Anyone applying to Cards this year 2005

[cowboy75]

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I am currently at a highly regarded "community" academic program and my feeling (open to debate of course) is that as long as the program is considered strong in the field you are looking into, it will serve you well when you apply to fellowship. Read that as: you might have a better chance to match in cardiology if your residency program is at the same place as a strong cardiology fellowship program. The reason (good or not), is that you might get good training in cardiology during your residency. The real advantage is the research will be easier to get and do.

A good place to start is the US News rankings put out each year. This isn't the end-all, be-all of top programs, but a decent gauge of how the program is faring nationally.

After that, look into the program's publications (can usually be found on their website, but your mileage might vary here) and see if they are producing anything worth being a part of. As many have alluded to already in this thread, research is essential/vital/required to be competitive as a fellowship applicant and you need someone well-regarded in their field that is putting something out in big journals. But I digress...

If you look at the US News rankings, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, Cedars-Sanai, etc. are all "community" programs that enjoy good standings. I would venture to say that an applicant from one of these programs would fare better/as well as in the cardiology match than a comparable applicant from a traditional academic university program (depending on that program). My opinion only, though.

cb75

 

[CCMD2005]

Cowboy,
I am wondering why you think Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are community programs? Is it because they have medical schools or perhaps that they do a boat load of research (each insitution is sending well over 100 papers to ACC) or maybe because the attendings are community docs and not world renowned experts (like Eric Topol, Rick Nishimura, Bernard Gersh, etc...)? And I do believe residents at Mayo and Cleveland match pretty darn well in cards, just like they do at UVA where I'm at (We have Dr. Beller former Pres. of ACC).
-CC

 

[salam]

Hi
I am applying this year to cardiology fellowship ,I got interview at Mount Sinai , NY ..I am still not able to master the question tell me your weakness?
any one can provide me an insight to this question

 

[rajvosa]

Hi
I am applying this year to cardiology fellowship ,I got interview at Mount Sinai , NY ..I am still not able to master the question tell me your weakness?
any one can provide me an insight to this question[/QUOTE


Congrats on getting Sinai interview .

 

[cowboy75]

Cowboy,
I am wondering why you think Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are community programs? Is it because they have medical schools or perhaps that they do a boat load of research (each insitution is sending well over 100 papers to ACC) or maybe because the attendings are community docs and not world renowned experts (like Eric Topol, Rick Nishimura, Bernard Gersh, etc...)? And I do believe residents at Mayo and Cleveland match pretty darn well in cards, just like they do at UVA where I'm at (We have Dr. Beller former Pres. of ACC).
-CC

UCLADUKES' question was the comparison between "straight" academic programs and "community" programs, a designation that is becoming less and less pronounced over time. They list Cedars-Sanai and Scripps Clinic as community and the university programs as straight. I alluded to CCF and Mayo as community as they are considered, in fact, private "community" hospitals. I believe these labels to be of little importance as, as described above, what truly matters is the reputation of the program.

cb75

 

[salam]

well I donot recommend Brooklyn hospital ....specially that the hospital is filing for bankruptcy ....anyone has a good answer to the interview question "what is your weakness"
thanks

Hi
I am applying this year to cardiology fellowship ,I got interview at Mount Sinai , NY ..I am still not able to master the question tell me your weakness?
any one can provide me an insight to this question[/QUOTE


Congrats on getting "Sinai interview" . I plan to apply next year.
So how is Brooklyn hospital working for you Salem? Do you think you could get Columbia and Cornell interviews as well? Do you recommend matching to Brooklyn hospital IM in order to get great university interviews in NYC?

Congrats again!

 

[Banana Hammock]

From BWH, MGH, Stanford or Penn?

Got interviews from Hopkins, Michigan, BID, U. Washington.

 

[lub-dub]

From BWH, MGH, Stanford or Penn?

Got interviews from Hopkins, Michigan, BID, U. Washington.

-Stanford has prob with eras software; decision is delayed until next week.

-Have not heard from BWH, MGH

-Do not apply to Penn...so no idea

-Got interviews from Hopkins, Washington-U (MO), UCSF

-Got rejection from U-Washinton

Good luck!

 

[Banana Hammock]

Thanks for the info. Good luck. Maybe I'll see you at Hopkins (going in April).

 

[lub-dub]

Thanks for the info. Good luck. Maybe I'll see you at Hopkins (going in April).

Hey...no problem! My interview is in late March. Good luck with your interview! Maybe I'll see you in July 2007 🙂....Cheers

 

[statinpoppy]

hey folks,
just wondering if anyone has heard from Stanford yet? they sent out that email to everyone saying how they needed more time to review applications because of a "software issues."
hope the interview season has been kind to all!

 

[rajvosa]

Hello folks,

Interview invitations are still coming...

 

[statinpoppy]

i've heard solid things about Rochester. the rest i'm not so sure about. do you want to stay in academics?

when you said invitations are still coming, are u referring to stanford? thx!

 

[rajvosa]

Thanks. I did not apply to Stanford so I do not know.

Yes, I would like to stay in academics if possible.

Good luck.

 

[busybusy222]

Anyone reapplying to Cards this year? If so, what are your plans in the interim and what are you telling or going to tell PD's about last year if they ask what happened.

 

[lub-dub]

hey folks,
just wondering if anyone has heard from Stanford yet? they sent out that email to everyone saying how they needed more time to review applications because of a "software issues."
hope the interview season has been kind to all!

I have not heard anything from Stanford either!....Hmm...curious of what's going on...

 

[Iamconfused]

I was wondering how many interviews everyone has. I have 15 and counting. University and community hospitals. Just wanted to see what's the norm. Everyone is so hush hush at my university. Thanks

 

[joti]

you're not likely to get much help here since Cards people are so competitive and feel that withholding information will help them in some mystical way. I have 8 interviews currently; i think it's unlikely that we'll receive more since most programs have extended invitations at this time. what makes you think this year is more competitive than any other?

PDiddy, or anyone else: I'm an international med grad, currently in a university hospital- PGY2, which is not a reputed program. I haven't applied for card this year but would like to apply next year (PGY3). I have some research experience...I have a basic science research publication in a relatively low journal as 4th author. I have a case report accepted for publication in Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation as 1st author. I also have an abstract accepted for presentation in SCAI meeting 2006 as 1st author. I am currently working on another paper hoping it will get accepted in American Journal of Card, as 2nd author. I will surely get decent letters of Recomendation from the program director and the cardiologists of our institute that I am working with (not very famous though). I am looking for a university academic fellowship program (there is not cardio fellowship in our university). With these credentials I would like to know my chances and options as a foreign med grad.

 

[lub-dub]

Hey guys,

Just a curious question here for those who have gone to interviews. Have they asked you guys any tough questions? Have you had any "unexpected" interview? I've gone to 4 interviews thus far and have not been asked any tough question at all, not even the usual "strength, weakness" or "why cardiology" kind of questions. Just curious whether this could mean "lack of interest" in the program in my application? Or am I just being paranoied?

 

[trekker]

Hey guys,

Just a curious question here for those who have gone to interviews. Have they asked you guys any tough questions? Have you had any "unexpected" interview? I've gone to 4 interviews thus far and have not been asked any tough question at all, not even the usual "strength, weakness" or "why cardiology" kind of questions. Just curious whether this could mean "lack of interest" in the program in my application? Or am I just being paranoied?

I had one interview where one of them asked me molecular biology stuff...led off from my "clinical" research..I guess to see if I understood the molecular biology behind what I was doing. Only one person so far asked the why cardiology question.

What questions did they ask you?

 

[lub-dub]

I had one interview where one of them asked me molecular biology stuff...led off from my "clinical" research..I guess to see if I understood the molecular biology behind what I was doing. Only one person so far asked the why cardiology question.

What questions did they ask you?

Have been asked: what is your career goal? Tell me about your research (and no molecular stuff)? what field of card are you interested in? what do you do for fun? how is your residency? and lots of these.....do you have any question about the program? what can i tell you about this program? do you have any question for me?

Have not been asked: why cardiology? weakness? strength? why this program? any medical related stuff?

 

[dennis1118]

Hello all,
This is a great thread. I have a specific question: One of my friends is finishing IM intern year, however, I know he’s too chicken to post here. He wants to do Cardiology, but he may/may not have a dilemma. The stats:

Pros
1. 4 publications, including two lead author papers (two recent lead author papers in Circulation, a 2nd author in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a third author in Endocrine Practice). His area of interest is atherosclerosis/lipid metabolism and he would definitely like to continue with this as part of his career.
2. Well-respected, well-liked, intelligent intern. Did great on the Cardiology rotation, expecting strong LOR’s
3. Decent state school university program with own cardiology fellowship.

Cons
1. Very lousy MSPE (Dean’s Letter) – he had major depression during the third year of medical school and took a year off for NIH research. His dean’s letter makes an accusation of “unprofessional behavior” during the third year and required medical leave, but gives no other details (at least that’s what he told me). Mostly just passing grades through clinical years.
2. Passed all USMLE’s but with very low scores (Step I =189, Step II=190).

I know we’ve said that MSPE and USMLE scores don’t carry much weight here, but the ERAS Fellowship application asks for them, as well as do many PD’s. So they must carry some weight.

Realistically, how much is this going to hurt his application, should he decide to apply? 😕

 

[P Diddy]

I know we’ve said that MSPE and USMLE scores don’t carry much weight here, but the ERAS Fellowship application asks for them, as well as do many PD’s. So they must carry some weight.

Realistically, how much is this going to hurt his application, should he decide to apply? 😕

i think your friend has a great chance at a cardiology fellowship, especially at his own institution. at his program, the cardiologists know whther or not he's competent and will likely be aware of his research experience. that's where he should push the hardest, esp if someone in the cards department is doing research in his field of interest.

sure USMLE scores may be glanced at, but your friend's research experience, which is better than probably 90% of Cards applicants out there, and his LOR will carry the most weight. tell your 'friend' to focus on getting great LOR and fostering good relationships with cardiologists at his home institution and your 'friend' will have a great chance at matching.

p diddy

 

[salmonella]

Just have a few questions:
1) Is there any particular area of cardiology research that will increase a candidate's chance of matching? (ie, molecular bio vs echo vs clinical trials) What kind of research is highly regarded by PDs?
2) What's the most common reason why people don't match to cardiology?
3) How many interviews do you need to have a reasonable chance of matching?
Thank you very much.

 

[tibor75]

If you look at the US News rankings, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, Cedars-Sanai, etc. are all "community" programs that enjoy good standings. I would venture to say that an applicant from one of these programs would fare better/as well as in the cardiology match than a comparable applicant from a traditional academic university program (depending on that program). My opinion only, though.

cb75

Cleveland Clinic residents are horrible.

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

Cleveland Clinic residents are horrible.

That does not mean they dont match into cardiology.

 

[tibor75]

That does not mean they dont match into cardiology.

I know they do.

I shoudl have said, "CCF med residency has a so-so reputation"

But their fellowship historically does not take their own. When I was a med student rotating through there, I saw their fellowship roster - out of about 30, 1 was a CCF residency grad. That is pretty embarrassing. I seriously doubt any other "top" fellowship says the same.

 

[mr_bertman]

unlike most traditional academic hospitals, cleveland clinic is fellows-driven rather than residents-driven. therefore the clinic has a great reputation for training cardiology fellows specifically, and so it's able to draw residents from IM programs much better than its own.