Any info regarding Indiana University Gen Surg Residency?

[SurgeryThrowaway123]

I hope this is the right sub-thread for this question. M4 applying categorial general surgery. I am VERY interested in their program, and I am hoping to gather more info because their website is somewhat limited.

What I do know:
- 10 categorical residents/year
- about 90% of graduates do a fellowship
- Mostly based in Indianapolis with some satellite rotations
- Only 1 other GS residency in the state (St. Vincent - also in Indianapolis, but currently on probation)

What I would like to know:
- How heavy is research emphasized? Do most residents take years off for this purpose?
- How flexible is the curriculum towards your career goals?
- If you decide to go straight into practice, does the curriculum adequately prepare you?
- With 50 residents in the program, is it hard to create a meaningful relationship with other residents/faculty? Do you just feel like a number?
- Where are most the residents from (medical school)? Many IU grads?
- How does this program compare to nearby U of Louisville and U of Cincinnati?
- Pretty much anything else about the program!

Thanks!

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[mikeGR]

Their chairman is one of the leaders in surgical education, and their residency program has transformed to a pioneer in the field. From the way he was presenting it, it sounded like the program is 100% focused on resident education. That said, I haven't confirmed this with an actual resident in that program.

Just my .02

 

[Jolie South]

I don’t know anything about it personally but I do know a current surgery resident that rotated there as a med student and sub-I who said it was fairly malignant and old school. But that is second hand and n of one so, YMMV.

 

[Great White Buffalo]

I was advised against applying there. No information, other than leadership at my school said to pass on Indiana.

 

[SpecializedSurgeon]

I was advised against applying there. No information, other than leadership at my school said to pass on Indiana.

Interesting. Did they give specifics? From an academic attending perspective, it's definitely been considered one of the better programs out there.

I hope this is the right sub-thread for this question. M4 applying categorial general surgery, currently on the waitlist for an interview. I am VERY interested in their program, and I am hoping to gather more info because their website is somewhat limited.

What I do know:
- 10 categorical residents/year
- about 90% of graduates do a fellowship
- Mostly based in Indianapolis with some satellite rotations
- Only 1 other GS residency in the state (St. Vincent - also in Indianapolis, but currently on probation)

What I would like to know:
- How heavy is research emphasized? Do most residents take years off for this purpose?
- How flexible is the curriculum towards your career goals?
- If you decide to go straight into practice, does the curriculum adequately prepare you?
- With 50 residents in the program, is it hard to create a meaningful relationship with other residents/faculty? Do you just feel like a number?
- Where are most the residents from (medical school)? Many IU grads?
- How does this program compare to nearby U of Louisville and U of Cincinnati?
- Pretty much anything else about the program!
- (Oh, and how likely am I to get off the waitlist haha)]

Thanks!

I don't know the answer to most of those, but from a reputation standpoint, they are definitely considered one of the leaders in Education, as another poster has stated. It's been a well-established program that has been able to place it's graduates in all kinds of fellowships without issue. I remember a buddy of mine from medical school going up there and always speaking very highly of it, and now even my mentors in Education tell me that it's a place to go visit to "see how they do it".
Compared with UL and UCinci, I think it's probably in the same tier as far as reputation and competitiveness.

For the record, I have zero affiliation with the school, just word of mouth.

 

[Great White Buffalo]

Interesting. Did they give specifics? From an academic attending perspective, it's definitely been considered one of the better programs out there.

No specifics, I think this is our faculty just not liking the people there, maybe they poached someone that pissed them off. Also was "warned" off 5 other programs, told they were toxic. I am taking their perspective with a grain of salt. Did not apply to Indiana though.

 

[SpecializedSurgeon]

No specifics, I think this is our faculty just not liking the people there, maybe they poached someone that pissed them off. Also was "warned" off 5 other programs, told they were toxic. I am taking their perspective with a grain of salt. Did not apply to Indiana though.

Ha. Well, as somebody who works at a place that is often described as "toxic" but can attest that it's not, my only suggestion is to investigate for yourself. Very difficult for residents to hide that sort of thing.

 

[Eithz H]

Hey everyone! For what it's worth I had a couple of interviews with some Indiana M4's who are going into gen-surg and were rotating at the main campus in Indianapolis (many IU students rotate at satellite campuses in other parts of the state so they don't have any experience with the main residency). They said the program was top notch in terms of resident happiness and overall atmosphere. I just assumed it was that Mid-Western welcoming mentality...but who knows.

I always feel that if the med students from that institution have good things to say (without that initial look of hesitation when you ask lol) then it is likely a pretty decent place. Of course there are inherent limitations with word-of-mouth from med students so take what you will. But at least they had some direct contact with the program.

With regard to operative experience and research obligations I don't have enough insight to make an informed statement.

Hope this helps!

 

[flukemcd]

Hello! I am a current PGY-7 Chief at Indiana University. Apart from the usual biases from someone in my position, I can unequivocally say that my time here has been excellent. I am doing a fellowship next year, but I am currently running an ACS/EGS service where I operate independently on complex, sick patients with a junior resident, and I feel prepared to go into community general surgery if that was my interest.

Our program is busy with unusual pathology, and our staff pushes us to be excellent. Our faculty are great surgeons and great people who are well-known nationally. Malignant attending behavior is simply not tolerated by our Chair, but wasn't really a problem before he came, either. We have a badass sim lab and do a lot of cadaver work. Our strengths are HPB surgery/oncology, pediatric surgery, and trauma. Excellent thoracic/CV/vascular/plastics opportunities for those interested. Lots of open experience; decent MIS experience, but admittedly I haven't done a ton of bariatric surgery, mostly by choice. We operate at a variety of big hospitals, including two adult Level 1 trauma centers and one pediatric Level 1 trauma center. I spent two years away for research with residents from other academic programs, and I felt that my preparation at that time was superior to what they were getting exposed to. There's a lot of research opportunity in the department. Some people get PhD's; some people go straight through. We have an excellent track record for fellowship placement in any field you want.

It's not a country club program, but the residents are well taken care of. We treat each other well and hang out after work when able. Some have families and own homes. Despite the large size of the program, the residency gets a lot of attention by the faculty and administration. At this point, the residency feels like family and I've made lifelong friends with my co-residents. The city is a lot more fun these days even compared to when I started--so many great restaurants and bars in and around downtown. I'm very grateful for the training that I've received here. We are looking for energetic residents that work hard and play well with others. Happy to discuss any of this further via PM.

 

[SpecializedSurgeon]

Hello! I am a current PGY-7 Chief at Indiana University. Apart from the usual biases from someone in my position, I can unequivocally say that my time here has been excellent. I am doing a fellowship next year, but I am currently running an ACS/EGS service where I operate independently on complex, sick patients with a junior resident, and I feel prepared to go into community general surgery if that was my interest.

Our program is busy with unusual pathology, and our staff pushes us to be excellent. Our faculty are great surgeons and great people who are well-known nationally. Malignant attending behavior is simply not tolerated by our Chair, but wasn't really a problem before he came, either. We have a badass sim lab and do a lot of cadaver work. Our strengths are HPB surgery/oncology, pediatric surgery, and trauma. Excellent thoracic/CV/vascular/plastics opportunities for those interested. Lots of open experience; decent MIS experience, but admittedly I haven't done a ton of bariatric surgery, mostly by choice. We operate at a variety of big hospitals, including two adult Level 1 trauma centers and one pediatric Level 1 trauma center. I spent two years away for research with residents from other academic programs, and I felt that my preparation at that time was superior to what they were getting exposed to. There's a lot of research opportunity in the department. Some people get PhD's; some people go straight through. We have an excellent track record for fellowship placement in any field you want.

It's not a country club program, but the residents are well taken care of. We treat each other well and hang out after work when able. Some have families and own homes. Despite the large size of the program, the residency gets a lot of attention by the faculty and administration. At this point, the residency feels like family and I've made lifelong friends with my co-residents. The city is a lot more fun these days even compared to when I started--so many great restaurants and bars in and around downtown. I'm very grateful for the training that I've received here. We are looking for energetic residents that work hard and play well with others. Happy to discuss any of this further via PM.

Nice.

And to follow up on my last post, one of our current fellows trained at IU (I hadn’t worked with her when I responded to this the first time), and she’s been great to operate with. They clearly train the residents well up there.