So, our fates are sealed now. Everyone happy with their ROL? 
[Rank Order List]
- Thread starter in1Q84
- Start date
1. NYU - County + Academic. Patient population was major determining factor. Great didactics. I guess only drawbacks would include the extra year (only 4 year program on my list) and the poor ancillary staff at Bellevue. But, training here would be worth the extra work.
2. Emory - Again County + Academic. And, again liked the patient population at Grady - uninsured, underserved. Also, great didactics. Location was also a plus. It's a superb program overall. But, it's not the sort of program that is right for everybody. Some people would be very miserable here. Residents in general are outgoing and enthusiastic. I would recommend rotating or doing a second look before deciding.
3. UNC - Loved the program director and the residents. Community + Academic. Was not as thrilled about living in NC. This program is really well-rounded. Almost anyone would be happy here.
4. NYHQ/Cornell - Community. Very diverse, immigrant population (which is a plus for me). Great schedule and benefits (includes subsidized housing). Dr. Ryan is very friendly and active in resident education. A great group of fun residents. Would be very happy to match here. I guess it ended up not being in top 3 just because it isn't as academic as the ones above.
5. North Shore - Was really impressed with North Shore. Community hospital and population but an academic program. The best benefits ever (really high salary + great housing). I liked the critical care emphasis. Lots of high acuity stuff in the ED. So many fellowships available. The residents are super-friendly, laid-back. This one moved up and down my list alot. But, at the end, what didn't really do it for me is the patient population. Though most people would enjoy working with patients who are neatly dressed and have insurance, not exactly my cup of tea. (Just personal preference.) Like UNC, well-rounded program that almost anyone would be very happy with.
6. Thomas Jefferson - Overall, I liked this program and would be happy if I matched here. New global health fellowship with public health focus is a major plus. They also have a whole building dedicated to simulation, special course on intubation, and other unique opportunities that makes the program stand out from others. I was also impressed that some of the residents volunteered at local, nonprofit clinics (more impressed that they didn't think it was a big deal). Moreover, pretty diverse and some underserved patient population across its many sites (which is a plus for me). BUT, the drawback to this program is having too many sites. Though I prefer more than one site in general, having multiple sites gives diminishing returns after a certain number (I would say 3). Not only that, these many sites are not all that close to one another (one was in Delaware). I think the residents only have to go to Delaware like one month out of the year or less. But, still...
7. Metropolitan/NYMC- New PD at this program is very energetic, enthusiastic. I get the feeling he is the sort of person who would really advocate for his residents and try to get them far as he can. Considering how small the program is (8 per class), many (at least from this year's graduating class) seem to go onto do fellowships - impressive ones at that too. (This was a plus for me... not necessary a plus for everyone.) That said, the interview day in itself seemed very disorganized, which made me concerned. The Metropolitan ED needs to be bigger and better-equipped. Housing is cheap and available but dorm-style. And, again, number of sites is so that cost outweighs the benefits (at least for me).
Did not rank one program that I interviewed at. PM me if you have questions about the above programs.
2. Emory - Again County + Academic. And, again liked the patient population at Grady - uninsured, underserved. Also, great didactics. Location was also a plus. It's a superb program overall. But, it's not the sort of program that is right for everybody. Some people would be very miserable here. Residents in general are outgoing and enthusiastic. I would recommend rotating or doing a second look before deciding.
3. UNC - Loved the program director and the residents. Community + Academic. Was not as thrilled about living in NC. This program is really well-rounded. Almost anyone would be happy here.
4. NYHQ/Cornell - Community. Very diverse, immigrant population (which is a plus for me). Great schedule and benefits (includes subsidized housing). Dr. Ryan is very friendly and active in resident education. A great group of fun residents. Would be very happy to match here. I guess it ended up not being in top 3 just because it isn't as academic as the ones above.
5. North Shore - Was really impressed with North Shore. Community hospital and population but an academic program. The best benefits ever (really high salary + great housing). I liked the critical care emphasis. Lots of high acuity stuff in the ED. So many fellowships available. The residents are super-friendly, laid-back. This one moved up and down my list alot. But, at the end, what didn't really do it for me is the patient population. Though most people would enjoy working with patients who are neatly dressed and have insurance, not exactly my cup of tea. (Just personal preference.) Like UNC, well-rounded program that almost anyone would be very happy with.
6. Thomas Jefferson - Overall, I liked this program and would be happy if I matched here. New global health fellowship with public health focus is a major plus. They also have a whole building dedicated to simulation, special course on intubation, and other unique opportunities that makes the program stand out from others. I was also impressed that some of the residents volunteered at local, nonprofit clinics (more impressed that they didn't think it was a big deal). Moreover, pretty diverse and some underserved patient population across its many sites (which is a plus for me). BUT, the drawback to this program is having too many sites. Though I prefer more than one site in general, having multiple sites gives diminishing returns after a certain number (I would say 3). Not only that, these many sites are not all that close to one another (one was in Delaware). I think the residents only have to go to Delaware like one month out of the year or less. But, still...
7. Metropolitan/NYMC- New PD at this program is very energetic, enthusiastic. I get the feeling he is the sort of person who would really advocate for his residents and try to get them far as he can. Considering how small the program is (8 per class), many (at least from this year's graduating class) seem to go onto do fellowships - impressive ones at that too. (This was a plus for me... not necessary a plus for everyone.) That said, the interview day in itself seemed very disorganized, which made me concerned. The Metropolitan ED needs to be bigger and better-equipped. Housing is cheap and available but dorm-style. And, again, number of sites is so that cost outweighs the benefits (at least for me).
Did not rank one program that I interviewed at. PM me if you have questions about the above programs.
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Good luck everyone!
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Remember to participate in the SDN EM survey. If you're new and you don't know much about it, follow the links in my signature to get an idea of past years' surveys.
Also: docB and I are willing to post your residency reviews. Send them to us in a PM and we'll anonymize them before we post it.
Also: docB and I are willing to post your residency reviews. Send them to us in a PM and we'll anonymize them before we post it.
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How many do you have so far? Also did you get my pm I sent a bit ago?
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If you're referring to the survey, I have 30-35 now, but I'd like that number to be north of 50.
If you're talking about reviews, I didn't get your's.
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Wanted bigger programs with strong academics and county hospital experience. Location definitely became very important by the end!
1. Denver
++ awesome clinical experience, academics, location and wilderness.
+ research
+/- very busy
- less elective time and international stuff given it's a four-year program
- some intense faculty - one of my worst interviews
2. USC
++ people, patients, pathology
++ did a month here, and loved it
+ awesome didactics
+/- awesome weather, LA not so much
- long shifts
3. UCSD
++ location, people - one of my favorite interview days
++ the ED is king of the hospital
+ busy, with good flight experience
+ research
- less super sick patients and trauma (maybe?)
4. OHSU
++ location
+ people, academics
- portland is too healthy and safe! so less path and trauma
5. Cook
++ awesome program and ppl, lots of path and trauma
+ chicago
- weather
- separate trauma from the ED
6. NYU
7. Loma Linda
8. LSU-NO
9. Utah
10. Jax
11. AE-Beth Israel
12. UIC - Chicago
13. Cincinnati
14. Las Vegas
15. DRH - Detroit
would really be happy with any of those...
1. Denver
++ awesome clinical experience, academics, location and wilderness.
+ research
+/- very busy
- less elective time and international stuff given it's a four-year program
- some intense faculty - one of my worst interviews
2. USC
++ people, patients, pathology
++ did a month here, and loved it
+ awesome didactics
+/- awesome weather, LA not so much
- long shifts
3. UCSD
++ location, people - one of my favorite interview days
++ the ED is king of the hospital
+ busy, with good flight experience
+ research
- less super sick patients and trauma (maybe?)
4. OHSU
++ location
+ people, academics
- portland is too healthy and safe! so less path and trauma
5. Cook
++ awesome program and ppl, lots of path and trauma
+ chicago
- weather
- separate trauma from the ED
6. NYU
7. Loma Linda
8. LSU-NO
9. Utah
10. Jax
11. AE-Beth Israel
12. UIC - Chicago
13. Cincinnati
14. Las Vegas
15. DRH - Detroit
would really be happy with any of those...
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will update the rest later...
1. Harbor-UCLA
+sickest/highest acuity of patients especially now that MLK has closed, getting new ED in 2013, 3 years (just for my year, but wouldn't change even if 4), ridiculously nice people (both residents and faculty) who are incredibly well respected in field, peds ED (usc residents used to rotate here for peds), great autonomy but not too much, procedures, procedures, lots of trauma (saw 6-911 gurneys lined up one friday night), R1-R3 participates in all codes (vs USC), great relationship with surgery/medicine, +research opportunities, +location near beach!, 3 meals a day free, Wheelos!, spanish speaking population, amazing job prospects afterwards in both academics and community, cameraderie fellow residents both ED and other services
-going to 4 years, LA traffic, parking is aweful, not a ton a support for international work, cost of living (sunshine tax)
2. UC Irvine
+small class, research opportunies, leaders in disaster medicine and other fields, new PD goes to bat for residents, 3 years, residents live in newport beach, new hospital, great ultrasound program, first name basis with faculty, close knit, international opportunities
- surgery runs the show on traumas, need to take shuttle to get to hospital, questionable relationship with other services
3. UCLA/OV
+awesome well rounded experience at 3 hospitals, 4th year focused on career and skill development, connections in So-Cal. probably some of the most supportive faculty and residents I have encountered,
truly a family, focused on helping obtain career goals, great international opportunites, fantastic location
-4 years, driving in LA to different sites
4. USC
+crazy trauma that is on par with Harbor, new ED, excellent didactics, mel herbert, research opportunities,
- 4 years, 4th year doesn't add value (vs UCLA/OV), too much autonomy would like more teaching on shifts, faculty presence in ED, some malignant faculty (not experienced personally but from prior rotators), Pod system doesn't allow for resident involvement in all codes (vs Harbor), no relationships with other services since ED is King
5. Highland
6. UC Davis
+excellent hybrid of county and academics with community exposure at kaiser, 3 years, super supportive faculty, location is great for foodies and outdoorsy folks, great trauma, brand new ED, relationship with other services
- location if you need to be in a more urban environment
7. Stanford
8. UCSD
9. Loma Linda
10. UCSF
11. UCSF Fresno
Good luck to all in the match!
1. Harbor-UCLA
+sickest/highest acuity of patients especially now that MLK has closed, getting new ED in 2013, 3 years (just for my year, but wouldn't change even if 4), ridiculously nice people (both residents and faculty) who are incredibly well respected in field, peds ED (usc residents used to rotate here for peds), great autonomy but not too much, procedures, procedures, lots of trauma (saw 6-911 gurneys lined up one friday night), R1-R3 participates in all codes (vs USC), great relationship with surgery/medicine, +research opportunities, +location near beach!, 3 meals a day free, Wheelos!, spanish speaking population, amazing job prospects afterwards in both academics and community, cameraderie fellow residents both ED and other services
-going to 4 years, LA traffic, parking is aweful, not a ton a support for international work, cost of living (sunshine tax)
2. UC Irvine
+small class, research opportunies, leaders in disaster medicine and other fields, new PD goes to bat for residents, 3 years, residents live in newport beach, new hospital, great ultrasound program, first name basis with faculty, close knit, international opportunities
- surgery runs the show on traumas, need to take shuttle to get to hospital, questionable relationship with other services
3. UCLA/OV
+awesome well rounded experience at 3 hospitals, 4th year focused on career and skill development, connections in So-Cal. probably some of the most supportive faculty and residents I have encountered,
truly a family, focused on helping obtain career goals, great international opportunites, fantastic location
-4 years, driving in LA to different sites
4. USC
+crazy trauma that is on par with Harbor, new ED, excellent didactics, mel herbert
, research opportunities,- 4 years, 4th year doesn't add value (vs UCLA/OV), too much autonomy would like more teaching on shifts, faculty presence in ED, some malignant faculty (not experienced personally but from prior rotators), Pod system doesn't allow for resident involvement in all codes (vs Harbor), no relationships with other services since ED is King
5. Highland
6. UC Davis
+excellent hybrid of county and academics with community exposure at kaiser, 3 years, super supportive faculty, location is great for foodies and outdoorsy folks, great trauma, brand new ED, relationship with other services
- location if you need to be in a more urban environment
7. Stanford
8. UCSD
9. Loma Linda
10. UCSF
11. UCSF Fresno
Good luck to all in the match!
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I would be THRILLED to open the envelope on 3/17 and see any of these programs. We are lucky in emergency medicine to have a wonderful group of residency options that are strong in training and full of truly awesome people.
Factors in my decision:
Location: Bay Area>LA>NYC>Boston
Gut feeling: Intangible, based on residents and faculty I met, my gestalt for the ED during visits, 2nd looks, phase of the moon, condition of my humors
Style of practice: County leaning or programs with split time including significant county exposure, significant autonomy
Research: options for academics either within EM faculty or by affiliation
Reputation: As judged from home institution advisers, residents, word on the street
Feel free to PM me if you have questions!
1) Highland
2) Harbor
3) UCLA-Olive View
4) Stanford
5) UCSF
6) St Lukes/Roosevelt (NYC)
7) BIDMC
8) Yale
9) NY Presbyterian
10) USC
11) SUNY Downstate/King's County
12) BMC
13) BWH
14) Beth Israel (NYC)
CVCamper - great minds think alike!
Factors in my decision:
Location: Bay Area>LA>NYC>Boston
Gut feeling: Intangible, based on residents and faculty I met, my gestalt for the ED during visits, 2nd looks, phase of the moon, condition of my humors
Style of practice: County leaning or programs with split time including significant county exposure, significant autonomy
Research: options for academics either within EM faculty or by affiliation
Reputation: As judged from home institution advisers, residents, word on the street
Feel free to PM me if you have questions!
1) Highland
2) Harbor
3) UCLA-Olive View
4) Stanford
5) UCSF
6) St Lukes/Roosevelt (NYC)
7) BIDMC
8) Yale
9) NY Presbyterian
10) USC
11) SUNY Downstate/King's County
12) BMC
13) BWH
14) Beth Israel (NYC)
CVCamper - great minds think alike!
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D
deleted356135
Carolinas: (+) location/COL, history/reputation, pt mix and volume, residents/faculty quality; (-) one hospital, no firm university affiliation, off-service rotations aren't optimal, lost some key faculty in the past year
Vandy: (+) didactics are stellar, location/COL, ED facilities & EMR are great, curriculum/off-service is fantastic, program continues to improve; (-) pt volume is lower than average (IMO), one hospital, I didn't click with faculty on my interview day as much as I did at other programs
Indiana: (+) great mix of three stellar hospitals (Wishard, Methodist, Riley), pt mix/volume is enormous, reputation, love the PDs & faculty, cost of living; (-) location!, the program is very large (18/yr)
Pitt: (+) nice multi-hospital system, decent volume, love the residents/leadership, reputation; (-) location/COL, EMS jeep/flight (for me, at least... other people might like these more)
Cincy: (+) R1 & R4 interactions/teaching, smart residents, nice faculty, job placement is fantastic, reputation; (-) 4 years, location, LOTS of helicopter runs
Northwestern: (+) location, beautiful hospital, generally liked the curriculum, fantastic job placement; (-) cost of living, 4 years, driving to Gary (Indiana) x3 months, a little too much ICU for my taste
ORMC: (+) location, nice batch of hospitals to work at, solid curriculum, good pt volume/mix; (-) most job placement is in FL
and four more
Vandy: (+) didactics are stellar, location/COL, ED facilities & EMR are great, curriculum/off-service is fantastic, program continues to improve; (-) pt volume is lower than average (IMO), one hospital, I didn't click with faculty on my interview day as much as I did at other programs
Indiana: (+) great mix of three stellar hospitals (Wishard, Methodist, Riley), pt mix/volume is enormous, reputation, love the PDs & faculty, cost of living; (-) location!, the program is very large (18/yr)
Pitt: (+) nice multi-hospital system, decent volume, love the residents/leadership, reputation; (-) location/COL, EMS jeep/flight (for me, at least... other people might like these more)
Cincy: (+) R1 & R4 interactions/teaching, smart residents, nice faculty, job placement is fantastic, reputation; (-) 4 years, location, LOTS of helicopter runs
Northwestern: (+) location, beautiful hospital, generally liked the curriculum, fantastic job placement; (-) cost of living, 4 years, driving to Gary (Indiana) x3 months, a little too much ICU for my taste
ORMC: (+) location, nice batch of hospitals to work at, solid curriculum, good pt volume/mix; (-) most job placement is in FL
and four more
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....
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Emory
Cook County
King's County
BMC
BWH/MGH
Henry Ford
Highland
Harbor
Baylor
Cincinnati
UT Houston
LSU-NO
NYU
Didn't rank DRH
Cook County
King's County
BMC
BWH/MGH
Henry Ford
Highland
Harbor
Baylor
Cincinnati
UT Houston
LSU-NO
NYU
Didn't rank DRH
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Kind of painted yourself into a corner there, didn't you? Now, you can't tell us where you matched, if it's #12. Actually, you can't tell us where you matched at all, if you want to remain anonymous.
From looking at your list, with where you ranked being removed, my money is on ECU in NC or USC in Columbia as to your school.
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Yale
U-Penn
Northwestern
Albert Einstein (Philly)
Cook County
Jacobi
LIJ
U-Conn
UMDNJ
Denver
I had a great time on the interview trail and in a strange way I am little sad I have to choose between them - which I suppose is a good thing
I was mostly looking at academic places and ranked largely based on geography (for SO) and the 'gut feeling', of course
U-Penn
Northwestern
Albert Einstein (Philly)
Cook County
Jacobi
LIJ
U-Conn
UMDNJ
Denver
I had a great time on the interview trail
and in a strange way I am little sad I have to choose between them - which I suppose is a good thing I was mostly looking at academic places and ranked largely based on geography (for SO) and the 'gut feeling', of course
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UMass
Vandy
Emory
Maricopa
Cinci
Wash U
UVA
Drexel
UTSW
Cook Co.
Denver
Penn
Pitt
UH/Case
Texas Tech
If anyone else would like me to post their ROL, a residency review, or participate in the SDN survey, PM me your info.
Vandy
Emory
Maricopa
Cinci
Wash U
UVA
Drexel
UTSW
Cook Co.
Denver
Penn
Pitt
UH/Case
Texas Tech
If anyone else would like me to post their ROL, a residency review, or participate in the SDN survey, PM me your info.
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1. JPS
2. ATM Scott and White
3. Miss.
4. LSU-BR
5. ATM Corpus
6. LSU-S
7. Metro- Cleveland
2. ATM Scott and White
3. Miss.
4. LSU-BR
5. ATM Corpus
6. LSU-S
7. Metro- Cleveland
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U of AZ
Cincinnati
UC Davis
Penn
Pitt
UMD
Maricopa
Christiana
UCLA-OV
Denver
Cincinnati
UC Davis
Penn
Pitt
UMD
Maricopa
Christiana
UCLA-OV
Denver
This is a couples' match list...if it were just me, my list would likely look pretty different. Some programs would have been higher on the list (especially Cinci), but Vandy definitely would still have been my #1.
I interviewed at 18 programs, and ranked all 18. This ROL is obviously just my (and my fiance's) opinion- no offense to anyone is intended. It was really helpful for me to look through ROLs from past years, so I thought I should reciprocate by posting mine.
I felt so fortunate to get to interview at these programs and honestly thought each of them had notable strengths. The couples match certainly complicates things (and requires LOTS of negotiation) but luckily I feel like I would be happy at a lot of these places.
Let me know if you have any questions about my list or the programs I visited. I'm happy to give my advice/thoughts to next year's applicants too- just message me!
1) Vandy: I am absolutely in love with this program. Love the faculty, love the Chair and PD, love the residents. It's one of the most resident-centric programs I have seen, with the best teaching in the country. Very busy ED with so many critical care patients. Tons of trauma because of huge cachement area; great relationship with trauma surg. Curriculum extremely well thought-out, including no floor months. Residents are very close and are amazing people. Very diverse patient population (tertiary care, uninsured/underinsured, bread and butter EM, peds, immigrants). Nashville is a really fun city, great COL, easy to live right by the hospital. Grads go anywhere in the country they want. This program has everything I want.
2) UCLA-Olive View: Truly amazing PD who has the residents over to his incredible house (and he was the medical director for the show ER- I thought that was pretty cool), and distinguished faculty. Well thought-out integration of county and tertiary care experience. Ronald Reagan is an incredible facility, and Olive View is a nice little hospital that has a new ED opening this April. Program curriculum is "front-heavy" (easier 3rd and 4th years), which I liked. Intern year is getting much better every year- there will be 6 months of EM during intern year 2011-2012 and fewer medicine/surgery ward months. PD described the program as a "liberal arts EM program," which I thought was an apt description and a pretty neat concept. Amazing international opportunities and a lot of elective time. My Spanish is mediocre at best, and that seems pretty essential (especially at Olive View). Trauma not as extensive as at other LA area programs. COL high and lots of commuting in nasty LA traffic.
3) UNC: Residents were very happy and welcoming. I really liked the dual hospital system. I went back to do a second look and shadowed at both hospitals, which only served to increase my enthusiasm about their way of training. Of course, it does result in a lot of commuting but the traffic isn't bad so that didn't bother me. Amazing PD who is an outstanding teacher and very supportive of the residents. Program produces very well-trained EPs who also have satisfying personal lives. I love the location and the COL. Great moonlighting opportunities. Medicine and surgery ward months intern year (but at WakeMed so relatively laid-back). Not as much trauma as some other programs. Duke is obviously nearby so there is some division of patient populations, but I felt that was made up for by the WakeMed experience.
4) Highland: This is a well-known program that I felt lived up to its strong reputation. Faculty and residents are all very laid-back and fun. Strong family feel. A lot of the faculty trained at Highland (which may be a negative), but of course they stayed on faculty because they love it so much there. GI rounds TID seem like a great idea. Not an "official" Level 1 trauma center but there is none in the county, so serves as the de facto trauma center and see a lot of trauma. Not a stroke center, so do a month of neuro at UCSF. Amazing U/S experience. Peds is not integrated (no peds beds in HGH). Highest salary I saw on the trail (because they are unionized). Tahoe ski cabin sounds like fun. Sounds like they have everything worked out in regard to UCSF's EM program, but still made me a tiny tiny bit nervous.
5) BIDMC: The 3+1 (Junior attending year) is an amazing opportunity that I was very excited about. The curriculum is very well thought-out with a clear graduated responsibility. Rotate through 5 "affiliate" hospitals (community sites), which seems like a good experience to see how different systems work. Amazing EMR. Peds not integrated. Trauma pretty good but obviously there are a lot of hospitals (including four Level 1 trauma centers) in Boston. Relatively new program (10ish years) but has established itself extremely well. Had a great feeling about this program on the interview day and it was initially higher on my list; in the end, I decided that Boston is not at all ideal for me and that's what pushed it down the list a bit.
6) LA County: Another program that was initially much higher on my list. I was in awe of this program during the entire interview day. Very sick patients and a lot of trauma, in which EM has a huge role (they do essentially all procedures). EM also manages airways during codes on the floors (which at most other places is done by anesthesia or MICU)- I thought that was cool. Residents were really fun people and amazingly impressive. Work 12s all four years (except on peds). Facilities are amazing but very much divided up into pods. Not as many academic opportunities as a lot of other programs I looked at. This place, in my opinion, provides the best clinical training in the county but wasn't the best fit for my career aspirations and personal life once I got over the "sexiness" of the amazing clinical experience. Location also not ideal for me personally.
7) Wake Forest: I love this place. PD and Chair were both very enthusiastic. Very well-established (30 years old) program with a long history of producing great EPs. Residents were very family-oriented. Very busy ED, which pleasantly surprised me. Loved the city (can get an amazing house for very little money) but it did feel a bit isolated.
8) Emory: So many faculty, and a lot of them are really well known in EM. Increasing focus on research- get a lot of NIH funding. Grady is Grady- tons of trauma (only Level 1 in Atlanta). Hugely busy, exciting ED. Patient population at Grady not very diverse- primarily African American. ED divided into red (surgery/trauma) and blue (medical) pods. Residents were very diverse and most were single. Atlanta is amazing but of course the traffic sucks and it's relatively expensive. I expected to like the program more than I did, but I got a weird vibe on interview day. It was probably just me, though!
9) Indianapolis: LOVED this program but in the end the location just wasn't going to work well. Residents were incredible- really sociable, welcoming, and proud of their program. Outstanding clinical experience, with time split between Wishard (county) and Methodist (tertiary care). Residents have a huge role in their program (49% ownership) which I thought was amazing. Very much a team attitude. In ICUs, work one-on-one with CC-trained EM faculty- so a great experience. Residents were more regional than I had expected for a nationally well-known program.
10) BWH/MGH: Strong academic program. Well-known faculty and lots of research opportunities. Felt like this was a great place to jump-start a career in academics. Lots of elective time. Program grads are highly recruited and go wherever they want after training. From talking to the residents, seems like they do fewer procedures than most other programs I looked at. Also, medicine and surgery ward months. Residents said they felt a bit "looked down on" by other residency programs at the hospitals, for what that's worth. I'm not a fan of Boston.
11) UAB: Their PD is awesome. Very responsive program leadership. The residents are pretty Southern and a lot of them have kids. Great lifestyle. Do LOTS of moonlighting. 10-year old program but feels like it's been around longer (that's a good thing). Birmingham was a very pleasant surprise. Great physical set-up of the ED. Very impressed by the program but realized as interview season progressed that I wanted a place that produces more academicians.
12) Wash U: Very busy ED. Great elective opportunities. Strong off-service rotations, but lots of ward stuff 1st year. Division status (I asked about this and the program leadership said it's not an issue). Didn't really care for St. Louis.
13) Cincinnati: LOVED this program- would have been among my top few programs, but my fiancé really disliked it for his specialty. Oh well.
14) UVA: Very nice program leadership, good reputation. Relatively low volume (although also smaller class so it works out.) Not much trauma. I didn't really click with the residents. City was too small and isolated for me. Great program but not a good fit for me.
15) Michigan: Awesome program. Love the PD. Survival Flight sounds great, as does the trauma experience in Flint. I didn't really click with the residents. The main problem for me was the location. I just don't think I could tolerate those winters- I almost crashed my car about 5 times just while I was up there interviewing.
16) Duke: I thought the PD was incredible and the faculty were very impressive. Residents were nice but seemed pretty guy-dominated. The program seems to be still fighting some battles. Wasn't a good fit for me.
17) Louisville: Had a really weird interview day, in my opinion. I found the group interviews to be awkward. Relatively low volume ED but lots of trauma. Not what I was looking for, but it had a lot to offer.
18) Harbor: This one was a surprise. Very well known program with great pathology and amazing faculty, but not a good fit for me. I personally don't want to have to deal with the transition from 3 to 4 years and the move to a new physical ED. I greatly preferred USC-LAC, but that's obviously just me and it's good that not everyone loves the same program!
I interviewed at 18 programs, and ranked all 18. This ROL is obviously just my (and my fiance's) opinion- no offense to anyone is intended. It was really helpful for me to look through ROLs from past years, so I thought I should reciprocate by posting mine.
I felt so fortunate to get to interview at these programs and honestly thought each of them had notable strengths. The couples match certainly complicates things (and requires LOTS of negotiation) but luckily I feel like I would be happy at a lot of these places.
Let me know if you have any questions about my list or the programs I visited. I'm happy to give my advice/thoughts to next year's applicants too- just message me!
1) Vandy: I am absolutely in love with this program. Love the faculty, love the Chair and PD, love the residents. It's one of the most resident-centric programs I have seen, with the best teaching in the country. Very busy ED with so many critical care patients. Tons of trauma because of huge cachement area; great relationship with trauma surg. Curriculum extremely well thought-out, including no floor months. Residents are very close and are amazing people. Very diverse patient population (tertiary care, uninsured/underinsured, bread and butter EM, peds, immigrants). Nashville is a really fun city, great COL, easy to live right by the hospital. Grads go anywhere in the country they want. This program has everything I want.
2) UCLA-Olive View: Truly amazing PD who has the residents over to his incredible house (and he was the medical director for the show ER- I thought that was pretty cool), and distinguished faculty. Well thought-out integration of county and tertiary care experience. Ronald Reagan is an incredible facility, and Olive View is a nice little hospital that has a new ED opening this April. Program curriculum is "front-heavy" (easier 3rd and 4th years), which I liked. Intern year is getting much better every year- there will be 6 months of EM during intern year 2011-2012 and fewer medicine/surgery ward months. PD described the program as a "liberal arts EM program," which I thought was an apt description and a pretty neat concept. Amazing international opportunities and a lot of elective time. My Spanish is mediocre at best, and that seems pretty essential (especially at Olive View). Trauma not as extensive as at other LA area programs. COL high and lots of commuting in nasty LA traffic.
3) UNC: Residents were very happy and welcoming. I really liked the dual hospital system. I went back to do a second look and shadowed at both hospitals, which only served to increase my enthusiasm about their way of training. Of course, it does result in a lot of commuting but the traffic isn't bad so that didn't bother me. Amazing PD who is an outstanding teacher and very supportive of the residents. Program produces very well-trained EPs who also have satisfying personal lives. I love the location and the COL. Great moonlighting opportunities. Medicine and surgery ward months intern year (but at WakeMed so relatively laid-back). Not as much trauma as some other programs. Duke is obviously nearby so there is some division of patient populations, but I felt that was made up for by the WakeMed experience.
4) Highland: This is a well-known program that I felt lived up to its strong reputation. Faculty and residents are all very laid-back and fun. Strong family feel. A lot of the faculty trained at Highland (which may be a negative), but of course they stayed on faculty because they love it so much there. GI rounds TID seem like a great idea. Not an "official" Level 1 trauma center but there is none in the county, so serves as the de facto trauma center and see a lot of trauma. Not a stroke center, so do a month of neuro at UCSF. Amazing U/S experience. Peds is not integrated (no peds beds in HGH). Highest salary I saw on the trail (because they are unionized). Tahoe ski cabin sounds like fun. Sounds like they have everything worked out in regard to UCSF's EM program, but still made me a tiny tiny bit nervous.
5) BIDMC: The 3+1 (Junior attending year) is an amazing opportunity that I was very excited about. The curriculum is very well thought-out with a clear graduated responsibility. Rotate through 5 "affiliate" hospitals (community sites), which seems like a good experience to see how different systems work. Amazing EMR. Peds not integrated. Trauma pretty good but obviously there are a lot of hospitals (including four Level 1 trauma centers) in Boston. Relatively new program (10ish years) but has established itself extremely well. Had a great feeling about this program on the interview day and it was initially higher on my list; in the end, I decided that Boston is not at all ideal for me and that's what pushed it down the list a bit.
6) LA County: Another program that was initially much higher on my list. I was in awe of this program during the entire interview day. Very sick patients and a lot of trauma, in which EM has a huge role (they do essentially all procedures). EM also manages airways during codes on the floors (which at most other places is done by anesthesia or MICU)- I thought that was cool. Residents were really fun people and amazingly impressive. Work 12s all four years (except on peds). Facilities are amazing but very much divided up into pods. Not as many academic opportunities as a lot of other programs I looked at. This place, in my opinion, provides the best clinical training in the county but wasn't the best fit for my career aspirations and personal life once I got over the "sexiness" of the amazing clinical experience. Location also not ideal for me personally.
7) Wake Forest: I love this place. PD and Chair were both very enthusiastic. Very well-established (30 years old) program with a long history of producing great EPs. Residents were very family-oriented. Very busy ED, which pleasantly surprised me. Loved the city (can get an amazing house for very little money) but it did feel a bit isolated.
8) Emory: So many faculty, and a lot of them are really well known in EM. Increasing focus on research- get a lot of NIH funding. Grady is Grady- tons of trauma (only Level 1 in Atlanta). Hugely busy, exciting ED. Patient population at Grady not very diverse- primarily African American. ED divided into red (surgery/trauma) and blue (medical) pods. Residents were very diverse and most were single. Atlanta is amazing but of course the traffic sucks and it's relatively expensive. I expected to like the program more than I did, but I got a weird vibe on interview day. It was probably just me, though!
9) Indianapolis: LOVED this program but in the end the location just wasn't going to work well. Residents were incredible- really sociable, welcoming, and proud of their program. Outstanding clinical experience, with time split between Wishard (county) and Methodist (tertiary care). Residents have a huge role in their program (49% ownership) which I thought was amazing. Very much a team attitude. In ICUs, work one-on-one with CC-trained EM faculty- so a great experience. Residents were more regional than I had expected for a nationally well-known program.
10) BWH/MGH: Strong academic program. Well-known faculty and lots of research opportunities. Felt like this was a great place to jump-start a career in academics. Lots of elective time. Program grads are highly recruited and go wherever they want after training. From talking to the residents, seems like they do fewer procedures than most other programs I looked at. Also, medicine and surgery ward months. Residents said they felt a bit "looked down on" by other residency programs at the hospitals, for what that's worth. I'm not a fan of Boston.
11) UAB: Their PD is awesome. Very responsive program leadership. The residents are pretty Southern and a lot of them have kids. Great lifestyle. Do LOTS of moonlighting. 10-year old program but feels like it's been around longer (that's a good thing). Birmingham was a very pleasant surprise. Great physical set-up of the ED. Very impressed by the program but realized as interview season progressed that I wanted a place that produces more academicians.
12) Wash U: Very busy ED. Great elective opportunities. Strong off-service rotations, but lots of ward stuff 1st year. Division status (I asked about this and the program leadership said it's not an issue). Didn't really care for St. Louis.
13) Cincinnati: LOVED this program- would have been among my top few programs, but my fiancé really disliked it for his specialty. Oh well.
14) UVA: Very nice program leadership, good reputation. Relatively low volume (although also smaller class so it works out.) Not much trauma. I didn't really click with the residents. City was too small and isolated for me. Great program but not a good fit for me.
15) Michigan: Awesome program. Love the PD. Survival Flight sounds great, as does the trauma experience in Flint. I didn't really click with the residents. The main problem for me was the location. I just don't think I could tolerate those winters- I almost crashed my car about 5 times just while I was up there interviewing.
16) Duke: I thought the PD was incredible and the faculty were very impressive. Residents were nice but seemed pretty guy-dominated. The program seems to be still fighting some battles. Wasn't a good fit for me.
17) Louisville: Had a really weird interview day, in my opinion. I found the group interviews to be awkward. Relatively low volume ED but lots of trauma. Not what I was looking for, but it had a lot to offer.
18) Harbor: This one was a surprise. Very well known program with great pathology and amazing faculty, but not a good fit for me. I personally don't want to have to deal with the transition from 3 to 4 years and the move to a new physical ED. I greatly preferred USC-LAC, but that's obviously just me and it's good that not everyone loves the same program!
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Geography was huge..... will be thrilled at any of my top 5
1. UTSW - upper levels "own" their own pod, 1on1 w/ attending, lots of community ED months at different hospitals, crazy event medicine ops, diverse faculty, grateful patients
2. UAB - beautiful ED, awesome young and enthusiastic PD, great moonlighting opps, cool city, cheap to live... ED dictations
3. Vandy - great reputation, all programs are strong, awesome residents, PD and Chair are very involved w/ teaching, nice facilities... weaker community month, Pods are triaged by acquity
4. UNM - fantastic down to earth PD/Faculty/Residents, gorgeous ED and ICUs, Disaster/International Med opps, some weaker off service rotations and ABQ might be hard for spouse to find job
5. UNC - Just got a great vibe here; splitting time btwn UNC and Wakemed is unique - and a plus
6. Emory - great rep, city I like - had a bad interview experience that dropped it sig.
7. Wake Forest - Loved the program, hated the city
+5 others
1. UTSW - upper levels "own" their own pod, 1on1 w/ attending, lots of community ED months at different hospitals, crazy event medicine ops, diverse faculty, grateful patients
2. UAB - beautiful ED, awesome young and enthusiastic PD, great moonlighting opps, cool city, cheap to live... ED dictations
3. Vandy - great reputation, all programs are strong, awesome residents, PD and Chair are very involved w/ teaching, nice facilities... weaker community month, Pods are triaged by acquity
4. UNM - fantastic down to earth PD/Faculty/Residents, gorgeous ED and ICUs, Disaster/International Med opps, some weaker off service rotations and ABQ might be hard for spouse to find job
5. UNC - Just got a great vibe here; splitting time btwn UNC and Wakemed is unique - and a plus
6. Emory - great rep, city I like - had a bad interview experience that dropped it sig.
7. Wake Forest - Loved the program, hated the city
+5 others
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1. University of Chicago
2. St. Luke's - Roosevelt
3. Mount Sinai
4. New York Presbyterian
5. Northwestern
6. Yale
7. Hopkins
8. Emory
9. GW
10. Vanderbilt
11. IU
12. Cincinnati
2. St. Luke's - Roosevelt
3. Mount Sinai
4. New York Presbyterian
5. Northwestern
6. Yale
7. Hopkins
8. Emory
9. GW
10. Vanderbilt
11. IU
12. Cincinnati
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1. Harbor -
(+) 3 years, more 3rd year responsibility than almost any program, great pathology and acuity, location (LA beaches but don't need to drive on highway), friendly laid-back smart residents, impressive faculty, good reputation = good connections, grateful population, chance to learn/improve spanish, choose their own shift length, no pods means you see good variety of disease each shift, attendings involved but still give 3rd years room to run things, attendings don't have to see every patient
(-) Some uncertainty over transition to 4 year, cafeteria food is a bit suspect (clearly I'm struggling to come up with negatives for this program)
2. Carolinas
(+) 3 years, accomplished friendly residents, impressive faculty, good volume and catchment area, interesting research projects, COL in Charlotte, faculty relationships (take residents out for food/drinks after shifts), can live right next to hospital, good reputation = good connections, teaching is daily not weekly (tough to sit through 5 hours of lecture at once), lots of nice perks including food, extra money, great benefits, etc. Program takes care of residents
(-) Pod system, unclear whether 3rd years actually run things, off service could be better
3. LAC
(+) most impressive program on interview day, the single best place I've seen for trauma-volume-pathology-acuity, impressive faculty members, massive new ED, residents run all codes in hospital, jail ED, warm weather, grateful population, chance to learn spanish, lots of resident responsibility, attendings don't have to see every patient
(-) LA traffic (especially if you want to live on the beach), unclear what the 4th year adds besides more seasoning, all 12 hour shifts, rumblings that some attendings go MIA for stretches during shifts, Pod system
4. Highland
(+) impressive residents (a fun but highly accomplished and motivated group), stellar faculty, great pathology and acuity, GI rounds, great reputation/connections, ski cabin, best salary on the trail
(-) Not the biggest SF/Oakland fan, 4th year, 1 month vacation blocks, just didn't click here
5. BIDMC
(+) outstanding responsibility in 3rd year (on par with Harbor and above all others I visited), 3+1 is ideal, good acuity, impressive residents and faculty, nice event medicine perks (Red Sox)
(-) variety of pathology is questionable (given proximity to other hospitals), not the biggest Boston fan, smaller alumni network
6. Denver
7. Vandy
8. Maryland
9. Stanford
10. UCLA
Thanks to everyone for making this website so helpful. Best of luck.
(+) 3 years, more 3rd year responsibility than almost any program, great pathology and acuity, location (LA beaches but don't need to drive on highway), friendly laid-back smart residents, impressive faculty, good reputation = good connections, grateful population, chance to learn/improve spanish, choose their own shift length, no pods means you see good variety of disease each shift, attendings involved but still give 3rd years room to run things, attendings don't have to see every patient
(-) Some uncertainty over transition to 4 year, cafeteria food is a bit suspect (clearly I'm struggling to come up with negatives for this program)
2. Carolinas
(+) 3 years, accomplished friendly residents, impressive faculty, good volume and catchment area, interesting research projects, COL in Charlotte, faculty relationships (take residents out for food/drinks after shifts), can live right next to hospital, good reputation = good connections, teaching is daily not weekly (tough to sit through 5 hours of lecture at once), lots of nice perks including food, extra money, great benefits, etc. Program takes care of residents
(-) Pod system, unclear whether 3rd years actually run things, off service could be better
3. LAC
(+) most impressive program on interview day, the single best place I've seen for trauma-volume-pathology-acuity, impressive faculty members, massive new ED, residents run all codes in hospital, jail ED, warm weather, grateful population, chance to learn spanish, lots of resident responsibility, attendings don't have to see every patient
(-) LA traffic (especially if you want to live on the beach), unclear what the 4th year adds besides more seasoning, all 12 hour shifts, rumblings that some attendings go MIA for stretches during shifts, Pod system
4. Highland
(+) impressive residents (a fun but highly accomplished and motivated group), stellar faculty, great pathology and acuity, GI rounds, great reputation/connections, ski cabin, best salary on the trail
(-) Not the biggest SF/Oakland fan, 4th year, 1 month vacation blocks, just didn't click here
5. BIDMC
(+) outstanding responsibility in 3rd year (on par with Harbor and above all others I visited), 3+1 is ideal, good acuity, impressive residents and faculty, nice event medicine perks (Red Sox)
(-) variety of pathology is questionable (given proximity to other hospitals), not the biggest Boston fan, smaller alumni network
6. Denver
7. Vandy
8. Maryland
9. Stanford
10. UCLA
Thanks to everyone for making this website so helpful. Best of luck.
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Previous years' ROL threads were a great help to me when I decided where to interview, so here's my part this year.
My list would also be much different were it not for 1) a spouse in the picture and 2) my interest in international EM, so take it with a grain of salt and to echo SuziQ, feel free to PM me with questions regarding any of the programs I interviewed at. Honestly, I'd be thrilled to land anywhere on my list.
1. Vandy Pros: INCREDIBLE faculty, residents, unparalleled teaching, the PD and chair are a dynamic duo that are very involved in resident education. Busy, busy university ED where you see ALL the trauma in a large catchment area, plus all the weird tertiary stuff, and your bread and butter. Great international opportunities with the Guyana residency, New Zealand, ect. Off service rotations are great, peds shifts are mixed into your regular ED months, residents are happy, 10 hr shifts with 1 hr built-in overlap, COL is incredibly low, Nashville has a great live music scene. Cons: Less diversity (in both staff and patient population), you're in a smaller southern city (+/-). Caveat: I rotated here, so I'm bias in that I'd already spent a month getting to know and love the people. But honestly, couldn't find a better program on the interview trail.
2. Brown Pros: this was the program that snuck up on me. I even considered canceling the interview. Like Vandy, a university program with a large single hospital program with a huge catchment area, so you see great mix of indigent/referral/bread & butter pathology in a very busy ED. ED has no boarding (send pts to obs or admit quickly), cath lab next door, great EMR that actually notifies you when labs/rads are ready. No scut work on Trauma (only on-call and see pts in ED, no wards time). Opportunities to moonlight, including being on-call doc for peds ambulance transport PGY2 & 3. Lots of fellowship trained faculty or fellows to work with. Combined international/US fellowship. Happy residents, warm faculty, great peds experience, strong support for international work and opportunities (currently setting up a training program in Nicaragua), 9 hrs shifts all 4 years. Providence has surprisingly low COL for the northeast and is a great little town with amazing food and recreational opportunities. Cons: It's in Rhode Island, 4 yrs > 3yrs.
3. New Mexico Pros: another single-hospital system with a huge catchment area (which I like for the reasons above), incredibly nice PD, down to earth faculty, happy happy residents, strong commitment to underserved care with a large indigent community, great international/wilderness opportunities, one of the best programs for critical care exposure, great reputation, large Spanish-speaking population, only 4 months of call all 3 yrs of residency, 9 hr shifts with 1 hr built-in overlap, you have skiing and hiking less than an hour away. Cons: the city's economy somewhat depressed, less job opportunities for spouse (this program would be my #1 or #2 if not for this), less ethnically diverse.
4. Highland Pros: well-respected program, hard-core county training, in a beautiful part of the country. Great service commitment, residents are happy, strong pedi exposure at CHO, tox at SFGH, 8 hr shifts. Cons: the faculty are quirky (+/-) and somewhat inbred, very weird interviews, draw your own labs as PGY1, ED itself felt a little small, not a Level 1, the cafeteria food (yes, that's picky).
5. OHSU Pros: old, well-respected program with happy residents in a beautiful part of the country, diverse hospital exposure (university, VA, community), faculty very supportive of residents, 1:1 with attending as PGY2.10 hr shifts PGY1, 8 hr shifts PGY 2-3. Cons: low-volume primary ED, only 1 mo elective time, have to drive a lot.
6. Stanford Pros: Dynamic faculty, content residents, 3 hospital system with exposure to university (Stanford), community (Kaiser) and county (Valley), an AMAZING amount of resources for anything you could possibly be interested in, great fellowships, great international and wilderness opportunities, beautiful part of the country to live,time for research/scholarly project built into rotation schedule. Cons: COL (highest of anywhere I interviewed-this was huge for me), low-volume at primary ED (Stanford) which is where you spend 1/3-1/2 of your time, intern year spent with a lot of off-service rotations (including medicine and surgery wards and NICU time), 12 hr shifts, "country club" feel (the catered lunch comes to mind).
7. Carolinas Pros: incredible community program with great training, I loved the PD and faculty I met, residents are very tight and social, 1 hr conferences daily instead of a 5 hr block, single-hospital system, great U/S experience, starting an international fellowship, great COL. Cons: I thought Vandy was a better fit for me when it comes to Southern programs, their int'l focus is in Tanzania (my interest is Latin America), medicine and peds wards months, Charlotte, a very "proud" program.
8. USC Pros: Incredible faculty and residents who obviously enjoy working at LAC, probably the most amazing county training out there (certainly busiest ED in the country). Great diversity in both staff and patients, huge volume ED that probably sees some of the craziest trauma and pathology, residents run their own "pods" and jail ED, commitment to indigent care, in SoCal. Cons: 12 hr shifts all 4 years, maybe a little too autonomous for my taste, can only do international rotations on your vacation time, LA is not my favorite city.
9. BWH Pros: amazing resources for international EM, great U/S program, friendly, well-connected faculty, great opportunities for research and an interesting mix of pathology, shifts are a mix of 8,9, and 12 hrs. Cons: residents were the geekiest bunch of the trail (but seemed very happy!), greater focus on research, Mass Gen's ED felt very cramped, COL in Boston, 4>3 yrs.
10. Emory Pros: great service commitment, huge county program that is also academic, diverse residents and patients, busy ED. Cons: the number of patients I saw in hallway beds!, not as much international support, very county feeling, strange interview.
11. Harbor UCLA Pros: amazing country program in LA, great training, well-respected, good autonomy. Cons: not much international support, LA, somewhat of a "trial by fire" system, small cramped ED (currently building new one scheduled to open in 2013), changing program from 3 to 4 yrs next year so the uncertainty that comes with that.
12. Baylor Pros: amazing county hospital with incredible pathology and young, enthusiastic faculty. Shifts 8's on weekdays, 12's on weekends. Cons: too new of a residency program.
13. Duke Pros: Dynamic PD, good mix of faculty, happy residents, time for scholarly track, COL. Cons: not very diverse, Durham, still young residency program, hard PGY1 year with lots of off service rotations, not as many intl opportunities.
My list would also be much different were it not for 1) a spouse in the picture and 2) my interest in international EM, so take it with a grain of salt and to echo SuziQ, feel free to PM me with questions regarding any of the programs I interviewed at. Honestly, I'd be thrilled to land anywhere on my list.
1. Vandy Pros: INCREDIBLE faculty, residents, unparalleled teaching, the PD and chair are a dynamic duo that are very involved in resident education. Busy, busy university ED where you see ALL the trauma in a large catchment area, plus all the weird tertiary stuff, and your bread and butter. Great international opportunities with the Guyana residency, New Zealand, ect. Off service rotations are great, peds shifts are mixed into your regular ED months, residents are happy, 10 hr shifts with 1 hr built-in overlap, COL is incredibly low, Nashville has a great live music scene. Cons: Less diversity (in both staff and patient population), you're in a smaller southern city (+/-). Caveat: I rotated here, so I'm bias in that I'd already spent a month getting to know and love the people. But honestly, couldn't find a better program on the interview trail.
2. Brown Pros: this was the program that snuck up on me. I even considered canceling the interview. Like Vandy, a university program with a large single hospital program with a huge catchment area, so you see great mix of indigent/referral/bread & butter pathology in a very busy ED. ED has no boarding (send pts to obs or admit quickly), cath lab next door, great EMR that actually notifies you when labs/rads are ready. No scut work on Trauma (only on-call and see pts in ED, no wards time). Opportunities to moonlight, including being on-call doc for peds ambulance transport PGY2 & 3. Lots of fellowship trained faculty or fellows to work with. Combined international/US fellowship. Happy residents, warm faculty, great peds experience, strong support for international work and opportunities (currently setting up a training program in Nicaragua), 9 hrs shifts all 4 years. Providence has surprisingly low COL for the northeast and is a great little town with amazing food and recreational opportunities. Cons: It's in Rhode Island, 4 yrs > 3yrs.
3. New Mexico Pros: another single-hospital system with a huge catchment area (which I like for the reasons above), incredibly nice PD, down to earth faculty, happy happy residents, strong commitment to underserved care with a large indigent community, great international/wilderness opportunities, one of the best programs for critical care exposure, great reputation, large Spanish-speaking population, only 4 months of call all 3 yrs of residency, 9 hr shifts with 1 hr built-in overlap, you have skiing and hiking less than an hour away. Cons: the city's economy somewhat depressed, less job opportunities for spouse (this program would be my #1 or #2 if not for this), less ethnically diverse.
4. Highland Pros: well-respected program, hard-core county training, in a beautiful part of the country. Great service commitment, residents are happy, strong pedi exposure at CHO, tox at SFGH, 8 hr shifts. Cons: the faculty are quirky (+/-) and somewhat inbred, very weird interviews, draw your own labs as PGY1, ED itself felt a little small, not a Level 1, the cafeteria food (yes, that's picky).
5. OHSU Pros: old, well-respected program with happy residents in a beautiful part of the country, diverse hospital exposure (university, VA, community), faculty very supportive of residents, 1:1 with attending as PGY2.10 hr shifts PGY1, 8 hr shifts PGY 2-3. Cons: low-volume primary ED, only 1 mo elective time, have to drive a lot.
6. Stanford Pros: Dynamic faculty, content residents, 3 hospital system with exposure to university (Stanford), community (Kaiser) and county (Valley), an AMAZING amount of resources for anything you could possibly be interested in, great fellowships, great international and wilderness opportunities, beautiful part of the country to live,time for research/scholarly project built into rotation schedule. Cons: COL (highest of anywhere I interviewed-this was huge for me), low-volume at primary ED (Stanford) which is where you spend 1/3-1/2 of your time, intern year spent with a lot of off-service rotations (including medicine and surgery wards and NICU time), 12 hr shifts, "country club" feel (the catered lunch comes to mind).
7. Carolinas Pros: incredible community program with great training, I loved the PD and faculty I met, residents are very tight and social, 1 hr conferences daily instead of a 5 hr block, single-hospital system, great U/S experience, starting an international fellowship, great COL. Cons: I thought Vandy was a better fit for me when it comes to Southern programs, their int'l focus is in Tanzania (my interest is Latin America), medicine and peds wards months, Charlotte, a very "proud" program.
8. USC Pros: Incredible faculty and residents who obviously enjoy working at LAC, probably the most amazing county training out there (certainly busiest ED in the country). Great diversity in both staff and patients, huge volume ED that probably sees some of the craziest trauma and pathology, residents run their own "pods" and jail ED, commitment to indigent care, in SoCal. Cons: 12 hr shifts all 4 years, maybe a little too autonomous for my taste, can only do international rotations on your vacation time, LA is not my favorite city.
9. BWH Pros: amazing resources for international EM, great U/S program, friendly, well-connected faculty, great opportunities for research and an interesting mix of pathology, shifts are a mix of 8,9, and 12 hrs. Cons: residents were the geekiest bunch of the trail (but seemed very happy!), greater focus on research, Mass Gen's ED felt very cramped, COL in Boston, 4>3 yrs.
10. Emory Pros: great service commitment, huge county program that is also academic, diverse residents and patients, busy ED. Cons: the number of patients I saw in hallway beds!, not as much international support, very county feeling, strange interview.
11. Harbor UCLA Pros: amazing country program in LA, great training, well-respected, good autonomy. Cons: not much international support, LA, somewhat of a "trial by fire" system, small cramped ED (currently building new one scheduled to open in 2013), changing program from 3 to 4 yrs next year so the uncertainty that comes with that.
12. Baylor Pros: amazing county hospital with incredible pathology and young, enthusiastic faculty. Shifts 8's on weekdays, 12's on weekends. Cons: too new of a residency program.
13. Duke Pros: Dynamic PD, good mix of faculty, happy residents, time for scholarly track, COL. Cons: not very diverse, Durham, still young residency program, hard PGY1 year with lots of off service rotations, not as many intl opportunities.
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ROL
The city for each program played a big role in my list.
1. Baylor: Pros: I liked Houston a lot and grew up in and still have most of my family in the SW. I liked the residents. Faculty seemed cool and are from all over. I think I would like to end up in the SW when I'm done with residency. Ben Taub was nicer than I was expecting and the Texas Medical Center was impressive, some Peds EM at Texas Children's Hospital. 6 months of ICU. I'd get to work on my Spanish. Free lunch everyday while working in the ED. 8's during the week and 12's on weekends to allow for a weekend off a month while in the ED. (I've forgotten how many shifts- 20-22ish?)
Cons: Newer Program (In its first year). Houston Traffic. Moonlight starting 3rd year. Residents Pay for parking.
2.Univ. of TN- Chattanooga: Pros: I rotated here and like the faculty and the residents. No floor months (Peds or IM). About 5 ICU months. Nice hospital, Nice ED. Free food + parking. Newer program (in it's 3rd year) but has a lot of support from the college of Medicine and Hospital- the Dean of the College of Med is an EP and the president elect of ACEP. Good "outdoor activities." Variety of good food- I've was pleasantly surprised. I'd be very happy to end up here, and thought about putting them number 1 but chose Houston over Chatt. 17 12's as an R1, 17 10's as R2, and 16 10's as an R3 (or something close to that).
Cons: Not a big city, although Nashville and Atlanta are close by (not a plus for me). Not a great place to fly out of- most flights take you to Nashville or Atl first. No family nearby.
3. JPS: Pros: Some of the faculty seemed pretty cool. Fort Worth seemed ok from what I saw during my 1 day visit. I like most of the curriculum- about 6 months of ICU. 1 mo of Cardiology is a plus in my book. Nice ED. Free food + parking. Good benefits package. Dallas nearby. This program could have gone lower on my list, but I like the city more than the ones below, and although the idea of being at a brand new program is a little scary it didn't scare me off. Also, it could be cool to be the senior-most resident in the ED on day 1 and not have 2 classes above to compete with for procedures and cool cases.
Cons: Brand New Program. Hard to get a feel for things because no residents to talk with. PD not at interview day. 2 months of Medicine. No Peds EM integrated into Adult EM months (this was the issue that most worried me, but the Assoc. PD said that they will see what the residents think and are working on some of the hospitals nearby but have nothing solid as of the time I interviewed. They do however, have 3 months of Peds EM- 1mo as an R2 and 2mo's as an R3 at Children's Hosp. of Dallas. Nothing R1 year).
4. Kansas City (KUMC): Pros: Nice people, Nice ED
Cons: 1 mo of Medicine + 1 mo of Peds, Newer program ( in 1st year), I think KC may be a bit colder or more snowy than what I'm looking for
5. Arkansas: Pros: Established program. Nice people. Newly built ED that was pretty nice. I believe an EM resident is involved in/runs all of the Traumas. A lot of moonlighting opportunities.
Cons: Little Rock. Residents give a lot of the lectures. 1 mo of Medicine at the VA (I think they may consider changing this?) 1 Month of Peds Flight experience (I think this is a combined EMS/Flight experience. You can opt out of the helicopter rides and do an additional month of PICU instead, but most people don't). All 12's (R1- 18, R2-17, R3- 16)
6. Christus Spohn: Pros: The beach. Good weather year round. Family is the only other program, so when you are off service you are working w/attendings. EM handles the all of the traumas (no surgery residents). No call, except for one service.. PICU, I think. Everything else is shift work. When on Trauma, it's 12 hr shifts. Moonlighting opportunites. 9 hr ED shifts (20/19/18 for R1/2/3). Weekly quizzes to go with reading (+/-) Free food + gated parking. Optional flight experience. 1 mo of Cardiology.
Cons: Older EDs. Level Two Trauma center (although they say they see plenty, plus no surgery residents to compete with). 1 mo of Neurology (they say it's beneficial, bc you're often consulting Neuro, good experience, etc.) 1 mo of Medicine
7. Emory: Pros: I rotated here for a month. I loved Emory (EUH, Emory Hospital- Midtown, etc) but wasn't a fan of Grady. Lots of sick pt.s at all of the EDs. At Grady, at the beginning/end of each shift the teams sort-of mini round on all of the pts. , it's brief (about 10 min max) and usually an attending, resident, and med student will share something cool that they saw or learned. Now have EMR. Some cool residents. The SICU month is supposed to put hair on your chest. During intern year (it may be during the first month in the ED) you get a month to cherry-pick procedures and can take some from the upper levels so that you get more comfortable and more experienced during that month. A lot of the faculty were very nice and the residents seem to like each other. I believe Emory gets the most NIH research money for EM. 8hr shifts during week, 12's on weekend to allow for 1 weekend off a month while in ED. Around 22 shifts a month(?).
Cons: Grady just wasn't really my style. Very crowded. Lots of pts on stretchers in the hallway, my 3rd year wheeled a pt to CT and then I took him to X-ray. A lot of the rooms don't have functioning ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes. Some of the labs didn't get drawn on a few pts. Very large class size (19, likely going up to 20). 1 mo of Medicine. ATL traffic. I'm also not a big fan of ATL and I think that colored my experience as well. I think it is a good program. Most of my mentors in EM went to Emory and they are awesome, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to check it out. I think when you come through the program you'll be very well prepared. 75% of the program is at Grady, 25% at Emory. Because of this and since I didn't like the city either, It had to be a lower ranking for me. I agree that Grady really is a place you should rotate at if you very interested in going there for residency. You'll find out if you like it or not during that month and they take heavily from those who have rotated (in one class, I think 18 of the 19 did a rotation there).
8. St. Louis (SLU): Pros: 1 mo of Tox + 1 mo of Burn Unit. St. Louis can be a violent city (trauma).
Cons: St. Louis can be a violent city. Small ED with lower pt census (I believe around 35K/yr). Interview day was a bit disorganized. Newer program (in it's 2nd year) 1 mo of Peds, IM, and Neuro. A couple of awkward interviews, although PD seemed cool. I also missed the pre-interview dinner and didn't get to meet some of the residents.
9. MS: Pros: A lot of moonlighting opportunities. Since it's a 4 yr program, they have room for all of the things that other programs pick only a few of (Cardio, Radiology, EKG, Tox, Ultrasound, Peds Sedation, TeleMedicine). Most of the resident were pretty cool.
Cons: 4 years is about 1 year too long for me. Jackson. 1 mo IM. 1st year is very off-service heavy, only 3 mos of EM (2 adult + 1 Peds).
The city for each program played a big role in my list.
1. Baylor: Pros: I liked Houston a lot and grew up in and still have most of my family in the SW. I liked the residents. Faculty seemed cool and are from all over. I think I would like to end up in the SW when I'm done with residency. Ben Taub was nicer than I was expecting and the Texas Medical Center was impressive, some Peds EM at Texas Children's Hospital. 6 months of ICU. I'd get to work on my Spanish. Free lunch everyday while working in the ED. 8's during the week and 12's on weekends to allow for a weekend off a month while in the ED. (I've forgotten how many shifts- 20-22ish?)
Cons: Newer Program (In its first year). Houston Traffic. Moonlight starting 3rd year. Residents Pay for parking.
2.Univ. of TN- Chattanooga: Pros: I rotated here and like the faculty and the residents. No floor months (Peds or IM). About 5 ICU months. Nice hospital, Nice ED. Free food + parking. Newer program (in it's 3rd year) but has a lot of support from the college of Medicine and Hospital- the Dean of the College of Med is an EP and the president elect of ACEP. Good "outdoor activities." Variety of good food- I've was pleasantly surprised. I'd be very happy to end up here, and thought about putting them number 1 but chose Houston over Chatt. 17 12's as an R1, 17 10's as R2, and 16 10's as an R3 (or something close to that).
Cons: Not a big city, although Nashville and Atlanta are close by (not a plus for me). Not a great place to fly out of- most flights take you to Nashville or Atl first. No family nearby.
3. JPS: Pros: Some of the faculty seemed pretty cool. Fort Worth seemed ok from what I saw during my 1 day visit. I like most of the curriculum- about 6 months of ICU. 1 mo of Cardiology is a plus in my book. Nice ED. Free food + parking. Good benefits package. Dallas nearby. This program could have gone lower on my list, but I like the city more than the ones below, and although the idea of being at a brand new program is a little scary it didn't scare me off. Also, it could be cool to be the senior-most resident in the ED on day 1 and not have 2 classes above to compete with for procedures and cool cases.
Cons: Brand New Program. Hard to get a feel for things because no residents to talk with. PD not at interview day. 2 months of Medicine. No Peds EM integrated into Adult EM months (this was the issue that most worried me, but the Assoc. PD said that they will see what the residents think and are working on some of the hospitals nearby but have nothing solid as of the time I interviewed. They do however, have 3 months of Peds EM- 1mo as an R2 and 2mo's as an R3 at Children's Hosp. of Dallas. Nothing R1 year).
4. Kansas City (KUMC): Pros: Nice people, Nice ED
Cons: 1 mo of Medicine + 1 mo of Peds, Newer program ( in 1st year), I think KC may be a bit colder or more snowy than what I'm looking for
5. Arkansas: Pros: Established program. Nice people. Newly built ED that was pretty nice. I believe an EM resident is involved in/runs all of the Traumas. A lot of moonlighting opportunities.
Cons: Little Rock. Residents give a lot of the lectures. 1 mo of Medicine at the VA (I think they may consider changing this?) 1 Month of Peds Flight experience (I think this is a combined EMS/Flight experience. You can opt out of the helicopter rides and do an additional month of PICU instead, but most people don't). All 12's (R1- 18, R2-17, R3- 16)
6. Christus Spohn: Pros: The beach. Good weather year round. Family is the only other program, so when you are off service you are working w/attendings. EM handles the all of the traumas (no surgery residents). No call, except for one service.. PICU, I think. Everything else is shift work. When on Trauma, it's 12 hr shifts. Moonlighting opportunites. 9 hr ED shifts (20/19/18 for R1/2/3). Weekly quizzes to go with reading (+/-) Free food + gated parking. Optional flight experience. 1 mo of Cardiology.
Cons: Older EDs. Level Two Trauma center (although they say they see plenty, plus no surgery residents to compete with). 1 mo of Neurology (they say it's beneficial, bc you're often consulting Neuro, good experience, etc.) 1 mo of Medicine
7. Emory: Pros: I rotated here for a month. I loved Emory (EUH, Emory Hospital- Midtown, etc) but wasn't a fan of Grady. Lots of sick pt.s at all of the EDs. At Grady, at the beginning/end of each shift the teams sort-of mini round on all of the pts. , it's brief (about 10 min max) and usually an attending, resident, and med student will share something cool that they saw or learned. Now have EMR. Some cool residents. The SICU month is supposed to put hair on your chest. During intern year (it may be during the first month in the ED) you get a month to cherry-pick procedures and can take some from the upper levels so that you get more comfortable and more experienced during that month. A lot of the faculty were very nice and the residents seem to like each other. I believe Emory gets the most NIH research money for EM. 8hr shifts during week, 12's on weekend to allow for 1 weekend off a month while in ED. Around 22 shifts a month(?).
Cons: Grady just wasn't really my style. Very crowded. Lots of pts on stretchers in the hallway, my 3rd year wheeled a pt to CT and then I took him to X-ray. A lot of the rooms don't have functioning ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes. Some of the labs didn't get drawn on a few pts. Very large class size (19, likely going up to 20). 1 mo of Medicine. ATL traffic. I'm also not a big fan of ATL and I think that colored my experience as well. I think it is a good program. Most of my mentors in EM went to Emory and they are awesome, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to check it out. I think when you come through the program you'll be very well prepared. 75% of the program is at Grady, 25% at Emory. Because of this and since I didn't like the city either, It had to be a lower ranking for me. I agree that Grady really is a place you should rotate at if you very interested in going there for residency. You'll find out if you like it or not during that month and they take heavily from those who have rotated (in one class, I think 18 of the 19 did a rotation there).
8. St. Louis (SLU): Pros: 1 mo of Tox + 1 mo of Burn Unit. St. Louis can be a violent city (trauma).
Cons: St. Louis can be a violent city. Small ED with lower pt census (I believe around 35K/yr). Interview day was a bit disorganized. Newer program (in it's 2nd year) 1 mo of Peds, IM, and Neuro. A couple of awkward interviews, although PD seemed cool. I also missed the pre-interview dinner and didn't get to meet some of the residents.
9. MS: Pros: A lot of moonlighting opportunities. Since it's a 4 yr program, they have room for all of the things that other programs pick only a few of (Cardio, Radiology, EKG, Tox, Ultrasound, Peds Sedation, TeleMedicine). Most of the resident were pretty cool.
Cons: 4 years is about 1 year too long for me. Jackson. 1 mo IM. 1st year is very off-service heavy, only 3 mos of EM (2 adult + 1 Peds).
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1. Indy
2. Louisville
3. OSU
4. Wright State
5. University of Kentucky
Tough decision between Indy and Louisville. I rotated at this program. The style of autonomous training at Louisville, plus the down to earth residents and attendings are great attributes. The ED is always busy, the pathology is great, and the support staff are outstanding. Louisville as a city would be a great place to live as well.
I chose Indy as number one partly because my wife liked Indianapolis better, but also because I believe the educational environment is stronger and would challenge me more. Otherwise, I echo all the other positives about the program that people have noted on here in the past such as the great training sites, the residents seem to be one big family, and PDs are very in tune with changing aspects of the program for the betterment of the residents.
The other three programs are great as well. Just to put plug out for Wright State, I believe having to work at five different hospitals prepares the residents for just about any type of community practice.
In the end, I would be happy to match at any of the above places.
Good luck to everyone else.
2. Louisville
3. OSU
4. Wright State
5. University of Kentucky
Tough decision between Indy and Louisville. I rotated at this program. The style of autonomous training at Louisville, plus the down to earth residents and attendings are great attributes. The ED is always busy, the pathology is great, and the support staff are outstanding. Louisville as a city would be a great place to live as well.
I chose Indy as number one partly because my wife liked Indianapolis better, but also because I believe the educational environment is stronger and would challenge me more. Otherwise, I echo all the other positives about the program that people have noted on here in the past such as the great training sites, the residents seem to be one big family, and PDs are very in tune with changing aspects of the program for the betterment of the residents.
The other three programs are great as well. Just to put plug out for Wright State, I believe having to work at five different hospitals prepares the residents for just about any type of community practice.
In the end, I would be happy to match at any of the above places.
Good luck to everyone else.
1.UAB-Cool residents, cool young PD, nice city, good ER. People seem well rounded
2. UF Gainesville-same as UAB, too many gator fans though.
3.UF Jax-crazy er, lots of autonomy, beaches, nice chief resident. neg-intense intern year
4. MUSC-my favorite city, beaches, cool young faculty. Neg-newer program, not as diverse patient pop.
5. Wake Forest-good reputation, city is small, little bit of attitude from pd, too academic
Then five after that. I am couples matching with DCDawg
2. UF Gainesville-same as UAB, too many gator fans though.
3.UF Jax-crazy er, lots of autonomy, beaches, nice chief resident. neg-intense intern year
4. MUSC-my favorite city, beaches, cool young faculty. Neg-newer program, not as diverse patient pop.
5. Wake Forest-good reputation, city is small, little bit of attitude from pd, too academic
Then five after that. I am couples matching with DCDawg
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I went back and added some explanation/reasoning behind how I ranked programs. As few of you already mentioned, reading through ROL thread from previous years helped me. It did not influence what I thought about each program, but it was just helpful to understand what goes through people's minds when they sit down and make their lists.
We are not doing this just to satisfy our curiosity but to help future applicants. So, if you don't mind, please add a little explanation about how you came to making your list. Thanks!
We are not doing this just to satisfy our curiosity but to help future applicants. So, if you don't mind, please add a little explanation about how you came to making your list. Thanks!
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MUSC; UAB; UF-Gainesville; Columbia; UT-Chatt; and five others.
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Please forgive my ignorance - how does viewing ROL's help future EM candidates?
Some lists were not just lists but had mini-reviews. Many explained how they came to make their lists. Reading those were helpful.
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1. Utah
2. OHSU
3. Wake Forest
4. Denver
5. ORMC
6. Maine
7. UNM
8. UF Jacksonville
9. UF Gainesville
10. U of Maryland
2. OHSU
3. Wake Forest
4. Denver
5. ORMC
6. Maine
7. UNM
8. UF Jacksonville
9. UF Gainesville
10. U of Maryland
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Detroit Receiving
Resurrection
Arkansas
Maimonides
Metropolitan
SIU
Lehigh Valley
Resurrection
Arkansas
Maimonides
Metropolitan
SIU
Lehigh Valley
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Long time reader, first time poster
Outside of the ED training, I was looking for lots of good peds EM training, lots of ICU months, international opportunities, a fair amount of elective time, and location. Obviously, resident camaraderie had a big role as well.
1) Orlando RMC: how could you pass up on didactics not being in a 5 hour block?
2) NY-Presbyterian: 2 different hospitals, 2 patient populations, 1 hospital where you learn Spanish
3) THE OSU: if it weren't in Columbus, it had potential for the #1 spot
4) HCMC: the best place that didn't have what I was looking for above (peds, internationl, elective), a bit skeptical of the pit boss role (in terms of PGY1/2, no matter what anyone says)
5) Highland
6) Henry Ford: thinking about going to Hawaii, Jackson Hole, and abroad as a PGY-3; 'twould be sweet
7) SUNY Downstate
8) Cook: the only program I was truly underwhelmed by
9) Buffalo
10) Allegheny
11) Staten Island
Outside of the ED training, I was looking for lots of good peds EM training, lots of ICU months, international opportunities, a fair amount of elective time, and location. Obviously, resident camaraderie had a big role as well.
1) Orlando RMC: how could you pass up on didactics not being in a 5 hour block?
2) NY-Presbyterian: 2 different hospitals, 2 patient populations, 1 hospital where you learn Spanish
3) THE OSU: if it weren't in Columbus, it had potential for the #1 spot
4) HCMC: the best place that didn't have what I was looking for above (peds, internationl, elective), a bit skeptical of the pit boss role (in terms of PGY1/2, no matter what anyone says)
5) Highland
6) Henry Ford: thinking about going to Hawaii, Jackson Hole, and abroad as a PGY-3; 'twould be sweet
7) SUNY Downstate
8) Cook: the only program I was truly underwhelmed by
9) Buffalo
10) Allegheny
11) Staten Island
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agreed. I think this thread is a bit useless (besides seeing what programs were popular this year or may be hard to match to) without a sentence or two on why you put it there. I have read the old ROL threads and the ones with explanation are the good ones.
BTW, I will post mine with some reviews but anonymously at some point...so don't bust my balls about critiquing without contributing.
cheers
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Thought I should chip in since I know I read these threads incessantly last year. I added in a bit about my overall thoughts on each program, in case anyone finds that helpful. Feel free to PM me if you have questions and I'll try to at least give my personal insight (which was mostly gleaned from a 1 day interview so it for what it is!).I didn't go to all the interviews I was offered, but I ranked all the places I interviewed and honestly feel I'd be happy at any of them. Yay for EM.
1. Vanderbilt: Loved this program. Had everything I was looking for in terms of having great people, tremendous leadership, great academic/research opportunities, nice city with good COL. Overall the hospital is super supportive of resident education, good benefits, etc. SO liked it too, so it was a fairly easy choice.
2. U of AZ: This was a strong #1 for me until I went to Vandy (which was my last interview). Totally loved the residents, wanted to go out for drinks with the rockin' PD, and Tucson in December was awesome. Great research and terrific curriculum, too. In the end, though, it's far from family and didn't outshine anything Vandy could offer so being a direct flight from family won out.
3. Maine: Totally loved this program, too. Fantastic residents, great hospital, fabulous location. I've spent a lot of time in Maine so this place felt great to me. Thing is, they have no NIH funded research, and since it's important to me to have mentors with NIH grants, etc, I decided I had to pass this one up. I do hope to get back there later in my career, though, and if Match Day brings me there now I'll still be really happy.
4. Carolinas: Great, well established program that has been turning out fantastic EPs for a long time. I liked the new PD a lot on a personal level, although it felt like she's still working out her vision for the direction of the program from here. I don't think that really takes away how great the program is, necessarily, but the leadership at other programs pushed them above this one for me. Again, I think I could be very happy here.
5. UMass: Again, another very well established, very strong program where I could be very happy. I absolutely loved the PD here and it's clear that he puts the education/health/happiness of his residents at the top of his to-do list every day. Worcester is really a drab, post-industrial city with horrendous winter weather, though, and SO was pretty dead set against moving there. So down it went.
6. Utah: I rotated here and really enjoyed my month. Really fun people, good focus on education, could not really be in a nicer location. In the end it was also far from family, and it's a young program that still seemed to be finding its place in the overall hospital scene. I know some residents in other departments at the U and it seems from their experiences that there's an overtone of 'residents are here to work' instead of 'residents are here to learn.' I figured out on the interview trail that this distinction was important to me. I don't think that was true in EM there at all, but you do have to do your off-service rotations. This could be off, it just seemed that some of the other programs I saw had a bit more to offer me in the end. Despite that, I would be more than happy to train there, and I'm sure I'd get a great education, if that's how things go.
7. Georgetown: Dr. Love (the PD here) was actually the one who drew my attention to the point mentioned above, that you want to go somewhere that you're not just a cog in the wheel of the hospital but that your education is primary. He has such a well-defined, clear vision for his program. It was really inspiring. I'd be really happy to train here, in theory, but the logistics were just not going to work for me. COL was way too high, you have to drive to locations that aren't near one another in crazy DC traffic, etc. I was kind of bummed I couldn't easily make this one work for us. We'll figure it out if match brings us there, but it'll be a challenge.
8. UVA: I definitely loved Charlottesville and the residents I met. I went here after I was at G'town and I wanted to take that program and move it to Charlottesville. The PD here is new and just wasn't a great salesman. I don't doubt they have a great program, but he did a lot of handwaving and literally saying 'blah blah blah' during his PPT and I felt like I didn't get a sense at all of what he was offering. That said, I'm sure I would be happy here and I certainly loved the scribes program.
9. Rochester: Definitely a strong program, nice people, good COL, strong research, but SO wouldn't budge on location.
That's all she wrote. Bring on 3/17!!
1. Vanderbilt: Loved this program. Had everything I was looking for in terms of having great people, tremendous leadership, great academic/research opportunities, nice city with good COL. Overall the hospital is super supportive of resident education, good benefits, etc. SO liked it too, so it was a fairly easy choice.
2. U of AZ: This was a strong #1 for me until I went to Vandy (which was my last interview). Totally loved the residents, wanted to go out for drinks with the rockin' PD, and Tucson in December was awesome. Great research and terrific curriculum, too. In the end, though, it's far from family and didn't outshine anything Vandy could offer so being a direct flight from family won out.
3. Maine: Totally loved this program, too. Fantastic residents, great hospital, fabulous location. I've spent a lot of time in Maine so this place felt great to me. Thing is, they have no NIH funded research, and since it's important to me to have mentors with NIH grants, etc, I decided I had to pass this one up. I do hope to get back there later in my career, though, and if Match Day brings me there now I'll still be really happy.
4. Carolinas: Great, well established program that has been turning out fantastic EPs for a long time. I liked the new PD a lot on a personal level, although it felt like she's still working out her vision for the direction of the program from here. I don't think that really takes away how great the program is, necessarily, but the leadership at other programs pushed them above this one for me. Again, I think I could be very happy here.
5. UMass: Again, another very well established, very strong program where I could be very happy. I absolutely loved the PD here and it's clear that he puts the education/health/happiness of his residents at the top of his to-do list every day. Worcester is really a drab, post-industrial city with horrendous winter weather, though, and SO was pretty dead set against moving there. So down it went.
6. Utah: I rotated here and really enjoyed my month. Really fun people, good focus on education, could not really be in a nicer location. In the end it was also far from family, and it's a young program that still seemed to be finding its place in the overall hospital scene. I know some residents in other departments at the U and it seems from their experiences that there's an overtone of 'residents are here to work' instead of 'residents are here to learn.' I figured out on the interview trail that this distinction was important to me. I don't think that was true in EM there at all, but you do have to do your off-service rotations. This could be off, it just seemed that some of the other programs I saw had a bit more to offer me in the end. Despite that, I would be more than happy to train there, and I'm sure I'd get a great education, if that's how things go.
7. Georgetown: Dr. Love (the PD here) was actually the one who drew my attention to the point mentioned above, that you want to go somewhere that you're not just a cog in the wheel of the hospital but that your education is primary. He has such a well-defined, clear vision for his program. It was really inspiring. I'd be really happy to train here, in theory, but the logistics were just not going to work for me. COL was way too high, you have to drive to locations that aren't near one another in crazy DC traffic, etc. I was kind of bummed I couldn't easily make this one work for us. We'll figure it out if match brings us there, but it'll be a challenge.
8. UVA: I definitely loved Charlottesville and the residents I met. I went here after I was at G'town and I wanted to take that program and move it to Charlottesville. The PD here is new and just wasn't a great salesman. I don't doubt they have a great program, but he did a lot of handwaving and literally saying 'blah blah blah' during his PPT and I felt like I didn't get a sense at all of what he was offering. That said, I'm sure I would be happy here and I certainly loved the scribes program.
9. Rochester: Definitely a strong program, nice people, good COL, strong research, but SO wouldn't budge on location.
That's all she wrote.
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Would be thrilled at any of my top 5, especially top 3. Kind of wondering if I should have ranked Vanderbilt higher in retrospect. I was extremely impressed by that place (they pretty much have it all!) but just didn't feel like I could legitimately pick Nashville over LA or Boston...oh well, too late now! And I really do love LA, not so sure about the south. Why can't Vanderbilt be in a bigger city?!? Anyway, we will see what happens on Match Day.
1- LAC/USC: +top-notch clinical experience, +tons of procedures, +very hands-on, +autonomy, +work in jail ED, +residents a lot of fun, +EM is top program in hospital, +brand new enormous ED, +/-tons of Spanish speaking patients, +intern year months alternate ED and offservice, -pods isolated (i.e. in one shift, only work in resuscitation area), +ED residents get all ED procedures except thoracotomies, -all 12 hour shifts all 4 years, -attendings are reportedly hit or miss in terms of availability, +love LA (and family in area), -not that many opportunities for research
2- BWH/MGH: +tons of amazing, cutting-edge research (affiliation w/ MIT, so tons of biomedical technology), +supportive environment, +big names in EM, +/-two pretty diverse clinical sites (trauma, more county-style at MGH and lots of cancer/gyn/superspecialized stuff at BWH), +great didactics, +strong reputation, +other top residency programs at the hospitals, -floor months, -Boston is a little oversaturated in terms of hospitals so not your "typical" EM experience, +Boston, -tons of PAs in the EDs, -not nearly as much trauma as my #1 and #3, +spouse prefers Boston
3- Vanderbilt: -NOT a county program but +they get all the trauma in Nashville (lots of penetrating), +outstanding program leadership, +incredible didactics, +residents exceptionally happy, +great reputation, +really really sick patients in busy ED, +no floor months and lots of ICU experience, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), +get tons of procedures, +trauma time is ICU only, +/- Nashville (seems like very nice city, good COL and weather, but not as exciting as LA or Boston), +strong and integrated peds EM experience, strong EMS
4- UCLA/Harbor: +getting a nice new ED in 2013ish, +residents live by the beach, +plenty of autonomy but attendings are available and involved, +county experience but big name, +great reputation, +very appreciative patients, -transitioning from 3 to 4 years, +trauma, +LA (lived there before- love it), +changing/improving didactics, -not as intense a clinical experience as USC.
5- Cincinnati: +Love the flight program, +/-pretty intense residency, +great reputation, +faculty are great, +1st/4th year mentorship, -not ideal place to live, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), -might kind of suck to get pulled out of your shifts to fly
6- Maryland: +Shock Trauma is incredible (but -separate trauma months), great program leadership, residents happy and friendly, +no floor months, -Baltimore, -Hopkins interaction seems a little odd
7- Indiana: +great county and academic experience, +Methodist and Wishard very close together, +friendly residents, +well-known program, +huge patient volumes at the two hospitals combined, -Indianapolis is kind of blah, -ready to get out of Midwest, -liked Cinci a bit better when comparing Midwestern programs
8- Maricopa: +location (family in area), +autonomy, +residents very nice, +program leadership impressive, -facilities, - offservice rotations, -other residencies in the hospital
9- Carolinas: +great atmosphere, +great reputation, -floor months (medicine and peds, I think), -not as much trauma and medically sick patients as my top choices, -honestly thought Vanderbilt was a stronger program when comparing Southern programs
10- Bellevue: +autonomy, +great reputation, +lots of ICU time, -peds experience, -trauma experience, -cost of living (decided NYC is not for me)
Plus a few others...
we will see what happens on Match Day. 1- LAC/USC: +top-notch clinical experience, +tons of procedures, +very hands-on, +autonomy, +work in jail ED, +residents a lot of fun, +EM is top program in hospital, +brand new enormous ED, +/-tons of Spanish speaking patients, +intern year months alternate ED and offservice, -pods isolated (i.e. in one shift, only work in resuscitation area), +ED residents get all ED procedures except thoracotomies, -all 12 hour shifts all 4 years, -attendings are reportedly hit or miss in terms of availability, +love LA (and family in area), -not that many opportunities for research
2- BWH/MGH: +tons of amazing, cutting-edge research (affiliation w/ MIT, so tons of biomedical technology), +supportive environment, +big names in EM, +/-two pretty diverse clinical sites (trauma, more county-style at MGH and lots of cancer/gyn/superspecialized stuff at BWH), +great didactics, +strong reputation, +other top residency programs at the hospitals, -floor months, -Boston is a little oversaturated in terms of hospitals so not your "typical" EM experience, +Boston, -tons of PAs in the EDs, -not nearly as much trauma as my #1 and #3, +spouse prefers Boston
3- Vanderbilt: -NOT a county program but +they get all the trauma in Nashville (lots of penetrating), +outstanding program leadership, +incredible didactics, +residents exceptionally happy, +great reputation, +really really sick patients in busy ED, +no floor months and lots of ICU experience, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), +get tons of procedures, +trauma time is ICU only, +/- Nashville (seems like very nice city, good COL and weather, but not as exciting as LA or Boston), +strong and integrated peds EM experience, strong EMS
4- UCLA/Harbor: +getting a nice new ED in 2013ish, +residents live by the beach, +plenty of autonomy but attendings are available and involved, +county experience but big name, +great reputation, +very appreciative patients, -transitioning from 3 to 4 years, +trauma, +LA (lived there before- love it), +changing/improving didactics, -not as intense a clinical experience as USC.
5- Cincinnati: +Love the flight program, +/-pretty intense residency, +great reputation, +faculty are great, +1st/4th year mentorship, -not ideal place to live, +/- nearly all at one site (exception- community EM months), -might kind of suck to get pulled out of your shifts to fly
6- Maryland: +Shock Trauma is incredible (but -separate trauma months), great program leadership, residents happy and friendly, +no floor months, -Baltimore, -Hopkins interaction seems a little odd
7- Indiana: +great county and academic experience, +Methodist and Wishard very close together, +friendly residents, +well-known program, +huge patient volumes at the two hospitals combined, -Indianapolis is kind of blah, -ready to get out of Midwest, -liked Cinci a bit better when comparing Midwestern programs
8- Maricopa: +location (family in area), +autonomy, +residents very nice, +program leadership impressive, -facilities, - offservice rotations, -other residencies in the hospital
9- Carolinas: +great atmosphere, +great reputation, -floor months (medicine and peds, I think), -not as much trauma and medically sick patients as my top choices, -honestly thought Vanderbilt was a stronger program when comparing Southern programs
10- Bellevue: +autonomy, +great reputation, +lots of ICU time, -peds experience, -trauma experience, -cost of living (decided NYC is not for me)
Plus a few others...
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