It seems there's a special type of people out there that enjoys these conversations, and, while obviously the opinions of strangers doesn't factor too strongly into these decisions, I figured a few other perspectives on the matter couldn't hurt anyway. As an IMG, the NYC area options are a bit limited. You hear rumors of an occasional interview from Mount Sinai and AE in the Bronx, but generally we're talking a different set of programs open to us -- a set of programs that aren't discussed as often on these boards. So maybe I'm not the only one to stand to benefit here.
I keep going back and forth on some of the community hospitals with good university affiliations, like Beth Israel and St. Luke's and some of the surrounding university programs with decent reputations, like Robert Wood Johnson in NJ, Long Island Jewish, and Stony Brook. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I know the drill, so I'll start:
Beth Israel: Reputation as a bit of a cushy program with its biggest asset being the location. But compared to the average IMG-friendly programs out there, the program seems really solid, with good faculty and attendings, a good set of residents and nice facilities.
St. Luke's: It seems like a lot of the same can be said about St. Lukes as BI above. There might've be some marginal difference in the quality of fellowships obtained by graduates and the facilities, but overall pretty similar.
RWJ: Lots of driving and an older facility in Piscataway, but seemed like a good group of residents and attendings. Struck me as a pretty quirky academic environment, with scavenger hunts and whatnot to spice things up.
Stony Brook: Really liked the faculty and facilities here. I don't have a list to go back and verify, but at the interview I remember the post-graduate results of recent alumni were pretty impressive.
LIJ: Huge program, but plenty going on at Zucker Hilside to justify the size of the class. Seems like they have just about everything you could ask for in a program, except maybe a better location and a less draconian call schedule.
I already have a sense of how I'm ranking 'em, but would be curious to see any other opinions out there and how some of you folks, IMG and AMG's alike, would stack them up. Thanks in advance.
I keep going back and forth on some of the community hospitals with good university affiliations, like Beth Israel and St. Luke's and some of the surrounding university programs with decent reputations, like Robert Wood Johnson in NJ, Long Island Jewish, and Stony Brook. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I know the drill, so I'll start:
Beth Israel: Reputation as a bit of a cushy program with its biggest asset being the location. But compared to the average IMG-friendly programs out there, the program seems really solid, with good faculty and attendings, a good set of residents and nice facilities.
St. Luke's: It seems like a lot of the same can be said about St. Lukes as BI above. There might've be some marginal difference in the quality of fellowships obtained by graduates and the facilities, but overall pretty similar.
RWJ: Lots of driving and an older facility in Piscataway, but seemed like a good group of residents and attendings. Struck me as a pretty quirky academic environment, with scavenger hunts and whatnot to spice things up.
Stony Brook: Really liked the faculty and facilities here. I don't have a list to go back and verify, but at the interview I remember the post-graduate results of recent alumni were pretty impressive.
LIJ: Huge program, but plenty going on at Zucker Hilside to justify the size of the class. Seems like they have just about everything you could ask for in a program, except maybe a better location and a less draconian call schedule.
I already have a sense of how I'm ranking 'em, but would be curious to see any other opinions out there and how some of you folks, IMG and AMG's alike, would stack them up. Thanks in advance.
