2013 Rank List

[pmr2013]

I do mean Michigan.

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[RangerBob]

I got a little spare time, so I figured I'd just share my list. I was hesitant to because what if I have to go far down my list, then there's the evidence of that and all, but I think helping future generations of to-be physiatrists is more important than my (or a program's) ego.

1. Stanford. As I mentioned, this was a tough choice, but in the end it's as close to family as I can get (halfway between SF and LA), I rotated there and I was very impressed by the faculty and curriculum, as well as the didactics. Fantastic VA and country rotations. Really working on their MSK and arguably have the best spine program in CA. Inpt polytrauma unit (which they're rebuilding... as well as the rehab unit at SCVMC). Only weaknesses are some long drive times, cost of living.

2. Mayo. I was really happy to get an invite here and I loved my time visiting Mayo and Rochester. No one can argue there's a better program for learning outpt PM&R, and very few programs top Mayo for inpt as well. I really enjoyed meeting the residents and felt I clicked well with them. Mayo is the kind of place where you can go anywhere--the name is recognized as the top of the field in both PM&R and from people outside the field. Ultimately my wife and I decided to put proximity to family (we will probably start a family soon) above the opportunities that Mayo would offer, which is why it isn't number 1.

3. MCW. My other tough choice--I loved Stanford, Mayo, and MCW. MCW had the happiest residents and attendings I met of any program, and I would be extremeley happy here. If I thought only about happiness, I think MCW would win. But Stanford is closer to family and Mayo has the stronger name, which could really help if I want to go into academics. I know people say to go with the program you felt you fit in better at, but when it's close to a tie, you gotta think about the other factors, like presige, location, etc. Otherwise I felt MCW is a top-notch program, and honestly I would be ecstatic to match into any of my top three choices.

4. UCLA. Close to family like Stanford, but the weaker inpt lead me to rank it lower than Mayo and MCW. Proximity to family was an important factor for my top choices, but not the most important. Otherwise I loved the program--the residents, the super-nice Dr. Aragaki. I like all the VA training as well. Great amputee and adaptive sports exposure.

5. UMN. My wife and I really love Minneapolis. This program probably had the nicest attendings I met of any program. I felt I would learn the "art of physiatry" very well here. Inpt polytrauma a big plus. They're actively working on their weakness in msk. Seems very easy to get a job at the sites you rotate at, and my wife and I would consider Minneapolis as a place to settle down. I seem to hear some people say it's a below average program and others say it's a great program. I'm not sure why there's this disparity, but I feel it is a very strong program.

6. Loyola: Proably the program with the most procedural experience of any program I interviewed at. Great SCI rotation at the VA. Close-knit group of residents. I really liked the faculty here. A small gem of a program. Inpt training not quite as strong as those above.

7. Rush: Overall felt similar to Loyola, but I just liked the feel at Loyola more.

8. VCU. I would rank VCU higher but my wife didn't like the South that much, so the best I could do was convince her to let me rank it below the Chicago programs, where we currently live. I felt VCU has the curriculum most in-line with my interests, and the faculty are top-knotch. Dr. Cifu really goes out of his way to help his residents. Inpot polytrauma unit a big plus for me. Not super excited about Richmond, but it was nicer than I expected, and the mountains and the ocean are only a short 1-2hr drive away.

9. UNC. One of my favorite programs--I absolutely loved it here. Definitely a gem of a program. Very close-knit and happy residents/faculty. I really liked Chapel Hill as well. The program is young, but it's definitely on the way up. Unfortunately as mentioned, my wife preferred Chicago much more, and I have to take her wishes into account.

10. U Penn. I wasn't as impressed as I was hoping to be. I think the program is definitely on the way up with Dr. Dillingham who really improved the department at MCW, but they might need some time. Neither my wife nor I liked Philadelphia much when we visited--you're right in the downtown for this program. I like to get away from the big cities when possible. Chicago is bad enough, and I don't even live in the downtown.

11. Marianjoy. I felt the inpatient training was good. Beatiful campus. But, I felt the above programs would offer better training and name recognition.

12. U Wisconsin. I really liked this program--along the interview trail I kept hearing people say they didn't apply because it was "lower tier." I would definitely agree that MCW is the stronger program, but I felt UW was still a strong program. Despite how much I liked it, it had a similar problem to other programs in smaller and more isolated cities (Mayo, UW, UVA) which is that it'd be harder for my wife to find work. Mayo obviously would boost my career and I've been told they will try hard to find work for your spouse (plus, there's far less college students to compete for those coffee shop jobs... which my wife enjoys

13. UVA. I really liked Charlottesville, but was unimpressed by HealthSouth rehab. It's only BLS certified (they're working on ACLS certification) and I just felt it's a program to go to if you know you only want to do outpt rehab. In that regard it's superb. But as someone who's strongly interested in both inpt and outpt, I don't want to go somwhere that would limit me, and depsite the addtion of a new SCI attending from Mayo, I still felt like the inpt rotation here has a way to go. Otherwise, I really liked the residents here--they all seemed really happy. And it's only a short drive to Shenandoah National Park.

Edit: Identifying info removed

 

[bedrock]

In regards to Utah, I was able to speak with someone affiliated with the program who expressed some concerns. I was informed that it has undergone some fairly recent changes and while the new director is driven and creating better recognition and prestige, it has been at the expense of the residents (in their opinion). I was disappointed to hear this because I had previously been very interested in the program.

I'd like to hear some more details about recent concerns at Utah. I'm not as up to date on the inpatient part of their residency, but the outpatient MSK/sports/spine experience is very strong part of the U of U PMR residency and their ACGME sports fellowship is very well respected, ranked in the top 3 nationwide, providing a very well rounded true sports/spine experience, with plenty of true acute sports injuries, team coverage, and interventional spine experience including cervicals. (Less than a handful of ACMGE PMR sports fellowships train you in cervical procedures)

 

[PMRun]

I applied (almost) only in the Midwest, went on 8 interviews, cancelled some at the end that I decided didn't meet my criteria/were too far away from home/I was sick of interviewing. My interests lie in Sports/msk (esp msk ultrasound), and possibly pain/injections.

My rank list was formed:
location = training focus (msk) = gut feel about the program > fellowships > reputation > home call eek > research opportunities > job for my spouse (very marketable profession so not hard to find a job)

I wanted to find a balance between the small programs that aren't quite as academic/competitive for fellowships but get a lot of 1:1 procedure time and somewhere that would open doors for fellowship applications should I decide to pursue it.

Across the board, I have heard from multiple residents/attendings/PD's that the quality/depth of, and the number of applicants is vastly greater than previous years. Had one resident tell me that if he was applying right now he would be borderline for even getting an interview at the program he matched at. Glad I am getting in now (crossing my fingers for March 15th), instead of 3-4 years from now. I met some really great co-applicants (as well as some interesting ones) on the interview trail that I would be very happy to train with and that I am glad will be future colleagues.

1- Mayo- Fits everything I want in a program (and close enough to home). Residents extremely nice and genuinely happy. Sold the program well on interview. Attached PMR sports fellowship, pain fellowship. both ACGME. (Seems like a lot of people want Mayo this year).

2- Michigan- Fits pretty much everything, less MSK US than I want (same can be said for every program other than Mayo), a little further from home. Residents extremely nice and genuinely happy. Seemed to all get along really well. ACGME pain (although apparently PMR hasnt infiltrated much there). ACGME FM Sports fellowship that takes 1 PMR/year usually. Ann Arbor is a great city as far as I could see.

3- Wisconsin- Loved everyone there, lots of procedures, msk focus. Love Madison. Residents extremely nice, but didnt seem as tight of a group as some other places (not that big of a deal, as long as nice and happy). Close to home. Pain fellowship, with Dr. Sehgal who is brilliant, and they are applying for ACGME right now.

4- Rush- Solid msk training (per residents), program in a transition (chair is also PD until they get a new PD). Loose association with Dr. Frank's sports fellowship. I believe it is a ACGME FM sports, but Dr. Frank is PMR so he takes PMR usually. Apparently residents don't write progress notes here, just consults, daily mgmt and discharge.

5- Kessler- Really liked it except in house call and far from home. Pleasantly surprised that it is not actually in Newark. Kind of has a country feel around the rehab center. Lots of travel between sites. Great fellowship matching.

6- Minnesota- Right now seems to have neurorehab focus (probably the best place to train in botox in the country with Dr. Dykstra), but apparently part of expanding to 5 residents/year is going to allow for more msk/sports rotations, also some new pain/msk attending hires will likely increase injection #'s for residents. Lots of travel between sites. Felt the same way as I did about the Wisco residents here. applying for ACGME in pain fellowship currently. Apparently one of the current residents may be headed for their FM sports fellowship (ACGME) but I guess there may be a special circumstance, but who knows may open future doors.

7- Loyola- I was told that this is a clinical program and if I wanted research go elsewhere (not that important to me, but I do like the option of more support should I decide to get more into reserach). Lots of procedure exposure. Hardly met any residents. Has no associated fellowships, but apparently matches alright.

8- Schwab- Inpatient heavy, in house call, bad part of chi. residents nice. Had weird vibe the whole interview day there. Got some off the wall interview questions from one attending. About half go to fellowships. Also loose association with Dr. Frank's aforementioned fellowship.

 

[outdoorfanatic]

Also interested in hearing what is up at Utah, anyone else interview there this cycle?

 

[RangerBob]

Across the board, I have heard from multiple residents/attendings/PD's that the quality/depth of an number of applicants is vastly greater than previous years. Had one resident tell me that if he was applying right now he would be borderline for even getting an interview at the program he matched at. Glad I am getting in now (crossing my fingers for March 15th), instead of 3-4 years from now. I met some really great co-applicants (as well as some interesting ones) on the interview trail that I would be very happy to train with and that I am glad will be future colleagues.

I couldn't agree more--while I wish I was applying a year or two ago, I'm glad I'm applying this year and not in the next few years. The secret of PM&R is definitely getting out, which is overall a great thing for our field as it'll bring more strong students into the field ( and hopefully with that increase in interest, primarilly attract those who are truly passionate about the field, and not in it for the "plenty of relaxation and money").

I have to agree on the really great co-applicants. I'm really looking forward to finding out who matches into the same program as me!

 

[pmrthoughts]

Any thoughts on Hopkins? Anyone else even thought about putting them on your rank list?

 

[RangerBob]

I didn't apply--I just wasn't interested in the area. I hadn't heard good thing about the program (mostly on SDN), but the truth is there are a couple programs I've heard "not good things" about here that I was very impressed by on my interview day. I think a lot of the information you find here can be outdated, biased, or just plain wrong, and the only way to know for sure is to ideally rotate through the program, or know a resident there who will be 100% candid with you.

 

[MedBronc23]

I didn't apply--I just wasn't interested in the area. I hadn't heard good thing about the program (mostly on SDN), but the truth is there are a couple programs I've heard "not good things" about here that I was very impressed by on my interview day. I think a lot of the information you find here can be outdated, biased, or just plain wrong, and the only way to know for sure is to ideally rotate through the program, or know a resident there who will be 100% candid with you.

what programs did you feel got a bad wrap on here that you were impressed by? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[ChargerBo8]

Let's keep the rank lists coming...

 

[RangerBob]

what programs did you feel got a bad wrap on here that you were impressed by? Inquiring minds want to know.

Good point. I felt U Wisconsin is the one that stood out the most to me as a program that others put down (mostly on the interview trail, by people who didn't even apply there) but in my opinion it seemed quite solid. U Penn also to some degree (I didn't feel it was a strong program, but I felt it'd prepare me well enough). UMN was another, though I met more people who gave it good reviews than bad.

I think UMN occupies a similar problem to the Chicago programs--it's hard to compete with the giant next door (Mayo and RIC). Loyola and Rush just don't seem to get talked about much but in my mind were very solid programs. Marianjoy not quite as much, but like Penn, better than I was originally led to believe. Can't comment on the only other Chicago program (Schwab) as I didn't apply there.

Older posts also seem to not hold CA programs in very high regard. They also generally cite Stanford as being weaker than Davis and UCLA. I'd argue the reverse is true, but I'm not exactly an unbiased party on that point as you can tell from my ranking.

I should say all this with the caveat that my opinion is likely biased, as I try to look for the potential in whatever program I'm visiting. Not unlike I do for my rehab patients

In all honesty there are some programs I interviewed at that in hindsight I might not gone to if I knew I'd be getting "enough" invites (I think 13 interviews was too much...). And there are some programs I cancelled interviews at that I wish I could have made it to. But ultimately I had to work with what I could at a particular moment in time under particular circumstances, and I did my best to give each program my full consideration while I was there.

Ultimately the interview process all about "do I see myself here?" and the only way to do that is to visit the program and see for oneself (ideally via a rotation). So I'd encourage future applicants, if they're really interested in a program others don't seem to think highly of, to forget what others say and give it a try. I ignored my mentor's opinion about one program I was really interested in and I really liked it.

 

[cbest]

If anyone has any questions about Rush, please do not hesitate to PM me!

 

[Tromner]

what programs did you feel got a bad wrap on here that you were impressed by? Inquiring minds want to know.

In general I felt that some of the bad reputations found on sdn or from residents/attendings weren't inaccurate as much as they were out of date. Two examples I found were UPenn and NYU.

UPenn had a lot of turnover in staff and facilities. Penn has invested a ton of cash in the program and there are a bunch of young excited faculty there. It seems to have reemerged as a very solid program with strong resources. Also, I'd bet that if the PD or Chairman were at all involved in the sdn censorship scandal are long gone by now.

NYU may always be a little dysfunctional because of it's size and location. But in contrast to recent posts here, I don't think it deserves the "malignant" label anymore. The residents may work really hard on some rotations but not all of them, like most programs. The program seems very interested in the input of the residents to change rotations, benefits and lecturers. (Side note on the size of NYU: the PD told me a story once about when Rusk was still in charge there. Apparently, he used to take a full slate of American residents, then take an entire other group of international residents. Sounded like the program was routinely 30+ with the same amount of work. Talk about dysfunctional...)

 

[TeaKae]

Let me preface my post by saying
1) I cancelled the majority of my interviews because I was either 39-40 weeks preggers or s/p emergency c section and too beat to travel
2) rank list was influenced a lot by location AND cost of living


1. mcw
2. mayo
3. u of MN
4. UPMC
5. Colorado
6. Utah
7. UMDNJ
8. Case
9. Temple
10. Syracuse
11. RIC
12. LSU

really, I didn't get a bad feeling about any of these places. I'd be happy anywhere. I just don't want to SOAP it.

 

[RangerBob]

Let me preface my post by saying
1) I cancelled the majority of my interviews because I was either 39-40 weeks preggers or s/p emergency c section and too beat to travel
2) rank list was influenced a lot by location AND cost of living


1. mcw
2. mayo
3. u of MN
4. UPMC
5. Colorado
6. Utah
7. UMDNJ
8. Case
9. Temple
10. Syracuse
11. RIC
12. LSU

really, I didn't get a bad feeling about any of these places. I'd be happy anywhere. I just don't want to SOAP it.

Congratulations on the baby, especially if it's your first! And now for the rest of that kid's life you can keep reminding him/her about everything you had to go through, just so they could come into the world. My Mom still gives me the guilt trip every now and then...

With invites from RIC, Kessler, and Mayo, I imagine you're quite a competitive candidate and I highly doubt you'll have to worry about SOAP

 

[stimuluspackage]

Let me preface my post by saying
1) I cancelled the majority of my interviews because I was either 39-40 weeks preggers or s/p emergency c section and too beat to travel
2) rank list was influenced a lot by location AND cost of living


1. mcw
2. mayo
3. u of MN
4. UPMC
5. Colorado
6. Utah
7. UMDNJ
8. Case
9. Temple
10. Syracuse
11. RIC
12. LSU

really, I didn't get a bad feeling about any of these places. I'd be happy anywhere. I just don't want to SOAP it.

Congratulations on the baby and all the great invites. I can't imagine being pregnant while doing all that travelling.

Is it just me, or is there a huge midwestern slant to the rank lists on here? Is this a coincidence or is the midwest just a PM&R hotbed?

 

[ZigPig]

Unfortunately I have to agree--of all the programs I interviewed at, Stanford did a poor job of selling itself on interview day. I know this because I rotated there, and after corroborating with a couple other people who rotated there, we were all a little disappointed they didn't sell the program better on interview day. It obviously didn't change our impression of the program because you get to know a program far better from rotating there than from an 8hr interview. But, it is really unfortunate because I think they have a fantastic program and so much to offer.

I hope I didn't indicate I thought it was a bad program, just not for me. I had two friends that rotated there. They liked everyone they worked with, and thought it was a good program. But neither were impressed on interview day. Good luck to you RangerBob, pass that to the PD if you match there.

 

[ZigPig]

Is it just me, or is there a huge midwestern slant to the rank lists on here? Is this a coincidence or is the midwest just a PM&R hotbed?

My school had 7 people apply to PM&R from a class of about 150 -- a huge increase from previous years. And some of them are rock stars. I feel like the idiot out of the group. I don't see them posting on here though (I'm sure they are lurking) and I believe they were trying to get out of the midwest. From talking with people on interview days, it didn't sound like other interviewees thought there was a huge increase people going into PM&R from their class. I'm guessing it is just a fluke midwest over representation on SDN.

I did meet many a lot of people from Iowa, which stood out to me.

 

[Tromner]

Agreed. It's just a small sample size.

 

[RangerBob]

I hope I didn't indicate I thought it was a bad program, just not for me. I had two friends that rotated there. They liked everyone they worked with, and thought it was a good program. But neither were impressed on interview day. Good luck to you RangerBob, pass that to the PD if you match there.

No worries--I didn't interpret your post to say Stanford was a bad program. And I agree--I wasn't impressed by the interview day either, so I'm very glad I rotated there since I got a much better sense for the program that way. Honestly if I hadn't rotated there and had to base my decision on just the interview day, it would probably not have been one of my top 4 or 5 choices.

I think they could have done far more to market themselves to applicants, but they didn't. Which I think is unfortunate as it may turn away some applicants who might have actually been a really good fit for the program.

I'll definitely pass on this info to the PD, whether or not I match there.

 

[JuliusErving]

My school had 7 people apply to PM&R from a class of about 150 -- a huge increase from previous years. And some of them are rock stars. I feel like the idiot out of the group. I don't see them posting on here though (I'm sure they are lurking) and I believe they were trying to get out of the midwest. From talking with people on interview days, it didn't sound like other interviewees thought there was a huge increase people going into PM&R from their class. I'm guessing it is just a fluke midwest over representation on SDN.

I did meet many a lot of people from Iowa, which stood out to me.

It's crazy the increase in numbers. We went from 3 to 9. I believe every one of them are looking at programs in the South.

 

[RangerBob]

We only have three going into PM&R, out of 150. But that's up from one last year and two the previous year.

I agree with our small sample size it's probably very easy to skew the data in favor of the Midwest. But there are also very few programs in New England or the West (2 in Boston, and only 5 in CA--Chicago alone has 5). The Mid-Atlantic seems to have a high concentration, and the South has quite a few programs. But I believe the Midwest still has more programs, and also has more top tier and mid tier programs. Or at least it seems that way--but I could be biased as a Midwesterner (honorary, of course, as I'm a transplant).

 

[JuliusErving]

We only have three going into PM&R, out of 150. But that's up from one last year and two the previous year.

I agree with our small sample size it's probably very easy to skew the data in favor of the Midwest. But there are also very few programs in New England or the West (2 in Boston, and only 5 in CA--Chicago alone has 5). The Mid-Atlantic seems to have a high concentration, and the South has quite a few programs. But I believe the Midwest still has more programs, and also has more top tier and mid tier programs. Or at least it seems that way--but I could be biased as a Midwesterner (honorary, of course, as I'm a transplant).

I still expected a bit more NY programs listed on here, though. There a few Jeffersons, Kesslers, Pitts, Penns, etc. Seems like most people on here took top interviews but avoided NY.

 

[ChargerBo8]

No worries--I didn't interpret your post to say Stanford was a bad program. And I agree--I wasn't impressed by the interview day either, so I'm very glad I rotated there since I got a much better sense for the program that way. Honestly if I hadn't rotated there and had to base my decision on just the interview day, it would probably not have been one of my top 4 or 5 choices.

I think they could have done far more to market themselves to applicants, but they didn't. Which I think is unfortunate as it may turn away some applicants who might have actually been a really good fit for the program.

I'll definitely pass on this info to the PD, whether or not I match there.

I actually really enjoyed my interview day at Stanford. It was one of my favorites. However, I have very specific interests within PMR and the existence of the human performance lab/ the equipment they have was very exciting. This definitely skewed how I viewed the program. I will agree that they did a poor job of providing contact with the residents. Also, with so many people interviewing per day, when the residents were around, it was hard to get in and ask questions. I guess this post should have gone in the interview trail thread. Back to the rank lists...

 

[Taus]

I still expected a bit more NY programs listed on here, though. There a few Jeffersons, Kesslers, Pitts, Penns, etc. Seems like most people on here took top interviews but avoided NY.

Very small sample size here. Can't really read too much into that.

 

[Taus]

Anonymous post:

To me, a lot of programs seemed similar so it really came down to the small details. Also, I'm doing the couples match so I took in account my partner's interviews and impressions in a different specialty. I'm looking for a good mix of inpatient and outpatient experience and possible pain fellowships (not a deal breaker though).

NOT GREAT
Washington University: This was just really awkward and depressing. No information on the website and no overview on the interview day so I guess I don't know a whole lot about the program. The attendings seem unhappy and the PD was a bit intense. One attending told me that the girl residents cry on rounds sometimes (?!). The residents seemed overworked and one clearly hadn't showered for awhile. Maybe it was an off day but my impression was not great.

BETTER
Baylor/UTH Alliance: Really great name for networking fellowships and jobs. Lots of fellowships available. Recently downsized so residents could get more EMGs and procedures. Not much interventional pain exposure and the program emphasized that it is working on that. Each hospital has its own EMR and there are a lot of hospitals at the biggest medical center in the world! Overnight call at TIRR but you get the next day off. No electives. Free review course for PGY4. Houston is pretty awesome though. Great cost of living and tons to do. Low salary. FYI parking is $50 (UTH) or $162 (Baylor) per month depending on which program you actually match into.

EVMS: A bit disorganized. Every year they take a different amount of residents. They have a pain fellowship and take residents each year for the 1 position. Lots of outpatient exposure. No weekends unless you are on call (which is rarely). There are a lot of tunnels in Norfolk so some of the hospitals can take awhile to get to. Small program so board pass rate is easily changed if someone fails. Pass rate is 70%. Seems like a lot of staff turnover but there is a new PD (interventional pain and sports PMR) starting this month so maybe things will get even better.

Wayne State Oakwood: The dinner the night before with residents was awesome and we had a lot of fun. The interview day was disorganized with no overview and interviews went extremely long. The facilities are newly renovated. Residents seem happy at this categorical program with an easy built-in TY.

Marianjoy: The campus is peaceful and seems tucked away from busy Chicago. New and renovated facilities. It's a stand-alone rehab center so be prepared to run a code if you are doing overnight call. Board pass rate 72% so if you are motivated to teach yourself this isn't a bad program. No resident that I spoke to ranked it #1. Someone actually told me they wanted to switch into anything but IM and didn't even know what PM&R was and took a PGY-2 spot. Not a huge fan of Chicago but it's in the suburbs so not too hectic. You share a lot of stuff with the other Chicago PM&R programs so good exposure.

SUNY Upstate Syracuse: New facilities and good mix of inpatient/outpatient. Lots of fellowships. Someone wrote about an attending that made them cry during the interview and I thought that he was really nice and friendly. Don't let that review scare you away. The only downside is the location. Syracuse is not the nicest city. I'd have a hard time finding a place to stay and would also have to pay $90 (!) per month to park.

BEST
MCW: Lots of opportunity here for fellowship and outpt experience. Residents and attendings were really friendly and happy. I liked that most rotations were on campus in the suburbs and the brand new VA is only 10 minutes away in downtown Milwaukee. Great cost of living and awesome salary.

Mayo: Amazing facilities with lots of hands-on EMG (6 straight months). PT/OT available for rounds. Residents and attendings were friendly and would be great to work with. The inpatient floors do not depend on residents working so if you want to go to a conference or something, the floor will run just fine. The attendings are salaried and only worry about teaching. Loved the small town feel and Rochester is cute. Great cost of living.

ECU: Haven't really seen a lot about this program but it's a hidden gem! It is a categorical program with an easy built-in TY with ortho, neurosurgery, etc so you will know all the attendings when you start PGY2. Lots of outpatient emphasis. No pain fellowship but there are a few in Raleigh/Durham an hour away. Lots of perks: pay for USMLE 3, $100/month food stipend at the 3 cafeterias, free car/gas to borrow to drive to EMG facility 40 minutes away, low cost of living, Raleigh 90 minutes away. Everyone was really nice and seemed happy.

 

[Baritonebass]

I'm a lil offended that NYU was called dysfunctional... But I guess I've drank the purple Koolaid cause I'm happy with my decision. Tough but not malignant if you don't believe me I'll be going to a happy hour at salvation taco tonight

 

[PMR2008]

Anonymous post:
Marianjoy: The campus is peaceful and seems tucked away from busy Chicago. New and renovated facilities. It's a stand-alone rehab center so be prepared to run a code if you are doing overnight call. Board pass rate 72% so if you are motivated to teach yourself this isn't a bad program. No resident that I spoke to ranked it #1. Someone actually told me they wanted to switch into anything but IM and didn't even know what PM&R was and took a PGY-2 spot. Not a huge fan of Chicago but it's in the suburbs so not too hectic. You share a lot of stuff with the other Chicago PM&R programs so good exposure.

PM me if you have any questions about Marianjoy. The last graduating class of 7 had a 100% pass rate and most residents scored above the 80th percentile. Unfortunately the class before that included 3 residents who due to personal/family issues did not pass the boards. The pass rate had been 100% for many years before that as far as I know. I would say the 72% pass rate is accurate if you were to include the last 2 years but it is close to 90% if you include the last 5 years. MJ is a stand alone rehab hospital and rehab patients are certainly getting sicker but during my 3 years of residency and 70 or so overnight calls I had 1 real code blue and 10-20 rapid responses. The hospital averaged 8-10 real code blues a year so the chances of seeing a real code blue during an overnight call are rare. Besides you get the post call day off. The program is inpatient heavy the first year, half and half the second year and all outpatient the last year. You have the opportunity to do 2 electives anywhere in the world. At Loyola and Rush you can only do electives within the hospital. The training in TBI, SCI, Peds, gait lab, botox, neuromsk, prosthetics/orthotics is top notch. You are trained to think like a private practice attending from day one and teaching coding and billing is part of the curriculum. If you want to go into academic research MJ is not the place for you. The current PD is the extremely friendly and pro resident. He will go the extra mile to help every resident. The new assistant PD is also excellent and recent grad from RIC. Almost all the attendings actively use the ultrasound machine but not as often as I would have hoped. There is a in house fluro and a few of the attendings perform injections. Having rotated at and worked with all the other programs in the city of Chicago I picked Marianjoy as my #1. MJ has matched all there positions for the last 10 years while I know that Schwab and RUSH had a few unmatched positions a few years back. Even though it is true that MJ does not have the name that some of the other Chicago programs might have but if I was to repeat the process I would rank MJ as my number 1 over the other 4 programs. I would still consider MJ a mid tier program though but certainly up to par or better than Rush, Schwab and Loyola.

 

[padresp]

Re: Marionjoy. For what it's worth, I recently met a young inpatient attending who did his residency recently at Marionjoy. We spoke at length. He had nothing but great things to say about the place and landed a very good job back in his hometown right out of residency. For people applying there in the future, make sure you check out its location - for some this is a huge plus, for others, it's a negative. Every attending I work with here in Chicago also has nothing but great things to say about Marionjoy.

 

[huskyshiba]

.

 

[ChargerBo8]

One more week! Keep the rank lists or program thoughts coming.

 

[MedBronc23]

Yeah keep posting. Looking forward to seeing a where I matched thread next Friday as well.

Can't wait to hear whose coming to join us in Rochester MN where accumulating 6-12 inches of snow is called Tuesday and owning a snowblower is key....and that's the only bad thing to say about it or the WFMC.

Good luck to everyone in the match. You all will be physiatrists soon and ill be proud to have you as my colleagues. You won't regret your choice.

 

[futurefizz]

Hi everyone! I decided it's unfair for me to read these posts and not contribute... so here is my list broken down by how I felt/abc order. Hope it helps the future PM&R applicants out there (but please remember, these are just my opinions... the interview process is a very subjective experience!).


Places I LOVED...

Georgetown: I was blown away by this program. PD (Dr. Whitehair) was amazing and really dedicated to innovation in teaching. Beautiful, clean free-standing rehab hospital with lots of natural light and a very cool gait lab. Coolest, happiest, and most down-to-earth residents I met on the entire interview trail. I could really picture myself fitting in here and it seemed to have a great mix of inpt/outpt/research experience. They also get to rotate through Walter Reed (amazing EMG experience). I almost cancelled my interview based on negative things from residents/attendings/past student doc postings but I am so glad that I didn't. Would very highly recommend this program to any future applicants!

Jefferson: I won't go into detail because I found that everything previously posted regarding this program was accurate. It is an awesome program and I don't doubt the training is top notch. I had a great interview experience and the residents seemed really happy. I also loved the group of applicants on my day - based on that and the residents it seems like Jefferson recruits a really well-rounded and fun group of people. Facilities are beautiful and it is in right in the center of beautiful Philadelphia.

RIC: Another one I won't go into much detail about (it's RIC, it's awesome). I love Chicago and the cold weather is not a deterrent for me. You cannot beat the location of the beautiful free-standing hospital off the Magnificent Mile with its panoramic views of downtown/Lake Michigan. I was blown away by all of the opportunities here that are not offered at other rehab centers - onsite prosthetics/orthotics, massive therapy gyms, research floor, state-of-the-art new rehab floor. I think the opportunities for learning and experiencing everything that PM&R has to offer are second-to-none. Innovation in patient care/research is a big focus here (especially with the new rehab floor and new hospital in the works), but it may not be the most innovative as far as residency programs are concerned. I felt it was a good mix of traditional rehab training in an innovative environment.

Schwab: I wasn't sure what to expect from this program given recent posts about bad location etc. But... I thought the area was fine/not scary at all and it's not far from downtown. I love the idea of working with an underserved patient population and the inpatient experience seemed fantastic. A lot of TBI (although no locked unit) and a lot of traumatic SCI. Another free-standing facility but right next to St. Anthony Hospital, not shiny/new but it's very clean and functional. Rooftop therapy gardens were beautiful! Residents travel to Evanstan/Hyde Park so it offered a great mix of patient populations. I think the training would be excellent here. And, as others have posted, the PD (Dr. Gittler) is wonderful!

Temple: This program just felt like a perfect fit. I love Philadelphia and I had a great vibe from the program. I clicked with my interviewers and with the residents - all of whom seemed to be laid-back and had great senses of humor. I loved that they had a pre-interview social in Rittenhouse (and that a bunch of the residents actually took the time to show up!). This program seemed to have the most well-rounded exposure to inpatient/outpatient/msk/pain of all of the places I looked. Yes, there is a lot of driving but that also means a lot of diversity in exposure.

Places I loved (but just didn't fit for personal reasons)...


Ohio State: What a gem of a program! There was nowhere else that I interviewed where the PD had literally highlighted and practically memorized my application. The residents and attendings seemed to know who all of the applicants were before we even stepped in the door. Again, this program seemed well-rounded although maybe slightly stronger in inpatient. Columbus was a fun, clean, and very pretty Midwestern city. A lot of grads stay on as attendings and there is a ton of pride in the program. Awesome moonlighting opportunities.

Places I liked (a lot)...


UNC-Chapel Hill: Young but wonderful faculty, happy residents, prettiest rehab floor I saw during my entire interview trail. Chapel Hill is a beautiful college town and more lively Durham is right around the corner. Program is small but residents get great training and especially strong outpt msk/spine (strongest of any program I looked at). They are opening a massive new outpatient rehab center by next year. Research opportunities abound and it is a top NIH funded PM&R program. Also has a great complementary medicine program that works very closely with PM&R.

Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan: I was extremely impressed by this program. The PD, program coordinator and faculty were wonderful and welcoming. I could tell they are very committed to teaching and making their residents happy. This is a true teaching program and the faculty/residents seem to work together closely. The residents seem really happy and the training in downtown Detroit is very diverse (especially for inpatient). Outpt msk/spine seemed weaker but residents get a ton of hands on EMG. Seems like there will be growth in research and it is a model TBI center. Detroit gets a bad reputation but it has awesome sports teams, nice suburbs and the area around the hospital seems to be growing quickly (there is a whole foods going up across the street). Definitely a hidden gem in the midwest!

Places I liked...

Loyola: Small program but I really had a great feel on my interview day. Residents seem super happy and PD/faculty seemed like great advocates for the program. Really nice that there is so much interaction with the VA hospital (walking distance from Loyola). Definitely stronger outpt than inpt but still seemed fairly well-rounded. Maywood is a bit of a hike from downtown Chicago but many residents made the commute and had no complaints. Seemed more of a family friendly program with home call opportunities.

UPenn: I really wanted to love this program and a lot of my co-applicants did. Word on the trail this year was that if you loved Temple you wouldn't love UPenn and vice versa. I thought the residents were amazing (and loved the pre-interview bowling event) but I did not mesh as well with the faculty during interviews. That said, Penn seemed again to be well-rounded and likely gets great cases from the Penn system. It is also in a beautiful part of Philadelphia and the facilities were basically brand new. The program has a new chair and new PD who both seem dedicated to the residency and to making Penn a powerhouse. I think the caliber of training is right up there with Temple/Jefferson.

Not a good fit...

Carolinas Rehab: Charlotte was gorgeous, young, vibrant and just an all-around great place to live. If rankings were based just on location, this program would have been way higher for me. This is a program I wanted to love, unfortunately, I just didn't have a good gut feeling about. Other applicants I met on the trail said they loved it. The hospital system itself is beautiful and the program honestly offers very strong inpatient and outpatient training opportunities. I think I was most turned off by the emphasis on the business of medicine - this would probably be a great thing for other applicants. The residents seemed to love Charlotte but I had a harder time feeling out if they loved the program. Call schedule seemed more intense than any other place I looked (but still, it's PM&R so compared to other specialties not intense at all). I wanted to rank this program more highly as in theory/on paper it was a perfect fit for me.

Sinai Baltimore: This is another program that would probably be a great fit for someone else but not necessarily for me. The PD (Dr. Brown) was wonderful and one of the nicest interviewers I met during the entire trail. The rehab floor is newly renovated and right up there with UNC-Chapel Hill in terms of being beautiful/clean - great space for patients. They have the best, brand new, mock "real world" training center of any place I interviewed (complete with bus stop, grocery store, cafe, etc..). The hospital overall was beautiful. But it just wasn't a good fit for me... seemed to lack the rigorous training experience that I saw at my other interviews. The training seemed pretty cushy and again, more business-focused. Students I spoke to who rotated through the program loved it, so I would still encourage applicants to look into this program if Baltimore is on your list.

 

[Taus]

Can you elaborate on "Word on the trail this year was that if you loved Temple you wouldn't love UPenn and vice versa". Interesting comment.

 

[JuliusErving]

How is Schwab's musculoskeletal training? Isn't it an inpatient heavy program?

 

[futurefizz]

Sure, I'll try! I don't think anything negative was meant by it but that was just what I (and others) encountered... if someone said they loved Penn and didn't feel like Temple was a great fit, the person next to them was likely to say the opposite. They are both awesome programs, well-rounded, friendly residents, dedicated faculty. I'd be thrilled to end up at either place.

 

[PMRun]

Yeah keep posting. Looking forward to seeing a where I matched thread next Friday as well.

Whenever I think about the Match, I like to think of it as "Doctor Draft 2013", then I imagine a couple of commentators with sweet headsets running down who was selected where. "They thought they were going to sunny SoCal, but *BAM*, wound up in Wyoming" "Yeah Cotton, it was a bold move putting Wyoming in the ROL, maybe he should have used the SOAP instead"...
Not unlike this fine clip (probably sans bikinis though)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84cwztN3nms


"Dr. IWantAResidency only ranked one program and failed to match"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ru8DMW-grY


Sorry, had to do something as I anxiously await next Friday...

 

[ChargerBo8]

Tomorrow is the day. Good luck to all.

 

[PMRbike]

#1 - UTSW-Austin - newer program w/ seasoned PD, lots of flexibility, emphasis on innovation and forefront of PMR. Exciting attendings and happy residents. Great location.

#2 - Baylor/UT at TIRR - high ranking program and rightfully so. Solid rehab training, well-known rehab name. Nicely placed in megapolis of TMC. Huge city w/ large population of young professionals.

#3 - Columbia/Cornell - great name on its own. Train in HSS & Sloan Kettering. Great location. Confident PD, and residents place very nice fellowships. NYC.

#4 - NYU and Rusk - great rehab training. 2nd best hospital in NYC.

#5 - Mt. Sinai - 3rd best hospital in NYC, though gaining fast. Exciting PD & great location off Central Park.

 

[Taliesinrk]

After interviews, this is how I found myself categorizing the programs (each section in alphabetical order):

Top 3 (again in alphabetical order) and things that stuck out to me a out each:
Univ. of Kansas- took 3 people this year (maybe expanding to 4 for future classes). Advanced program. incredible staff and department chair, who is within his first couple years at the program (from Stanford). He is incredibly smart and runs a spine fellowship (KU also has a peds and new SCI fellowship, with plan in place for sports soon) and the KU spine center as well. The PD was at KU previously, left for a couple years and then just returned in Octoberish (she had been teaching at Harvard if I'm not mistaken) to take the PD position. I rotated here and loved it. Each week during didactics, the chair would check in to see how the residents were doing/if they had any concerns and seemed genuinely concerned about each person. When I interviewed, I got this impression from the new PD as well. The program has had a ton of growth in the past couple years. With this there have been new faculty and facilities. For example, the hospital just acquired an outside clinic for more sports/spine/msk exposure and this (or next?) year will be opening a brand part of the hospital which will hold the rehab floor. The growth is amazing and this program had the most potential of any I interviewed at. The residents seemed to have no problems getting their numbers procedures wise and all did well with fellowships (if I recall correctly, this year's senior class has all 4 doing fellowships-2 doing pain - 1 at Stanford and 1 I don't know where, 1 spine at KU and 1 peds). The department chair (who was interim PD has also redone the didactics, which were the best I saw out of the 3 places I rotated. There was resident involvement, but still a large majority performed by attendings. Great peds exposure (4 months as of now). Home call which was fairly relaxed as it only covered ~30ish beds. The program will also pay for you to attend a board prep course elsewhere during your pgy4 year. I also absolutely loved Kansas City. Wonderful city with many really nice areas. I could see myself taking a job and raising a family here.

Univ. of Missouri: this program takes 4/class. advanced program. They really stood out to me in their educational activities and extracurricular/hands on exposure. This is anything from a weekly night course for residents on MSK U/S to covering MMA fights. The PD dr. Burris really seemed to listen to the residents and try to make the program for their needs. On the interview day, the residents were extremely genuine and really took my questions to heart and answered them honestly - I really got a good feel about the types of people they were (if that makes sense). The entire department also seemed very happy (staff and residents). I also took note of multiple interactions between different residents and floor and rehab hospital staff that indicated there was a great dynamic and good relationships between everyone working together. Columbia is a smaller town (something like just over 100k people), but it's a very cool college town as it's dominated by the university... so there's still a lot for entertainment. I cannot recal if they will cover a board prep course. Residents had a great board pass rate

Univ. of Toledo: program takes 2 ppl/class. Advanced program. Hands down the most dedicated to teaching and board prep, as they have activities wed, thurs and Friday each week. These activities range from didactic time to blocked off time for residents to meet and study together to each Friday morning, the PD meeting with all 6 of the residents to do board review questions. They also will send you to a board prep course in your pgy4 year. The PD here also seemed genuinely interested in the residents and their education. he repeatedly emphasized this in my interview and made a strong impression. There are multiple attendings utilizing MSK U/S and there is a sports and pain fellowship in town. Because the program is so small, the residents seemed to know each other intimately and I got a strong "family feel" here, which was also a huge plus in my book. Further, because there are only 2 people per class, the program is not "resident dependent" and services can operate without a resident (as the rotation schedule does not always allow for a resident to be on a service be because there are so few). Residents got A TON of procedures here (both spine and peripheral joint) and this program seemed to provide some of the most hands on experience I saw. Call is home call. All the residents were very honest and helpful answering my questions and they all seemed happy (and I met all of them except 1 who was on vacation)... The staff seemed happy as well. There is a YMCA gym you can work out at the same building as the department, which is awesome. They also were still completing construction on the building when I interviewed, so the facilities were extremely nice as well . Toledo also appealed to me because (for the most part) everything was smaller and more accessible (vs major medical centers, for example). You didn't have to worry about a ton of different hospitals to rotate at, a lot of driving or even the smaller stuff like where to park and a 2" minute walk each day. Compared to where I'm at for med school, this would be a really refreshing change. At the same time, it's a big enough city, and if you're in the need for a sports/entertainment fix, detroit's less than 1 hour.

Programs I really liked, but not quite as much as the top 3:

Baylor-Dallas - 3/class. advanced. PD dr. Hamilton very nice and personable. Really like the small program, which seemed to have strong didactics. Very strong peds exposure. Absolutely incredible hospital and facilities (apparently Baylor does well for itself). They have added an extra EMG rotation to address prior problems with residents getting enough EMGs. Didn't have as much hands on procedural exposure as my top 3 which is why I placed them in this category. Dallas is a huge city, but looked to be really fun.

ECU- in Greenville, NC (town of ~78k, school has ~28k). 5 ppl/class (i think). CATEGORICAL. I really liked the southern feel (plus only 1-1.5 hrs from beach and outer banks). Even though it's a small town, the hospital services a large portion of the state, so it's quite large (something like 1000 beds) and gets a diverse population of patients. Broad pgy1 curriculum that gives good exposure into fields that relate to Pm&r. Pgy2 is inpatient heavy and from multiple sources I think a busy year (competitively to other pgy2 years). The residents I met ( all upperclassmen) seemed very happy and really got along with one another. The day I arrived and had dinner with the residents, they had been over at an attendings watching football. The cost of living in Greenville was cheap and a lot of the residents had purchased houses. Most clinics were in the area and the site that was far away, the program gave you a car and gas to commute to. Home call

IU- 3 students/year. Advanced. Indianapolis is a great place to live. Stand alone rehab hospital w/ ~90 beds. IN HOUSE CALL. Interesting dynamic because the rehab hosp is ~15 mins away from the main med center in downtown indy. However, the area in which the rehab hosp is is nice w/ some cool restaurants (rick's boatyard caf&#233 and a lot of the attendings and some residents live very close. Great procedure exposure. Dr Davé is an AWESOME attending and really lets the residents get hands on interventional procedures, even as a pgy2. IU also just hired a new sports and spine doc who trained at univ of Virginia (dr jasper), so the opportunities for residents are growing even more in these fields. They also just finished building a beautiful neuro center which now houses IU's departments of neurology, neurosurgery, pm&r (and maybe 1 or 2 other specialties). also, IU has an anesthesia based pain fellowship, but I'm told it's run by a physiatrist and is friendly to Pm&r grads. The residents here are very happy and nice and they seem get along with each other and the staff very well.

MCW - lots of reviews on here and I agree with what I've read/don't have much to add. Everyone very happy and residents were wonderful hosts. New PD is awesome and really dedicated to teaching. This program really appealed to me and on paper had everything I was looking for. For whatever reason though on interview day it just didn't click for me like I thought it would and my top 3 did... I really think I may have just been tired and/or off, but I couldn't get over the gut feeling.

Wayne state/RIM/DMC - advanced. Downtown Detroit, but surprisingly to me, the hospital area was nice. The technically "stand alone" hospital, which is really right next to the hospital was REALLY nice and brand new. Great gym inside, which is free for residents to use as well. IN HOUSE CALL - but extremely nice and comfortable call/resident facilities. Residents (especially chief) were very courteous and great hosts. I also really liked the attendings I interviewed with. I went to this program thinking it'd be near the bottom of my list, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it and ranked it rather high. I would recommend this program, especially if you're from the area.

Programs I would be happy at:

LSU- CATEGORICAL. Great pain/procedure exposure. Do 2 months of pain as pgy1. PD really pushes to make pgy1 year as Pm&r heavy as possible. Residents all happy and seemed to work great hours. Board pass rate not as good as most above

Univ. of MN - CATEGORICAL and advanced spots. i liked the program and people a lot, but didn't seem to focus on outpt/msk/sports/spine as much as I was looking for. GREAT VA polytrauma center and exposure (that was a huge perk to this program). LOVE the twin cities (used to live there).

UTHSCSA- 8/year. Categorical. San Antonio is nice. GREAT VA polytrauma center exposure/experience. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Is World leader in EMGs. Split pgy1 and pgy2 years in half, so good Pm&r exposure 1st year... But still doing intern rotations as pgy2.

UTSW- 10/year. Advanced. Nice residents. New parkland hospital looks like it will be really nice as well. Strong procedural exposure, but not as much emphasis on teaching as a lot of the other programs.

 

[MedBronc23]

After interviews, this is how I found myself categorizing the programs (each section in alphabetical order):

Top 3 (again in alphabetical order) and things that stuck out to me a out each:
Univ. of Kansas- took 3 people this year (maybe expanding to 4 for future classes). Advanced program. incredible staff and department chair, who is within his first couple years at the program (from Stanford). He is incredibly smart and runs a spine fellowship (KU also has a peds and new SCI fellowship, with plan in place for sports soon) and the KU spine center as well. The PD was at KU previously, left for a couple years and then just returned in Octoberish (she had been teaching at Harvard if I'm not mistaken) to take the PD position. I rotated here and loved it. Each week during didactics, the chair would check in to see how the residents were doing/if they had any concerns and seemed genuinely concerned about each person. When I interviewed, I got this impression from the new PD as well. The program has had a ton of growth in the past couple years. With this there have been new faculty and facilities. For example, the hospital just acquired an outside clinic for more sports/spine/msk exposure and this (or next?) year will be opening a brand part of the hospital which will hold the rehab floor. The growth is amazing and this program had the most potential of any I interviewed at. The residents seemed to have no problems getting their numbers procedures wise and all did well with fellowships (if I recall correctly, this year's senior class has all 4 doing fellowships-2 doing pain - 1 at Stanford and 1 I don't know where, 1 spine at KU and 1 peds). The department chair (who was interim PD has also redone the didactics, which were the best I saw out of the 3 places I rotated. There was resident involvement, but still a large majority performed by attendings. Great peds exposure (4 months as of now). Home call which was fairly relaxed as it only covered ~30ish beds. The program will also pay for you to attend a board prep course elsewhere during your pgy4 year. I also absolutely loved Kansas City. Wonderful city with many really nice areas. I could see myself taking a job and raising a family here.

Univ. of Missouri: this program takes 4/class. advanced program. They really stood out to me in their educational activities and extracurricular/hands on exposure. This is anything from a weekly night course for residents on MSK U/S to covering MMA fights. The PD dr. Burris really seemed to listen to the residents and try to make the program for their needs. On the interview day, the residents were extremely genuine and really took my questions to heart and answered them honestly - I really got a good feel about the types of people they were (if that makes sense). The entire department also seemed very happy (staff and residents). I also took note of multiple interactions between different residents and floor and rehab hospital staff that indicated there was a great dynamic and good relationships between everyone working together. Columbia is a smaller town (something like just over 100k people), but it's a very cool college town as it's dominated by the university... so there's still a lot for entertainment. I cannot recal if they will cover a board prep course. Residents had a great board pass rate

Univ. of Toledo: program takes 2 ppl/class. Advanced program. Hands down the most dedicated to teaching and board prep, as they have activities wed, thurs and Friday each week. These activities range from didactic time to blocked off time for residents to meet and study together to each Friday morning, the PD meeting with all 6 of the residents to do board review questions. They also will send you to a board prep course in your pgy4 year. The PD here also seemed genuinely interested in the residents and their education. he repeatedly emphasized this in my interview and made a strong impression. There are multiple attendings utilizing MSK U/S and there is a sports and pain fellowship in town. Because the program is so small, the residents seemed to know each other intimately and I got a strong "family feel" here, which was also a huge plus in my book. Further, because there are only 2 people per class, the program is not "resident dependent" and services can operate without a resident (as the rotation schedule does not always allow for a resident to be on a service be because there are so few). Residents got A TON of procedures here (both spine and peripheral joint) and this program seemed to provide some of the most hands on experience I saw. Call is home call. All the residents were very honest and helpful answering my questions and they all seemed happy (and I met all of them except 1 who was on vacation)... The staff seemed happy as well. There is a YMCA gym you can work out at the same building as the department, which is awesome. They also were still completing construction on the building when I interviewed, so the facilities were extremely nice as well . Toledo also appealed to me because (for the most part) everything was smaller and more accessible (vs major medical centers, for example). You didn't have to worry about a ton of different hospitals to rotate at, a lot of driving or even the smaller stuff like where to park and a 2" minute walk each day. Compared to where I'm at for med school, this would be a really refreshing change. At the same time, it's a big enough city, and if you're in the need for a sports/entertainment fix, detroit's less than 1 hour.

Programs I really liked, but not quite as much as the top 3:

Baylor-Dallas - 3/class. advanced. PD dr. Hamilton very nice and personable. Really like the small program, which seemed to have strong didactics. Very strong peds exposure. Absolutely incredible hospital and facilities (apparently Baylor does well for itself). They have added an extra EMG rotation to address prior problems with residents getting enough EMGs. Didn't have as much hands on procedural exposure as my top 3 which is why I placed them in this category. Dallas is a huge city, but looked to be really fun.

ECU- in Greenville, NC (town of ~78k, school has ~28k). 5 ppl/class (i think). CATEGORICAL. I really liked the southern feel (plus only 1-1.5 hrs from beach and outer banks). Even though it's a small town, the hospital services a large portion of the state, so it's quite large (something like 1000 beds) and gets a diverse population of patients. Broad pgy1 curriculum that gives good exposure into fields that relate to Pm&r. Pgy2 is inpatient heavy and from multiple sources I think a busy year (competitively to other pgy2 years). The residents I met ( all upperclassmen) seemed very happy and really got along with one another. The day I arrived and had dinner with the residents, they had been over at an attendings watching football. The cost of living in Greenville was cheap and a lot of the residents had purchased houses. Most clinics were in the area and the site that was far away, the program gave you a car and gas to commute to. Home call

IU- 3 students/year. Advanced. Indianapolis is a great place to live. Stand alone rehab hospital w/ ~90 beds. IN HOUSE CALL. Interesting dynamic because the rehab hosp is ~15 mins away from the main med center in downtown indy. However, the area in which the rehab hosp is is nice w/ some cool restaurants (rick's boatyard caf&#233 and a lot of the attendings and some residents live very close. Great procedure exposure. Dr Davé is an AWESOME attending and really lets the residents get hands on interventional procedures, even as a pgy2. IU also just hired a new sports and spine doc who trained at univ of Virginia (dr jasper), so the opportunities for residents are growing even more in these fields. They also just finished building a beautiful neuro center which now houses IU's departments of neurology, neurosurgery, pm&r (and maybe 1 or 2 other specialties). also, IU has an anesthesia based pain fellowship, but I'm told it's run by a physiatrist and is friendly to Pm&r grads. The residents here are very happy and nice and they seem get along with each other and the staff very well.

MCW - lots of reviews on here and I agree with what I've read/don't have much to add. Everyone very happy and residents were wonderful hosts. New PD is awesome and really dedicated to teaching. This program really appealed to me and on paper had everything I was looking for. For whatever reason though on interview day it just didn't click for me like I thought it would and my top 3 did... I really think I may have just been tired and/or off, but I couldn't get over the gut feeling.

Wayne state/RIM/DMC - advanced. Downtown Detroit, but surprisingly to me, the hospital area was nice. The technically "stand alone" hospital, which is really right next to the hospital was REALLY nice and brand new. Great gym inside, which is free for residents to use as well. IN HOUSE CALL - but extremely nice and comfortable call/resident facilities. Residents (especially chief) were very courteous and great hosts. I also really liked the attendings I interviewed with. I went to this program thinking it'd be near the bottom of my list, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it and ranked it rather high. I would recommend this program, especially if you're from the area.

Programs I would be happy at:

LSU- CATEGORICAL. Great pain/procedure exposure. Do 2 months of pain as pgy1. PD really pushes to make pgy1 year as Pm&r heavy as possible. Residents all happy and seemed to work great hours. Board pass rate not as good as most above

Univ. of MN - CATEGORICAL and advanced spots. i liked the program and people a lot, but didn't seem to focus on outpt/msk/sports/spine as much as I was looking for. GREAT VA polytrauma center and exposure (that was a huge perk to this program). LOVE the twin cities (used to live there).

UTHSCSA- 8/year. Categorical. San Antonio is nice. GREAT VA polytrauma center exposure/experience. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Is World leader in EMGs. Split pgy1 and pgy2 years in half, so good Pm&r exposure 1st year... But still doing intern rotations as pgy2.

UTSW- 10/year. Advanced. Nice residents. New parkland hospital looks like it will be really nice as well. Strong procedural exposure, but not as much emphasis on teaching as a lot of the other programs.

Holy Toledo that's a lot of education time. Nice to hear some positive press about smaller programs. U matched at U of Toledo right? Whose doing MSK us there?

 

[deleted504213]

This thread was a great resource for me last year and I'm finally taking the time to add my two cents...

First a little context: I was interested in programs with strong sports/msk programs, and I hope to complete a spine & sports fellowship after residency. I had to turn down interviews at Emory and UC Davis due to scheduling conflicts, both of which I was strongly considering at the time. The only programs I did not hear from were Colorado and Baylor. I did not apply to Mayo, Pittsburgh, or MCW strictly based on location. I ended up matching at UW.

Rank List (Adjusted: my actual rank list reflected my fiance's location preferences as well. This list reflects only my preferences)

1. UW (seattle): The strongest MSK/sports/spine program I saw by far (note that I did not even consider Mayo due to location). Very friendly and outgoing atmosphere from the residents to the program directors (program organized trips to Whistler, Sporting events, etc). Particularly liked the emphasis on leadership (many residents on national committees). Brand new sports med center attached to Husky Stadium. Took us on a quick city wide tour of Seattle once the interviews were complete. Benefits include access to UW gyms. Didactics are non-repeating and class-specific on Tue/Thur mornings 730-930. Call is from home, 1 week at a time, every ~6 weeks as pgy2.

2. RIC: Everything I could say about RIC has already been said. One of my favorite interview days. If you choose the categorical year you can complete 3 intpatient rehab months and give yourself an extra 3 months of elective as a PGY2. Tons of elective time. Didactics at noon conference daily. Infrequent call (every 2-3 weeks as pgy2). New hospital in 2016. Not as Msk/sports focused as UW.

3. Stanford: Did my first away rotation hear (great rotation with 1 week experiences on Polytrauma @ VA, TBI @ VA, SCI @ Santa Clara Valley, Sports/MSK @ Stanford). Great way to get experience in everything. I absolutely loved my month in Palo Alto and I hope I can get a job there post-residency. Stanford's attendings were very young, friendly, and all great teachers (many of them trained at either Stanford, Harvard, and UW). MSK program is improving rapidly. The only reason I ranked UW/RIC higher was due to better resident placement in fellowships. Honestly, I would have been ecstatic to have dropped down to Stanford on my rank list (and was almost hoping I would). Weakness: lots of driving.

4. Spaulding: My 2nd away rotation. The residents here are crazy smart (noticeable from day 1 of didactics), but not as welcoming/social as those at most other programs (to be fair this is a generalization, there were some very outgoing and friendly people there too). Their new hospital is amazing (easily the nicest facilities of any program I saw, even more than RIC). VERY strong emphasis on doing research and reading journal articles, with assigned advisor and mentor.

5. Cornell Columbia: Good variety of exposure to inpatient/outpt including cancer rehab at sloan kettering. Brand new sports med program and fellowship under Chris Visco. Great hospital rotations (sloan K, Columbia, NYP, HSS). Weaknesses: Very little SCI and Lots of call (For example, even on outpatient rotations you have to take 1.5 overnight calls per week, including every Sunday as a PGY2). Although NYC is very expensive, the subsidized housing was actually better than expected.

6. Kessler: I wanted to like this program. My fiance is from northern NJ and it would've been very convenient to live close to her family. Yet this was the poorest interview day by far. First, I didn't like how often they mentioned their board scores. Second, we never met or heard anything from the program chair (Dr. Foye, albeit he is the "interim" chair). Third, I only met two residents at their program. No other program made it this hard to actually meet and spend time with their current residents (although they did encourage 2nd looks, but one was enough for me). Positives: Board review course

7. UVA: Applied here after hearing great things about their MSK program from multiple mentors. Everything I heard was true (plenty of experience with UVA athletics under Dr. Wilder, 300-400 EMGs) but the program was small (4 positions per class) and weak in inpatient SCI/TBI (although SCI will likely improve with a new attending Dr. Smith from Mayo).

8. Carolinas
9. Tufts

Feel free to message me with any questions you might have.

 

[vdizzle]

Soooo I sort of dropped the ball on this but I figure better late than never! Geographically I applied all over but with a slight preference for West and Midwest (for proximity to family reasons). Things I looked for in programs: well-rounded/broad training, personality of residents/faculty, and the notorious "gut feeling" (yes it does exist). I didn't count prestige as highly as some (for example I cancelled my RIC and Spaulding interviews because I didn't think they would be the right fit for me - unheard of, I know).

1. UPMC (matched here so admittedly biased!): through word of mouth, I heard some great things about this program (re: enthusiastic chair, great training, happy residents). So on my interview day I was expecting good things and was even more impressed than anticipated. Dr. Boninger and some of the faculty/residents I met seemed truly dedicated not only to strengthening the department but also to furthering the field of physiatry as a whole. The research projects going on here seem much more advanced compared to most other pm&r programs (highest NIH funding of all academic PM&R programs). I sensed an energy here that I think might be related to the "up and coming" status of a program that has (relatively) recently become recognized as one of the best. While visiting some of the of the more "well-established" programs I got a sense that they were somewhat stagnant, for lack of a better term (they're good at what they do and don't have much reason to change things). But UPMC seems more open to growth and adaptation, they are driven to continue improving (and welcome resident feedback in pursuing this goal). Working on strengthening sports/MSK and including more US in the curriculum. Other pros include the colossal UPMC network, financial stability, and beautiful rehab facilities.

2. University of Washington: I struggled a lot with ranking UW second. It really came down to a gut feeling. But there is no denying how amazing this program is. They seem to be solid in every aspect of rehab and residents and faculty are definitely high caliber. I also loved the city (more my style than Pittsburgh). But like I said, just came down to a feeling, can't really justify it any other way.

3. Ohio State: This program is full of genuinely nice people. The program director was probably the sweetest person I met on the interview trail and seems to take great care of his residents. They seem like a really happy group. Strong in inpatient rehab and seem to have some good peds experience. Some young faculty trying to strengthen the MSK and US training which I liked a lot.

4. UC Davis: I was not planning on ranking this program so highly but something about it just struck my fancy. I think their MSK/sports is better developed than other places and their residents get a lot of hands-on experience.

5. Mayo: Almost embarrassing to admit to ranking Mayo so low. I went in expecting to be converted to the Mayo way, their dedication to putting the patient first was really appealing to me. But it just didn't happen for whatever reason. It is hard to say anything bad about this program. The integrated MSK anatomy/physical exam/US curriculum sounds pretty phenomenal. The residents were a really nice and happy group. I felt like I clicked more with the residents than the faculty for some reason. Location was also a factor. I know it is only temporary but I don't think my SO would have been as happy in Rochester.

6. Stanford: Initially I really liked this program and then I heard some things about unhappy residents leaving the program and lack of procedural experience. But after talking to people who did away rotations there, I think I may have been misled. The program really seems to be headed in the right direction. They've gained some impressive new faculty and Dr. Teraoka seems to be dedicated to getting the residents the training they want/need.

7. University of Michigan: It's been so long I actually don't remember why I liked this program so much. It is fairly well-rounded and I think it had a nice family feel to it. Ann Arbor is a cool little town.

8. Thomas Jefferson: Also a very solid, well-rounded program. Excellent anatomy course. In-house call if you care about that. Philadelphia wasn't for me.

9. University of Utah: I actually loved this program and if I knew for sure I wanted to do sports, I probably would have ranked it towards the top. Dr. Willick is an outstanding teacher. The PD is dedicated to growing the program and is also very open to resident feeback. Seems like they are going through some growing pains at the moment. Some of the residents mentioned how hard the PGY-2 year is because the rehab unit is having to accomodate more and more patients. Bright side of this is the broad exposure they get and Dr. Hansen said they are working on ways to deal with the increased patient load. Utah has one of, if not the largest encatchment area (aside from maybe UW if you count Alaska). Patient population is very active/athletic in Utah = eager to get better.

10. VA-GLAHS (UCLA): Ok, maybe Dr. Aragaki is actually the sweetest person I encountered on the interview trail. Faculty here are both great teachers and fun to work with. Residents get a lot of hands on experience with procedures. They are admittedly outpatient/MSK focused. Also, if you're interested in pain, this might be a good one to check out. Clinical sites are a bit far apart, especially considering LA traffic.

11. Carolinas: Wanted to like this program a little more because I really liked Charlotte. Neurorehab training seems excellent. Young faculty are energetic and motivated. The residents were all very friendly but I didn't get a sense that it was where I belonged.

12. University of Cincinnati: Very small, tight-knit program. Peds exposure stood out most.

13. Temple: Can't really say anything bad about this program. Very well-rounded and well-established. Again, I don't think Philly is for me and Temple is in a pretty bad area. Important to note that Moss is in a nicer neighborhood though.