2011 Rank List Help

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Pandavirus

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Hey Everyone....The beginning of order entry is coming up fast and I am having some difficulty with how to make my rank list. Especially the programs in my 'middle ground'. I would really appreciate any insight on how you would rank these programs.

Cleveland Clinic
Rush
Case Western Metrohealth
Boston University
UMass
University of Kentucky
UT Houston
Penn State
Indiana University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Wayne State
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Last edited:
Thanks for starting this, it's never too early to get help with the rank list. I am pretty confused on my own rank list. I wish I could give you some input, but I have no experience with several of the programs you listed. Hopefully someone here will help you first before I hijack the thread for my own purpose. LOL. Good luck!
 
I am going by two things at the top:
1) where I want to be geographically
2) Where did I have a good dinner the night before. I really mean this one too, but not in terms of the food; but rather where did I have good conversation with people I could spend the next 4 years with. And where did more than one resident come out because they weren't being "hidden."

In the middle:
1) Where did I fit with the people
2) Any bonuses the program has: i.e. pyxis in each OR, new ORs, electronic anesthesia records.

At the bottom:
1) Not ranking them if they didn't fall into one of the above groups.
 
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No one can rank them for you since what one might consider a great place, another may not.

When I did my rank list here is what I based it on:

1. Location - I needed to be close to family and was the area somewhere that I would be happy living for three to four years.

2. How the residents interacted with each other and the faculty - did they seem happy or were they just going through the motions. These are the people you are going to spend a lot of time with.

3. Did the program director really care about resident education and was there constant positive change in the program.

4. Didactics

5. Facilities
 
loveumms said:
No one can rank them for you since what one might consider a great place, another may not.

When I did my rank list here is what I based it on:

1. Location - I needed to be close to family and was the area somewhere that I would be happy living for three to four years.

2. How the residents interacted with each other and the faculty - did they seem happy or were they just going through the motions. These are the people you are going to spend a lot of time with.

3. Did the program director really care about resident education and was there constant positive change in the program.

4. Didactics

5. Facilities
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for responding. I know it is a personal decision, but I would really like a fresh opinion about any of the places I listed. I welcome other view points and just really want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into when I commit my next 4 years there.
 
So how important is location for you guys in ranking? I like alot of places in locations that are okay but something in the back of my mind says rank based on location first. I mean does it really make that much of a difference whether you train at a place like Yale over a place University of Illinois. No patient really is going to say I want an ivy league trained anesthesiologist only. I don't even know how much it matters when looking for job either, I think landing a job is more about timing and luck. So what do you guys think? Should location (which indirectly is related to happiness) be more important or the reputation of the institution?
 
i'll post my list when i'm done with interviews, I just wish people in this forum would play along and rank them after we post them. I know it's a personal decision, yada yada but every other specialty forum has these threads and people play along and rank the places. They turn into fun threads
 
I would also like some advice. I'm single, so as far as location I'm not tied to a certain area or city. I can adapt to cities large or small. I felt like I got along well with the residents at all the programs I interviewed at, and I'm quite a people person, so I shouldn't have to much trouble fitting in wherever I go. So, based on reputation, job placement, and overall quality of the programs, any suggestions on how you attendings and residents would rank these?

Vanderbilt
Wash U
UVA
U Iowa
U Chicago
Mayo
UIC
MCW
U Kentucky
Loyola

Thanks!
 
iwumd07 said:
I would also like some advice. I'm single, so as far as location I'm not tied to a certain area or city. I can adapt to cities large or small. I felt like I got along well with the residents at all the programs I interviewed at, and I'm quite a people person, so I shouldn't have to much trouble fitting in wherever I go. So, based on reputation, job placement, and overall quality of the programs, any suggestions on how you attendings and residents would rank these?

Vanderbilt
Wash U
UVA
U Iowa
U Chicago
Mayo
UIC
MCW
U Kentucky
Loyola

Thanks!
Click to expand...

This is from a fellow applicant on perceived name/prestige alone:
Mayo>WashU=UChicago>Vandy>UVA=Iowa. Don't know much about the other places
 
El Dooderino said:
i'll post my list when i'm done with interviews, I just wish people in this forum would play along and rank them after we post them. I know it's a personal decision, yada yada but every other specialty forum has these threads and people play along and rank the places. They turn into fun threads
Click to expand...

You have a weird perception of fun. :laugh:

If you're not happy with the amount of ranking advice, you could always try this: assign numbers to each of the schools, put those numbers in a hat, and then draw them out of a hat to make a rank list. You could do this as many times as you want. The utility will be more or less the same.

If you prioritize input from an anonymous internet user of whom you have no idea what their experiences/preferences/motivations are, over your own impressions/those of attendings you have talked with, well, you have to live with the result.
 
It is completely asinine for any of us to give you advice, and even more insane for you to take it.
 
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El Dooderino said:
.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you said here, but let me apologize if I came across as harsh.

I respect the fact that you are trying to accumulate as much knowledge as possible. My point is that sometimes inaccurate or poor quality knowledge is worse than no knowledge.

If you're really that desperate for advice, you should probably at least be as specific as possible, e.g. "I'm a non-traditional candidate looking for a family-oriented program in the midwest with a small class size and a strong regional program."
 
I love these rank list help request: Here we go...

Mayo - great program name, chill hours, virtually Canada
WashU - they're great, just ask them and they'll tell ya
UChicago - Jordan retired, I feel sure their program stinks now
Vandy - do u want to sit in OR and listen to Country music x 4 yrs?
UVA - the Dave Mathews Band is from Charlottesville, lotta bow-ties
Iowa - Corn and you'll learn every imaginable regional nerve block for corn

Dude, rank your list on where u want to live and how you think you'd fit in after interviewing. All these programs are great.

CJ
 
Hahaha! That's awesome! And you all are right. I'm just going to go with my gut on how I felt during my time there. Intuition hasn't failed me yet on things like this. Thanks everyone! :thumbup:


CrazyJake said:
I love these rank list help request: Here we go...

Mayo - great program name, chill hours, virtually Canada
WashU - they're great, just ask them and they'll tell ya
UChicago - Jordan retired, I feel sure their program stinks now
Vandy - do u want to sit in OR and listen to Country music x 4 yrs?
UVA - the Dave Mathews Band is from Charlottesville, lotta bow-ties
Iowa - Corn and you'll learn every imaginable regional nerve block for corn

Dude, rank your list on where u want to live and how you think you'd fit in after interviewing. All these programs are great.

CJ
Click to expand...
 
Rank where you want to live, where you think you'd/your family will fit in, where u can see yourself fitting in with the residents.

If you like city life - chicago is a great city. If u want rural more country..then rank Iowa higher. If you check CMT daily for a Garth Brooks comeback - then rank Vandy. If you like horse racing then rank Kentucky higher. These are all good programs with good rep's. the others I didn't make fun of, Kentucky, MCW, IU are good too.

Goodluck,
CJ
 
for name and reputation alone...what order would you rank these? any opinions welcome. would love to hear what you think.

MCW
Penn State
Indiana
Boston U
Cleveland Clinic
Rush
Kentucky
 
Cleveland Clinic
Boston U
Penn State
MCW
Indiana
Rush
Kentucky
 
I'm curious about the non-harvard programs in boston? I searched for BU and Tufts but found mostly older stuff. Anyone have any updates or thoughts?
 
Ooh, rank these for me:

Cleveland Clinic
Emory
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest

Priorities include being happy, basic science research opportunities, fellowships in pain or pediatrics, country music, and professional football

¡Thanks! :biglove:
 
This is how I personally would rank these. Didn't interview at any of them.

Vandy (awesome critical care, great reputation)
Wake Forest (I know a girl there who absolutely loves the program)
Pitt (again, awesome critical care, awesome all around, great research, love the city of Pittsburgh. excellent football city)

(I don't know much of anything about the rest of these)
Emory
UAB
Cleveland Clinic

Good luck with your match list!

JohanS said:
Ooh, rank these for me:

Cleveland Clinic
Emory
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest

Priorities include being happy, basic science research opportunities, fellowships in pain or pediatrics, country music, and professional football

¡Thanks! :biglove:
Click to expand...
 
Pandavirus said:
for name and reputation alone...what order would you rank these? any opinions welcome. would love to hear what you think.

MCW
Penn State
Indiana
Boston U
Cleveland Clinic
Rush
Kentucky
Click to expand...

Cleveland Clinic
Kentucky
Indiana
MCW
Penn State
Boston U
Rush
 
I just don't understand this thread. Why would you want someone else who interviewed at these programs to rank them for you? You were there too right? What were YOUR impressions? It makes ZERO difference what other applicants think about the "name" of a program. The truth is that you will get great training at most programs. Pick the one where YOU want to live that YOU got good vibes from.
 
I don't understand why everyone is taking the time to post on this thread just to bust on the OP.

Does ANYONE seriously think he/she is going to copy the order someone on the internet posted?

They just asked for input and opinion. Which is why most people come to this type of forum. Although it seems many come here to belittle and b*tch.

It is very hard to get a handle on the culture of a program during your interview. It is only one day and very hard to really see multiple sides of a department, institution, or a city.

So what if someone asks for opinions of others in the field? In making such an important decision, isn't it worthwhile to have more than two eyes looking at the program?
 
Pandavirus said:
Hey Everyone....The beginning of order entry is coming up fast and I am having some difficulty with how to make my rank list. Especially the programs in my 'middle ground'. I would really appreciate any insight on how you would rank these programs.

Cleveland Clinic
Rush
Case Western Metrohealth
Boston University
UMass
University of Kentucky
UT Houston
Penn State
Indiana University
Medical College of Wisconsin
Wayne State
Click to expand...


Hey, I go to Rush for Medical school and I think Rush's anesthesia program is great. Great volume and really calm attendings from renowned institutions. The thing that really sticks out for me is we have no fellows besides pain. So you never have a fellow and you both doing a case when you are on a specialty rotation case. This I felt was a problem at places that may have volume like Rush but have fellows really messing up the case experience for the resident. Also looking at your list Chicago is the best city you interviewed at (I love Chicago, go bears!).
 
maahyd said:
Hey, I go to Rush for Medical school and I think Rush's anesthesia program is great. Great volume and really calm attendings from renowned institutions. The thing that really sticks out for me is we have no fellows besides pain. So you never have a fellow and you both doing a case when you are on a specialty rotation case. This I felt was a problem at places that may have volume like Rush but have fellows really messing up the case experience for the resident. Also looking at your list Chicago is the best city you interviewed at (I love Chicago, go bears!).
Click to expand...

From the east coast, interviewed out at Rush last month, absolutely hated it. Didn't hear anything but complaints from the residents about how the program is malignant, how they get overworked, how the attendings don't give a crap about teaching and the didactics being worthless, not to mention the SRNA school there and associated problems. Not impressed at all. There are much better programs available.
 
badgas said:
I just don't understand this thread. Why would you want someone else who interviewed at these programs to rank them for you? You were there too right? What were YOUR impressions? It makes ZERO difference what other applicants think about the "name" of a program. The truth is that you will get great training at most programs. Pick the one where YOU want to live that YOU got good vibes from.
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Agree with above. The Key word is YOU. It would make more sense to ask for input on specific programs rather than have people rank your list for you, unless "name" and perception (very subjective and not always reality) are front burner issues for you. Good luck!
 
maahyd said:
Hey, I go to Rush for Medical school and I think Rush's anesthesia program is great. Great volume and really calm attendings from renowned institutions. The thing that really sticks out for me is we have no fellows besides pain. So you never have a fellow and you both doing a case when you are on a specialty rotation case. This I felt was a problem at places that may have volume like Rush but have fellows really messing up the case experience for the resident. Also looking at your list Chicago is the best city you interviewed at (I love Chicago, go bears!).
Click to expand...

Having fellows HURTS your residency training. Who do you think is going to get the best cases, fellows or residents? I'm sure programs all claim to have enough good cases for residents and fellows, but the numbers rarely add up.
 
Cleveland Clinic: This is a pretty solid program, tons of good cases, excellent research opportunities, all the fellowships are in-house. Residents say that this is a very busy program with an anesthesiology designed internship, which is suppose to be excellent. Cleveland Clinic has a lot of financial resources, technology is nicely implemented throughout, and you will have all the anesthesiology toys to practice with. My only issue was the city of Cleveland, which is gloomy and poor. I was impressed with a current leadership at the Clinic, chair is powerful and very supportive of residents, chair of education used to be a PD at Penn State anesthesiology and brings lots of experience, chair of research is a world renowned anesthesiologist, and currently chairs the most productive anesthesiology research department in the country (Outcomes Research). If you do not mind Cleveland that much, give this program a very strong consideration.
 
Does anyone have input on UMass or Boston University? There haven't been many new posts on these programs. Would really appreciate hearing your thoughts.
 
Except ... they just gave away 2 spots of their 20 to FMGs, I thought they had 10 reserved for that purpose. Now, there's only 18 available in the match.

SukaNeNauka said:
Cleveland Clinic: This is a pretty solid program, tons of good cases, excellent research opportunities, all the fellowships are in-house. Residents say that this is a very busy program with an anesthesiology designed internship, which is suppose to be excellent. Cleveland Clinic has a lot of financial resources, technology is nicely implemented throughout, and you will have all the anesthesiology toys to practice with. My only issue was the city of Cleveland, which is gloomy and poor. I was impressed with a current leadership at the Clinic, chair is powerful and very supportive of residents, chair of education used to be a PD at Penn State anesthesiology and brings lots of experience, chair of research is a world renowned anesthesiologist, and currently chairs the most productive anesthesiology research department in the country (Outcomes Research). If you do not mind Cleveland that much, give this program a very strong consideration.
Click to expand...
 
Sparkymd said:
It is very hard to get a handle on the culture of a program during your interview. It is only one day and very hard to really see multiple sides of a department, institution, or a city.

So what if someone asks for opinions of others in the field? In making such an important decision, isn't it worthwhile to have more than two eyes looking at the program?
Click to expand...


What do you think really gives you a better impression of a program...
a) 8 hours spent at that program talking with residents, attendings, program directors, and actually seeing the facilities
OR
b) random advice from anonymous strangers, with no indication of the source of their opinions, their background, their likes/dislikes, etc.

I would argue that a thread like this does not add "more than two eyes" to a med student's perception of a program. It adds ten more voices, but they each only say three words. Can you add all those words together to make a sentence? Sure, but it won't make any f'ing sense.
 
JohanS said:
Ooh, rank these for me:

Cleveland Clinic
Emory
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest

Priorities include being happy, basic science research opportunities, fellowships in pain or pediatrics, country music, and professional football

¡Thanks! :biglove:
Click to expand...

I would go:
Vanderbilt (meets all your requirements)
Pitt (has all but great country music)
Emory (should have most of it but don't know too much about the program so could be wrong)
UAB (pediatrics anesthesia group is not academic but private practice at the peds hospital so much weaker in peds compared to top 3, no football team but other then that a good program)
Wake Forest (great pain)
Cleveland Clinic
 
maaann people are annoying. relax! and if you think it's that dumb don't waste your time posting. we're all smart enough. we made it through med school. we're not gonna base our entire decision on some stranger's advice...

rank these please :p (i love nyc but i'm torn by the prestige of some of the other programs in other cities. anyone ever lived in rochester, mn or jacksonville?)

mt sinai
nyu
st luke's
columbia
northwestern
uic
mayo-roc
mayo-jax
umiami
umaryland
 
Mayo
Columbia
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
U Miami
NYU
UIC
St. Luke's
Mayo Jax
U Maryland
 
broncorider said:
Mayo
Columbia
Northwestern
Mt Sinai
U Miami
NYU
UIC
St. Luke's
Mayo Jax
U Maryland
Click to expand...

i'm submitting my rank list as noted above right now! hehe j/k. but thanks for the response!!

i have maryland about where u put it just cause the residents were so dull on my interview day. my interviewers were great tho
 
sev1 said:
Vanderbilt (meets all your requirements)
Pitt (has all but great country music)
UAB (pediatrics anesthesia group is not academic but private practice at the peds hospital so much weaker in peds compared to top 3, no football team but other then that a good program)
Click to expand...

Vanderbilt was nice, lots of $ moving around and a really cool EMR. Pitt was not bad, but I liked it a lot better on paper. That said, they have some really happy folk, solid didactics, and great research. UAB was good, and they seem to be working on improving the peds stuff. Wake and Emory were not bad, but I didn't enjoy the locations for different reasons. CCF's program didn't click for me, though I liked Cleveland.

What do you rank on when you get three similar programs? I feel like a goofball ranking places because of musical tastes and football teams, but that ain't too far off the mark. :laugh:
 
JohanS said:
What do you rank on when you get three similar programs? I feel like a goofball ranking places because of musical tastes and football teams, but that ain't too far off the mark. :laugh:
Click to expand...

There's something to be said for ranking based on football presence. The "local" NFL team is in the other conference, so I'm much more likely to see my team on Sundays. Though that didn't work out very well this season, did it Jerry Jones!
 
sockker8 said:
maaann people are annoying. relax! and if you think it's that dumb don't waste your time posting. we're all smart enough. we made it through med school. we're not gonna base our entire decision on some stranger's advice...

rank these please :p (i love nyc but i'm torn by the prestige of some of the other programs in other cities. anyone ever lived in rochester, mn or jacksonville?)

mt sinai
nyu
st luke's
columbia
northwestern
uic
mayo-roc
mayo-jax
umiami
umaryland
Click to expand...

Disclaimer: I can think of 49 states in which I would rather live than Florida

NYU
Columbia
Mt. Sinai
St. Luke's
Northwestern
Mayo-Roc
UIC
Maryland
Mayo-Jax
Miami
 
Trajan said:
Disclaimer: I can think of 49 states in which I would rather live than Florida
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Glad to know I'm not the only one

SukaNeNauka said:
My only issue was the city of Cleveland, which is gloomy and poor...If you do not mind Cleveland that much, give this program a very strong consideration.
Click to expand...

I'm really tired of people carping about Cleveland. I grew up there, and though there are other programs I'd rank ahead just because of the strength of the program I'm interested in (critical care), I would go to Cleveland Clinic in a heartbeat. It's a great place to train, and the city offers a lot culturally. Yes, it is a rust belt economy, but if you're choosing where to train based on financial strength in this market, you're going to be sorely disappointed anywhere in the country (California seems so competitive, but I don't call that state the model of fiscal health - I personally would take Cleveland 10x over Cali, it's way cheaper and my tax rate would be way lower).

JohanS said:
Vanderbilt was nice, lots of $ moving around and a really cool EMR. Pitt was not bad, but I liked it a lot better on paper. That said, they have some really happy folk, solid didactics, and great research. UAB was good, and they seem to be working on improving the peds stuff. Wake and Emory were not bad, but I didn't enjoy the locations for different reasons. CCF's program didn't click for me, though I liked Cleveland.
Click to expand...

thanks for that last line, us Clevelanders don't get that too often from the outside :)
 
sunset823 said:
I'm really tired of people carping about Cleveland.
Click to expand...

Having a winning sports franchise might help. You have three franchises, none of which have held a title since 1964. Longest drought of any three-sport city in the country.

You really should give Florida another look, particularly Miami. South Beach has a history of taking talented Clevelanders. They even have a hotel catering expressly to you...

fullscreen-capture-562009-110435-pmbmp.jpg
 
Tuohy said:
Sorry-I couldn't resist-haha-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY
Click to expand...

yeah, yeah, I've seen this video about 5 million times, but what they don't show you is this:

ClevelandSkyline.jpg


Bertelman said:
Having a winning sports franchise might help. You have three franchises, none of which have held a title since 1964. Longest drought of any three-sport city in the country.

You really should give Florida another look, particularly Miami. South Beach has a history of taking talented Clevelanders. They even have a hotel catering expressly to you...[/IMG]
Click to expand...

Unlike most of my friends, I never joined the cult of LeBron, but yeah, that's still not funny.
 
JohanS said:
Vanderbilt was nice, lots of $ moving around and a really cool EMR. Pitt was not bad, but I liked it a lot better on paper. That said, they have some really happy folk, solid didactics, and great research. UAB was good, and they seem to be working on improving the peds stuff. Wake and Emory were not bad, but I didn't enjoy the locations for different reasons. CCF's program didn't click for me, though I liked Cleveland.

What do you rank on when you get three similar programs? I feel like a goofball ranking places because of musical tastes and football teams, but that ain't too far off the mark. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Then it is a good thing for you as you really don't care which one you get into and just go with your overall feeling.
Vandy has a fantastic EMR. I think it was fantastic. Um Titans seem to be a bit of a mess.

Pitt is nice city IMO and well at least Steelers are going to be super bowl contenders for the short while it appears.

UAB does have decent peds but the other two are clearly much stronger with Pitt even stronger then Vandy.

For me it was sporting teams and golf if all other things seemed close.
 
sunset823 said:
Unlike most of my friends, I never joined the cult of LeBron, but yeah, that's still not funny.
Click to expand...

It may not be funny to you, but when you bagged on Florida, you basically tossed me a softball in the middle of the plate. I'm not gonna let that one go by.
 
nolagas said:
Having fellows HURTS your residency training. Who do you think is going to get the best cases, fellows or residents? I'm sure programs all claim to have enough good cases for residents and fellows, but the numbers rarely add up.
Click to expand...

I did a rotation at another place with fellows it was annoying because the resident, fellow, attending, and me the medical student were doing the case. I didn't like it because you aren't given that independence to do things on your own. For me residency is supposed to be tough. I want to see the craziest things and have total independence at handling them. Why? first, If things do go wrong my attending is there to cover me and he/she is ultimately responsible. Second, If I have a grueling residency then when I start my job it will be like alot easier transition and possible even easier than residency which makes me a happy attending. I would rather be an unhappy resident for 3 years than an unhappy attending.

With that said my favorite places are Rush, Northwestern, Iowa, and MCW of the midwest.
 
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