2006-2007 Interview Reviews

[bigdan]

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Jengas-

Thanks for a great post.

dc

 

[drsillybusiness]

Don't cougars hunt you? Maybe they make'em different in Hershey, irregardless, Penn State is up soon and I'm excited, oh and I knocked the piss outta the ball in our church softball league, even when Sister Mary Catherine tried to pitch around me. Thanks for a great post, looking forward to it.

 

[Duckie24]

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.

If USMLEs are not everything, then why even mention the numbers you have seen? We all know they mean quite a deal, which is exactly why we all get freaked out about the numbers and who has what. When it comes down to it, Applicant X with a great personality and a 250 gets ranked ahead of Applicant Z with a great personality and a 210.

 

[jenjas]

If USMLEs are not everything, then why even mention the numbers you have seen? We all know they mean quite a deal, which is exactly why we all get freaked out about the numbers and who has what. When it comes down to it, Applicant X with a great personality and a 250 gets ranked ahead of Applicant Z with a great personality and a 210.

I used to think that too. If you get an interview, your scores have already passed the cutoff. Now its whether or not you fit in. Basically, I think most programs look at you and say, "Is this someone that I could take call with."
But yes, of course, if you have a 250 + and are likeable, and actually talk during your interview and show that you have personality, you'd be high on the list at most programs. But the two qualities together seem to be scarce these days.

Good luck Duckie.

 

[Mista Suprane]

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".

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.

i do appreciate you clearing up a lot of the facts about the program itself; god knows it is definitely hard to keep the programs apart with regards to specifics (didatics, call schedule, etc.), and that's what these forums are for.

but PLEASE, let's not lead anyone to believe that even harrisburg (forget about hershey) is a great place to live for a single person, or someone who is used to a city. given the board scores that you quoted, most applicants applying to PSU are most likely looking at boston, nyc, philadelphia, baltimore, DC, pittsburgh, cleveland, chicago, SF, LA, etc. geez, people on the trail have even complained about the location of a couple of the above cities as being too small (cleveland and pittsburgh, to be specific).

and before you start again the "this-is-residency-not-MS4-so-don't-worry-about-your-single-life" comments, keep in mind that for a lot of people, residency is a time when many people meet their future spouse, and an enjoyable singles scene is an important part of deciding a location for residency. that being said, my fiancee and I have come to enjoy the cultural options, five star restaurants, and nightlife that a metropolis has to offer - areas in which harrisburg, compared to the MAJORITY of the other cities with top-notch programs, is lacking (i grew up in PA).

however, if a smaller community setting with a great opportunity to buy a house, raise a family, etc. is what you are looking for (which many future residents are), i don't think you can do much better than the hershey/harrisburg area.

PSU is an amazing program; one of the few truly devoted to resident education that I have come across on the trail so far this year. but don't say that location is not important, or that it will compare to a city. despite all that, i would still be thrilled to match there. 😉

 

[jenjas]

i do appreciate you clearing up a lot of the facts about the program itself; god knows it is definitely hard to keep the programs apart with regards to specifics (didatics, call schedule, etc.), and that's what these forums are for.

but PLEASE, let's not lead anyone to believe that even harrisburg (forget about hershey) is a great place to live for a single person, or someone who is used to a city. given the board scores that you quoted, most applicants applying to PSU are most likely looking at boston, nyc, philadelphia, baltimore, DC, pittsburgh, cleveland, chicago, SF, LA, etc. geez, people on the trail have even complained about the location of a couple of the above cities as being too small (cleveland and pittsburgh, to be specific).

and before you start again the "this-is-residency-not-MS4-so-don't-worry-about-your-single-life" comments, keep in mind that for a lot of people, residency is a time when many people meet their future spouse, and an enjoyable singles scene is an important part of deciding a location for residency. that being said, my fiancee and I have come to enjoy the cultural options, five star restaurants, and nightlife that a metropolis has to offer - areas in which harrisburg, compared to the MAJORITY of the other cities with top-notch programs, is lacking (i grew up in PA).

however, if a smaller community setting with a great opportunity to buy a house, raise a family, etc. is what you are looking for (which many future residents are), i don't think you can do much better than the hershey/harrisburg area.

PSU is an amazing program; one of the few truly devoted to resident education that I have come across on the trail so far this year. but don't say that location is not important, or that it will compare to a city. despite all that, i would still be thrilled to match there. 😉

Sounds to me like you wasted 25 bucks on an application. And silly me............thinking Residency was all about education. You can tell that I've missed the last few episodes of "Grays Anatomy". I knew I should of gotten TIVO. Harrisburg suits us "hicks" just fine. In fact, just this week they opened up a kentucky fried chicken close to the medical center. And you say we don't have fine dinning. Tell you what princess......maybe Boston or New York is a better place for you. So why waste your time coming here, when you knew you couldn't live here anyway? That $25 could have bought you a baggle and a cup of Joe in Manhattan.

Ahh...The big city life...I'm reminiscing.....I miss paying $125 for a bottle of grey goose and a table at the Jade Garden. And watch out for those watered down $10 cocktails.....they'll creep up on you......eventually. Makes me want to pack up, sell my brand new 3 bedroom house, and head back to the city. I'm sure my $1500/month one bedroom is still available. Cause you know, I do enjoy those cultural options too.

I'm just being a bit cheeky. My point is that Harrisburg has more to offer single candidates than Hershey, thats all!. Didn't mention anything about it being equal to Phili, NY or Beantown. But it's not all farm lands and Amish wagons either. So thank you for making a good point. And yes, we know that these same people are interviewing at the big 3 in boston, SF, etc etc.....Trust me, we have a pretty good idea of who really wants to come here. Thats why USMLES are over rated. The last thing you want to do, is rank a program where you wouldn't be happy. So I think in your case......I would listen to your gut instincts. I don't think this is your Kansas todo!

 

[Azygous]

Sounds to me like you wasted 25 bucks on an application. And silly me............thinking Residency was all about education. You can tell that I've missed the last few episodes of "Grays Anatomy". I knew I should of gotten TIVO. Harrisburg suits us "hicks" just fine. In fact, just this week they opened up a kentucky fried chicken close to the medical center. And you say we don't have fine dinning. Tell you what princess......maybe Boston or New York is a better place for you. So why waste your time coming here, when you knew you couldn't live here anyway? That $25 could have bought you a baggle and a cup of Joe in Manhattan.

Ahh...The big city life...I'm reminiscing.....I miss paying $125 for a bottle of grey goose and a table at the Jade Garden. And watch out for those watered down $10 cocktails.....they'll creep up on you......eventually. Makes me want to pack up, sell my brand new 3 bedroom house, and head back to the city. I'm sure my $1500/month one bedroom is still available. Cause you know, I do enjoy those cultural options too.

I'm just being a bit cheeky. My point is that Harrisburg has more to offer single candidates than Hershey, thats all!. Didn't mention anything about it being equal to Phili, NY or Beantown. But it's not all farm lands and Amish wagons either. So thank you for making a good point. And yes, we know that these same people are interviewing at the big 3 in boston, SF, etc etc.....Trust me, we have a pretty good idea of who really wants to come here. Thats why USMLES are over rated. The last thing you want to do, is rank a program where you wouldn't be happy. So I think in your case......I would listen to your gut instincts. I don't think this is your Kansas todo!

I thought I would chime in after reading this post. I actually did a third year medicine rotation in Harrisburg at one of the Pinnacle Health Hospitals because it was affiliated with our medical school in Philadelphia.

Some background on me so you know where I'm coming from. I grew up in Brooklyn/Queens NY, went to college in PA, and med school in Philly. I've done rotations in Pittsburgh, NYC, Harrisburg, Monmouth, etc. So, I believe I have a pretty diverse city exposure here in the northeast.

I have to agree with Mista on his comments. Harrisburg is NOT a great city to live in by any means for a single person. It completely sucks. There is no social life. It's dead! For a single person to start residency there, it would be relationship suicide. I have NO idea what JenJas is talking about after personally having spent a couple of months in Harrisburg and seeing how completely lifeless the place was.

Unless in the past 2 years, Harrisburg has added new clubs, a casino, museums, any nice restaurants, etc. it is in asystole socially speaking. I also have no idea why you keep talking about how expensive city living is and use that to defend your argument that Harrisburg is great for singles. All big cities are expensive. Everyone knows that. But even the suburbs and outlying areas of the city supercede Harrisburg in all respects.

Mista also makes great points regarding finding your significant other during residency and other aspects of being at a place that's "happening." Obviously, you are taking his remarks way too personally and there is a reason why people come to Harrisburg and rank it lower. Residency is NOT just about education. There are social aspects and personal growth that occurs. Being in a certain city affects that. Obviously, you being in a crappy city like Harrisburg has made you defensive and completely narrow-minded.

The other med students and I would drive back to Philadelphia every Friday evening because spending a weekend in Harrisburg was completely intolerable. I remember one day driving to Hershey to try and see Hershey park because I was so bored out of my mind. Harrisburg sucks beyond belief and I would feel bad for anyone who is forced to be there. Good luck!

 

[Trisomy13]

Harrisburg sucks. There is no debate surrounding this fact.

(Monmouth is pretty awful too, but at least you have all the college kiddies at Stingers to distract you...)

 

[nutmegs]

Unless in the past 2 years, Harrisburg has added new clubs, a casino, museums, any nice restaurants, etc. it is in asystole socially speaking.

I, um, am actually going to have to chime in here, too. I grew up in Hershey, and have been visiting on weekends for the last 8 years. Harrisburg has definitely had an improvement in the "downtown" to the point where 2nd street is actually a place you can go at night with no particular destination- and most of that HAS happened in the last 2-3 years. Then again, I like a good place to go listen to live music and enjoy a good beer selection- I don't NEED "casinos and clubs" to entertain me.

Another thing about Central PA that I think few people realize is that Baltimore and Philly are both 1.5 hours away, and NYC and Wash DC are 2-2.5. Not many locations can offer that. For a live music buff, those aren't undriveable distances (and every band hits at LEAST one of those cities), and make weekend day-trips and even special night out night-trips totally doable.

The bottom line is, nothing is NYC or Boston except NYC or Boston. You also aren't spending the rest of your life in said location, and the non-primadonna types shouldn't be scared by reading the above.

 

[chips]

my take on the 3 Harvard programs.

BWH:
they say, harvard with a heart. i tend to agree. though the interview day was unforgivably long and involved changing in and out of scrubs in a bathroom stall, i thought the chairman and the PD deserved a round of applause for being by far the most kind-hearted of any chairman/PD i'd met. the emphasis/take home message of the day was: they prefer to take people who are going to go out into the world of anesthesia and be compassionate, decent people over dinguses with an IQ over 200. Chairman point-blank said he does not care whether or not you can take tests well as long as you meet the basic requirements. he himself did not undergo preparation H (harvard college, med school, residency, faculty, etc.) and doesn't think it's necessary to have done so to thrive at BWH. Big ob service. HUGE.

BID:
another self-proclaimed harvard with a heart. also not far from the truth. the residents were by far the most easy-going and remind me of residents from my home institution that made me want to go into the field in the first place. things that you all probably already know: big on pain. lots of people go into pain fellowships right at BID, and it makes sense why. the chairman is a big pain (hehe) person and clearly devoted a lot of effort into making it great. she is unfortunately on sabatical for a year and acting chairman Lisbon is running the show at the moment. i really like one of the chiefs - i can completely relate to his sense of humor - but that's an aside.

MGH:
by virtue of process of elimination - clearly the harvard without a heart. everyone says they have a reputation for being malignant - i actually didn't get this impression. i think they work hard, but not insensibly hard. emphasis on self-motivated study. the 'best' resident is curious and asks a lot of questions, according to PD, and the attendings are there to guide their learning, not hand it to them on a platter. understatement, i think. one thing that kind of threw me off was - of 4 interviews, 3 of them started the interview by asking me point-blank if i was AOA. does it matter??!!! according to the PD at my own program back in the 90s board scores were barely even considered let alone if a candidate was AOA. clearly nowadays they are spoiled by the quality of applicants going into the field. (shake head). other than that i was much impressed by the history of the place (a visit to the renown ether dome is a part of the tour) and the clout of their faculty.

 

[drsillybusiness]

Okay, Penn state this past weekend.

Really solid program. PD was great, very pumped about his 4 year curriculum baby and how it integrates anesthesiology into all 4 years. Kept saying his goal is to make "consultants not technicians". Call is 4-5/month with one of those on a weekend and resident's decided to split into 12 hour shifts. Faculty are great for teaching, res's said barely any are bad at it. Faculty bonuses are structured with res reviews factored into them. Two half days was a bit long at times but they want to be completely transparent and get to know you. Res's are happy to have either picked or ended up there. Regional very strong. ICU rotations very strong. Simulation work very strong. Every resident either bought a house or said they could have. 50-60 hour work weeks except for trauma/icu's. Solid didactics schedule with lectures geared around resident participation so you need to read beforehand. PD expects alot of himself and alot from his resident's. Hershey nice small town. Being in the corner of a few highways traffic was a little hairy and I think it gets pretty bad in the summah, this is traffic from a country boy standpoint so take with a grain of salt. Hospital very clean, very nice, undergoing some major construction over the next few years but other than a few new OR's chair said might not have a great impact on our education. Bit of a penchant for large cats and some dude named JoPa.

At the end chair sat us down and said go with your heart. This is me talking now...completely agreed...because in the end your spending 3-4 years of your life in the location and your off time is too valuable for it to be somewhere you don't want to be. When it comes down to it you just know....y'know?

Have a great weekend everybody. Good luck to those interviewing today.

 

[OB1🤙]

Irvine: I wasn't sure what to expect at this program, and came away impressed. Dr. Anderson, the PD, was extremely friendly and personable, and is obviously a huge resident advocate. I got the feeling the program was friendly in general and intimate- not too many residents. Only place I've been to where the PD herself gives the tour, and they also did a research presentation which was surprisingly very cool. I liked this program a lot.

Loma Linda: Again, wasn't sure what to expect from them, and again was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like a good program with quality cases and volume. All the interviews were great. The SDA thing was mentioned, and it seems like it's a much, much bigger deal in the med school itself than it is for residents. We were told the only way it would affect us is that we'd have to get used to the fake meat in the cafeteria. They also said they try to take half the class from within and fill the other half with outside candidates. Some people don't like the location, but I love Big Bear which is a short drive away, so I'd have no problem with it.

Harbor-UCLA: This was the first interview I've been on that I didn't like. I'd heard bad things, and they seemed true. Weird call schedule where you bust ass during the week then take weekends off (or moonlight), but I don't think I'd like it. The interview is set up where a resident and faculty member interview you at the same time, and then you're done and can bail. The chief resident was a cool guy for sure. All in all, this was the first place I felt that I wouldn't really belong at, though I'm sure there's a type of person that would thrive at a program designed like this, especially if interested in moonlighting (they say you can make $80K a year if you do).

 

[jenjas]

I thought I would chime in after reading this post. I actually did a third year medicine rotation in Harrisburg at one of the Pinnacle Health Hospitals because it was affiliated with our medical school in Philadelphia.

Some background on me so you know where I'm coming from. I grew up in Brooklyn/Queens NY, went to college in PA, and med school in Philly. I've done rotations in Pittsburgh, NYC, Harrisburg, Monmouth, etc. So, I believe I have a pretty diverse city exposure here in the northeast.

I have to agree with Mista on his comments. Harrisburg is NOT a great city to live in by any means for a single person. It completely sucks. There is no social life. It's dead! For a single person to start residency there, it would be relationship suicide. I have NO idea what JenJas is talking about after personally having spent a couple of months in Harrisburg and seeing how completely lifeless the place was.

Unless in the past 2 years, Harrisburg has added new clubs, a casino, museums, any nice restaurants, etc. it is in asystole socially speaking. I also have no idea why you keep talking about how expensive city living is and use that to defend your argument that Harrisburg is great for singles. All big cities are expensive. Everyone knows that. But even the suburbs and outlying areas of the city supercede Harrisburg in all respects.

Mista also makes great points regarding finding your significant other during residency and other aspects of being at a place that's "happening." Obviously, you are taking his remarks way too personally and there is a reason why people come to Harrisburg and rank it lower. Residency is NOT just about education. There are social aspects and personal growth that occurs. Being in a certain city affects that. Obviously, you being in a crappy city like Harrisburg has made you defensive and completely narrow-minded.

The other med students and I would drive back to Philadelphia every Friday evening because spending a weekend in Harrisburg was completely intolerable. I remember one day driving to Hershey to try and see Hershey park because I was so bored out of my mind. Harrisburg sucks beyond belief and I would feel bad for anyone who is forced to be there. Good luck!

Having actually lived in the Tri-State area, I find it rather amusing that you, being from Brooklyn/Queens, found Harrisburg a dump. Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black? Have you seen Queens lately? Its only tolerable because you have the metro and manhattan next door to escape too.

But really, Harrisburg sucks beyond belief Azygous? And you feel sorry for anyone who ends up here? Sounds like you were trapped down town, and never got out to see the surrounding areas. Ya I wouldn't live there either. I was refering to the surrounding suburbs. But still, thats really pathetic though. Especially for someone who grew up in the arm pit of the country.

Won't post anymore Harrisburg vs the world comments on here. I will leave this thread for reviews only.

 

[Trisomy13]

Won't post anymore Harrisburg vs the world comments on here. I will leave this thread for reviews only.

allow me...

Harrisburg - 0
World - 1



seriously though, i'm saying this from the point of view of someone who chose to go to a small collegetown for residency, not unlike Harrisburg... there is no comparing that town to any larger-sized city, and once you're in residency and putting in the hours, that 2 hour drive to Philly to hit up Morimotos before driving back and getting ready to round the next morning... you might as well be living on the moon.

but if you're into the whole small-town vibe, H-burg isn't so bad.

 

[badgas]

OK!!!! I think penn state is covered quite well now. How about some other programs?🙂

 

[drsillybusiness]

Seriously, let's talk about some other programs already....like Rochester.....I hear it's alot like Penn State, HAHAHAHAAHA! Really though, going to Rochester this weekend and looking forward to it, I hear it's a really STRONG program....HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! I got a million of'em. Good luck to everyone this week.

From a medstudent ready for some christmas vacation.

 

[Bougie]

Anyone interviewed at Vandy? Curious as to how that program is doing.

 

[ideas]

Hey,

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..

I'm sorry, can you explain this. . . students in Michigan need to do what in order to get a residency? Thanks.

 

[drsillybusiness]

Hey

AOA being American Osteopathic Association not any other AOA. From my understanding, in order to do a residency in Michigan in anesthesia your internship year must be AOA (same AOA) approved. The AOA recently approached some M.D. residency programs with AOA approved internship years and essentially said that if they didn't get their residency program dually approved MD/DO then they would lose the AOA accreditation for the internship year. As Michigan is one of golden five states (or silly five depending on your point of view) where if you don't do an AOA approved internship you can't practice you need to have done one in order to do residency there as I guess residency counts as practicing (?). There are numerous ways to get around it and file for a non-AOA approved internship year to be approved after the fact, this is something that has been and is being done at Penn State anesthesiology. This is just my understanding, I am VERY willing to admit I could have this wrong so if other people with more osteopathic political saavy can hammer this down that'd be great. I would suggest however that this isn't the forum for it and perhaps to pm people about it. I hope this clears it up.

Thanks

 

[drsillybusiness]

Arrived at hotel and checked into room. Awaiting was the information packet with a mug, chocolate, and a handwritten note from the PD, not a generic note, everyone's was different. Dinner the night before was great, chief res plus a second and first year. Very family oriented, almost all the resident's were married +/- kids. Of the 14 seniors, 10 had kids or would have kids by the end of the year. Also evident by the fact that resident's were ready to wrap up dinner by 8:30. Not bad after a long day of driving to Rochester though. I was told by one resident if your single, don't come to Rochester. Most resident's own houses, most within walking distance of hospital. Call schedule has a night float, roughly 1 month a year split into 2 week sections. Also have a late resident, and a resident who comes in 4-12 pm for OB service. Also have a resident taking only liver call for 2 week blocks twice a year. Seems complicated but that's how they do it. All the resident's love the night float system. Lots of livers, tied for 1st with UCLA. Lots of mitochondrial research, and while they did stress the opportunity to do research, they also emphasized they aren't the place to necessarily pursue an academic career. Didactics in morning from 6:15/30-7:00. Bagels and juice provided. CA1's do one month w/ 2 resident's in 1 room with 1 attending for orientation. 100% pass rate boards first try past two years. Lots of resident contact time, essentially 2 20-30 minute interviews w/ PD and another attending individually and then the rest of the morning is with resident's in rooms, lots of time to ask questions. Regional anesthesia seemed like something that they are committed to and working on, training attendings and such. I guess that's about it. Very mild day, very relaxed, nice program.

Thanks.

 

[GasGal07]

What's the scoop on the programs listed below? How was your interview day set up at these places and how was your experience?

-UMDNJ-RWJ New Brunswick
-St Luke's-Roosevelt
-Case Western
-Drexel
-Thomas Jefferson
-Maimonides
-Albany

 

[badgas]

What's the scoop on the programs listed below? How was your interview day set up at these places and how was your experience?

-UMDNJ-RWJ New Brunswick
-St Luke's-Roosevelt
-Case Western
-Drexel
-Thomas Jefferson
-Maimonides
-Albany

Who cares about any of those places! Will someone PLEASE tell me more about Penn State!!!

 

[GasGal07]

x

 

[OB1🤙]

Lol

 

[badgas]

Penn State Anesthesiology has an awesome website, a great reputation and it's undeniably a strong program. All you need to do is google this renown program and you'll find tons of info.

The anesthesiology programs I listed earlier either have incomplete websites or questionable quality & reputation. They are nowhere near Penn State's glory, but who knows...they may be decent or even great places to train.

I'm sorry, but I can not make sarcasm any more clear than that! LOL

 

[Green912]

Wayne State:
Stayed at a very nice hotel on DMC's dime ($180). Interview day was very long and painful. There were three interviewers for the 12 or so of us. For the 1.5-2 hours between interviews we sat with the same three residents who kept asking if anyone had any questions. Very awkward. Nobody seemed to enthused about the program. As I left for the day and was being walked to the entrance by one of the residents I asked if he'd go there again. The answer was "probably not".

Henry Ford Hospital:
I thought HF was very strong though the residents are some of the hardest worked that I’ve come across. A couple said their hours average in the 70's and I heard some mild complaints about not having enough time to read. That being said they had a pretty good didactic schedule. The Chair/PD and attendings all had good attitudes. The residents seemed happy enough. They get paid $80/hr if they stay past five or six. Overall I thought it was a program with very strong clinical exposure, good didactics, satisified residents and plenty of hours to work.

University of Michigan:
This place will really get your attention. The Chair and PD were two of the most energetic and personable people I’ve come across on the interview trail. I didn’t hear one complaint from the residents who all seemed to be top notch. The hours are reasonable with a pretty good call schedule. In fact this was the only program where the residents said that a week with a call day was a good week. The day before call you’re one of the first to go home. The day of call they sometimes come in a little later. Post day off as usual and post-post day in pre-op doing all the procedures. The didactics are well run with each class receiving separate lectures pertaining to their level of training. Weekly M&M, grand rounds. Resident pay is well above average with a yearly bonus (courtesy of the resident union) and opportunity to moonlight. Ann Arbor is a very cool college town with plenty of coffee shops. From what I’ve heard the cost of living is on the higher side. If you’re looking for a new favorite football team the Wolverines aren’t too bad (sorry I’m already spoken for). Overall if you can take the cold winters and like a smaller town this is a great program to look into.

 

[AnesGuru]

Anyone interview at JHU? What were your impressions?

 

[nutmegs]

Anyone interview at JHU? What were your impressions?

Was favorably impressed today, seems like one of the programs where you can get out of it as much as you put into it (with all the bonuses and caveats associated with that type of endeavor). Mittman is stepping down, there is no one to replace him yet. Chair was very nice to interview with, very in-touch with business side of anesthesia and has interesting and energetic ideas regarding where he wants the dept and residents to go. Fairly hard-working, call per residents is brutal and it is not entirely a teritary care center, although definitely an interesting mix of cases. New ORs and peds hospital slated for 1.5 years from now (+ bulldozer sign, - crane sign). Current facilities half nice half crappy. Few didactics but interesting small-group conference for pre- and post-call teams with plans to intergrate simulation. Very nice flexibility in CA-3 year. Personally would prefer a slightly smaller program but this one has every door you might want. Interviewers and residents personable. Will be in my top 5, location TBD. Liked it better than Duke, Michigan.

 

[m3unsure]

UPenn:

Some pros:
3 overnight calls a month with 3 evening calls
Money always on call (on card for entire year)
Main OR schedule is not bad
Residents seem friendly. Lot of locals

Some negs:
Definitely not cush work til 530 everyday
ICU is rough. Up all night. Same with cardiac.

I did not find the interview process to be completely friendly. Half were nice and amicable and other half seemed to grill about why I would want to consider Penn. How about I flew out there and paid almost 200 bucks?

Note: If any PD or attending is reading this out there, please avoid this attitude. Applicants have a right to judge the institution/location on their own time without being interrogated about it. If an applicant does not have anymore questions than say one because everything already has been answered previously, then don't comment on not having more questions. That's sort of slap to the face, and I would expect you to tell me something interesting about it since I am there too research you as well. And please avoid inserting in personal views/politics (ex: Zionism) and how your struggles have been so bad. That's weak interviewing.

Conclusion: I'll rank it, but not near the top. Most likely below the halfway line. I am glad that I'm an optimist and can see past a few people for the nice ones. Every place has crabby people especially the big joints across the US so not really surprised. I'll have more to add soon, maybe.

 

[badgas]

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...[/QUOTE]

SLU: A good program. Will probably find it's way onto the middle of many rank lists. Call is 4-5X a month. Work hrs seem to be around the average of 60 or so. All the residents seemed plenty happy. The city can be a tad rugged, but I still don't buy the "most dangerous city" label it has recently picked up. Very strong in peds. Very cheap cost of living. Beer town, but not good beer so who cares! 😉 Despite the lousy beer, I really liked the program and city.

MCW: Another good program but a very strange interview. If you are into research, then this is a good program for you. It is a giant program of 20+ residents per class. It has a bad rep from what I hear due to work hours and no one tries to hide this. Milwaukee seems like a good place. Even if it's not, Chicago is less than 2 hrs away. Strong in almost everything. They have hardly any CRNAs at all, which can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for. Another beer city... much better beer. That would move it up my rank list, but it doesn't sound like I'd have any time to drink it. Overall, I liked the program.

West Penn: After last year's major shake up with faculty, this program seems to be very stable and going in the right direction. The program director seems great and all the residents seem happy. Moonlighting available. Strength in OB from what I remember. Call and hrs/wk are average. A good size program so there is no need to worry about UPMC taking over. Pittsburgh is a nice town. Overall I liked the program.

WVU: This program might be the diamond in the rough. I say that because this program is on probation. I'm guessing that not many applicants will want to take a chance with that and that will be a blessing for the next applicant down on the rank list. It seems like a great program. Not for those looking for big city atmosphere however there are not people with banjos either. Morgantown is on the very north border of WV so I don't consider it to be the REAL WV, which is a very good thing. Residents all seemed happy. Plenty of sick patients and decent call schedule. They are "99.99% sure" that they will come off of probation in October and I believe them. Great facilities and tons of outdoor activities. I'll be ranking it above "better" programs.

 

[Cardizem]

Any reviews on Ohio State. New Chair seems really motivated but unsure about the call schedule.

 

[amatomation]

OHSU:
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.

Badgas - thanks for info on MUSC. I'm an MS3 and trying to scope out some lesser known sweet locations. Any word on regional over there? What is this "malignant program" reputation based on? Anything else you remember about the resident schedules, types of people you met would be great to know. If anyone else interviewed there, please chime in.

Also - haven't seen a ton about UPENN. Saw an earlier thread where someone praised the program with the caveat that there were some egomaniacs conducting interviews. I think in this thread I was getting a vibe that the interviews were a bit interrogative. Anyone else want to comment on Penn?

 

[lushmd]

I interviewed at Penn this year and liked it a lot (keep in mind that I'm from Philly and really like it here). Also, I interviewed there ~4 months ago, so I might be a bit off re certain details (check out my post in the 2007-2008 interview thread re Penn). Great chair (well known nationally, seemed quite approachable) and very pro-active PD. Seemed like a solid, hard working program (residents are the primary work-force; on the upside, on non-call days you can get paid $100/hr to stay past 5 or 5:30). As with many programs, not particularly strong in CT and regional (they said something about working to improve the regional experience). Great peds experience at CHOP. I didn't get a good feel for the critical care program there, but I know that they do have CC trained anesthesiologists. Call schedule didn't seem too onerous (3-4 overnight calls/month in general OR block, including 1-2 weekend calls/month). In short, a strong program (not the strongest, but far from weak or even average) that I liked a lot due to a combination of perceived quality of training and location.

As far as your comment re their "interrogative" interview style, IIRC, in past years they were known for pimping during the interview. I didn't experience this nor do I know anyone that was pimped there during this interview season (actually, I seem to remember hearing something about people getting pimped at Albert Einstein this year). Having said that, I certainly did encounter a bit of a Penn holier/better than thou attitude, but this seemed to come more from the residents than the attendings (and even then, from a distinct minority of the folks there). However, I did notice it because it was more pronounced at Penn than at other places, i.e. MGH and Hopkins, where you'd think that sort of thing might be more prevalent.

Hope this helps and best of luck next year. Take care.

EDIT: I'm not quite sure re the bit about encountering egomaniacs during the Penn interview. I mean, they will certainly tell you that their program is the best and rhetorically ask you why you'd want to train anywhere else, but just about every program does this.

 

[amatomation]

Thanks Lush. I was a Penn undergrad and love Phili. I was getting a different picture from one of the posts I saw on another thread. Your description seems much closer to the solid reputation I had heard elsewhere.

BTW where did you end up Matching?

 

[lushmd]

No prob. Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any other questions. I matched at Drexel Med for prelim med and Univ. Pittsburgh for anes.