2011 - 2012 interview trail

[axm397]

Time to get this years thread started....

Links to prior years interview feedback/ program reviews:

2010-11:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=771765

2009-10:http://more.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=662186

2008-9:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=563591

2007-8:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=387065

2006-7:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=332086

2005-6: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=225835

2004 and before:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=161782

Also, SDN's official (and anonymous) interview feedback section is another great place to post and read others experiences. http://more.studentdoctor.net/residency.php

Please post your experience on your residency interviews. PLEASE AVOID THREADJACKING AND OFF-TOPIC POSTS. THIS THREAD WILL BE ARCHIVED FOR USE IN FUTURE YEARS.

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[fyfanatic]

The interview day started around 9 am and ended around 3:30. There were a total of 5 applicants that day.
Dr. Cuccurullo (PD) gave an excellent presentation about the program that was very thorough. As a PD, she is very involved and supportive of the residents.
We then had 3 interviews in succession, one with Dr. Cuccurullo, Dr. Brown, and the chief resident, Steve. Then we had lunch and talked a bit with the other residents who were all very friendly and nice. After that we had a group interview with Dr. Strax (Chair) and a tour of the facilities. Interviews were laid back with typical questions such as why our program, your qualities, specifics about your application, where do you see yourself in 10 years…

Seemed like a strong program with 5-yr accreditation status, 100% board pass rate, and 100% fellowship placement.
The didactics are very structured and organized with weekly protected lectures, practice with SAE topics monthly, syllabus review courses, anatomy cadaver lab, journal club, and board review in the senior year.
Dr. Strax seemed very dedicated to teaching and helping the residents with fellowship and job placement.
Because it’s a small program with 4 residents taken per year, there is a 1:1 teaching ratio between attendings and residents.
Well-rounded program including a Model TBI system, plenty of EMGs (300-500), plenty of injections, prosthetics and orthotics clinic, spasticity clinic, cardiac rehab, chronic pain clinic, outpatient MSK. Residents rotate at Kessler for SCI.
One of the weaker areas is pediatrics as there is only 1 month of pediatric rehab.
There are 3 months of elective time in the senior year, 1 month can be away.
A research paper is required and presented at the AAPM&R meeting.

Call is from home, therefore you have to live within 30 min of the hospital. I believe you get paid extra for weekend calls and if you do backup calls. There are 3 vacation weeks and 5 personal days that you can structure pretty much the way you want to.
Salary starts at $53,500, meal vouchers are provided and meals are provided daily for noon conferences, $1,000 reimbursement if research paper is accepted at annual meeting, $200/ year for books, reimbursement for travel to designated rotations.
Nice rehab center, friendly staff.
Residents seemed very happy with the program and got along well with each other.

 

[madcye]

The interview day started around 7 am (optional grand rounds) or 8 am and ended around 2pm. There were a total of 5 applicants that day.

Started with Grand Rounds at 7am then had a ppt about the program and breakfast. Then from there we had interviews in two different groups. So the group that didnt go went to lectures and then we switched.

Interviewed with 1 resident, 1 attending and the PD - Dr. Formal. Overall standard interview but what stood out to me the most was the protected lecture time because Dr. Formal was taking the calls from the floor about patients while the resident was in lectures. Also that day they don't do any notes. To me that was a big deal because it showed that the PD's concern was for the residents learning. There is also an anatomy cadaver lab.

Total class was about 6-7 with one of those spots being a peds position. Ratio of Attending to resident was 1:1. They have ultrasound training with some guru. Do their amputee at Moss Rehab. Also have close association with the 2 other philly schools. In the senior year there are 2 months of elective time and 2 months of half days which you can use the rest of the day to do whatever you want to do in the Jefferson system.

Call is inhouse and I forgot how often it is because my interview was a few weeks ago but it didnt seem to bad. They cap the admissions at 2/night.

$1,500 reimbursement if research paper is accepted at annual meeting, $300/ year for books

Magee is a nice standalone rehab hospital, Jefferson has some complicated rehab patients with diaphragmatic pacers, LV assist devices, etc. Rothmann institute is an orthopedic giant in the city that works with the major pro teams in the area.

Residents seemed very happy with the program and got along well with each other.

Only real negative I see is that its in Philadelphia and they do their peds in Delaware which is a 40 min drive.

I'm going to rank them.

 

[anonapp2011]

12 applicants on my day, interviewing ~95 people for 8-9 spots

Logistics: Day started at 7:15am. A powerpoint of the program is done by the director who is Dr. Barry Smith. Then the group is split up into two – one group goes to tour the facilities and the other group starts interviews. Each applicant interviews for 20min with 2 different people. One of my interviewers looked over my file, the other person did not. They were low stress interviews – get to know me, why this program, any questions about the program. After the tours and interviews, everybody joins back together and has lunch. The interviewers and residents also have lunch so that any last questions can be asked. There is also a dinner the night before where residents spoke candidly.

Program: It seems like this program is more inpatient heavy than others and is working to incorporate more MSK. Also the patient load can range from 10’s-20’s depending on where you are. Prior years had 12 residents, the PGY2 has 10, and for the incoming class 8-9 will be selected. Not sure how this will impact patient load. There are a plethora of sites and different settings where the same kind of patient is treated. TIRR is the only place where in-house call is done, and the resident has to be responsible for all the patients (up to 110 beds). Residents feel confident to practice independently after graduating. Seniors are offered the board review course for free. This year’s graduating class has majority of people going into pain fellowships. Because this program is big, there are a lot of alumni all over the country and it’s easy to network.

Houston is a pretty nice city. Heat and mosquitoes are the biggest drawbacks; lots of good food and things to do though.

Pleasantly surprised by the program. Two chances to match because you rank Baylor College of Medicine AND UT Houston separately.

 

[loker20]

Okay... I have put this off because the interview season has been more than tiring but I wanted to write a review of one program in particular. One of my first interviews was at University of Kentucky and it was to say quite disappointing. The day started with us receiving the usual packet of information although it lacked any kind of itinerary for the day. I know some people think this is a moot point, but every place I have interviewed gave me a detailed itinerary about who I was with and their contact information. The secretary was a very nice lady, but painstakingly annoying in that she would not stop talking and by this I mean an hour of endless talking. After initial introductions we met with some of the residents, I am always leery when I don't meet ALL the residents because it makes me question why are the others so busy that they can't meet the applicants even if for only a moment to say hello. (just me though, sorry for that rant) Next we waited for the interviewers which were all cordial and relatively low stress if possible in that situation. The program director was very amiable and welcoming but, he immediately pointed out the weaknesses in his program which I was grateful for but didn't say what he was doing to try and improve it over the next couple of years. When I asked he gave me a BS answer about we are hiring new attendings, but made me ask another question as to why did the previous attendings leave ( 3-4 in the last two years). At this point I had many more questions about this program but I could tell he wasn't the person that would give me the honest answer. We had lunch sometime later, which was obviously food from the cafeteria which for me tasted great but it was the only interview I had that didn't give us panera bread or something like that. The program director had lunch with us, which was ODD.... again the first and only time this happened on my travels. Before he arrived one of the residents was asking if we had any questions about our visit or the program. He was the first resident to ask this since I had arrived at the program nearly 5 hours earlier. One of the applicants asked what was a weakness about the program (standard question of course) and he openly stated the administration was weak and passive aggressive, again the only time I heard a resident openly say this in front of the applicants and other residents. He was about to go into more detail about what he meant but the chief resident interjected and changed the subject. At this point I had already decided this program was a bit unusual compared to what I was expecting. The program director later came to eat with us which precluded any further honest discussion about the program. After lunch we toured the facilities which were quite nice but they weren't pm&r department facilities but UK facilities, the pm&r department had a small physical therapy wing. The facilities though were not horrible I have seen similar accommodations at two other places. I apologize but since I waited so long to write this I have forgotten some the details of everything we did that day. The resident that gave us the tour was much more open about the program once we were away from the program director, he stated that it was very good for the basics, emg, baclofen etc... but pain, interventional, sports medicine are all very weak and you would need a fellowship absolutely to feel competent. I had heard from a friend that the anesthesiology department dominates the pain management at UK. He was extremely helpful and nice about the weaknesses which were quite a few. I understand that no program is perfect and I expect weaknesses, BUT.... what I am concerned with is what you are doing to change those weaknesses and how long that will take. I had to ask about this.. it should have been stated to us. When I did ask the answers were always a referral back to we are hiring more attendings. The didactics were stated to be twice a week and informative, but their was no elaboration on exactly what that meant. So when I asked the resident he stated they were "okay" nothing amazing but helped to give you a framework of what you should be focusing your learning on. I appreciated that from him, because three attendings gave me poor responses to that question. Pass rate for boards is 85%, which is not very good meaning one person fails almost every year. As far as fellowships go, not impressive their either but the chief resident apparently was doing a pain fellowship somewhere I don't remember, honestly because it was probably somewhere not impressive. Nobody does, sports medicine fellowships at this program forget about obtaining an ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowships if that is what you are trying to obtain. (I say this because I am interested in this avenue and understand how competitive the ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowships are). The day ended with we having to ask for contact information to send thank cards which I never sent, all in all it seems like decent program but I wanted to comment on it because it was so unlike every other program I had interviewed at. I will update with my other interview experiences when I have more time.

 

[islandMD2011]

OH MY GOD dude... 90% of their program is foreign grads and not like St. George's or Ross (which are major foreign grad schools that are predominately americans) but at Univ of Kentucky PMR the program is filled with hardcore foreign grads from schools I have never even heard of before like in Nepal, India and Poland. I know about the foreign schools because my cousin went to St. George's and when I went to visit him it was filled with American's. So i asked him about these other foreign grads... and he was like they are the "FOB's" Fresh Off the Boat... and he says when programs fill with those people it means they went to the bottom of their match list. Of course I didn't really believe it because hey... its UK. THEN...... I went to the interview and saw why they get foreign grads. The only resident that told me anything was an American grad... he was a Univ. KEntucky med student so he wanted to stay in Lexington and he bashed the hell out of the program. One funny thing was that the program director bragged about an 85% pass rate, so for a four person program it means one person fails every other year.. just great. It is probaby because of the hours... let me reiterate when i say the residents ABSOLUTELY GO OVER ACGME HOURS..... that is the main reason they can' t study.
At this point I don't even think I will rank them. Pisses me off because I spent a nice amount of money on the flight, hotel and rent a car. Anyway if you have any other questions you can just email me, good luck and I know I am bashing the program but try to keep an open mind and choose for yourself.

If anyone cares to post anything else about good/bad experiences from other programs please post...i have already spent so much money this interview trail and would like some honest feedback so i can possibly cancel some upcoming interviews

 

[Prof Moriarty]

What the heck happened to the interview trail? Come on people, time to step up! This is a valuable resource for future applicants and promotes the field. If you benefited from prior reviews pay it forward. Keep the trail alive.

 

[Punkn]

What the heck happened to the interview trail? Come on people, time to step up! This is a valuable resource for future applicants and promotes the field. If you benefited from prior reviews pay it forward. Keep the trail alive.

Bump! Good to see you around, Prof. And, I agree, I gained a lot from reading others' interview experiences. Good luck all!

 

[pMr2pain]

I wanted to get some feedback on anyone who has already interviewed at Marianjoy Hospital. I interviewed there few weeks ago and I remember hearing one of the applicants saying that the recent Marianjoy graduates all failed their PM&R boards. Anyone else hear this or have more information. I am considering ranking this program but knowing that all 4 graduates failed is worrisome. Any thoughts?

 

[PMR2008]

I am currently a resident at Marianjoy and it is true that 3 out of 4 and not all 4 failed. This is the first time in many years that a resident has failed the board exam at Marianjoy let alone 3 in one year. It is not the programs fault that this happened as if that was the case you would see a pattern. All three of the residents had personal issues that came up a few months before the exam and honestly I don't think it took it as seriously as they should have. We have a weekly 1 hour board review course run by a recent RIC graduate, we have dedicated board review lectures almost every week and the whole class has the option to go to one of the annual board review course for free. We have 7 residents graduating this year and I am certain we will all do well. If you have any questions please PM me.

 

[pMr2pain]

Thank you for the clarification.

Anyone else have any input on programs (pros/cons). The rank list opens tomorrow and feedback from other applicants is priceless.

 

[theanswer03]

I was interested in what others thought of the Louisville and Cincinnati PM&R programs? I'm more interested in what you guys thought of Louisville.

 

[28888]

http://www.usmleforum.com/files/forum/2012/4/646344.php

Thoughts?

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

I didn't know you could "prematch"

 

[futurepmrMD12]

Hello all,

Prior to today, I was strictly a fly on the wall in the forums. However, I would like to ask a question about UPMC's PM&R program. I am nearing the end of my interviewing season, finally. Last night I sat down to start the ranking process and I found myself really impressed with UPMC. I want to go to a program with strong inpatient and outpatient exposure during residency to help guide me as I decide what type of practice I would like to work in upon graduation. I also want a program with a reputation that is respected among those in the field, should I choose to apply for fellowships. It seems many applicants leave UPMC feeling very impressed by the program. I can imagine that the large volume of research coming out of UPMC will help me get my name on a number of publications to help boost my CV.

My questions are more directed towards those already practicing in PM&R, I guess. What is the general consensus about residents coming out of UPMC? Are they stand-outs? How does this program compare to places like Temple, Jeff, or RIC? (If given the opportunity to hire a doc fresh out of residency from any of these places, who would you be most excited to interview based on residency affiliation? or does that not matter as much as I think it does?) Any input would be appreciated as I try to come to a decision...

 

[jok200]

UPMC is a phenomenal program, hours are great teaching is stellar I would rank number one.

 

[Bombesin]

Hello all,

Prior to today, I was strictly a fly on the wall in the forums. However, I would like to ask a question about UPMC's PM&R program. I am nearing the end of my interviewing season, finally. Last night I sat down to start the ranking process and I found myself really impressed with UPMC. I want to go to a program with strong inpatient and outpatient exposure during residency to help guide me as I decide what type of practice I would like to work in upon graduation. I also want a program with a reputation that is respected among those in the field, should I choose to apply for fellowships. It seems many applicants leave UPMC feeling very impressed by the program. I can imagine that the large volume of research coming out of UPMC will help me get my name on a number of publications to help boost my CV.

My questions are more directed towards those already practicing in PM&R, I guess. What is the general consensus about residents coming out of UPMC? Are they stand-outs? How does this program compare to places like Temple, Jeff, or RIC? (If given the opportunity to hire a doc fresh out of residency from any of these places, who would you be most excited to interview based on residency affiliation? or does that not matter as much as I think it does?) Any input would be appreciated as I try to come to a decision...

I had a somewhat similar question about UPMC last year before I made my rank list:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=698527

Needless to say, I matched at UPMC to an advanced position. Pittsburgh itself really isn't my cup of tea (I miss the ocean) but I can honestly say that my training these first 8 months has been truly outstanding. From what I can see, our grads do very well with job and fellowship placement. And if research is your thing, the opportunities are endless.