Allergy/Immunology fellowship application 2010-2011

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

umc

Resident
10+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
PGY2 Internal Medicine Resident here in NY.
Anyone will apply to A/I this year?

Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm sure people will start to participate soon in the discussion, last year's thread was a little slow in the beginning. PM me if you have any specific questions regarding the application process, good luck.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
My experience last year was that the sooner your application was submitted, the better. Got most of my interviews by the end of December. Good luck to all.

Hello everyone! I went through the match last year and wanted to let you guys know that I would be happy to answer any questions. I wanted to say about the above post that the earlier you submit the better but I was still receiving invites until at least February. And for all of you people who were sooooo eager to hear from programs by the end of the day on Dec 1st like I was, this will not happen! LOL I didn't receive any information from programs until at least mid-December, almost January. So don't feel like you won't get any invites if you haven't heard anything yet. Good luck to everybody!
 
any news yet?
 
Literally 40% of the programs I applied to have not even downloaded my application yet, so I think we've got to wait a bit longer! However, I'm also anxiously awaiting news!
 
Thank you very much!


Hello everyone! I went through the match last year and wanted to let you guys know that I would be happy to answer any questions. I wanted to say about the above post that the earlier you submit the better but I was still receiving invites until at least February. And for all of you people who were sooooo eager to hear from programs by the end of the day on Dec 1st like I was, this will not happen! LOL I didn't receive any information from programs until at least mid-December, almost January. So don't feel like you won't get any invites if you haven't heard anything yet. Good luck to everybody!
 
Any news yet?
 
Interview invitation from Henry Ford,
Got email from UT, they ask for more references.
Thomas Jefferson will review application in early January.
Florida programs ask for additional application to be mailed to them.
Anyone heard anything from TN, AL, LA, AL? Thanks!



Any news yet?
 
As I se Alabama even didn't download my application.
Got iv from HF so far.
 
Anybody would share their iv experience?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Anybody would share their iv experience from the last year?
 
Anybody would share their iv experience from the last year?

I've been PM'd by some about my interview experiences last year, so here you go: These are my impressions/opinions of the different places I interviewed at. In the interests of disclosure, I am biased towards research oriented programs that are heavy in Internal Medicine.

These are opinions only and should be taken lightly. I was thankful to have been considererd at all of the programs I interviewed at.

Hopkins
Impression/Pros: One of the largest training programs in the country, very strong clinical and investigative focus, brand name recognition, considered a top program. Highest number of faculty per fellow. The actual interview was probably the most pleasant one I've had during the interview trail, these guys were genuinely interested about my candidacy (and anyone else who interviewed there). The program is run by Drs. Saini and Bochner (THE author/editor of Middleton's Allergy textbook). There's also the potential for collaboration with other medical/surgical disciplines that are all highly ranked in their fields (Rheumatology, ENT, Dermatology, Pulmonary Medicine, ID, Ophthalmology, etc). The fellows who I met were very happy with their choice to train there. Another benefit is that I will split the consultation service with two other 1st year fellows. Another plus for the program is that it has trained a good majority of A&I program directors and division directors around the country. The institution is in a major city and near DC/Bethesda. There are a total of two spots for medicine, one for peds.
Cons: Baltimore, that's really the only negative, however, the majority of fellows and faculty live in nearby Ellicott/Columbia and are very happy with their choice of employment/training. I will be on the lookout for Avon Barksdale and Omar.

MGH/Brigham & Women's
Impression/Pros: This program also has a very strong clinical and investigative focus, brand name recognition. They interviewed a small number of folks (6 total last year) over two different dates for MGH; I kinda found this to be a bit intimidating. The first year is intense and heavily clinical with dedicated rotations through ENT (via Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary), Rheumatology, Dermatology, Pulmonary & Ophthalmology. The later two years are more dedicated to research. The fellows seem very happy there and you have the opportunity to conduct research with the likes of Dr. Andrew Luster (division director) and be career guided by Dr. Aidan Long (program director) who is a straight shooter. Mariana Castells is the program direct at B&W. Conferences are shared with A&I fellows from all Harvard affiliated programs (Brigham and Boston Children's). Another plus is that they hired new faculty to help elevate MGH's stance in food allergies. There are only two positions that can go to either Medicine or Pediatrics.
Cons: Ridiculous cost of living in Boston, heavy inpatient consultation service dedicated to chemodesensitizations (not sure how practical this would be to a non-academician). This was the most expensive interview for me (travel, hotel, etc).

NIAID/NIH
Impression/Pros: Heavy focus on research, great clinical training, brand name recognition. You see all of the purple colored zebras that run backwards you can shake a stick at. They are unique in having a truly dedicated inpatient service to see patients with aforementioned immunodeficiencies and autoinflammation that were probably first discovered at the NIH (I saw folks with Chronic Granulomatous Disease, Job's Syndrome, TRAPS, etc during rounds on my interview day). This is run by Dr. Dean Metcalf (major power player in the world of A&I, also past president of AAAAI) and Dr. Kelly Stone (program director). If you are trained here, you automatically become a world expert on immunodeficiencies overnight. A major plus is the salary and benefits: the salary is well above the pay grade of other training centers (I would've started off at 68K per year). In addition, you get an additional $20,000/year UNTAXED that goes towards student loans for a total of 3 years!
Cons: I couldn't think of any except the cost of living in Bethesda. A con could be research for the more clinically inclined. Even if you decide against a career in academics, you are still trained well enough to handle private practice and/or industry.

Cleveland Clinic
Impression/Pros: They interviewed over 30 people for two total positions (one medicine, one peds). The interview was a little strange in that you are interviewed by three different panels of interviewers (3 interviewers per panel). The questions were a little redundant, but overall seemed like a great program with happy fellows. Dr. David Lang was very informative throughout the interview and seemed genuinely interested in everyone's candidacy. I get the impression that the A&I consult service is really designed to help all of the other more heavily represented services like Cardiology (aspirin allergy consultations, etc).
Cons: For me the cons were that it's a 2 year clinically oriented program with not so serious research experience, but this is probably a plus for most. Cleveland isn't so hot either. The program was previously on probation (no longer), but Dr. Lang was very upfront about this during the interview. I would highly recommend this place for training if anyone's career path takes them to the private sector.

UNC
Impression/Pros: Location, location, location. Great place to live, affordable housing, the division director Dr. David Peden has a focus on respiratory/environmental studies (in conjunction with the EPA) with a very impressive laboratory (where he can recreate just about any atmospheric condition as it relates to asthma). The program director Dr. Maya Jerath is very supportive and approachable. Good clinical training.
Cons: Only one fellow (either med or peds) is accepted per year, hence no other 1st year fellows to share consults with. It's unfortunate that the service is not utilized for many of the desensitizations in the MICU given the high number of CF patients who are allergic to various antibiotics (UNC is a CF referral center). The program is still in its infancy. Internal candidates were favored the last two years.

UTMB
Impressions/Pros: Lead by Dr. Andrew Grant, this is probably the largest training program in the state of Texas. Heavy clinical focus, although this institution is known for placing people in both academics and the private sector. Island lifestyle. Close to Houston, you can get great TexMex and Indian food anytime.
Cons: Galveston is still recovering from the Hurricane Ike and as such the majority of your training is located near the Johnson Space Center (between Galveston and Houston). Due to limitations from the hurricane, opportunities to see adults have decreased, so this is a major con to a trained internist. The other major con is that the residents may not necessarily know how to use the consult service wisely (this is a direct quote from one of the fellows), thus you may get many unecessary consults from interns/residents who don't know why they ordered the consult to begin with. I don't have personal experience with this, but it was expressed to me several times by more than one fellow.

University of Mississippi in Jackson
Pros: Lead by Dr. Gailen Marshall (division director) who is a major player in the world of A&I. Both Dr. Marshall and the program director can really help mold the career of any future fellow. Great place for research in psycho/neuroimmunology. Fairly progressive program.
Cons: Small program, relatively new, some may have a problem with the city of Jackson.

University of Colorado/National Jewish
Pros: The city of Denver and the Rocky Mountain lifestyle. Brand name recognition as it relates to National Jewish. Affordable housing, situated nicely in the southwest. This is one of the largest training programs with five fellows per year (two medicine, three peds). There is a strong clinical and investigative focus here with opportunities to conduct research with the likes of Dr. Andrew Liu and Dr. Donald Leung (division director, editor in chief of JACI), both major players in the world of A&I.
Cons: Really none. Maybe some healthy competition from the Pulmonologists who reign supreme over National Jewish.

Duke
Pros: SCID central. If you're peds and/or med/peds, great place for you. Much more established program when compared to UNC, plenty of immunodeficiency research and clinical training.
Cons: Alas, no training tract for internal medicine, just for peds. I therefore did not interview there, but am familiar with their program.

I'll come up later with more places that I interviewed at with impressions/etc. In the end, I'm very glad to have matched into AI. This is still medicine's (maybe peds?) best keep secret with regards to fellowship. It is technically the most difficult to get into and the competition is amongst the highest for all training programs. A recent article from the Annals of Internal Medicine highlighted the relative compensation for private AI; on an hourly basis, it appears to be on equal with Plastics (I was a little surprised) and a little bit below neurosurgery. The lifestyle is also great and the research infinitely interesting :thumbup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
thanks a lot !
that was informational.
 
hey people!
any new interviews???
looks like a complete silence :smuggrin:
 
do the bulk of interviews extended tend to be in January? Any idea of when the last interview invitations are typically given out/cut off?
 
Last edited:
do the bulk of interviews extended tend to be in January? Any idea of when the last interview invitations are typically given out/cut off?

I think you'll continue to get interviews even through March. Watch out for different forms of invitations, I remember that the Cleveland Clinic would send out invitations via a phone call/message.
 
How many interviews does an average applicant tend to go on after receiving offers? In part, I know this is limited by both time and money, but I don't think I have a good grasp on a "goal" for when the chances of actually matching after an interview go up...
 
Has anyone else received a letter of acknowledgment from UT Memphis?
 
Two interviews from 50 programs so far. How about the rest of you?
 
Hmm....not to freak you guys out...but I've heard from 7 programs out of about 50 I've applied to....
 
Breezy - Congrats! can you let us know which programs you've heard from?
 
I've gotten invites from Henry Ford, Creighton, Virginia Commonwealth, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, USF, and Columbia....so far.... how bout you shaynab....and everyone else??? Regardless...I've met people at the recent ACAAI conference telling me that they had 17 interviews last year and didn't match...I'm pretty stressed out about this whole fellowship process...
 
Oh and Thanks for the congrats shaynap and lostforwards!
 
I've gotten invites from Henry Ford, Creighton, Virginia Commonwealth, Vanderbilt, Univ of Iowa, USF, and Columbia....so far.... how bout you shaynab....and everyone else??? Regardless...I've met people at the recent ACAAI conference telling me that they had 17 interviews last year and didn't match...I'm pretty stressed out about this whole fellowship process...

Congratulations! USF is a great place to go!
 
wow, is it that Henry Ford invites almost all applicants, or is it just us on this forum who get the invite from them? :)
 
Don't know about everyone else, but I haven't.
Any more interviews/rejections yet?
 
Congrats UMC! How many programs have you heard from so far...I've been in a standstill for a couple days now.
 
Congrats UMC! How many programs have you heard from so far...I've been in a standstill for a couple days now.

6 interviews so far. Still hoping good luck from Tulane, LSU, Emory, and UTMB.
 
Have not heard from NYC programs
Anybody heard from Yale? U Penn?
 
No NYC/Ca programs. Did anyone hear from Jefferson? They kept sending update emails indicating they would let us know by today or so but so far nada...
 
Hey guys. I'm happy to join the group. It's difficult to determine where I stand with interviews as I'm the only one in my residency applying allergy. I have heard from NIH, Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and Henry Ford. Has anyone heard from Jefferson today?
 
no reply from Jefferson for me at least.
 
Welcome willathebulldog...I feel ya...I am the only one applying from my program as well. Congrats on your great interviews. How many total have you heard from so far?
 
Welcome willathebulldog...I feel ya...I am the only one applying from my program as well. Congrats on your great interviews. How many total have you heard from so far?

I've only heard from those 4. I applied to 29 programs, mostly in the midwest and a few on the east coast.
 
Has anyone interviewed at Henry Ford yet? Wanted to know what you guys thought about the city and program? I've heard from a couple more programs but still no more nyc ones...
 
well detroit isn't safe thats for sure and especially downtown. I got some friends there, they live in suburbs. recommendation was not to show up there after sunset. I worked in not very safe areas before,so its fine.
About how good is the program, I dont know anybody who interviewed there.My guess wait and see.
 
hey all--
have been lurking for a bit since i discovered this site. am applying from the peds side.

i did finally hear from jefferson today--anyone else?

i still have a number of programs that i have had no communication from whatsoever. so it goes...

good luck everyone!
 
hey AI2012 congrats with IV. I didn't get a reply from them.
so good luck!
 
Yeah congrats AI2012!...anyone get a Jefferson invite from the internal medicine side??? I didn't hear from them...so guess I didnt....
Do AI programs even send out rejections?...I know other specialty fellowships have been.
 
Has anyone heard from Yale, Univ Washington Seattle or Milwaukee?
 
Top