2011-2012 University of Texas - Southwestern Application Thread

[KTD]

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Yeah and physio continues into the spring (goes til Spring break) which is why it's graded. It's not such a big deal--and actually kind of nice to start the class in the fall when everything else is pass/fail.

 

[Celerity]

I'm a second year--all that stuff you listed is pretty much why I picked the school and I still feel the same way.

One thing though--only first semester of first year (and all of 4th year) is pass/fail. Unless they made a change (did they!?), classes in the 2nd part of first year are graded. Not too big of a deal though.

Dr. Mihalik said that there was a motion to change the whole first year to P/F. From what she said, and other sources it appears to be likely to happen.

 

[Cinematographer]

Yay Interview invite for 11/12!

I find it very amusing that I have heard from both UT Southwestern and BCM before UT Houston

 

[Doc2doc2]

Not to worry, UTSW is probably the fastest school in terms of interview turn around. Good luck!

Not necessarily true. This had me discouraged, BUT I submitted my app in early June and just got an interview invitation today! For those others waiting, interviews don't end until January, there's still hope.

 

[3191964]

Not necessarily true. This had me discouraged, BUT I submitted my app in early June and just got an interview invitation today! For those others waiting, interviews don't end until January, there's still hope.

Do you mind sharing your stats and IS or OOS. I really appreciate it. Thanks

 

[AWK87DOC]

Yay Interview invite for 11/12!

I find it very amusing that I have heard from both UT Southwestern and BCM before UT Houston

+1 Interviewed at BCM 9/2 and just got an invite for UTSW for 11/5!

 

[marginalzone]

Interview invite! This was the first school I've heard back from for an interview (applied to 14, rejected from 2). Yay! 🙂

 

[doctor freak]

All applicants to UTSW medical school and residency programs should be warned that both UTSW and their main teaching hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital (where the majority of trainees’ time will be served at), have both been the subjects of very serious, recent, and ongoing federal investigations into Medicare fraud, patient harm, and major safety violations. This story has many parallels to the closure of Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center in 2005, which closed down all the residency programs and the hospital, itself, at King/Drew in South Central Los Angeles.

Much like the King/Drew debacle, the story was first exposed and has been extensively covered by the city’s major newspaper—in this case the Dallas Morning News (DMN)—in its investigative series on both Parkland/UTSW, “First, do no harm.” (See http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/patient-safety/.) But this story has gone far beyond King/Drew because over a hundred articles have been published by the DMN on the numerous patient violations, lawsuits, and incidents of fraud going at Parkland/UTSW, which has been picked up by other local and national media outlets as well. Parkland and UTSW are currently the subjects of numerous investigations from the Dept. of Justice (DoJ), FBI, Joint Commission, Texas Dept. of State Health Services, HHS Office of the Investigator General, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Texas Attorney General.

The similarities with King/Drew do not end there. Like MLK, Parkland was deemed to be an “immediate jeopardy and serious threat” to its patients in August and was given a letter of termination from receiving any federal Medicare and Medicaid funding from CMS that was supposed to be effective Sept. 30, 2011, for numerous patient safety violations. (See https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/243340-parkland-final-termination-letter-9-9-2011.html.) This occurred after they failed a sweeping, make-or-break, hospital-wide inspection and also failed the subsequent last-ditch re-inspection, after submitting a plan of correction.

The hospital-wide survey was prompted after the DMN found out about the death of a psychiatric ER patient who died after Parkland staff had a physical altercation with the man, placed him in physical restraints, and neglect him while placing him in solitary confinement without any monitoring. Parkland failed to report this sentinel event to any regulatory agencies as required by law. In fact, it was subsequently learned that CMS had cited Parkland 14 times in the last 5 years for other serious deaths and harm done to other patients.

Given that Parkland is the only public county hospital serving the entire Dallas region for all of Dallas’ poor, uninsured, and indigent, CMS could not close down Parkland because it was determined to be effectively “too big to fail.” So, CMS has placed Parkland in a 19 month probationary period under federal supervision in what is termed a “service improvement agreement” by approved consultants and an on-site compliance coordinator to continue.

In addition to these events, UTSW settled a qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit with the US Department of Justice for Medicare fraud on Sept. 1, 2011 with 1 of 3 known whistleblowers thus far. (See http://www.justice.gov/usao/txn/PressRel11/utsw_parkland_residents_settle_pr.html.) The charges stems from UTSW failing to supervise residents in surgeries performed at Parkland without any licensed or hospital-credentialed surgeons, despite UTSW billing for attending services. Patients were not properly informed that only student-doctors were only going to be in the OR, but Parkland/UTSW also deliberately deceived their patients into believing that their surgeons were going to be attending physicians, when in fact, they were not even in the OR during the operations. It was later learned that no licensed and fully credentialed surgeon were involved in any part of the patients’ care at Parkland. Several deaths and incidents of serious harm resulted from this system of residents running amuck at Parkland without any attending supervision.

The DoJ also has an ongoing federal probe into Parkland related to its recent termination for deemed status with Medicare from CMS, particularly in regards to its psychiatric ER. (See http://www.parklandhospital.com/pdf/Request-for-Information.pdf.) It has been learned that UTSW were also employing paid unlicensed medical students as primary clinicians in their psych ER, outside of their medical school clerkships, to evaluate and treat patients. Essentially, they were using unlicensed personnel to practice medicine without a license.

All these events have caused a mass exodus of staff from Parkland and UTSW. Both Parkland and UTSW have gotten a bad name in the medical community from their shameful actions. As a result of these scandals, Parkland’s long-time CEO and President was forced to resign, as was their General Counsel. Their second in command, the COO, also resigned and jumped ship to another hospital, and 5 of 7 Board Members were replaced earlier this year. The Dallas County Commissioners and the Parkland Board of Managers have thoroughly condemned the management at Parkland. They have even forced them not to accept any raises or bonuses for the next 2 years. UTSW has similarly fired its VP and CEO of its hospitals, and forced its long-time residency program director of its surgery dept. to resign as a consequence of the long-stream of bad news.

Be very wary that the problems at Parkland and UTSW are still ongoing and may close down the hospital for good in the near future. If you apply to UTSW and they close down before you graduate, you may be stuck without a program to complete and may lose everything that you have invested in a career in Medicine.😡

Uh ok in response to the above letter...Parkland is NOT going to close, people are blowing it out of proportion. Frankly, like the article posted above said too many people depend on its services to allow it to shut down. And of course people will panic if you hear it from Dallas Morning News. Due to exams coming up, i don't have time to delve into this further, but all y'all applying, we have received NUMEROUS emails from UTSW/Parkland that this will in NO way affect the quality of our medical training, Parkland is NOT going to close down, we also have two other teaching hospitals here. And as further proof that Parkland is here to stay, the new Parkland hospital is already halfway constructed right across the street and will open in 2014, and many of the issues cited by the CMA were due to old facilities in the old building, so these will already be corrected with the new hospital - the training will be EVEN better, more residency spots will be open due to the larger hospital. And not only are we getting one new hospital (parkland), we're getting a new university hospital...so rest assured guys, you're gonna be getting the same, if not better, top-notch medical training than most schools out there.

 

[marginalzone]

Uh ok in response to the above letter...Parkland is NOT going to close, people are blowing it out of proportion. Frankly, like the article posted above said too many people depend on its services to allow it to shut down. And of course people will panic if you hear it from Dallas Morning News. Due to exams coming up, i don't have time to delve into this further, but all y'all applying, we have received NUMEROUS emails from UTSW/Parkland that this will in NO way affect the quality of our medical training, Parkland is NOT going to close down, we also have two other teaching hospitals here. And as further proof that Parkland is here to stay, the new Parkland hospital is already halfway constructed right across the street and will open in 2014, and many of the issues cited by the CMA were due to old facilities in the old building, so these will already be corrected with the new hospital - the training will be EVEN better, more residency spots will be open due to the larger hospital. And not only are we getting one new hospital (parkland), we're getting a new university hospital...so rest assured guys, you're gonna be getting the same, if not better, top-notch medical training than most schools out there.

Thank you for this reply! I wasn't really worried, but it's great to hear it from a medical student. I can't wait to interview here! 🙂

 

[ALMD]

All applicants to UTSW medical school and residency programs should be warned that both UTSW and their main teaching hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital (where the majority of trainees’ time will be served at), have both been the subjects of very serious, recent, and ongoing federal investigations into Medicare fraud, patient harm, and major safety violations. This story has many parallels to the closure of Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center in 2005, which closed down all the residency programs and the hospital, itself, at King/Drew in South Central Los Angeles.

Much like the King/Drew debacle, the story was first exposed and has been extensively covered by the city’s major newspaper—in this case the Dallas Morning News (DMN)—in its investigative series on both Parkland/UTSW, “First, do no harm.” (See http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/patient-safety/.) But this story has gone far beyond King/Drew because over a hundred articles have been published by the DMN on the numerous patient violations, lawsuits, and incidents of fraud going at Parkland/UTSW, which has been picked up by other local and national media outlets as well. Parkland and UTSW are currently the subjects of numerous investigations from the Dept. of Justice (DoJ), FBI, Joint Commission, Texas Dept. of State Health Services, HHS Office of the Investigator General, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Texas Attorney General.

The similarities with King/Drew do not end there. Like MLK, Parkland was deemed to be an “immediate jeopardy and serious threat” to its patients in August and was given a letter of termination from receiving any federal Medicare and Medicaid funding from CMS that was supposed to be effective Sept. 30, 2011, for numerous patient safety violations. (See https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/243340-parkland-final-termination-letter-9-9-2011.html.) This occurred after they failed a sweeping, make-or-break, hospital-wide inspection and also failed the subsequent last-ditch re-inspection, after submitting a plan of correction.

The hospital-wide survey was prompted after the DMN found out about the death of a psychiatric ER patient who died after Parkland staff had a physical altercation with the man, placed him in physical restraints, and neglect him while placing him in solitary confinement without any monitoring. Parkland failed to report this sentinel event to any regulatory agencies as required by law. In fact, it was subsequently learned that CMS had cited Parkland 14 times in the last 5 years for other serious deaths and harm done to other patients.

Given that Parkland is the only public county hospital serving the entire Dallas region for all of Dallas’ poor, uninsured, and indigent, CMS could not close down Parkland because it was determined to be effectively “too big to fail.” So, CMS has placed Parkland in a 19 month probationary period under federal supervision in what is termed a “service improvement agreement” by approved consultants and an on-site compliance coordinator to continue.

In addition to these events, UTSW settled a qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit with the US Department of Justice for Medicare fraud on Sept. 1, 2011 with 1 of 3 known whistleblowers thus far. (See http://www.justice.gov/usao/txn/PressRel11/utsw_parkland_residents_settle_pr.html.) The charges stems from UTSW failing to supervise residents in surgeries performed at Parkland without any licensed or hospital-credentialed surgeons, despite UTSW billing for attending services. Patients were not properly informed that only student-doctors were only going to be in the OR, but Parkland/UTSW also deliberately deceived their patients into believing that their surgeons were going to be attending physicians, when in fact, they were not even in the OR during the operations. It was later learned that no licensed and fully credentialed surgeon were involved in any part of the patients’ care at Parkland. Several deaths and incidents of serious harm resulted from this system of residents running amuck at Parkland without any attending supervision.

The DoJ also has an ongoing federal probe into Parkland related to its recent termination for deemed status with Medicare from CMS, particularly in regards to its psychiatric ER. (See http://www.parklandhospital.com/pdf/Request-for-Information.pdf.) It has been learned that UTSW were also employing paid unlicensed medical students as primary clinicians in their psych ER, outside of their medical school clerkships, to evaluate and treat patients. Essentially, they were using unlicensed personnel to practice medicine without a license.

All these events have caused a mass exodus of staff from Parkland and UTSW. Both Parkland and UTSW have gotten a bad name in the medical community from their shameful actions. As a result of these scandals, Parkland’s long-time CEO and President was forced to resign, as was their General Counsel. Their second in command, the COO, also resigned and jumped ship to another hospital, and 5 of 7 Board Members were replaced earlier this year. The Dallas County Commissioners and the Parkland Board of Managers have thoroughly condemned the management at Parkland. They have even forced them not to accept any raises or bonuses for the next 2 years. UTSW has similarly fired its VP and CEO of its hospitals, and forced its long-time residency program director of its surgery dept. to resign as a consequence of the long-stream of bad news.

Be very wary that the problems at Parkland and UTSW are still ongoing and may close down the hospital for good in the near future. If you apply to UTSW and they close down before you graduate, you may be stuck without a program to complete and may lose everything that you have invested in a career in Medicine.😡

LoL everyone should know that Dallas Morning News hates UTSW and so just ignore whatever it writes about this school or take it with a bucket of salt😴

 

[Celerity]

Niagara Falls-

As someone that looks to UT Southwestern as a dream school that I actually might get to attend, I find this very disheartening. However, I knew UTSW has been having problems for awhile, and furthermore I also know that there have been some faculty leave. That is common public knowledge. Matters are further complicated by the recent revocation of another medical school's accreditation, and everyone is a little apprehensive.

However, I find it odd that it appears that you joined SDN to tell us this story and that is all. What was/is your intention? What is your background? Are you faculty, med student, or reporter? It seems odd that people with honest intentions would not be transparent. In short, please validate yourself and your intentions.


Also, if more students or faculty could comment on this it would also be helpful.

Thx

 

[marginalzone]

Niagara Falls-

As someone that looks to UT Southwestern as a dream school that I actually might get to attend, I find this very disheartening. However, I knew UTSW has been having problems for awhile, and furthermore I also know that there have been some faculty leave. That is common public knowledge. Matters are further complicated by the recent revocation of another medical school's accreditation, and everyone is a little apprehensive.

However, I find it odd that it appears that you joined SDN to tell us this story and that is all. What was/is your intention? What is your background? Are you faculty, med student, or reporter? It seems odd that people with honest intentions would not be transparent. In short, please validate yourself and your intentions.


Also, if more students or faculty could comment on this it would also be helpful.

Thx

Great post! I would like to know who this poster too. It's very serious to post something like that in a school thread. We are already over-neurotic! 🙂

 

[doctor freak]

Thank you for this reply! I wasn't really worried, but it's great to hear it from a medical student. I can't wait to interview here! 🙂

Email we received about two weeks ago regarding this issue for y'alls information, nothing to worry about guys 🙂

Dear Students,
You will soon hear reports about the status of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) review of Parkland in the media. CMS recognizes the vital role Parkland plays in the Dallas Community and will be working with Parkland through the Systems Improvement Agreement to address remaining issues and maintain Parkland's participation in their programs. Parkland's status does not impact our accreditation status with the LCME and ACGME, nor does it impact your educational or clinical training opportunities. We will continue to support Parkland in every aspect as we value our long established and valued partnership in providing our educational and clinical care missions at UT Southwestern.
Warmly,
apm

Parkland to Negotiate Agreement with CMS

Parkland Health & Hospital System committed to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will enter into a Systems Improvement Agreement to maintain Parkland's participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This agreement, which will be finalized no later than Sept. 30, provides Parkland the opportunity to continue to operate fully and to address the problems identified in the recent CMS survey.
A Systems Improvement Agreement is a time-limited agreement between CMS and a hospital. In lieu of termination, the Systems Improvement Agreement requires Parkland to bring in external, third-party and CMS-approved quality improvement consultants to implement corrective actions. This consultant will act as an agent of CMS to analyze the Parkland reports, findings and original plan of corrections. From this, and their own comprehensive review of Parkland's compliance with the CMS Conditions of Participation, the consultant will craft a plan for improvement. The consultant will oversee the implementation of that plan and report back to CMS as Parkland improves. The timeline for this process will be addressed in the agreement.
Parkland remains fully accredited and is accepting Medicare and Medicaid. The agreement will abate the notice of termination of Parkland's participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs that Parkland received today.
"We are grateful for this opportunity to work with an outside expert to address the problems identified by CMS. This allows Parkland and CMS to be jointly engaged in an aggressive improvement process," said John Jay Shannon, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. "We are committed to successfully meeting CMS expectations and to continually serving the people of Dallas County. I can guarantee we will be a stronger, more capable, safer hospital system."

 

[Celerity]

Email we received about two weeks ago regarding this issue for y'alls information, nothing to worry about guys :

Great to know. Also, as a Dallas area resident I can vouch for the notion that The Dallas Morning News seems to hate UTSW as well as other entities and seems to embrace others.

 

[Celerity]

😀The facts are that Parkland lost its deemed status from participating in Medicare and Medcaid as shown in the letter above, UTSW did settle a Medicare fraud case, they also settled a racial discrimination lawsuit, they have had 14 violations from CMS in just 5 years, and both institutions are being examined by the Dallas Morning News in an investigative series, which can be googled from "DMN first do no harm." There is also another blog, www.dallashealthcare.blogspot, that has chronicled the problems at Parkland/UTSW. The point is, if you don't know what's going on, we encourage everyone to be as informed as possible to find out the facts for themselves from very credible governmental, news, and media sites. Unlike the people from UTSW, we are not spinning or hiding any facts and encourage all applicants to do some due diligence in making decisions that will impact the rest of your life.

Who is this we? You say "we" twice. At this point you seem like a reporter. Facts are facts, and I am not disputing those.

Here are some other facts:
1. Parkland and UTSW do the job that literally no one else wants to do. They care for the most indigent people in Dallas/Ft Worth.

2. Parkland is literally swamped with people who need care and is pretty much overrun. That is why they are building a new hospital. Fortunately, the good news is that tax payers of Dallas voted to pay for a new Parkland, even though they are most likely not to use Parkland. They are more likely to go to Presby Dallas.

3. When a Hospital cares for more people that it has staffing for, things happen that are not always are not always up to par. It is reality. It is always easy to second guess people in the field from the comfort of your desk.

4. No matter what institution there is (even the press) there are always bad apples. However, only fools let one or two bad apples spoil the whole barrel.

Consider what you and who ever is associated with you are doing. You are taking an institution that cares for the needy and sick and making them into the scum of the earth by creating hysteria. After all, that is what sells to the masses right? Fright and Hype? What good do you think you are doing? To the medical community, this was already common knowledge as stated earlier. How about a little more objectivity please.

 

[KTD]

Also, to be clear, UT Southwestern has NO issues with its LCME accreditation. It is NOT on probation (and as far as I know has never been on probation) and is not even due for review until 2017-2018.

http://www.lcme.org/directry.htm

Parkland is a fantastic resource for the community and a fantastic place for students to learn. I'm a second year, so my experience in Parkland is not extensive, but I will say the clinical education is the reason I chose UTSW and nothing has changed. Its a huge hospital where you can see TONS of pathology. For example, 1000 babies are born at Parkland each month, so rare congenital disease are fairly common (not to mention the OB experience!).

The new Parkland sprouting up right across the street should be beautiful. In my opinion, Parkland is THE reason to choose Southwestern (though if you get me going I can rave about plenty of other things I love about the school).

US News called Parkland the 3rd best Hospital in Dallas and Forth Worth AGAIN this year (also note that UT Southwestern Hospital is #1 on this list). It is also nationally ranked in several specialties.

http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/dallas-fort-worth-tx

 

[Whatyousay]

WE believe that UTSW should be open, honest, and transparent

Speaking of transparency ... who is this "WE"?

 

[doctor freak]

seriously, who are "WE" and what are your intentions? And by the way, I have no interest in "covering up" anything to defend my school. Believe me, I wouldn't be doing that if my medical education was at risk, and frankly it isn't. Our hospitals wouldn't be ranked so high if we were at risk of closing. Sure parkland has had some issues, but as Celerity said, these issues sometimes happen when it's so swamped with patients and everyone is working really hard to correct them.

 

[ALMD]

WE believe that UTSW should be open, honest, and transparent about ALL aspects of its programs—warts and all—so WE will present evidence that you may access from the internet from various news and media outlet sources about Parkland and UTSW regulatory and legal problems this past year, related to patient deaths, serious harm, fraud, and dereliction of duty by the medical staff at both Parkland and UTSW.

Look like you joined this forum with only one purpose-talking nonsense about UTSW behind its back.

I am tempting to believe you are some reporter from the Dallas Morning Faking News.

 

[Cinematographer]

Lol at Niagara Falls agenda against UTSW . The secrecy behind the constant use of "WE" and fully one-sided views make it obvious that you are not here to inform and help us poor naive med school applicants.

 

[Bojack Horseman]

Be very wary that the problems at Parkland and UTSW are still ongoing and may close down the hospital for good in the near future. If you apply to UTSW and they close down before you graduate, you may be stuck without a program to complete and may lose everything that you have invested in a career in Medicine.😡

1) parkland is not the only teaching hospital of utsw, although it is an appealing aspect of their program
2) construction of a new facility is underway and i seriously doubt that parkland would get shut down and that facility would go to waste... especially considering how much taxpayer money was put into it
3) your statements seem rather harsh and biased for someone here to *provide information*
--- what is the reason you're posting here again?

yes, there are problems... do these problems outweigh the benefits of attending utsw (which is the primary concern of everyone reading this forum...)?
--- that is up to the individual to decide. however, i seriously doubt that utsw would lose its accreditation as a medical school solely because of issues at parkland.

 

[FutureMD23]

Suddenly, the people who have remained silent about problems at Parkland and UTSW and have tried to sweep the problems under the rug are suddenly getting very nasty.

Careful, not only are you revealing this off-putting side of UTSW’s character to me, but you are showing it to the rest of the world, especially prospective candidates who you are trying to entice to your institution. There is no bigger turn-off than a demonstrating a very bad bedside manner. Showing this “uncivil side” makes people hate you.

There’s a word for that kind of behavior: DENIAL. And people who greet any threats to their egos with this level of hostility expose a character flaw that is very off-putting to outsiders. So, I’d choose my words a little more carefully in a public forum, especially when the fortunes of your institution is on the line.

I think you guys have already lost the argument. You’re not vehemently denying anything that I have said to be false. In fact, you’re admitting that everything I said was true, but you are coping out by saying it’s “greatly exaggerated”—the oldest excuse in the book. And now you’re admitting, “there are problems at Parkland and UTSW.” You don’t go anywhere on a bike backpedalling like that.

Well, that mistake opens the door and invites everyone out there, who is not familiar with the problems at Parkland and UTSW, to independently look at the evidence themselves to decide what is truly going on. Then they have to confront the issue: Why didn’t any of the pro-UTSW bloggers ever bring these issues up on their own? They must have something to hide.

So far, you guys at UTSW have provided no evidence of your own, and the stuff you have provided as evidence are all out-right lies and red herrings. LCME probation and US News & World Report? REALLY??? You guys refuse to answer the charges at hand, and it makes you look guilty.

As WE said, WE encourage openness, honesty, and transparency in ALL discussions about UTSW, warts and all. Everyone who is applying, please do your homework before considering applying, and if you apply and interview at UTSW, bring some very hard-hitting questions for your interviewers at UTSW to answer. It pays to be informed and prepared in this situation. It’s your life at stake.

This is your life, and you have the right not to have any big unpleasant surprises, before you have the opportunity to make an INFORMED DECISION that will affect the rest of your life.

To be continued...

P.S. “WE” are the only honest and candid people who have been talking about the problems at Parkland and UTSW. And by the way, we are also some of the concerned employees and patients at Parkland and UTSW who have brought these issues to the same press we have been citing as sources in the news media.

You are really annoying...and by the way "grammer" is actually spelled like this - grammar.

 

[marginalzone]

Niagara Falls, you've made your case. Now please go away and let us make up our own minds! I'd prefer to use this thread to discuss and ask questions about interviews, curriculum, etc., and talk to fellow applicants.


That being said, I'm very excited for my mid-November interview! Anyone know what the weather will be like then? Also, if I have done lots of research (I'm a master's student) should I bring some data so I talk to them about what I'm doing?

 

[MilkIsGood]

utsw administration openly talks about the problems at parkland. faculty remind us to foam in and foam out during the friday clinical rounds . they're not sweeping anything under the rug...

i bet this guy is either a premed that is trying really hard to go to utsw or he's a reporter from the biased dallas morning news. dmn does nothing but bash utsw and parkland.

 

[KTD]

That being said, I'm very excited for my mid-November interview! Anyone know what the weather will be like then? Also, if I have done lots of research (I'm a master's student) should I bring some data so I talk to them about what I'm doing?

You don't need to bring any data, but be prepared to discuss your research with your interviewers. Seems to me that the interviewers want to hear broadly about your research and want to make sure that you actually understand your project and why its important. Enthusiasm for the research always helps too. The interviews in general are pretty laid back.

Weather should be cool but not cold. You never can really tell here though so check the weather right before you come! Fall and spring in Dallas are usually gorgeous.

 

[marginalzone]

You don't need to bring any data, but be prepared to discuss your research with your interviewers. Seems to me that the interviewers want to hear broadly about your research and want to make sure that you actually understand your project and why its important. Enthusiasm for the research always helps too. The interviews in general are pretty laid back.

Weather should be cool but not cold. You never can really tell here though so check the weather right before you come! Fall and spring in Dallas are usually gorgeous.

Thank you! If I am doing immunology research, would I be matched with an interviewer who knows a lot of immunology? I've heard about other schools doing that during interviews, but not sure if UTSW does. I want to know how in depth I should get explaining my project, or if I should just give a general overview. 🙂

 

[KTD]

Thank you! If I am doing immunology research, would I be matched with an interviewer who knows a lot of immunology? I've heard about other schools doing that during interviews, but not sure if UTSW does. I want to know how in depth I should get explaining my project, or if I should just give a general overview. 🙂

I'm not sure. I did cancer research and was matched with a cancer researcher for one my interviewers, but tons of research is cancer research so it could have just been coincidence. Even if you are matched with someone in immunology, chances that they are going to b an expert in your specific field are slim. Your interviewers aren't going to grill you or try to trip you up. I would be as knowledgeable as possible about your topic, but its unlikely you'll have to go into great detail.

Hope that helps--maybe someone else can answer better.

 

[CargoPants]

I was following this story (Parkland) a couple months ago and was searching for more info on the very day that Ron Anderson was removed from the CEO office. I had already been reading the blog located here but was really turned off about both the biased tone of the blog and the actions of Parkland themselves. I decided to hold off my judgement until I went to the interview.

When I got to the interview, people didn't really talk about it. During the morning rounds, the medical students only talked about it when the interviewees asked about it. Many of the interviewees did not know anything about it at first, and the med students did not seem worried at all. However, their attitude towards the situation really did give off an air of, "we are really too big to fail", which I found really distasteful.

During the afternoon program, they did a great job selling the school with their presentation. However, it did feel like kind of an insult on how little they talked about parkland. I believe the extent of the scheduled discussion about Parkland's problems was to be addressed by saying, "Parkland has had its share of troubles in the past, but it is a great facility to learn and interact with a range of patients and conditions." Nearing the end of the presentation, it was obvious that no student was going to ask the presenters about the Parkland accusations. Thankfully, a parent who had come along with a student asked how they were handling the Parkland accusations and the situation with the CMS. Dr. Mihalic seemed confident that the Parkland would be fine and Mr. Norred added his thoughts.

On the actual interview day, I don't believe they even mentioned Parkland's situation. This means that people who didn't go to the Friday activities would not have heard anything on the problems and would not know anything was wrong unless they were from the Dallas area.

Coming out of the interview, I felt somewhat more confident in UTSW's situation than going into the interview. I believe that since then, they have settled a lot of the accusations with a few million dollars and were looking on moving forward.

I think bringing this information out on SDN is a little late, but really quite important. However, I get the impression that Niagra Falls is a super gunner that aims to get people to not consider UTSW, which may be his/her/their first choice school.

 

[Bojack Horseman]

If you're so open about the problems, then why don't you reveal the problems to the naive and unwitting applicants on this blog?

To be continued...

1) this is a forum, not a blog. maybe you should start your own blog?..👎
2) the vast majority of the people you've been addressing are current applicants.... not affiliated with utsw in any other way... yet you are quoting them with with accusations that they're somehow involved with what you consider to be utsw withholding information. no one here is defending utsw or parkland against any of these allegations because we're really not qualified to.
3) investigations into many of these issues are ongoing so that qualified individuals can pass judgement. for now, parkland is still open and working to address many of the issues that you've mentioned.
4) i don't consider myself to be naive or unwitting, but i certainly lack respect for your opinions on the general basis that you're obviously a troll and a douche.

 

[Laplace]

Dear Niagara Falls,

Although I admire your stance on trying to inform many innocent medical students about the new information that many applicants may not know about Parkland and UTSW, the Student Doctor Network is not the forum to bring up this kind of information—not because of appropriateness of the information on your part, but because this forum is run by conservative clowns who really speak on behalf of the medical schools like UT Southwestern, rather than in the true interests of the medical students themselves.

(If you look, many of their featured threads and advertisements are from big pharma.)

Thus, you can see the fruit of your efforts probably resulted in someone from UT Southwestern’s administration calling up the administrators on this forum to remove all your comments completely from this forum. The administrators gladly did their bidding, despite their claims that they represent the voice of student doctors and are an open and honest forum for all students to discuss issues that will impact their careers and lives.

What they have done to you is censor you because you said something dangerous and threatening to their interests, but what can you expect from a bunch of people who are really in the pockets of the AAMC and the AMA. These guys running the Student Doctor Network represent the big guys, not the little guys.

This situation with Parkland/UTSW in Dallas is like déjà vu at King/Drew in Los Angeles from 2005-2007. I know because I remember that episode quite vividly, since I lived in Los Angeles at the time before going to UTSW. One fact mentioned by others on this forum is not true. If you are a medical student or resident at UTSW, then the majority of your time will be at Parkland. In fact, all residents at UTSW are actually employed by Parkland on their W-2 forms, so they are actually working for Parkland, not UTSW.

UTSW very much depends on Parkland as its main teaching hospital where the majority of the training for students are done. I don’t buy this notion that UTSW is trying to compartmentalize themselves byu saying what happens at Parkland doesn’t affect them.

Much like King/Drew, if Parkland falls then UTSW is likely to fall too.

Same guy, different SN? I'm willing to bet Niagra Falls and this guy have the same IP address.

 

[Cinematographer]

LOL at Niagara Falls creating an ALT account . Truly UTSW is doomed!

 

[marginalzone]

I'm female and wondering what to wear on Friday rounds and afternoon events. Do people go back to hotel to change for the afternoon? The packet they sent us says business attire for the morning, and business casual/casual for the afternoon. Is a pencil skirt and short sleeve blouse okay for the morning rounds? Or too casual? Thank you! 🙂

 

[doctor freak]

I'm female and wondering what to wear on Friday rounds and afternoon events. Do people go back to hotel to change for the afternoon? The packet they sent us says business attire for the morning, and business casual/casual for the afternoon. Is a pencil skirt and short sleeve blouse okay for the morning rounds? Or too casual? Thank you! 🙂

people usually keep the same thing on for the afternoon as well. that should be fine for the entire day 🙂

 

[marginalzone]

people usually keep the same thing on for the afternoon as well. that should be fine for the entire day 🙂

Thank you! I'll probably wear a cardigan too since it might get chilly indoors. 🙂

 

[doctor freak]

Thank you! I'll probably wear a cardigan too since it might get chilly indoors. 🙂

that's a VERY good idea since it's always freezing inside 🙂

 

[Kowalske]

First off, no one claimed UTSW was under probation (LCME accreditation notwithstanding—whatever that is.) Parkland, however, is under probation by the biggest and most influential regulatory agency in the nation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS.) They were cited several times by CMS and the Joint Commission for serious harm and death attributed to sub-standard care.

UTSW, on the other had, just was forced to settle fraud charges by the most powerful and influential law enforcement agency in the nation, the US Dept. of Justice (DoJ.) UTSW was forced to settle a Medicare fraud qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit, brought by one of 3 publicly known whistleblowers at UTSW, with the US Dept. of Justice for swindling its patients with "phantom billings" attending physician fees in the millions.

As stated, there are three publicly known whistleblowers, with one of them winning a judgment for $3.4 million against UTSW and another one winning $1.4 million. The DoJ is continuing an ongoing probe into fraud at both Parkland and UTSW.

On the probationary issue, Parkland, UTSW main teaching hospital, is on probationary status with CMS for 19 months under a "Service Improvement Agreement," in which they must comply with CMS approved consultants to bring its level of care up to the minimal safe standard that every hospital in the US must uphold. The “immediate jeopardy” status and termination from deemed status by CMS has not been lifted. Parkland is required to hire an on-site Compliance Coordinator at all times during this probationary period to monitor compulsory improvements in its delivery of care.

Parkland is the largest hospital ever in US history to lose its deemed status with CMS for Medicare/Medicaid certification. By this extraordinary black mark, that would make Parkland the biggest failure (surpassing King/Drew) and the most dangerous hospital currently in the US. (Despite what US News states in their gimmicky annual “top ten list”, CMS pulls more weight with experts as an authority on hospital safety and quality than does a dime-store news rag.)

Parkland's own Board Member, Jerry Bryant, has stated that Parkland trails 7 of 10 categories of patient satisfaction indices on the US Dept of Health and Human Services categories for what HHS describes as “important measures of patients’ perspectives of care.” (See DMN article, “Parkland board gradually decided that hospital CEO Anderson had to go” at http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/patient-safety/headlines/20110910-parkland-board-gradually-decided-that-hospital-ceo-anderson-had-to-go.ece.) Another board member noted that Parkland patients often complained about a “lack of civility” in how they were treated by Parkland staff. And finally, Parkland Chairman of the Board of Managers, Lauren McDonald, stated: “We were looking at our own outcomes on our own patients. It was not good.”


This all from the horse’s mouth. To be continued…

I have to say that nothing that the Dallas Morning News has been saying about Parkland or UTSW is true at all. Parkland was never terminated from CMS from Medicare status, Parkland's CEO and President, Ron Anderson, was never fired from his job, and neither UTSW nor Parkland settled with the US Dept. of Justice over any charges of Medicare fraud.

UTSW and Parkland are not on any kind probation whatsoever. Both were ranked #1 and #3, respectively, on the best hospitals in all of Dallas/Fort Worth in US News & World Report, so how can either hospital be terminated from Medicare?

This is all the work of the Dallas Morning News and a disgruntled former employee, who will get theirs when we're done with them. The Morning is nothing but a piece of yellow journalistic trash, so don't listen to anything they say because it's all slander. They just hate us and wish nothing better than for us close down. That's not going to happen, so if you read anything on the web, please take that with a grain of salt.

If you want the truth, then the people on this blog can tell you everything you need to know because we are all honest and open about any problems at UTSW. The people who have been posting libelous comments about UTSW were rightfully censored from this site. They have no right to lie like they do in a public forum in such an irresponsible way, so we're glad that they are gone.

CMS and all these other regulatory agencies have fully credentialed UTSW and Parkland, and no further actions were taken because they determined that UTSW was completely exonerated in any charge that was levied by the Morning News. So, there is no probation of any kind at UTSW or Parkland.

The people that were really discredited are the Morning News and this disgruntled former employee. they will get theirs when Parkland's lawyers file a lawsuit against them later this year.

So, don't let these nay-sayers dissuade you from applying to UTSW.

 

[Celerity]

I have to say that nothing that the Dallas Morning News has been saying about Parkland or UTSW is true at all. Parkland was never terminated from CMS from Medicare status, Parkland's CEO and President, Ron Anderson, was never fired from his job, and neither UTSW nor Parkland settled with the US Dept. of Justice over any charges of Medicare fraud.

UTSW and Parkland are not on any kind probation whatsoever. Both were ranked #1 and #3, respectively, on the best hospitals in all of Dallas/Fort Worth in US News & World Report, so how can either hospital be terminated from Medicare?

This is all the work of the Dallas Morning News and a disgruntled former employee, who will get theirs when we're done with them. The Morning is nothing but a piece of yellow journalistic trash, so don't listen to anything they say because it's all slander. They just hate us and wish nothing better than for us close down. That's not going to happen, so if you read anything on the web, please take that with a grain of salt.

If you want the truth, then the people on this blog can tell you everything you need to know because we are all honest and open about any problems at UTSW. The people who have been posting libelous comments about UTSW were rightfully censored from this site. They have no right to lie like they do in a public forum in such an irresponsible way, so we're glad that they are gone.

CMS and all these other regulatory agencies have fully credentialed UTSW and Parkland, and no further actions were taken because they determined that UTSW was completely exonerated in any charge that was levied by the Morning News. So, there is no probation of any kind at UTSW or Parkland.

The people that were really discredited are the Morning News and this disgruntled former employee. they will get theirs when Parkland's lawyers file a lawsuit against them later this year.

So, don't let these nay-sayers dissuade you from applying to UTSW.

👍
As someone who subscribes to the DMN and being a Dallas resident, I can say that I have read my fair share of of that paper. Over the years I have read numerous articles about UTSW and all of them, in my opinion appear to be biased. I am in close contact with several Doctors that work at UTSW and they say that communication about these issues has been unparalleled. My wife will have to live with the fact that I am cancelling our subscription to the DMN.

It is interesting and perplexing to me that the this Niagara Falls joke of a reporter, if thats what he is would use Parkland to attack UTSW. Most of the charges levied are against Parkland, but Niagara Falls keeps on beating the UTSW drum.

Can anyone believe that this is objective reporting?

 

[Ferrell]

👍
As someone who subscribes to the DMN and being a Dallas resident, I can say that I have read my fair share of of that paper. Over the years I have read numerous articles about UTSW and all of them, in my opinion appear to be biased. I am in close contact with several Doctors that work at UTSW and they say that communication about these issues has been unparalleled. My wife will have to live with the fact that I am cancelling our subscription to the DMN.

It is interesting and perplexing to me that the this Niagara Falls joke of a reporter, if thats what he is would use Parkland to attack UTSW. Most of the charges levied are against Parkland, but Niagara Falls keeps on beating the UTSW drum.

Can anyone believe that this is objective reporting?

This is all a smoke screen. UTSW is not on probation with the LCME or ACGME? No one questioned that. How about Parkland? Are they or aren’t they on probation?

I looked up on the web from other newspapers, such as the AP wire service, WFAA, NBC-DFW, KERA, and what they are saying confirms that this issue is well beyond just the DMN supposedly libeling—not slander, which is spoken—people with “bias.” Now I see, no one from UTSW is actually saying that what the news reports are saying are at all FALSE, so you guys at UTSW are obviously trying to lie and hide something.

What’s more suspicious is that you are attacking any poster who is backing up their charges with references to legitimate sources, while you guys provide nothing as evidence. How can this be all the work of the DMN if CMS, the joint commission, the state of Texas, and the US Dept of Justice is also involved in their own investigations and findings? All you guys are doing is providing lies and spin, but nothing to dispel the charges and the evidence on the web.

You obviously have something to hide, and I’m not buying any of it. The worst thing that I see is that you guys are now promptly removing any negative comment from the forums to stop the information from getting out, and silencing any of your critics on this public forum. That kind of censorship is just dishonest and cowardly.

I didn’t know we were living in communist Germany. UTSW must be a great place to work at if this is how you guys greet an open dialogue.😡😡😡

 

[minerva3121]

LOL at Niagara Falls creating an ALT account . Truly UTSW is doomed!

Is it just me, or are all the ALT accounts using a font that differs from everybody else's font

 

[Techmed07]

Well. I am just curious what Parkland problems actually mean for medical students? Perhaps it can give incoming and current medical students an avenue to help change things at Parkland.


Ok. This is not just a DMN thing. Just googled "Parkland Hospital Problems" brings up a lot of hits from different news sites (granted most DMN). However, I do not think UTSW is to blame for these problems. It seems like this county hospital is severely under funded and under manned. These are problems that many hospital have to deal with. In Dallas I think the problems are just a little bit excubated. However UTSW is taking great aims to help their main teaching hospital and make sure these patients get the care they deserve and need. I mean they are building a whole new hospital with a rail straight to it! I really have nothing to gain from writing this, just my two cents.

 

[MusicalHenry]

I didn’t know we were living in communist Germany. UTSW must be a great place to work at if this is how you guys greet an open dialogue.😡😡😡

😳

 

[Kowalske]

This is all a smoke screen. UTSW is not on probation with the LCME or ACGME? No one questioned that. How about Parkland? Are they or aren’t they on probation?

I looked up on the web from other newspapers, such as the AP wire service, WFAA, NBC-DFW, KERA, and what they are saying confirms that this issue is well beyond just the DMN supposedly libeling—not slander, which is spoken—people with “bias.” Now I see, no one from UTSW is actually saying that what the news reports are saying are at all FALSE, so you guys at UTSW are obviously trying to lie and hide something.

What’s more suspicious is that you are attacking any poster who is backing up their charges with references to legitimate sources, while you guys provide nothing as evidence. How can this be all the work of the DMN if CMS, the joint commission, the state of Texas, and the US Dept of Justice is also involved in their own investigations and findings? All you guys are doing is providing lies and spin, but nothing to dispel the charges and the evidence on the web.

You obviously have something to hide, and I’m not buying any of it. The worst thing that I see is that you guys are now promptly removing any negative comment from the forums to stop the information from getting out, and silencing any of your critics on this public forum. That kind of censorship is just dishonest and cowardly.

I didn’t know we were living in communist Germany. UTSW must be a great place to work at if this is how you guys greet an open dialogue.😡😡😡

What an idiot! "Communist Germany?" What part of Germany was ever communist in the first place?

This is not an open forum for the dumass reporters of the DMN or for former disgruntled employees of UTSW to air their lies. It's pretty obvious that all the negative comments posted are from the same people. This forum belongs to us, so expect to be kicked off if any of you continue to bad-mouth UTSW.

I also advise interviewees not to mention the news articles at your interview at UTSW if you want even a chance to get accepted at UTSW because we're getting tired of the lies that the DMN is spewing.😴😴😴

 

[Bojack Horseman]

I also advise interviewees not to mention the news articles at your interview at UTSW if you want even a chance to get accepted at UTSW because we're getting tired of the lies that the DMN is spewing.😴😴😴

.... why not? it's a pretty important issue for a prospective student.

 

[Ferrell]

What an idiot! "Communist Germany?" What part of Germany was ever communist in the first place?

This is not an open forum for the dumass reporters of the DMN or for former disgruntled employees of UTSW to air their lies. It's pretty obvious that all the negative comments posted are from the same people. This forum belongs to us, so expect to be kicked off if any of you continue to bad-mouth UTSW.

I also advise interviewees not to mention the news articles at your interview at UTSW if you want even a chance to get accepted at UTSW because we're getting tired of the lies that the DMN is spewing.😴😴😴

It's obvious that this site is full of geniuses like Musical Henry and Kowalske, so I won't bother informing them that East Germany was a communist country since they seem to know everything.

Well guys, much like communist Germany, you guys must on right on the money about all the Parkland and UTSW information too. Highly credible, indeed.

 

[KTD]

What an idiot! "Communist Germany?" What part of Germany was ever communist in the first place?

This is not an open forum for the dumass reporters of the DMN or for former disgruntled employees of UTSW to air their lies. It's pretty obvious that all the negative comments posted are from the same people. This forum belongs to us, so expect to be kicked off if any of you continue to bad-mouth UTSW.

I also advise interviewees not to mention the news articles at your interview at UTSW if you want even a chance to get accepted at UTSW because we're getting tired of the lies that the DMN is spewing.😴😴😴

If you have questions ask them for sure!! The school has always been very open about everything. Besides, you can ask whatever you want during the open sessions--no one is keeping track of who says what.

 

[Bojack Horseman]

If you have questions ask them for sure!! The school has always been very open about everything. Besides, you can ask whatever you want during the open sessions--no one is keeping track of who says what.

I bet the same guy made two accounts (kowalske and ferrell) so that he could make idiotic arguments against himself. check out their join dates and forum posts... lol. 😴

 

[Laplace]

I bet the same guy made two accounts (kowalske and ferrell) so that he could make idiotic arguments against himself. check out their join dates and forum posts... lol. 😴

Got 'em coach

 

[MusicalHenry]

I'm all for letting people coming here to rant and tell the other side of the story so I didn't mind this kid at first. But if he is going to make alternate accounts and pretend to be UTSW employee and act in a way to give them bad rep, he should get an IP ban.

Send him on a one way ticket to communist Germany

 

[Techmed07]

I'm all for letting people coming here to rant and tell the other side of the story so I didn't mind this kid at first. But if he is going to make alternate accounts and pretend to be UTSW employee and act in a way to give them bad rep, he should get an IP ban.

Send him on a one way ticket to communist Germany

👍

 

[Techmed07]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlNQUGKOuTI[/YOUTUBE]



😱....wow