Official 2013-2014 Rheumatology fellowship application cycle

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spencerh I think yale may have sent out invites but just nobody posted here. Last year they sent early september so....(based on last years sdn post)

I think thats the same as UCLA also.
I'm sure that's true, it is almost October, probably everybody is pretty much done sending invites

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Any thoughts on programs as we approach ranking time? What did you guys like or dislike about programs?
 
it would be useful if people posted rank lists to encourage discussion about programs!!!
 
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My evolving rank list:

1. NYU
2, 3, and 4: Debating between Johns Hopkins, UPMC (Pitt), and Washington Hospital Center
5. Emory
6. GW
7 and 8: UAB or Umaryland

Trying to find a medium between 3 priorities:
1. Solid clinical training,
2. Robust social life (which in my case gives points to NYC where I have friends or DC/Baltimore where I have been for the past 3 years).
3. Potential for transition to Academic career should I so choose. WHC may seem like the weakest of the 5 but I am doing research at the NIH on myositis and could continue this during fellowship.
Thoughts?
 
Hey zatennis, What are your thoughts of all the DC programs? (WHC, GW, georgetown).
 
does anyone know about moonlighting at some of the programs? specifically Ochsner and MUSC?
 
Hey zatennis, What are your thoughts of all the DC programs? (WHC, GW, georgetown).

I didn't interview at georgetown but my program director at an area program feels it is superior to WHC and GW.
Between WHC and GW, I felt the clinical training at WHC would be superior (I think they probably have higher volume and their hospital is just larger; additional opportunities for scleroderma exposure at Georgetown, and Sjogren's clinic at NIH end up giving it more flexibility). However, GW does have the edge with regards to Ultrasound training which they made abundantly clear :)
On research opportunities, I think WHC again comes ahead of GW, both in terms of funding and how active the faculty and the fellows are.
Any additional thoughts smohamma?
 
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I have only interviewed thus far at Georgetown. I thought everyone was friendly and I think they have good patient exposure. I will be iv at gw & whc in oct so I can't really say anything about them yet.

What is a good US training program? I am having a hard time figuring out. So far most programs don't actually get fellows ready for certification, it seems to be more fellow dependent, if they are interested/motivated then they can..... some places have a curriculum and exposure with US but still not images scanned to be eligible for the exam. What are you guys seeing on the interview trail when it comes to US.
 
Nice list Zatennis. How would people compare the three NYC programs NYU, HSS and Columbia

HSS>NYU>Columbia?

NYU I thought was a great program-
Good patient exposure. US course. Faculty is very supportive.Lots of courses that can be attended for free. Definitely good education.
NYC is expensive though.

regarding US program
I think most fellows participate in the USSONAR course if they are interested.
Most programs have a US machine and if fellows are interested they can scan and save the images on drive to be uploaded.
Wether or not they have formal instruction is really program dependent.
Usually there is one or two faculty who do Ultrasounds and the fellows learn from the faculty.
Because the USSONAR course is very intensive, it's better to incorporate scanning as part of a research project so that we can use the research time to do the scans as well.
 
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I didn't know you could do SONAR course during fellowship, especially since its so intensive (8 months). are programs agreeable?
 
I didn't know you could do SONAR course during fellowship, especially since its so intensive (8 months). are programs agreeable?

Most of the programs I interview said yes
 
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Nice list Zatennis. How would people compare the three NYC programs NYU, HSS and Columbia

HSS>NYU>Columbia?

NYU I thought was a great program-
Good patient exposure. US course. Faculty is very supportive.Lots of courses that can be attended for free. Definitely good education.
NYC is expensive though.

regarding US program
I think most fellows participate in the USSONAR course if they are interested.
Most programs have a US machine and if fellows are interested they can scan and save the images on drive to be uploaded.
Wether or not they have formal instruction is really program dependent.
Usually there is one or two faculty who do Ultrasounds and the fellows learn from the faculty.
Because the USSONAR course is very intensive, it's better to incorporate scanning as part of a research project so that we can use the research time to do the scans as well.

I haven't been to my NY iv's, but I'm very excited and only heard good things about HSS. What did u guys think of Hopkins? I was really impressed with the program, but also quite afraid of the intense first year. It seems really busy, maybe just like intern year... Did u guys also have that feeling?

NYC is expensive, but I think its a great city to live! This is really personal, though... Im a fan of big cities :)

I loved U penn!! Probably my best iv so far... Was really impressed with the program!

Did anyone iv'ed at USC? Any thoughts?
 
What do you guys think of UNC, DUKE, MUSC, and Wake Forest.....
compare and contrast please.

Anyone iv at both upenn and duke... what did u think pros/cons? pm if you like. thanks.
 
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What do you guys think of UNC, DUKE, MUSC, and Wake Forest.....
compare and contrast please.

Anyone iv at both upenn and duke... what did u think pros/cons? pm if you like. thanks.

I went to UNC, Duke, Wake, Penn. I think UNC is the strongest in term of research. In term of clinical training I don't think that they are much different from each other.
 
Rheu -- How would you rank those programs in terms of clinical training? I agree they are similar..so its hard to really differentiate.

I agree, I think UNC had a strong research, also I think they were the only one's with US curriculum, but I could be wrong.

Anyone interviewing at VCU (richmond)?
 
Rheu -- How would you rank those programs in terms of clinical training? I agree they are similar..so its hard to really differentiate.

I agree, I think UNC had a strong research, also I think they were the only one's with US curriculum, but I could be wrong.

Anyone interviewing at VCU (richmond)?

I think you might have more vasculitis at UNC but otherwise they all look the same (and actually vasculitis is not my area of interest so it does not matter to me as well)

Thing that does matter to me is the city. I am not a fan of big city so Penn is not my first choice.
 
Yes location is important.

So much to consider!
 
Yes philadelphia is 100x bigger compared to the nc areas. Chapel hill and durham are similar in nature, college towns. Charlotte is the only real big city in nc in my opinion.
 
I haven't been to my NY iv's, but I'm very excited and only heard good things about HSS. What did u guys think of Hopkins? I was really impressed with the program, but also quite afraid of the intense first year. It seems really busy, maybe just like intern year... Did u guys also have that feeling?

NYC is expensive, but I think its a great city to live! This is really personal, though... Im a fan of big cities :)

I loved U penn!! Probably my best iv so far... Was really impressed with the program!

Did anyone iv'ed at USC? Any thoughts?

Hopkins is the best program that I interviewed with so far. I think the intense first year will make you a more competent rheumatologist in the long run. Their research opportunity is exceptional, particularly in my area of special interest.

My only problem with Hopkins is Baltimore :(:(
 
Baltimore is not that terrible... you just can't live near Hopkins.... you can live further from the inner city. Maryland is a great place to live... lots of opportunities being close to D.C. and just 4 hours from nyc.
 
Yeah, I have a lot of problems with Baltimore too :( Not best place to live in my opinion... Having said that, from other bad places, has the convenience of being close to DC and there are a few nice areas (Harbor) and suburbs...
 
Nice list Zatennis. How would people compare the three NYC programs NYU, HSS and Columbia

HSS>NYU>Columbia?

NYU I thought was a great program-
Good patient exposure. US course. Faculty is very supportive.Lots of courses that can be attended for free. Definitely good education.
NYC is expensive though.

regarding US program
I think most fellows participate in the USSONAR course if they are interested.
Most programs have a US machine and if fellows are interested they can scan and save the images on drive to be uploaded.
Wether or not they have formal instruction is really program dependent.
Usually there is one or two faculty who do Ultrasounds and the fellows learn from the faculty.
Because the USSONAR course is very intensive, it's better to incorporate scanning as part of a research project so that we can use the research time to do the scans as well.

Regarding cost of living in NYC - does NYU offer housing? Because HSS has an excellent housing, with very reasonable prices considering that the apartments are in upper east side...
 
I wouldn't live in the city -- harbor area nice and touristy, but suburbs are great... outside of baltimore, maryland overali is a good state/location for good access. Cost of living in DC/Baltimore -- pretty much as you go north gets costlier ...

Anyone visited Richmond - vcu...
 
NYU does not offer housing unfortunately. I havent went to HSS yet but from the website the salary was pretty low for NYC, I guess thats compensated with good housing?
 
Yeah, I have a lot of problems with Baltimore too :( Not best place to live in my opinion... Having said that, from other bad places, has the convenience of being close to DC and there are a few nice areas (Harbor) and suburbs...

Based on the quality of program, I would rank Hopkins number 1. But taking everything else together, I probably rank UNC higher. That is my thought so far (2 more programs to see though)
 
any thoughts on vcu (richmond)?
 
When do fellowship programs need to submit their rank order list? I can't find the exact deadline besides "mid-November".

I think us (the applicants) need to submit on Nov 15.

Match day for Rheum is released on Dec 4th.
 
When do fellowship programs need to submit their rank order list? I can't find the exact deadline besides "mid-November".

I think us (the applicants) need to submit on Nov 15.

Match day for Rheum is released on Dec 4th.

Programs have the same ROL deadline as applicants.
 
anyone went to Univ of maryland? 10 months of floor for first year fellow!!!! I felt it was a very weak program.
 
Did anyone go to temple in philadelphia or albert einstein in philly? Any thoughts?
 
Nice list Zatennis. How would people compare the three NYC programs NYU, HSS and Columbia

HSS>NYU>Columbia?

NYU I thought was a great program-
Good patient exposure. US course. Faculty is very supportive.Lots of courses that can be attended for free. Definitely good education.
NYC is expensive though.

For me I think it's NYU > HSS > Columbia

Clinical training looks all the same to me but NYU is certainly better in term of research opportunity

Columbia has the least number of faculty, so as the number of area of research
 
I thought NYU and Columbia had better clinical diversity and exposure.

HSS was much more academic. They want you to do three years, and two fellows on the consult service at Presby so they carry like 3-4 pts. As compared to 10 or so in NYU or Columbia.

Faculty wise I think you are right. NYU has the biggest program and diversity of research interests.

In that sense definitely NYU>HSS>Columbia.

Btw I thought Alabama had a very big program comparable to NYU. Its the place to go if into outcomes research. They have big name faculty there and are a very strong program. Although not as prestigious as places like Duke, rheumatology wise they may be stronger.
 
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I thought NYU and Columbia had better clinical diversity and exposure.

HSS was much more academic. They want you to do three years, and two fellows on the consult service at Presby so they carry like 3-4 pts. As compared to 10 or so in NYU or Columbia.

Faculty wise I think you are right. NYU has the biggest program and diversity of research interests.

In that sense definitely NYU>HSS>Columbia.

Btw I thought Alabama had a very big program comparable to NYU. Its the place to go if into outcomes research. Only thing its birmingham.

I will go to Birmingham in 2 weeks, will share my thought
 
Anybody has any thought on Cleveland clinic?
 
Any thoughts on ocshner? How does it compare to other programs? What's unique about it?
 
You all are so quiet. I will break the ice by discussing about my top 5 rank

My no 1 - 2 is debating between Hopskins and UNC. I think Hopskin is a better program but I personally like Chapel Hill (a lot) more than Baltimore.

No 3 - 4 is also debating between NYU and Upenn. I think NYU is stronger in term but research opportunity but I am not a big fan of NYC. I also have a lot of friends in philly area.

No 5 is Duke
 
all the programs are meshing in my head...they all seem like one big glob.....

rheu i think u have really good programs... hopkins vs. unc very different fellowship experiences, I guess I would see what you think will help you in the long run with how you see your career track progressing.

So you liked UNC more than Duke?
 
all the programs are meshing in my head...they all seem like one big glob.....

rheu i think u have really good programs... hopkins vs. unc very different fellowship experiences, I guess I would see what you think will help you in the long run with how you see your career track progressing.

So you liked UNC more than Duke?

Totally agree, hopkins and unc are very different.

I plan to stay in academia so research opportunity is one of my major consideration and, in this regards, I think hopskins is the best. However, I do not like Baltimore and I am a little bit scared of the intense first year. I know that intense clinical training will make me a better rheumatologist but I am not sure that I would like to work as an intern again.

Research strenghth at UNC is a little bit better than Duke and I think that you will see more complicated vasculitis there.
 
Are you all planning on sending emails to programs stating that they are your number 1 or one of your top choices... ??

Rheu. Yeah, UNC did seem more researchy. My interview was in a lab, lol. Baltimore maybe a sucky city, but one plus is that you might have connections with NIH. I think both hopkins/unc will allow you to probably get a grant out of fellowship, hopkins just has the biggest name.

I so far have liked the nc programs..hard to rank... uhhhh
 
Are you all planning on sending emails to programs stating that they are your number 1 or one of your top choices... ??

Rheu. Yeah, UNC did seem more researchy. My interview was in a lab, lol. Baltimore maybe a sucky city, but one plus is that you might have connections with NIH. I think both hopkins/unc will allow you to probably get a grant out of fellowship, hopkins just has the biggest name.

I so far have liked the nc programs..hard to rank... uhhhh

I am planning to do with my top two choices, will not do with the rest as the term "top" can be misleading and you all know that our rheum world is a small one.
 
Best of Luck to all of you! I hope we all match to the program of our choice.The countdown begins!
 
I certified my list! Good luck to you all :)
 
Good luck to all. Did anybody get phone call/email from HSS, MGH, Hopkins, or Duke?
 
Good luck to all. Did anybody get phone call/email from HSS, MGH, Hopkins, or Duke?

A friend of mine actually got an email from one of these places. Sorry I cannot disclose the name of the program. Not sure if it means they truly like the applicant and ranking them high enough to match?
 
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