April. Program curriculum is "front-heavy" (easier 3rd and 4th years), which I liked. Intern year is getting much better every year- there will be 6 months of EM during intern year 2011-2012 and fewer medicine/surgery ward months. PD described the program as a "liberal arts EM program," which I thought was an apt description and a pretty neat concept. Amazing international opportunities and a lot of elective time. My Spanish is mediocre at best, and that seems pretty essential (especially at Olive View). Trauma not as extensive as at other LA area programs. COL high and lots of commuting in nasty LA traffic.

3) UNC: Residents were very happy and welcoming. I really liked the dual hospital system. I went back to do a second look and shadowed at both hospitals, which only served to increase my enthusiasm about their way of training. Of course, it does result in a lot of commuting but the traffic isn't bad so that didn't bother me. Amazing PD who is an outstanding teacher and very supportive of the residents. Program produces very well-trained EPs who also have satisfying personal lives. I love the location and the COL. Great moonlighting opportunities. Medicine and surgery ward months intern year (but at WakeMed so relatively laid-back). Not as much trauma as some other programs. Duke is obviously nearby so there is some division of patient populations, but I felt that was made up for by the WakeMed experience.

4) Highland: This is a well-known program that I felt lived up to its strong reputation. Faculty and residents are all very laid-back and fun. Strong family feel. A lot of the faculty trained at Highland (which may be a negative), but of course they stayed on faculty because they love it so much there. GI rounds TID seem like a great idea. Not an "official" Level 1 trauma center but there is none in the county, so serves as the de facto trauma center and see a lot of trauma. Not a stroke center, so do a month of neuro at UCSF. Amazing U/S experience. Peds is not integrated (no peds beds in HGH). Highest salary I saw on the trail (because they are unionized). Tahoe ski cabin sounds like fun. Sounds like they have everything worked out in regard to UCSF's EM program, but still made me a tiny tiny bit nervous.

5) BIDMC: The 3+1 (Junior attending year) is an amazing opportunity that I was very excited about. The curriculum is very well thought-out with a clear graduated responsibility. Rotate through 5 "affiliate" hospitals (community sites), which seems like a good experience to see how different systems work. Amazing EMR. Peds not integrated. Trauma pretty good but obviously there are a lot of hospitals (including four Level 1 trauma centers) in Boston. Relatively new program (10ish years) but has established itself extremely well. Had a great feeling about this program on the interview day and it was initially higher on my list; in the end, I decided that Boston is not at all ideal for me and that's what pushed it down the list a bit.

6) LA County: Another program that was initially much higher on my list. I was in awe of this program during the entire interview day. Very sick patients and a lot of trauma, in which EM has a huge role (they do essentially all procedures). EM also manages airways during codes on the floors (which at most other places is done by anesthesia or MICU)- I thought that was cool. Residents were really fun people and amazingly impressive. Work 12s all four years (except on peds). Facilities are amazing but very much divided up into pods. Not as many academic opportunities as a lot of other programs I looked at. This place, in my opinion, provides the best clinical training in the county but wasn't the best fit for my career aspirations and personal life once I got over the "sexiness" of the amazing clinical experience. Location also not ideal for me personally.

7) Wake Forest: I love this place. PD and Chair were both very enthusiastic. Very well-established (30 years old) program with a long history of producing great EPs. Residents were very family-oriented. Very busy ED, which pleasantly surprised me. Loved the city (can get an amazing house for very little money) but it did feel a bit isolated.

8) Emory: So many faculty, and a lot of them are really well known in EM. Increasing focus on research- get a lot of NIH funding. Grady is Grady- tons of trauma (only Level 1 in Atlanta). Hugely busy, exciting ED. Patient population at Grady not very diverse- primarily African American. ED divided into red (surgery/trauma) and blue (medical) pods. Residents were very diverse and most were single. Atlanta is amazing but of course the traffic sucks and it's relatively expensive. I expected to like the program more than I did, but I got a weird vibe on interview day. It was probably just me, though!

9) Indianapolis: LOVED this program but in the end the location just wasn't going to work well. Residents were incredible- really sociable, welcoming, and proud of their program. Outstanding clinical experience, with time split between Wishard (county) and Methodist (tertiary care). Residents have a huge role in their program (49% ownership) which I thought was amazing. Very much a team attitude. In ICUs, work one-on-one with CC-trained EM faculty- so a great experience. Residents were more regional than I had expected for a nationally well-known program.

10) BWH/MGH: Strong academic program. Well-known faculty and lots of research opportunities. Felt like this was a great place to jump-start a career in academics. Lots of elective time. Program grads are highly recruited and go wherever they want after training. From talking to the residents, seems like they do fewer procedures than most other programs I looked at. Also, medicine and surgery ward months. Residents said they felt a bit "looked down on" by other residency programs at the hospitals, for what that's worth. I'm not a fan of Boston.

11) UAB: Their PD is awesome. Very responsive program leadership. The residents are pretty Southern and a lot of them have kids. Great lifestyle. Do LOTS of moonlighting. 10-year old program but feels like it's been around longer (that's a good thing). Birmingham was a very pleasant surprise. Great physical set-up of the ED. Very impressed by the program but realized as interview season progressed that I wanted a place that produces more academicians.

12) Wash U: Very busy ED. Great elective opportunities. Strong off-service rotations, but lots of ward stuff 1st year. Division status (I asked about this and the program leadership said it's not an issue). Didn't really care for St. Louis.

13) Cincinnati: LOVED this program- would have been among my top few programs, but my fiancé really disliked it for his specialty. Oh well.

14) UVA: Very nice program leadership, good reputation. Relatively low volume (although also smaller class so it works out.) Not much trauma. I didn't really click with the residents. City was too small and isolated for me. Great program but not a good fit for me.

15) Michigan: Awesome program. Love the PD. Survival Flight sounds great, as does the trauma experience in Flint. I didn't really click with the residents. The main problem for me was the location. I just don't think I could tolerate those winters- I almost crashed my car about 5 times just while I was up there interviewing.

16) Duke: I thought the PD was incredible and the faculty were very impressive. Residents were nice but seemed pretty guy-dominated. The program seems to be still fighting some battles. Wasn't a good fit for me.

17) Louisville: Had a really weird interview day, in my opinion. I found the group interviews to be awkward. Relatively low volume ED but lots of trauma. Not what I was looking for, but it had a lot to offer.

18) Harbor: This one was a surprise. Very well known program with great pathology and amazing faculty, but not a good fit for me. I personally don't want to have to deal with the transition from 3 to 4 years and the move to a new physical ED. I greatly preferred USC-LAC, but that's obviously just me and it's good that not everyone loves the same program!

 

[EMRocksmyworld]

Would be thrilled at any of my top 5, especially top 3. Kind of wondering if I should have ranked Vanderbilt higher in retrospect. I was extremely impressed by that place (they pretty much have it all!) but just didn't feel like I could legitimately pick Nashville over LA or Boston...oh well, too late now! And I really do love LA, not so sure about the south. Why can't Vanderbilt be in a bigger city?!? Anyway, we will see what happens on Match Day.

1- LAC/USC: +top-notch clinical experience, +tons of procedures, +very hands-on, +autonomy, +work in jail ED, +residents a lot of fun, +EM is top program in hospital, +brand new enormous ED, +/-tons of Spanish speaking patients, +intern year months alternate ED and offservice, -pods isolated (i.e. in one shift, only work in resuscitation area), +ED residents get all ED procedures except thoracotomies, -all 12 hour shifts all 4 years, -attendings are reportedly hit or miss in terms of availability, +love LA (and family in area), -not that many opportunities for research

2- BWH/MGH: +tons of amazing, cutting-edge research (affiliation w/ MIT, so tons of biomedical technology), +supportive environment, +big names in EM, +/-two pretty diverse clinical sites (trauma, more county-style at MGH and lots of cancer/gyn/superspecialized stuff at BWH), +great didactics, +strong reputation, +other top residency programs at the hospitals, -floor months, -Boston is a little oversaturated in terms of hospitals so not your "typical" EM experience, +Boston, -tons of PAs in the EDs, -not nearly as much trauma as my #1 and #3, +spouse prefers Boston

3- Vanderbilt: -NOT a county program but +they get all the trauma in Nashville (lots of penetrating), +outstanding program leadership, +incredible didactics, +residents exceptionally happy, +great reputation, +really really sick patients in busy ED, +no floor months and lots of ICU experience, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), +get tons of procedures, +trauma time is ICU only, +/- Nashville (seems like very nice city, good COL and weather, but not as exciting as LA or Boston), +strong and integrated peds EM experience, strong EMS

4- UCLA/Harbor: +getting a nice new ED in 2013ish, +residents live by the beach, +plenty of autonomy but attendings are available and involved, +county experience but big name, +great reputation, +very appreciative patients, -transitioning from 3 to 4 years, +trauma, +LA (lived there before- love it), +changing/improving didactics, -not as intense a clinical experience as USC.

5- Cincinnati: +Love the flight program, +/-pretty intense residency, +great reputation, +faculty are great, +1st/4th year mentorship, -not ideal place to live, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), -might kind of suck to get pulled out of your shifts to fly

6- Maryland: +Shock Trauma is incredible (but -separate trauma months), great program leadership, residents happy and friendly, +no floor months, -Baltimore, -Hopkins interaction seems a little odd

7- Indiana: +great county and academic experience, +Methodist and Wishard very close together, +friendly residents, +well-known program, +huge patient volumes at the two hospitals combined, -Indianapolis is kind of blah, -ready to get out of Midwest, -liked Cinci a bit better when comparing Midwestern programs

8- Maricopa: +location (family in area), +autonomy, +residents very nice, +program leadership impressive, -facilities, - offservice rotations, -other residencies in the hospital

9- Carolinas: +great atmosphere, +great reputation, -floor months (medicine and peds, I think), -not as much trauma and medically sick patients as my top choices, -honestly thought Vanderbilt was a stronger program when comparing Southern programs

10- Bellevue: +autonomy, +great reputation, +lots of ICU time, -peds experience, -trauma experience, -cost of living (decided NYC is not for me)


Plus a few others...

 

[pulsetone]

I'm trying to figure out if I'm looking for non-existant problems having actually found "the one" or if the program was projecting a better than reality picture...
I just interviewed at IU and was incredibly impressed with how welcoming the residents were and how involved they were with the program itself. Everything seemed almost too good to be true, so I was hoping a current resident (or IU med student familiar with the program) could either assure me that all is how it appeared on interview day or else give me a more realistic view of the program. PMing me would be fine!

 

[rocketfrog03]

Can a current resident or recent grad give an update on:

- average number of 9 hour shifts done in a month for each PGY year
- does EM share running the traumas with surgery?
- does EM own all airways?
- does EM share procedures (e.g., chest tubes, thoracotomies) with surgery?

Thanks for your help.

 

[IUHoosier21]

Can a current resident or recent grad give an update on:

- average number of 9 hour shifts done in a month for each PGY year
- does EM share running the traumas with surgery?
- does EM own all airways?
- does EM share procedures (e.g., chest tubes, thoracotomies) with surgery?

Thanks for your help.

-Like most places, we are on 28 day blocks, so the shifts per block are broken down as follows (+/- 1)
PGY1 - 19-21
PGY2 - 17-19
PGY3 - 16-18

-EM has airway, all day, every day. Traumas or medical, doesn't matter. No one other than an EM resident will ever do the airway in the ED, ever.

-Traumas are run concurrently with surgery at all three of our training sites for both the primary and secondary survey. There is no daily alternating or anything of that sort. This includes bedside ultrasound, procedures, etc.

**Of note, bedside ultrasound had always been EM's thing, but we hired Dr. Rozycki from Emory about a year ago-- she's the physician who originated the FAST, so there's a lot more collaboration and teaching with ultrasound in the trauma bay by the surgeons.

-Procedures are fairly evenly divided. EM always gets the airway, typically surgery takes one side of the patient and EM takes the other so you'll get chest tubes, art lines, trauma introducers, etc. Plus, we have an entire month of Trauma ICU during intern year where the procedures are even more abundant.

Hope this helps.

 

[imddr16]

Long time lurker, posting on alternate account in order to remain anonymous. These threads greatly helped me and as such I am paying it forward. Good luck for future medical students. I won't go into the curriculum details or specifics since those are mostly readily available on their websites, but rather I made a long pro/con detail list along my interview trail and I will highlight my thoughts from that list.

Pro: blown away with this place actually, 2 level 1 trauma centers that see over 100k, plus a standalone meds hospital all within 5 minutes of each other, amazing training, amazing faculty, research is huge here, affordable and well paid, excellent work-life balance, relaxed interview, fun dinner (went out for a few beers with residents after the formal dinner), everything you want is in Indy but skiing, marketable and can get a job in hard to penetrate areas, good off service months

Con: I am from the midwest but it is clear that they have to try and sell the midwest during their interview day, not a ton of moonlighting

Overall impressions
Gut feeling:9/10
Facilities/resources: 10/10
Location: 7/10
Didactics: 7/10 residents seemed happy with them and they are a mix of faculty and resident led
Prestige: 10/10
Research: 10/10
Shift/hours/wellness: 9/10

 

[TheHardCount]

Hey folks! Can anyone share more recent Indy impressions? Blown away on the interview and considering ranking #1, but heard more mixed impressions from others on the interview trail. Want to make sure the program hasn't changed in quality compared to its strong historical reputation.

 

[deleted547339]

Hey folks! Can anyone share more recent Indy impressions? Blown away on the interview and considering ranking #1, but heard more mixed impressions from others on the interview trail. Want to make sure the program hasn't changed in quality compared to its strong historical reputation.

Have no first hand knowledge, but am friends with a recent grad who had nothing but glowing things to say. Has a great reputation in the field.

 

[TheHardCount]

Hey all, just a quick note as applicants are putting together their ERAS and thinking about applications in the COVID era - I ranked Indy #1 and matched here, moved from West Coast with my wife, and am now an upper level. Extremely satisfied.

Previous reviews above I think are fair. A few updates:
- Biggest curriculum change in the last few years is replacement of inpatient cardiology with trauma nights. As you can imagine, this means building even more procedural chops.
- There's been some consternation about midlevels encroaching on EM resident training on reddit and by word of mouth, but the current EM residents and residency leadership have shut that program down at least for the next year plus. It's looking like the 1-2 post-graduate midlevel learners/year IU wants to train in EM will actually be shunted out to surrounding community sites where EM residents don't train. Not settled yet.
- There will be a a number of special efforts to give virtual applicants a good feel for the program this year, including a new public website, restricted materials open only to the applicants, and "virtual dinners" (and beers) with the current residents.

Feel free to PM me with any questions if you're considering the residency. It is, in my opinion, as good they come.

 

[Rekt]

Hey all, just a quick note as applicants are putting together their ERAS and thinking about applications in the COVID era - I ranked Indy #1 and matched here, moved from West Coast with my wife, and am now an upper level. Extremely satisfied.

Previous reviews above I think are fair. A few updates:
- Biggest curriculum change in the last few years is replacement of inpatient cardiology with trauma nights. As you can imagine, this means building even more procedural chops.
- There's been some consternation about midlevels encroaching on EM resident training on reddit and by word of mouth, but the current EM residents and residency leadership have shut that program down at least for the next year plus. It's looking like the 1-2 post-graduate midlevel learners/year IU wants to train in EM will actually be shunted out to surrounding community sites where EM residents don't train. Not settled yet.
- There will be a a number of special efforts to give virtual applicants a good feel for the program this year, including a new public website, restricted materials open only to the applicants, and "virtual dinners" (and beers) with the current residents.

Feel free to PM me with any questions if you're considering the residency. It is, in my opinion, as good they come.

Regardless of how you spin it, this is a significant red flag.

 

[CliveStaples]

Regardless of how you spin it, this is a significant red flag.

Not an IU grad (so no dog in this race), but not having the midlevels at the resident training facilities is a better guarantee than the "oh don't worry they don't get in the way" or "it's a good opportunity to learn how to supervise midlevels" that many other places are spouting off. And obviously it's not as good of a guarantee as "we do not have a training program for them."

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Not an IU grad (so no dog in this race), but not having the midlevels at the resident training facilities is a better guarantee than the "oh don't worry they don't get in the way" or "it's a good opportunity to learn how to supervise midlevels" that many other places are spouting off. And obviously it's not as good of a guarantee as "we do not have a training program for them."

yup certainly a philosophical concern has to exist with the department for even considering such a thing. that said IU is a great residency which will have no problem matching good people.

 

[TheHardCount]

Just finished up residency. Highly recommend. Great program, getting better.

New chair, Peter Pang, as of a couple years ago. He's kicking ass and has residents as #1 priority.
The PD, Butch Humbert, elected to step down (after 7 years, a solid tenure) in order to head towards retirement. The interim PD, Joe Turner, has been a long-time APD and is solid, but probably too much of a behind-the-scenes guy to keep the position long term. National search for PD is ongoing.
The PA/NP thing has not ended up being a problem. Essentially no impact to EM resident education.

Bottom line - still think the program is gold. Awesome culture. More diverse than I would have thought. Great education, benefits, low costs, 3 years, huge alumni network, strong academics but still good at putting out community docs. Internal and external moonlighting starting second year, from chill fast track or ICU night coverage at ~$80/hr to $150/hr+ at double covered external EDs. Indiana, like most of the Midwest, is a better job market than the rest of the country - but grads are able to go wherever they want thanks to the program rep and alumni network. Residents treated well, program has a great rep both nationally and in the hospitals where residents work. Would rank #1 again.

 

[BenignBeignet]

Recently interviewed here, here's what I thought/found:

Indiana: 3 year program. 9 hr shifts with shift reduction. Scholarly tracks (academic, advocacy, community medicine, CCM, EMS, US, global health, ED clinical practice). High volume, high acuity, high autonomy. Multiple hospitals to rotate at, all lvl 1. Strong simulation and CCM. Ortho experience is decent, can ask to do more reductions. Trauma procedures only on trauma months but get all airways otherwise. Strong ultrasound experience, do TEEs. Meh Location from what I’ve heard from friends, but residents all seem pretty happy out there (breweries, food). Moonlight as PGY2