[2019-2020] Emergency Medicine Rank Order List Thread

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 210’s/230’s(USMLE)
EM Rotations: High pass/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: >15 volunteer opportunities, leadership >10

Main considerations in making this ROL: Desire to live on East Coast

1) MA- Boston University Medical Center
Excellent interview experience with very friendly residents, mission devoted to service and diversity, hospital with historical roots in the community, desirable location for me personally

2) NY- University of Rochester
Lots of research funding, very well-regarded program with diverse residents who were very welcoming and friendly. Good location regionally, however Rochester itself is quite cold. Only real downside.

3) NJ- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Service devoted mission with focus on the community, excellent interview day experience, welcoming and diverse residents. Good regional location

Cons: Newark isn't a great city, but can live around Newark

4) PA- Albert Einstein Healthcare Network Program
Mission devoted to caring for the community, extensive experience educating residents, good OB exposure with diverse community. Can live in Philadelphia without living too close to the hospital

Cons: Rumored contentious relationship with trauma surg, hospital not in a great area

5) CO- Denver Health
Amazing program with top 5 education in the country, mission devoted to care for the underserved, multiple locations to rotate at so good diversity of patient populations and pathology seen

Cons: Shift schedule is very demanding, residents seemed overworked

6) NY- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (Manhasset)
Fun group of residents who are tightknit like family, excellent group of faculty with very positive interview experience, longstanding program with experience educating lots of residents. Good location regionally.

Cons: Very high COL in Long Island, very large program that may be easy to get lost in

7) NY- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Staten Island
Serve a very diverse population, well-established in the community for a long time, beautiful facility with separate trauma/resus area and good relationship with consult services

Cons: Personally not a big fan of Staten Island itself, but would still be near family and good regional location

8) WV- West Virginia University Program
Loved the female PD and family-focused feel of the program, they clearly care about their residents, its a truly beautiful facility

Cons: Personally, West Virginia isn't my first choice of location

9) RI- Kent Hospital Program
Amazing off-service rotations, beautiful location with low COL, friendly residents

Cons: Kent Hospital main location is primarily old/white people without much diversity - Brown University takes care of the vast majority of patients in this tiny island state

10) NY- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Southside Hospital (Bayshore)
Surprisingly high acuity diverse population for Long Island, both a lot of trauma and a lot of very high levels of pathology, high volume in a beautiful newly renovated ED

Cons: New residency with all male residents, male PD/APD/chair

11) NJ- Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Serve a wide swath of patients from PA to NJ, well-established in the community, good location

Cons: Honestly, pretty awkward group of residents that I didn't jive with

12) KS- University of Kansas
Friendly group of residents and good interview experience

Cons: Not great regional location for me, seem to have contentious relationship with trauma surgery

13) GA- WellStar Kennestone Regional (Marietta)
Good diverse group of residents, building new facility that will be a 2 story ED that stands alone, good service to the community

Cons: New program, still don't have OB experience figured out after 2 years of being a program

14) NY- Good Samaritan Hospital (West Islip)
Long-established program in the community, good location for me

Cons: Catholic hospital (issue for me personally), very awkward interview day experience and my ""gut"" feels like I'd have a very bad experience at this residency

15) PA- Crozer-Chester Medical Center Program
Genuinely considering not ranking this program - HORRIBLE interview day experience including the staff bad-talking the PD while applicants were waiting in line for the bathroom, and residents saying they're not happy


Anything else to add?
Wellspan York Hospital was not an option - would have been my #7 - well-established program, good location, diverse group of residents, solid hybrid community experience including ECMO in department

Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

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[deleted547339]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 240’s/250’s
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors
AOA: Yes
Med School Region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive:
GHHS, former scribe, published EM research

Main considerations in making this ROL:
training quality, location

1) FL- UCF HCA GME Ocala
Badass trauma, great location for me, loved my interview day

2) FL- Palm Beach Consortium (Pt. St. Lucie)
Felt like an awesome fit, perfect for SO

3) FL- Aventura Hospital
excellent training, great faculty

4) CA- USC LAC+USC (Los Angeles)
utterly disappointed, had high hopes

5) MI- Henry Ford Macomb (Clinton Township)
PD was nice despite stories

6) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
SO likes area, volume is concerning

7) FL- UCF HCA GME Greater Orlando
great location

8) MA- Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Didn't vibe with residents, acuity concerning

9)AZ- Abrazo Health
up and coming program, bad location

10) FL- UCF HCA GME Gainsville
too many females in leadership (sry)

11) CA- Stanford
COL not worth name. Too pushy with leadership

12) FL- Orlando Health
poor rotation experience. May decide to DNR



Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

Surely this is either made up or someone is trying to bias people away from the program that they want to match at. You’re describing an HCA hospital located in a town of <60k as having a badass trauma program? I’ve driven through Ocala - there’s nothing badass about anything Ocala except maybe that John Travolta lives there. But you wonder about the acuity if Harvard???? Also, may DNR ORMC?? Common man....(or lady....). If this really is your list, it questions the point of having folks post their lists.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Yeah this has to got to be pure trolling.

Surely this is either made up or someone is trying to bias people away from the program that they want to match at. You’re describing an HCA hospital located in a town of <60k as having a badass trauma program? I’ve driven through Ocala - there’s nothing badass about anything Ocala except maybe that John Travolta lives there. But you wonder about the acuity if Harvard???? Also, may DNR ORMC?? Common man....(or lady....). If this really is your list, it questions the point of having folks post their lists.

 

[Apollyon]

I’ve driven through Ocala - there’s nothing badass about anything Ocala.

Hey - E-One is there! (They make fire apparatus.)

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/240's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Unsure
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Published x 1

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location, reputation

1) FL- Orlando Health
Happy residents, all-in-one campus, but malignant surgery service

2) USF Tampa
Strong female leadership, all-in-one campus

3) TX- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Program
Great residents, large program, commute to many locations over course of residency

4) NC- University of North Carolina
Reputation, but awkward residents

5) FL- University of Florida (Gainesville)
cheap to live, but work 24/28 days per month

6) FL- University of Florida Jacksonville
Reputation, high volume, sick patients, benefit of free time in 3rd year

7) FL- Jackson Memorial (Miami)
Nice Area to live, but commute to second hospital is far and trauma airways taken by anesthesia




Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/260's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: Left blank

Main considerations in making this ROL: General attitude of residents/faculty, location, experience to be gained

1) CO- Denver Health
I had heard a lot of really outstandingly positive things about Denver Health mixed with a lot of really negative things so I didn't really know what to expect when coming out to Colorado. I was totally blown away. I was impressed with the level of responsibility given to residents while at the same time hearing from the interns that it wasn't too much too fast. The city is bigger with many more different neighborhoods than I expected and it was also sunny and 60 in December. Denver health is a county hospital with all the patients that I want to see in residency (trauma, decompensated, socioeconomically disadvantaged) but unlike many other county hospitals, it was actually super nice inside with private rooms and wood floors. Also there was more time spent at the University of Colorado hospital than I expected which makes it a nice hybrid. UCH is also a level 1 and residents were saying they get just as much EM experience there. Sitting in on M&M was a insight on how freggin smart these people are, it was Socratic and a professional production. But what stuck with me the most with this residency program was how genuinely kind and happy everyone I interacted with was. Residents, faculty, and staff just seemed happy, and happy to have us. It just felt good to be there.

2) TN- Vanderbilt
This program gets rave reviews overall, I rarely hear anything negative about it except all the didactic and classroom learning (which, why is this a negative again? people putting in all this work to deliver organized curriculum.) It didn't fail to impress. I can tell these residents get out in 3 years more than most do in 4. I love the intentional curriculum, it feels like they really go out of their way to help you learn. Loved the leadership, too bad the Slovis legend isn't as present anymore, but I can tell his ways live on. Nashville is cool. Would be thrilled to end up here.

3) CA- UC Davis (Sacramento)
Big catchment area and lots of volume, again a 3 yr program that really gets it done quick. The PD and I really vibed, he's a positive guy who clearly loves to teach. Residents were really down to earth neither overly positive or negative. But what really got me was Sacramento. Total hidden gem. Sunny, mid-sized and not overcrowded, beach and mountains. Would be happy there

4) OR- Oregon Health & Science University Program
Definitely my favorite PD, she was so friendly and positive. They were out to prove that they're not just some small regular residency in a cool place, and it worked. True their volume is low but their per-resident volume is just like anywhere else, getting you just as good training. Residents were super fun and quirky, just like Portland itself. BTW, fell in love with Portland, mid-sized city tucked into the woods near a river and big mountain with lots of interesting people.

5) WA- University of Washington Program (Seattle)
Loved the PD here too. Residents were also very nice, but didn't know what to expect as this was my first. Harborview and UW combo is awesome. Seattle is cool but I didn't love it, IDK why really. Would be happy here though

6) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
I can tell this is a great program with very happy people. I liked how professional yet casual they were. Patient population is ideal and great relationship with UCSF. TBH I just really didn't like the bay area. Crowded and expensive.

7) CA- UC San Diego
San Diego is paradise. I don't need to explain, just go there. UCSD was cool. IDK if it was me or them but I just don't remember much from the program besides how great SD is.

8) GA- Emory
9) NM- University of New Mexico School of Medicine
10) TX- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Program

Programs That Rejected You: Emory, Carolinas, Harbor, LAC USC


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE) 650's/>700 (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Honors
AOA: left blank
Med School Region: West Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Left blank

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location weighted most heavily; followed by overall vibe/impression.

1) NY- SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Pros: love the mission and the intense county-style training. Pathology sounds unparalleled for the area. Location ideal for me. Great vibe from the residents and a lot of passion felt from the admin. Real in-house trauma experience. Reputation and name recognition likely help for career opportunities.

Cons: start with 12 hour shifts but at least they decrease that. 4 year is a con overall for me but can’t pass up the career opportunities this program would allow compared to the rest of my list. Bad nursing ratios but reportedly this is improving.
Pros: love the mission and the intense county-style training. Pathology sounds unparalleled for the area. Location ideal for me. Great vibe from the residents and a lot of passion felt from the admin. Real in-house trauma experience. Reputation and name recognition likely help for career opportunities.

Cons: start with 12 hour shifts but at least they decrease that. 4 year is a con overall for me but can’t pass up the career opportunities this program would allow compared to the rest of my list. Bad nursing ratios but reportedly this is improving.

2) NY- Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn)
Maimo

Pros: got fuzzy feelings from interview day and the social that I can’t ignore. PD was my favorite on the trail. Other applicants were very remarkable too. Residents are chill, really truly seem happy. Love the mix of shift hours length. Amazing to walk through the ED and see such incredible diversity in patients. Patients are a decade older than average which aligns with my career interests. Peds experience seems strong. 3 years.

Cons: facilities are some of the worst I’ve seen but that doesn’t matter to me. Could be frustrating using translator services all the time

3) NY- New York- Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
Pros: rotated here and loved it. Checks all my boxes; ideal location, decent volume, awesome diversity, vibed well with residents and liked the attendings I worked with. Residents seem to like the trauma training at Brookdale and it’s a bonus for me it stays in NY. Affiliation with NYP can’t hurt. A dearth of ultrasound machines with a well-integrated curriculum. Loved the autonomy here.

Cons: peds isn’t as strong as I would like. Ultimately ranked above hofstra because I prefer Brooklyn > Long Island.

4) NY- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (Manhasset)
Pros: loved my experience here. I like the idea of rotating at two sites with vastly different experiences. Not much trauma but supplemented by Maryland Shock Trauma. Awesome fellowship options. Really liked the attendings and residents here. Admin are quirky.

Cons: not partial to the patient population at Northshore which is more homogenous than LIJ. In-service procedural volume seemed low but residents still make their numbers.

5) NY- New York- Presbyterian/Queens
Pros: great vibe during interview day—interviewers actually read my app. Enjoy the emphasis on wellness. Supposedly the patient population is very very nice. Queens is crazy diverse. Had a tough time with this one as it went up and down my list a lot.

Cons: not many female residents in program but I suppose this could be a match mishap. Overall ranked a bit lower than some of my other programs because I’m partial to Brooklyn > queens but prefer it to going out of state.

6) CT- U of Connecticut
Pros: this one jumped up my list a lot when I formally reviewed all my programs. Reminds me somewhat of Zucker Manhasset. Residents were really cool, the admin were awesome—shoutout to Dr. Price. Diverse training at multiple sites. Strong peds training. Academic is a pro. Would in reality be higher on my list if this were in NY. Insane sim building.

Cons: Hartford is a con overall for me but is closer to support system for me than Chicago (see Cook pros/cons)

7) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
Pro: this was a really tough one because I loved this program—similar vibes to Kings county/downstate but in a cheaper city. Yet, I prefer Brooklyn to Chicago overall; don’t judge me. I like the 8 hour shifts. Awesome name recognition and amazing clinical training. Residents and admin seemed invested; humbled to work there even. The newer hospital is pretty nice compared to a lot of the NYC facilities I’m ranking high.

Cons: not a fan of the isolated trauma, would prefer it intermixed. Would prefer not to do 2 months of IM floors.

8) NJ- St. Joseph's University Medical Center
Pros: comparing to hackensack I like the patient population St Joes serves more. Much preferred the administration here then at Hackensack. Facilities are gorgeous.

Con: I simply hate NJ hence why it’s below my NY, Connecticut, and Chicago ranks

9) NJ- Hackensack University
Pros: lots of resources. I liked the residents I met here more than st joes just based on superficial vibe alone which could mean nothing. Facilities are also great and they seemed to have a lot of good benefits including awesome food options.

Cons: newer-ish program, weird admin vibes; New Jersey . Some residents commented that they would change the consult culture more if they could.

10) NY- St. Barnabas (Bronx)
Pros: Training seemed strong. Great diversity, awesome pathology, very hands on. Trauma intermixed with plenty of penetrating injuries coming in.

Cons: don’t prefer the Bronx, really bad nursing ratios, 4 years really didn’t seem justifiable for a community program—feel like I can get great community program training in 3 years at my other programs ranked above.

11) NY- Brookdale University Hospital & Medical Center (Brooklyn)
Pros: PD was straightforward and very caring about the program. I like the Brooklyn location. Great trauma experience. Training seemed very similar to barnabas overall and I do prefer Brooklyn > Bronx; but I’d rather train at a place I was more familiar with the caliber of the training with a longer history of graduating residents like barnabas.

Cons: residents seemed stressed; newer-ish program; couldn’t get a good feel for the culture at the program

12) RI- Kent Hospital Program
Pros: really liked the admin here, very strong off service rotations.

Cons: I didn’t like Rhode Island. Patient population is not for me. Couldn’t really click with the residents here nor any of the applicants I was with. Yale is close by and I would think it would take away anything cool that comes in.

13) NY- St. John's Riverside (Yonkers)
Pros: strong rotations in the Bronx at Jacobi for example

Cons: new program, low volume, very very very community vibe (con for me, not necessarily for everyone), Yonkers is far and if i commuted from metro north I would need to be picked up by security every day. Seemed like several of the residents there ranked this program low. Rather rank this than not match I suppose. Just couldn’t shake my impression of this place from the beginning so last it is

Anything Else to Add:
DO student

Programs You Applied To:
54


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 240's/260's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: Yes
Med School Region: Midwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: Left blank

Main considerations in making this ROL: Important things were quality of on shift teaching, consult culture (I want to learn how to handle most things by myself), and high volume with exposure to a die variety of clinical settings/pathology. Found myself favoring county/community programs as a result.

1) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
Rotated here.
Pros: Two words- Volume and Autonomy. Residents learn how to see a ton of patients and do so efficiently, with attendings as consultants. They rarely consult unless they actually have to. Residents are really cool, and more cerebral than I thought they would be (heard the early ICU and floor months enforce this). Strongest residents I have seen. They offer a tactical medicine fellowship that you can complete DURING residency (work with SWAT, etc.). Word on the street is they might be adding a new SICU rotation in 2nd year for even more ICU time. About 6 months of total high acuity community medicine rotations to round out your experience. Strong social mission. Great reputation, great job/fellowship prospects, 8 hour shifts, in a great city.

Cons: you are getting crushed on most shifts. Trauma is separate. 2 floor months.

2) CO- Denver Health
Pros: Also great autonomy and acuity. Graduates absolute clinical beasts. Love the county/academic mix, but wish there were more community sites. No clear weaknesses as far as training goes. Love the community feel at this place, and did not get a malignant vibe at all. You will be set up for whatever you hope to do after residency.

Cons: rough schedule, it's like 4 years of EM bootcamp. Awesome people, but didn't quite click with them like I did at my #1. Definitely got an intense vibe from this place

3) CA- LAC Harbor UCLA
Pros: another hospital with great autonomy and appreciative patients. Great reputation and excellent clinical exposure. Absolute rockstar faculty. No 12 hour shifts.

Cons: didn't quite get along with the residents like I'd hoped.

4) CA- USC LAC+USC (Los Angeles)
Rotated here. So similar to Cook County.
Pros: crazy volume and autonomy. Excellent clinical exposure. Rarely consult. Amazing faculty and residents at this place. Such a great community vibe. Produces absolute clinical beasts. Such a great patient population to take care of. Love the strong social mission. Can go anywhere and probably handle anything after graduating. Code bag. Love LA.

Cons: 12 hour shifts. Burn out is real here.

5) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
Pros: excellent reputation. Residents are extremely smart. Faculty really value teaching. Great clinical exposure and autonomy. Ultrasound experience is excellent, with great nerve block teaching. Can go anywhere after graduating here. No 12 hour shifts.

Cons: Don't love the area, and it's really expensive.

6) IL- Advocate Health Care (Oak Lawn, Chicago)
Pros: really high acuity ED. So many procedures. Community hospital with a great functioning system. Residents kind of broey, but really cool people. Really sharp residents. 1 on 1 with attendings on all shifts. Can moonlight in the peds ED for a lot of money. County population. Produces great clinicians. Love Chicago.

Cons: felt like there was greater autonomy at the county hospitals above. N of 1, but worked with a grad from here who wasn't a great clinician, and left a sour taste in my mouth.

7) NY- SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Pros: great pathology, really high volume, and a ton of autonomy. Felt like it would make me an absolute clinical beast. Grads at a ton of academic hospitals. New York City is all right.

Cons: 12 hour shifts, ton of scutwork

8) MN- Hennepin
Pros: these people live and breath EM. Some excellent educators. Great ultrasound experience. A lot of resusc and some high acuity. Great consult culture, they do everything themselves. Great national reputation.

Cons: just didn't vibe with the faculty. Don't like the area

9) IL- McGaw of Northwestern University (Chicago)
Pros: great academic hospital with a ton of resources. Great clinical experience. A lot of ICU time. Rotate at Cook County for trauma. Huge emphasis on teaching. Really smart residents who know their ****. Great community feel. Rotation at Gary sounds amazing. Love Chicago.

Cons: didn't vibe with the residents as much. Reputation for consulting a ton.

10) IL- University of Chicago
Pros: high acuity in the south side of Chicago. Great clinical experience. They see a ton of trauma in their new level 1 center. Really cool residents. Love Chicago.

Cons: also have a reputation for consulting quite a bit. didn't vibe with the faculty quite as much.

11) FL- Jackson Memorial (Miami)
Pros: super high acuity. some cool faculty. Great county population. Warm weather.

Cons: too knew, no established reputation for job prospects just yet.

12)MD- Johns Hopkins
Pros: high acuity and great clinical exposure. Ton of resources. Cool use of their 4th year. Cool residents.

Cons: didn't like the faculty. Don't love Baltimore.


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[deleted547339]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/260's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southwest
Anything else that made you more competitive: Left blank

Main considerations in making this ROL: General attitude of residents/faculty, location, experience to be gained

1) CO- Denver Health
I had heard a lot of really outstandingly positive things about Denver Health mixed with a lot of really negative things so I didn't really know what to expect when coming out to Colorado. I was totally blown away. I was impressed with the level of responsibility given to residents while at the same time hearing from the interns that it wasn't too much too fast. The city is bigger with many more different neighborhoods than I expected and it was also sunny and 60 in December. Denver health is a county hospital with all the patients that I want to see in residency (trauma, decompensated, socioeconomically disadvantaged) but unlike many other county hospitals, it was actually super nice inside with private rooms and wood floors. Also there was more time spent at the University of Colorado hospital than I expected which makes it a nice hybrid. UCH is also a level 1 and residents were saying they get just as much EM experience there. Sitting in on M&M was a insight on how freggin smart these people are, it was Socratic and a professional production. But what stuck with me the most with this residency program was how genuinely kind and happy everyone I interacted with was. Residents, faculty, and staff just seemed happy, and happy to have us. It just felt good to be there.

2) TN- Vanderbilt
This program gets rave reviews overall, I rarely hear anything negative about it except all the didactic and classroom learning (which, why is this a negative again? people putting in all this work to deliver organized curriculum.) It didn't fail to impress. I can tell these residents get out in 3 years more than most do in 4. I love the intentional curriculum, it feels like they really go out of their way to help you learn. Loved the leadership, too bad the Slovis legend isn't as present anymore, but I can tell his ways live on. Nashville is cool. Would be thrilled to end up here.

3) CA- UC Davis (Sacramento)
Big catchment area and lots of volume, again a 3 yr program that really gets it done quick. The PD and I really vibed, he's a positive guy who clearly loves to teach. Residents were really down to earth neither overly positive or negative. But what really got me was Sacramento. Total hidden gem. Sunny, mid-sized and not overcrowded, beach and mountains. Would be happy there

4) OR- Oregon Health & Science University Program
Definitely my favorite PD, she was so friendly and positive. They were out to prove that they're not just some small regular residency in a cool place, and it worked. True their volume is low but their per-resident volume is just like anywhere else, getting you just as good training. Residents were super fun and quirky, just like Portland itself. BTW, fell in love with Portland, mid-sized city tucked into the woods near a river and big mountain with lots of interesting people.

5) WA- University of Washington Program (Seattle)
Loved the PD here too. Residents were also very nice, but didn't know what to expect as this was my first. Harborview and UW combo is awesome. Seattle is cool but I didn't love it, IDK why really. Would be happy here though

6) CA- Alameda Health- Highland Hospital
I can tell this is a great program with very happy people. I liked how professional yet casual they were. Patient population is ideal and great relationship with UCSF. TBH I just really didn't like the bay area. Crowded and expensive.

7) CA- UC San Diego
San Diego is paradise. I don't need to explain, just go there. UCSD was cool. IDK if it was me or them but I just don't remember much from the program besides how great SD is.

8) GA- Emory
9) NM- University of New Mexico School of Medicine
10) TX- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Program

Programs That Rejected You: Emory, Carolinas, Harbor, LAC USC


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

I’m losing all faith in this thread and our future intern class. You were rejected by Emory and ranked them 8th? That’s not how this works.

 

[TheSingularity]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE) 650's/>700 (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Honors
AOA: left blank
Med School Region: West Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Left blank

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location weighted most heavily; followed by overall vibe/impression.

1) NY- SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Pros: love the mission and the intense county-style training. Pathology sounds unparalleled for the area. Location ideal for me. Great vibe from the residents and a lot of passion felt from the admin. Real in-house trauma experience. Reputation and name recognition likely help for career opportunities.

Cons: start with 12 hour shifts but at least they decrease that. 4 year is a con overall for me but can’t pass up the career opportunities this program would allow compared to the rest of my list. Bad nursing ratios but reportedly this is improving.
Pros: love the mission and the intense county-style training. Pathology sounds unparalleled for the area. Location ideal for me. Great vibe from the residents and a lot of passion felt from the admin. Real in-house trauma experience. Reputation and name recognition likely help for career opportunities.

Cons: start with 12 hour shifts but at least they decrease that. 4 year is a con overall for me but can’t pass up the career opportunities this program would allow compared to the rest of my list. Bad nursing ratios but reportedly this is improving.

2) NY- Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn)
Maimo

Pros: got fuzzy feelings from interview day and the social that I can’t ignore. PD was my favorite on the trail. Other applicants were very remarkable too. Residents are chill, really truly seem happy. Love the mix of shift hours length. Amazing to walk through the ED and see such incredible diversity in patients. Patients are a decade older than average which aligns with my career interests. Peds experience seems strong. 3 years.

Cons: facilities are some of the worst I’ve seen but that doesn’t matter to me. Could be frustrating using translator services all the time

3) NY- New York- Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
Pros: rotated here and loved it. Checks all my boxes; ideal location, decent volume, awesome diversity, vibed well with residents and liked the attendings I worked with. Residents seem to like the trauma training at Brookdale and it’s a bonus for me it stays in NY. Affiliation with NYP can’t hurt. A dearth of ultrasound machines with a well-integrated curriculum. Loved the autonomy here.

Cons: peds isn’t as strong as I would like. Ultimately ranked above hofstra because I prefer Brooklyn > Long Island.

4) NY- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (Manhasset)
Pros: loved my experience here. I like the idea of rotating at two sites with vastly different experiences. Not much trauma but supplemented by Maryland Shock Trauma. Awesome fellowship options. Really liked the attendings and residents here. Admin are quirky.

Cons: not partial to the patient population at Northshore which is more homogenous than LIJ. In-service procedural volume seemed low but residents still make their numbers.

5) NY- New York- Presbyterian/Queens
Pros: great vibe during interview day—interviewers actually read my app. Enjoy the emphasis on wellness. Supposedly the patient population is very very nice. Queens is crazy diverse. Had a tough time with this one as it went up and down my list a lot.

Cons: not many female residents in program but I suppose this could be a match mishap. Overall ranked a bit lower than some of my other programs because I’m partial to Brooklyn > queens but prefer it to going out of state.

6) CT- U of Connecticut
Pros: this one jumped up my list a lot when I formally reviewed all my programs. Reminds me somewhat of Zucker Manhasset. Residents were really cool, the admin were awesome—shoutout to Dr. Price. Diverse training at multiple sites. Strong peds training. Academic is a pro. Would in reality be higher on my list if this were in NY. Insane sim building.

Cons: Hartford is a con overall for me but is closer to support system for me than Chicago (see Cook pros/cons)

7) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
Pro: this was a really tough one because I loved this program—similar vibes to Kings county/downstate but in a cheaper city. Yet, I prefer Brooklyn to Chicago overall; don’t judge me. I like the 8 hour shifts. Awesome name recognition and amazing clinical training. Residents and admin seemed invested; humbled to work there even. The newer hospital is pretty nice compared to a lot of the NYC facilities I’m ranking high.

Cons: not a fan of the isolated trauma, would prefer it intermixed. Would prefer not to do 2 months of IM floors.

8) NJ- St. Joseph's University Medical Center
Pros: comparing to hackensack I like the patient population St Joes serves more. Much preferred the administration here then at Hackensack. Facilities are gorgeous.

Con: I simply hate NJ hence why it’s below my NY, Connecticut, and Chicago ranks

9) NJ- Hackensack University
Pros: lots of resources. I liked the residents I met here more than st joes just based on superficial vibe alone which could mean nothing. Facilities are also great and they seemed to have a lot of good benefits including awesome food options.

Cons: newer-ish program, weird admin vibes; New Jersey . Some residents commented that they would change the consult culture more if they could.

10) NY- St. Barnabas (Bronx)
Pros: Training seemed strong. Great diversity, awesome pathology, very hands on. Trauma intermixed with plenty of penetrating injuries coming in.

Cons: don’t prefer the Bronx, really bad nursing ratios, 4 years really didn’t seem justifiable for a community program—feel like I can get great community program training in 3 years at my other programs ranked above.

11) NY- Brookdale University Hospital & Medical Center (Brooklyn)
Pros: PD was straightforward and very caring about the program. I like the Brooklyn location. Great trauma experience. Training seemed very similar to barnabas overall and I do prefer Brooklyn > Bronx; but I’d rather train at a place I was more familiar with the caliber of the training with a longer history of graduating residents like barnabas.

Cons: residents seemed stressed; newer-ish program; couldn’t get a good feel for the culture at the program

12) RI- Kent Hospital Program
Pros: really liked the admin here, very strong off service rotations.

Cons: I didn’t like Rhode Island. Patient population is not for me. Couldn’t really click with the residents here nor any of the applicants I was with. Yale is close by and I would think it would take away anything cool that comes in.

13) NY- St. John's Riverside (Yonkers)
Pros: strong rotations in the Bronx at Jacobi for example

Cons: new program, low volume, very very very community vibe (con for me, not necessarily for everyone), Yonkers is far and if i commuted from metro north I would need to be picked up by security every day. Seemed like several of the residents there ranked this program low. Rather rank this than not match I suppose. Just couldn’t shake my impression of this place from the beginning so last it is

Anything Else to Add:
DO student

Programs You Applied To:
54


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

Had a coattending graduate from Kings recently. Did 3 chest tubes all of residency. Trauma surg runs the show here.

 

[TheSingularity]

Cook is certainly resting on its laurels. Floor months are a waste of time.

 

[Rekt]

Cook is certainly resting on its laurels. Floor months are a waste of time.

Definitely. How many months off service was a pretty strong consideration in my ROL.

 

[deleted547339]

Floor months are a waste of time.

I strongly disagree. A lot of what you do in EM is IM. And knowing the capabilities and procedures of your admitting services is worthwhile. My program took that month away and I think it’s a mistake.

 

[TheSingularity]

There is no value to this once you graduate residency. Having a rotation simply to "understand" the procedures of their admitting service is a waste of a residents time.

I strongly disagree. A lot of what you do in EM is IM. And knowing the capabilities and procedures of your admitting services is worthwhile. My program took that month away and I think it’s a mistake.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using SDN mobile

 

[manyleavesonetree]

Cook is certainly resting on its laurels. Floor months are a waste of time.

Really? My impression was that residents get most of their procedure in during these floor months bc theyre expected as the EM resident to know their stuff, and end up doing most of the procedure. They also mentioned these floor months really what build their knowledge to take care of the sicker patients they see as they become 3rd 4th years

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Really? My impression was that residents get most of their procedure in during these floor months bc theyre expected as the EM resident to know their stuff, and end up doing most of the procedure. They also mentioned these floor months really what build their knowledge to take care of the sicker patients they see as they become 3rd 4th years

I know nothing about Cook. But I find it an odd concept that EM resident are getting most of their procedures on floor months, not in the ED or ICU.

 

[Rekt]

Really? My impression was that residents get most of their procedure in during these floor months bc theyre expected as the EM resident to know their stuff, and end up doing most of the procedure. They also mentioned these floor months really what build their knowledge to take care of the sicker patients they see as they become 3rd 4th years

Sounds like you're drinking the cool aid. A program spinning that as a positive is a red flag. You should be getting plenty of procedures from your ED population. You learn how to be good in the ED, not chasing electrolytes for weeks on end.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Another point to consider is 20 years after starting residency I think my off service rotations really didn’t impact my education much one way or another. So in the long run I don’t think they are as important as applicants think they are.

Sounds like you're drinking the cool aid. A program spinning that as a positive is a red flag. You should be getting plenty of procedures from your ED population. You learn how to be good in the ED, not chasing electrolytes for weeks on end.

 

[WildcatS11]

Really? My impression was that residents get most of their procedure in during these floor months bc theyre expected as the EM resident to know their stuff, and end up doing most of the procedure. They also mentioned these floor months really what build their knowledge to take care of the sicker patients they see as they become 3rd 4th years

That’s a great spin on a huge negative for the program. Floor month = cheap labor for the hospital. There’s a reason you really see this only in county places.

 

[manyleavesonetree]

I know nothing about Cook. But I find it an odd concept that EM resident are getting most of their procedures on floor months, not in the ED or ICU.

Sounds like you're drinking the cool aid. A program spinning that as a positive is a red flag. You should be getting plenty of procedures from your ED population. You learn how to be good in the ED, not chasing electrolytes for weeks on end.

That’s a great spin on a huge negative for the program. Floor month = cheap labor for the hospital. There’s a reason you really see this only in county places.

I should have worded it better, what I meant was they get a lot of procedures done upstairs as well (wasn't trying to imply they don't get their procedures done in the ED, which they do I have rotated there). As wildcats said this is also cheap labor for the hospital that is correct, the second month is a total staffing issue rather than county thinking their residents actually need 2 months of IM, but that's why people going into county programs have to buy into the social mission I suppose because if the social mission isn't worth the cheap labor for you than yeah it can be a big negative. I'm sure I am also drinking the cool aid a little bit since I don't have too many options and it is, despite the negatives, the best program out of all my options.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

I should have worded it better, what I meant was they get a lot of procedures done upstairs as well (wasn't trying to imply they don't get their procedures done in the ED, which they do I have rotated there). As wildcats said this is also cheap labor for the hospital that is correct, the second month is a total staffing issue rather than county thinking their residents actually need 2 months of IM, but that's why people going into county programs have to buy into the social mission I suppose because if the social mission isn't worth the cheap labor for you than yeah it can be a big negative. I'm sure I am also drinking the cool aid a little bit since I don't have too many options and it is, despite the negatives, the best program out of all my options.

Don't get me wrong, it's two months. While I don't think floor medicine is really that useful, and a month would be more than enough, if you even should do that, it's still not something that should be a make or break thing in my opinion. I personally think while its a negative, its a small point.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 240's (USMLE, Step 2)/ 520's/600's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Previous clinical experience

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location (job for SO); 3 > 4; Variety of pathology/patient demographics

1) SC- Prisma Health-Midlands/University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia Program
Pros: Great program overall, well-established. Awesome faculty (some griping and complaining but nothing more than anticipated). Everyone seemed to enjoy teaching (residents, core faculty, non-faculty attendings); great moonlighting opportunities; great pediatrics exposure. Great benefits; meals covered, free parking; PD is big in the ultrasound world and it definitely shows in the training that the residents and students receive. Also big focus on sim training and tox. Well-rounded program. Live PD films in Richland County and sometimes you'll see your patients on there... so that's cool, I guess?

Cons: Columbia isn't the greatest city in the world but it's also not the worst. Cost of living is low and there's still a lot of stuff to do during downtime (Lake Murray; downtown scene; college sports). The ED definitely gets super busy (they'll sometimes be putting patients in the middle area where the doctors sit - not just next to it on the other side of the desks, but in the actual middle area, ridiculous and I'm pretty sure this has be be violating some sort of regulation).

2) SC- Grand Strand Regional Medical Center Program
Seems like a really good program - the APD is really awesome and loves to teach. The PD is kinda quirky but seemed really sweet. During the interview day he spent about 15 minutes talking about his accomplishments, his papers, the books he's written, and other stuff but again, he seems very nice.

The residents all seemed pretty great, too. I like how they did the pre-interview dinner and rotated throughout the night so we had a chance to talk with all of them (good turnout). They also did a meet and greet with the faculty for about an hour before the dinner started which I really liked. Wilderness med seems to be a strong point of this program.

Meals are covered except for the back grill area and stuff in the coolers. Hospital staff seemed nice during our limited interaction. They seem to get a lot of trauma (penetrating trauma from surrounding areas like Loris and blunt trauma from the immediate area). EM gets the head of the bed during traumas. A lot of procedures, good variety of pathology and pediatric exposure. Strong focus on sim and procedure training. Overall, seems like a great program.

3) NC- Campbell University/Cape Fear Valley Medical Center
4 year program and PD has no intention of switching to a 3 year program - he likes the 4 years.

Seems like a great program, overall. Good pathology, a lot of trauma, busy, great procedures. I got a very good impression of this place during interview day. The main con is that this is a 4 year program.

They have a huge catchment area and are the only level 1 for this entire area of NC. Most of the residents seemed great but the chief was kind of a bummer at the dinner. He kept to himself and didn't really want to engage. I felt awkward asking him questions so that definitely gave a weird vibe. But everyone else seemed really awesome.

4) NC- Campbell University/Southeastern Regional Medical Center
4 year transitioning to 3 year program I think but haven't gotten the final word yet. Seems like a good program in the middle of a active knife and gun club. Also sounds like they get some weird and crazy pathology. Seems like good training with a lot of procedures and a wide variety in the patient population. Strong community program.

Residents were all very friendly and seemed fun.

5) FL- Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt
Good program; a lot of old sick people and a TON of procedures to go around. The PD seems super awesome and so do all the faculty I met that day. I was very impressed with this for being such a new program. The residents were all really awesome, seemed very happy, and had only good things to say about their program.

Very generous meal allowance, free parking, opportunities to set up moonlighting if you so desire, great wellness program in place. Shift hours vary depending on the season (anywhere from 8 to 11 hour shifts); 15 - 17 shifts per month in the ED depending on PGY. They did this by making a lot of rotations longitudinal (i.e. after 1st year, trauma shifts, ultrasound, administration, and peds shifts become longitudinal which I really like). So you get more months in the ED overall which allows more flexibility in the schedule (I think that's how they explained this).

Con = a lot of old sick people (haha). Not a ton of variety and their average patient age is like 102, I'm pretty sure (jk but it's still like an average age of 85 at one facility and 60s at the other with an 37% admission rate). But they go to St. Mary's for peds and trauma which seems like an amazing facility with a great trauma service that loves the EM residents.

6) VA- Riverside

This seems like a great new program. Always a little nerve wracking to be the first class but the PD has a lot of experience as a PD and seems like he knows what he's doing. He has a lot of support from some great faculty as well as support from the hospital administration. I talked with some rotating students and they said there's good pathology and a decent amount of trauma here as well as plenty of procedures to go around. I would be happy matching here.

7) MI- Mercy Health (Muskegon)
This program was a huge surprise - I absolutely loved it. The PD was wonderful and so were all the faculty that I met. They've graduated 2 classes (I think?) and they seem to be going strong. It's a 4 year program which is a bummer but they allow moonlighting and seem to have some decent places established.

I can't mention enough here how much I loved this program but unfortunately, it's far from where my SO wants to be and who already has connections established for future employment at the other places I've ranked above here. But I would be perfectly fine and quite happy if I ended up matching here even though it's further down on my list (I don't think my SO would be quite as happy, though).

Strong ultrasound training, tons of procedures, good level of autonomy, 2 different facilities that are close by but give 2 different patient populations, a lot of trauma, ED staff are great, good relationship with other services. The residents are all really awesome, very down to earth and I vibed really well with all the ones I met.

If location weren't a factor, this would easily be in my top 3 (with the major con being that it's a 4 year program).

8) FL- Aventura Hospital

Good location, faculty all seemed awesome on interview day. PD has great connections, especially if you're looking at critical care. One of his graduating residents matched into the same fellowship he went to for critical care at Shock Trauma. This looks like it's turning into a really wonderful program. The residents also seemed great and were really nice. Some were a little quirky but I think we're all a little quirky at heart.

Parking and meals are paid for I think? I don't remember, I should have taken better notes (this was later in my interview season so everything started running together).

Another personal con is this is in South Florida so it's warm all year round (some people really like this, though; I just like to have some sort of a winter season. And when it does get cold, I don't want iguanas falling on my head).

9) OH- Doctors Hospital/OhioHealth Program
Program seems okay, but it's 4 years which is a con for me. Vibed well with the residents and faculty all seemed nice. Honestly don't have too much to say about this program - sorry for doing it an injustice here.

10) NV- Sunrise Health GME Consortium

The residents seem to get strong training but this is far away from where I want to be location-wise.

PD is weird; the interview with him was SUPER weird. He's obviously very smart and has an interesting approach to didactics which I kind of liked but the interview with him left a weird impression.

Overall, I feel like this is going to be a phenomenal program. If I were single, this would easily be ranked much higher on my list (the residents are outgoing and all get along with one another, it's basically in Las Vegas, the surrounding area has a lot of awesome outdoor activities).

11) FL- HCA West Florida GME Consortium Brandon
Wasn't impressed here mostly because of the residents. The Tampa area is beautiful which is a pro for this program. They seem to see a lot of older patients with very little pediatrics exposure. Throughout the interview day and the night before, one of the residents was really negative and didn't seem happy about EM in general. I'm trying to not let this bias my opinion about the program too much but it's hard to overlook someone who's immensely bitter about his life choices (maybe he was just having an off day). They also didn't have their trauma rotations figured out until this year. They have to travel for trauma which isn't a big deal, I don't mind traveling, but they also don't have a strong pediatrics rotation figured out either.

The PD seemed absolutely amazing as well as some of the other faculty. I would absolutely enjoy learning from this group but unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros too much for me.

12) OK- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (Norman) Program
I enjoyed my interview day here but it's far away from anywhere that my SO or I want to be and it's a 4 year program. Otherwise, it seems like a good program. The residents seem happy and like they get good training. They said they see a lot of trauma but that's hard to believe with a level 1 not being too far down the road. Sounds like they have decent moonlighting opportunities.

Programs You Applied To: Applied to 40 total

Programs whose interviews you declined: Declined 6 interviews (due to personal reasons, not because I actually wanted to decline all of them).

Programs whose interviews you attended: All listed above.

Programs from which you withdrew before hearing anything: None

Programs that rejected you: MUSC - Charleston, SC; USF Tampa; Maine Medical Center


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[manyleavesonetree]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 240's (USMLE, Step 2)/ 520's/600's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Previous clinical experience

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location (job for SO); 3 > 4; Variety of pathology/patient demographics

1) SC- Prisma Health-Midlands/University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia Program
Pros: Great program overall, well-established. Awesome faculty (some griping and complaining but nothing more than anticipated). Everyone seemed to enjoy teaching (residents, core faculty, non-faculty attendings); great moonlighting opportunities; great pediatrics exposure. Great benefits; meals covered, free parking; PD is big in the ultrasound world and it definitely shows in the training that the residents and students receive. Also big focus on sim training and tox. Well-rounded program. Live PD films in Richland County and sometimes you'll see your patients on there... so that's cool, I guess?

Cons: Columbia isn't the greatest city in the world but it's also not the worst. Cost of living is low and there's still a lot of stuff to do during downtime (Lake Murray; downtown scene; college sports). The ED definitely gets super busy (they'll sometimes be putting patients in the middle area where the doctors sit - not just next to it on the other side of the desks, but in the actual middle area, ridiculous and I'm pretty sure this has be be violating some sort of regulation).

2) SC- Grand Strand Regional Medical Center Program
Seems like a really good program - the APD is really awesome and loves to teach. The PD is kinda quirky but seemed really sweet. During the interview day he spent about 15 minutes talking about his accomplishments, his papers, the books he's written, and other stuff but again, he seems very nice.

The residents all seemed pretty great, too. I like how they did the pre-interview dinner and rotated throughout the night so we had a chance to talk with all of them (good turnout). They also did a meet and greet with the faculty for about an hour before the dinner started which I really liked. Wilderness med seems to be a strong point of this program.

Meals are covered except for the back grill area and stuff in the coolers. Hospital staff seemed nice during our limited interaction. They seem to get a lot of trauma (penetrating trauma from surrounding areas like Loris and blunt trauma from the immediate area). EM gets the head of the bed during traumas. A lot of procedures, good variety of pathology and pediatric exposure. Strong focus on sim and procedure training. Overall, seems like a great program.

3) NC- Campbell University/Cape Fear Valley Medical Center
4 year program and PD has no intention of switching to a 3 year program - he likes the 4 years.

Seems like a great program, overall. Good pathology, a lot of trauma, busy, great procedures. I got a very good impression of this place during interview day. The main con is that this is a 4 year program.

They have a huge catchment area and are the only level 1 for this entire area of NC. Most of the residents seemed great but the chief was kind of a bummer at the dinner. He kept to himself and didn't really want to engage. I felt awkward asking him questions so that definitely gave a weird vibe. But everyone else seemed really awesome.

4) NC- Campbell University/Southeastern Regional Medical Center
4 year transitioning to 3 year program I think but haven't gotten the final word yet. Seems like a good program in the middle of a active knife and gun club. Also sounds like they get some weird and crazy pathology. Seems like good training with a lot of procedures and a wide variety in the patient population. Strong community program.

Residents were all very friendly and seemed fun.

5) FL- Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt
Good program; a lot of old sick people and a TON of procedures to go around. The PD seems super awesome and so do all the faculty I met that day. I was very impressed with this for being such a new program. The residents were all really awesome, seemed very happy, and had only good things to say about their program.

Very generous meal allowance, free parking, opportunities to set up moonlighting if you so desire, great wellness program in place. Shift hours vary depending on the season (anywhere from 8 to 11 hour shifts); 15 - 17 shifts per month in the ED depending on PGY. They did this by making a lot of rotations longitudinal (i.e. after 1st year, trauma shifts, ultrasound, administration, and peds shifts become longitudinal which I really like). So you get more months in the ED overall which allows more flexibility in the schedule (I think that's how they explained this).

Con = a lot of old sick people (haha). Not a ton of variety and their average patient age is like 102, I'm pretty sure (jk but it's still like an average age of 85 at one facility and 60s at the other with an 37% admission rate). But they go to St. Mary's for peds and trauma which seems like an amazing facility with a great trauma service that loves the EM residents.

6) VA- Riverside

This seems like a great new program. Always a little nerve wracking to be the first class but the PD has a lot of experience as a PD and seems like he knows what he's doing. He has a lot of support from some great faculty as well as support from the hospital administration. I talked with some rotating students and they said there's good pathology and a decent amount of trauma here as well as plenty of procedures to go around. I would be happy matching here.

7) MI- Mercy Health (Muskegon)
This program was a huge surprise - I absolutely loved it. The PD was wonderful and so were all the faculty that I met. They've graduated 2 classes (I think?) and they seem to be going strong. It's a 4 year program which is a bummer but they allow moonlighting and seem to have some decent places established.

I can't mention enough here how much I loved this program but unfortunately, it's far from where my SO wants to be and who already has connections established for future employment at the other places I've ranked above here. But I would be perfectly fine and quite happy if I ended up matching here even though it's further down on my list (I don't think my SO would be quite as happy, though).

Strong ultrasound training, tons of procedures, good level of autonomy, 2 different facilities that are close by but give 2 different patient populations, a lot of trauma, ED staff are great, good relationship with other services. The residents are all really awesome, very down to earth and I vibed really well with all the ones I met.

If location weren't a factor, this would easily be in my top 3 (with the major con being that it's a 4 year program).

8) FL- Aventura Hospital

Good location, faculty all seemed awesome on interview day. PD has great connections, especially if you're looking at critical care. One of his graduating residents matched into the same fellowship he went to for critical care at Shock Trauma. This looks like it's turning into a really wonderful program. The residents also seemed great and were really nice. Some were a little quirky but I think we're all a little quirky at heart.

Parking and meals are paid for I think? I don't remember, I should have taken better notes (this was later in my interview season so everything started running together).

Another personal con is this is in South Florida so it's warm all year round (some people really like this, though; I just like to have some sort of a winter season. And when it does get cold, I don't want iguanas falling on my head).

9) OH- Doctors Hospital/OhioHealth Program
Program seems okay, but it's 4 years which is a con for me. Vibed well with the residents and faculty all seemed nice. Honestly don't have too much to say about this program - sorry for doing it an injustice here.

10) NV- Sunrise Health GME Consortium

The residents seem to get strong training but this is far away from where I want to be location-wise.

PD is weird; the interview with him was SUPER weird. He's obviously very smart and has an interesting approach to didactics which I kind of liked but the interview with him left a weird impression.

Overall, I feel like this is going to be a phenomenal program. If I were single, this would easily be ranked much higher on my list (the residents are outgoing and all get along with one another, it's basically in Las Vegas, the surrounding area has a lot of awesome outdoor activities).

11) FL- HCA West Florida GME Consortium Brandon
Wasn't impressed here mostly because of the residents. The Tampa area is beautiful which is a pro for this program. They seem to see a lot of older patients with very little pediatrics exposure. Throughout the interview day and the night before, one of the residents was really negative and didn't seem happy about EM in general. I'm trying to not let this bias my opinion about the program too much but it's hard to overlook someone who's immensely bitter about his life choices (maybe he was just having an off day). They also didn't have their trauma rotations figured out until this year. They have to travel for trauma which isn't a big deal, I don't mind traveling, but they also don't have a strong pediatrics rotation figured out either.

The PD seemed absolutely amazing as well as some of the other faculty. I would absolutely enjoy learning from this group but unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros too much for me.

12) OK- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (Norman) Program
I enjoyed my interview day here but it's far away from anywhere that my SO or I want to be and it's a 4 year program. Otherwise, it seems like a good program. The residents seem happy and like they get good training. They said they see a lot of trauma but that's hard to believe with a level 1 not being too far down the road. Sounds like they have decent moonlighting opportunities.

Programs You Applied To: Applied to 40 total

Programs whose interviews you declined: Declined 6 interviews (due to personal reasons, not because I actually wanted to decline all of them).

Programs whose interviews you attended: All listed above.

Programs from which you withdrew before hearing anything: None

Programs that rejected you: MUSC - Charleston, SC; USF Tampa; Maine Medical Center


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

I also loved Mercy in Muskegon! Great enthusiastic young PD, new hospital, renewed facilities. They also received their 10 year continued accreditation through the ACGME so . Also apparently Muskegon has some of the best beaches (but not sure how much summertime you get that up north)

 

[Zebra Hunter]

I strongly disagree. A lot of what you do in EM is IM. And knowing the capabilities and procedures of your admitting services is worthwhile. My program took that month away and I think it’s a mistake.

Man, I usually agree with you, but I think this is straight up wrong. I helped get rid of the medicine month for my program when I became chief. We changed our medicine month to an extra month of ICU which I found to be to significantly more useful. One can only do so many diet orders, pharmacy calls, med recs, and social work consults before you get the picture. The only thing beneficial from my medicine month was to strengthen my love for EM.

 

[boolin_1]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 240's (USMLE, Step 2)/ 520's/600's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Previous clinical experience

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location (job for SO); 3 > 4; Variety of pathology/patient demographics

1) SC- Prisma Health-Midlands/University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia Program
Pros: Great program overall, well-established. Awesome faculty (some griping and complaining but nothing more than anticipated). Everyone seemed to enjoy teaching (residents, core faculty, non-faculty attendings); great moonlighting opportunities; great pediatrics exposure. Great benefits; meals covered, free parking; PD is big in the ultrasound world and it definitely shows in the training that the residents and students receive. Also big focus on sim training and tox. Well-rounded program. Live PD films in Richland County and sometimes you'll see your patients on there... so that's cool, I guess?

Cons: Columbia isn't the greatest city in the world but it's also not the worst. Cost of living is low and there's still a lot of stuff to do during downtime (Lake Murray; downtown scene; college sports). The ED definitely gets super busy (they'll sometimes be putting patients in the middle area where the doctors sit - not just next to it on the other side of the desks, but in the actual middle area, ridiculous and I'm pretty sure this has be be violating some sort of regulation).

2) SC- Grand Strand Regional Medical Center Program
Seems like a really good program - the APD is really awesome and loves to teach. The PD is kinda quirky but seemed really sweet. During the interview day he spent about 15 minutes talking about his accomplishments, his papers, the books he's written, and other stuff but again, he seems very nice.

The residents all seemed pretty great, too. I like how they did the pre-interview dinner and rotated throughout the night so we had a chance to talk with all of them (good turnout). They also did a meet and greet with the faculty for about an hour before the dinner started which I really liked. Wilderness med seems to be a strong point of this program.

Meals are covered except for the back grill area and stuff in the coolers. Hospital staff seemed nice during our limited interaction. They seem to get a lot of trauma (penetrating trauma from surrounding areas like Loris and blunt trauma from the immediate area). EM gets the head of the bed during traumas. A lot of procedures, good variety of pathology and pediatric exposure. Strong focus on sim and procedure training. Overall, seems like a great program.

3) NC- Campbell University/Cape Fear Valley Medical Center
4 year program and PD has no intention of switching to a 3 year program - he likes the 4 years.

Seems like a great program, overall. Good pathology, a lot of trauma, busy, great procedures. I got a very good impression of this place during interview day. The main con is that this is a 4 year program.

They have a huge catchment area and are the only level 1 for this entire area of NC. Most of the residents seemed great but the chief was kind of a bummer at the dinner. He kept to himself and didn't really want to engage. I felt awkward asking him questions so that definitely gave a weird vibe. But everyone else seemed really awesome.

4) NC- Campbell University/Southeastern Regional Medical Center
4 year transitioning to 3 year program I think but haven't gotten the final word yet. Seems like a good program in the middle of a active knife and gun club. Also sounds like they get some weird and crazy pathology. Seems like good training with a lot of procedures and a wide variety in the patient population. Strong community program.

Residents were all very friendly and seemed fun.

5) FL- Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt
Good program; a lot of old sick people and a TON of procedures to go around. The PD seems super awesome and so do all the faculty I met that day. I was very impressed with this for being such a new program. The residents were all really awesome, seemed very happy, and had only good things to say about their program.

Very generous meal allowance, free parking, opportunities to set up moonlighting if you so desire, great wellness program in place. Shift hours vary depending on the season (anywhere from 8 to 11 hour shifts); 15 - 17 shifts per month in the ED depending on PGY. They did this by making a lot of rotations longitudinal (i.e. after 1st year, trauma shifts, ultrasound, administration, and peds shifts become longitudinal which I really like). So you get more months in the ED overall which allows more flexibility in the schedule (I think that's how they explained this).

Con = a lot of old sick people (haha). Not a ton of variety and their average patient age is like 102, I'm pretty sure (jk but it's still like an average age of 85 at one facility and 60s at the other with an 37% admission rate). But they go to St. Mary's for peds and trauma which seems like an amazing facility with a great trauma service that loves the EM residents.

6) VA- Riverside

This seems like a great new program. Always a little nerve wracking to be the first class but the PD has a lot of experience as a PD and seems like he knows what he's doing. He has a lot of support from some great faculty as well as support from the hospital administration. I talked with some rotating students and they said there's good pathology and a decent amount of trauma here as well as plenty of procedures to go around. I would be happy matching here.

7) MI- Mercy Health (Muskegon)
This program was a huge surprise - I absolutely loved it. The PD was wonderful and so were all the faculty that I met. They've graduated 2 classes (I think?) and they seem to be going strong. It's a 4 year program which is a bummer but they allow moonlighting and seem to have some decent places established.

I can't mention enough here how much I loved this program but unfortunately, it's far from where my SO wants to be and who already has connections established for future employment at the other places I've ranked above here. But I would be perfectly fine and quite happy if I ended up matching here even though it's further down on my list (I don't think my SO would be quite as happy, though).

Strong ultrasound training, tons of procedures, good level of autonomy, 2 different facilities that are close by but give 2 different patient populations, a lot of trauma, ED staff are great, good relationship with other services. The residents are all really awesome, very down to earth and I vibed really well with all the ones I met.

If location weren't a factor, this would easily be in my top 3 (with the major con being that it's a 4 year program).

8) FL- Aventura Hospital

Good location, faculty all seemed awesome on interview day. PD has great connections, especially if you're looking at critical care. One of his graduating residents matched into the same fellowship he went to for critical care at Shock Trauma. This looks like it's turning into a really wonderful program. The residents also seemed great and were really nice. Some were a little quirky but I think we're all a little quirky at heart.

Parking and meals are paid for I think? I don't remember, I should have taken better notes (this was later in my interview season so everything started running together).

Another personal con is this is in South Florida so it's warm all year round (some people really like this, though; I just like to have some sort of a winter season. And when it does get cold, I don't want iguanas falling on my head).

9) OH- Doctors Hospital/OhioHealth Program
Program seems okay, but it's 4 years which is a con for me. Vibed well with the residents and faculty all seemed nice. Honestly don't have too much to say about this program - sorry for doing it an injustice here.

10) NV- Sunrise Health GME Consortium

The residents seem to get strong training but this is far away from where I want to be location-wise.

PD is weird; the interview with him was SUPER weird. He's obviously very smart and has an interesting approach to didactics which I kind of liked but the interview with him left a weird impression.

Overall, I feel like this is going to be a phenomenal program. If I were single, this would easily be ranked much higher on my list (the residents are outgoing and all get along with one another, it's basically in Las Vegas, the surrounding area has a lot of awesome outdoor activities).

11) FL- HCA West Florida GME Consortium Brandon
Wasn't impressed here mostly because of the residents. The Tampa area is beautiful which is a pro for this program. They seem to see a lot of older patients with very little pediatrics exposure. Throughout the interview day and the night before, one of the residents was really negative and didn't seem happy about EM in general. I'm trying to not let this bias my opinion about the program too much but it's hard to overlook someone who's immensely bitter about his life choices (maybe he was just having an off day). They also didn't have their trauma rotations figured out until this year. They have to travel for trauma which isn't a big deal, I don't mind traveling, but they also don't have a strong pediatrics rotation figured out either.

The PD seemed absolutely amazing as well as some of the other faculty. I would absolutely enjoy learning from this group but unfortunately, the cons outweigh the pros too much for me.

12) OK- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (Norman) Program
I enjoyed my interview day here but it's far away from anywhere that my SO or I want to be and it's a 4 year program. Otherwise, it seems like a good program. The residents seem happy and like they get good training. They said they see a lot of trauma but that's hard to believe with a level 1 not being too far down the road. Sounds like they have decent moonlighting opportunities.

Programs You Applied To: Applied to 40 total

Programs whose interviews you declined: Declined 6 interviews (due to personal reasons, not because I actually wanted to decline all of them).

Programs whose interviews you attended: All listed above.

Programs from which you withdrew before hearing anything: None

Programs that rejected you: MUSC - Charleston, SC; USF Tampa; Maine Medical Center


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

rejected by USF tampa. sheeeeeit. you have better stats than I do and that's kinda where I want to end up

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

rejected by USF tampa. sheeeeeit. you have better stats than I do and that's kinda where I want to end up

Just try to do an away there. I seem to remember hearing that their competition for SubIs was not super intense and they had plenty of spots.

 

[deleted547339]

Man, I usually agree with you, but I think this is straight up wrong. I helped get rid of the medicine month for my program when I became chief. We changed our medicine month to an extra month of ICU which I found to be to significantly more useful. One can only do so many diet orders, pharmacy calls, med recs, and social work consults before you get the picture. The only thing beneficial from my medicine month was to strengthen my love for EM.

That’s fine. I know I’m in the minority here. Maybe it was a strong rotation at my residency program - maybe I had a weak IM experience in Med school (I did). Either way, I found it helpful early in my first year.

 

[TheComebacKid]

I strongly disagree. A lot of what you do in EM is IM. And knowing the capabilities and procedures of your admitting services is worthwhile. My program took that month away and I think it’s a mistake.

Completely agree. I did a month of medicine wards as an intern and it was one of the best and most valuable rotations of residency. Our program also got rid of it which is a big hit with applicants who are interviewing but I think is detrimental to training.

I cross covered a medicine service overnight with a senior resident and no attending. You learn to make decisions without direct supervision and be a doctor. Even deciding to give someone 20mg of Lasix as an intern and owning that decision without direct supervision is important.

The ED is fully staffed with attending supervision 24/7 which I think can sometimes detract from your experience when there is someone there to double check your work and give you nods of approval/disapproval.

ICU rotations are important. If you are practicing putting in a central line under slightly more controlled circumstances, placing a subclavian cordis with a crashing trauma becomes a lot less daunting.

People always state "you need to learn emergency medicine in residency, not other specialties". As a newer specialty, EM is predicated almost 100% on the medical and surgical specialties and has been fine tuned to for the ED setting that is based on differential diagnosis and ruling out life threats. Regardless, when you are an intern you have everything to gain by learning from the other specialties.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

Completely agree. I did a month of medicine wards as an intern and it was one of the best and most valuable rotations of residency. Our program also got rid of it which is a big hit with applicants who are interviewing but I think is detrimental to training.

I cross covered a medicine service overnight with a senior resident and no attending. You learn to make decisions without direct supervision and be a doctor. Even deciding to give someone 20mg of Lasix as an intern and owning that decision without direct supervision is important.

The ED is fully staffed with attending supervision 24/7 which I think can sometimes detract from your experience when there is someone there to double check your work and give you nods of approval/disapproval.

ICU rotations are important. If you are practicing putting in a central line under slightly more controlled circumstances, placing a subclavian cordis with a crashing trauma becomes a lot less daunting.

People always state "you need to learn emergency medicine in residency, not other specialties". As a newer specialty, EM is predicated almost 100% on the medical and surgical specialties and has been fine tuned to for the ED setting that is based on differential diagnosis and ruling out life threats. Regardless, when you are an intern you have everything to gain by learning from the other specialties.

But not everyone's medicine rotation is like this.

Having us do 2 weeks of night float where you have to quickly triage and stabilise patients is helpful, sure - but we already do that in the ED. OTOH what typically happens on IM rotations is you get stuck doing a bunch of mind numbing tasks with very little acuity mixed in. My month I had the misfortune of being paired with a Psych prelim and ended up mostly working above cap for a month because she couldn't handle more than 5 rock stable patients a day. Waste of 4 weeks of my life.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 210's/240's (USMLE) 600's/625's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Unsure
AOA: No
Med School Region:Left blank
Anything else that made you more competitive: Experience, leadership, volunteer activities, research

Main considerations in making this ROL: Location, strength of clinical training, attitudes of faculty/residents, perceived fit, quality of life in the area (cost of living, things to do)

1) GA- Emory
Pros: Sunny/warm location, underserved patient population, best vibe with residents and faculty out of any program. Went into the interview with high hopes and came out even happier. Atlanta is diverse, lots to do/see/experience, plenty of things to see/do/explore for 3 years. High acuity and volume, felt like I could hit the ground running and not be held back from seeing critical patients on day 1 which is important to me. Salary is high enough to offset the area cost of living. Loved the PD, genuine and warm, felt like she would be an amazing mentor and leader for me. Went out with the residents and faculty and loved seeing that they all went out together (nurses, residents, pharmacists, attendings). Vibed well with one attending specifically that night. Dinner was chill, laid back, excellent food. Felt that “these are my people” feeling. Got along great with my interview group (best out of any group) as well which is important to me because it gives me some insight into the type of people they are looking for and who could potentially end up there. Strong social missions with programs in the ED, for example, to help victims of human trafficking. Strong focus on diversity and I felt their resident class/faculty/patient population actually reflected this. Plentiful opportunities to focus on my niche area of EM. Good sign out culture, Epic EMR, free parking. Moonlighting available. Good chance of going into academics if I want to post graduation. Strong support team + like minded people + renowned teaching + county patient population + exposure to community and academic hospitals as well = HAPPY.

Cons: No dragon at Emory main which is a bummer but maybe I can buy my own/bring my own in. No matching for 401k, nights are scattered rather than in strings or blocks. No free food at Grady, no money for boards. Non-longitudinal peds. Moderate to high cost of living. Trauma is middle of the road compared to other locations where I interviewed. Owned by trauma overall but split of procedures and lead depending on day. I would trade that up given the other major things this program brings to the table. Consult heavy.

Outkast, Ludacris, TLC, Goodie Mob, T.I, Ciara, Ray Charles, Usher

6) MA- UMMS Baystate
Pros: Busy LOT, high acuity, strong clinical training, great trauma set up (odd-even) with most residents saying they had access to plenty of trauma procedures. Strong academics with several names in FOAMED as well as national conferences. Amazing, genuine, warm PD, could see myself bonding well with both faculty and residents. Excellent salary for COL. No ENT or ortho competition. 9 hr shifts, dragon, cerner, good work life balance. Longitudinal peds. Driving distance to home, cape cod, boston. Major airport within 30 mins in CT.
Ended up bumping this from 6 to 2 after reflecting on it for a bit. Rotated here and it was my best away rotation out of 3. Faculty and residents at my other aways would ask me about faculty from here by name, which was really cool to see and know they are well established with a great reputation. This had the most academia/FOAMED environment out of any of my aways which I appreciate (nerd alert). Ultimately decided to sacrifice weather for good training. After all that I had to go through to get to this point, quality of training is definitely super important to me. I love, love, love the PD and would be happy here.

Cons: Northeast winters, springfield is a crappy city so most residents live elsewhere which means a longer commute time (lower QOL). Some lakes but overall would still be dealing with winters and cold. Resident group is mostly lacking in diversity.

3) TX- Christus Health/Texas A&M College of Medicine/Spohn Hospital Program
Pros: I really came out of this one sold. It may still make its way up the list. The main thing holding me back from ranking it higher is that the area is semi-rural and there’s not a ton to do. This one is a gem in my eyes just based on being unopposed. Strength in clinical training as a graduate is very important to me and I would definitely have that here. Rotators and residents love this shop and its for good reasons. On top of that, I really liked the faculty and PD, felt they were down to earth, kind people. Residents that I interviewed with were chill, can’t say that it was the best connection of any interview but they were nice. Warm and sunny, beaches and ocean, opportunities to kayak, chill at the beach, eat bomb seafood, and be outside most of the year. Decent QOL. Low COL. Loved the PC. Amazing moonlighting opps (best I had seen on the trail). Free food, free parking, free scrubs, latino patient population/border health, good shift length with sign out culture, 1-2/3 ratio teaching, 4 weeks vacation, 2500 sign on bonus, longitudinal peds. ED owns trauma and no lack of procedures. Not consult heavy.

Moved from 4 to 3 after posting; unopposed meant a lot to me if I wasn't landing at my top 2.

Cons: Corpus is lacking as a city overall, not a big food scene or stuff to do like in other cities on my list. Community shop so academics are not their strong suit. Resident group is lacking diversity. Hard to fly out of Corpus. This is also a CMG group but they stressed that the contract and program are stable.

4) FL- USF Tampa
Pros: Already knew that I loved Tampa before coming to interview. Warm and sunny AND beach and ocean. QOL++++ There is no shortage of fun/cool/exciting things to do in Tampa. Strong female leadership. LOT with good volume and acuity. Can jump right in from the start with sickest medical patients. Hybrid county/community/academic. Multiple fellowship trained staff. Awesome fit with the residents and faculty (top 3 of all the places where I interviewed). No offsite rotations. Good mix of blunt and penetrating trauma. Diverse patient population including refugee population and latinos. Their July month sounded like one of the more fun months compared to other programs, with lots of parties/events at attendings houses, on the ocean, kayaking, etc.
Insurance is paid by program if single plan. Stressed the quality and EM focus of their off service rotation. Yearly money for food, free parking, asynchronous conference with night before protected. Epic, dragon, and they buy you FIGS. No state income tax. Ortho rotation is based in the ED.
One of the friendliest, most diverse, and chillest groups of residents I met on the trail. Made me walk out of the interview and put them as my number 1 for a while just based on that alone.

Cons: This is a CMG group. Unsure how much that affects residents and how stable the contract is. Traffic over to the island that the hospital is on seemed like it could get a little dicey. Cost of living in Tampa is going up quick and I’m not convinced the salary is enough to keep up with that. This is another shop where trauma runs the show in the ED which again, I’m not a huge fan of. Consult heavy. In addition to this, their peds is weak/lacking without a definitive solution in sight right now. I can overlook a mark on trauma or peds but not both and that’s ultimately what made me bump this to number 3 (old). Would still graduate an EM doc, and have a great QOL.

Khia, Aaron Carter

5) TX- University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Pros: Southwest, warm and sunny, amazing PD who I connected well with, chill residents. Relatively low COL, Latino patient population, refugee population, border health. Stable physician group, no CMG. New ipad for incoming residents, asynchronous conference time, good shift length with built in sign out time, epic, can use educational funds to buy your own dragon, LOT, high acuity, can jump in early, weekly refugee clinic run by the ED (LOVE THIS). Starbucks in hospital (<3), great fellowships opps, small food stipend per month, reimbursement for step 3 and q bank, gym discount, moonlighting. No state income tax. ED was beautiful.

Ended up moving from 7 to 5 because I loved the PD, the refugee clinic, and the southwest.

Cons: residents admitted that peds and OBGYN are their weaknesses. Apparently there is a separate women's health ED where residents don't work so they are lacking on pelvic exams and work-ups for OBGYN complaints. Peds is lacking here in terms of exposure and time. This would've been way higher on my list if it weren't for these two things. No dragon as of yet so I'd have to buy on my own. Trauma is run by trauma, separate department, but it didn't seem to matter to the residents, they say you work a shift with a trauma surg resident and share responsibilities/procedures with them for the day. 12 hr shifts in trauma ed (meh).

6) AZ- U of A Tucson
Pros: warm & sunny, low COL, good QOL with access to wineries, outdoors, bars, restaurants. Low COL, border health, latino patient population, good percentage of underserved pts. Connected well with the residents and faculty. Liked the PD and PC. Busiest LOT in AZ. Felt like I would overall be happy living and training here. They have a wide variety of fellowship trained faculty which would allow me to explore future niche areas. Plenty of opportunity to be involved in research in my niche area. Great moonlighting opps. Spanish language/health care disparities track as well as another track in my niche area. Focus on diversity and I felt their resident class actually reflected this. I felt one of the strongest points here was the PEM program which means I’ll be able to work alongside the peds em peeps and strengthen my own peds em knowledge as a result. Good shift length and sign out culture. 401k matching. Resus captain shifts third year sounded like they are satisfying and allow you to focus on fun parts of being in the ED. Good blending of ED staff on nights out which is important to me. Selective time in junior and senior year to explore interests and do international medicine. Mix of shifts at university center and what was historically a county hospital (south). Free parking, annual money for food, Dragon, fast track shifts to see lower acuity cases, protected didactics (asynchronous). Great fit and QOL.

Ended up bumping down from number 2 to number 6, I know this sounds petty but I couldn't vibe with the layout of the ED and didn't really connect with the residents.

Cons: Trauma. Owned by trauma and sounds like although ED gets airway 100% of the time, other procedures can be tough to come by and lead is always done by trauma which I’m not a fan of. Residents told me that on your trauma month you basically function doing their notes for them and floor scut work, but can come by procedures if you are proactive enough. I realize trauma isn’t the be all end all but I would like to be comfortable putting in chest tubes and performing thoracotomies by the time I graduate. Nights before conference are not protected so that’s a QOL flaw for me. The transition to banner makes this a CMG shop, though admin stressed during the presentation this does not affect the residents, the residents felt otherwise. Consult heavy.

Supersuckers

7) VA- Eastern Virginia Medical School Program
Pros: Beach location, good amount of sunshine and warm weather, low COL, seafood. Vibed the best with this PD compared to any other on the trail. Residents were chill. LOT, burn center, high volume and acuity. Dragon, ROSH, moonlighting, discounted gym memberships, beaches, nice area to live around hospital, easy to fly in and out, conferences every year, single plan insurance paid by program, meal funds per year. Good mix of academic center and community ED shifts. No ortho residency so more procedures on my own. Not a CMG. REST month to handle only sickest of sick before graduating.

Cons: Another trauma-surg runs the show shop.Majority is blunt so lacking in the knife and gun club scene. One of the residents on interview day was super odd and off putting.

Would still be happy to match here.

Wanted to rank higher bc I really connected with the PD and think he's amazing. Also left here feeling wanted. Didn't vibe with the residents at all and overall just nothing major stood out to me here.

8) NY- Stony Brook Medicine
amazing program and would potentially even be in top 3 if it weren't for weather and COL. Honestly not even sure if I could afford to live in long island. Overserved patient population which was also a big red flag for me. best dinner experience on the trail and my fav residents of the trail

9) FL- Kendall Regional (Miami) (HCA)
Loved this program, location, people, and patient population, but huge HCA red flag for me. Had an attending tell me I should pursue training at a non-HCA shop and that literally road blocked me after having that convo.

10) NY- Albany Medical Center
Amazing training. Best trauma set up of any program where I interviewed. ED is leading the hospital from the ground floor to the C-suite. Location is a bummer. Residents here were the least friendly out of any program where I interviewed. Barely any diversity in the resident group. Interaction with a resident at the pre-interview dinner was sour (one literally told me not to ask them how they feels about their schedule), and didn't vibe that well with them on IV day either.

11) TX- University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School Program
Best work-life balance of any program where I interviewed. Maybe too lax. Not a fan of driving 90 minutes for off service rotations (one way!). That's a big bummer to QOL. Otherwise an awesome city but expensive. Concerns over acuity. ED is beautiful. Good bennies.

12) UNLV
Sitting through conference all day for the IV was a bummer. Lots of "lets go around in a circle" happening in the interview experience was annoying. 12 hr shifts. CMG with no definitive PD planned right now. Concerns about contract stability with UNLV's new med school. Least favorable interview dinner experience out of all of them.

13) MI- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine (Kalamazoo)
snowy, majorly lacking in diversity, felt like the city was stuck 20 years in the past, didn't vibe here

14) NY- University at Buffalo
Awesome program if could move it to a different location. Snow and 12 hr shifts are a bummer. Otherwise stellar training with a new county ED coming for the fresh interns.


Anything else to add?
Realized that EM is still lacking in diversity to a large degree. We are getting better but being on the interview trail definitely opened my eyes to the gaps. Blessed to be here and met so many awesome people on the interview & audition trail. Big shout out to Gamer for being one of the nicest people in the world and taking us orphan applicants under his wing. It helped me so much.

Programs You Applied To: 58

Programs whose interviews you declined:OHSU, NV Sunrise Health, CA St Joseph's, NYMC Metropolitan, NY-Hofstra Northwell SOM at North Shore / LIJ (Manhasset), FL-Aventura Hospital and Medical Center (Miami) HCA, OH- Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center (Toledo), NJ-St Joseph's University Medical Center (Paterson)

Programs that rejected you: Christiana, UNM, TN Murfreesboro, LSU Shreveport, SUNY Syracuse, Kaiser Perm San Diego, PA UPMC Erie, U of Maryland

DNR'd: Peoria- I am way too much of an advocate for women's rights (and my own rights) and I know that this place would make me miserable. No plan B given in the ED unless a woman takes an ovulation test and ISN'T ovulating? The backwardness hurts my head. No birth control for myself either. Also a sizable sect of the KKK in peoria and surrounding areas. Found this out after DNR'ing and it only reinforced my decision to not rank.



Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 230's(USMLE step 1) 575's/550's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Pass/Pass
AOA: No
Med School Region: East Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Research & Leadership

Main considerations in making this ROL: Region

1) NJ- Atlantic Health (Morristown)
2) NJ- Hackensack University



Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Removed- multiple complaints that this ROL was fake

 

[doggydog]

Man. This is going to be a year.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 230's(USMLE step 1) 575's/550's (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Pass/Pass
AOA: No
Med School Region: East Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Research & Leadership

Main considerations in making this ROL: Region

1) NJ- Atlantic Health (Morristown)
2) NJ- Hackensack University

Two rotation honors and only got two interviews? Someones grading scale is dishonest, because there is no way the interview numbers should have been at 2 unless all the SLOEs were low 1/3 or worse. Something is really bizarre. Unless the poster is choosing to only rank 2 programs for some reason.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/260's (USMLE)
EM Rotations: Honors/Honors/Honors
AOA: No
Med School Region: East Coast
Anything else that made you more competitive: Extensive clinical experience, unique story

Main considerations in making this ROL: The following statements are my own opinion and were used in formulating my list: Midwest > all regions, Michigan > all states, Detroit > all cities in Michigan, County > all training styles. Also highly sought after fun and family-friendly residents. Want to move back to Michigan to be closer to family/friends. Used "gestalt" based on interviews/dinners with residents as primary method to stratify programs along with name recognition, clinical prowess, fellowship options.

1) MI- Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University (Sinai Grace)
Loved residents, enjoyed everything about the dinner and felt like I was family. SG sees so much **** that it's unreal. Very medically complex patient population due to its location within Detroit. Run all traumas, begin running codes as an intern, reduce all fractures, do all procedures due to no competing residencies, sees 20% peds so no off-service peds necessary. Gritty environment although a new facility, respected faculty, gives off a true county vibe and I could feel how much the faculty/residents love the community through their outlying community service. Respected program throughout the hospital and run their own EM team in the ICU for off-service. Left the interview basically knowing I was going to rank SG #1

2) MI- Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University (Detroit Receiving Hospital)
Basically the same as SG with residents and how much I loved the program but has a couple downsides: ortho service reduces most fractures, odd/even days with trauma, true county vibe in department with curtains and all. Has upsides compared to SG though: better nationwide name recognition, rotate through more hospitals longitudinally like Childrens and Harper that are connected to DRH. Loved this place and would be ecstatic here but just liked SG a little better.

3) MI- University of Michigan Health System (Ann Arbor)
Same as previous, I loved this place and loved the residents and felt at home. I just didn't like A2 as a city as much as Detroit, didn't like that there were 3 different hospitals to rotate through since I wasn't a fan of their community site. Would love it if it was just at the county hospital in Flint and the University hospital. Endless opportunity here with electives and finding your academic niche. Just didn't vibe here as much as SG and DRH although I would still be pumped to end up here.

4) MI- Henry Ford Hospital/Wayne State University (Detroit)
Same as before albeit not as strongly. Liked the residents and the hospital system with the gritty ED but just didn't feel as excited about the program as the programs I ranked higher. One pro would be that they get a bunch of transplant patients. Graduated responsibility is more apparent here than other Detroit programs. Still would be extremely happy to match here. Ranked #4 due to my preference in living in Michigan close to family and wanted a county-style hospital.

5) MI- Ascension St. John (Detroit)
Vibed with the residents and like that you stay in one hospital for the entire training. Gets a ton of trauma due to its location within Detroit, also has a very sick population similar to SG. Pretty well-setup and newer ED with a crazy amount of resus bays. Not a fan of Ascension nor the fact that this is an HCA program with much lower salary than other Detroit programs. Still would be happy to match here.

6) MI- Beaumont Health (Royal Oak)
Absolutely beautiful hospital that sees super, medically sick patients and a tremendous amount of blunt trauma. Not a fan of said beautiful hospital since I prefer the grittier environment since that's what I'm used to from my previous life. Loved the residents and the curriculum. Dislike the heavy consult culture within the hospital. Stil would be happy to match here.

7) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
Yes, I interviewed outside of Michigan. Loved this place and loved their social mission and the ED. Wasn't a fan of the separate trauma ED but understand the premise due to the amount of traumas they get daily. Didn't vibe with the residents as much as I hoped and their weren't as many families in the program. Still, if this program was in Detroit, it would be #1. Ranked lower due to location.

8) OH- University of Cincinnati Medical Center/College of Medicine Program
Cincy turned out to be a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed the city much more than I expected. Reminded me of Detroit in the way it's coming back and revitalizing almost everywhere. Loved every aspect of their curriculum and the graduated responsibility with specific roles for each training year. Got along really well with the residents and loved seeing how many even brought their kids to the interview dinner. Could really see myself at this program and would be happy to match here but it's too far away from family.

9) MI- Spectrum Health/MSU (Grand Rapids)
Ehhh, it's a nice hospital. Not a fan of the city. Don't want to train in a hospital system that has the DeVos name all over it. On my list since location is #1 for me

10) MI- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine (Kalamazoo)
Go here if you like EMS, beer, and small cities/towns. I only like one of those and this spreadsheet is taking so long to write that I need another one already. Hospitals are much lower volume than what I prefer. Very low amount of trauma.

Anything else to add: Home program unlisted to protect anonymity

Programs You Applied To: 30

Programs whose interviews you declined: Advocate Christ, Boston Medical Center, Case Western (MetroHealth), Central Michigan University, Regions, Hennepin, Indiana, Loyola, MCW, St. Vincent, Ohio State, Presence Resurrection, Rush, UI Chicago, University of Toledo, Pitt, Wright State

Programs whose interviews you attended: All ranked




Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

 

[Stephanopolous]

Removed per user request

 

[Rekt]

Completely agree. I did a month of medicine wards as an intern and it was one of the best and most valuable rotations of residency. Our program also got rid of it which is a big hit with applicants who are interviewing but I think is detrimental to training.

I cross covered a medicine service overnight with a senior resident and no attending. You learn to make decisions without direct supervision and be a doctor. Even deciding to give someone 20mg of Lasix as an intern and owning that decision without direct supervision is important.

The ED is fully staffed with attending supervision 24/7 which I think can sometimes detract from your experience when there is someone there to double check your work and give you nods of approval/disapproval.

ICU rotations are important. If you are practicing putting in a central line under slightly more controlled circumstances, placing a subclavian cordis with a crashing trauma becomes a lot less daunting.

People always state "you need to learn emergency medicine in residency, not other specialties". As a newer specialty, EM is predicated almost 100% on the medical and surgical specialties and has been fine tuned to for the ED setting that is based on differential diagnosis and ruling out life threats. Regardless, when you are an intern you have everything to gain by learning from the other specialties.

I mean if you can't even give 20 of lasix in the ED without pushback what are you even doing? It sounds more like a reflection of poor ED training rather than good off service. At my shop I make ton of big boy decisions on my own. That seems incredibly silly.

 

[deleted547339]

I mean if you can't even give 20 of lasix in the ED without pushback what are you even doing? It sounds more like a reflection of poor ED training rather than good off service. At my shop I make ton of big boy decisions on my own. That seems incredibly silly.

You missed his point.

 

[Apollyon]

"Home program unlisted to maintain anonymity". It's like that scene in "Jurassic Park" - nobody cares! Even if that person had listed the "home program", who would bother to even try to figure it out, especially if that person didn't put "home program" in the entry? Nobody cares!

 

[Stephanopolous]

I think people are just freaked out over that incident where a PD came on here and identified a student. I get it, probably a minimal chance of this happening again, but I can see why someone wouldn't even want to risk it.

 

[deleted547339]

"Home program unlisted to maintain anonymity". It's like that scene in "Jurassic Park" - nobody cares! Even if that person had listed the "home program", who would bother to even try to figure it out, especially if that person didn't put "home program" in the entry? Nobody cares!

Exactly. Or maybe just don’t mention that it’s your home program? There’s a thought.

Or just be ok with the fact that someone could figure out who you are. If you’re that worried, you shouldn’t be on here. It’s a small world.

 

[boolin_1]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE) 650's/>700 (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Unsure/Unsure
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: D1 athlete on scholarship, full ride for med school. National leadership position

Main considerations in making this ROL: reputation location, fellowships inhouse

1) FL- FSU (Sarasota)
2) NY- Health Quest
3) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
4) AZ- Abrazo Health
5) CO- Denver Health
6) AL- University of Alabama
7) NC- Carolinas Medical Center Program
8) AZ- U of A Tucson
9) NY- NYU School of Medicine
10) AL- University of South Alabama
11) MI- Henry Ford Macomb (Clinton Township)
12) CA- St. Joseph's


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

can someone talk about this program? it's new and close to home for me. and their IM program doesn't seem horribly competitive (all FMG) for a significant other to match

 

[Listen2Savage]

can someone talk about this program? it's new and close to home for me. and their IM program doesn't seem horribly competitive (all FMG) for a significant other to match

I met the PD at ACEP, big turn off lol

 

[gamerEMdoc]

I met the PD at ACEP, big turn off lol

Didn't bring the raw magnetism that some other tables with free pens and candy did?

 

[Amazingmuzmo]

Had a coattending graduate from Kings recently. Did 3 chest tubes all of residency. Trauma surg runs the show here.

I know many grads and even current residents at Kings/Downstate. Trauma most certainly does not run the show there. In fact I've heard the EM department often is reminded by the hospital to involve surgery more in traumas as many times they are not called until after all the fun stuff.

 

[Listen2Savage]

Didn't bring the raw magnetism that some other tables with free pens and candy did?

guy looked like he was gonna hit me lol for real

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I think people are just freaked out over that incident where a PD came on here and identified a student. I get it, probably a minimal chance of this happening again, but I can see why someone wouldn't even want to risk it.

Yea I’ve already had people ID me and call me out on the spreadsheet this season. That’s why I won’t be posting anything definitive until after certification in feb.

Can’t risk any issues when some much is on the line.

 

[Rekt]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE) 650's/>700 (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Unsure/Unsure
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: D1 athlete on scholarship, full ride for med school. National leadership position

Main considerations in making this ROL: reputation location, fellowships inhouse

1) FL- FSU (Sarasota)
2) NY- Health Quest
3) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
4) AZ- Abrazo Health
5) CO- Denver Health
6) AL- University of Alabama
7) NC- Carolinas Medical Center Program
8) AZ- U of A Tucson
9) NY- NYU School of Medicine
10) AL- University of South Alabama
11) MI- Henry Ford Macomb (Clinton Township)
12) CA- St. Joseph's


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

There's no way this is real.

 

[TheSingularity]

I know many grads and even current residents at Kings/Downstate. Trauma most certainly does not run the show there. In fact I've heard the EM department often is reminded by the hospital to involve surgery more in traumas as many times they are not called until after all the fun stuff.

I can only tell you my co attending's experience.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Posted anonymously via Google Form.

Applicant Summary:
Board Scores: 250's/250's (USMLE) 650's/>700 (COMLEX)
EM Rotations: Unsure/Unsure/Unsure/Unsure
AOA: No
Med School Region: Southeast
Anything else that made you more competitive: D1 athlete on scholarship, full ride for med school. National leadership position

Main considerations in making this ROL: reputation location, fellowships inhouse

1) FL- FSU (Sarasota)
2) NY- Health Quest
3) IL- Cook County (Chicago)
4) AZ- Abrazo Health
5) CO- Denver Health
6) AL- University of Alabama
7) NC- Carolinas Medical Center Program
8) AZ- U of A Tucson
9) NY- NYU School of Medicine
10) AL- University of South Alabama
11) MI- Henry Ford Macomb (Clinton Township)
12) CA- St. Joseph's


Note from @Stephanopolous : To anyone who would like to contribute or change anything, you can also PM me your ROL or any other information that was left off your submission on the spreadsheet. Your anonymity will be maintained.

There's no way this is real.

Yea there’s no way, unless the order somehow got messed up.

Poster looking for reputation, location, and in house fellowships ranks a new program in west Florida where there are no in house fellowships and the average age is 104. Over Carolinas, denver, bama, and cook lol.