Any one interview at SUNY downstate for prelim

[opthobound]

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I just matched in optho but slacked off bigtime on my prelim applications. So far I am looking at:

Beth Isreal-seems more laid back, nice location but expensive housing

Montie- really hardcore program, cheap housing

Suny Downstate????? I have the interview soon, debating on canceling, but wanted to know what anyone thought about the program.

Your help is kindly appreciated.

 

[emtji]

hi there,

i interviewed at downstate for a prelim quite some time ago.

impression:
+
pretty incredibly program director. probably worth interviewing at just to hear his speech. seems like the program takes care of it's interns and residents and it seems as though there is ample life to be had with some pretty good hours. also, some residents live in manhattan and commute.

-
many FMG categoricals, but most prelims are AMG's (just like the others you named). many clinical months 9?. kind of in a crappy part of brooklyn. the walk from the subway to the hospital is a treacherous one and there are reports of assualts, etc.

if you have only three interviews, you run the risk of not matching at beth israel (competitive) and monto (less competitive).

 

[gutonc]

hi there,

i interviewed at downstate for a prelim quite some time ago.

impression:
+
pretty incredibly program director. probably worth interviewing at just to hear his speech. seems like the program takes care of it's interns and residents and it seems as though there is ample life to be had with some pretty good hours. also, some residents live in manhattan and commute.

-
many FMG categoricals, but most prelims are AMG's (just like the others you named). many clinical months 9?. kind of in a crappy part of brooklyn. the walk from the subway to the hospital is a treacherous one and there are reports of assualts, etc.

if you have only three interviews, you run the risk of not matching at beth israel (competitive) and monto (less competitive).

As a Downstate grad, I'll add a couple of things to this.

1. The person of which you speak is not the PD but an assistant PD. That said, he is the public face of the program and the person you will most interact with. People either love him or hate him (more the former than the latter recently) but his untreated adult ADHD can get a little unnerving at times. He is however a huge advocate for the housestaff and students and has made some incredible changes in the program in 2 short years there. A few years ago, there were essentially no Downstate grads who stuck around for categorical IM, this year, 1/4-1/3 of the intern class is comprised of Downstate grads.

2. Calling East Flatbush a crappy part of Brooklyn is a huge understatement. Asaults are not just reported, they are a fact, although the Chinese grad students tend to get targeted more than other people (I had 3 Chinese grad student friends get jacked walking to the subway but only knew one white person who did) That said, the walk from the subway to the campus is probably the worst part of the neighborhood and has gotten much better over the past few years as Downstate has bought up various parcels of real estate and re-developed them. It's still probably one of the easiest places in NYC to buy crack or get shot but then without that they wouldn't have a Level 1 trauma designation.

3. One great thing about the program is that there is NF coverage for all 3 of their wards rotations (County, University and VA) so there is NO overnight wards call (I don't remember how it is in the ICU though).

Overall, I think it's a program on the way up and "The Fish" has a lot to do with that. He has the ear of the Dept. Chair which is not universal and he is one of the few people I have seen w/ the cojones to stand up to the unions protecting the ancillary staff at all 3 of the hospitals (one is VA, one is city and one is a state facility) to force them to do their damn jobs.