[2016-2017] Emergency Medicine Rank Order List Thread

[phriendlymed]

I'm finding that over the past week I've been reconsidering my rank list, which I'd felt pretty confident in, partly because I'm now doubting some of the rankings that were strongly influenced by interview-day impressions and returning (regressing?) toward my initial, pre-interview, perceptions of programs. I'm now thinking, you know what, the vibe at that program wasn't so bad—it could be a pretty cool place to train. Or, yeah, that place felt like a great fit, but is it really that impressive a program?

Is anyone else having this experience, where the value you place on interview-day impressions is waning? What are you thinking about it? Do any of you who are farther along in your training have advice on this? Thanks, and good luck to everyone.

Feeling the same way, especially about programs that I didn't get a great feeling about during interview day but have everything I want on paper. Accepting the fact that with a few exceptions, our long-term goals can be achieved at any residency program.

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[mega_colon]

Seriously can they just lock NRMP so i don't have to obsessively check to make sure Im still certified.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 2teens, Step 2: 220s, Step 2 CK: pass
EM rotations: H at home, SP at 1st OOT, HP at 2nd OOT
Medical school region: Central
Anything else that made you more competitive:
My ethnicity is underrepresented in emergency?

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I really wanted to match somewhere I felt like the training was sufficient and the people were nice. Did not care about location (I am single) or doximity ratings. I knew i couldn't be picky with my stats/application which is pretty underaverage.

1) Univ. of Iowa -
Pros: home school and loved the people here. They are excellent in terms of teaching and all the residents have been immensely helpful and fun. The faculty here are dedicated to teaching. the resources at the program are unlimited for small town iowa. I was super impressed with how involved they are in research as well, which many of my programs weren't.

Cons: tired of iowa city. population of less than 200k for a single person will hurt. But Like i said, i am more interested in the training level and they produce great successful residents.

2) Univ. of Michigan -
Pros: excellent faculty, Dr. Neumar the chair seems very involved in resident education which i couldn't say about other chairs on my interview trail. The program name is strong, but again this doesn't matter to me really. I just got the vibe that the residents and especially the chiefs were really confident in their abilities moreso than some other places.

Cons: 4 years , not sold on staying the extra year when i could do a fellowship in that same time. Winter cold is brutal. Ann arbor is a college town, and after a few years in iowa city (another college town) i'd rather be somewhere else.

3) Advocate Christ -
Pros: I had heard nothing but fantastic things about this program in terms of the 'best' chicago programs. Ofcourse chicago offers many excellent training sites, however advocate creates some of the strongest community ED docs in the country. No one really questions that for some reason and i can see why.

Cons: I may be interested in academic medicine in the future.

4) Univ. of Illinois - Peoria -
Pros: I was blown away at the PD and his personal presentation. He was very pleasant and seemed to care about every individual resident. He could talk about each one on a personal level rather than what they did in the ED. I was also shocked at their sim center. Little peoria had the best sim center in the midwest (from what I had seen) created of multiple floors and multiple technology sponsorships, they even allowed us to try out 3D glasses during the tour

Cons: peoria is a smaller town, but close enough to big cities to make it acceptable. It has a downtown people! its not that small.

5) Emory -
i recieved an interview at this institution due a faculty member at their program whom was able to help me out. I was exstatic to have the opportunity to interview at such a top notch institution. I won't go into detail about this because many people already spoke of its positives

Cons: I know many people don't have cons about emory. I disliked atlanta with a passion. I couldn't even change lanes on the 7 lane highway without having a panic attack. What a big town. Ive heard atlanta is the poorest Big city in the country and you can see it. Lines of homeless individuals sitting against the walls around Atlanta downtown. It just didn't give me the right feel as a town. I would love to help them, but as an EM resident that won't be happening.

6) Univ of Missouri - Kansas City -
Pros: nice program in the heart of downtown Kc, they were all very plesant to meet with during my interview day, one of the faculty asked me a typed out 4 part question which was probably the most difficult question of my interview trail but i enjoyed them and the residents

Cons: see a lot of the homeless/poorer population around kansas city as KU takes the more middle class/upper class indidivuals. I did not appreciate the variety of the patient population. unforutenly the larger and well funded KU takes all the cancer patients, rarer pathology

7) Wayne state -
Cons: I despise detroit as a city. I respect everyone who lives there but i just couldn't do it. The program is well established and one produces great residents but i don't belive in the manner in which they teach, which is brute patient throughput and scut work, residents seemed tired at the dinner and during the tour. Im not sure if this school participates in the detroit residential funding (where residents get paid to live in a certain area of the city) however that would be a good benefit.

8) Rush -
newer program that is just starting. I was on the last interview day and they seemed like they were already closing up shop on interviews and i didn't feel as though they cared about me being there (which i am assuming is because they were tired of interviewing so much in a short period of time), the faculty are nice but obviously i can't get a vibe of how this program will be based on meeting 3 people.

Cons- could turn into a very malignant program or a very education friendly one based on how the Other specialties view newbie EM interns. I think if there were a few years behind this program and there were residents saying it is alright I would feel better. and ofcourse, job opportunities after completion of residency is up in the air and uncertain. When i asked the APD about this, he was only able to tell me that rush is respected in chicago, but could not speak for anywhere outside of it. I don't wish to work in chicago when i am older.

Other:
Would have ranked Summa health #6 above Wayne/rush however accredidation was lost.

Declined or silent declined from all other chicago schools including UIC/northwestern/cook/UC Declined from anything in CA and TX and NY.

 

[Istaretoomuch]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 2teens, Step 2: 220s, Step 2 CK: pass
EM rotations: H at home, SP at 1st OOT, HP at 2nd OOT
Medical school region: Central
Anything else that made you more competitive:
My ethnicity is underrepresented in emergency?

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I really wanted to match somewhere I felt like the training was sufficient and the people were nice. Did not care about location (I am single) or doximity ratings. I knew i couldn't be picky with my stats/application which is pretty underaverage.

1) Univ. of Iowa -
Pros: home school and loved the people here. They are excellent in terms of teaching and all the residents have been immensely helpful and fun. The faculty here are dedicated to teaching. the resources at the program are unlimited for small town iowa. I was super impressed with how involved they are in research as well, which many of my programs weren't.

Cons: tired of iowa city. population of less than 200k for a single person will hurt. But Like i said, i am more interested in the training level and they produce great successful residents.

2) Univ. of Michigan -
Pros: excellent faculty, Dr. Neumar the chair seems very involved in resident education which i couldn't say about other chairs on my interview trail. The program name is strong, but again this doesn't matter to me really. I just got the vibe that the residents and especially the chiefs were really confident in their abilities moreso than some other places.

Cons: 4 years , not sold on staying the extra year when i could do a fellowship in that same time. Winter cold is brutal. Ann arbor is a college town, and after a few years in iowa city (another college town) i'd rather be somewhere else.

3) Advocate Christ -
Pros: I had heard nothing but fantastic things about this program in terms of the 'best' chicago programs. Ofcourse chicago offers many excellent training sites, however advocate creates some of the strongest community ED docs in the country. No one really questions that for some reason and i can see why.

Cons: I may be interested in academic medicine in the future.

4) Univ. of Illinois - Peoria -
Pros: I was blown away at the PD and his personal presentation. He was very pleasant and seemed to care about every individual resident. He could talk about each one on a personal level rather than what they did in the ED. I was also shocked at their sim center. Little peoria had the best sim center in the midwest (from what I had seen) created of multiple floors and multiple technology sponsorships, they even allowed us to try out 3D glasses during the tour

Cons: peoria is a smaller town, but close enough to big cities to make it acceptable. It has a downtown people! its not that small.

5) Emory -
i recieved an interview at this institution due a faculty member at their program whom was able to help me out. I was exstatic to have the opportunity to interview at such a top notch institution. I won't go into detail about this because many people already spoke of its positives

Cons: I know many people don't have cons about emory. I disliked atlanta with a passion. I couldn't even change lanes on the 7 lane highway without having a panic attack. What a big town. Ive heard atlanta is the poorest Big city in the country and you can see it. Lines of homeless individuals sitting against the walls around Atlanta downtown. It just didn't give me the right feel as a town. I would love to help them, but as an EM resident that won't be happening.

6) Univ of Missouri - Kansas City -
Pros: nice program in the heart of downtown Kc, they were all very plesant to meet with during my interview day, one of the faculty asked me a typed out 4 part question which was probably the most difficult question of my interview trail but i enjoyed them and the residents

Cons: see a lot of the homeless/poorer population around kansas city as KU takes the more middle class/upper class indidivuals. I did not appreciate the variety of the patient population. unforutenly the larger and well funded KU takes all the cancer patients, rarer pathology

7) Wayne state -
Cons: I despise detroit as a city. I respect everyone who lives there but i just couldn't do it. The program is well established and one produces great residents but i don't belive in the manner in which they teach, which is brute patient throughput and scut work, residents seemed tired at the dinner and during the tour. Im not sure if this school participates in the detroit residential funding (where residents get paid to live in a certain area of the city) however that would be a good benefit.

8) Rush -
newer program that is just starting. I was on the last interview day and they seemed like they were already closing up shop on interviews and i didn't feel as though they cared about me being there (which i am assuming is because they were tired of interviewing so much in a short period of time), the faculty are nice but obviously i can't get a vibe of how this program will be based on meeting 3 people.

Cons- could turn into a very malignant program or a very education friendly one based on how the Other specialties view newbie EM interns. I think if there were a few years behind this program and there were residents saying it is alright I would feel better. and ofcourse, job opportunities after completion of residency is up in the air and uncertain. When i asked the APD about this, he was only able to tell me that rush is respected in chicago, but could not speak for anywhere outside of it. I don't wish to work in chicago when i am older.

Other:
Would have ranked Summa health #6 above Wayne/rush however accredidation was lost.

Declined or silent declined from all other chicago schools including UIC/northwestern/cook/UC Declined from anything in CA and TX and NY.

UofM, advocate, Emory, etc. Impressive.
Good luck everyone- hope everyone gets where they wanna go!

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 230s, Step 2: 230s
EM rotations: n/a
Medical school region: Medical school in midwest, Currently living in Florida
Anything else that made you more competitive:
I am applying as a general medical officer getting out of the Navy, which I thought would help make me more competitive but I got the feeling that outside of having "life experience" most programs didn't really care about it or rate it highly. I think my interviews all went great because I had plenty of relevant experiences and stories to tell. I seemed to have a very difficult time GETTING interviews. No love from Texas and only 1 interview in Florida despite being a current resident. SLOEs also got invented since I left medical school, so I wasn't really able to get a real one based on a recent rotation (since I didn't have any). I contacted my most desired programs who assured my they would review my application, but I think that really hurt. Overall, I am happy with my list and would be happy to match at almost all of them.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location - family in CA, planning to get into offshore sailing and want to be near the coast. County > academic. Was initially thinking 3 > 4, but didn't get many interviews at 3 year programs.

1) Harbor UCLA -
Strong county experience, very underserved and sick population (also constantly mentioned how grateful and a pleasure to treat the patients are, which has not always been my experience at county hospitals), struck by faculty and residents commitment to the program and their patients (lots of faculty return for shifts every month), newish facility, lots of faculty, good patient acuity and breadth, great area in LA (less traffic, lots of living options in Redondo and Long Beach).

Cons - 4th year wasn't appreciably different. Not many people moonlighting, but it is available externally.

2) UCSF Fresno -
This program surprised me a lot, this was a hard decision between #1 and #2, but personal reasons broke the tie and put me in LA. Great hospital and staff, underserved and sick population (felt county, faculty constantly saying they never saw pathology like this in other CA training programs), EM is probably strongest residency in the hospital, busy trauma with huge central valley catchment area (mix of urban gang violence and farm accidents), integrated peds (sickest kids still come to their hospital), unique park medic experience, salary is very high for cost of living, lots of internal and external moonlighting. Got along very well with residents and faculty. Were easily the most relaxed and content group I met on the trail. Lots of married residents and kids which was a plus for me. PD is changing, but the new PD seemed great and has been there forever. Fresno is fine, very affordable, plenty of going on for a married guy, lots to do locally (yosemite, beach, SF, skiing) - I could see how a single person wouldn't like it. Lots of faculty trained in CA urban areas and said specifically they never would have envisioned themselves in Fresno, but it has been a great town to live and work. Writing all this down again makes me think I should rank it #1.

3) UCSD -
Main ED is not the most acute but you rotate at lots of other EDs (driving will not be great, but it will vary the experience at least), I think them expanding participation at the El Centro location is a great thing to bring some pathology in, trauma shared between a lot of hospitals and trauma bay is separate from ED. San Diego is beautiful, and you can find affordable places to live. Air medic program is very strong with you actually doing more than shadowing. On paper I thought I was going to like this program, but for some reason just came away not super excited.

4) Barnes Jewish / Wash U -
Very impressed by this program. Good combination of strong academics and sick patient population. Despite being large tertiary care center, residents seemed well respected and not pushed out of procedures or patient contact. Connected well with residents and enjoyed the happy hour after interview day, felt very genuine and got to know a lot of people. Very justified 4th year with focus on developing clinical teaching skills in an intentional way. Lots of well-paying moonlighting at community hospitals. The EM office is beautiful, the new PD (Jason Wagner) designed it like an Apple office. Hospital clearly has resources to invest in residents and their education. I like St. Louis a lot, and there is a surprising amount of stuff to do in the city for singles and families (lots of great food, local breweries, interesting culture, hockey team). The winter is cold but relatively mild compared to other places I've lived. This would easily rank above UCSD if I didn't already have family and friends in San Diego.

5) Jackson Memorial in Miami -
Would be ranked higher if it wasn't a new program. Really impressed with what this program is doing. Perfect hospital to have EM residency - underserved and sick patient population (felt like county), robust SIM center and trauma center, hospital seems very invested in the new program, despite being new the PD and many faculty have been teaching for years and know what they're doing PGY1s I talked to had great experience (no 2-4s to take procedures) and were committed to continuing that. Lots of community rotations that the residents all liked. Because it was new, they still have a lot to develop - very minimal academic curriculum (at the time), still figuring out relationship with hospital (still had hospital procedure team). I'm sure all this stuff will get figured out (or may already have). I would be happy to match here, I just couldn't rank it above other well established programs above.

6) Saint Louis University (SLU) -
I think this is a fine 3 year program that you would come out well trained at, but I just did not get a great vibe. Plenty of trauma and acuity (it is St. Louis).Got along great with residents. Hospital and ED are OLD and the hospital itself has no money. This is glaringly obvious going to Wash U two days later which clearly invests in it's division offices and activities. While I don't need creature comforts, housing the EM office in a tiny office isn't a great sign of support to me. New hospital is supposed to be up in 2020, but it's SLU and they've been talking about that hospital for like a decade. PD comes off as aggressive and weird interview trail stories seem to follow him (although all the residents say he treats his residents great and they don't have issues with him).

 

[EMapplicant2017]

Applied: 44, ~25 invites, then withdrew from a bunch. Rejected a few, silent rejected a few.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: ~225, Step 2: ~235
EM rotations: H/H
Medical school region: West Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Prior life before medicine – experiences that involved leadership, quick decision making, life/limb. This ended up on my PS, which was commented on as one of the triggers for interview. Also had a pretty interesting/unique experience on my away that allowed me to demonstrate EM decision-making and had a really good outcome (ended up on my SLOE). Am told all around had very strong SLOEs. (About 99% sure someone will recognize me from that comment, but it is rank day – so whatev)

Things I considered: Clinical training #1, 2 and 3. Really like county vibes, or at least county populations (obviously I like certain academic programs). Asked a lot about “zebra” procedures as a proxy for ED autonomy/pathology – whether I was correct to use it as such is another discussion, but it was my method. Unopposed or well respected ED’s were a decent factor. Didn’t care 3 vs 4.

Cost of living/livability was a big one, too. I’m married with a kiddo. Spouse had a big say in what areas we were interested, she is ready to leave home on an adventure. I can honestly say anywhere in my top 6 I would be “super stoked” for, 7-11 would be “really stoked,” 12-14 would be “stoked.”

1. UCSF- Fresno: The pathology, holy cow. It is so tough to judge an ED based on one tiny tour – but this place was intense on my interview day. Seems to be the theme echoed everywhere, supporting my observation. Huge ED, filled to hallways. Of course that also usually means boarding issue, which there is. If I recall medicine helps to manage the boarders (can’t quite remember, but not make/break for me). I definitely saw sick kiddos here, which is lacking at a lot of other county programs. Most of the residents here graduate with multiple thorocotomy/crics (people will argue if this is necessary, but again I used it as a metric as much as I would like the opportunity). Faculty here seemed really excellent, from diverse but strong training programs themselves. I actually enjoyed the didactic session here during interview day. Seems like overall strong teaching. Obviously some really good FOAMED exposure. Location was actually a hit for me. Affordable, great outdoors. Residents all seemed super chill and fun to drink beer with. Warm and fuzzies. PD made me drink the kool-aid during his “why 4th year” speech. Seemed like a super nice guy.

2. U Chicago: Super strong academic program. Everyone “in the know” had nothing but amazing things to say about the program and the trainees they produce – including EM residents I know at other Chicago area hospitals. Sick county population at main hospital, affluent exposure at north rotating site. Converting back to level 1 this year but great exposure otherwise. New ED this year. Amazing PD. Clicked with residents well. Residents truly go anywhere afterwards. Obviously the flight program is amazing (R2 primary physician on helicopter +1RN +1pilot – 30% scene calls 70% ED/ICU transfer). Lots of great facilitated international learning opportunities. Moonlighting in-house urgent-care as intern. Later on you can fly internationally for some extra cash to transport stable patients to the states with travelers insurance. Overall just tons of cool opportunities with great pathology. Peds exposure is really great here with Comer next-door. Chicago is a really cool city, albeit a bit more $$ than my #1. Less outdoorsy stuff.

3. UNM Albuquerqe – Solid mix of academic/county. Another phenomenal PD. Great location for COL, outdoorsy stuff. Super chill residents who knew how to have a good time. Really liked the vibe of the ED/campus. Huge # of critical care faculty means strong off-service rotations. EM has big presence in hospital. Great wilderness med exposure. Warm and fuzzies.


4. Cook (rotated): Man. Everything had to compare to Cook during my cycle. Let me start off by saying I LOVE Cook. Part of me hopes I open the envelope and I see it above others. There are just a couple things that made it #4 instead of #1. Everyone asks about ancillary staff. From my experience, yeah, they’re pretty slow. It can be frustrating, but definitely didn’t play a big role in my rank process. Overall the ED functions very well. I had no issues with the so-called “scut.” Occasionally rolled patients to CT/XR, but it got them done faster than in my home institution. Really felt more like “plain ol’ patient care” than scut. Even the 4th years weren’t phased by it. My concerns were with the peds exposure and now possibly (?) losing shifts at Rush in favor of another community hospital and now Rush residents will be doing trauma at Cook. I think university shifts would have been nice exposure to a slightly different population. Peds is only 4 months overall plus whatever you get at community sites. Dedicated months are at Comer (UofC). Overall Cook is a household name that produces truly badass residents. They get some cool exposure to ID/HIV and burn ICU that most places don’t. Would love to match here.

5. Vegas: Smaller “county” feel but more family vibe than some. Residents and attending regularly finish night shifts at the local watering hole across the street. Really good mix of population with the indigent in addition to travelers. Cool research with the MGM casinos partnerships (whole city is recorded, so think of possibilities). Seemed like very strong residents who could manage anything. Great event medicine (EDC, burning man, others). 24 hours city means no lacking on stuff to do. Outdoorsy stuff a bit farther, limited (?). 12 hours shifts were +/- for me. On the one hand that’s a long shift, on the other I think I would end up seeing a significantly higher # of patients over the course of 3 years.

6. Davis – Fantastic academic program. Loved ED feel. Maybe a little more consult heavy than I would like.

7. Mayo – Super cool academic program with every resource you can imagine (and then some). Teaching and simulation were incredibly strong here. Daycare situation is +++ for me. Despite “reassurance” I still think maybe they get a bit less bread/butter and autonomy. I may be mistaken, but you gotta make these choices on such limited gut feel. Definitely not interested in the patient personalities associated with medical tourism.

8. Maricopa – On paper it had everything I wanted. Just didn’t vibe on interview day and can’t get as excited about it as I want. PD seemed nice but asked some off-putting things. I’m chalking this one up to interview fatigue.


9. Cooper/CMRU – really strong community program with county vibe and a mission to serve the city of Camden. I actually really loved this place. Still, it’s far from family and a bit of a commute to visit.

10. Highland – Didn’t give me the warm/fuzzies I had hoped. Obviously a very strong/familiar program to most that I won’t rehash. I thought it was maybe a con that they spend time in the OR as first-assist on certain surgical teams. I like surgery, I just don’t know that its valuable to be in the OR and write op notes. Oakland was $$$$


11. UCLA-Olive: Strong academic with a little bit of county tossed in off-site. Best dinner of the cycle by far (FYI). LA is $$$, plus traffic. 12 hour shifts all 4 years. Really great program but not my jam.

12. U of Utah –academic, poor fit for me but solid.

13. OHSU – academic, poor fit for me but solid.

14. UT-Nashville/Murfreesboro – 25% attendings in group didn’t want to start a residency. Resolved by scheduling them shifts at other sites. Then later told we may start rotating at those sites. Truama is in flux (as mentioned in others posts). Overall seemed relatively low acuity but I may be completely off. Only residents I didn’t really mesh with all cycle. New program (would be 3rd class). PD seemed like a stand-up guy though.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: ~230, Step 2: ~240
EM rotations: H/H
Medical school region: Midwest
Miscellaneous: GHHS, only 1 SLOE (one site was nonacademic)

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Autonomy & hands-on experience in the ED, socioeconomic diversity of patients, urban/rural problem diversity, humanistic approach to patient care, pediatrics experience, overall feel and interactions among faculty/residents/nurses

1) Christiana:
+++ Awesome PD and residents that were both bright and approachable. Being the only major center between Philadelphia and Baltimore leads to amazing diversity in pathology and patients. Incredible volume. Residents get both tertiary/level I and safety net experiences between the two sites. Feels like a hybrid of the best qualities of county, academic, and community sites. Manage a ton in the ED because it is relatively “unopposed” by other specialties like ortho, optho, etc. Has a decent pediatric volume at main site plus integrated experience at Nemours, meaning more hands on time at the former and some teaching from PEM subspecialists at the latter (most programs give you one or the other). Top-notch ultrasound. Nice facilities. Progressive and innovative curriculum; both didactics and off-service rotations are well thought-out. I love the one month block of ED nights to allow for fewer nights elsewhere. I think they would train me with the rigor of any top program but in an environment where I’ll be happy and very well supported the whole time.

--- Location! Wished this program was in an area with a decent walkscore or bike culture.

2) Maine:
+++ Great fit with residents and faculty, who are super friendly, laid back, and intelligent. This is another program where a ton is managed in the ED because there are fewer other residencies. Came away feeling the peds experience was actually quite good; residents who do electives at outside freestanding peds hospitals said they really notice a loss of autonomy (an issue known at many residencies affiliated with separate peds hospitals) and they also are the terminal destination for complex peds in the state. Portland is absolutely my ideal city with the ocean, mountains, brick streets, historic buildings, restaurant/café scene, and walkability.

--- While the socioeconomic diversity of the patient population is better than I anticipated, it still leaves a bit to be desired. Though volume per resident does not seem to be an issue, the wintertime does get a little slower than I’d like.

3) Wash U:
+++ Surprised me in a very good way. Clicked with the residents, maybe more so than any other program. Seems to attract very down to earth but intelligent people. They see a ton in the ED, very high acuity and sick population. Though this is a big academic center, did seem like they get good hands-on training there. Most residents really valued being in a place where all residencies are strong because they could learn from other services rather than just “being the best program in the hospital.” Really great peds experience since the peds dept is just across the way; these residents were some of the most comfortable with sick kids. I feel they’d make the 4th year worthwhile by giving me some room to develop a niche area in EM; great if thinking about leadership or academics. PD is super cool and very into making Wash U a top program with very progressive education. The happy hour after interview day was a great way to get to know the faculty and residents even better.

--- Though St. Louis was way cooler than I was expecting, MO in general is a little Southern for me. I’m still just a bit on the fence about being in a place with so many other programs.

4) Hennepin:
+++ Residents leave feeling prepared for everything because the ED really runs the show here. From trauma to procedures and everything in between, ED residents are fist in line. I was really blown away by how sharp and confident the residents are, especially the 3rd years who truly manage the department and own the resuscitation bays. Despite how they are pushed, the residents said they felt they were always very well supported by faculty. They have a significant focus on underserved patients, which appeals to me. The Hennepin reputation is world-renowned and it has been a leader in EM for a long time. Great ultrasound. After visiting here I realized I could get Denver-esque clinical training in only 3 years (and Denver slipped down my list). Well-resourced for a county hospital and EM involved in hospital leadership meaning the ED is a priority.

--- Residents admitted periods of burnout and I am on the fence if the exceptionally hard work during training really changes resident outcomes. The now 6-week (formerly 8) neurosurgery rotation with q3 28h call seems brutal and completely unnecessary. Weak peds. Disappointed in NICU instead of PICU, but their PICU doesn’t get enough volume. They really need integrated shifts at a separate peds hospital instead of just 2 2-week blocks. County programs tend to attract some residents for the intensity, rather than passion for the patient population (though I must say the residents I met were just as humble and chill as anywhere, maybe only a touch more intense).

5) Regions:
+++ I love the family feel here; the residents really enjoy each year of residency in a large part due to the close community they’ve formed. The PD is super cool and I felt like he would support me through anything. They get a great balance of patient problems being a former county hospital now turned community hospital. Also has decent academic ties and its high leadership is well known in the EM world. Great relationships among faculty/residents/nurses. Decent peds experience at separate peds hospital, with some peds coming into main site as well.

--- Seems to have just a bit less in terms of autonomy than the programs I’m raking higher, probably more in line with the average across EM residencies.

6) MCW:
+++ Chill residents, great faculty. Really good peds exposure since the dept is connected by a hallway. Good acuity and diverse patient population. Good flight program (you can get a jumpsuit – how cool).

--- Milwaukee is decent, but a bit less than ideal for a location.

7) Denver:
+++ I loved so much about Denver. The residents were incredibly intelligent but also laid-back and approachable. The faculty are so very invested in the program – they want Denver residents to truly be the best and not be carried on its reputation alone. Faculty also seemed to be very supportive and invested in residents’ individually as well. Obviously the clinical training is superb and residents rotate through county, academic, and community settings. Great autonomy and hands on experience. Several faculty members share my interest in public health and underserved patients from an actual academic standpoint.

--- In the end, I decided four years of this level of intensity wasn’t ideal for me. Unconvinced the rigor and extra year would make me a better doctor (likely better in some ways, but I might need more balance).

8) Utah:
+++ Really liked the PD, faculty, and residents. Impressed by their didactics; the presentations were done in a super-engaging TED talk style and the residents all seemed sharp. The location is truly breathtaking.

--- Homogeneous population. Unsure how I’d do in an area where conservative ideology predominates so heavily (though this certainly does not seem true for the program itself).

9) Mayo:
+++ The residents were great. I do feel Mayo provides superb care due to their integrated health system and the resources they have. The Mayo name would probably open up doors. Probably the nicest ED I saw on the interview trail.

--- Did not click with the faculty, particularly the PD. For such an academic place, they really didn’t seem to have any people working on/researching public health in the ED; this could have really changed my opinion. Homogeneous population.

10) GW:
+++ Great interactions with faculty and really clicked with the PD. The health policy focus is awesome and there are many connections in this area. I love the mini-fellowship idea and – if I were to do a four year program – I’d want this kind of space to craft a “niche” (rather than simply getting paid less as a mini-attending).

--- Did not click with the residents; the ones I met had a youthful/single attitude that is just not me at this point in life. The ED consistent of curtain and I just couldn’t see myself being content in the overall physical environment (who has curtains anymore?). The hospital is for-profit. The ED is named after Ronald Regan. And, more seriously, I probably couldn’t handle being in DC during this current administration.

11) Penn State:
+++ People did seem nice. Good peds exposure. Flight program sounded pretty good.

--- This program is just in too much transition to make me comfortable. Too many attending are locum tenens and, while they say they only keep the ones who want to teach, I don’t like this instability. No admitting privileges. Not a huge fan of the location.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 235-240, Step 2: 240-245
EM rotations: Home institution - HP, Away - H
Medical school region: Midwest
Any part of you application that made you more competitive:
Spanish speaking with interpreting experience. Coming from a well ranked medical school. Strong SLOEs. Publication (although minor) during medical school

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Access to outdoor activity ( especially rock climbing/ swimming holes). 3yr> 4 yr but not that important. Access to spanish Speaking patients. Strong Ultrasound. Affordable living with a yard large dogs. Fit with the residents.

1) University of Kentucky
Pros: Right next to the Red River Gorge (Climbers Know), with brand new climbing gym in town. Lots of Spanish speaking migrant workers in Lexington. SO has family in Lexington. 3 Year. New ED/Hospital, Centrally located in the city. Affordable housing w/i 20 minutes of hospital. Touts some big names in U/S. Nice friendly residents. Minimal off service: even first year.

Cons: Not on EPIC. Not near to my own family. Not the biggest fan of the city.

2) University of Michigan
Pros: super near to my family. Critically acclaimed hospital. Good climbing gym in town. Good fellowship access. On EPIC. Some flight experience. Dog friendly city. friendly city. Multiple hospitals with wide variety of experience. Close friend is expecting to match here. Lots of elective time. Lots of crit care if you are into that. Large airport nearby.

Cons: 4 year. Off service for a majority of your first year. Really cold winters. Lots of shorter shifts per months. Lacks significant latino population.

3) UAMS - Little Rock
Pros: If I were a single man this likely would be my top choice. Best fit personality and vision wise. Really jived with the PD and Chair. Residents really felt like family. Just genuinely nice people. Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is close by (climbers know). Little rock is a surprisingly way nicer town than I expected and very affordable.

Cons: far from my family and SO family. Climbing Gym in the city is turrible. A smattering of twelves on weekends if I am not mistaken.

4) WVU
Pros: Near the New River Gorge (climbing locale). Near to a lot of skiing. Near to a lot of swimming holes. Just really like the idea of living in/around the appalachains. Drivable to both mine and my SO family. Nice new hospital. Has U/S fellowship available.On EPIC. Affordable living. 3 Yr.

Cons: 9/10 of the last class was dudes. I dont know what the average girl to guy ratio is but 1 to 9 can not be normal. Gimme some diversity! NO spanish speakers either. Only university's climbing gym in town. Small job market. Might be difficult for my SO to find work.

5) OSU
Pros: really academic. Great PEDs, great ultrasound. Large new ED. Columbus has great climbing gyms and is affordable near the hospital. Significant spanish speaker population in the area.

Cons: Didnt really mesh with the PD. Spanish speakers dont really come to the OSU EDs. Poor trauma experience at OSU. Outdoor activity of any significant strenuousness is at least an hour away.

6) LSU NO
Pros: Big new hospital. Cool city.

Cons: Just dont' really want to live there. Never liked the idea of city living.

7) UT Chattanooga
Pros: By far the best city I visited. Walkable city on a nice river. tons of outdoor activity. Nice residents

Cons: Small program. Not as many resources.

Rest of list (in order):
Toledo - No climbing opportunities in town. Just couldn't do it.
Louisville - So autonomous it felt unsafe. Interviewed with some weird folk
Mercy St Vincent
University of Oklahoma

 

[zyx189]

IT. IS. DONE.











May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

[doggydog]

Our fates will likely be sealed as the algorithm runs in the next 30 minutes, at the latest tomorrow in the AM.

And we get to wander around aimlessly for the next three weeks wondering why we chose this life.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

I wonder what takes them 3 weeks? I mean, the algorithm does its thing. Why does it take 3 weeks to contact programs/students to let them know if they've matched? I mean, once the algorithm is done, wouldn't it make more sense to have extra time to plan for the SOAP? Maybe give that process more time? I just never really understood what the reason for the wait is.

 

[lunalight]

I wonder what takes them 3 weeks? I mean, the algorithm does its thing. Why does it take 3 weeks to contact programs/students to let them know if they've matched? I mean, once the algorithm is done, wouldn't it make more sense to have extra time to plan for the SOAP? Maybe give that process more time? I just never really understood what the reason for the wait is.

I takes about 2.5 weeks to let us know if we've matched. Not bad considering what all they have to do.

Here's what the NRMP website has to say:

What happens between Rank Order List Deadline and Match Day?
Between the Rank Order List Certification Deadline and Match Day, the NRMP conducts a rigorous review of Match data, including:

Assessing and confirming the integrity of the data
Conducting a final verification of applicants’ credentials
Withdrawing applicants who are ineligible for the Match
Transferring the data from the R3 system to the matching algorithm module, rechecking the data, processing the algorithm, and transferring data back into the R3 system
Verifying the results of a Match and transferring the data into the NRMP databases
Verifying applicants’ credentials for Main Residency Match SOAP participation
Preparing 50,000 individual Match Week reports for Main Residency Match applicants, program directors, and medical schools
These steps, all completed in a few weeks, ensure the accuracy of Match results.

Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

 

[zyx189]

I takes about 2.5 weeks to let us know if we've matched. Not bad considering what all they have to do.

Here's what the NRMP website has to say:

What happens between Rank Order List Deadline and Match Day?
Between the Rank Order List Certification Deadline and Match Day, the NRMP conducts a rigorous review of Match data, including:

Assessing and confirming the integrity of the data
Conducting a final verification of applicants’ credentials
Withdrawing applicants who are ineligible for the Match
Transferring the data from the R3 system to the matching algorithm module, rechecking the data, processing the algorithm, and transferring data back into the R3 system
Verifying the results of a Match and transferring the data into the NRMP databases
Verifying applicants’ credentials for Main Residency Match SOAP participation
Preparing 50,000 individual Match Week reports for Main Residency Match applicants, program directors, and medical schools
These steps, all completed in a few weeks, ensure the accuracy of Match results.

That just makes me feel worse... it just freaks me out thinking I f'ed up somewhere

 

[gottakeepitreal]

That just makes me feel worse... it just freaks me out thinking I f'ed up somewhere

You didn't f anything up. You did everything right. Time for beer!

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240, Step 2: 260+
EM rotations: HP/HP/HP
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive:
I had some neat premedschool job expiriences, but I actually felt like I was less competitive than I thought I would be. I'm not sure if it's the reputation of my medical school, the fact that my deans letter reads like someone applying to EM as a back up (I'm not), that I didn't honor em, or that I don't have obvious ties to some of the regions I targeted. It probably was a mix of everything.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Keeping my significant other happy, 4yr vs 3yrs. Critical care is a plus. Honestly though I really liked everywhere I went and could see myself thriving at all the programs I interviewed. I'm not sure if that is just my attitude or if we are just lucky that there are a lot of great EM programs. This list has been pretty dynamic and I may be moving things around as we get closer to feb 22nd.

1) Johns Hopkins:
I told myself I wouldn't be wowed by the name, but on interview day I was. Really excited by the ownership you get to take of your 4th year. Patient population seems very diverse with plenty of trauma. Plus SO loves the region and will have lots of job opportunities.

2) Northwestern:
Like that it is so critical care heavy. The faculty and residents seem very sharp and friendly. They are very proud of their graduates getting jobs wherever they want and quickly assuming leadership positions. Little concerned that they are losing their PD. Not a fan of the parking/traffic.

3) Advocate Christ:
On the tour the resident was on a first name basis with just about every nurse, tech, custodian, and security guard throughout the hospital. I think that is a product of doing all the rotations at one site. They get a ton of resus expirience from all the terrible nursing homes on the south side. Their trauma expirience crazy. Also, they work with a couple really awesome EM trained critical care docs. New PD, but sounds like she has been waiting in the wings for quite some time so transition will be smooth. Traffic will be an issue if we don't live pretty close to the hospital.

4) UMass:
Really enjoyed the interview day. PD very down to earth. Thought it was pretty neat that basically the whole class has secured fellowships. Their graduates get a crazy amount of ultrasound expirience and graduate with like a thousand more scans then some of the other places I visited. City was a lot better than I expected and I was very happy with the cost of living. Rotation in Hawaii in 3rd year

5) Madison:
Really impressed by program leadership, seems like they have a lot of young fellowship trained faculty with some exciting ideas. 3+1 is cool. Love the city. Seems like patient population isn't too diverse though.

6) Rush:
This one is a wildcard some days I want to put it at the top of my list other days at the bottom.
Cons - new program, no alumni network, will have to fight turf wars, offered interviews late so may have missed out on some of the higher tier applicants. Pros - Risks of being a new program are tempered by the fact that it's an academic powerhouse and administration is heavily invested in having the residency work out. They went from hiring s PD to getting ACGME approval in a very short time so they are obviously well organized. They are going to have some very exciting leadership opportunities. May be a back door into academic EM because I bet they will want to keep on some of their inaugural class as faculty.

7) Baystate:
PD was awesome. Really like the area. Big, busy ED with a lot of pathology and a good size catchment area. Some of the happiest seeming residents.

8) County:
Really like the mission. Obviously an awesome place to train. It would be toward the top, but I just can't get over what's going on with the Illinois state budget. I know the residency is federally funded but the faculty, nursing, and ancillary staff aren't. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill but I just worry an already austere place to train is going to get worse.

9) Resurrection:
Get sick older population at res and more diverse trauma heavy population at st Francis. No graduated responsibility. In house moonlighting opportunities. Would be very happy living on north side of Chicago.

10) Regions:
Really like that it isn't graduated responsibility. Seems like the residents are very busy and see a lot. 3rd years get to do airway at NFL games. Cheap direct flights to everywhere we have family.

11) Albany:
I really liked program leadership. One of the few places where residents liked their PICU expirience. Has a good track record of landing CC fellowships. Again very happy seeming residents. SO not a big fan of the city though

12) Iowa City:
Natural light in the ed was something new. ED is very team oriented and everyone (nurse, techs, docs) wear the same scrubs. Town very similar to Madison, but SO not a big fan.

Other:
Turned down interviews at allegheny and UConn, rejected/silent waitlisted at Maryland, Georgetown, GW, BIDMC, MGH, BMC, Hennepin, Michigan, UPMC, Brown, university of Chicago and UIC

 

[ERAS2017throwdown]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240, Step 2: 228
EM rotations: H/H
Medical school region: Southwest
Any part of your application that made you more competitive?
My SLOEs were apparently very strong according to interviewers. Personal experiences as a patient.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Program/people fit = city fit = SO views of city > location/outdoors = pediatric training.

2) University of Alabama at Birmingham -
Pros: Rotated here, love the residents, attendings, the city. Program is really a hidden gem, patient population is sick, residents given a lot of autonomy. Overall warm "fuzzy" feelings about UAB. Outdoor stuff around/near Birmingham is good. Overall just fit well here; didn't think any program would compare and throughout I thought UAB was going to be my number 1.

Cons: Cannot live near the medical center in a house as easy as other places (commutes are not bad in Birmingham at all).

commutes in B'ham are absolutely HORRIBLE. When I lived in B'ham and the wife was an attending at UAB we lived 12 miles away down Hwy 280. It was easily an hour commute.

 

[deleted109597]

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Access to outdoor activity ( especially rock climbing/ swimming holes). 3yr> 4 yr but not that important. Access to spanish Speaking patients. Strong Ultrasound. Affordable living with a yard large dogs. Fit with the residents.

Follows up with list with not a single place with a high Hispanic population. Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California have plenty.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 225-230, Step 2: 235-240
EM rotations: HP/HP
Medical school region: Midwest DO

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Couples matching w/ IM, urban, 3 years to stay on the same timeline as SO

1) University of Illinois at Chicago –
3 year academic and community program in Chicago developed in the early 1980s (I think they claim earlier than that) with 10 hour shifts (9+1) and 5 fellowships with ability to get advanced degrees in a most of them. Equally split between four main different EDs (The U, Mercy, LGH, Masonic) all with vastly different patient populations and different practice settings to help you learn about where you will eventually want to work. This can be a pain because you have to travel far to LGH, which is just outside of the city, but seems to be one of the more favorite locations, as it is a well-oiled machine. Pediatrics is longitudinal-ish without a rotation at a specific children’s hospital like Comer or Lurie. Seems LGH is the place where pediatrics will be most often encountered. Trauma month at Advocate Christ, which should be good until UChicago begins to take some more of the trauma away. PGY2s and 3s were some of the coolest and most diverse people I met during auditions and interview trail. Patients will make you learn Spanish and Polish, or at least you will interact with it enough for it to be useful. Residents try to go out every Wednesday to a bar in the city and it’s covered by one of the attendings, which allows residents to hang out with one another since they are all split around 4-6 different locations at any given time. Dr. Bunney, Snow, and Colbert are all very down to earth and friendly, as are the clinical faculty that I met.

Cons – Chicago COL (We love Chicago so much that we would take the hit), commute to LGH/needing a car

2) Cook County -
4-year county program in Chicago with 8 hour shifts with hard sign outs as a team and multiple in-house fellowships. “Treat everyone regardless of payment” – so true and love it. Most rotations are at CCH, community at Glenbrook/Community First/West Sub, while pediatrics is not longitudinal and done at outside programs like Comer, Lurie, Rush (mixed). Faculty are all very engaging and hold your feet to the fire just enough. There is definitely graduated responsibility and that depends on you whether or not you like or need that. Fourth year residents were some of the most confident and well read seniors I had come across. Residents are by far the most diverse I met throughout the season. Patients will make you learn Spanish and Polish. Program started as a 2-4 until the program managed to agree with IM to take their interns so there is still a lot of floor work – 2 months of IM and 1 month of HIV, but HIV you get to see some ridiculous pathology. Of all the 4 programs I rotated at, I felt the acuity was highest, but it might have just been luck. Daily food stipend is nice because I eat too much.

Cons - Chicago COL (We love Chicago so much that we would take the hit), Pediatrics isn’t the strongest especially at CCH where it isn’t as common

3) DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital –
3 year mixed thing that works and looks like a county/community but associated with a university. Shifts are 9 hours long and no medicine months. The majority of rotations are at DRH, community rotations at Huron Valley Hospital, pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and weird pathology at Harper Hospital. With all of the EM residencies in Michigan, many of them will rotate at DMC’s hospitals, but because DRH residents call those places home, they get a bit more autonomy at these ‘away sites’. Metro Detroit is home and everyone knows DRH is king for EM. Detroit is a great city that is being gentrified in a good way: maintaining it’s culture, while bringing in businesses very quickly and all sports teams are moving downtown now. Detroit is going to be the place to move into very shortly. COL is still low, better get it now.

Cons – Do I want to be home again? Patient population isn’t very diverse. Only 3 weeks of vacation.

4) University of Arizona University Hospital –
3 year academic, tertiary care center with 9 hour shifts and almost all the possible EM fellowships in house. Program uses two main sites – about ¾ of the time at University and ¼ at the South Campus, which is a county style ED. Pediatrics is longitudinal at the two EDs and rotations at the peds hospital. Community medicine months at Tucson Medical Center. The main university hospital is the only level 1 trauma center in southern AZ. The program offers specialty tracks so you can find your niche early in training. Tucson is a great outdoorsy city with very low COL. About to bike to work every day if I am here.

Cons – IM program isn’t as strong for my SO but she loved the city - outdoorsy, we could both bike to work everyday except in the summer. It is very far away from our families and not a cheap place to fly into or get to. The weather is the complete opposite of home, instead of unbearably cold for 4 months of the year, it is unbearably hot. Food scene isn’t all that great.

5) University of Iowa –
3 year academic program with 9 hour shifts (19/18/17) with only 9 residents a year. Program uses 2 main sites – the university medical center and then a community ER in Cedar Rapids about 30 min away. The volume isn’t very high, but the ratio of residents (75k to 9 residents) to volume makes up for it. Trauma could be better, but I am comparing this place to programs in Chicago and Detroit, so hard to compare. If there is trauma, it’s going to be flown in due to farming or auto. Catchment area is very large and covers almost the entire state and much of the adjacent states. Iowa City is Ann Arbor-lite and the COL is great. Program has a robust sports medicine fellowship and new education fellowship.

Cons – Iowa isn’t urban, but SO loved the IM program and part of me wants to be in a place with great COL because the White Coat Investor is scaring me. Not the most diverse group or area. Not a diverse population.

6) Case Western Reserve University MetroHealth –
3 year county and academic with 10 hour shifts and LOTS of ED time. The two main sites are at MetroHealth (county) and Cleveland Clinic (quaternary referral). Pediatrics was longitudinal as Metro has about 30k peds visits annually. Cleveland clinic pathology is crazy and unfortunately a lot of referring, but that’s going to happen regardless of where you are anyway. Everyone is excited about flight, not sure I am into that because of motion sickness. Ultrasound is strong as they use Q-Path and most graduate with the ability to get RDMS certified.

Cons – people seem overworked (21 shifts of 10s that become 12s because sign out isn’t structured) - “we work hard compared to most places”, only 2 showed up to pre-interview dinner and it wasn’t even December yet. Not a very diverse group.

7) DMC Sinai Grace –
3-year community that runs like a county and does 9 hour shifts. The PD was a bit abrasive and didn't seem approachable then introduced the program by saying “if you think trauma is an algorithm, you haven’t dealt with enough trauma.” Program has a trial-by-fire environment where the EM residents do everything throughout the small hospital like run all traumas, sorry surgery. Program is around one main ED with outside hospital rotations – peds downtown, community medicine at Huron Valley. Program boasts that they see the most trauma in the state, especially penetrating.

Cons – not in the best part of Detroit, only 3 weeks vacation, ancillary staff isn’t great, patient population is not diverse, residents seem very overworked (21 shifts where 9 hour shifts become 11s due to poor sign out).

8) Louisiana State University New Orleans –
4 year county program that has $$$ like it’s a well-funded academic and one the nicest hospitals I have ever seen in my life. 10 hour shifts on weekdays and 12s on weekends. Moonlighting can start after intern year to make up for the extra year. PD is one of the most excited I have met on the trail. The program has 6 months of electives. Pay is $48k and COL is fairly average compared to other programs.

Cons – 4 years, New Orleans doesn’t seem like a family oriented place, it gets hot and muggy, IM program isn’t strong

9) St. John’s Detroit –
3 year community in Detroit, but has a more diverse population due to Grosse Pointe. Shifts are 10s on weekdays and 12s on weekends (20/19/17 shifts). Level 2, but Detroit has enough trauma to go around. Moonlighting available after intern year. Great benefits and free food, but lowest pay of all programs I have been to. U/S director is split between the 2 DMC programs and St. John’s, not sure how that works. Residents are taken care of very well – benefits, food

Cons – community program that’s fairly new, just a weird feel about the program compared to other Detroit programs

10) University of California San Francisco Fresno –
4 year community and academic that does 10s. PD and chairman are both changing. The ED is huge and boasts the largest catchment area of all programs. Program has some of the best benefits that I have come across on the trail. Fresno doesn’t have a lot to do unless you like the idea of driving 1-2 hours to get to the mountains or 3-4 hours to get to SF or LA. COL is very low, but Fresno is sketchy.

Cons – 4 years. Fresno isn’t for me, but the program is so good that it’s gotta be up on the list.

11) University of Florida Gainesville –
New 3 year academic program that does 8s in a small college town of 150k. Currently transitioning from 8 to 14 residents a year because the volume has increased dramatically. When asked about problems in the program, resident mentioned that trauma was a lot of BS scutwork and that the ED is where you ‘learn to manage trauma’. Peds is not longitudinal even though they have their own peds hospital.

Cons – Gainesville isn’t the best, new program so no alumni, SO had a very weird interview day

12) University of Nebraska –
Newer 3 year academic program with lots of education resources, that does 12s during pgy1 and 10s pgy2-3. Graded responsibility and no pod acuity system. The PD is one of the most down to earth people met on the trail. Omaha isn’t the most diverse or greatest places, but COL is low and the benefits and pay is one of the best among all my programs at 67k.

Cons – Omaha isn’t exactly urban. IM program is very average.

13) University of Kansas –
New 3 year academic program with a class size of 8. Program has longitudinal peds experience at Childrens Mercy with 2 shifts per month. Volume is very low at 55k. Only in house fellowship is US. Seems like trauma is not as common and is mostly done by surgery rather than EM. KC is not bad, but very spread out.

Cons – IM program apparently is very average.

14) Drexel University –
3 year academic and community program in the middle of Philadelphia, which is a nicer city than I expected, but I am also from a rust belt city so I like that vibe. Main at HUH, St. Chris for peds, Mercy for ICU and community, Miso-something for community), perceived as the weakest EM program in the city proper (competes with UPenn, Temple, Einstein, Thomas Jefferson), 10s pgy1/3, 12s pgy2. Fellowships in house (peds, tox, sim), new PD as of June, still on probation for unknown reason, good ICU experience - only EM people at Mercy ICU, one chief resident already burnt out and going into pain fellowship

Cons – Probation, overworked residents to the point of burnout in a senior, just transitioned from paper charts a few months ago

15) Harbor-UCLA –
4 year county program that does 10s with hard sign outs. Longitudinal pediatrics experience that is very strong as they have a peds EM fellowship. Main ED with 3 community sites. Trauma is mixed into the ED and not a completely separate month needed for trauma/procedures. Third and fourth years seemed very confident and well read, but just weren’t friendly. LA traffic is the worst I have ever experienced and hospital is in Torrance. COL is just silly. Faculty was also a bit abrasive and felt like there was an unfriendly hierarchy among attendings and residents.

Cons – LA traffic, COL, people are just not real in every sense of the word. SO didn’t get an IV nearby.

16) NY-Presbyterian –
4 year academic program split between two EDs (Columbia and Cornell). Consultants are all very strong as is the medicine program, so there is some headbutting. EM program is perceived as the weaker of the specialties in the institution. Program does unrelenting number of 12 hour shifts that become 14s because of poor hand offs and commute. Trauma is not a thing in Manhattan. Spanish is a must at Columbia which is great. COL is the worst and you will be poor, very poor. Pediatrics is strong with Morgan Stanley. Columbia is currently being renovated. Two of the residents told the students they would not choose to go to that program or NYC if they could do it again. NYC medicine mentality is work work work and because of this, 3 suicides in the last couple of years, 2 within the Columbia-Cornell system. This place is the example of malignant. PD interactions felt fake. If you like the NYC grind and personalities, NYP is for you - work hard, play.. on a budget.

Cons – malignant, COL (cost of living? Not sure if you’re living), unjustified 4 year, not as well respected compared to all other specialties at Cornell/Columbia. Decided not to apply to NYC at all after coming here.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 240s, COMLEX 600s/600s
EM rotations: HP/HP/HP
Medical school region: Southeast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Well-rounded, some global health experiences, but no real research

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Fit with the program, job opportunities for SO, 3>4 with some exceptions. Cost of living

1) Palmetto Health -
Pros: just had a really good gut feeling about this program. It was my best interview day, everyone I met seemed to love where they were. Cheap COL, and Columbia had a small, but welcoming city feel. Great US experience and PD encourages residents to find an area of interest outside of just "getting a job". Great preparation for life after residency and this program definitely provides awesome opportunities for residents (global health, Hawaii, senior retreat). Very flexible scheduling.

Cons: People say it's hot - no problem for me. Hate winter. I think they still work a decent amount of 12 hour shifts.

2) UTHSCSA -
Pros: as stated by others. The residents seemed to really be happy here. San Antonio is a cool city. Great weather, cheap COL, lots to do

Cons: far from family for both SO and myself. It is a newer program, but I doubt anyone comes out of here with any problems

3) ECU/Vidant -
Pros: hidden gem, very busy ED. Greenville is close to family. Greenville isn't a terrible town, pretty much everything you need and a cute downtown area.

Cons: College town, so not too much going on, but Raleigh and the beach aren't terribly far.

4) CHRISTUS Spohn -
Pros: This place is so chill. The residents are all very nice, and love to spend time with each other. Can't complain about being so close to the beach. Unopposed residency so TONS of procedures, and great teachers.

Cons: Corpus is kinda isolated, and not a ton to do if you don't feel like being in a beach town. However, San Antonio and Houston are not too far away. SO worried about finding a job here. Like stated before, far from family.

5) Kent Hospital -
Pros: very easy going residents and PD and APD. They seem to have a lot of fun outside of work. Providence seems like a neat town, and they have great outside rotations. Never been to New England other than to interview here, so could be a lot of fun to live here and explore Boston, etc. SO loves the idea of living here

Cons: it's cold, not a huge fan of the northeast. 4 years and newly accredited ACGME. The residents do a general surgery month and IM month, but sounded like they didn't do much scut work.

6) Einstein Philly -
Pros: great reputation, lots of pathology. ED is newer. SO could definitely find a job here, and close to some family.

Cons: I'm not a huge fan of Philadelphia. 4 years. The residents seem overworked and don't seem to spend a lot of time outside the hospital hanging out. 12 hour shifts that rotate thru a schedule of 3 days, 3 nights, 3 off. Lots of off service rotations. I've heard they sometimes have too many residents working in a pod.

7) Drexel -
Pros: 3 years. Great ICU experience. Not a lot of off-service rotations.

Cons: probation, Philadelphia. I just felt like I knew more about what I would be getting into at Einstein v Drexel, but I would be happy here too. Schedule includes a good chunk of 12 hour shifts. Similar scheduling to Einstein with 2 AM, 2 evening, 2 nights shifts.

8) Aventura -
Pros: everyone was super nice, and I think this would be a great place to train. Awesome SIM exposure at one of the best SIM labs in the country. Work 16 12 hour shifts, so lots of time off.

Cons: newer program, Miami is extremely expensive COL, but it's beautiful! I don't think the SO would be so happy here with the humidity and heat year-round.

9) Grand Strand -
Pros: sounds like will be a decent program in a few years at the busiest trauma center in SC. Cheap COL. Good mix of patient pathology. PD has started two other residencies before, so I'm sure this program won't have any problems.

Cons: Brand new program. 12 hour shifts. SO doesn't want to live here. Sounds like a lot of the patient population in winter is snow birds (but bc of this you get patients with real health problems), but in the summer you get shark attacks, etc.

Other:
Needless to say, I would be happy to match anywhere on my list. Good luck to everyone.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 235, Step 2: 250
EM rotations: 4x HP? Not sure though, honestly.
Medical school region: West Coast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Pretty well-rounded in general. Being a DO sure as hell didn't help.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location, Fit, Gut Feeling

1) UMKC -
Pros: KC is my home, would love to be able to move back near friends and family. Young, energetic faculty. Residents don’t just take the airway during traumas/resuscitations, they are very often running that ****. 2nd years are running a whole pod by themselves, definitely feel like you come out prepared to run an ED. Awesome peds hospital across the street, IIRC it’s mostly longitudinal peds shifts.

Cons: Pseudo-rounds q8h where everyone meets in the rounding room and discusses every patient. Can last up to 45 minutes.

2) Nebraska -
Pros: 2 words: Chihuly garden. Also, close to home. Omaha is a great city. Had an awesome interview day, felt like I really gelled with the faculty and residents. Hospital food is awesome.

Cons: 12 h shifts for interns.

3) Drexel -
Pros: PD Dr. Leber is one of the most laid back dudes I’ve ever met, and the rest of the core faculty really are committed to resident success. Loved Philly, it exceeded all of my greatest romantic expectations for living in a big city. Not worried about the probation, sounded like it was a clerical issue and that they had it handled. Very predictable schedule on ED months (2 days, 2 evenings, 2 overnights, 2 days off).

Cons: I’m sure this is the case everywhere, but one of the attendings I worked with was a seriously malignant personality. Might have trouble finding an affordable place to live. Seemed like nursing staff was always having trouble getting IVs, which resulted in residents doing that a lot. Definitely didn’t see that at the other hospitals I rotated at, but it’s not really a huge deal. I could use the practice.

4) University of Illinois - Peoria -
Pros: If I were making this list solely based on fit, this program would be #1. Again, core faculty were awesome, esp. PD Dr. Hafner and Clerkship Director Dr. Vincent. Huge catchment area. Cost of living is dirt cheap. Incredible facilities. The design of the ED is an achievement in itself, built in such a way that patients/families are never bothering nurses and docs. Simply unparalleled sim center as well.

Cons: Location, location, location. Reasonably close to home, but I could see my SO becoming real miserable real quick in central Illinois.

5) Hackensack -
Pros: This place really surprised me. Left with a great gut feeling. Great facilities. Proximity to NYC = great job opportunities for SO.

Cons: Proximity to NYC = high cost of living.

6) University of Florida - Jacksonville -
Pros: County program, safety net, tons of pathology, lots of traumas. 2nd years are responsible for highest acuity patients in 5-bed resuscitation area, and are given lots of autonomy in that regard. Faculty are awesome group of people. Hospital has dedicated peds ED. I really like Jacksonville as a city.

Cons: Legit rounding q8h. Literally the only thing holding me back from ranking them higher.

7) Western Michigan -
Pros: Loved the EMS opportunities. Starting 2nd year, residents take shifts in their own little EMS SUV, responding to all cardiac arrests in the field and running them. Cool little experience. Also solid helicopter experiences as well. Kalamazoo is a neat town, lots of breweries. VERY strong critical care experiences. Had a great interview with the residents.

Cons: Job opportunities for SO lacking. Interview with Department Head (who by all accounts is an asset to the program) left a bad taste in my mouth. Seemed very dismissive of my responses to his questions.

8) Toledo - Mercy St. Vincent
Pros: All-around solid program.

Cons: Toledo. PD was absent on interview day, which was a bad look. They had interns interviewing, which I don’t really think is a problem, but I wasn’t impressed with the attitude of the one interviewing me.

Other:
Honorable mention: Summa Akron. Loved the program, would have ranked them very highly, but they cleaned house and lost accreditation. If by some miracle they bring back SEA (the old EM group) and win their appeal, I would be happy to SOAP here.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 250s
EM rotations: P (pass/fail home rotation)
Medical school region: Southeast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Took CS early enough to have scores when app opened. Few programs said I have a good SLOE. Few others said my regular LoR was great. Couple of interviewers said they liked my personal statement.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
The notorious "gut" feeling, resident happiness, procedure availability, location, warm weather. Honestly, about 99% of the residents and PDs I met on the trail were awesome and felt like I could work with them for three years (at least judging by interview day and/or pre-interview dinner). Undecided about either academics or community after residency. Not high on my considerations but I am not a fan of chaotic EDs with a bunch of hallway beds. I like to think I am fairly easy-going and would be happy at any of the programs I interviewed at, just maybe more happy at some than others.

1) UTSW:
Pros - crazy volume, liked the concept of being busy all shift, multiple fellowships available, liked Dallas, high salary, new Parkland is impressive, plenty of community months, chance to go to New Zealand, 10 hr shifts

Cons - may get too busy to do some procedures while at Parkland as an upper-level, trauma rotation doesn't sound great as an intern but maybe changing

2) Corpus Christi:
Pros - unopposed residency, lots of procedures, work with attendings on off-service, cool sim lab, beach town, awesome weather, low CoL, 9 hr shifts

Cons - low volume, in the middle of switching main hospital location, t-sheets (but have EPIC in peds hospital)

3) UAMS:
Pros - great philosophy by PD, loved the chairman, Little Rock is great, good volume/pathology available

Cons - 12 hour shifts on weekends

4) UAB:
Pros - liked their balance of autonomy vs supervision, residents get lots of procedures

Cons - alternate w/ anesthesia on level 1 trauma airways, 12 hour shifts on weekends

5) Jackson:
Pros - Good volume/pathology, well-established in hospital, moonlighting-friendly

Cons - all 12 hour shifts, cardiology floor month, transition from 4 to 3 year program

6) Tulsa:
Pros - One of my favorite PD's, lots of procedures

Cons - 12 hour shifts, colder winters than I expected, pediatric EM rotation in Oklahoma city (may change), work in fast track on weekends

7) UT Memphis:
Pros - procedure heavy program, my favorite ED layout

Cons - new program, 1 month of medicine wards

8) UT San Antonio:
Pros - PD and faculty were really cool, liked San Antonio

Cons - newer program, OB/Gyn rotation is ~3 hours away, 1 month of medicine wards

9) JPS:
Pros - procedure heavy program, best benefits, new hospital

Cons - Did not click with a few residents, pediatric EM is in Dallas

10) UT Houston:
Pros - See lots of traumas, getting a new ED, established program

Cons - not a fan of Houston, 12 hr shifts on weekends, carry code pager for hospital on some rotation

11) LSU Shreveport:
Pros - wonderful chairman, great pathology, layout of ED is cool, great cost of living

Cons - 1 month of medicine wards, 12 hr shifts on weekends, recently off probation, fast track shifts

12) LSU Baton Rouge:
Pros - Interesting population / mix of private and indigent population, 10 hr shifts

Cons - 1 month of medicine wards, mandatory white coat in ED, don't like Baton Rouge

13) UVA:
Pros - favorite program coordinator, scribes for all residents (except at night), new ED in 2019, track program is interesting

Cons - 1 month of medicine wards, facilities seem outdated & overcrowded, 12 hr shifts on weekends, OB & peds rotation is about 2-3 hrs away

14) Hackensack:
Pros - resident wellness emphasized, only home residency program, new med school that EM program will play a part in, scribes for 3rd years, cool sim lab

Cons - cold weather, Chairman didn't seem very friendly, high CoL, ~1/3 of shifts are 12 hrs

15) Louisville:
Pros - famous for autonomy, scribes for 2nd and 3rd years, run traumas as a PGY2

Cons - did not feel like I fit with residents I met, at least one SANE exam as an intern, checking out to 2nd and 3rd year residents

Other:
Applied at 38 total. Rejected from Emory, Vanderbilt, Chapel Hill, Carolinas, and Austin.

Canceled interviews at Wake Forest, UT Murfreesboro, and LSU NO.

 

[doggydog]

@doggydog note: Shouts out to this anonymous poster, very much enjoyed reading this one.
Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 220s, Step 2: 250s
EM rotations: HP/HP
Medical school region: West

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Only applied to 3 year programs. Applied 45, Offered 12 interviews.

Considerations: Avoiding Divorce, Seasonal Affective disorder, Fit, PD, Minimal 12s

1) Maricopa County -
Positives: PD very focused on resident wellness. 3 elective months. Many EM months. 9 hr shifts. Residents are fun and irreverent. Burn month. $15 for food/coffee. Sunshine, outdoors. 9 Hour shifts 20→18→16.

Negatives: Not a stroke center. New affiliation in the works.

Award: Best Facilities - Oldest used band-aids stuck to the floor.
Food: Chipotle Cherry Steak Tacos x2 + Margarita x2

2) UA Tucson South -
Positives: 9 hour shifts 20→19→18. Small, tight-knit residency. Very family-friendly and the faculty encourage you to integrate your family/loved ones into all the social events and gatherings. PD is legit. County program feel with financial/educational backing of a larger university. Tucson has good weather, is affordable and has a lot of outdoor stuff to do. El Charro. Medical Spanish in didactics through all three years. 70-30% split with main campus hospital.

Negatives: UA South facilities seem a bit run down. Trauma at the hospital where you spend 70% of your time is I think level 3 or 4.

Award: Faculty approachability: PD has a kegerator in her house and it is well used.
Food: *Home Cooked at PDs House* Green chili pork tacos. Freaking bomb. Washed down with 2 west coast IPAs. Got to play with PDs dogs which was a big

3) UA Tucson Main -
Positives: 9 hour shifts 20→19→18. Tucson is affordable, sunny, has guacamole, has salsa and has lots of outdoor activities. Monsoons are cool too. PD seemed like a cool guy, Chairman of ED is former PD and is very involved with upper level stuff. 30% of time spent at UA Tucson South.

Negatives: I just didn’t vibe with the program as much. They were a little more academic than I prefer. The resident dinner the night before seemed a bit stuffy to me and none of the residents really engaged us as applicants. I totally could have caught them on an off night or been in a weird mood myself though.

Award: Most Energizing: The main hospital pretty close to cartel coffee and sparkroot coffee. Both of which are ballin. Cartel is a little closer and their coffee will give you palpitations. 10/10 would recommend.
Food: El Charro.

4) Christiana -
Positives: 9 Hour Shifts (20,19,18), Sick Patient population with high admit/ICU, Month of nights so you only do a few night shifts for each EM month. Resident curriculum. Best training I saw overall. PD is very personable, residency has a great culture is personable/professional.

Negatives: Location, if warmer or closer to family probably would be number 2. Seriously I have no negatives about any aspect of the training.

Award: Most exciting atmosphere: Wilmington, Delaware where there is an average of 1 homicide per day with a population of 72k. Placing your odds at 1/72 of being murdered during your tenure as a resident.
Food: Assorted appetizers and Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA

5) Louisville -
Positives: 10 hour shifts. Autonomy from the get-go, you aren’t required to sign out your patients to attendings during 2nd year. You’re the top dog in all the traumas. Moonlighting is widely accepted and utilized. Treat you like an adult. Their conference was actually engaging. Scribes for year 2 & 3. Bourbon.

Negatives: Location. That’s about the only thing I can think of for them. I think if you’re more on the timid side than this program isn’t the best fit for you.

Award: Resident wellness: Bourbon Trail will ensure alcoholism during residency.
Food: Fried catfish with cornbread and slaw + Kentucky Mule.

6) New York Methodist -
Positives: Faculty have all been affiliated with the program for many years. Park Slope is an awesome community. Good mix of SES in patients. Trauma at Brookdale. 9hr shifts during the week.

Negatives: COL in NYC. Cold. 12hr shifts Fri-Sun. Residents are workhorses (IVs/patient transport)

Award: Best entertainment - Greatest ability to skip applicant dinner and see Louis CK at Madison Square Garden.
Food: They catered from Wholefoods for interview day lunch, which felt classy.

7) Miami/Jackson Memorial -
Positives: PD is engaging. Miami is epic. Beaches, sun, Spanish, international feel. ED months are unique – split between Pods with various focuses. Several shifts in the cardiac/stroke/sepsis/peds pods per month to vary your experience. Ryder Trauma. 2 elective months.

Negatives: Program still new. Seemed like a bit of a free for all in the ED with the interns. Split time between two hospitals that are about 45 mins apart.

Award: Best Faculty - Physician whistling “No woman No cry” while coding a Rastaman, most “F” word utterances by a PD when highlighting the program.
Food: Assorted appetizers and a Mojito

8) Riverside -
Positives: PD and team seems like they know what they’re doing. Basically the PD poached Loma Linda’s faculty. SoCal. The faculty were dialed in and the hospital has solid volume. They offer a concierge service that will run errands for you during your shifts.

Negatives: Brand new program. Big emphasis on reimbursement, throughput and efficiency. Hospital/residency is run by a large physician group. Felt like I’d be working for the man. 22 10s per month as an intern. SoCal traffic.

Award: Most festive: I interviewed during the Riverside Festival of Lights..which was surprisingly kind of cool.
Food: Assorted appetizers + Generic red wine x2

9) WVU -
Positives: 9 hr shifts. Most supportive PD on the trail. Regularly texts residents. Family feel.Huge support from the hospital and surrounding area. Hospital shares the parking lot with WVU football stadium so I bet that’s fun. Very close knit group, very nice residents. Scribes years 2 & 3. Outdoors stuff.

Negatives: Location. Residents were all extremely nice, but I didn’t feel like fit as well. Morgantown is far from stuff.

Award: Best Patient Population – Eloped psychiatric patients holding an EM interviewee at pantomimed gunpoint.
Food: WV Hot Rod (Chicken Wrap) + Mountain Momma Pale Ale.

10) UF Gainesville -
Positives: Huge catchment area, very well respected regionally. Residents seemed very competent. Scribes years 2 & 3.

Negatives: Residents seemed tired. One resident mentioned how they fainted on a shift and after receiving IVF was required to finish her shift. 22 shifts (can’t remember 9 or 10hr) per 28 day cycle as an intern, conference time doesn’t count so potential to work 26/28 days. Academic/Research Heavy. Location.

Award: Best Nature - Highest likelihood of offspring being consumed by an alligator.
Food: Orange-Balsamic Salmon with mango-ginger quinoa + Sangria x2 (Winner)

 

[123987654]

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 250s
EM rotations: H/HP
Medical school region: Midwest

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
+ medium sized cities w/o traffic issues. 3>4 years. Reputation for competitive locations/markets in future.


IU -- love the combination of academic-ish community and county hospitals. great reputation. city better than it was!

Hennepin -- top notch US (an interest of mine), received advice from residents in other departments about how excellent the ED is (means more coming from other departments IMO). city is cold in winter but seems fun otherwise. Weak peds exposure.

Regions — some of the nicest, happiest residents I met on the trail. love the transparency of the program.

Maricopa — burn rotation sounds cool. PD excellent, very funny. Residents have a good time. Weather change would be nice, but summers seem a too hot.

Utah — Residents were great, everyone laid back. Love utah skiing/hiking/biking/city

MCW — all around great program. excellent peds. +city

UWisconsin — Loved the PD, the dept head, and the other attending interviews. residents were awesome. 3+1. Ortho experience meh. +city

Grand rapids/MSU — Easy living, residents happy. Old program.

Beth Isreal Deaconess — 3+1. great combination of community focus with academic resources. While Epic>everything else IMO, their EHR seemed cool. I loved visiting boston, but living in a big city isnt my thing.

Detroit Receiving — County-est hospital I interviewed at. Nice people. Detroit is an unusual city.

WashU — one of my favorites. Is 4 year, but with excellent resources for better training.

Mayo — Was worried about unique Mayo situation before interview. Was convinced i would see enough trauma and bread/butter to get good training. Easy living, great facilities.

Iowa — Midwest nice people. Nice facilities, easy living. Iowa city a little small when undergrads are removed.

Advocate Christ — fun residents. Too inbred. +reputation -big city.

OHSU — interesting place. very old, established program. Interview day underwhelming. Heard from multiple people that OHSU ED doesnt have good reputation in portland-EMS often takes sickest patients elsewhere. +City

Cook County — Wasn’t convinced 4 years worth it. +reputation -big city

Presence Resurrection — Maybe I came on a bad day. Residents tired. A little too many geriatrics for my liking. -big city

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 250s
EM rotations: HP/H/H

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location, reputation, residents ("fit"), county + academics exposure, diversity. No real preference between 3 vs 4 years. I think 3 years is sufficient, but there were a few programs that completely sold me on their fourth year.

1) Denver Health: Well established, highly respected program as old as emergency medicine itself. Was obviously impressed by the quality of their training (their seniors are freaking rockstars), but what took me by surprise was how at home I felt with the residents here. The intern class seemed really happy; intern who led the ED tour was hilarious. Did get the sense that they work very hard, but they also seem to have enough time for outdoor activities and hanging out. On top of the impressive country and trauma exposure they get, they rotate extensively at the University of Colorado ED, which is an impressive, massive facility with very modern, state of the art resources and innovate triaging. Denver is also a cool little city, which is a big plus. Off-service rotations seem very strong, which is a rarity amongst programs top EM programs. Current EMRA president is a PGY-3 at this program; big presence in academics and FOAMed.

2) USC-LAC:
Fantastic program with amazing faculty and pathology. Had a really great time at the social and felt like I would fit in well with their residents. All in all I would say that the training here is on par with my #1 choice, but the expensive cost of living and weaker off-service rotations brought it to a #2 on my list.

3) UCSF Fresno:
One of the best EM programs in CA, IMO. Sadly, the location seems to turn many people away. Was overall very impressed by their strong county exposure and pathology. Lots of outdoorsy spots to check out within .5-1.0 hour away from the city. Didn't seem to click with the residents here as well as I did with the residents at my #1 and #2, though.

4) Carolinas:
Without a doubt one of the best 3-year programs in the country. Resident wellness is a true priority to the program leadership. Their benefits are amazing, too. Location and somewhat elitist vibe brought it down to #4 on my list.

5) University of Cincinnati:
Where it all started... Had a blast interviewing there and was left speechless with the quality of their training. I would say Cincinnati is on par with DH and USC, but as many others have pointed out: Cincinnati is not that great of a city... The resident class is also not very diverse.

6) Emory:
Grady hospital seems to offer some truly remarkable pathology and top notch training. Upcoming PD seemed awesome.

7) Indiana University:
Yet another amazing 3 year program. Absolutely loved the residents and faculty here. Strong research opportunities and balanced county + academics exposure. I've worked with IU EM graduates and they were true examples of the type of doc I want to be when I group up. Ultimately the location was a huge factor in my ranking of IU.

8) Vanderbilt:
Very academic program, which I like. Well-known faculty and obviously a highly respected hospital system. Strong off-service rotations. I would be happy to match here, but realistically speaking I was somewhat disappointed by their patient volume and trauma exposure. Didn't click with the residents, and this was also one of the least diverse residencies I interviewed at.

Rest of List:
The bottom, in no specific order: Hennepin County, Stanford, UT Dallas, UT Austin

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: ~220, Step 2: ~245
EM rotations: H/H/H
Medical school region: Northeast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
MPH and a lot of publications

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location, 4year>3year, Research opportunities in public health, Diversity, Female leadership, Partner’s job opportunities, Family Friendly, No 12s

1) Brown -
Pros: This program is so freaking awesome. The faculty are doing such cool things, the residents are super interesting and fun to talk to, the range of hospitals you train at strike the perfect balance, the city is small but full of fun things to do, the cost of living is low, my spouse has job opportunities there, plenty of women in leadership positions.

I have no cons.

2) Yale -
Pros: Academic Power House with lots of public health research and initiatives, gorgeous campus and hospital, loved the residents and faculty, internal grants available for resident research, research support staff in the department, the cost of living is so affordable and the benefits package is competitive.

Cons: new haven isn’t too exciting but it’s not a deal breaker.

3) Highland -
Pros: This place is so awesome, county program that will train you so solidly, underserved population, small faculty with not a ton of research but the research and programs going on are in my wheelhouse, location is awe inspiring, would be an adventure to move out west, residents were fantastic, really cohesive group of people, unionized housestaff, very family friendly.

Cons: cost of living, meh they still do wards

4) BMC -
Pros: Baller county program serving an underserved population. Really awesome progressive public health initiatives coming out of the program. Loved the faculty and residents that I met. I was torn between here and Highland for #3. Checked all the boxes for my partner on location and family friendliness, unionized housestaff. This was a very very close 4.

Cons: I’m just not that into Boston?

5) GW -
Pros: Talk about public health and policy opportunities! GW had so much to offer someone like me. I loved this place, the faculty were fantastic, the residents were warm and helpful, facilities are nice, work life balance is well cared for, plenty of parents in the class, lots of diversity.

Cons: Not super great for my partner and honestly I’m not sure how much I want to be in DC with this administration

6) Baylor -
Pros: Underserved population, Lots of public health work to be done, loved every single person I met there, I was high on this place for days after my interview, truly truly family friendly and really sell themselves on that, affordable, good location for my family, PD is awesome, great on diversity.

Cons: 3yr, TX might be too Red for me

7) Emory -
Pros: ATL is awesome, Emory is a research powerhouse, connections to the CDC, research in my interest areas, good work life balance, Grady is my kind of place, good location for my family.

Cons: 3 years, didn’t gel quite as much with folks as I did other places

8) Baystate -
Pros: loved the PD, the residents, they were truly family friendly, underserved population, balance between work/life/study time prioritized, affordable living.

Cons: 3 year, not a lot of faculty interested in the same kind of work as I am.

9) U of Chicago -
Pros: Great crit care training, killing it on diversity and female leadership, great job placements, plenty of research opportunities if you have time, LOVED the PD.

Cons: 3 year, no one in the program had kids, long commutes to far flung sites.

10) UMass -
Pros: Great hospital, solid training, faculty are amazing, location works well for my family.

Cons: 3yr and kind of a bro scene- overwhelmingly white dudes.

11) Cooper -
Pros: The dept chair is so amazing and nice! They have a really great community and you can tell because no one ever wants to leave. Lots of cool public health stuff going on in Philly/Camden area. Gorgeous facilities- my god.

Cons: But it was 3 yrs and I also didn’t love the residents as much as I did at other places. Fit factor wasn’t there.

12) UPenn -
Pros: I absolutely loved Penn and if it hadn’t been for the 12s I might have put it at #2 or #3. The research was so on point for me, strong female leadership, mentorship opportunities with people I really admire. Loved the residents and the vibe. Philadelphia is an awesome city that is affordable with plenty of culture and good food.

Cons: But realistically 2 years of straight 12s was not going to work for my family. Residents actually complained that they were more exhausted on their EM months than their off service rotations and that was odd and worrying to me

13) UMD -
Pros: Baltimore seemed like a fun city, the program is baller, proximity to DC would position you well for public health/policy work. Residents were lovely.

Cons: it is a 3 year with 12s.. not my jam. And the PD kind of rubbed me the wrong way at times.

14) Stanford -
Pros: Great research opportunities, really cool PD, gorgeous location.

Cons: 12s, long commutes, lots of transitions afoot, cost of living

15) Mount Sinai and 16) NYP
Cons - I just decided against NYC and I also really didn’t like the vibe at NYP.

Other:
Declined interviews from: Denver, LSUNO, Maine Med, Detroit Sinai Grace, Henry Ford, Dartmouth, NY Methodist, Stony Brook, SUNY Brooklyn, UMichigan, Hackensack, Christiana

Waitlisted/Rejected from: UCSF, UConn, Cook, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Harvard BI, MGH, Detroit receiving, Albert Einstein, Jefferson, Temple, NYU, Vandy, UT Austin, UT Houston, UWashington, UNC, Carolinas, UCLA harbor, UCLA OV, USC, Advocate Christ, UVA, Rutgers, OHSU

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: >250s, Step 2: >250s, Step 2 CS: Pass
EM rotations: HP/H/H
Medical school region: South
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Good SLOEs (so I was told and probably the most important factor) and a lot of community service

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
The couples match dominated my ROL. I had to cancel a lot of interviews and base my entire interview selection and ROL on where my partner (hoping to do competitive surgical subspecialty) got interviews. After that it was the program, location, and partner's opinion probably in that order

1) UPMC -
Pros: Really enjoyed the interview day and felt like the residents were really laid back and just generally funny people; I loved the faculty and thought some of these were my best interviews; really great EMS experience with the famous "Jeep" that is not actually a Jeep and the ability to be in charge whilst in the "Jeep"; family in Pittsburgh and also a great program for my SO; affordable city

Cons: I feel like they generally work a lot harder than other people and this was the biggest complaint of the residents; Peds is not my ideal set up- I prefer longitudinal shifts interspersed in all the EM months and they do sets of up 2 weeks at a time per season (I think... this was like 3 months ago when I interviewed here)

2) IUSM -
Pros: this is the actual number one in my heart and I will be so thrilled if we match here; alas, the program for my partner is just so, so hence why it is number two. I loved the residents here and I love the scholarly tracks. I also really like the two hospital system and the variety of patient experiences you get to see at the two training sites; the critical care experience is really unique in that you are one on one with the attending. Indianapolis is a really cool city and very affordable. Most of what I liked about this program is just about the feel from interview day.

Cons: only relevant con is that my partner didn't like it as much

3) Emory -
Pros: this is objectively a great program and Grady is really well known. Atlanta is awesome and we have family there, as well. Lots of opportunity to pursue whatever interests I may have and a great program for my partner. Residents really nice and friendly - seemed very normal and down to earth.

Cons: I had a really weird interview day here with awkward interviews and was not a huge fan of the current PD- she and I just didn't click right off the bat.

4) Cincinnati -
Pros: another great program for me, but not too great for the partner. Awesome faculty, arguably the best EMS experience with the most flight experience. A lot of opportunity here to pursue whatever fellowship and a great start in pursuing academics.

Cons: 4 years; cincinatti is a little dodgy

5) MetroHealth -
Pros: Another program with 2 hospital experience where you get the benefit of working at a very academic place (cleveland clinic) as well as a county type hospital. This place also has a flight program, though not as robust as cincinatti. Cleveland is pretty affordable and is going through a revitalization like a lot of mid size midwest cities.

Cons: It's still cleveland

6) Kentucky -
Pros: really fun group of residents and it seems like they see a lot of interesting pathology; Lexington is a college town and has everything you'd need to get by and it is really just a beautiful part of the country. Based on my discussion with the PD, it seems like he really pushes you to be the best you can be and will guide you into whatever career you see for yourself

Cons: lackluster in terms of EMS compared to other programs

7) Wash U -
Pros: Another strong program that has ample elective time and takes the time to carve you into whatever you want to be. The name is also something to consider...

Cons: The 4th year seems kind of just like cheap labor for the hospital and isn't so much geared to career advancement IMO

8) Baylor Scott and White -
Pros: Hands down one of the nicest PDs. He is very dedicated to making this program into something big. The residents are really laid back and like they mention about 10 times on interview day- you can buy a house in Temple, TX. They see a variety of pathology and interesting, non GSW trauma. My partner LOVES this place and would rank it in the top three if he was on his own.

Cons: GSWs don't happen too much in Temple, TX. Most importantly to me, Temple is really a small town- the smallest on this list and I think that is the only worthwhile con. Nonetheless, its a big one.

9) U of Tennessee- Memphis -
Pros: These residents have crazy numbers- I met one second year who had over 200 intubations! They see a lot of different things including trauma, even though they are still working on improving the trauma experience. Residents are great- super relaxed and funny. I would rank this a lot higher if it were not considered a "malignant" program for my partner's specialty.

Cons: Memphis is rough, but it is also seeing a big turn around. It's a new program, so there is that. But it does have 10 year accreditation status so there is nothing huge to worry about except for working out the kinks that go along with starting something new.

10) Mayo -
Pros: The name; the residents; cheapness of Rochester; all the cool toys the Mayo ER residents get to play with

Cons: Rochester is literally in the middle of nowhere and when I interviewed there, it was 5 degrees. That would be a big change for me and the thought of having to shovel my driveway before work is cringe worthy. Though it has the name, I worry about bread and butter things in ER. Yes you will be able to handle a person with whatever CC and x, y, z cancer and complications, but I wonder if they ever see just ordinary people and ordinary trauma.

11) Grand Rapids -
Pros: Solid training; residents seem like normal, funny people; for a city that was never on my radar before, Grand Rapids is really beautiful and has a ton to offer in terms of outdoor activities, living, and eating

Cons: I don't really like how the ER is somewhat run by private physicians. I think its misleading to publish numbers like 120k visits per year only to find out that the residents only see a portion of those, while the rest are seen by private attendings. Honestly, this program just didn't stand out to me and while it would be a fine place to train, it didn't seem like a great place for people who want to go into academics.

12) USF -
Pros: I like the PD and I like how she really cares about the wellness of her residents. I guess I can see the appeal of living in Tampa but I am not a huge Florida person. They have good critical care experience with a fellowship after, which would keep me busy for the extra years while I would be stuck in Tampa. My partner likes this place..

Cons: They work 12 hour shifts and I met a second year who said he only had 35 intubations and that kind of struck me as odd and not the norm... hopefully its just that one guy. Okay I lied, I really don't like Tampa. It seems like you either live like Derek Jeter in a mansion on the beach or you don't. The in between is not great.

13) Albany
Pros: This is a really solid program with what seems like pretty good training. I actually really enjoyed my interview day here and would rank it a lot higher if it were not for my partner. I really liked the PD, and I get the sense they are trying to make this a much more academic place to train.

Cons: Albany is really far away from every single person and thing I know.

14) New Mexico
Pros: This is a good EM program with a lot of different opportunities. i like that they really serve the underserved and there is a lot to learn from working with this population. Abq is really pretty and there are a ton of things to do outside. This would be higher in my personal list.

Cons: not a great place for my partner and I only met two interns on my interview day. The resident turn out at the dinner was also abysmal with one resident showing up with a fellow, who didn't train at UNM, and a PA.

15) Jackson Memorial Hosp- Miami
Pros: Jackson Memorial Hosp is a well established hospital, and even though this is a new program, there is a lot of support from the other residencies within the hospital.

Cons: Both my partner and I hate Miami. We had an extra day to spend there and we spent most of the time in traffic. There is something about the attitude of this program that I just don't gel with. I tried to ask about their optional fourth year/ fellowship and I didn't get a straight answer, which makes me think a lot still needs to be worked out curriculum wise in this new program.

Rest of the list:
Honorable mentions that are going in my solo rank list without a matchable option for my partner:

Brown:
Loved this place. The PD is awesome and so are the residents. Heavy critical care experience and great faculty. Providence is a beautiful place and seems affordable enough.

JPS:
The residents are some of my favorite here and the same goes for the faculty. I see big things coming for JPS and the PD is definitely taking the program in that direction. The hospital is a county hospital, but with money- you get the benefit of treating the poor and underserved but the residents have everything they need to get that done in the best way possible. Had my partner received an interview in the Dallas area, this would have been high on our lists

Other:
Declined interviews: Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Beth Isreal, BUMC, UVA, Cooper, Advocate Christ, Ohio State, UTSW, Denver, Henry Ford, Wisconsin, Stanford, Oregon, Alameda Health, UCLA- Olive View, Baylor, UC San Diego, and more

Outright rejected: UNC (still burns); USC; New York Presby (actually no love from NYC schools), UC San Fran

Waitlisted: Regions, Maryland, Northwestern

Silent rejections: MGH, Montefiore, Cook County, U Chicago, U of Missouri- Columbia, Duke, U of Florida in Gainesville, Wright State, UCLA- Harbor, Medical college of Wisconsin, Hennepin, Yale, Mount Sinai, NYU, UC Irvine, U penn, Maricopa, VCU, Utah, Southern Illinois, U Mass

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 230s, Step 2: 240s
EM rotations: H/H
Medical school region: Northeast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Med school/home EM pedigree, a lot of publications, a particular extracurricular accomplishment that seemed to be a big deal with interviewers.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
~Years: 3>>4 yrs
~Shifts: 8's > 9's >>>> 10's >>>>>>>>>>> 12's
~Rotations: ED >>>>> ICU >>>>>>>>>>> Floors
~Location: Big city/proximity >>> small city/rural
~Style: Academic > Community > County
~Interview day vibe (PD/residents/interviewers)
~Benefits/allowance package
~More vacation the better
~Girlfriend's preferences

1) Mayo:
Pros - The Mayo Clinic name speaks for itself. As someone interested in administration/business opportunities tangential to medicine, having the pedigree to pull authority will be invaluable -- likely only surpassed by "Harvard" and tied with "John Hopkins" [sic] with the layman. FORTUNATELY, branding aside, I loved the actual program and it checked all my boxes. 3 years, 8 hour shifts+1 hour cleanup, no IM floor months, mandatory off service rotations that are both unique AND interesting to me (hand surgery -- this was an interest of mine in med school, emergency psych -- I was going to specialize in this before landing on EM, etc.) Built-in research month.... plus ~4 elective months (unheard of in a 3 yr program). Lifestyle: you do one month of ALL nights and as a result only have 1 or 2 night shift during your other ED months. Huge. I personally don't mind Rochester as a locale. It is safe and reasonable cheap. In fact, it was rated among the top places to live in the US. There were some tasty food venues right in town. If we want more, Twin Cities - only an hour drive away. AWESOME trackboard -- something so integrated into one's daily practice should be highly efficient and functional (Mayo did a great job with their custom build). I'm not afraid of the cold. Can do some regular rotation months at other Mayo sites (Arizona, etc). There is flight and international opportunities. I enjoy the Mayo culture and patient population. Nonexistent commute times to work. Wonderful people.

Cons - Girlfriend is afraid of the cold (but willing to "tolerate" it for 3 years). Only 3 weeks vacation. Salary and allowance isn't remarkable. One of my interviewers was very lukewarm.

2) University of Chicago:
Pros - Best PD on the trail! All my interviewers were wonderful -- so talkative and friendly! Every resident I met was cool and down to earth. Good name outside medicine. Old and established program. Pretty unique flight experience integrated into the curriculum. Mix of shift length, hate 12's (but they result in every other weekend being a 3-day weekend - so at least there's incentive). Decent benefits, 4 weeks vacation. Love Chicago amenities. My girlfriend's #1 pick (despite also being cold). They wrote me a love letter -- how sweet ;-) Wonderful people.

Cons - Chicago traffic (some far hospital sites). Housing largely sucks in U Chicago area. Little curricular autonomy.

3) UPMC:
Pros - Powerhouse in EM, good variety of sites, family nearby, nice allowance. Enjoyed time with the PD. Pittsburgh is very affordable! Wonderful people.

Cons - Only 3 weeks vacation, minimal curricular autonomy (1 elective in 3rd year).

4) UC Riverside:
Pros - Really sold the interview day. Very cool PD. All interviewers were super friendly and interested. Very busy community hospital about 40 minutes outside LA. Very affordable city for CA. Good amount of amenities across the Inland Empire. 4 weeks vaca. Concierge service for residents. Unlimited starbucks. There's something romantic about being able to say you were the FIRST class of residents through the program. Girlfriend head over heels for California. Wonderful people.

Cons - ...There's something scary about being the FIRST class of residents through the program... especially one at a hospital that prides itself in already running like a well-oiled machine when it comes to patient flow.

5) Henry Ford:
Pros - Best program in Detroit, maybe MI (sorry wolverines). Nice PD. Awesome residents. Wonderful people.

Cons - Girlfriend not big on Detroit.

6) USF:
Pros - Weather was nice, so were the beaches. Nice hospital views.

Cons - Not a big fan of Tampa as a city. 20+ 12's per month. Interviewers were pretty strange -- from one that refused to shake hands (i.e. "I don't shake hands"), to another that "couldn't understand" why I was interviewing at their program.

7) UC Fresno:
Good solid program in California. However, it is 4 years...and SoCal > NorCal.

8) Northwestern:
Good name. Great program in great part of Chicago. Seemed pretty heavy on academic angle. Being 4 years made it plummet down the ranks.

9) U Michigan:
Solid name. I liked it a lot. They wrote so many love letters (warm and fuzzies). Again, being a 4 year program made it plummet down my list.

10) New York Presbyterian:
Good name (via Columbia/Cornell). Similar to the two programs above it --seemed solid, but 4 years. Also heard some resident rumblings about being overworked. Why risk it? Down the rankings you fall.

11) Presence Resurrection:
Pros - 3 year program. It's in Chicago...kinda.

Cons - My interview with the PD was awkward and riddled with strange questions.

12) Myrtle Beach:
Pros - New 3 year program. Enjoyed the beach and seafood.

Cons - 12 hour shifts. Wasn't really sold on the programs future GREATness (I'm sure they will be good though).

13) Beaumont:
Pros - 3 year program. Royal Oak is a cool locale outside larger Detroit.

Cons - Residents seemed a tad "off". PD gave a very egotistical vibe.

14) Drexel:
Cons - Recent probation. Residents seemed burnt out. One resident said some offensive things to another applicant, which despite not being directed towards me, still turned me off. VERY uninspiring tour. Two interviewers basically said residency is "all about moving the meat"... uh, maybe at community shops without residencies. I'm going to residency to learn to be a competent doc, not to move patients for you with education being far secondary to that. Philly is super expensive for what it is (larger Pittsburgh). Considered not ranking this.

NOT RANKING:
MetroHealth. A few residents said "go anywhere else". Others belabored on how they were overworked and that administration doesn't really listen to resident requests regarding improvements/wellness. Overheard a woman attending listening to a resident's presentation, she was extremely mean about it -- maybe they hated each other? Maybe just her style. I don't know their history, but it was a MAJOR turn off as an applicant seeing that. One interviewer was condescending and another said "we don't get a lot of interviewers at our program from your school. Why should I take you seriously?" (Compared to USF's version, the wording was extra annoying here -- maybe take me seriously because I took the time and money to come interview at your program?) Cleveland is old and dreary, but had some cool food venues. Rather SOAP than go here.

Other:
Did not attend interviews at: Brown, Dartmouth, WVU, Kent, Lincoln, NY Methodist, U Florida, UF Jacksonville, LSU Baton Rouge, LSU NO, Allegheny, Jefferson, Temple.

 

[bananasinpijamas]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: >250s, Step 2: >250s, Step 2 CS: Pass
EM rotations: HP/H/H
Medical school region: South
Any part of your application that made you more competitive:
Good SLOEs (so I was told and probably the most important factor) and a lot of community service

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
The couples match dominated my ROL. I had to cancel a lot of interviews and base my entire interview selection and ROL on where my partner (hoping to do competitive surgical subspecialty) got interviews. After that it was the program, location, and partner's opinion probably in that order

1) UPMC -
Pros: Really enjoyed the interview day and felt like the residents were really laid back and just generally funny people; I loved the faculty and thought some of these were my best interviews; really great EMS experience with the famous "Jeep" that is not actually a Jeep and the ability to be in charge whilst in the "Jeep"; family in Pittsburgh and also a great program for my SO; affordable city

Cons: I feel like they generally work a lot harder than other people and this was the biggest complaint of the residents; Peds is not my ideal set up- I prefer longitudinal shifts interspersed in all the EM months and they do sets of up 2 weeks at a time per season (I think... this was like 3 months ago when I interviewed here)

2) IUSM -
Pros: this is the actual number one in my heart and I will be so thrilled if we match here; alas, the program for my partner is just so, so hence why it is number two. I loved the residents here and I love the scholarly tracks. I also really like the two hospital system and the variety of patient experiences you get to see at the two training sites; the critical care experience is really unique in that you are one on one with the attending. Indianapolis is a really cool city and very affordable. Most of what I liked about this program is just about the feel from interview day.

Cons: only relevant con is that my partner didn't like it as much

3) Emory -
Pros: this is objectively a great program and Grady is really well known. Atlanta is awesome and we have family there, as well. Lots of opportunity to pursue whatever interests I may have and a great program for my partner. Residents really nice and friendly - seemed very normal and down to earth.

Cons: I had a really weird interview day here with awkward interviews and was not a huge fan of the current PD- she and I just didn't click right off the bat.

4) Cincinnati -
Pros: another great program for me, but not too great for the partner. Awesome faculty, arguably the best EMS experience with the most flight experience. A lot of opportunity here to pursue whatever fellowship and a great start in pursuing academics.

Cons: 4 years; cincinatti is a little dodgy

5) MetroHealth -
Pros: Another program with 2 hospital experience where you get the benefit of working at a very academic place (cleveland clinic) as well as a county type hospital. This place also has a flight program, though not as robust as cincinatti. Cleveland is pretty affordable and is going through a revitalization like a lot of mid size midwest cities.

Cons: It's still cleveland

6) Kentucky -
Pros: really fun group of residents and it seems like they see a lot of interesting pathology; Lexington is a college town and has everything you'd need to get by and it is really just a beautiful part of the country. Based on my discussion with the PD, it seems like he really pushes you to be the best you can be and will guide you into whatever career you see for yourself

Cons: lackluster in terms of EMS compared to other programs

7) Wash U -
Pros: Another strong program that has ample elective time and takes the time to carve you into whatever you want to be. The name is also something to consider...

Cons: The 4th year seems kind of just like cheap labor for the hospital and isn't so much geared to career advancement IMO

8) Baylor Scott and White -
Pros: Hands down one of the nicest PDs. He is very dedicated to making this program into something big. The residents are really laid back and like they mention about 10 times on interview day- you can buy a house in Temple, TX. They see a variety of pathology and interesting, non GSW trauma. My partner LOVES this place and would rank it in the top three if he was on his own.

Cons: GSWs don't happen too much in Temple, TX. Most importantly to me, Temple is really a small town- the smallest on this list and I think that is the only worthwhile con. Nonetheless, its a big one.

9) U of Tennessee- Memphis -
Pros: These residents have crazy numbers- I met one second year who had over 200 intubations! They see a lot of different things including trauma, even though they are still working on improving the trauma experience. Residents are great- super relaxed and funny. I would rank this a lot higher if it were not considered a "malignant" program for my partner's specialty.

Cons: Memphis is rough, but it is also seeing a big turn around. It's a new program, so there is that. But it does have 10 year accreditation status so there is nothing huge to worry about except for working out the kinks that go along with starting something new.

10) Mayo -
Pros: The name; the residents; cheapness of Rochester; all the cool toys the Mayo ER residents get to play with

Cons: Rochester is literally in the middle of nowhere and when I interviewed there, it was 5 degrees. That would be a big change for me and the thought of having to shovel my driveway before work is cringe worthy. Though it has the name, I worry about bread and butter things in ER. Yes you will be able to handle a person with whatever CC and x, y, z cancer and complications, but I wonder if they ever see just ordinary people and ordinary trauma.

11) Grand Rapids -
Pros: Solid training; residents seem like normal, funny people; for a city that was never on my radar before, Grand Rapids is really beautiful and has a ton to offer in terms of outdoor activities, living, and eating

Cons: I don't really like how the ER is somewhat run by private physicians. I think its misleading to publish numbers like 120k visits per year only to find out that the residents only see a portion of those, while the rest are seen by private attendings. Honestly, this program just didn't stand out to me and while it would be a fine place to train, it didn't seem like a great place for people who want to go into academics.

12) USF -
Pros: I like the PD and I like how she really cares about the wellness of her residents. I guess I can see the appeal of living in Tampa but I am not a huge Florida person. They have good critical care experience with a fellowship after, which would keep me busy for the extra years while I would be stuck in Tampa. My partner likes this place..

Cons: They work 12 hour shifts and I met a second year who said he only had 35 intubations and that kind of struck me as odd and not the norm... hopefully its just that one guy. Okay I lied, I really don't like Tampa. It seems like you either live like Derek Jeter in a mansion on the beach or you don't. The in between is not great.

13) Albany
Pros: This is a really solid program with what seems like pretty good training. I actually really enjoyed my interview day here and would rank it a lot higher if it were not for my partner. I really liked the PD, and I get the sense they are trying to make this a much more academic place to train.

Cons: Albany is really far away from every single person and thing I know.

14) New Mexico
Pros: This is a good EM program with a lot of different opportunities. i like that they really serve the underserved and there is a lot to learn from working with this population. Abq is really pretty and there are a ton of things to do outside. This would be higher in my personal list.

Cons: not a great place for my partner and I only met two interns on my interview day. The resident turn out at the dinner was also abysmal with one resident showing up with a fellow, who didn't train at UNM, and a PA.

15) Jackson Memorial Hosp- Miami
Pros: Jackson Memorial Hosp is a well established hospital, and even though this is a new program, there is a lot of support from the other residencies within the hospital.

Cons: Both my partner and I hate Miami. We had an extra day to spend there and we spent most of the time in traffic. There is something about the attitude of this program that I just don't gel with. I tried to ask about their optional fourth year/ fellowship and I didn't get a straight answer, which makes me think a lot still needs to be worked out curriculum wise in this new program.

Rest of the list:
Honorable mentions that are going in my solo rank list without a matchable option for my partner:

Brown:
Loved this place. The PD is awesome and so are the residents. Heavy critical care experience and great faculty. Providence is a beautiful place and seems affordable enough.

JPS:
The residents are some of my favorite here and the same goes for the faculty. I see big things coming for JPS and the PD is definitely taking the program in that direction. The hospital is a county hospital, but with money- you get the benefit of treating the poor and underserved but the residents have everything they need to get that done in the best way possible. Had my partner received an interview in the Dallas area, this would have been high on our lists

Other:
Declined interviews: Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Beth Isreal, BUMC, UVA, Cooper, Advocate Christ, Ohio State, UTSW, Denver, Henry Ford, Wisconsin, Stanford, Oregon, Alameda Health, UCLA- Olive View, Baylor, UC San Diego, and more

Outright rejected: UNC (still burns); USC; New York Presby (actually no love from NYC schools), UC San Fran

Waitlisted: Regions, Maryland, Northwestern

Silent rejections: MGH, Montefiore, Cook County, U Chicago, U of Missouri- Columbia, Duke, U of Florida in Gainesville, Wright State, UCLA- Harbor, Medical college of Wisconsin, Hennepin, Yale, Mount Sinai, NYU, UC Irvine, U penn, Maricopa, VCU, Utah, Southern Illinois, U Mass

Dear god, you are an awesome applicant and you applied to a ton of places. Couples matching is rough
Whoever you are I hope your wallet a smooth recovery, and that things work out for you an your SO. Also, can't get over how random it is to be offered an interview or rejected, like you could have all honors and 270s or 230s and still it is a toss up at many programs.

 

[Apollyon]

The bottom, in no specific order: Hennepin County, Stanford, UT Dallas, UT Austin

Still supremely lame.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

Still supremely lame.

Classic

 

[EMGui2017]

Still supremely lame.

I'm always interested when I see programs from my top 3 the "bottom other" category without an explanation! Makes me wonder what I am missing to feel so good about a place someone else didn't even care enough to write about

 

[deleted813736]

Asking for a friend, but if you forgot to certify on time because you edited your list and didnt recertify but you did once before, can you still participate in SOAP??

 

[jessk2015]

Baffled by the people who list the current administration as a con for DC programs?? Yeah DC is lame, but it doesn't get any better or worse (any more so than the rest of the country) based on who is in the White House.

I mean, I haven't exactly been running into Donald on the street.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[David Mitchell]

Asking for a friend, but if you forgot to certify on time because you edited your list and didnt recertify but you did once before, can you still participate in SOAP??

This was my greatest fear

 

[Emapplicant 2017]

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 250’s, Step 2: 260s; AOA
EM rotations: P/HP (Note: My home very few honors, was told I had good/great SLOEs, no red flags, but still wonder about that P…..)
Medical school region: South
Miscellaneous: Non-trad, little to no research, zero volunteering, didn’t have Step 2 in until late Nov, wish I had just done it earlier. Dont really care 3v4

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL: Focus on teaching, vibe, location, reputation. Want to do academics but more teaching than research

*Note a lot of this is from memory and the websites so I apologize if I got some details wrong. Wish I had taken better notes.

I would be stoked to match at any of the programs I interviewed at. I really liked all of them, my rank list changed a ton throughout, and I would encourage any future students to apply to them all.

1) Carolinas – Pros: Well-known program focused on teaching from what I can tell. Really treats its residents well. (Dragon, scribes, lots of CME money, often get done with night shift at 5a its seems.) Strongest program in the hospital, good mix of patients. Really like the PD Sandy Craig. 5 ICU months (also the website says that on off-service floor rotations PGY1 you get some more ICU patients…not sure what this actually means). Charlotte is a great place to live, and live close to hospital. 14 residents/year. Lots of my home attendings think very highly of grads from this program.
Cons: Its got the lowest amount of ED months for the 3 year programs I’m looking at. That said recently added another PGY1 EM month (in place of trauma), Ortho month is ED consults only, and those ED Months are busy. Also there are 3 elective months and its got enough of a reputation for putting out good physicians I’m not worried about it. ED seems kinda small and cramped but I shadowed for a second look and saw plenty of sick patients.
Miscellaneous: No CC or Med-Ed fellowship. Interns present to 3rd years in ambulatory section. One of the APDs I think is trying to get the possibility of an MBA for residents going (personally not interested).

2) Harbor UCLA – Pros: Family and friends in area. Obviously has a great name (old school names plus new-comers, WikEM, won multiple simwars). Switched from 3-4 years a few years ago to allow residents to do more research, per PD (though some previous review on SDN says it was to increase staffing). Did away here and pretty much all the attendings and residents were very nice and very interested in teaching. 8 hour shifts with one hour after for hand off/dedicated teaching time (attendings will actually have prepared power points). I *think* they only do 16-18 shifts per month (per EMRA match but could be wrong). County program so see lots of really sick patients with NPs taking lots of the low acuity (though residents will do RME shifts and work community to get that experience. Top program in hospital. Own trauma (run it, head of the bed/airway, primary/secondary survey, I think split procedures). Peds ED is very busy. See all the community type kids plus crashing kids as well. Great PEM faculty. Psych ED takes Psych patients off your hands. You can live in Redondo/Hermosa and get more of that typical LA vibe with commute more dependent on traffic and time of day (bad after getting off night shift), or live in Long Beach with 25mins door to door pretty much all the time. 16 residents/year.
Cons: 4 years: Hardly any EM your first year. ED orientation is actually at the beginning of 2nd year. I almost feel like I’d being doing a prelim year, followed by a 3 year program. ICU frontloaded on intern year. Not sure about strength of off-service rotations, COL, traffic, maybe not enough quaternary type patients. If I remember right you have to finish charting before you can leave but might be wrong. Nursing can be stretched a bit thin.
Miscellaneous: Salary starts low but goes up 5k each year. Free cafeteria meals, free parking.

3) UCLA Olive View - Pros: Family and friends in area. I think this program is going to really move in the right direction. Just got a great new PD from Wash U, their new chair was chief at Fresno for a long time, moved from division to department, hired 2 new APDs and are looking to bring in some new blood. This on top of an already established quality of clinical education and research (Hoffman/Moran/Talan/Mower; NEXUS, Abx for appy, IDnet, and lots of ACEP/Annals involvement) bodes very well for the future. Lots of EM/IM attendings (they used to have a combined program) really focused on teaching, and everybody gets along really well. Got the great mix of county and tertiary/quaternary plus Antelope Valley which sounds like the wild west. Strong off-service rotations. Made some recent curriculum changes (decreased IM month, new ICU admit rotation amongst other changes) Increasing class size should help with flexibility. 13->15 residents/year.
Cons: COL, 12 hr shifts (some may see as positive – more days off/week). As far as traffic goes, it depends on where you live. Many residents walk/bike to UCLA for half their shifts, and then you are driving against traffic for days at OV (25 mins), so its not too bad. It seems the really only bad drive is coming back from nights at OV which is 4xmonth. Can also live within biking distance of beach. Not much penetrating trauma.
Miscellaneous: Really really good health care benefits

4) Wash U – Pros: Family in area. Love the vibe of the ED. Lots of admin support there. Really great residents. Reminded me of the Fresno residents in being really in love with their program in a good way. Really liked all the interviewers and the PD. I think he is going to take this program places. He is very active in trying out new things, discarding them if they don’t work, and promoting resident education. Seems extremely responsive to residents and focused on teaching. Putting out some good academic work, per one of my home institution’s research attendings. Well known for Neuroemergencies. Integrated CC fellowship one of top in country for EM people and the residents benefit from this (Many ICU attendings are EM trained). Seem to have a great Peds ED experience where EM residents are looked to by the PEM faculty (Peds-> EM trained) to handle airways from the get go. In trauma always have airway, split running trauma. Can live very close to hospital affordably. Off –service rotations are clearly going to be strong. Just increased from 12 to 13 residents/year.
Cons: 4 years, bad EMR, less outdoors opportunities than the other places on my list, *only
Miscellaneous: Switching from bad in-house EMR to I think Epic in next 2 years which will be a drag during switch. 8s on weekdays, 12s on weekends. Videotape some traumas for review. Sent to Maricopa for OB month to get deliveries.

5) Cook County – Pros: Well known county program with a great focus on teaching. I loved the feel of the ED. Great vibe overall. Got the feeling that the APDs are very involved, more than any other program. Used to be a 2-4 program where you did a prelim intern year, now 1-4. Faculty seems very focused on teaching (I really liked every single interviewer), residents seem pretty happy. See a ton of sick patients and get a lot of procedures. PD is very laid back, supportive of residents. Lots of excellent community hospital experiences later on.
Miscellaneous: Very unique program…Pretty strict graduated level of responsibility. Trauma and peds experience different from most programs. There are only 4 Ped ED months, but you can see some random pediatric patients overnight in the Adult ED when the Peds ED closes, and you will see peds patients on the community hospital rotations.. Trauma is only 14 weeks throughout years 2-4, but when you are there all you do is see a disgusting amount of trauma and are heavily involved in managing patients and doing procedures. You will also put that knowledge to use in your community hospital shifts where I was told you get plenty of trauma, and get minor trauma during Adult ED shifts. Sounds like its different but works. I actually prefer medically sick patients so its fine for me. Offservice months sound hit or miss. Two IM floor months. Everyone loves burn ICU month intern year.
Cons: 4 years, Chicago is cold, the trauma and Peds situation may be negative for some. Not much ICU after 1st year. Definite county problems that can be frustrating – Scut, social work, resource poor environment.

6) UNM Albuquerque - Pros: Very cool program. All the residents seemed super happy, and the pre-interview dinner was super chill with lots of SOs and nurses etc. ABQ is kind of a funky little town. Super easy access to get out of the city into the outdoors. Great county experience/pathology with huuge catchment basin. Most people seem to really like aways here. They do have a boarding problem but they say the critical patients go up to the ICU quick which is nice. Its one thing to board a not too complicated patient and another to board someone you really have to watch. EM-CC faculty are like 2/3 of the STICU and there is a lot of ICU time. Lots of Md/PhDs doing research which isn’t my thing necessarily, but may be attractive for others. 40% going into academics which seems pretty high. Darren Braude well known for airway. Unique experience where you can work with RDMS ultrasonographer to get technically proficient. Ortho is ED consult month. 12 residents/year
Cons: Boarding can definitely be an issue. ABQ just feels kinda remote, not sure how well known outside of southwest, didn’t really click with the faculty I met.
Miscellaneous. No PICU but time in NICU receiving from OB for 2 weeks.

7) UCSF Fresno - My advisor said out of all the places I ranked, this might give me the best pure clinical training, but not so much academically. Incredible pathology, sick patients. Ive never seen more hallways patients. Lots of other services are not available so you do your own ENT/Optho which I see as a strength. For trauma, airway, primary and secondary survey, and there is pretty much always an EM guy on trauma service splitting procedures with ED resident. Strongest program at hospital. Residents all seemed really happy and really loved their program. The interim PD is likely to become the new PD and I really liked how upfront she was about the program. Told us how many people had left the program over the years (very few), the problems with boarding and what they were looking for. Attendings will pick up their own patients – which means they still know what its like to run their own patients. Lots of electives/tracks can be done longitudinally by reducing the amount of EM shifts/month and/or doing EM shifts during other rotations it seems. Next president of EMRA is from here. Seems like increasing EMRAP connection there. *Easy* to get to some of the best outdoors the US has to offer. 10 residents/year
Cons: Air quality was the biggest turnoff for me, have to live for 4 years in Fresno…. Boarding and not like UNM where at least ICU patients go up quickly. Only 2 months ICU per website (**edit* another person on SDN said there are also 2 TICU and 1 PICU months*) but sounds like with boarding you still manage these patients in the ED and get your ICU time there

8) U of A Tucson, University program Arizona – Pros: Heard from some people I trust its a really strong program. Solid CC, airway and cardiac resuscitation research going on (Apparently good state database.) Very strong critical care/EM connection. Curriculum is EM heavy. Residents were all very happy (though one rubbed me the wrong way very strongly). 2/3rds of the time at the main hospital, 1/3 at the more county South campus (where there is a sister EM residency.) Strong research program for residents: Scholar quest. Can also do subspecialty residency track. Tucson seems to be improving. 15 residents/year not including EM/Peds and South campus who you also work with.
Cons: Can’t do codes until you’ve done anesthesia and trauma rotations PGY1 which sucks if you don’t have them til the end. Hotter than Albuquerque but apparently you can get up into some higher elevation/cooler temps pretty easy when it gets real hot during the summer.
Miscellaneous: One of the few combined EM/Peds programs. Great salary for COL. Work with multiple attendings per shift. They keep the light pollution down at night so the observatories can see the stars – so you can too.

9) Emory Pros: Nationally well-known program for putting out great EM docs, and great research. The former PD who is now Vice Chair Philip Shane is a national speaker on resident education. The new PD is from Emory and did a Med-Ed fellowship and seems great. Best mix of county patients at Grady and seeing the really complex quaternary care patients at Emory University Hospital, plus some community time downtown. Very diverse class of residents. Atlanta has a lot to offer in terms of social life. The doc who took care of the Aurora, Coloroado shootings credited her ability to handle so many sick patients at once to training at Emory.
Miscellaneous . Separate trauma bay just for traumas, no medical resus there. New trauma chief who was just hired wants to increase EM running traumas, but I think at expense of surgeons sometimes doing airway (which I doubt they would actually do much???). The whole program has a very strong sense of mission. In fact, I was interviewed at another program by an Emory alumn, practically the first thing she asked me was “tell me about your volunteering experience.” 19 residents/year.
Cons – Not sure my personality fits here. Already assumed it to be very self taught place. And then that PGY2 on the review page saying there is little to no teaching (I am still taking that with a huge grain of salt), and some things I’ve heard (writing notes a week later) just have me a little apprehensive. Im sure it’s a fantastic program, but when there are so many fantastic programs its just not something I feel like taking a chance on. Otherwise would rank much, much higher. For others, that may not be the case.

10) Wake Forest - Pros: Started very high on my list and slowly got pushed down I think mostly due to city. Strong, old program well known at least in South. You can live 5 mins from the hospital and downtown for nothing in a cool little town. The surrounding area is beautiful. I liked all the residents and faculty I interviewed with the caveat that as others have said the PD seems a little straight-laced (seemed to be trying not to smile) but if he has the residents’ backs, who cares. ED seemed a little small but very busy, and there was a focus on seeing sick patients (shifts not stratified). Graduated responsibility, but a lot of EM months for a 3 year program so I think they have it figured out. Observation unit is staffed by ED which I think is a strong + educationally (I think you can moonlight there). Strong senior rotation in community hospital in Greensboro that sounds like a **** show, in a good way. Faculty and recruiters I have talked to have either strong things to say about it or don’t know too much, which makes me thinks its rep is more regional. Program has been around for a long time with lots of former ED docs in management positions in hospital and med school. 15 residents/year
Cons: More regional reputation perhaps. One of the interns told me intern year was kind of slow at first. Seems like trauma rotation is where you get your procedures
Miscellaneous: Saw lots of paramedics working in the ED which is probably pretty cool. One of the residents was moonlighting at a single coverage ED which I think speaks to his confidence in his training.

11) Southwestern – Would rank higher but from Texas and not ready to go back. Was surprised by the strength of this program. Seem to have a very meticulous, thought out approach to resident education. Residents are very happy and confident. Busy county program – they advertise it as being the busiest ED in the country, but almost half the pods are just attending run w/o any residents so….that doesn’t really count….. Plus experience at academic center. Not much difference between 2nd and 3rd year in terms of responsibility. Trauma seems to run the show on trauma shifts. 22 residents/year

Hard Rejected: LAC/USC, Highland, UCSF, Stanford, Denver, Vanderbilt, UNC, Northwestern, UT Austin, UPMC, Utah.

Silent rejected from a lot of places, but among the ones I really wanted on my list: Maricopa, UC Davis, UC Irivine, Temple, LSU NOLA.

Waitlisted: Oregon

 

[NYCEM2017]

Just curious but does everyone seem to think 12s are so bad? I see so many people listing that as a con. I feel like yea, 12s are rough but you'll get used to them, and the upside is that you'll theoretically have more off days per month (like working 17 12s instead of 20+ 8-9s.....)


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[6yearmedstud]

Just curious but does everyone seem to think 12s are so bad? I see so many people listing that as a con. I feel like yea, 12s are rough but you'll get used to them, and the upside is that you'll theoretically have more off days per month (like working 17 12s instead of 20+ 8-9s.....)


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I find them bad when there are multiple programs offering 17-18 8s.

 

[alexalex]

Just curious but does everyone seem to think 12s are so bad? I see so many people listing that as a con. I feel like yea, 12s are rough but you'll get used to them, and the upside is that you'll theoretically have more off days per month (like working 17 12s instead of 20+ 8-9s.....)


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Yup, my #1 is 20 x 9s a month. I get the 12s in 3 year programs, but then I look at Olive view, USC, and Stanford (all 4 year programs) who have tons of 12s despite having 20 or more shifts/month and a ton of residents. One of my away rotations was 12s, and while I had an extra day every week, I was exhausted the day after two continuous shifts and never able to do anything meaningful after my shifts. When I had 9 or 10 hour shifts, I could still cook, do grocery shopping, go out for a drink, anything really after my shift was done. So I did end up pushing down some amazing programs based on quality of life decisions such as minimizing 12s, avoiding insane traffic on a daily basis, and being in a nice city.

 

[racerwad]

I find them bad when there are multiple programs offering 17-18 8s.

Agreed, having worked both, I prefer 8s. I admit that 12s have their strengths and if it truly meant less actual days, that would be one of them. However, many programs seemed to have as many 12s as others did 8s. I'm at a program that does 18 9 hour shifts (8+signout) and I am exhausted. I am glad to have a few extra days off to pursue other clinical interests (and goof off, obviously).

 

[NYCEM2017]

I find them bad when there are multiple programs offering 17-18 8s.

True although I didnt encounter too many programs in NYC that had that set-up, and in general the places that did do 8-9s seemed to have more shifts per month, so less "free" days per se

Agreed, having worked both, I prefer 8s. I admit that 12s have their strengths and if it truly meant less actual days, that would be one of them. However, many programs seemed to have as many 12s as others did 8s. I'm at a program that does 18 9 hour shifts (8+signout) and I am exhausted. I am glad to have a few extra days off to pursue other clinical interests (and goof off, obviously).

Yea I've done 8s and 12s, and the 12s are def more tiring...but if I can get a longer weekend or extra day here and there, it's super helpful when it comes to having a day for errands or lumping together days off etc...
Also, doing 12s can also possibly help in terms of adjusting after residency? Dunno...


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[deleted813736]

This was my greatest fear

for those of you who forgot to certify, the answer is YES you can participate in soap!

 

[RockFlag&Eagle]

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 235, Step 2: 260
EM rotations: H/H/H
Medical school region: Southeast
Any part of your application that made you more competitive? GHHS, AOA, President’s Physical Fitness Award 2001, 2002, 2004
Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Location/proximity to family>pathology/autonomy/fit/strength of residents>COL/outdoors/schools>>>prestige

I posted earlier and took down as I shuffled around the last couple weeks. Sorry for the insane detail but this is really for next year’s class and I hope they appreciate it. I would be thrilled to end up at 8 of these and happy at all of them.

1. Temple
+Well known as a top NE program. It is often compared to Cooper as the programs are quite similar and there’s a lot of respect between the two. Residents at the dinner were down to earth, welcoming, personable, and all seemed to truly enjoy each other. PD seems awesome. APD has accomplished all of the things I want in my career and he’s probably like late 30’s. Would love to work with those two guys…both were in my top 5 most enjoyable interviews of the year. Chairman is a very influential person in EM (tough interview though). Big wellness focus, great experiences at other sites per residents (Jeanes, Episcopal, CHOP), super sick population and TONS of penetrating trauma. Seemed like lots of EM and Critical Care months for a 3yr program. Unique to Temple are scoop and drop traumas where police just drop GSWs at the front door. I’ve always been a big fan of Philly so the city is a big plus for me. There was an overall great vibe here…warm fuzzies carried me out onto Broad St at the end of the day. Just felt like home.
- I was told difficult nurses from a rotating friend. You’ll mainly see AA and Hispanic folks here…I have heard it said that homogeneous pop. is detrimental. I can’t quite see the problem with that because I thought our goal was to just see the sickest people we can. If someone can tell me why I’m wrong please share (genuinely asking).

2. Christiana
+This is a giant hospital system that reminded me of Carolinas in a lot of ways. They are technically a community hospital but serve much of the state as a county hospital and are putting out a ton of research like a more academic institution. They have support services (IRB nurses, statisticians, med students for chart digging, $$$, etc) for those that want to do research. Old program that knows what residents need to do well and has the resources to make it happen. Quick to respond to resident feedback, very sick population, and more trauma than you’d think. Lot of critical care and ED time early, no floor months, OB is triage and deliveries only (2weeks!). ITRAC curriculum- flexibility built into your schedule that caters to areas of interest or areas you need more work on. No ortho/optho/anesthesia/ENT. For a physician who wants to work community medicine, rural medicine, or global/international medicine this should catch your attention. It sounds like the Christiana residents’ reduction, splinting, and slit lamp skills are on point. Lots of med student teaching opportunities and they track RVUs so you can show potential employers that you’ll be able to keep up. I liked the PD a lot, he seems really fun and does EMRA and ALIEM google chats which I really appreciated as a student with no true EM advisor. Great housing market to rent or buy in the northeast. I went back and forth on 1 and 2 until the week the list was due.

- The residents didn’t sound blown away by the peds rotations at DuPont but it sounds like that is the case everywhere because kids just don’t get as sick…and when they do fellows are getting priority. Other things that some may not like but don’t bother me at all: DE is a less desirable place (Philly is super close) and residents seemed to be more spread out then at other programs (but they said they still hang out regularly).

3. Cooper (Sub-I)
+ Cooper was exactly what I expected; very solid with great pathology and teaching and very busy. I found the vibe to be blue collar in the best kind of way. Faculty is off the charts cool…just really smart people who genuinely want to serve Camden. There are a ton of female faculty as well. PD seems great... very humble, personable, and easy to work with. I really enjoyed my interview with him and the chair. Chair is passionate and super involved…he interviews every candidate that comes through! The ED is very nice and the hospital, as a whole, stands out as beautiful in the mess that is Camden, NJ. Typical “we do the airway in the traumas” kind of set up but ED takes a lot of traumas that would garner a trauma team activation at other hospitals. Tons of sick people and lots of trauma. You also see all the other stuff you look for in a program like sick cancer patients, bread and butter stuff, some weird tertiary care stuff, and people coming in from rural south jersey with “rural pathology and trauma”. The psych portion of the ED is new and is walled off with oversight by a psych resident (praise God). Residents live in Philly (literally <10 minute train ride) or south jersey in the nice surrounding communities.

- Camden is a disaster which is good and bad. Lots of opportunities to serve the community but you’re not raising a family there…or even walking to your car at night without being hassled in my experience. Something that left an impression on me was a normal middle aged man that came in who was shot in his car for no reason at a red light on his way to visit a family member in the hospital. Good place to learn EM tho…

4. UT-Memphis (Sub-I)
+Newish program…we would be the 3rd class. I have heard from a great mentor that the PD is exactly the kind of guy you want to run your program. He is incredibly dedicated to building a fantastic program. It’s a midsouth city with great COL and almost no traffic. Nice housing within a mile of the hospital. I’m a northeasterner and I personally love Memphis. Regarding the program, first class was amazing. Super welcoming bunch, loved teaching. It seemed like an unusually strong first class for a new program. Super sick people all day and these guys are getting insane procedure numbers. I spent my other two Sub-I's in rough cities and the patients in Memphis were sicker. This might be the cardiovascular and renal disease capital of the US. The faculty are wonderful. My “I want to be exactly like that guy” guy works here. You will be working with non-faculty as well who just work there. Some of them were not into teaching med students, maybe better with residents.

- Most of the trauma is taken to ROH where the surgery residency is. EM residents do their trauma months over there. This is my biggest hold up with the program…there is not much of a role for the EM residents at ROH. If you are aggressive you will get more out of those months, if not, you will fall into the background. The other concern was the conference days…a little too informal for my taste and I consider myself to be pretty informal. Also, I don't think there's any female faculty.

5. Vanderbilt
+One of my favorite groups of residents. Chair is one of the most engaging people I’ve ever met. He’s super intense but the residents all love him and he obviously knows how to get things done. I feel like he’s the guy that could help me get as much out of my residency training as possible. PD is in his last year but the new PD was really cool, is homegrown, and sounds like a seamless transition. Super sick indigent + community + tertiary patients + plenty of trauma. Teaching and their goal of producing teachers is found throughout the culture and curriculum. Crazy high peds exposure (#2 in country they said) with a lot of ED and ICU time as well. Minimal fluff in this curriculum. Wellness is prioritized. There is a very healthy vibe here, warm fuzzies for sure. Would have been top 3 if family was near.

- none

6. Carolinas
+ Did not disappoint. At the dinner, the residents seemed like siblings who had gone off to college and were now back together on holiday break or something. Super close group. I had one tough/awkward interview but otherwise I really enjoyed them. The residents spoke very highly of the PD and APD and they both seemed great to me…genuinely nice, warm people. Quick to respond to resident feedback. Unique setup as they are the only major player in a fast growing city (Charlotte) and is a hybrid academic and county program. They have huge volume with high acuity and more trauma than you’d think. Didactics are supplemented by very cool online curriculum that is the only one of its kind that I saw on the trail. A new psych residency is starting this year which means great news for psych holds. Charlotte is an affordable city with minimal traffic, a great climate, and lots to do. It is growing very fast. Amazing benefits here and the residents are just really treated well. Food and resident lounges all over. Overall this place was amazing and would be higher if we had family near.

- The OBGYN month seems a little more intense than others and I think there is overall less time in the ED than other programs.

7. VCU
+One of my favorite cities in the country…so unique, tons of history/arts/culture, low COL, young, less traffic, good climate, outdoor activities everywhere. The program boasts relatively new leadership and young faculty. The dinner before was at a residents house in a really cool neighborhood. Program leadership was awesome, one awkward interview, chief resident interview was awesome. I forget the chief’s name but he was great. Daycare in house with extended hours. Seemed really LGBT friendly.

-IM and cardio floor months…might be changing. Not a ton of sick kids there per one of the residents.

8. Wake Forest
+Great program in a great place. Fast access to trails, mountains, rock climbing, white water rapids, and nearby Ashville. The COL is low and many residents own houses within walking distance of the hospital. The faculty were very easy to talk to and per a classmate who rotated there, there wasn’t a single one he didn’t like. I enjoyed my interviews. Residents seemed to genuinely love being around each other and spend a lot of free time together. I remember a lot of residents were married. The EM folks seem to have impressive clout in the hospital with multiple former EM faculty now as administrators. Accepting hospital for all major burn patients in the state and has the facilities with major decontamination capabilities. This is a Level 1 trauma adult and peds facility. ***All ED shifts are 8hrs and I think you do 18/mo***

- Seems to be a place with limited penetrating trauma. I guess that’s the one “downside” to working in a pretty safe community.

9. Penn (Sub-I)
+ I was super impressed with Penn. They were in the midst of a PD change while I was there and we spent a lot of time with the outgoing PD, Dr. DeRoos, before he left. I cannot say enough good stuff about this guy. New PD is homegrown and super nice. I didn't work with her but co-rotator did and said she was a boss. Lot of female faculty. The residents were the happiest and most helpful that I’ve been around. They are all super bright and just quality people you would want to work with. I expected a stuck up vibe but it just couldn’t be further from the case. Conference days were amazing; best of any I’ve attended in my 3rd and 4th years. Nice lecture hall with EM famous lecturers. Residents contribute a lot to conference. You will see sick people here for sure. You see weird tertiary care hospital type stuff, lots of cancer pts, and international patients with weird diseases at HUP. You see all the trauma and more bread and butter EM stuff at Penn Presbyterian up the street. They’re very proud of their extensive peds exposure at CHOP. Research is there if you want it but not mandatory. They have tracks that offer a fellowship type experience while not being a full fellowship. It was just a great overall vibe here, hard to articulate it exactly. Also, I am biased and love Philly. If I was more interested in 4 year programs Penn would be way higher.

Weaknesses: The only thing the residents mentioned was they lost too many procedures to ortho.

10. Johns Hopkins
+This is a very proud program but in a good way. They know that what they offer, specifically the 4 year tracks, isn’t for everyone and they do not shy away from that. Chairman’s very involved with the program and is incredibly proud of it. Everyone was singing the PDs praises. Despite the fact that this is a world class training site with research occurring in literally any field you can imagine, you do not get the feeling that the residents are stuck up. They were easy to talk to and very helpful throughout the visit. The city of Baltimore has super sick people and trauma for days. JHU gets loads of adult and peds trauma. When patients get flown in adults go to UMD and peds go to JHU. The residents say they get so much trauma that they stopped rotating at UMD for trauma. Just as an FYI, do not ask about whether or not they get enough trauma with UMD being in the same town. They do go to UMD for a trauma airway month which was very highly spoken of. The 4th year is not just extra work in the ED but is a very organized research/niche year where you can get almost anything out of it if you can make it happen in the time frame. You can be hooked up with JHU faculty in almost any niche you can think of to mentor you through your 4th year. If you ultimately decide that you want to do a 2 year fellowship at JHU they will knock one off and consider your 4th year the first year of your 2 year fellowship. The conference I attended was very organized, engaging, and had excellent teaching.

-Conferences are held at an office building in north Baltimore instead of the hospital. It ended up not being a bad drive at all (15 min) but I’m sure that could get old on longer days. The residents didn’t speak too highly of the public transportation system in Baltimore. But they did say that traffic isn’t too bad which makes the public option less important anyway. Less families in this group…pretty young from what I saw.

11. Univ of Maryland
+ Was looking forward to this one and thought ahead of time that this would be my top ranked program. Really sick people in Baltimore. Curriculum highlight to me is the trauma anesthesia which sounds like one of the coolest months anywhere. Residents routinely get >80 trauma airways in that month. You see tons of trauma and utilize US all day. You don’t see much trauma in your regular ED months so you spend trauma months next door at SHOCK TRAUMA every year. Didactics are journal based which keeps you on the cutting edge. They avoid hour long lectures and often have brief lectures covering a topic for 30 minutes or so. EM famous faculty. Sim and cadaver curriculum seems amazing and you do a difficult airway course that is offered only in Baltimore. Attendings from all over pay thousands of dollars to come to this course and the only other program that has access to it (that I’m aware of) is Penn. Residents all seemed great and were very helpful with questions.

- Take this all with a grain of salt…just my experience. I didn’t click with the PD which was disheartening. Less integrated peds shifts in the EM months than other programs. There are plenty of full peds ED months that make up for it. I would just prefer to have more peds shifts built into all EM months so as not to miss the seasonal variability of kids in the ED. There is a fair amount of traveling required, including multiple months in DC. Residents do not lecture which I can see being both a positive and a negative. No one moonlights here per the PD…he said he assumed it was because they didn’t have the time. These guys work a lot, 18 12s their intern year and 17 and 16 PGY 2 and 3. This was the only program I went to that regularly does 12s. The residents said, like anywhere else, that you don’t leave right after the shift and these bleed into 13 and sometimes 14 hour shifts. Yes, they do work less shifts but not many less. Long shifts may not be a big deal to many but for those with kids it can be a game changer. This was the only place that I heard residents emphasize how hard they work multiple times when asked how their experience at the program has been.

12. St. Luke’s (PA)
+This program has been around for a long time and has been incorporating US into its practice since way back. PD said they don’t have a dedicated US month because they use US so heavily every day. Few residency programs here so you never lose an airway to anesthesia and the ortho program is newish and apparently almost never comes to the ED. They see peds in their ED (20% I think…) so you won’t lose your peds skills. Second years respond to rapid response calls on the floor. This gets the residents fantastic airway experience because they take the airway on 1/3 of these calls. There is an emphasis on wilderness medicine here. This program used to be two. They had a 4yr DO program and a 3 year MD/DO program. So don’t freak out when you meet a fourth year and think you unknowingly applied to a 4 year program. They have a long history of residents with children and seem to be very accommodating. They have Temple med students there so you will get to teach (have to teach).

-Bethlehem is blah. It gets tough winters for sure. That being said, it is a very affordable with a nice little downtown. If it’s like other areas in eastern PA that I know, it will have nice hiking trails nearby. It’s also very close to Philly. I didn’t get to explore so I can’t say much more than that.

13. UAMS
+ Seems to be a very down to earth and happy group of residents that spends a lot of time together outside of the hospital. They seem to enjoy all of the outdoor activities afforded by living in AR. Essentially the only university hospital in the state so you pretty much see all the sick people and traumas in Arkansas. I also believe they are the only peds hospital too. Low COL city with a pretty sick population. LR has a fair amount to offer while skipping the downsides of big city life but because there was no tour I didn’t get to see much. Relatively new leadership here. Chairman and PD were great to be around and seemed like they would be a pleasure to work with. I thought the PD was really cool. He lets you pick the music playing during the interview which I thought was awesome and probably not worth telling you all but here I am. Apparently moonlighting can be very lucrative here bc BCEM docs are few and far between.

-Seemed to be a smaller sized faculty than many programs I’ve visited. This could present a problem if you want to pursue a research niche that no one is involved in. There were very few fellowships offered, I think maybe just US and one other? I can’t remember.


Rejected outright: Emory, Jefferson, Denver, UPMC
Silent Rejection: UAB, Einstein (Philly), UNC, Duke, UVA, NJMS
Cancelled Interviews: Hackensack, UT-Murfreesboro, GW, Georgetown, MUSC, Penn State, Allegheny, Drexel, WVU, York, Crozer, Univ of Miss

 

[BoardingDoc]

I find them bad when there are multiple programs offering 17-18 8s.

When I applied I definitely favored 8s over 12s. That said, working 17 8s as a resident seems like poor training, particularly at a 3 year program. That's only a handful more shifts than I'll be doing as an attending and at this point in training, you become acutely aware of the fact that very soon, you have no backup so you better feel comfortable working solo.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 260s, Step 2: 250s
EM rotations: H/H
Medical school region: Mountain West
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Got some love about my personal statement, but otherwise not really. Didn't hear a lot about my Step scores or EM grades during interviews.

Second SLOE wasn't in until November.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
Spouse/Kiddos being happy >>>>>> balanced training > perceived fit > reputation

My ROL has little to do with what I actually thought about programs, since I gave complete deference to my wife in making the list.

Started at the bottom and worked my way up when writing this, hence I was burned out by the time I got to programs 6-1 and wrote less. Sorry!

1) Vanderbilt
Pros: Warm and fuzzy feelings all over. Loved the residents I met, and program leadership is just amazing. Dr. Wren is stepping down as PD this year and will be replaced by Dr. McCoin. Both were great. Slovis is also great. Him and Wren seem to have this Abbott and Costello thing which I enjoyed. Really strong educational bent -- if you like to nerd out on EM, this is a great place for you. They emphasize training great educators. Great reputation. Prioritize resident/family well-being. Nashville is great. Amazing moonlighting opps as a R3 (I heard $200/hr + RVU).

Cons: Didactics are a big part of the training here. I think the clinical experience is still super strong, but if that's not your jam, you might be less happy here. Obviously, I loved it though.

2) Duke
Pros: Broder is great. See a very sick, medically complicated population at Duke. Lots of LVADs, etc...Really vibed with the residents I met. Super nice facilities. Durham is kind of edgy and cool, but you can really chose your adventure as far as where you want to live (Chapel Hill, Raleigh.)

Cons: Less well established than some other places. Sounds like surgery and medicine are really strong at Duke

3) UNC
Pros: Really liked the split between UNC ED and Wake Med. Seems like they have great peds exposure. Scribes. Liked the residents. Chapel Hill is quaint AF and the schools are great. Sweet beach house retreat thing.

Cons: Interview day was pretty lackluster. One of the residents who was hanging out was a little abrasive and condescending for unclear reasons. A lot of commuting -- seems like it actually makes more sense to live in Durham than Chapel Hill.

4) Emory
Pros: Grady is awesome. It was a total **** show when we toured (in a good way.) Strong mission of service. Spend time at Midtown for the obligatory academic experience. The new PD Dr. White is great. Really liked all the residents I met. More of a learn-by-doing kind of environment, which I'm into. Sounds like they see a ton of really sick patients. Atlanta seemed nice.

Cons: Huge program. Could see how you could kind of get lost in the shuffle.

5) WUSTL
Pros: Biggest surprise for me. One of my first interviews, but when I was looking back on my interview season I realized that Wash U just felt like a really solid program. Dr. Wagner is the PD, and is a boss. Academic, well-resourced hospital/ED that sees a lot of underserved patients. Huge catchment area, and a lot of agricultural trauma gets flown in. Plenty of elective time. St. Louis sucks waaaaay less than I expected it to. It's got a kind of quaint, hipster vibe. COL is amazing (a lot of residents own homes) and the public schools are fantastic.

Cons: 4 years. Peds floor month IIRC. Grads tend to stay in the midwest, which is not in line with my ultimate career plans.

6) UT-Austin
Pros: Really like the PD Dr. Berger. Good critical care experience for 3 year program. Emphasis on policy/advocacy, which I'm into. Friendliest interviewers on the trail. Really liked the residents and best pre-interview social dinner. Austin. Great quality of life (19 x 9 (or 8) all 3 years IIRC). Good benefits.

Cons: Austin is expensive. Newer program. Cinematographer hates this place and I trust him implicitly. Probably a little more cush than optimal given that it didn't seem like the highest-volume shop on the trail. One of my co-interviewees had rotated there and pulled me aside and said that trauma surg is strong there and their relationship with EM may be less collaborative than advertised.

7) OHSU
Pros: Portland. Well-regarded, particularly if you have designs on living in the PNW. People are great.

Cons: Super duper Academic. A lot of "let's stabilize and call the specialist." Lower volumes. Not a ton of trauma (realistically, not that important.) The weather is Portland is so terrible during the winter.

8) UMichigan
Pros: Had a great interview day here. Everyone was so nice. Seems like a really solid community experience at St. Joseph's. PD really emphasized the idea of mentoring residents to find a niche in EM and sold their ability to create a track to fit any interest. Hella critical care. EC3 is an interesting concept. Good benefits. Ann Arbor is a really cool town -- public schools are amazing! Detroit is being rapidly transformed and is much closer than I realized prior to interviewing.

Cons: 4 years. Colder than eff with bad skiing. Commute to Flint seems kinda lame.

9) Denver Health
Pros: It's the DG, man. This program is amazing. Strongest EM residents I've ever seen. Great faculty with tons of well-know people. Residents are brilliant and cool. Comprehensive curriculum with very well-conceived graduated responsibility ("line the toolbelt" as an intern to running the ED as R4). Get any job/fellowship you want. DH ED is well-run and nursing/techs are amazing. Like UCSF and UW, get exposure to county, academic and community EM. Denver is a great place to live.

Cons: Depending on your temperament/learning style, this place is less touchy-feely than other programs (it's roots as a division of surgery are evident.) Work more shifts than anywhere. I don't know how I feel about the circadian progression thing. One the one hand, it seems like a reasonably healthy way to manage shifting schedules, on the other hand, half of your days off (which are less than other place to begin with) and post-night shift (the "DOMA"). Denver has gotten much more expensive over the past few years.

10) University of Washington
Pros: Harborview was probably my favorite hospital of the interview season. Huge catchment area, very sick and underserved patients. The UW ED sees a lot of medically complex patients and is a nice counterpoint to Harborview. King County EMS is pretty badass and would be fun to work with. Residents were my favorite group of the season. New program but seems very responsive to feedback. Dr. Gallahue is really nice. Seattle is beautiful, close-ish to skiing.

Cons: Intern year seems brutal -- 21 x 12s, IIRC. Every student I met from UW on the interview trail talked nothing by **** about the program (and they're the only ones who've rotated there since they don't have aways.) Interview day was a little bit cold and one interviewer, in particular, tries to get you to squirm a little bit. I'm pretty sure anesthesia comes for traumas. Stipend sucks relative to how expensive Seattle is, but they've unionized and have negotiated something better.

11) Highland
Pros: One of my favorites but (see UCSF, below) Oakland isn't amazing for kids. Residents seem totally badass and are very fun. Very underserved patients with a strong mission of service. Faculty were all really fun to talk to (Gene Hern, particularly, was the best interview of the season.) Great elective opportunities. Global health is a big deal if you like that. Spend time at UCSF and in the community. Gastro rounds during ED shifts (basically, protected time to eat food during your shifts. Didn't see that anywhere else.) One of the better stipends I've seen. Don't have to dress up for interview day -- though don't wear a sweat shirt or you'll feel underdressed. Really sweet red and black Highland EM hoodies.

Cons: Spouse said nah. I do think what other people have said about Highland is probably true -- EM is by far the strongest program in the hospital (they don't have a ton of other residencies) and I got the vibe that some of the off-service rotations may have more to do with being a warm body than educational experience. Have to do a medicine "chief" year as a R3. If I wanted to be a medicine chief I'd've done medicine. Still, this is pretty nitpicky. Highland rules. I would be really psyched if everyone else hated me and I ended up here.

12) UC Davis
Pros: Solid 3 year program. Good community experience with Kaiser. Interviewers, with one notable exception, were all great. Residents were awesome and all liked to ski, climb, drink beer and do other perfunctory EM resident activities. Barnes, the PD, seems like a really nice dude as well. Sac has good COL by California standards.

Cons: Sacramento itself is not the most dynamic place in the world. It prides itself of being adjacent to things that are fun (Tahoe, Bay Area). It's also still pretty expensive compared to other places. Residents seemed a little tired and a couple complained about inconsistent transitions from days to nights (no real progression).

13) UNM
Pros: Solid 3 year program with a decent reputation. UNM is an academic ED with a county patient population. Super cool wilderness medicine opportunities if you're into that. ABQ has a ton of access to outdoor shenanigans and the COL is good.

Cons: Rimple, the PD, does a really poor job of selling the program and ABQ. She basically sits down at a table and says "I'm sick of going through a powerpoint overview of our program, so why don't you guys just ask me questions and see if you can 'stump' me." I found it pretty off-putting. Like, you could try and sell your program a little bit. Interviewers were a little cold. ABQ is pretty weird and kind of feels like a giant strip mall. Poor turn-out at the resident dinner (2 residents and 1 PA.) I dunno, I interviewed here late in the season, I may have just been over the entire process and it biased my entire opinion of UNM.

14) UCSF
Pros: I really loved UCSF. It's ranked here because San Francisco is actually impossible to live in if you have kids and get paid like a resident. Otherwise, I think UCSF is an outstanding program. SFGH is a legitimate county hospital with a very underserved patient complication. This might be my own sample bias, but I saw a ton of penetrating trauma during my rotation (thoracotomies on four consecutive night shifts, for instance. Your mileage may vary.) The SFGH experience is well-balanced by the time at UCSF which is very academic and sees extremely medically complex patients. Residents were all very cool and kind people.

Cons: COL. 4 years.

15) Northwestern:
Pros: Straight up biggest dissapointment of my interview season, but here it goes...Lavish facilities. EM offices and Hospital feel like a Four Seasons. Gisondi is a very cool human being, but he's splitting for Stanford (I think). Good critical care experience if that's your jam. Can definitely help you get a job in academics if that's your jam (They tout 30% end up in academics, 30% fellowship, 30% community.)

Cons: Very academically pretentious program (really it just struck me pretentious). Community EM is talked about pejoratively. Residents are very bro-y (or at least the ones I met are). Kind of felt like I was interviewing for ortho. I know people love Chicago, but it's expensive (especially if you have school-age kids), the traffic is bad, and it's stupid cold without any skiing to justify it.

Other:
Rejected (Silently or Explicitly): All of the Harvards, Brown, both of the UCLAs, Carolinas (which I really wanted), Cinci, Hennepin, Cook, UofChicago, Utah, MUSC (and I actually tried to send them a letter of interest but they weren't having it)

WL: Hopkins, Maine, UCSD, LAC/USC

Invited but declined: Pittsburgh, Indy (couldn't sell wife on either place.)

The regional bias is real. I got no east-coast love. If you want to unlock a specific coast, rotate there.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 245, Step 2: 255
EM rotations: Honors and HP, rotated @ Vanderbilt and my home program
AOA
Medical school region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive:
I have several EM-based publications and am highly interested in research/academics. Further, I had two good SLOEs which came from doing well at two well known institutions. Lastly, I had 20 interviews very early in the season and I attributed that to having a complete application up front.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I am from the midwest and have little intention of leaving due to family, children, and life goals. Further, I prefer academic over county/community. My home state is Ohio, which has plenty of programs but am looking to expand outside of Ohio due to an academic preference. I started by making a pro/con list but then went strictly off gut feel. I ranked my top 3 and then my wife and I did the rest.

1) Indiana
Pro: academic + county, research, huge autonomy and volume, 250k visits and are frequently solo coverage for parts of the day, ICU.

Con: seems like ortho and trauma are a weak point, but that is shared among many programs.

2) Vanderbilt
Pro: top ranked and nationally recognized program.

Con: location, ivory tower feel.

3) Northwestern
Pro: top ranked and nationally recognized program. Fun day, good group of residents.

Con: cost of living and low pay

4) Pitt
Pro: top ranked and nationally recognized program. Cost of living, fun city.

Con: I am a browns fan so location (JK).

5) Carolinas
Pro: top ranked and nationally recognized program. Fun group.

Con: location

6) Metrohealth + CCF Cleveland
Pro: Solid residents, high volume, autonomy. My home town.

Con: location and # of shifts. Crappy dinner, 1 resident showed.

7) Ohio State
Pro: Loved the PD, loved the city, cheap COL.

Con: Weird minority vibe, told by resident that I would have a tough time matching.

8) VCU
Pro: Loved the PD again, loved the city.

Con: don't like being 9 hours away from family

9) Summa
(obviously won't rank) but I loved this place

10) Maryland
Loved the program, liked the city, didn't like the hate for the other program in the city. Poor COL

11) Hopkins
Loved the program, liked the city, didn't like the hate for the other program in the city. Poor COL

12) Wright State

13) Case Western

Other:
Had interviews but did not attend at Denver, Penn, Akron Gen, Toledo, UK, Louisville, Cinci, Cook.

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 245-255, Step 2: 245-255
EM rotations: Home - H, Away - HP
Medical school region: New England
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Unsure, but my personal statement came up a LOT. I think it mattered more than I was told to expect.. also had some good research and teaching experience. Always happy to answer more specific questions in a PM with future applicants.

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
1) Location because I have a family
2) Strength of program

That's all, EM is amazing and I think I'll be happy any of these places

1) BMC:
An excellent program and in the area I'd like to be.
+ tons of resident autonomy, third and fourth years run whole sides of the ED
+ one of the best trauma experiences available, ED completely in charge of all traumas
+ well integrated peds experience, opportunity to rotate at children's
+ reputation
+ very nice and cool residents and attendings

- heavy workload with 12s on the weekends and no shift drop over the years, I wouldn't mind if I didn't have a family

2) UMass:
Another great program with a very diverse patient population in the area I'd like to be.
+ guaranteed fellowship (as long as spots aren't all taken by classmates)
+ nice residents and PD
+ 3 year
+ beautiful ED
+ as mentioned, diverse patient population

- I didn't get 'the warm fuzzies' here, but I can't figure out why. But it's a great program and in my desired location so it gets the #2 spot

3) Maine Medical Center:
LOVED this program, cannot say enough positive things about it
+ the people were incredible, felt like I fit in right away. PD was so down to earth and upfront, really resonated with me
+ no surgical subspecialty residencies, means no competing with them for procedures in the ED, and I imagine this makes for very strong training
+ great peds experience, seeing peds patients every shift
+ emphasis on resident wellness
+ Portland is such a cool, affordable city
+ biggest show in town
++++++++ I just loved this place

- probably less trauma

4) Yale:
strong academic program
+ PD committed to creating future leaders of EM, seemed nice and approachable
+ residents very cool and down the earth
+ Yale reputation
+ beautiful sim center

- new haven is kinda eh
- research heavy maybe

5) Baystate:
loved this program too, awesome residents and PD
+ no surgical subspecialty residencies
+ awesome emphasis on resident wellness
+ catchment area

- Springfield, but north Hampton is nice
- not as well known

6) Dartmouth
+ again, awesome people
+ resident wellness
+ dhart/ telemedicine

- homogeneous
- trauma shipped out to shock, could be a positive

7) Cook County
+ Chicago is awesome
+ love the people
+ underserved patient population
+ huge volume

- lots of floor months
- I don't want to move

8) Uconn
Great sim, nice people, very formal -- white coats in ED and calling attendings Dr...

9) Albany
Cool people, interesting didactics

10) Maimonides
Really liked this program but don't want to live in New York City. Very cool event medicine, cover all Madison square garden events etc. chill PD.

11) Stony brook
Nothing stands out but was nice enough

12) Evms
Everyone was so great, wish it was closer. Great variety of training experience. Awesome moonlighting options.

13) Upstate
Nothing bad about this program just far away.

Other:
Invited but didn't go to the interview (these are all because they just weren't the location I wanted but I felt very fortunate to get the interviews): Denver, Penn, Stanford, U Illinois, Jacobi Montefiore, Hopkins, Duke

Waitlist but never heard: U Maryland

Rejected: HAEMR x2, brown, rest of Chicago programs

 

[doggydog]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 260s
EM rotations: H/H
AOA
Medical school region: West Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Top 25 medical school, all third year clinical honors, unique extracurriculars

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I put together this ROL based on location, partner preference, strength of program. I preferred 4 years to 3 years.

1) USC-LAC
Pros: I love, love the dedication to underserved as well as the excellent clinical training, seems unmatched anywhere else. Strongest residency in hospital. Really didn't start the process thinking this was going to be it but walked away from the interview day wowed. Really liked the residents and faculty.

Cons: - 12 hour shifts all four years; hate LA; no global health experience; not much extra funding

2) UCSF
Pros: I did my rotation here and love the faculty and residents here. ++ for friends and family. Really like the program leadership. Have seen first hand how great they are. LOVE SF and love the bay. Like the exposure to different types of EM. ++ for resources.

Cons: New and still battling out some territory boundaries. A lot of specialties and sub-sub-sub-specialties that makes it difficult to make any primary decisions on anyone. On the other hand, lots of learning from the best. Peds experience may be lacking as not many kids in the city.

3) Highland
This program is mostly here because of the location. I love the bay and would have liked to be in the bay (which just goes to show how much USC had impressed me). I liked the gritty/county-ness of the program. But ultimately ranked it lower than UCSF, because while I found some of the faculties here to be supportive and approachable, others were not. The tight-knittedness of this group is real, but from the outside can be exclusionary. I debated for a long time how much this would affect me as a resident, but ultimately decided to not put this higher because I felt that I didn't want to be somewhere where this was part of the culture. I would still be very happy here as a resident and think the program will be a great training program.

4) Denver
Pros: I love the city. Have always wanted to live in Denver. Liked the residents. Really liked the program too and loved the variety in exposure.

Cons: Sooooo far from coast. So cold. Food isn't great. Far from family. Weird interviews.

5) U of Washington
Pros: Also like Denver, I have ALWAYS wanted to live in Seattle. Really liked the leadership and the mission statement of Harborville.

Cons: So rainy - If you can't tell already, I don't deal well with weather. New program. Some similar cons to UCSF.

6) UCLA Harbor
Really great program. Love that it's 8 hours. Felt they did a bit more consulting than USC. Ultimately ranked it lower than my other programs because I don't want to live in LA.

7) UCLA Olive View
Also great program. Was very impressed by my interview day and just how HAPPY everyone was. Ultimately didn't want to live in LA, so decided to put other programs first.

8) UCSF Fresno
THIS is the best program in California, in my opinion. I spent a LOT of time in Fresno and actually really like it as a city. The pathology here is ABSURD, from first hand experience. The EM program runs the hospital. It's an easy city to live in and easy to get out of town on off days. If it were not for my partner, I would have ranked this within my top 3.

9) Stanford
Really loved the dedication to wellness and the resources. Actually found the hospitals to be really great. Really liked the residents on my interview day too. Think this would be a great fit for some, but wanted something with a little more county to it.

10) UCSD
Liked the city. Would be happy here. Didn't love the bro-ey culture. Didn't love the many, many sites. Not enough county for me.

11) Davis
I didn't realize this before the interview trail, but I think I wanted a four year program just to make sure I feel 100% prepared by the time I hit attending-hood. I plan to work in underserved areas and want to get the most I can out of residency.

12) OHSU
I actually think Portland is a great city and actually really liked OHSU. Was a little bothered by the low volume. But would be happy to be here.

Other:
Invited but declined interviews: Hennepin, Loma Linda, Kaweah Delta, U of Utah, Kern, Riverside, U of Irvine, U of Arizona, U of Nevada, Cook County

Rejected: Maricopa, U of Arizona South Campus, U of New Mexico, Kaiser SD

 

[EM_Reality_2017]

Anyone up to make a power score spreadsheet like this one?
Many of us would appreciate your help!

 

[alexalex]

Submitted anonymously, via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Step 1: 240s, Step 2: 260s
EM rotations: H/H
AOA
Medical school region: West Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive:
Top 25 medical school, all third year clinical honors, unique extracurriculars

Main Considerations in Creating this ROL:
I put together this ROL based on location, partner preference, strength of program. I preferred 4 years to 3 years.

1) USC-LAC
Pros: I love, love the dedication to underserved as well as the excellent clinical training, seems unmatched anywhere else. Strongest residency in hospital. Really didn't start the process thinking this was going to be it but walked away from the interview day wowed. Really liked the residents and faculty.

Cons: - 12 hour shifts all four years; hate LA; no global health experience; not much extra funding

2) UCSF
Pros: I did my rotation here and love the faculty and residents here. ++ for friends and family. Really like the program leadership. Have seen first hand how great they are. LOVE SF and love the bay. Like the exposure to different types of EM. ++ for resources.

Cons: New and still battling out some territory boundaries. A lot of specialties and sub-sub-sub-specialties that makes it difficult to make any primary decisions on anyone. On the other hand, lots of learning from the best. Peds experience may be lacking as not many kids in the city.

3) Highland
This program is mostly here because of the location. I love the bay and would have liked to be in the bay (which just goes to show how much USC had impressed me). I liked the gritty/county-ness of the program. But ultimately ranked it lower than UCSF, because while I found some of the faculties here to be supportive and approachable, others were not. The tight-knittedness of this group is real, but from the outside can be exclusionary. I debated for a long time how much this would affect me as a resident, but ultimately decided to not put this higher because I felt that I didn't want to be somewhere where this was part of the culture. I would still be very happy here as a resident and think the program will be a great training program.

4) Denver
Pros: I love the city. Have always wanted to live in Denver. Liked the residents. Really liked the program too and loved the variety in exposure.

Cons: Sooooo far from coast. So cold. Food isn't great. Far from family. Weird interviews.

5) U of Washington
Pros: Also like Denver, I have ALWAYS wanted to live in Seattle. Really liked the leadership and the mission statement of Harborville.

Cons: So rainy - If you can't tell already, I don't deal well with weather. New program. Some similar cons to UCSF.

6) UCLA Harbor
Really great program. Love that it's 8 hours. Felt they did a bit more consulting than USC. Ultimately ranked it lower than my other programs because I don't want to live in LA.

7) UCLA Olive View
Also great program. Was very impressed by my interview day and just how HAPPY everyone was. Ultimately didn't want to live in LA, so decided to put other programs first.

8) UCSF Fresno
THIS is the best program in California, in my opinion. I spent a LOT of time in Fresno and actually really like it as a city. The pathology here is ABSURD, from first hand experience. The EM program runs the hospital. It's an easy city to live in and easy to get out of town on off days. If it were not for my partner, I would have ranked this within my top 3.

9) Stanford
Really loved the dedication to wellness and the resources. Actually found the hospitals to be really great. Really liked the residents on my interview day too. Think this would be a great fit for some, but wanted something with a little more county to it.

10) UCSD
Liked the city. Would be happy here. Didn't love the bro-ey culture. Didn't love the many, many sites. Not enough county for me.

11) Davis
I didn't realize this before the interview trail, but I think I wanted a four year program just to make sure I feel 100% prepared by the time I hit attending-hood. I plan to work in underserved areas and want to get the most I can out of residency.

12) OHSU
I actually think Portland is a great city and actually really liked OHSU. Was a little bothered by the low volume. But would be happy to be here.

Other:
Invited but declined interviews: Hennepin, Loma Linda, Kaweah Delta, U of Utah, Kern, Riverside, U of Irvine, U of Arizona, U of Nevada, Cook County

Rejected: Maricopa, U of Arizona South Campus, U of New Mexico, Kaiser SD

 

[SarahBellum1]

You might need your dean of students or whoever helps you through the match process call on your behalf, but pretty sure they'll let you use your previously certified rank list before you edited it. Might not be your most ideal order, but better than having to SOAP.

Asking for a friend, but if you forgot to certify on time because you edited your list and didnt recertify but you did once before, can you still participate in SOAP??