Ideas on good competitive Med-Peds Programs?

yobabydoc · Oct 9, 2005

Does anyone know what the really good med-peds programs are out there other than UNC that I hear a lot about?

RuralMedicine · Oct 11, 2005

yobabydoc said:
Does anyone know what the really good med-peds programs are out there other than UNC that I hear a lot about?

Programs that impressed me:
(In Alphabetical Order)
-Albany Medical Center
-Baylor University
-Indiana University
-Maine Medical Center
-Marshfield Clinic
-University of Michigan
-University of Rochester

I ranked them all and matched at my first choice but I really think that any of these programs would have worked for me. In looking over my list I realize it's perhaps a bit eclectic but I can still remember what drew me to each program. I think the challenge is finding out what your "must-haves" in residency are and not compromising on those issues but also recognizing that the perfect residency program probably does not exist and all programs (just like all residents) have strengths and weaknesses. Good Luck!
Go Med-Peds!

Lioness78 · Oct 11, 2005

RuralMedicine said:
Programs that impressed me:
(In Alphabetical Order)
-Albany Medical Center
-Baylor University
-Indiana University
-Maine Medical Center
-Marshfield Clinic
-University of Michigan
-University of Rochester

I ranked them all and matched at my first choice but I really think that any of these programs would have worked for me. In looking over my list I realize it's perhaps a bit eclectic but I can still remember what drew me to each program. I think the challenge is finding out what your "must-haves" in residency are and not compromising on those issues but also recognizing that the perfect residency program probably does not exist and all programs (just like all residents) have strengths and weaknesses. Good Luck!
Go Med-Peds!

What Drew you to the programs?

RuralMedicine · Oct 11, 2005

Lioness78 said:
What Drew you to the programs?

Things I looked for:
-Hospitals that at least drew from a rural cachement/ referral base. I did Med-Peds so I could work in a rural area and wanted to have that experience. Having this doesn't require training in a rural or community program. I ended up training at an academic medical center in a large urban city.
-An established (and respected) Med-Peds presence at the institution
-Program Directors (ideally the Med-Peds progam has it's own program director) that are excellent clinicians, resident advocates, and have vision (that I agreed with) of where the program/ institution are going in the next 5-10 years.
-Strong Medicine AND Pediatrics training
-Strong EM/ Critical Care training (I like it and it's very important to what I do now)
-Resident Cohesivity (Do your colleagues have your backs? Would you want to have theirs?)

There were other things that impressed me about individual programs but if I had to summarize the group, all of the above apply to most of my listed programs. There were a few exceptions which influenced how I ranked them (but not deviant enough that I didn't rank them). Other programs I interviewed at had less of these criteria and did not get ranked.

Lioness78 · Oct 11, 2005

RuralMedicine said:
thanks... How long did it take you to get an interview? By the way what program did you go to? Are they as picky in MedPeds as it seem?
What are some recommandations for interviewing?

RuralMedicine · Oct 11, 2005

Lioness78 said:
RuralMedicine said:

thanks... How long did it take you to get an interview? By the way what program did you go to? Are they as picky in MedPeds as it seem?
What are some recommandations for interviewing?

Click to expand...

I intentionally scheduled all my interviews in December and January as those were the only months that were interviewing options for me. I think I got some interview invites in maybe late September early October but I honestly can't remember. Most places kick off the interview season in November and are winding down in late January. I was still getting some invites by phone and mail (I did get some emails). I suspect the process is even more streamlined these days which should help.

As far as interviewing as cliche as it sounds first and foremost be yourself and be honest (especially with yourself). I think it was helpful for me to figure out what my "must-haves" were very early on in the process and it made it much easier for me to then determine whether or not a particular program was a good fit for me. If you have the opportunity to spend an extra day and round with a ward team this can sometimes give you a better sense of the program and you may see how the residents really pull together when the chips are down.

I'm not sure what you mean by "picky". I think that Med-Peds is more competitive than other primary care disciplines however, I also think that strong applicants will match. I may be slightly biased because our program has filled for at least the past 6 years (probably before that as well but I never looked that far back). Honestly when we evaluate canidates we are most encouraged to comment on how we think they will fit into our program. Programs want to take students that will be competent and reasonably (ok when not post call) happy residents. Picking the right program to you goes along way towards being happy and competent I think. Good Luck!

yobabydoc · Oct 24, 2005

RuralMedicine said:
Lioness78 said:

I intentionally scheduled all my interviews in December and January as those were the only months that were interviewing options for me. I think I got some interview invites in maybe late September early October but I honestly can't remember. Most places kick off the interview season in November and are winding down in late January. I was still getting some invites by phone and mail (I did get some emails). I suspect the process is even more streamlined these days which should help.

As far as interviewing as cliche as it sounds first and foremost be yourself and be honest (especially with yourself). I think it was helpful for me to figure out what my "must-haves" were very early on in the process and it made it much easier for me to then determine whether or not a particular program was a good fit for me. If you have the opportunity to spend an extra day and round with a ward team this can sometimes give you a better sense of the program and you may see how the residents really pull together when the chips are down.

I'm not sure what you mean by "picky". I think that Med-Peds is more competitive than other primary care disciplines however, I also think that strong applicants will match. I may be slightly biased because our program has filled for at least the past 6 years (probably before that as well but I never looked that far back). Honestly when we evaluate canidates we are most encouraged to comment on how we think they will fit into our program. Programs want to take students that will be competent and reasonably (ok when not post call) happy residents. Picking the right program to you goes along way towards being happy and competent I think. Good Luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Sometimes you wonder if you are applying to the right program, if there was a program that you didn't apply to that you should. How many interviews would you recommend an applicant go on? Sometimes I wonder if I should just have applied to peds but I wanted the continuity of care...????

megacolon · Oct 25, 2005

Thanks for the info! That was really helpful. I think discovering the must-haves is a difficult process, because so many things are important to me, it's hard to prioritize. Overall, I think it has a lot to do with where I want to live, and I think that's the hardest thing to evaluate when you go visit and you're in the hospital all day interviewing. Do you have any advice on evaluating the towns when you visit? What kinds of questions did you ask PDs during your interviews? I'm still not sure what to ask. Glad you are happy whereever you ended up!

The Med-Peds Dude · Oct 27, 2005

yobabydoc said:
RuralMedicine said:

Thanks for the info. Sometimes you wonder if you are applying to the right program, if there was a program that you didn't apply to that you should. How many interviews would you recommend an applicant go on? Sometimes I wonder if I should just have applied to peds but I wanted the continuity of care...????

Click to expand...

Once you've settled on geography, the most important question to answer is, "can I be happy here for four years?". If you feel uncomfortable with the people/place, trust your instincts. You'll be board eligible after completion of any approved program, so "fit" really is an important issue. Post residency, almost no one will care where you trained, but will care about what you know and how you practice. If you intend to pursue fellowship, there is some advantage in training in a prominent university setting, but for fellowship it's more important to 1) do very well (be superior), and 2) get support from people who are known. I'm at a community, university affiliated program, and we do well in fellowship placement because many of our staff are known in their specialty and/or know the right people.

Also, re competitiveness - many programs, very good ones, go unfilled in the match. Most Med-Peds applicants interview around 10 programs. There are not enough USMG's applying to fill every position, so a very average US applicant should be able to get into a program they like.

Ideas on good competitive Med-Peds Programs?

yobabydoc

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RuralMedicine

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Lioness78

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RuralMedicine

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Lioness78

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RuralMedicine

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yobabydoc

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megacolon

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The Med-Peds Dude

Nearly retired former Med-Peds Program Director

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