Albany Med is a really nice program. I rotated there as a med student. There are two drawbacks. One is that Albany is a sub-optimal place to live. The weather is terrible and the town is rather boring. If you are single and want to party down, this is a great place as SUNY Albany is a crazy party school and you can find many places to have fun. If that's not your scene you will be very bored here. The second drawback is that the program may be a bit too laid back (that means a lot coming from me because I am very laid back.) In the outpatient clinics it was common that the attending would do everything and that the chief resident was still "shadowing"! Pretty sad. It's very slow paced. A few IMG's, but were smart and friendly (resident meetings sometimes seemed to have a few language barriers).
On to the good parts. The attendings are great. Friendly, smart, great teachers. Dr. Dubin is my hero and why I'm going into PM&R. He has a very diverse practice and you can see a bit of everything working with him. You will rotate at Sunnyview Rehab Hospital which is actually one of the best rehab facilities in New York State. Inpatient was not very demanding. Laid back rounds in the a.m. Lots of afternoon time to observe and learn the rehab (or even jump in on some EMGs/procedures). Call schedule is phenomenal. Home call for one week every 7-8 wks. Almost never have to come in and calls are even rare.
Overall: Lousy city, laid back, good atmosphere, good teachers. This is not a program for a hard charger looking to be a future leader in PM&R. This is for the future community physician or private practice doc looking for a well-rounded training program.
