interviews 2003/2004

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Nope, haven't heard from MGH. Northwestern, UChicago, Brigham, Penn, Duke, UNC, Cornell, Yale and Hopkins so far.

I'm curious to hear what you thought of Mayo. It seems like with everything signed out on frozen section, the opportunity to preview is pretty much eliminated. I think previewing time is key, so I'm a little wary about Mayo. How did it work out when you were there? (Feel free to PM me so as not to derail the thread 🙂)
 
Pathgirl78, No word from UTHouston or either of the Baylors. Rejected from Southwestern (by email), interviews with Scott&White, UTHSCSA, and UTMB all in January. They may be waiting for the Dean's letter, who knows.
 
Got an email invite from Utah last week. Was also told at Penrose that since I am doing an externship there, I do not need a formal interview. Score!
 
Ludy, where did you hear that Mayo signs out cases on frozens? I don't think that can be true.
 
Many cases, if not the majority of OR cases, are signed out on frozen at Mayo. I spent a month there in August - they published an article in (surprise!) Mayo Clinic Proceedings by J Myers et al on their experience. Frozens are done somewhat differently there, they use a slightly thicker section, toluidine blue stain only. I don't have the exact reference but is pretty easy to find.
 
How did you come up with this tier system for pathology programs. It seems pretty arbitrary and subjective.
 
That is really interesting that Mayo signs out stuff on frozens. They must use a very different technique from the rest of us because the quality of frozens are generally not good enough to make a final diagnosis with confidence. If anyone has the reference, I'd be interested to read it.
 
Here are the citations -

Page DL, Gray GF Jr.
Intraoperative consultations by pathologists at the Mayo Clinic: a unique experience.
Mayo Clin Proc. 1995 Dec;70(12):1222-3. No abstract available.

Ferreiro JA, Myers JL, Bostwick DG.
Accuracy of frozen section diagnosis in surgical pathology: review of a 1-year experience with 24,880 cases at Mayo Clinic Rochester.
Mayo Clin Proc. 1995 Dec;70(12):1137-41.


The latter article is generally available from most med school libraries on line or in stacks. Explains the process pretty well.

Sorry, I know this doesn't have much to do with interviews but it is of interest...

Tonka mentioned about the same day biopsy results - frozen sections at mayo are only done on the OR cases (e.g. open biopsies, major resections). Something that is a small biopsy of a few millimeters is not done as a frozen unless it is to assess adequacy of specimen for analysis. GI biopsies, cervix, etc, other biopsies considered as small cases are processed in many cases the same day, but not as frozen sections. Mayo has a continuous, rolling histology processing center where if a biopsy is done early in the morning (like prostate), the slides will generally be out by late afternoon and can be signed out the same day. This isn't really the same thing as the frozen technique.

Certain things are not done by frozen. Brains are treated with cytology and touch prep, no freezing unless there is a lot of tissue. Sentinel lymph nodes are not signed out immediately, they are held over for a look on permanents. So I think it is a mistake to say that virtually all mayo pathology is done with frozens and on the same day, as this is really only true for the OR cases.

And, in regards to those "rankings". Important to remember that all rankings are subjective to the biases and whims of the observer. A program may be the best for some but turn out to be the worst for others. One should never consider a program just because someone says it is the best. I applied to some programs in your top tier but ignored some others. I also applied to a few that you did not list. I always like to hear good things about programs, but not just that they are "the best." A resident who comes out of these programs is not necessarily going to be a better clinician than someone from Podunk U. It mostly depends on the individual, their motivation, and strengths.
 
Originally posted by yaah

And, in regards to those "rankings". Important to remember that all rankings are subjective to the biases and whims of the observer. A program may be the best for some but turn out to be the worst for others. One should never consider a program just because someone says it is the best. I applied to some programs in your top tier but ignored some others. I also applied to a few that you did not list. I always like to hear good things about programs, but not just that they are "the best." A resident who comes out of these programs is not necessarily going to be a better clinician than someone from Podunk U. It mostly depends on the individual, their motivation, and strengths.
Click to expand...

Amen!!

My favorite advice is always make sure the residents are happy at a program you are considering, because if they aren't you will not be either regardless of the schools "rankings".
 
now I know why iowa pays $300...it's so freakin' expensive to travel there!!!!! I'm still gonna have to pay!
 
Thanks for the references Yaah. And I agree with you and GP. It is hard to judge a program based on what other people say. Some places are well known because of the pathologists they have produced (i.e.- Wash U in STL is famous for Loren Ackerman, Juan Rosai and others). Other programs you may have never heard of and then you interview there and love it. What GP said is right, see how happy the residents are. That is probably the most important thing you can get out of your interview day. And while it certainly is nice to have a big name program on your resume, it is not necessary in order to be a great pathologist.
 
To answer my own question, I received this from UWash today:

"Hello from Seattle!
I just wanted to let you know that our program is going to be physically
moving this weekend. You can imagine the chaos of trying to keep up with
recruiting and packing all at the same time. We are trying to go through as
many ERAS applications as possible and will have a initial batch of candidates
for invite by early next week. "


G
 
I got a phone call from one of the attendings at Wash U today, saying she wanted to "personally invite" me to interview. I'm sure it's a gimmick, but I have to admit it's somewhat effective 😉 I was so-so on the program before, but now I'll definitely interview. It's hard to go through this whole process completelyobjectively. 😀
 
Email invite from Mass General today... still waiting for Michigan to download my app 😉
 
US Mail from Indiana today. Plus free hotel room.

So I am trying to figure out what Ludy's advantage over me is, as two of our common application locations are THE mgh and Wash U, two places which have yet to contact me. Is your transcript already in or something? I guess I will just have to deal with my inferiority! My board score is top shelf, so I can't base it on that. And it sounds like we have similar backgrounds with PSF. I am not AOA because UMass insists on counting our pediatrics grades plus other assorted non-academic endeavors, but does not include our board score or our shelf exams. Maybe that's it! Either that, or it's anti-state school bias!

Tongue in cheek, the above. I'll be ok.
 
I think it's just random. I heard from UPenn and Univ of Chicago 2 weeks after others on this forum did and still haven't heard from UVa although they started sending out invites a while back too. My transcript isn't in yet and neither is my last LOR, and AOA still hasn't been announced at my school. (I actually didn't do a PSF so you've got one on me there 😉 ) My best guess is that a bunch of different reviewers go through them at each place and some are faster than others. I'm sure you'll hear from them soon, and hopefully I'll hear something from UVa too!
 
I don't care if people know my board score.

257/99

Took in June, 2001. Don't know if there is grade inflation but the mean posted on my score report was about the same as I have heard of recently.

I don't know what a "minimum" good score is. That's kind of semantics I think. I just used the term top shelf because that's what one attending at my school told me it was.

And I'm not really anonymous because there are no other folks at umass in my class going into path...

Perhaps it is anti-bottom-of-the-alphabet bias.

p.s. I am already very calm!
 
The last thing I am trying to do is be competitive. I wish everyone success. I kind of think that is one of the points about these forums, to discuss things and hear about things that you otherwise would not have heard. No one is going to get an interview or be ranked highly because of anything anyone posts here. If it makes you uncomfortable to hear about other folks' successes or challenges, then perhaps you should find an alternate forum. The point of my questions was out of curiosity. I am not trying to compete with anyone who has also posted, it's kind of pointless because we all can only do what we can. If you are offended that I posted my score, I'm sorry, but I know a lot of people out there are curious to know what kinds of scores that others get. I find the whole process fascinating, and I think someday I may have to volunteer for an admissions committee myself to just see how these decisions are made. Yes, I wonder why schools grant others interviews before me. I also wonder why I get interviews at places when others don't. It is a natural curiosity to wonder why. This doesn't mean that I am whining, lording over anyone because of some sense of misbegotten superiority, or doing anything other than just asking questions. I'm not trying to sabotage anyone. It won't change what I will do on the interview circuit.

Competitiveness is a rotten virus. Openness and honesty can be misinterpreted as such very easily, unfortunately. I am lucky to go to a school where competition between students is exceedingly low. Cooperation and teamwork is emphasized. No one steals tests here or gloats when they score higher than someone else. Instead, they try to help others so that everyone can do better.

I will stop posting any information about interview requests if it really bothers more than this one person. I truly apologize if this is true. No disrespect intended. Not trying to "beat" anyone or turn anything into a contest, because in truth it's a contest that no one cares about. High scores don't make anyone a better doctor. Just what I thought was an exchange of information. It would be bad form if this forum had any real bearing whatsoever other than being what it is.

IN regards to pediatrics, I thought I tried hard! Oh well. I certainly took it seriously. Maybe I should have acted more competitive! 😉
 
Cesar,
The whole point of this thread is to post where you've received offers. It's nice to know that no one has heard from places you're waiting on, and it may help to know if a place has started to send out invites -- if you need to plan things geographically and haven't heard from that program, you could always call and ask what the status of your application is. Honestly, I'm just interested to hear how things are going for everyone, without taking it personally if others hear from a place before I do. This whole application/matching process is certainly one of the main things on my mind right now, and like yaah, I think it's interesting, if not a little bizarre.
Many of the other specialty forums have an identical thread going. If the thread bothers you, just don't read it.
 
Those of us who have been around this forum alot for the past few months know that IF ANYTHING, we are trying to help each other more than anything else.

The amount of support i've gotten from people on here proves to me that there is no cut throat competition going on.

Personally, i honestly feel happy whenever someone posts that they got an invite or if they succeeded, and if anything, that drives me to try and succeed more than it really irritates me at all.

I don't think Yaah was trying to flaunt his score by telling us the score, but if anything it clarified WHY he is getting so many kick ass offers from kick ass programs! haha. same goes for Ludy and some of the others on this forum.

keep dishing out the details....i will use them all for the future book i will write called "How The Pathology Candidates Were Struck With Lightening When All They Really Wanted Was A Glass Of Milk" by Rirriri.

CHEERS!
 
Tonkatruck...didn't you say a couple of weeks ago you got interview offers from Univ of Washington, UCLA, UCSF, UCSD, etc. Well, if the Univ of Washington sent out their first batch of interview offers today, how did you already get your offer 2 or 3 weeks ago? Just curious.
 
Ludy! Hope to meet you if you choose to interview here (and that goes for everyone else who I am sure will get there interviews soon!)

By the way, I have to *strongly* disagree with Tonka's assessment of MGH as "third tier." Makes me question your judgment, kiddo 😉 I'd be happy to answer anyone's questions about MGH. By the way "Happy Ether Day!" (No I am not kidding.)

Ri, my heart will freeze a little if you don't get an interview soon. (Did you apply to Upstate, btw?)

Good luck all! The pain will be over soon.

Mindy
 
yes Mindy, i applied to Upstate.....

if at any time you feel the desire to become an "accelerated program director"...feel free to take the position and offer me an interview...heheh

cheers!
 
i guess it's time for me to give my current list. invites include:

cleveland clinic
yale
texas-san antonio
penrose-st francis
u of minnesota
u of vermont
iowa
dartmouth
penn state
uc-san diego
george washington
indiana

i know, i now realize i applied to WAY too many places as i still haven't heard back from the majority of the places i applied to. i feel very fortunate to have received such positive feedback since i was under the impression that my application wasn't that great. i guess being an amg really does help.

ririri - i have to agree with what others have said - just hang in there and your time will come. all it takes is one program that likes you and you'll be in.

good luck to everyone as we'll soon begin interviewing (if you haven't already begun). let's make sure to post our experiences at various sites so people will know what to expect. i'll try my best to get on here more often than i have in the past.
 
Has anyone heard from Stanford?

I received an invitation to interview. They requested that I pick three possible dates for an interview. I did and have not heard back from them for one week. Plus the woman that is charge of scheduling interviews NEVER answers her phone. I called the main pathology number and they said that she is there but that I should just leave a message. I have left a couple of messages, sent a couple of emails over the last week and have not heard anything.

Any suggestions? Anyone having a similar experience?
 
For those of you who have not read it yet, I have written something regarding my interview experiences. You can access it at http://pathinfo.blogspot.com/. It contains some advice on how to handle certain things as well as a general idea of how interviews go. Hope you all find it helpful.
 
Another one..I got an email invite from University of Colorado last week.
 
Hey Everyone! I'm new to Student Doctor Network and also applying for Path residency. Has anyone heard from UCSF?

My list:
1. MGH- email
2. BWH- email
3. Emory- snail mail
4. Duke- email
5. UT-Southwestern- email
6. Vanderbilt- email
7. UT Houston- email
8. UNC Chapel Hill- snail mail
9. UCSF ???

That's it for me. It's going to cost me a fortune just to see these programs.
 
Oops, forgot Stanford! I haven't heard from them yet, either. And I'm from California! But I don't know if that makes a difference.

I heard from BWH 2 weeks ago and MGH last week, just scheduled my interviews today.
 
Well, Michigan finally decided to download applications. I can stop checking ADTS now 😉

Also got an email invite from Mayo today.
 
I will still be checking ADTS, to figure out when my transcript/deans letter is sent!

I also got the mayo. But otherwise, my trend of getting things 1 week after ludy continues because I got the mgh today. Strange-o. I continue to believe I am second tier! Still waiting on the Peter Bent Brigham.
 
Huh. Didn't know that was universal. I thought my school might have been a little sluggish. Good to know I guess that there is some coordination amongst all these schools.

BTW, right on cue, did get an interview from the brigham today. Maybe wondering out loud on forums helps land one interviews, in some sort of cosmic way. Hmm...I'll test it again - haven't heard from Michigan yet!
 
Anyone here from these programs yet:

Northwestern University Program
Georgetown University Program
Tulane University Program
University of Maryland Program
Baylor College of Medicine Program


Thanks.
 
I think there are two Northwestern programs (Chicago and Evanston) if I am not mistaken. I applied to Northwestern (chicago)and got an interview a few weeks back. Did not apply to the other 4.

BTW, I sent my application in a couple days after labor day. Sorry if I'm the only one who finds the whole "staggered" interview invites interesting. I'm actually not complaining, just curious.
 
Originally posted by yaah

Sorry if I'm the only one who finds the whole "staggered" interview invites interesting. I'm actually not complaining, just curious.
Click to expand...

i haven't heard anything from anyone in days! must be a slow week.....(for me, at least)
 
I am having a similar problem with Stanford. I sent them my 3 dates last tuesday and still haven't heard anything. I was about to start calling and then read your post. Hopefully something comes to fruition soon!
 
gdtrfb:
i'm still waiting to hear from tulane. i didn't apply to the others on your list.
(did you know that according to scutwork.com, tulane's one path spot went unfilled last year?)
 
Don't worry. They called me yesterday to tell me my first choice was available, 8 days after I responded to their interview offer. They just make sure the head of the department is able to meet with you on your chosen day. They will be calling you soon.
 
Of a given set of interview dates, when is it best to schedule an interview?

Early?

Late?

thanks for any advice
 
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