Rush was a program that surprised me in a really good way. I honestly wasn't expecting very much before my interview, but I left knowing that I would be very happy to match at Rush. It was my favorite Chicago program.
The Chair (Dr. Packo) and the PD (Dr. Cohen) were two of my favorite program leaders that I met during interview season. They both really love Rush. They prioritize ranking applicants who 1) really want to be in Chicago and 2) have good personalities and are easy to get along with. Because the program only has two residents per year it is absolutely vital that you get along well with others. The whole department is decorated in an art deco theme because Dr. Packo is a huge movie buff. The walls are covered with movie posters that are eye-themed or vision-themed and the conference room is decorated like a movie theatre (complete with a popcorn machine!). You can tell that Dr. Packo has poured himself into the department. There is essentially zero travel involved and all of your training will occur at Rush. Primary call for the first two years. Call is hit or miss in terms of business and the residents reported that they only have to actually come in to the hospital about 1/3 of the nights they are on call. Weekly AM lectures at Rush and Saturday AM lectures with the other Chicago programs. Downtown traffic sucks for many hours each day. Research is possible but not heavily emphasized. International opportunities are possible to arrange during PGY-4. 200 cataracts and 25 PPVs. 20+ faculty members who are all based in private practice. Even Dr. Packo and Dr. Cohen are only part-time faculty members at Rush. Surgery starts EARLY and you begin to schedule cataracts as primary surgeon about midway during first year. The residents seemed really authentically happy. Quite a few female residents have had babies during residency in the past few years and it seems like the department has been supportive. The attached prelim surgery year is changing to be a medicine year instead and it will be less intense than it has been previously. 4 weeks of vacation per year. Very diverse patient population.
Pros: Very good surgical volume, early surgical experience, continuity clinic all 3 years, great chair and PD, residents were extremely friendly, protected academic time EVERY wednesday afternoon (aka you are off to study, do research, play golf etc), very flexible PGY-4 schedule for fellowship interviews, lots of opportunities to teach medical students
Cons: Small program so you have to be available a lot for call, primary call for two years, not tons of research opportunities, low trauma numbers, no structured BSCS review series for boards (lectures do not follow the BSCS), no ocular oncologist, resident have to provide their own pig eyes if they want to practice operating, faculty are mostly in private practice and come to Rush to give lectures and staff clinic
