UC-Irvine and Cedars-Sinai LA

alcmd said:

Has anyone interviewed at these places or know much about them (there's not anything available on Scutwork.) They're in a pretty appealing part of the country- was curious if anyone has the scoop.

Thanks

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I'd like to hear about these programs as well. I'm targeting So Cal and thus have scheduled interviews here. I grew up near Irvine so I can confirm that the location is pretty good. As for the programs though, I hope someone provides some insight.

Thanks!

hey, i interviewed at cedars. i heard irvine wasn't too strong of a program so i declined. cedars was nice. i was impressed. they have subspecialty signout in 2-week blocks. they say that the 2 week blocks allow for enough repitition throughout residency so that the material will stick. their cp is also very strong- on of the best in the country they say. in particular, they have a strong transfusion medicine program, if you're interested in that. i got the feeling that the residents were happy. not overworked, pretty relaxed. they say they're usually out by six in surg path. also, they're affiliated with ucla, so it's fairly easy to go and do rotations there, in case you're interested in one of the ucla fellowships. it's on the border of west hollywood and beverly hills- so a lot of celebrities come and get care there. also they get $1100 travel money after the first year- plus $300 if you present. they also get meals and FREE PARKING!!! overall i liked it.

I did a 4 week surg path rotation at UCI and just interviewed there. Multiple interviewers actually noted that they were not in the same class as other places I will interview (BWH, JHU, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UW). So, if you are going for reputation, you would probably be better served by going somewhere else.

That being said, I really liked my rotation there and I think it would be a very good residency program. Interviewers noted that reputation does not always agree with results, and I agree. Teaching is emphasized there a lot more than other programs I have seen/heard about. Interviewers spent a lot of time talking about improvements the program will be making and I believed most of them. They also intend to be adding a variety of fellowships, which has been a weak area there. Number of specimens is pretty low, but having the Zhao Cancer Center means a lot of specimens are pretty good. I also like the experience of rotating through 3 very different hospitals--UCIMC, Long Beach VA, LBMMC (community experience). Some people find this to be a hassle.

Residents are cool, fun to work with although by spending four weeks there I could identify one or two problem personalities.

Interview itself was pretty low key and I imagine they are aware of their reputation and will spend a lot of time selling themselves to any decent candidate.

ddx - interesting that you heard that about UCI. On my interviews/rotations so far, attendings/residents have badmouthed Cedars-Sinai saying that "you will just cut meat" the whole time you are there. I don't know how accurately any of them know the real situation, however. I dropped my interview there based on the fact that I am looking for a more academic program, not because of those comments. But I think I heard more comments about Cedars-Sinai than UCI whilst talking to residents/attendings over the last couple of months. Always take everything with a grain of salt, I guess.

hmmm... thanks for the insight. actaully, i have the same problem with cedars- not academic enough. i'm sure there are other problems as well. it's hard to get the low down on a program without insulting anyone! yup- grain of salt.

Where is LADoc when we need him?

He should have some comments about these programs.

Julian and ddx, thanks for the insight.

Hi,

I wanted to respond about the Cedars program. I am currently a first year resident at Cedars. I have'nt posted on the website since last year.

In short, Cedars is a great program and will provide you with the resources to become an intelligent, careful, modern pathologist well versed in the latest diagnostic techniques. The program made some major changes 3-5 years ago. There were problems then with resident workload and not enough teaching. The program has since made major changes. One resident left Cedars and went to Irvine and generated some truly bad information about the program.

3 years ago new program directors came onboard and redesigned the program. This program now has exceptional educational and academic features. The specimens at Cedars are truly excellent including transplant pathology and a significant volume of HIV pathology. The cutting schedule here is subspecialty with 2 week rotations through GYN, GI, Breast, Genitourinary/Endocrine/Cardiac, Lung/Liver, and Miscellaneous (General).
The faculty is excellent with a good rapport with the residents. Everyone is approachable/accesible and wants to see you succeed. The academic opportunities are plentiful within the department and in a collaberative manner.

Last, this program invests in the residents with their time and resources. One feature worth mentioning is the travel/educational fund. Starting in the 2nd year you will receive conference money regardless if you publish or not. If you publish or present then you will receive additional dollars. The important point is that very early in your career you will be attending meetings/conferences. You will be doing this the rest of your career so in my mind, it is a bonus to begin attending right out of the gate. The program is attracting great people and the resident group overall is exceptional.

There are many good programs out there, but I know that Cedars stands toe to toe with those programs. I hope this clarifies some of the previous info that has been posted and feel free ask any additional questions you may have.

Thank you for the inside scoop on Cedars! I will be interviewing there shortly and am looking forward to seeing it for myself. On the interview trail I have heard repeated criticisms of the southern CA programs (i.e. "Don't even bother interviewing there. Besides UCLA, there's nothing worth seeing.") 🙄 This coming from faculty interviewers! In general, I'm really fed up with the not-so-diplomatic criticisms of other places. One interviewer even had the gall to criticize my home program (which I happen to really like) in a fairly blunt and derrogatory manner. 😡

Anyhow, thanks!

Well, I'm back from my Cedars interview and I must say that I was quite impressed. It's the largest of the UCLA hospitals, with good volume and variety, not to mention gorgeous facilities. The faculty and residents are fantastic - fun and friendly, and impressively intelligent. They all seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves and having fun together. The new (as of a few yrs ago) residency director apparently formed a committee of residents to re-design the curriculum and now it seems to be a very strong program. Having heard that it's not too academic, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a majority of the residents are involved in some type of research, mostly clinically oriented. Of course, it's probably not academic to the degree of the big research powerhouses. But the climate definitely seemed to be one of intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm, which I really liked. I'm all about the "vibe" and this one was definitely good.