2006-2007 Interview Reviews

[bionicokie]

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Members don't see this ad.

So in an effort to make things a little easier. This can be the "Interview Review" thread for the 06-07 season. Post such wonderful things as:

Where you interviewed.

What you dug.

What you didn't dug.

Ready...... Go!!!

 

[amyl]

would also love to know: hours intern year and beyond, call schedule, moonlighting?, class size, general vibe...

 

[bionicokie]

It would also be nice to post what you would've liked to have seen on your interview.

example: i like to see residents who don't look like the living dead

 

[cytanaka]

Anyone interviewing at Yale: does the dept really pay for the hotel? When I made a reservation, they said i'd pay 89 bucks. Anyhow, how is it there?

 

[emarcini]

i haven't been to many, but here's my opinion on the one's i have been to:

OHSU: i loved this program... they paid for a really nice hotel downtown portland, and we went to a really good dinner with residents the night before. the program recently got a new chairman, who was the former pd of hopkins. he is VERY involved in resident education, and has really taken this program to a new level. they recently were #3 for NIH funding, and just got a 5 yr ACGME review (not many get this). the residents here really know how to see their program, but they honestly all seemed very sincere when talking about their residency experience at OHSU. my feeling was this program is definately on the up and up. gorgeous campus on the hill overlooking the city.

Cleveland Clinic: very prestigious. residents work very hard here, but are very well prepared upon graduation. research is STRONGLY encouraged here, and required. very large program... with ALOT of fellows. in fact, they have 27 cv fellows. lots of crna's, but don't compete with residents for cases due to sheer volume. if you're interested in cv, you should definately look at this place. new heart hospital opens in 2008. essentially is a 4 year program (a few 3 year slots), with the cby having only 1 month inpt medicine. very icu oriented, but call is not that bad. residents all seemed to work very hard while at work, but had a decent amount of freetime. also, moonlighting is allowed, and you get pay back from 5pm on if you stay until 8pm.... residents all said this adds up quickly. cleveland isn't the greatest city, but reasonable cost of living.

MUSC: never had been to charleston before, and the city could really sell the program itself. there's been some question about new chair, new pd, but the pd seems like she is very involved in improving the program. they just got approved for 2 new positions, a 4 year ACGME approval (contrary to all the hype about them going on probation), and are hiring over 20 new faculty. new hospital opens in 2007. 4 year program, no 3 year spots. alot of ob, transplant, and ct. no fellows, so alot of pain for residents as well. also, 100% board pass rate past 4 years. program used to be much more lax, and the ca-3's were not as happy as the ca-1's, who know no difference. definately not the malignant program everyone's been writing about.

Indiana: LARGE program. all major hospitals on one campus. major peds hospital. residents used to do 9+ months of peds, which will be cut back to 6 as per new ACGME regulations. 4 wks vacation per year. all the pros and cons of being such a large program. new chair from wake forest is trying to bring more regional into the training (a current weakness), and more outside applicants. (they typically take almost 95% IU grads). i don't think this will be the case for 2008 entering class. residents and staff seem to get along well, on a first name basis, with some exceptions. Indy isn't a bad place to live, cheap COL...

Hope this helps... remember this is only my opinion of the programs, i apologize for any fallacies. please other people post on this thread... i think it helps to get other's opinions of programs. in one day, you may see things others don't, get a different feel.... i would be interested in hearing from others on their opinions of programs. i know a "good face" can be put on by most for a few hours, so inside info would be appreciated as well...

 

[emarcini]

anyone been to mgh, bid or the brigham? also interested in unc and duke... let me know...

 

[SugammadexRocks]

What's going on with Duke, anyway? I've been waiting and waiting...even called and they said they do rolling interview invites. It seems like it's getting late...

 

[chips]

i PM'd you.

 

[bionicokie]

Please include these instructions when you quote - And quote the last list available!
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OHSU: i loved this program... they paid for a really nice hotel downtown portland, and we went to a really good dinner with residents the night before. the program recently got a new chairman, who was the former pd of hopkins. he is VERY involved in resident education, and has really taken this program to a new level. they recently were #3 for NIH funding, and just got a 5 yr ACGME review (not many get this). the residents here really know how to see their program, but they honestly all seemed very sincere when talking about their residency experience at OHSU. my feeling was this program is definately on the up and up. gorgeous campus on the hill overlooking the city.

Cleveland Clinic: very prestigious. residents work very hard here, but are very well prepared upon graduation. research is STRONGLY encouraged here, and required. very large program... with ALOT of fellows. in fact, they have 27 cv fellows. lots of crna's, but don't compete with residents for cases due to sheer volume. if you're interested in cv, you should definately look at this place. new heart hospital opens in 2008. essentially is a 4 year program (a few 3 year slots), with the cby having only 1 month inpt medicine. very icu oriented, but call is not that bad. residents all seemed to work very hard while at work, but had a decent amount of freetime. also, moonlighting is allowed, and you get pay back from 5pm on if you stay until 8pm.... residents all said this adds up quickly. cleveland isn't the greatest city, but reasonable cost of living.

MUSC: never had been to charleston before, and the city could really sell the program itself. there's been some question about new chair, new pd, but the pd seems like she is very involved in improving the program. they just got approved for 2 new positions, a 4 year ACGME approval (contrary to all the hype about them going on probation), and are hiring over 20 new faculty. new hospital opens in 2007. 4 year program, no 3 year spots. alot of ob, transplant, and ct. no fellows, so alot of pain for residents as well. also, 100% board pass rate past 4 years. program used to be much more lax, and the ca-3's were not as happy as the ca-1's, who know no difference. definately not the malignant program everyone's been writing about.

Indiana: LARGE program. all major hospitals on one campus. major peds hospital. residents used to do 9+ months of peds, which will be cut back to 6 as per new ACGME regulations. 4 wks vacation per year. all the pros and cons of being such a large program. new chair from wake forest is trying to bring more regional into the training (a current weakness), and more outside applicants. (they typically take almost 95% IU grads). i don't think this will be the case for 2008 entering class. residents and staff seem to get along well, on a first name basis, with some exceptions. Indy isn't a bad place to live, cheap COL...

 

[drsillybusiness]

Hi

I've got an interview at Albert Einstein/Montefiore/which one is it tomorrow so if anybody out there in all the world has interviewed there and feels like posting it really would be great. I've got some reading to do tonight but I'll turn the favor shortly for the programs that I interviewed at so far (UMass, Buffalo, Baystate in Springfield, MA, and Maine Medical Center). Many thanks and have a great night, good luck to everyone on the interview trail.

Thanks.

 

[chicamedica]

anyone been to mgh, bid or the brigham? also interested in unc and duke... let me know...

Brigham: Nice faculty, very sweet administrator, PD and assistant PD who really seemed to care about their residents. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations my interviewers and i had. There were SEVEN interviews, but each one was pretty low key and each interviewer asked interesting questions that made for stimulating discussion. I did a 2nd look there as well, and was impressed by the down-to-earthness of the residents and fellows. The couple things that ended up pushing BWH further down my list were actually related to my personal career goals, otherwise it would have been probably my #1. those aspects were: 1) very limited research in the department--mostly on pain mechanisms, largely ph.d's, i dont think ANY of the residents were even remotely interested in research. 2) along those lines, every single resident i met (and i met quite a few--at least 20) was aiming for a career in private practice. Nothing wrong with that, but as i want to stay in academics, I kind of interpreted this trend as reflecting the program possibly steering residents more towards a private practice career. I know that generally a larger percentage of anesthesiology graduates go into private practice, but this seemed especially pronounced at this program. The PD and assistant PD, however, are awesome--my favs out of almost all the programs i interviewed at.

 

[chicamedica]

Columbia: Not quite as personable a touch as BWH, I didn't even get to personally interview with the PD or the chair, and part of the "tour" seemed to actually be a group interview with ~5-6 other candidates. HOWEVER, despite that, I got a great vibe about the faculty (and i hope the vibe i got is true, because this is my future program), that they have a lot of confidence in every resident's potential. At a some programs i felt like from day #1, the faculty are ranking residents based on first impressions. Here i felt like residents are seen more as equals, each one perhaps having a more solid foundation in one area at one time and a little weaker foundation maybe in something else at another time, just needing more instruction or practice to improve. I also thought that of all the programs the residents here were the most humble and down to earth, perhaps even a little bit on the "nerdy" side, for lack of a better term, which is a bit how I am. I found the research here fascinating, and the research advisorship extremely, and i mean EXTREMELY, supportive (in contrast to two other programs that were high on my list). I actually did not expect to feel this way in advance, but after my interview day here, I felt the most secure about the kind of career that i envision for myself here. Now, again bear in mind that my impression is based on my personal interests (and gut feeling). The only aspect i was ambivalent about was NYC itself. I love NYC for its multiculturalism, diversity, and all it has to offer, but dread the hassles of this HUGE HUGE city not to mention the costs on a resident's salary with loans to pay.

 

[bigdan]

Chica - thanks for the posts.

What's the word on the work hours at Columbia? Some other folks have raised concerns...

dc

 

[bionicokie]

I was on the interview circuit last year. I'd like to hear someone's opinion of SLU and Wash U in St. Louis. I liked SLU but couldn't stand Wash U.

 

[chicamedica]

Chica - thanks for the posts.

What's the word on the work hours at Columbia? Some other folks have raised concerns...

dc

unfortunately i dont really know much re: the work hours, as i'm only starting there next summer, but from what the current residents were saying it's not that bad. I forget what they were saying about CRNAs (re: whether residents relieve CRNAs or whether it's CRNAs relieving residents at the end of the day). Probably still not "cush," but why would you want residency to be cush, anyway? A place that's "cush" likely doesn't have as much pathology coming through. Whatever it is, people say it's still easier than intern year, if only for the fact that you get most weekends off. That's the case generally across programs.

There was that span of a few months in the spring of 05 that i heard about on SDN, where the OR at columbia was overbooked and there was miscommunication between the surgeons and the anesthesiologists scheduling wise, but that apparently has resolved.

 

[chicamedica]

I was on the interview circuit last year. I'd like to hear someone's opinion of SLU and Wash U in St. Louis. I liked SLU but couldn't stand Wash U.

I actually really liked the Wash U program. Barnes-Jewish is a simply AMAZING hospital. Residents seemed very motivated and passionate about the field, interested in learning for the sake of learning, and very friendly. Research opportunities great, admin very encouraging for residents to pursue their interests. PD and chair seemed really really down to earth, especially the PD.

St. Louis creeped me out though. The streets seemed deserted, even riding around the city on the tour. Riding on the subway from the airport, and just walking around the area adjacent to where the hotel was, the people that would pass seemed tense and angry. Maybe if i could have hung out with more residents or med students in St. Louis, i could have seen another side to it.

Didnt' interview at SLU so cant comment on that one.

 

[badgas]

I interviewed at SLU this year. I can't say that I had the same creepy feeling about St.Louis. It seemed like a solid program that lacks the big name. This lack of a big name probably results in many people ranking it lower than it deserves. Just my opinion.

 

[drsillybusiness]

Here it is,

Baystate: did a month rotation there so very informal interview day. Asst chairman gives a powerpoint presentation then interview with faculty members. Got a good feel for the program being there a month. I thought the faculty were excellent, like most of my other experiences, if you do your reading and bring questions everyone is happy to teach. There are also a good number of faculty who you ask one question and they roll it into a mini-lecture while working the case. They had a lower pass rate with board scores last year because according to faculty and some resident's I asked those guys just didn't keep up with the reading. Lectures everyday at 4 pm, two free weekends a month, 4-5 call/mo. In at 6:30, pre-ops after lecture so most leaving around 6-6:30 pm. One thing they have is for the first few months of CA-1 you only do OB call. Some people are turned off by this, I talked with one faculty member and the philosophy is basically get good at epidurals and relatively healthy pregnant cases while your still green as opposed to take main OR call and have to watch someone do a complicated case because your still inexperienced. Senior resident's are good clinicians, two going into practice, one to Cleveland CLinic for cardio, one doing peds in either boston or minnesota.

MMC: did a month there as well. great clinical program. again, faculty willing to teach if you brought stuff in. What struck me most about this program is how collegial everyone way. Seniors call attendings by first name, being a smaller program everyone gets along very well. Seniors are three going to practice, and one to do pain at dartmouth. Residents are all very happy, Portland is a great town, and they all feel very confident in their skills. One downside is that the lecture series is quite weak, and they are working on it. They are also changing their transition year around a bit to better suit their anesthesia residents, so that they get more cardio/pulmonary exposure as well as ob. The program would be great for someone who is highly self motivated to keep up with their reading on their own but if you need to be kept on track a little more it could prove difficult. I had a great month and enjoyed it. Interview was very relaxed again because I was there for a month, but it's usually only a small number of candidates touring the hospital with the program director and then you meet with resident's for lunch. Pretty cool thing though is that they were less strong in regional so they just hired a PA and are essentially assembling a regional block team for the main OR, which has been working out really well for the resident on their block month.

Buffalo: Met with everyone in a hotel off campus. No tours of hospitals. Meet with faculty one to two on one for interviews and then a few resident's show up to chat with people in between interviews. The resident's seemed happy, talked about how many cases they did. Lecture is several times per week and everyone gets over to a central location because they work at 5-6 hospitals, if you mapquest most are within minutes of each other in downtown buffalo. free t-shirt. pd was elected asa president so they are happy about that. seems like a decent program.

Einstein: Meet in morning and then break off for interviews which are 15 min. long each and 2-1 fac:interviewee. They pack them in so a morning session of 12 candidates and 12 in the afternoon. Resident's available throughout to meet with and give a tour of the hospital. They email you a week out to let you know if they are planning on ranking you. The resident's are pleased with choosing einstein, feel prepared. They are big on reviewing, so the resident's rank faculty and also get lots of feedback. Tests every month and I got the impression it was not a rare thing for the CA-2's to pass the in-service. As for the hospital the OR's were a little dated but the new children's hospital is very nice.

UMass: BEAUTIFUL new facilities. Just dropped some serious change on new OR/ER/ICU's that all face the lake to drink in the beauty of Worcester, MA. The resident's were happy, felt it was a solid program. They work hard there and pride themselves on being a big center for very sick patients. Meet with the pd/chair/education head and all three are very nice. The director of education can be a different interview, I would ask questions and then he would talk and then stop talking then quiet...so just have lots of questions to ask him. Also meet with chief resident. Have the latest and greatest of technology so that's really cool.

I reckon that's about it for those programs. Let me know if you've got any other specific questions. Regional is a big deal for me and of these I got the sense that MMC/Baystate were strongest in that department.

Henry Ford, UConn, and Penn State are next so if anybody has anything on those it'd be appreciated.

Have a good one.

 

[drsillybusiness]

1

 

[BubbleHead]

Here it is,

Baystate: did a month rotation there so very informal interview day. Asst chairman gives a powerpoint presentation then interview with faculty members. Got a good feel for the program being there a month. I thought the faculty were excellent, like most of my other experiences, if you do your reading and bring questions everyone is happy to teach. There are also a good number of faculty who you ask one question and they roll it into a mini-lecture while working the case. They had a lower pass rate with board scores last year because according to faculty and some resident's I asked those guys just didn't keep up with the reading. Lectures everyday at 4 pm, two free weekends a month, 4-5 call/mo. In at 6:30, pre-ops after lecture so most leaving around 6-6:30 pm. One thing they have is for the first few months of CA-1 you only do OB call. Some people are turned off by this, I talked with one faculty member and the philosophy is basically get good at epidurals and relatively healthy pregnant cases while your still green as opposed to take main OR call and have to watch someone do a complicated case because your still inexperienced. Senior resident's are good clinicians, two going into practice, one to Cleveland CLinic for cardio, one doing peds in either boston or minnesota.

MMC: did a month there as well. great clinical program. again, faculty willing to teach if you brought stuff in. What struck me most about this program is how collegial everyone way. Seniors call attendings by first name, being a smaller program everyone gets along very well. Seniors are three going to practice, and one to do pain at dartmouth. Residents are all very happy, Portland is a great town, and they all feel very confident in their skills. One downside is that the lecture series is quite weak, and they are working on it. They are also changing their transition year around a bit to better suit their anesthesia residents, so that they get more cardio/pulmonary exposure as well as ob. The program would be great for someone who is highly self motivated to keep up with their reading on their own but if you need to be kept on track a little more it could prove difficult. I had a great month and enjoyed it. Interview was very relaxed again because I was there for a month, but it's usually only a small number of candidates touring the hospital with the program director and then you meet with resident's for lunch. Pretty cool thing though is that they were less strong in regional so they just hired a PA and are essentially assembling a regional block team for the main OR, which has been working out really well for the resident on their block month.

Buffalo: Met with everyone in a hotel off campus. No tours of hospitals. Meet with faculty one to two on one for interviews and then a few resident's show up to chat with people in between interviews. The resident's seemed happy, talked about how many cases they did. Lecture is several times per week and everyone gets over to a central location because they work at 5-6 hospitals, if you mapquest most are within minutes of each other in downtown buffalo. free t-shirt. pd was elected asa president so they are happy about that. seems like a decent program.

Einstein: Meet in morning and then break off for interviews which are 15 min. long each and 2-1 fac:interviewee. They pack them in so a morning session of 12 candidates and 12 in the afternoon. Resident's available throughout to meet with and give a tour of the hospital. They email you a week out to let you know if they are planning on ranking you. The resident's are pleased with choosing einstein, feel prepared. They are big on reviewing, so the resident's rank faculty and also get lots of feedback. Tests every month and I got the impression it was not a rare thing for the CA-2's to pass the in-service. As for the hospital the OR's were a little dated but the new children's hospital is very nice.

UMass: BEAUTIFUL new facilities. Just dropped some serious change on new OR/ER/ICU's that all face the lake to drink in the beauty of Worcester, MA. The resident's were happy, felt it was a solid program. They work hard there and pride themselves on being a big center for very sick patients. Meet with the pd/chair/education head and all three are very nice. The director of education can be a different interview, I would ask questions and then he would talk and then stop talking then quiet...so just have lots of questions to ask him. Also meet with chief resident. Have the latest and greatest of technology so that's really cool.

I reckon that's about it for those programs. Let me know if you've got any other specific questions. Regional is a big deal for me and of these I got the sense that MMC/Baystate were strongest in that department.

Henry Ford, UConn, and Penn State are next so if anybody has anything on those it'd be appreciated.

Have a good one.

I went to UConn: It is a smaller program, 8 residents/yr, not at all research oriented. It is a private group that DOES NOT rely on Residents for labor force. The new Residency Director, Dr. Gross, is a huge change from the old PD.

The old PD never invited anyone for interviews that didn't have a direct tie to New England, hence they went unfilled the last 3 years and canned the old PD. Since the private group is profit driven, and time is money, nobody wanted to spend hours each week interveiwing residents. Dr. Gross trained at UPenn and will likely change all that, he's a double appointment Full Professor in Anesthesia and Pharmacology.

Residents are all very happy with the program. They all get time off, time to read, no competition for cases. There are no fellows in the program, good or bad you decide. Hartford Hospital does 17K surgeries a year, the residency rotates residents at Hartford Hospital, UConn Health Center, and St Francis Hospital. All CA-2s have there numbers and more, so you're well prepared in terms of clinical experience coming out of UConn.

 

[lame_brain]

Couldn't attend the dinner the night before so not sure if it was helpful....

Interview day lasted from 8am-12noon. We went on a tour of the hospital with the residents first. I got an overall bad vibe from the residents. Example: "We definitely run this like a surgery residency program." "You will be working 75-80 hours a week for all 3 years." "Why did you do so much community service in medical school?" (asked in a 'puzzled' way, not stated as a compliment). "People from here don't really do fellowships or go into academics...we just want to go to private practice." When showing us the cafeteria, they also started talking about how the anesthesia residents will only eat with people from certain departments and would never be caught dead with people from, for example, ob/gyn or peds.

You interview with one resident/faculty team and the interview is fairly benign. Why anesthesia? Why Harbor? Do you have any questions about the program? As soon as you finish your interview, you are free to go. That means that some people were out of there by 10am, but since I was the last one to be called to interview, I had to stay the full 4 hours. I think the interview lasted about 15 minutes.

My overall conclusion is that this program can be good or bad depending on one's personal style and one's ultimate career goals. I personally don't want a surgery-style program and I haven't ruled out a career in academics so this is probably not the place for me. They also have limited transplant experience and that was a minus for me. However, I'm sure others would enjoy the atmosphere at Harbor-UCLA.

 

[MD Dreams]

Couldn't attend the dinner the night before so not sure if it was helpful....

Interview day lasted from 8am-12noon. We went on a tour of the hospital with the residents first. I got an overall bad vibe from the residents. Example: "We definitely run this like a surgery residency program." "You will be working 75-80 hours a week for all 3 years." "Why did you do so much community service in medical school?" (asked in a 'puzzled' way, not stated as a compliment). "People from here don't really do fellowships or go into academics...we just want to go to private practice." When showing us the cafeteria, they also started talking about how the anesthesia residents will only eat with people from certain departments and would never be caught dead with people from, for example, ob/gyn or peds.

You interview with one resident/faculty team and the interview is fairly benign. Why anesthesia? Why Harbor? Do you have any questions about the program? As soon as you finish your interview, you are free to go. That means that some people were out of there by 10am, but since I was the last one to be called to interview, I had to stay the full 4 hours. I think the interview lasted about 15 minutes.

My overall conclusion is that this program can be good or bad depending on one's personal style and one's ultimate career goals. I personally don't want a surgery-style program and I haven't ruled out a career in academics so this is probably not the place for me. They also have limited transplant experience and that was a minus for me. However, I'm sure others would enjoy the atmosphere at Harbor-UCLA.

I went to the "dinner" the night before. It really was not a dinner, there were finger foods and lots of wine (which I though may have been a bit inappropriate).

My interview day was very similar to yours. The residents did say the same thing about not eating with other programs except surgery (but I thought it was in a lighthearted way). Overall, I felt this program was very weak. The residents were pretty cool, but my impression was that they were more interested in being party boys and girls than seasoned anesthesiologists. Most of the faculty seemed pretty uninterested and it seemed like they interviewed because they had to. Everyone also emphasized how hard we will need to work (i.e. many hours!) The interview experience was very unimpressive and poorly structured.

Bottom line: I think this is a program for someone who really wants to be in souther California and does not have any other options. At least, I know it was not for me, therefore I will not be ranking it and hope someone else who wants it can get it.

I'll write a lot more about programs after I match 😉

 

[nutmegs]

wine? inappropriate?

 

[Trisomy13]

wine? inappropriate?

haha.. if anyone thinks wine at dinner is inappropriate...by all means avoid the MGH dinner! the never-ending wine glass is in full effect at the little restaurant next to the hospital. the waiter pours almost as soon as you finish taking a sip.

 

[MD Dreams]

wine? inappropriate?

I love wine. I think wine at dinner is fantastic, especially if it's free. However, I didn't think it was appropriate in the context of the pre-interview dinner for a residency position. There is just something tasteless (no pun intended) about seeing a bunch of buzzed applicants and staff. Just my point of view.

Cheers.

 

[SexPanther]

I love wine. I think wine at dinner is fantastic, especially if it's free. However, I didn't think it was appropriate in the context of the pre-interview dinner for a residency position. There is just something tasteless (no pun intended) about seeing a bunch of buzzed applicants and staff. Just my point of view.

Cheers.

I look favorably on the programs that have a little drinkie-drinkie at the pre-interview dinner. I'm not talking about all out Frank The Tank smashed, but a couple of drinks. It shows me that they can loosen up a little, that although this time is stressful tonight we're going to have dinner in a relaxed atmosphere.

 

[OB1🤙]

I look favorably on the programs that have a little drinkie-drinkie at the pre-interview dinner. I'm not talking about all out Frank The Tank smashed, but a couple of drinks. It shows me that they can loosen up a little, that although this time is stressful tonight we're going to have dinner in a relaxed atmosphere.

Quoted for truth.

 

[drsillybusiness]

Hey,

Interviewed at HF yesterday. First off, the hospital is HUGE, fucillo huge, 903 beds but it just seems enormous. 30 OR's, also building another hospital roughly 30 minutes away that might be a rotation site in the future, that's slated for 2008 they say. Quite a few jokes were made about "oh you won't have time for that, you'll be working too hard" which in my mind is funny once but more than once raises an eyebrow. No library time or time off for reading during the day. When asked about work hours resident's said lectures 4x/wk at 6:15 and then get cases rolling. Depending on what you are (per-call, designated late, or neither) plays alot into when you leave in the afternoon. I got the impression most often it was 5-6. If you stay after 6 they pay you, if you stay past 11 you don't come in the next day. They stressed their resident's do many many cases, and complex ones with very sick patients so the clinical experience is second to none. They have heart/lung/pancreas/liver/kidney transplants. Full accreditation cycle and they are due for their review in the next few months, the pd says he feels they are further ahead now than at their last review. Interviews: very relaxed, standard questions "why hf?", where do you see yourself in 10 years, why anesthesia? what makes you stand out/why should we rank you? Nothing terrible. The pd seems very nice, stressed the hard work and that resident's do very well on boards because of all the complex cases they see. Also emphasized how everyone gets along, how he's keeping his program at it's current size because he likes it there, collegial atmosphere among resident's and faculties with several events throughout the year. Very DO friendly, pd talked to me about how AOA making it difficult on it's students with yanking away internship years, especially in michigan where you need to do it in order to get residency. I think that's about it, any other specific questions let me know. Hope everyone isn't too strung out after flying this weekend.

 

[powermd]

Chica - thanks for the posts.

What's the word on the work hours at Columbia? Some other folks have raised concerns...

dc

Hours at Columbia vary by rotation. First year you will likely work about 55-65hrs/wk, with a bias toward the lower end. Second and third year you are more typically around 65 hrs/wk. SICU/CTICU is 80-85 hrs/wk. Cardiac varies depending on how many residents are on the rotation, as well as teh general case load. With four residents/fellows, you will be working very, very hard, and be in the OR every day. With five, six, or seven residents, it gets much more manageable, and you'll have preop/line days, cath lab days, fewer calls, and shorter OR days.

Overall the hours aren't bad. They aren't easy hours, but it's not malignant.
As for relieving CRNAs.. as a first year you may rarely have to relieve a CRNA from the eye institute if on call (no biggie.. just bring a pillow!). CRNAs assist in our general ORs as well, so you may have to relieve one at 5 or 7pm when they finish for the day. This is not something to be upset about- with the CRNAs around, the day-workload is easier for the residents, it gets us out for lectures, and allows more of us to be off the general OR rotations and doing things like OB, cardiac, units, pain, peds, etc.

 

[cytanaka]

Here's my two cents on these, if anyone cares...

Wash U: this is my home school, but I thought they did a kick ass job of showing off the program; dinner/tours/presentations were all very well planned and useful. The interviews were long enough to have meaningful conversations, and you do get to meet the PD and chairman for a substantial amount of time. The facilities here are the best that I've seen for rez/med school interviews. And, after working with most of the residents in the program, I'd say they're actually pretty happy, though the work hours are brutal in the ICU's. Also, very few weak spots in the program, except regional- but, they are actively recruiting attendings for this. Attendings here are also awesome; out of maybe 20 i've worked with, only had problems with one. That being said, yes, it is St. Louis... For anyone that hasn't been here before, it isn't THAT bad, but not great either. The area around the hospital is very nice though, with a small local bar scene in walking distance for happy hours after work. Plus, there's the park, which has a lot of great stuff to do. Overall, I'll put it this way: St. Louis was perfectly fine for 4 years, but I'd rather not spend another 4 here...

Columbia: was actually suprised, in a good way. Figured it would be of high quality just by reputation, but the residents seemed a lot more content than I anticipated. Dinner/tours/interviewing was all well done and informative. Facilities kind of blow, but as long as the stool behind the curtain has a cushion, who really cares... Not a great location obviously as far as NYC goes, but good enough. Interviewed with a chief and attending, which was pleasant enough. Overall, I liked the program a lot. Didn't know they are not a level I trauma, but the residents seemed to blow this fact aside.

Einstein: not sure if others will agree, but several other applicants and I that day were very disappointed. There was no presentation done to review the program, only met three residents that seemed happier to get out of work than talk to applicants. Did like how they offer afternoon interviews though... Interviews were really annoying; 4 interviews, 15min per, 2 of which had two interviewers firing questions at once. Seemed like they had a list of stupid questions they were set on getting through; personally, I think the why'd you go into medicine, why anesthesia questions are kind of rediculous, given you write a personal statement for that purpose, yet don't ask any questions that seem to evaluate who you are. Oh, and got some ******ed ethical question too. Skipped the tour, since you had to undress to go on it. Also found it weird that they tell you if you ranked in a week. Couldn't get a good read on anything about the program and how good it is. Either way, will not be ranking them, unless someone has a good reason...

St. Luke's-Roosevelt: another pleasant suprise; location rocks, facilities great, and subsidised housing. Had two interviews that took 10min total though; would've liked a little more time to get to know the people... Residents stopped by during the day, all seemed very nice. Regional and pain look good, everything else seems to be community level. But, I was impressed, and looks like a place that one could be very happy. Also, salary really high.

That's my take on things thus far, though I'm probably not the best person to listen to about life changing decisions. I can answer questions about Wash U if anyone's got any.

 

[interviewrvw]

SLU: Ok program. Probably average work hours for residency. All in all, a pretty average program with no name.

URochester: Great program. Very dedicated PD and Chair. Awesome didactics. Average work hours but night float is a huge advantage. Strong medical center is an amazing facility.

UPitt: Not impressed. Program is way too big and impersonal. Dinner had about 50 people which made conversation almost impossible with the residents. Pittsburgh is not a great place to be and traffic sucks. Way too many faculty and residents to the point it would be impossible to feel at home.

MCW: Again, not impressed. Very odd interview day. Everyone interviewed with the chair, the PD and 2 faculty. Chair tape recorded your brief interview. We were assured that he read our apps, but he had to ask us our scores, grades, what school we came from, etc. Just very odd.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Chair tape recorded your brief interview. We were assured that he read our apps, but he had to ask us our scores, grades, what school we came from, etc. Just very odd.

Did he say,"this call may be recorded for purposes of quality assurance?" If at that point he began to talk about loan consolidation, I would be out the door.

 

[Trisomy13]

Pittsburgh is not a great place to be and traffic sucks.
.

Correction.. Pittsburgh is a great place to be compared to many of the places I've lived in this country... and the traffic is entirely manageable once you learn your personal shortcuts. It's a city comprised of neigborhoods and if you don't learn the off-the-beaten-path routes then traffic can indeed seem difficult. To each their own ;-)

 

[lame_brain]

Just a tip for fellow interviewees...UC Davis doesn't specify when the interview day will end but it actually gets out on the later side (4PM). Hope this helps for those planning flights and rides!

 

[emarcini]

Just a tip for fellow interviewees...UC Davis doesn't specify when the interview day will end but it actually gets out on the later side (4PM). Hope this helps for those planning flights and rides!

University of Michigan: I definately thought I wanted to get out of the midwest, but this program might make me stay. The chair, Dr. Tremper, is a sole reason for coming, but the PD, Dr. Sanford might be as well. It's a four year program, and the CBY is rough.... That being said, the Anesthesia residency was not a malignant program in the least bit, and residents were very happy. Call schedule is VERY reasonable, and besides post call day off, the day after call you work in the "holding" hall, basically doing preops and blocks all day, leaving around 3-4pm. U of M puts you up for 2 nights in the campus hotel, and you go to a dinner with not only almost every resident that isn't working, but alot of faculty, spouses, and kids.... It's a big program with a small program feel, which is exactly what I'm looking for. Ok, I won't sell you anymore, but if you were thinking of canceling or not interviewing here, I would highly reconsider. The hospital is all located on ONE campus (they don't send you away for any rotations), and the informatics/ charting system is only comparable to maybe Duke...

University of Wisconsin: In my opinion (and other's as well), could be called a "little michigan." In fact, 2 of the residents I spoke with had difficulty deciding between the 2 programs. Madison is a bit of a bigger town than Ann Arbor, but a similar feel. UW Madison is a large institution, but the program (both # residents and staff) is small/medium sized... which gives it a more of a "family" feel. Everyone knows everyone, which is good for some personality types, and maybe not so much for others. They currently have an interim chair, but that's not to do at all with the stability of the program, rather to some politics. The old chair still is there, and is a big part of the program. A new chair will be in place by 2007, and the PD is staying for many more years, and assured me the program would not change much with a new chair. Alot of construction going on- but nice facilites. No electronic pre-ops or charting, which was beleived to soon change. All in all, very resident friendly program- with 2-3 call's per month and 3 weekends off. Good training for pp, but residents also go onto great fellowships (hopkins, mgh, bwh, stanford..). And I can't emphasize enough what a great city this is... Ok, I have to wrap this up, but I'll write about the other tow programs I mentioned in the title later on.. P

Please keep this trend up- I think it's really valuable to see other's opinions...

 

[emarcini]

anyone know when BID, UCSD, and/or Stanford interview days end? just trying to plan flights, and my emails have been left un-responded to... thanks!!!!!

 

[interviewrvw]

UIC- Very laid back program. Unfortunately the chair is retiring this year so who knows what changes that will bring. I believe that they have a nightfloat system there. Call is not bad at all. They work around 55-60 hrs/wk on average. It felt more like a community program to me than a university program. The main hospital is located about 2 blocks away from Rush and Little Italy in Chicago. From what I could drag out of the residents and faculty, there are zero weaknesses at this program😕 Overall, a decent, but not great program in my opinion.

 

[chips]

anyone know when BID, UCSD, and/or Stanford interview days end? just trying to plan flights, and my emails have been left un-responded to... thanks!!!!!

i don't know about ucsd, but bid's dates are:
November - 28 and 30
December - 5, 12, 14, 19, 21, 28.
January - 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23.

and stanford's dates are:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, Nov. 30th, Dec. 5th, Dec. 7th, Dec. 12th, Dec. 14th, Dec. 19th
Tuesdays and Thursdays, January 2nd, 4th, 9th, 11th, 16th and 18th.

hope this helps.

 

[chicamedica]

Correction.. Pittsburgh is a great place to be compared to many of the places I've lived in this country... and the traffic is entirely manageable once you learn your personal shortcuts. It's a city comprised of neigborhoods and if you don't learn the off-the-beaten-path routes then traffic can indeed seem difficult. To each their own ;-)

ditto. I'm gonna miss Pittsburgh big time.🙁

 

[OB1🤙]

anyone know when BID, UCSD, and/or Stanford interview days end? just trying to plan flights, and my emails have been left un-responded to... thanks!!!!!

Stanford was done around 2PM, dunno about the others.

 

[cloudyroom]

anyone gotten interviews @ Miami yet? Or Sinai?

 

[Green912]

U. Rochester
Strengths: Diverse case load. Tons of livers. Great facility
Weaknesses: many residents commented that most peds cases were bread & butter
Caseload quantity and quality: overall seemed very good
Resident friendly environment: 9/10
Moonlighting: available but I don't remember specifics
Average work hours per week: 60-65
Didactics: better than average

Overall Impression: I got a really good feel from this program. The residents work pretty hard but the call schedule is set up to be pretty friendly (no 24hr call). I would be happy to go there.

U. Buffalo
Strengths: Nice variety of cases. Chair is ASA president.
Weaknesses: residents rotate between 5-6 hospitals. Most are within walking distance so maybe this is a soft weakness.
Caseload quantity and quality: diverse enough
Resident friendly environment: 8/10. kind of hard to tell since the resident exposure was somewhat limited.
Moonlighting: not sure
Average work hours per week: 60

Overall: had a difficult time getting a good feel for the program. The interview day was spent at a hotel where 4-5 residents attended. I would have liked more time with the residents outside of the interview process where the chair and faculty aren't in the same room.

West Penn
Strengths: rotate between West Penn which is a nice community hosp. with typical cases and Allegheny Gen. where you see the traumas, transplants, etc.
Weaknesses: Huge faculty shake-up recently. The new chair has a great reputation and I got a pretty good vibe from him. Program is in transition but most feel that it will come out stronger. I tend to agree.
Caseload quantity and quality: you should see everything
Resident friendly environment: 8/10
Moonlighting: allowed in house & at the ICU
Average work hours per week: 65
Didactics: better than average

Overall: Thought it was a pretty good program where you'll get the training you need.

 

[drofgas]

To fellow interviewees at MCG of Augusta, please be so kind as to tell me about what time did your interview end? I would really appreciate a prompt answer if you can as I am really pressed by time, and I need to arrrange for transportation last minute. Thank you very much, and I wish everyone the best of luck!
Thank you.
A.

 

[drsillybusiness]

Hey

Went to UConn this weekend. Good program, resident's are happy and were very pumped to encourage people to go there.

Strengths: huge variety of cases. Rotate through St. Francis, Hartford Hospital, UConn Med Center, and Hartford Children's. They said Hartford Hospital was 3rd busiest surgical center in the country, and they had the busiest heart center north of Hopkins, sorry, the Hopkins. New chair as of beginning of October is really working on getting academics up b/c that's what burnt them on the last acgme review, 3 yr accred instead of 4. Resident's are being surveyed about the best attendings to work with so he's focusing their time with those folks. roughly 80-90 attendings and res's said about 5 are a problem to work with. CA1 first four months no call with time to read, otherwise call 4-5 times per month. Only time get near 80 h/wk is on ICU rotations. Research is increasing. Didactics: 1/wk 2 hr session, Journal club monthly, monthly evening 4hr didactic session, and each week each clinical site has a lecture. Regional is good and research in this is increasing. They also do quite a bit of simwork with two or three sim's on site.

Weaknesses: got feeling from resident's that with switch in chair and him working hard to get academics on track there are some growing pains. Program might be expanding to 10 resident's from 8.

Several resident's had bought houses. Only fellowship to compete with is ICU.
The interviews were pretty tame, just getting to know you. The PD WILL ask you some direct questions (what is MAC type of thing) and then some basic science questions out of nowhere (I got what is half life, 1st order kinetics, and then relation of half life to time coefficient-that's the one with the log of 0.692 thingy....I missed that one but he was very nice about it). Great guy though, very enthusiastic in telling all about the program.

Overall, I was quite impressed....but I'm an easy steady. Thanks for the rochester post, anybody got the skizzle on Penn State?

Thanks, I've found this thread very helpful in checking out other programs and remembering the ones I went to. good luck to everyone.

ps. anybody know if there's a website that gives all the board pass rates?

 

[bumpkin]

U. Rochester
Strengths: Diverse case load. Tons of livers. Great facility
Weaknesses: many residents commented that most peds cases were bread & butter
Caseload quantity and quality: overall seemed very good
Resident friendly environment: 9/10
Moonlighting: available but I don't remember specifics
Average work hours per week: 60-65
Didactics: better than average

Overall Impression: I got a really good feel from this program. The residents work pretty hard but the call schedule is set up to be pretty friendly (no 24hr call). I would be happy to go there.

U. Buffalo
Strengths: Nice variety of cases. Chair is ASA president.
Weaknesses: residents rotate between 5-6 hospitals. Most are within walking distance so maybe this is a soft weakness.
Caseload quantity and quality: diverse enough
Resident friendly environment: 8/10. kind of hard to tell since the resident exposure was somewhat limited.
Moonlighting: not sure
Average work hours per week: 60

Overall: had a difficult time getting a good feel for the program. The interview day was spent at a hotel where 4-5 residents attended. I would have liked more time with the residents outside of the interview process where the chair and faculty aren't in the same room.

West Penn
Strengths: rotate between West Penn which is a nice community hosp. with typical cases and Allegheny Gen. where you see the traumas, transplants, etc.
Weaknesses: Huge faculty shake-up recently. The new chair has a great reputation and I got a pretty good vibe from him. Program is in transition but most feel that it will come out stronger. I tend to agree.
Caseload quantity and quality: you should see everything
Resident friendly environment: 8/10
Moonlighting: allowed in house & at the ICU
Average work hours per week: 65
Didactics: better than average

Overall: Thought it was a pretty good program where you'll get the training you need.

just a quick note about a previous post about Buffalo-there are multiple sites, but the hospitals are NOT within walking distance, except b/w Buffalo General and Roswell Cancer Institute.

 

[Mista Suprane]

Penn State

Strengths: Innovative 4-year program where your CBY is divided up into three years, enabling 4 months of OR time as a PGY-1. Strong pediatric experience. Amazing simulation lab, which is fully integrated into the curriculum. You spend an hour in there during your interview, and get to play with a lot of the equipment. The chair is an entertaining, well known individual - he really takes in interest in the interview process; the residents talk quite a bit about how amazing he is. 5 different fellowships available (CCM, Pain, Cardiac, Neuro, Peds). Good research opportunities, clinical and bench.

Weaknesses: Living in Hershey, PA. OB numbers @ the main hospital are low; in order to get a full experience, you have to do a month away at a community hospital, which is not really drivable (you pretty much have to stay there). Low liver numbers.

Cush or Workhorse? (1=cush, 10=workhorse) (You can decide if you think cush/workhorse is a strength/weakness) 7
6 in-house calls a month, 65hrs/wk. avg. I heard a few of the standard "when you leave here, you'll be able to handle anything" comments that you typically hear at hard-working programs.

Overall: I was very impressed with this program - if it were in a better location, I would probably rank it very highly.

 

[Mista Suprane]

duplicate

 

[Green912]

Nice review of Penn State. I didn't think Hershey was too bad. Cost of living and home prices are pretty low.

 

[OB1🤙]

I'm too lazy to do full reviews of all these, but here goes. I only visited places I knew I'd be happy ending up at, so forgive the uniform positivity. All these places seemed to have pretty similar academic programs overall, and the differences between them for the most part come down to location, IMHO.

USC
Strengths: Program on the rise, good volume and variety, SoCal is SoCal. New County to open by CA-1 year (supposedly).
Weaknesses: Historically weak in didactics, but this issue was being actively addressed.
Caseload quantity and quality: LA County= sick pts and lots of them.
Resident happiness: All residents were happy with the program and location, all were friendly and forthcoming.
Overall impression: I was much more impressed with this program than I thought I'd be. Negative reviews on Scutwork are outdated with the didactic and intraop improvements. Happy residents. I could be happy there for sure, though I'd have to swallow some of my Bruin pride.

UCLA- Go Bruins!
Strengths: Seemed like a world-class program, plenty of complex cases including a huge amount of transplants. Locationlocationlocation. New hospital to open soon.
Weaknesses: None that I could tell. While weak in regional in the past, they're working on improving that and are adding a regional rotation. Not a lot of penetrating trauma, if that's a weakness.
Caseload quantity and quality: Lots of good cases.
Resident happiness: All seemed very happy and friendly. Seemed like a work hard, play hard group, which I like.
Overall impression: Awesome program, one of my top choices.

Ochsner
Strengths: Ochsner never closed after Katrina, and their volume has increased if anything. Good program, good cases, New Orleans is one of the best places in the Universe.
Weaknesses: Living in New Orleans leads to weight gain and unsightly beer belly issues.
Caseload quantity and quality: Seemed good.
Resident happiness: Anyone who does residency in New Orleans is probably an inherently happy person to begin with, and these residents were not an exception.
Overall Impression: Good program in one of my favorite cities.

Stanford
Strengths: World-class program, good cases, good teaching, good residents, good research. Location. Reputation.
Weaknesses: No CRNAs=longer hours, but not ridiculously so.
Caseload quantity and quality: Plenty of sick, complicated patients.
Resident happiness: All seemed happy. When I rotated there a few were put off by the extra hours, but overall residents were genuinely satisfied.
Overall Impression: Great program, will be my #1 come rank time. I rotated there and loved it, we'll see what happens.

MGH
Strengths: Cases, reputation, resident autonomy, history, research.
Weaknesses: If having autonomy isn't your thing, it'd be a weakness.
Caseload quantity and quality: Lots of good cases. Not a lot of penetrating trauma.
Resident happiness: All seemed happy, though admitted they worked harder than at most programs.
Overall Impression: Great program, I thought Boston was a cool place. I'd be happy there for sure.

Still to come: UCI, Loma Linda, Harbor-UCLA, UC Davis, Tulane.

 

[jenjas]

Penn State

Strengths: Innovative 4-year program where your CBY is divided up into three years, enabling 4 months of OR time as a PGY-1. Strong pediatric experience. Amazing simulation lab, which is fully integrated into the curriculum. You spend an hour in there during your interview, and get to play with a lot of the equipment. The chair is an entertaining, well known individual - he really takes in interest in the interview process; the residents talk quite a bit about how amazing he is. 5 different fellowships available (CCM, Pain, Cardiac, Neuro, Peds). Good research opportunities, clinical and bench.

Weaknesses: Living in Hershey, PA. OB numbers @ the main hospital are low; in order to get a full experience, you have to do a month away at a community hospital, which is not really drivable (you pretty much have to stay there). Low liver numbers.

Cush or Workhorse? (1=cush, 10=workhorse) (You can decide if you think cush/workhorse is a strength/weakness) 7
6 in-house calls a month, 65hrs/wk. avg. I heard a few of the standard "when you leave here, you'll be able to handle anything" comments that you typically hear at hard-working programs.

Overall: I was very impressed with this program - if it were in a better location, I would probably rank it very highly.

Had some time tonight to relax, so was just grazing through some of these interview trail reviews. This one caught my attention. I am always amazed how candidates come to Hershey, love the program, but then unfortunately rank it lower because of location. I don't think people realize that the state capital is 10 minutes away in Harrisburg, with great night life, bars, clubs, whatever your fix is.........I guess I can see what would freak a single candidate out. Hershey is a family town, a resort town. Its almost like a slice out of a Norman Rockwell painting. But that is what draws the married candidtes here. Some of the best schools in the country for their kids, affordable housing (most residents buy homes/town homes), and best of all....Minimal traffic. Moving from North Jersey, this place was a slice of heaven for me.

So I guess my advice to the "singles folks", that think by coming here is social suicide, is........don't live in Hershey. Live in elsewhere. I live 15 minutes from the medical center, door to door (8 miles). And I'm in suburbia......I love this place. I have wanted our PD to take candidates down to the river front in Harrisburg for dinner, so that they could get a feel of what Harrisburg has to offer. But I think we really try to sell "Hershey" to most candidates. Which isn't bad, infact for those who want this, Hershey sells itself.

Anyway enough on location. I just try to emphasize that to candidates when they visit the campus here. I met so many people on the interview trail a few years ago that raved about this place, but "oh, my god, could never live there". My single friends do pretty well here........especially if you like hunting "cougars".

In reference to the above poster. I have never worked 6 calls a month, I don't know anybody that has. The most is 5, and that is until the newbies start taking call. But the average is 4/month. Usually 2-3 golden weekends. you will get a friday night call here and there. This place is busy, if your not going to Pitt or Phili for a big procedure, you come here. OB is not that bad.....LeHigh Valley is optional. But most senoirs go for the high volume. You work mon-thurs, take call thurs, come home Fri-Sunday. Its a 60 minuted drive from Hershey/ Harrisburg area. You'll do 140 epidurals a month, have no idea about spinals though, but seems like most patients at HMC get sectioned, so you do plenty. Trust me, its busy enough to keep the floor guy on call swamped. I also thought a busy Ob service was a negative...busy means no sleep.

Our Regional program, growing and growing....one of our strong points. We do anywhere from 200-350 blocks a month. Just look at our pain list, its busy enough now that the acute pain resident has to come in on sat mornings to round. But takes no overnight call that month. And these arent just epidurals, fem/sciatic/brachial plexus/paravertebral catheters. We just started a regional fellowship this year that one of our chiefs is taking.


Didactics here are strong. If you keep up with the reading for lectures, you will read Barash in the first 2 years. Our class average CA-1 on inservice was 75th percentile (average 46-48%), so the 4 year program definately works, and our PD has published articles about it. If you just cannot do a year of medicine/surgery, and you want to get started right away, this is the place for you. When push comes to shove, you really only end up doing 8-9 real months of internship. Pulm consult = 25 hours/week for me. Clinical base OB(you won't round or deliver a baby) is a great month for reading as well. You basically end up doing epidurals/spinals that month, you have an elective month, which most people do Sim lab research or some other project, and then ER (17 9 hour shifts)...not that bad. Never let an ER resident tell you they work hard. That was the easiest month of residency. You will do about 6 months of critical care here....PICU, NICU, SICU, MICU, NSICU....you do it all...premies to rocks in the Neurosurgical ICU.

You'll do Peds in the first month. Childrens Hospital to be built by 2009 with 8-10 more OR's. HMC has 23 with 5 at the outpatient center down the street which is private practice run. 4K of CME money over the 4 years. Step 3 paid for by the department. Cafeteria sucks though, won't lie to you about that. But the best part of this residency.....the residents. You have to have a personality here. It's rare that a weekend goes buy that we arent BBQ somewhere, or going out. The department has $$, we have 2 dinners a year at the 5 star Hershey Hotel (not the lodge), Joseph Priestly Christmas Dinner, and graduation roast.

We have a hospital softball league. This was our breakout year. The "Volatile Agents" went undefeated this year in league play, and won the double elimation tournament. The softball field is literally in front of the medical center. Our line up is tough, 1-9 can take it yard at any given time. We are however loosing a left handed power hitter, and a third basemen for the 2007 season. So if you have some pop, make sure you bring that up in the interview, it will pull weight with the residents.

Honestly, I second our program director when he says this is the best kept secret on the interview trail. We want people who want this kind of environment. If your too worried about your single life, (its residency people, your not an MS 4 anymore) don't rank us. I interviewed at 17 programs 2 years ago, so I know whats out there. This was an easy number one for me.

Anyway.......good luck to you all. Looks like a competitive year. Seen alot of 250's and 260's come through, but trust me, USMLES are NOT everything.

This was just my take on the program. Hope it helped some.

Dr. Evil