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Cougarblue

Cougarblue

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Hi all, we are constantly hearing about the big wig programs like CHOP and Boston Children's, but I am interested in the hidden gems. Due to the cost of living, my wife and I are planning to avoid the big northeastern cities, Chicago, and California like the plague. I am interested in programs which have a strong fellowship placement record. I would be curious about any programs in cities which have a reasonable cost of living. I admit, I would love to finally have a yard for my two boys to run around. I have heard positive things about the University of Rochester, Indiana, Alabama, and the University of Utah. Feel free to plug any programs with which you are familiar, and please add what you think makes them outstanding. Any input would be excellent. Thanks. Here is to hoping that my Cougs don't suffer through yet another losing football season. Curse BC. Anyway, have a good one.
 
Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Medium sized program where residents are happy. Many fellowship programs. Supposedly very advances in terms of technology.

Indiana University. Large program with 3 major facilities through which residents rotate. I believe the only major pediatrics program in the state, so they get a ton of interesting cases transferred in.

St. Louis University/Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Medium sized program with newer facilities (just built an addition and working on another). Only a few fellowship programs, so residents run the show for the subspecialty services like heme-onc, cards, renal, etc. Residents are very happy.

Columbus Children's (Ohio State Univ.) Tons of research. Great place for subspecialty training.

Others that I have heard great things about but do not know much about.

Ann Arbor Michigan (U MIch)
Wayne State (Detroit)
Children's Mercy- Kansas City
Louisville (Kentucky)
Vanderbilt (Memphis, TN)
Rainbow Babies (Cleveland)
 
Thanks, scholes, the info. is much appreciated.
 
Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH has a small but very strong program with very happy residents. The residents at Rainbow and the Cleveland Clinic are overworked and by and large unhappy.
Emory University is another good program. Residents are fairly happy.
 
Don't forget Brown in Providence, RI!
 
Just for the record, Vanderbilt is in Nashville, not Memphis.
 
BPD said:
Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH has a small but very strong program with very happy residents. The residents at Rainbow and the Cleveland Clinic are overworked and by and large unhappy.
Emory University is another good program. Residents are fairly happy.
Click to expand...

Having gone to school in Cleveland and spent a fair amount of time at Rainbow, I have to disagree with the above post. I don't know much about CCF, but I really liked Rainbow and thought the residents seemed pretty happy. Most of the attendings enjoy teaching (and are good at it), the seniors are patient and good teachers, and it is an overall enjoyable place. Lots of exposure to subspecialty cases (like most children's hospitals) mixed with general peds stuff, too. Great NICU and PICU. Had my husband and I not wanted to move to where we are now, I would have loved to stay there for residency (very affordable).

As for MetroHealth, it's a very different environment (I did my third year clerkship there). Only about 8 residents per year (plus 6 med-peds residents), one floor, great staff (child life, peds radiologists, peds surgeons), 10-bed PICU, lots of rotators (EM, FP). The teams are all general peds, with consults called for subspecialty care (renal, GI, etc). When I left, they were having attendings from Rainbow and CCF round at Metro for some specialties for which they didn't have attendings currently on staff (ie, Renal, GI, cardio). And no heme-onc. Not that Metro is bad, just different.

And based on my interviews, I second the above about Columbus, Indy, Wash U and Vanderbilt -- loved all the programs, just wasn't crazy about the cities (for personal reasons).
 
Anybody have any East Coast program suggestions?
 
Baylor, if you're willing to consider Texas.

Cost of living is great, you can have a house and yard for the kids!
 
labangel said:
Anybody have any East Coast program suggestions?
Click to expand...

labangel and Cougarblue, if you're looking for something on the East Coast, take a look at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC. I'm at intern this year in this program and also did med school down here. The program is mid-sized, 12 peds residents and 2 med-peds per year, and there's a good variety of where our residents have come from...in fact, there are more interns this year from Ohio (3) than South Carolina (2), so it's definitely not a program filled with only people from the Southeast. Although we only have a few fellowship programs (cards, neonatology, gen peds, heme-onc), we have a pretty good rate of placing people in fellowships, 8 out of the 12 peds residents last year went onto fellowship. Plus, with few fellows around, it's really easy to get to know the attendings. I've been in the ER all this month and every attending has told me to call them by their first name, not Dr. so-and-so, it's a nice environment. About cost of living: places to live right near the hospital (i.e. within walking distance) are pretty pricey, but you can get a house with a nice-sized yard that is 10-15 minutes away by car. The city is awesome, it's right on the coast, so the beach is always nearby (makes for a nice post-call activity). Also, there's lots of opportunities for outdoor activities around here, a surprising amount of great restaurants, and a world-famous arts festival called Spoleto that comes every May. PM me if you want more info on what a typical day is like, how our call works, all of that stuff you'd ask on your interview, etc. One last thing....just ignore Hurricane Ophelia spinning off the coast of the Carolinas right now, it's not coming here. 🙂
 
I'll place my usual plug for Rochester-a great program that is often overlooked. Strong academics, very supportive environment, a popular community advocacy program for residents, but it also places about 50% of residents each year in fellowships. It has fellows in most subspecialties, but the faculty are very accessible. The patient population draws from a very large catchment area so there's a good mix of "zebras" and bread and butter cases. There are 15 residents per year, plus 8 med/peds residents per year, who rotate with us. NY has had work hours regulations for >10 years now, so the program actually manages to comply most of the time, and people work very hard to get you out post call and in the afternoon.

Rochester itself is a great place for families-excellent schools (4 or 5 were in the Newsweek top schools issue), reasonable housing prices; you can live in the country and have a 1/2 hour commute, or you can live in a cute 3 bedroom house with a yard that is a 2 minute walk from the hospital. There are nearby lakes and a few smallish ski areas, and lots of cultural offerings (the Eastman school of music is here). And, we have Wegmans.

If you have any questions-please PM me!
 
Dartmouth has a small but terrific peds program - residents are very happy, attendings are amazing, program is incredibly dedicated to resident education. Great (and affordable!) lifestyle with lots of outdoor activities if you don't mind cold weather.
 
children's in denver is great. the city is not that expensive and they are building a brand new hospital - allthough the old one is fine.
 
I would not forget about the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota or Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin.
 
This is actually more a question on Rainbow Babies than anything else...

I heard that a few years ago, the powers that be in the residency program there were not paying as much attention to keeping the residents as happy as they should have, and it showed in the match...they got hammered, and ended up having to scramble to fill about half their spots.

Does anybody know:
1) What year this happened (namely, if the scramble group will be PGY-3's next year)?
2) Do people smile there now?

Thanks for the info...
-Ralph

-------------
"You look like my mommy after a box of wine!!"
 
earmuffs said:
This is actually more a question on Rainbow Babies than anything else...

I heard that a few years ago, the powers that be in the residency program there were not paying as much attention to keeping the residents as happy as they should have, and it showed in the match...they got hammered, and ended up having to scramble to fill about half their spots.

Does anybody know:
1) What year this happened (namely, if the scramble group will be PGY-3's next year)?
2) Do people smile there now?

Thanks for the info...
-Ralph

-------------
"You look like my mommy after a box of wine!!"
Click to expand...

1. The scramble happened with the class that finished in 2005 (still a great group of residents).
2. Yes, the residents smile now. The administration really responded to the poor outcome in the Match -- more resident benefits, lunch at all noon conferences, phlebotomy/IV teams, etc. Plus, there is now a new PD and asst. PD.
 
bump...thought this was a useful thread...anyone able to add to it now that people have been through interviews, ranking, and matching?
 
i'd 2nd dartmouth..i also like st. chris. Other programs that i've heard are quite nice are Mayo, u maryland, and rochester.

Z
 
I had interview in Hershey. I liked it a lot. Great location in small town, only fields and forrests around but Phil, NYC and Washington are not far away. Residensts seemed happy. As i remember they have only hem and neonatology fellowships. If not for family reasons that would be my first choice.
 
what about University of Illinois at Chicago? how is their Pediatric residency Program and fellowship placement? any input?
 
i second Baylor. it's a large program with a great fellowship record. houston may be a big city, but the cost of living is lower than that of california or east coast. though the medical center area may be too expensive to buy a house, many married medical students and residents live in pearland, an area that is close to the medical center with a reasonable cost for houses.
 
The University of Arkansas program is a good one. It's the 6th biggest Children's hospital in the country, but the city isn't that big. The cost of living is very low. I'm a student and own a house with a great yard.
 
Anyone know anything about peds in San Antonio????

Thanks!!!🙂
 
San Antonio is my home program. There are alot of really good things: generous call schedule as they go, excellent PD and Chair, free meals at Santa Rosa hospital. Much larger indigent population than anywhere in the NE which makes for excellent and interesting case load and quickly learned medical Spanish. About 1/2 and 1/2 subspecialize/private practice. Computerized records. Bad things= commute (easy and little traffic) between two hospitals- one for NICU, some inpt, the other for everything else. Also no heme-onc fellowship here- but plan on one in a few years. Great NICU and ICU fellows. Residents in the first and second year class are pretty tight- third year class not as much. Hope that helps!
 
Thanks for the great info on SA! I'm interested in neo right now, so San Antonio definitely sounds like a good possibility for the future.
 
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