Interview Experience Thread

[superspec]

So, I thought maybe we should start an "interview experience" thread since there isn't one yet. The only one I've gone to yet was Emory; went there on Saturday.

Opinions:

Good points: Atlanta ( I know a lot of the born and bred new englanders may disagree, but its a great city), lots of variety, great intern class, good name, lots of autonomy, good numbers, Crawford Long is GORGEOUS, new chair that is really working to secure a lot more NIH funding and taking the program in the right direction.

Bad points: Grady is both a blessing and a curse....great training but awful facilities ( could get really depressing and stressful), hospitals spread all over, no gyn onc or uro/gyn fellowships, most graduates seem to go on to MFM, which I'm not interested in (so that is more of a unique/personal drawback).

Other/Weird points: Interviews were about what you would expect, very laid back. Most questions were regarding things in my background or interesting facts about me. This may sound super nit picky, but I thought it was weird that the faculty and interviewers were not that dressed up....people were in khakis, sweaters, etc. Maybe they were just trying to come off very laid back and non-threatening, but I kind of feel like if we were wearing suits they should have been as well (or at least white coats). As is my first interview, have nothing to compare with so this may be the norm. I also HATED that they made us wear a name tag around our necks ON STRING like I was still in the first grade. In addition, it hit right at women's chests, so when people were trying to catch your name they were also staring right at your boobs. Not the most comfortable of situations.

Anyone else out there? Any thoughts?

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[Magnus67]

I interviewed at Wash U and overall was disappointed. To start, I was not impressed with the city of St. Louis. It seemed dirty and I didn't feel particulary safe riding the metrolink (not to mention St. Louis was just ranked #1 in the US for crime). Next, I was disappointed in the facilities. I was expecting world-class facilities, but unfortunately they were old, run-down, and the patient load is beginning to outweigh their capacity (sometimes laboring patients have to share a room!).

The interviews themselves went fine--attendings and residents alike were for the most part friendly and honestly answered questions. However, it was obvious that the program works the crap out of their residents (ex. one 1st year resident is responsible for managing 45+ gyn onc inpatients during the day while other residents/attendings are in surgery--seriously!). I don't have a problem working hard, but I expect a program to treat their residents well too.

There were some good points--research is huge there so if that is an interest to you, there are lots of opportunities. Also, they are successful in helping their residents get fellowships (all of the 4th year residents matched in the fellowship of their choice).

Hope this helps

 

[SunnyRay]

The above message about Wash U was written by me, SunnyRay. I accidentally wrote it signed in under my fiance's sign-in name. Sorry!

 

[tiredmom]

Good points: Very friendly residents, fairly relaxed faculty. Nice facilities for l&d, post-partum. Beautiful women's "one-stop shopping" clinic with ob/gyn clinics, bone density testing, facilities for diabetes teaching, lab, etc. Word is the program director wanted it to feel "like Neiman Marcus" instead of like a county health department. Very family friendly. No 24 hour shifts on ob/gyn service. Team concept while on 2nd year and 4th year.

Cons: 4 days off per month - and there is optional moonlighting within the department that sounded like you are a slacker if you don't pick up shifts. Lots of medicine intern year (2 months perinat, 2 months ob/gyn team, rest is off service rots). Sketchy area of town.

Interview day: Individual interviews with 5 faculty members, laid back. The residents hung around/came in on their days off to visit with the applicants while we sat around waiting to be called back for interviews. No oddball questions.

Night before social: Combined with the applicants interviewing on Friday and Saturday. Good turnout from the residents, one even brought her daughter and hubby. Funny thing - a drunk guy from the restaurant came in and kept giving speeches, sang love ballads to the chief resident, but he told a sad story at the beginning, so everybody tolerated him pretty well.

 

[obgyngatorgirl]

Just went on Friday.

Night before - very nice residents, huge turnout, people brought spouses and kids. Everyone seems happy, they've had 3 parties already this year (residents hanging out together . . . good sign).

Positives for program - HUGE gyn surg experience at outside hospitals in town during 3rd year, just operating (no pre-op, post-op - just show up and cut). Awesome simulation lab at old hospital building, get to practice laparoscopy, 3rd/4th degree repairs, and emergencies (post-partum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia). Nice hospital, great call room (looks like an apartment, large living room with nice TV and individual bedrooms).

Negatives - area around hospital is not great, not safe. Traffic in Jax is pretty bad (like any big city, I guess). I think this is a plus, but some people might think the yearly research project requirement is a downer (not intern year).

Interview day - 5 interviews, hang out with an intern in the conference room in between, 4 faculty (inc. prog dir and chair) and 1 chief res, lunch with residents, tour, optional happy hour with residents afterward (they go every week). Very laid back, mostly wanted us to ask them questions, funny questions from chiefs (what is your favorite curse word, when did you get in the most trouble in your life, what was your last fight with your significant other about). Not at all meant to be annoying or prying, honestly it came off more as a relaxing distraction from the stress of interviewing.

 

[cocoabutter]

So, I thought maybe we should start an "interview experience" thread since there isn't one yet. The only one I've gone to yet was Emory; went there on Saturday.

Opinions:

Good points: Atlanta ( I know a lot of the born and bred new englanders may disagree, but its a great city), lots of variety, great intern class, good name, lots of autonomy, good numbers, Crawford Long is GORGEOUS, new chair that is really working to secure a lot more NIH funding and taking the program in the right direction.

Bad points: Grady is both a blessing and a curse....great training but awful facilities ( could get really depressing and stressful), hospitals spread all over, no gyn onc or uro/gyn fellowships, most graduates seem to go on to MFM, which I'm not interested in (so that is more of a unique/personal drawback).

Other/Weird points: Interviews were about what you would expect, very laid back. Most questions were regarding things in my background or interesting facts about me. This may sound super nit picky, but I thought it was weird that the faculty and interviewers were not that dressed up....people were in khakis, sweaters, etc. Maybe they were just trying to come off very laid back and non-threatening, but I kind of feel like if we were wearing suits they should have been as well (or at least white coats). As is my first interview, have nothing to compare with so this may be the norm. I also HATED that they made us wear a name tag around our necks ON STRING like I was still in the first grade. In addition, it hit right at women's chests, so when people were trying to catch your name they were also staring right at your boobs. Not the most comfortable of situations.

Anyone else out there? Any thoughts?

Pros: Atlanta is a great city thats also affordable with lots of stuff to do and I have family and friends there, so living there wouldn't be a problem. The overall program is very academic with lots of formal instruction at the beginning of intern year. There are 9 residents each year, who all seem to get along well. Good experience, good numbers, and required research. Training at multiple hospitals. Emory has an excellent reputation, and the training there would be great.

Cons: The traffic in Atlanta. The facilities at Grady are a little older (less of a con to me, but still something to think about). Other than that, not much.

Like superspec day, the interview day was typical. Information, tours, etc. 3 interviews ~20 min--pretty laidback, questions that you would expect, nothing really out of the ordinary for me.

 

[pacinonme]

Good points:

Cons: 4 days off per month - and there is optional moonlighting within the department that sounded like you are a slacker if you don't pick up shifts. Lots of medicine intern year (2 months perinat, 2 months ob/gyn team, rest is off service rots). Sketchy area of town.

Tiredmom,
Why is 4 days off a month a con? Is that below the norm? Did you find having only 17 days PTO (includes vacation and sick days) a con?

I find the idea of moonlighting a plus with the high amount of loans I have to pay back

 

[tiredmom]

4 days off per 4 weeks isn't bad - if you are really off. I just didn't like the impression of feeling pressured to pick up extra shifts on those 4 days off. I've got a family and would like to do stuff with them too, instead of working on my day off. That's all.

 

[MichiMO]

I must admit, I went into the interview with somewhat low expectations because of the whole county stigma and some negative reviews from classmates who had done rotations there, but I was pleasantly surprised. The two hospital system seems like it creates a nice mix of environments to work in...when you get sick of county atmosphere you switch to the private hospital and when you get sick of the annoyances of a private you are back at county. There also seems to be a lot of comraderee among residents and both program directors seem very approachable and very committed to resident happiness. It seems family friendly and the director is very committed to having the program as a whole function like a big family. Faculty seem very dedicated to resident education.
cons: a bit heavy on ob and not as much gyn, though they are hiring new faculty to try to balance this out

Interview day was like others, very laid back. It is definitly long as you have to interview at both places. The dinner the night before was really nice and I felt like I almost learned more about the program from the party than the interview. (I by the way wore jeans to the party and felt any more dressed up would have been silly....very laid back people!)

Overall, very happy with the place.

 

[MeganRose]

3 -20min interviews, very laid back and conversational.

From past reviews, Parkland seemed to very weak in the Gyn side of things but with two new facilities dedicated to Gyn-Onc/Gyn I think the balance is about to shift. I was also very concerned with some comments I had seen here about the "parkland way" of doing things (vertical c-sections, very standardized protocols) that seem to be adhered to just bc thats the way that they've always been done. I asked an R4 that interviewed me about this and he stressed that the protocols are very evidenced based, changing with new developments in research. One of the pluses of this was that there was no inter-attending variance, with a single standard residents felt prepared to address problems quickly. I would have to agree with someone on SDN who said that it would be a "rough" 80h work week. It seemed extremely high volume esp in OB. 85% Hispanic population, largely indigent. Interns that I spoke to seem a bit tired but overall happy. The program seems to be seriously dedicated to the 80h work week. To me this means a 12h shift that passesquickly bc you're working so hard plus lots of great hands on learning during your shift.

 

[MeganRose]

So I seem to be the only one responding to this thread but I didn't do well on my Baylor (Houston) interview and wanted to be sure that anyone else going there does better than my disaster.
4- ~10-25min interviews. Not as conversational as other interviews I had been to here are some questions that I had/heard other students talking about:
-Name 3 people living or dead that you would like to have lunch with
-Be prepared to talk about current events unrelated to medicine. My first interview, I managed to stick my foot in my mouth within the first 5min, somehow managing to inspire questions about the Iraq War, Immigration and Poverty in America. I think they were trying to assess how I thought and less what I thought but after laidback, "tell me about yourself" interviews, I was a bit unprepared.
Plus some run of the mill: Why Baylor? -What are you looking for in a residency program?

Also be prepared to walk-- a lot. We visit two other hospitals on campus and I could tell that some of the girls in less comfortable shoes were hurting.
My overall impression was good, for people who have worries about the program in transition, it seems that the future is bright with lots of positive restructuring going on. Also, looking at their resident list prior to going to the interview, I noticed that there were lots of IMGs. Dr. Young addressed this saying that they weren't taking IMGs just b/c-- they took the best applicants regardless of where they came from. One of my friends who rotated there earlier this year confirmed this, BCM was trying to recruit a Pakistani guy with a 275 StepI so it seems that taking IMGs doesnt reflect a failing program.

 

[tiredmom]

Great interview experience!
Night before social: was at a local tapas bar down on the penninsula, lots of residents showed up, some brought kids. Very friendly and informative.
Interview day: Started with slideshow then tour. Lunch at a local southern restaurant. 6 interviews - 15 minutes each - 5 faculty, 1 resident. Very benign, mainly about yourself, why SC, etc.
Overall impression: Very friendly folks -both residents and faculty. Good structure to program, good academics. I was really impressed.

 

[tiredmom]

Night before social: At one of the resident's house, home cooked food (although most say when they host it, it's catered). Fair resident turnout, most with their significant others. Jeans okay - esp since at some point through the evening, you had to sit on the floor.

Interview day: Started with grand rounds. 5 interviews, unsure of the length of time, as it varied a lot. 4/5 interviewers stated the program's biggest weakness was academics. Lunch in boardroom at hospital, then tour. Finished up around 1:30 pm.

Impression: Great surgical numbers, not so great scope numbers. Adding a fifth resident with this match, so lots of rotation scheduling will change. NF for first 2 years, then call for last 2 years. Close-knit group with lots of strong personalities (quote by one of the spouses - "we're a family, and like all families, there are a few drunk uncles"). He also said he hasn't seen anyone make it through intern year without crying at least once. I didn't feel comfortable with the lack of emphasis/confidence in the academics.

 

[MichiMO]

This is my home program and my top choice if we were to stay in AZ, so I am a little biassed, but it was a really nice interview day. The night before party was at one of the attendings house...completely relaxed and baby central with all of the residents and attendings kids. Jeans definitly appropriate.
Interview day is six interviews: 3 faculty, 3 resident, then a really good lunch followed by an optional tour.
Interesting things about this program: large percentage of female attendings, all of whom have young children...totally family friendly program, a large amount of forcepts deliveries and vaginal breeches with a total expert at surgical vaginal deliveries on the faculty (who is by the way the most hilarious attending you will ever have in your life), large numbers of LAVH's, VH's, and pelvic floor surgeries, though smaller amount of TAH's
much of teaching is one on one with attendings, which is cool.
Cons: major con for me is that it is in Tucson and we were hoping to move...with how great a fit this program is for me, it would be hard to leave

 

[Pfannenstiel]

This was my first interview day - November 18.

Interview day:
Well-structured day. 2 faculty interviews, one resident interview, and one 2-on-2 resident talk/interview. Interview days are planned for Saturdays to maximize interaction with faculty/house staff. ~10-12 residents were present, 8-10 attendings, including PD, Dept chair, and clinical faculty. They had no clinical obligations that day and spent the entire time interacting with applicants. Large applicant group of ~30 students. Faculty were very friendly. Residents claimed to be happy, say they hang out with each other "if there's time, but we're pretty busy." Tour of the facilities was less informative, since transfer to the new Prentice hospital is planned for 10/2007 and most of the facilities will change at that point.

Interesting program tidbits:
L&D is insanely busy by all accounts. There are no call rooms on the L&D floor because residents rarely rest and never sleep while on L&D. Interns say it's overwhelming, and the learning curve is very steep. Lots of "old school" obstetrics - huge forceps numbers, several vaginal breeches and vaginal multiples. Both the OB and surgical services are busy enough that there are cases that go uncovered by residents. Very impressive surgical numbers - residents don't pre-op, just "show up and operate." Strong UTZ training. Increasing emphasis on research. Graduates go 50% fellowships, 50% practice.

Feel free to PM with questions. Interested to see what others thought.

 

[Gyner209]

Anyone care to share their experience with Mt. Sinai or Jefferson? Haven't been yet, but just wanted some thoughts...Thanks in advance!

 

[tiredmom]

Particulars: highest volume ob service in Indiana, top notch NICU, very nice people, very friendly.

Night before: Dinner at a residents house - everyone in jeans. Good resident turnout, very informative.

Interview day: team interviews of 2 faculty per interview for 4 interviews, individual with PD, and panel of 3 residents. Oddball questions: backdoored the abortion issue with a question intended to get your views without saying the word abortion in the question, "how do you feel about teamwork?". Overall, pretty benign.

Nice people, good academics. Call is approximately q 5 all 4 years, but you take home call your 4th year. I was impressed with the program and the people.

 

[futureob]

.

 

[missylee]

Night-before-thing was at a resident's house with catered food. Many residents showed up.

Interviews: 1 resident, pd, a research faculty, and asst. pd. All very nice people, although one faculty member was eating a full lunch during the interview. It's hard to think someone is actually listening to you while they're eating and looking down at their food.

Pros:I was really taken with the amount of laparoscopic surgery they do and how well they're trained. They have these labs with fresh cadavers where they can practice their skills over and over again before doing it on a live person. Great patient variety. Seems like good mix of ob and gyn. Even though they work in community hospitals for gyn they get a ton of experience and it sounds like the private docs are committed to education. City of Louisville has lots of things to do and eat. Cheap place to live. And residents are very nice and get along very well.

Cons:These are just things that I care about: 1. Elective terminations are not part of the curriculum, but there are opportunities nearby to learn. You would have to take time off from a rotation to go to the clinic. 2. low book allowance. Every Christmas they get a B&N giftcard to buy 1 book. And they rely on drug reps for the rest. 3. (minor thing) low cultural/regional diversity of residents.

Conclusion:I came in with low expectations since I had heard some bad things about it from other residents. Sounds like a few years ago the program wasn't stable and a whole bunch of faculty left. But I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, I would be happy if I matched there.

 

[Carbo/Taxol]

.....

 

[cocoabutter]

Overall, I enjoyed my time at UF. The night before social was relaxed with a good resident turnout. Everyone was very friendly and open to questions. I asked about the large number of UF grads in the 1st year class and was assured that this was not the norm.

Pros: Academic program with lots of formal instruction and support. Faculty very interested in teaching. Residents get along well and are well prepared upon completion of residency for private practice or fellowship. Affordable place to live.

Cons: Not a lot going on in Gainesville. Small resident class (not really a con to me, but something to think about).

Conclusion: Great program that is a very good fit for me!

 

[cocoabutter]

The night before social was at a local restaurant, lots of residents showed up and it was very relaxed.

Pros: Great OB experience/high volume, so they have great numbers. Brand new women's hospital which is beautiful. Free food and parking. Opportunity to work with lots of private physicians doing C-sections 1st year.

Cons: Community program, very busy, less didactic and more hands on learning (a con for me, maybe not for others). No 3rd year rotation--important to me because I like to teach. Weaker on GYN. No night float the 1st 6 months of intern year.

 

[stork]

UF- I agree completely with Future OB- the shoe off thing was crazy- the whole time I was thinking I should have gotten a pedicure. Just an uncomfortable start. Small program with LOTS of UF imbreeding. Asked if I could be a gator - (is that really important?) Also PD asks some interesting questions to say the least- not sure how he found out anything about me as a person from the questions he asked.

UTMemphis- large program- 10 a year. Nice residents- had a rough recruitment several years ago- many foreign grads (not that that is bad necessarily). Faculty seemed very receptive to new ideas and changes. New Chair- ?? if she is really liked by all. The Med- typical inner city hospital- not real nice- threatened to be closed eariler this year. Weird that only interns so far are on night float- breaks up continuity of care for patients.

UTKnox- Small program. Everyone very very nice. Actually get a "dinner"- order off the menu. 4-5 20 min interviews. Non threatening environment. Nice facilities. Lovely city- on TN river- not just a college town, safe. Immediate OR experience- interns do all primary C/S. Formal didactics with required reading schedule. Very approachable. Not sure this is the place to be if you are considering a fellowship. Trains excellent generalists. Get tons free books.

University of Louisville- like the other posts- super nice residents. All truely seem concerned for eachother. EXCELLENT laparoscopic experience. Lots of vacation/conference time (If I remember correctly- 3 wks as intern + either several days at Christmas or New Years. 4 wks other years). Lots of research- there labs developed GARDISIL HPV vaccine. Interviewed with 5 ppl- all non intimidating. No off service rotations. Have PAG fellowship/exposure. Looking to add a formal U/S rotation

UKY- Residents meet weekly for drinks. Seems like a growing/revamping program. Hospital is old. Not super impressed with those that interviewed me. LOTS of GYN/ONC experience. The residents stated they feel most prepared dealing with oncology patients -(if I don't do gyn/onc, when will these skills really pay off??) Seemed like nothing to do outside of downtown Lexington. Not too many 30 somethings. Felt like attendings were always around - at pre interview dinner, at breakfast, at lunch, milling around. Hard to get just resident view.

Greenville SC- Loved it. Lovely town. only 2 interviews. lots of alone time with residents to get the scoop. Really sold the city of Greenville. Majority of residents are married. Growing program - next yr will be the first year with full complement of residents 6 per year. They stress balance as their strong point. 5 MFM's- looking to add 2 more. Only 1 urogyn but he has lots of great ideas for his division and is looking to hire more faculty. Another huge pro- they have MEN- seems like 70%, 30%(men) or so! 6 residents currently pregnant- wonder how they will deal with that- at least most will deliver by July!! Not required to do circs (con to me- very easy billable procedure in the future)


in summary- in my experiences to date-
1. eat before "dinner" b.c it is often not "dinner". None of the dinners were dressy- people in jeans at all of them. Dress comfortably.
2. really ask questions to residents and other candidates (ask about their home programs)
3. find out the "perks" of the program- why the residents there chose to rank it
4. find balance in gyn # and ob #s to suit your needs
5. Most questions were standard- only UF has had the odd ball questions.

Happy Interviewing!!

 

[orchid1919]

Faculty and residents were great. Interviews were very relaxed and well structured. There were a total of four interviews: two by faculty and two by residents. Social was laid back and there was a decent resident turn out. Residents were satisfied with the volume in both OB and Gyn.

Pros: Faculty seemed interested in teaching and very approachable. Good patient diversity. Although expensive, Chicago is a great place to live.

Cons: Residents do Ob at the UIC and Christ hospitals which are about 30 minutes apart without traffic. The residents are on call EVERY weekend. They either take 24 hours on Friday, 24 hours on Saturday or 12 hours on Sunday.

 

[dr. know]

any thoughts on duke interview day?

 

[sunnygyn]

anyone else feel like they just want to put the names of the programs in a hat and pick them out to make their rank lists? I'm about half-way through my interviews, and i can honestly say i love almost everywhere i've been so far. here's the brief version of my impressions; i'd love to hear what others think of these programs . . .
(in east - to - west order)

- UNC: thought everything about the program itself was amazing; best laparoscopy experience of anywhere probably in the country; get to work with david grimes, have their own women's hospital, work at 2 different hospitals (plus for me, but i know this is not for everyone); residents seem awesome; only downside is almost everyone seemed married or engaged, and the research triangle doesn't appear to be the most happening place for single people such as myself . . .

- Univ. of Chicago: best family planning program of anywhere, no onc fellows but may get them in the future - meaning residents get to operate more, loved the chairman, residents seem great and love each other - they had a fun and interactive grand rounds when i was there so we really got to see the way they interact with each other; chicago is a great city to live in; major downside is minimal experience in laparoscopic surgery

- UT Houston (Hermann): one of the most pro-resident PDs i have met to date - they don't have any kind of set family planning rotation but she told me she would work with me to devise one; very fun group of residents; get to work at MD Anderson and all the onc opportunities it has to offer, although one resident told me that she had minimal operative experience there b/c of the fellows (and i heard the exact opposite statement from one of the residents at LBJ the next day)

- UT Houston (LBJ): probably the best for operative vaginal deliveries anywhere thanks to dr. yeomen; opportunity to work in a county hospital where your efforts are truly needed for this underserved population; got a not so great vibe from the residents here though . . .it's tough to really tell b/c very few of them showed up for the social the night before, so their presence was completely overshadowed by the hermann residents

- UCHSC: amazing group of residents, denver is awesome; new hospital(s) with incredible facilities, lot sof family planning with many of the residents involved in research; no onc fellows to take cases; i loved the residents; my only con i can come up with here is that the chairman has also taken over the position of PD, since the previous one left (i have some questions about that too) so this seems like a bit too much for one person and not sure what kind of an impact it has on the residents

- UW: all around strong program; residents seem wonderful; early exposure to tons of surgery at one of the private hospitals; very diverse patient population; seattle is awesome

i would love to hear what other people think of these programs, especially if you are a student at any one of these places and know something i don't; i need all the help i can get!

 

[missylee]

They had a nice dinner the night before at a tapas restaurant.

Day:Had two interivews, one with a fellow and the PD. very laid back.

Pros:They seemed very strong in OB and MFM, lots of gyn surgeries. Really nice facilities. They have a simulator lab. They see a mostly indigent population. Super cool residents. I was impressed with the PD. I was lucky enough to be one of the few to get to meet with him and immediately you can tell that he's COMPLETELY dedicated to resident education and holds the rest of the faculty to that standard. Very high match rate into fellowships.

Conson't seem very strong in gyn/onc. Like last year, not every applicant got to meet with the PD or chairman. There probably isn't enough time to see everyone, but it didn't seem fair to me.

Overall, I was really happy with it. This was the first place where I felt totally comfortable. The residents are very funny. They remind me a lot of my best friends. The only thing that bothers me is that they seem weaker in gyn/onc, but no place is equally strong in all areas, I guess. Does anyone have thoughts about the gyn/onc department there?

 

[macsdoc]

The night before social was at a local restaurant, lots of residents showed up and it was very relaxed.

Pros: Great OB experience/high volume, so they have great numbers. Brand new women's hospital which is beautiful. Free food and parking. Opportunity to work with lots of private physicians doing C-sections 1st year.

Cons: Community program, very busy, less didactic and more hands on learning (a con for me, maybe not for others). No 3rd year rotation--important to me because I like to teach. Weaker on GYN. No night float the 1st 6 months of intern year.

In response to this review I would like to clarify a few things about this program. This is a community program but it definitely does not fit the typical "community" stereotype. It is run more like an academic program. It is the referral center for all of central florida. It is also the 2nd busiest program in the country, second only to Parkland.

Third years do not rotate in Orlando, but 4th year medical students from FSU do as well as students wanting to do externships from other programs.

This program is NOT weak on GYN. The statistics for this program on GYN are better than 90% of the programs in the country (a fact researched by the program director).

There is no night float for the first 6 months of call for the interns. If they did take night float (as they did two years ago), one resident does not rotate on OB or Night float until the 4th month (making you behind everyone else). This was the reason for the rotating call schedule the first six months. Everyone who has done it so far has said it has prepared them much better than being on call two weekends a month every would.

Overall this is an excellent program. They work EXTREMELY hard, but the payoff is enormous!

 

[luvOB]

no dinner the night before. very very nice people. program director is very down to earth and dedicated to resident education, happiness and overall well-being. program chair is very nice as well, been there for over 20 years.
5 interviews, benign, typical "tell me about yourself..." type. 4 week night float starting intern year, call is q7-either all day Sat. or half day Fri plus half day Sun, q3 HOME CALL while on gyn/gyn-onc.

pros: again, very laid back, down to earth and wonderful people. residents are very happy and feel well prepared. 100% board pass rate. lots of ob and high risk. good gyn surgical volume too. clinic is right across the street. all residents and their family have access to big gym with sauna etc. free of charge. day care nearby ran by post-grads for low fee. residents and attendings are very close, they take annual trips together and have lots of tradition. very supportive environment. affordable housing. brand new beautiful post-partum ward, L&D is currently under construction too. 84 bed NICU!!!

cons: san bernadino county (a plus for those who like nature and like to ski but i'm a big city girl), summers can be hot, up to 110 degrees. surgical training although plentiful, may not start until the end of intern year.

 

[chocchip]

- UCHSC: amazing group of residents, denver is awesome; new hospital(s) with incredible facilities, lot sof family planning with many of the residents involved in research; no onc fellows to take cases; i loved the residents; my only con i can come up with here is that the chairman has also taken over the position of PD, since the previous one left (i have some questions about that too) so this seems like a bit too much for one person and not sure what kind of an impact it has on the residents

I was also concerned about the chair being the PD and spoke to a few residents about this issue. They said that Dr. Gibbs was previously the PD for 13 years, so he is definitely experienced in the area. The residents felt it was better for him to become the PD rather than hire a mediocre PD right away. The residents that I spoke to said that Dr. Gibbs is very dedicated to resident education and has been to all the resident meetings, is very approachable, etc. They said in some ways it is beneficial for him to do both and stated the example that the residents felt they were being spread too thin on a certain rotation (can't remember exactly which one), and he was able to hire extra people from Exempla right away to cover extra shifts. The residents also said for the most part the change hasn't really impacted them too much because a lot of the scheduling, etc. is run by the chief residents.

 

[tiredmom]

Wake Forest:
Night before social: held at a local wine bar - heavy appetizers, wine, water. Fair resident turnout - but lots of applicants (17 for the day) - so it was pretty hard to tell who was applicant and who was resident. Fairly small room too for all those people. Jeans appropriate.
Interview day: 4 interviews - 3 faculty, 1 resident. Very laid back and friendly. Resident exposure during day was fair/good. 1/2 applicants interview in the morning while the others 1/2 tours, then vice versa. Tour was comprehensive, they take you around in a van to show you the hospitals, clinics, and drive through the neighborhood that most of the residents live in.
Pros: good camraderie with residents, seemed friendly enough. Good structure to program. Recent changes in academic instruction to include assigned reading with quizes (changed because residents/faculty didn't like previous format). Away rotation in Hickory - about 1 hour's drive away - you stay in condo M-Th nights, then come back on weekends to Winston-Salem and are in the call pool (but you aren't isolated for 10 weeks straight). NF system at Forsyth (where ob is), home call at Baptist (where gyn is). Hospitals are about 8-10 minutes apart and neighborhood residents live in is between the 2 hospitals. Loved the town.
Relative cons: only 1 resident (a chief) has kids, but about 1/2 are recently married.
Overall impression: I liked it alot.

New Hanover RMC - Wilmington, NC:
Night before social: at an attending's house. One of the residents picks everybody up at the hotel in a van and takes you there. Tons of kids running around, very laid back. Jeans appropriate. Good resident turnout. Some of the attendings were there too and talked a lot to applicants???
Interview day: 4 interviews all with faculty (3 official and one with the gyn onc who wants to meet all applicants). Very laid back, nice people. Started off with grand rounds (which we were late for since the resident picks you up again). Tour after lunch.
Pros: Wilmington is beautiful - the beach was fantastic! Nice people. 100% board pass rate. Good grand rounds - bring in professors from UNC chapel hill 1-2x per month. 3 med students at a time - since it's a university-affiliated community program. Building a new womens and childrens tower due to be finished april 08.
Cons: difficult job market for business professional spouses. 3 residents have left in the last 5 years of classes - one of the current 2nd year class left to do general surgery - replaced with a great military person. 2 of the last year graduating class left - 1 to go to U Michigan for better fellowship possibilities/SO there, and the other was "let go because was having trouble passing CREOG exams".
Overall impression: Liked it, very nice people. More non-trad folks there. Pleasant faculty. Great city.

 

[tiredmom]

Wake Forest:
Night before social: held at a local wine bar - heavy appetizers, wine, water. Fair resident turnout - but lots of applicants (17 for the day) - so it was pretty hard to tell who was applicant and who was resident. Fairly small room too for all those people. Jeans appropriate.
Interview day: 4 interviews - 3 faculty, 1 resident. Very laid back and friendly. Resident exposure during day was fair/good. 1/2 applicants interview in the morning while the others 1/2 tours, then vice versa. Tour was comprehensive, they take you around in a van to show you the hospitals, clinics, and drive through the neighborhood that most of the residents live in.
Pros: good camraderie with residents, seemed friendly enough. Good structure to program. Recent changes in academic instruction to include assigned reading with quizes (changed because residents/faculty didn't like previous format). Away rotation in Hickory - about 1 hour's drive away - you stay in condo M-Th nights, then come back on weekends to Winston-Salem and are in the call pool (but you aren't isolated for 10 weeks straight). NF system at Forsyth (where ob is), home call at Baptist (where gyn is). Hospitals are about 8-10 minutes apart and neighborhood residents live in is between the 2 hospitals. Loved the town.
Relative cons: only 1 resident (a chief) has kids, but about 1/2 are recently married.
Overall impression: I liked it alot.

New Hanover RMC - Wilmington, NC:
Night before social: at an attending's house. One of the residents picks everybody up at the hotel in a van and takes you there. Tons of kids running around, very laid back. Jeans appropriate. Good resident turnout. Some of the attendings were there too and talked a lot to applicants???
Interview day: 4 interviews all with faculty (3 official and one with the gyn onc who wants to meet all applicants). Very laid back, nice people. Started off with grand rounds (which we were late for since the resident picks you up again). Tour after lunch.
Pros: Wilmington is beautiful - the beach was fantastic! Nice people. 100% board pass rate. Good grand rounds - bring in professors from UNC chapel hill 1-2x per month. 3 med students at a time - since it's a university-affiliated community program. Building a new womens and childrens tower due to be finished april 08.
Cons: difficult job market for business professional spouses. 3 residents have left in the last 5 years of classes - one of the current 2nd year class left to do general surgery - replaced with a great military person. 2 of the last year graduating class left - 1 to go to U Michigan for better fellowship possibilities/SO there, and the other was "let go because was having trouble passing CREOG exams".
Overall impression: Liked it, very nice people. More non-trad folks there. Pleasant faculty. Great city.

 

[luvOB]

come on guys, everyday i see a ton of you viewing this thread. please contribute! how about the west coast applicants??? represent!

i'm on a bit of a break until the holidays myself, but i will definitely add more in Jan where i have the bulk of my interviews.

 

[Jenn3894]

UConn: You arrive and hear a presentation from the program director. Then you're split into two groups, one to tour and the other to interview. You have four interviews: program director, 2 attendings and then residents (two of them team up and it's mostly answering your questions). On the tour you tour their 3 facilities and have time to chat with the resident who gives the tour. I found the interviews to be pretty low-key, not many tough questions. They'll give you plenty of opportunities to ask questions, so have your list ready. At the end of the morning you'll have lunch with the residents and attendings. I really liked this program, they have 3 hospitals that are each unique and the residents all seem very happy.

Indiana University: You arrive and have breakfast. Then you are split into two groups: one to tour and the other to interview. You have four interviews: program director, chief resident, two attendings (one of which is a much longer and more detailed interview). On the tour you have plenty of time to see the 3 hospitals and ask questions. The 3 hospitals are all very close and vary in their type of care. One of the L&Ds was under construction, so you didn't get a good feel for what it'd be like there, but really all the L&Ds seem to look so similar! In between your interviews and your tour there's a presentation about the program. After everything is done you have lunch with the attendings and residents. Again, the residents seemed happy here there is the added bonus of moonlighting if you're up for that.

UIC: You arrive and have breakfast. Then you go on a tour and have a presentation about the program. Next you interview with 2 attendings and 2 residents. Fairly standard interviews, nothing too complicated. After the interviews you eat lunch (but not with the residents and attendings). This program works the residents pretty hard (only two weekends completely off in a year outside of your vacation time) but they seem to get a great education. The one other thing I didn't like is that you don't get to see Christ Hospital, where you'll be spending a significant amount of your time.

 

[bellalou]

Magee - Simply LOVE this program. The night before at resident's home. Residents seem to get along very well. Good mix of single vs. married residents. The interview day is structured with a breakfast and introduction to the program by the program director and ALL division directors. Huge faculty turnout. Interviews are with either PD or chair, one faculty member, and one chief resident. Refreshments in between interviews with good opportunity to interact with even more faculty and residents. Standard tour of hospital by three interns. The day ends with delicious lunch. All ob/gyn rotations are at Magee, which I really like. Amazing NICU. Beautiful hospital. Residents do very well in the fellowship match. Also has adjoining research institute dedicated to reproductive sciences research. Most impressive aspect of this interview day - faculty turnout and formal overview of each and every division (and there are A LOT of divisions). The residents also seem wicked smart, funny, and genuinely nice.

UNC - Also love this program. Night before at faculty member's home. The night I went it was at a beautiful house in swanky neighborhood in Chapel Hill. Very casual though, so don't be afraid to wear jeans. Both faculty and residents attended, including the chair and his wife. All extremely nice people. The morning of interview, huge faculty and resident turnout at breakfast. Went around the room and introduced themselves, poked fun at each other, overall very collegial atmosphere. Then standard hospital tour (UNC Women's Hospital only). Residents also rotate at Wake Med in Raleigh (30 min away) where it is super busy and residents take traditional Q3-4 call. They swear that they abide by 80 hour work rule, though, but admit that this was not the case 1-2 years ago. They will add another resident for our class, which will cut down on call. When you are at UNC, you take the standard weekend call and NF rotations. Interviews are with two faculty members, one resident, and one interview with two interviewers (PD + another faculty) that ask more traditional "tough" interview questions - Tell us about a difficult situation you saw in your third year? What is your biggest weakness? Lunch is SUPER POSH at a campus club. It was absolutely delicious. Most impressive aspects of interview day - Amazing laparoscopic training (one of only a handful of lap fellowships), Dr. Grimes (famous women's reproductive rights advocate), overall faculty and resident turnout and the way that they interacted with one another - it seems that they are a big fun family.

I have a few other places that I need to post, but I am studying for the boards so I have to focus now.

Also interviewed at Northwestern, UAB, Brown, Duke, Hopkins, and a few more. PM me if you have questions. Good luck everyone!

 

[futureob]

.

 

[superspec]

I know I started this thread, and have been MIA since!!! As soon as I get done with step 2 ck tomorrow, I will post my experiences with several schools so others can benefit/compare notes with me. Happy holidays everyone!

 

[Buyito]

Anyone out there is familiar with the Meharry OB-GYN program in Nashville Tennessee???

Please replay if you can.

 

[pacinonme]

Anyone have any interview experience with UT Memphis? Not sure if I should go to this one?

 

[ACSlater]

What do you guys think of the brown program?

 

[tiredmom]

What do you guys think of the brown program?

I loved Brown!!!! Are y'all really that down to earth and nice most of the time?

Brown: AM and PM interviewees are separated but share the tour and lunch... 4 interviewees per morning/afternoon, so it was really intimate. Social is held on the evening between the two interview days, so it was a different feeling to go to the dinner after having interviewed already. Dinner was at one of the resident's houses, good turnout, catered food, Jeans okay. Interview day - picked up in lobby by resident, informal breakfast in the resident lounge area, meet with chair/director and education coordinator in chair's office, then 3 faculty interviews and 1 resident interview. Tour, then lunch (afternoon folks started with tour, lunch, then the other things). Interviews were very informal, laid back. I felt like they really looked into me and asked specific clarifying questions based on my ERAS app.
Specifics: PD is also chair, but has been for 10+ years so that "focus is on education", has a phD who organizes educational opportunities. Places well into fellowships. Possibly adding REI fellowship (I think- it's been almost a month since my interview).
Overall impression: I loved it! Convincing my husband Rhode Island is Texan friendly is one of my current tasks! Great program, very focused on education. Also has a breast fellowship that you can go to after ob/gyn or gen surgery. Everyone was so nice and friendly, very cool.

UNC: (Bellalou and I were at the same interview day, I agreed with her statements above!)
Night before social: Pizza at attending's gorgeous house. Good turnout, residents and attendings both attended, and they did a great job of circulating and mingling with applicants (nice since it's such a large group).
Interview day: Breakfast with socializing with residents and attendings. Then individual interviews 2 faculty, 1 resident, then one with a faculty member and the program director (in some combination). More formal questions - like "tell me about 3 ways you see healthcare changing in the next 20 years". Lunch at alumni club - very fancy, but so delicious! Wear sensible shoes, as the hike down to the alumni club is VERY steep - I nearly fell twice in my heels! 30 minute interviews with 2 and 15 minute interviews with the others.
Specifics: Chiefs are finishing with 7-10 robotic hysterectomies (themselves!!!). All specialties represented with a pelvic pain/laparoscopy one also! Rots at hospital in Raleigh with q 3-4 night call, but 8ish to 4ish when not on call. Residents carpool to that rot.
Overall impression: I loved it too! The program is fantastic! Everyone seemed nice and down to earth.

Duke:
Night before social: At a resident's house. Catered food, jeans appropriate. Residents were kinda late getting there, so it ended up being not all that easy to figure out who was resident/applicant. Not much circulating.
Interview day: meet as a group, then divided into groups for 3 interviews and a tour. 1 individual interview with a faculty member, group interview (4-5 per group) with chair and PD. Lunch in a classroom with small desktop (have a tide pen available - don't ask how I know this!)
Specifics: 3 seperate away rotations in PGY2,3,&4. I wish I had known that ahead of time, might not have applied.
Overall impression: Good training, didn't get the warm feeling from the residents. I don't really like group interviews.

UVa:
Night before social: At resident's house, homecooked food - his wife is an amazing cook! Good resident circulation and turnout, even though a bunch of residents were sick and didn't come.
Interview day: Meet for breakfast, then M&M, then PD's talk and a resident presentation. Interviews were cut short because M&M ran over. Group interview with program chair and program director. Lunch together in conference room, then tour. Day finished about 2:20 pm.
Specifics: Gyn onc fellowship only. Starting a new away rotation at naval hospital in portsmouth (portsmith???) aren't sure of the specifics yet, only that it will probably be in pgy2 year. Also have a rot in lynchburg during pgy 3 year that is just operating and clinic, no overnight call so residents drive back and forth instead of staying there.
Overall impression: Seems to be a strong program with friendly residents. Didn't get a great feel for the chair or pd, not sure if it was because of the group interviews or what.

Good luck all... one more to go!

 

[tiredmom]

I'm done! I'm done! I'm done!

Vanderbilt:
Night before: Catered dinner at a resident's condo. This was a Saturday interview, and the resident turnout was fair but not great. Most of the residents I saw at the Friday night dinner I also saw on Sat, but I think I only met about 1/2 of the residents. Jeans appropriate.
Interview day: Started at 7am. Light breakfast - Dr. Gabbe stopped by to give a short talk, then program director gave presentation. 3 30 minute interviews - 2 with faculty, 1 with resident. Standard tour. Lunch where the division directors spend a few minutes talking about their divisions and rotations with them.
Particulars: New program chair (was on a previously scheduled family vacation but is "open to talking on the phone if we feel like we want to interview with her to get to know her better before making a choice". Big shakeup in the MFM dept after she came, new faculty "gets along" a lot better and is "open to working with other departments". One intern is leaving to go into EM, but they already have a replacement lined up. The 2nd year class has 7 residents because they picked up a displaced Katrina resident. A cool benefit... they have a recruiter in the GME office that is soley for helping non-medical spouses find jobs in Nashville.
Impression: I was pleasantly suprised! I had heard some malignancy talk about the program but really didn't get that vibe. The program seemed really strong and the residents seemed really laid back and friendly. Concerned that I didn't meet more residents though.

 

[OBGYN07]

Hey, does anyone have feedback from their UAB interview day?

 

[bellalou]

Sorry I didn't post earlier. The day is on the long side, but really fun. I will try to remember as much as possible since it has been 4 weeks. The night before party fell on the departmental holiday party and was super swanky with fantastic food. We had to get dressed up, so I am not sure what is usually is. The interview day starts with breakfast and overview by the PD, chair, and chiefs. Then you have individual interviews with 2 residents, PD, and two faculty members. Then there is the standard tour of the hospital, lunch, and then one of the residents takes you on a driving tour of Birmingham to look at neighborhoods that you could live. I was surprised by how cute Birmingham is - it is a really liveable city with amazing restaurants (rated some of the best in the country - stacks up agains NYC, LA, etc), lots of art/culture, and low cost of living. Most people buy houses in the mid 100 range and get a nice house. One of the residents showed us her house which was really nice.

As for the program, I think it is one of the very best in the country. The surgical training is incredibly strong. You operate "early and often." They will let interns do quite large cases in all the sub-specialities, including Oncology. In fact, the UAB med students on the interview said that they let the med students do incredible cases! The obsetrics training is also amazing. In fact, a big chunk of the authors of Williams are on faculty there. The residents are very impressive as well as very nice. They go on to do any fellowship that they want and are highly sought-after for private practice as well.

Overall, I love this program and will be ranking it very highly.

Good luck on your interview!

 

[cali-ob]

Harbor-UCLA: loved the program, loved the residents (the 3 I got to meet). A county hospital, with rotations at Kaiser for #s and private practice experience.
Con- lowest pay in California, in a more expensive area to live. Hospital a little crappy but what do you expect from County? Wish I could have met more residents at a mixer or at lunch.

Pro-lots of high risk, right near the beach. Program director really listens to residents, and she was really nice.

Cedar-Sinai: great "community" yet academic facility. You can do anything you want (fellowship, private practice, academice practice) with a residency at that program.
One con- VERY PRIVATE patients, so not very complicated high risk patients, if that's what your're into. But if you're star struck (want to cut Brittany and K-fed's next baby out), that's the place to go.
Everyone was very nice, but it was a long day with lots of waiting
Evening before at a very "LA" west hollywood place with free drinks and appetizers, you can wear jeans, but don't look raggedy....it's a nice place.

Kaiser LA: I loved this place.....if only it weren't community. If you don't want to do a fellowship, and maybe even if you do, this is a great program. The residents were happy. I met a post call resident who looked like she had just walked in the door for the morning. She was all cute with makeup on! They are about q4-5 as interns, but they do a split night call. The sleep from about 2am-7am and the senior and second attending cover while you sleep. You're on from 10-11pm -2am with the first attending while the other two sleep. So it works. They seem to have a great lifestyle. The interviews were easy, and laid back, lots of families.

I've been to a lot of west coast programs, I wont type endlessly, but if any one has a specific question, let me know. I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE!!!!!!!

 

[goldenjims]

Greenville, SC- Loved it. Small town but tons to do. Great program. Fun residents.
Wake Forest- Great program. Residents seemed a little stiff, except for one guy that was awesome. Attendings seemed nice. Great facilities. Winston is a fun town near a lot of stuff
UAB- large, academic, tons of residents/fellows. Question if you might get lost in that program. Seems like the place to be if you are sure about doing a fellowship (which Im not)
MUSC- great program. Faculty/residents seemed "snooty" to me. May just have been my sense. LOVE Charleston, of course.
Vanderbilt- loved it. great residents. Have some going into fellowships (one ONC to MD Anderson) and others. Some just wanting to do Private. Gabbe is very involved it seemed. He runs the weekly diabetic clinic with residents. Awesome facilities. Love Nashville.
UT Memphis- typical inner city large metro program. Huge. Tons of volume. May be too far away geographically from where my family and I want. It is forever away.
Charlotte, NC- Great program. Awesome residents. attendings seemed nice. facilities are very nice.
UT Knoxville- small, definitely community based. only 3 per year with lots of females. program director is not leaving but switching jobs so they are looking for a new PD. Some attendings seemed to me to be using this as a stepping stone for bigger and better. Just a hunch.

All this is to say, I have about 5 that I have to deal with and decide. It is going to be difficult. Where is the obvious bright light that makes one of these stand out. Time to dive in!

 

[luvOB]

I've been to a lot of west coast programs, I wont type endlessly, but if any one has a specific question, let me know. I'M DONE, I'M DONE, I'M DONE!!!!!!!

congrats! must feel so good to be done... i still have a couple more. anyway, did you interview at kaiser oakland or white memorial? if so, what did you think? they were my 1st interviews so it's all fuzzy now. plus i was so excited to be on an interview I didn't really look critically. oh, and i found your thoughts on cedars and kaiser very helpful. thank you!

 

[cali-ob]

Hey luv-ob,
I'm glad you were able to take something from my comments. I did go to Kaiser Oakland, it was my second interview (oh so many months ago...). I did the observational interview which I thought gave a very interesting perspective. I am from So Cal, but spent a good deal of time in No Cal, at CAL, for undergrad, so am familiar enough with the bay area to know that I would prefer not to be there, although lots of people LOVE it. I am just more of a So cal kinda girl. As for the program, what I loved....the incoming program director! I thought she was fabulous, and I wish I could just take her to match with me wherever I go. I thought the night float was great....they don't come on until 7 or 8pm. That's great, because you get to still see your family if you have one, or go to the gym, or grocery store or whatever it is that you do, before you come on. I loved that. I thought the program was solid, I definitly feel comfortable with their level of training (my first child was delivered by a Kaiser Oakland ob/gyn resident as I lived in Oakland at the time and had Kaiser insurance). HOWEVER....with the observational interview, it was like going to a second look which was REALLY useful. I found the residents a bit ho-hum for me. They were all nice, but I think I'm a little more......wild??? than they. I don't know if "wild" is the right word, but something. They seemed to like each other, and like I said, they were nice enough, but not what I'm used to interms of getting through the day with laughter, joking, and fun. I got bored when I was there. Maybe it was just the people I was with, but that didn't make me feel like that was the place I wanted to be. If you liked the people, they may be your kind of people, just not mine. The program though was great....just again, that whole fellowship issue, if you think that might be important to you.

 

[cali-ob]

sorry luv ob, I know I'm long winded.... I canceled my WM interview, only because of the Las Vegas rotation. I have a family, and that just would not have been feasible for me...1 month in Hawaii (USC) is one thing, they could come with. But 3 months in Vegas would be hard to swing for everyone in my household

 

[TY06]

any more So Cal experiences? how about USC? Regular UCLA? etc.

Thanks. very helpful.

congrats and good luck everyone!!!