Anyone know anything about UMDNJ - Newark?

[drbon]

I've been looking into the Internal Med prog. at UMDNJ in Newark....can anyone - residents or ppl who have recently interviewed - comment on the program? pros and cons? the hospital? the work load? thanks 😀

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[GuP]

ditto - can someone also comment on the prelim medicine year here?

 

[Walter]

comment on the program? pros and cons? the hospital? the work load? thanks

I am a 4th year med student at UMDNJ who did many rotations there, including my medicine clerkship. Pros: diverse, sick people; Newark is a poor community with lots of immigrants - you will see some serious disease there. I suppose proximity to NYC is an advantage, but Newark is not a nice place (except the Iron Bound district). Cons: poor inner city hospital with less than adequate ancillary staff; this means that you will have to do some of the work yourself. The hospital is also having some upper level management/federal investigation issues, most of which won't affect your training. The hospital is 500-600 beds, computerized labs, imaging and discharge summaries, but paper everything else. Work load: you will work, but the residents are generally good and the attendings are very good; I would recommend it for a transition year and feel that my training as a student there was very good. If you are looking for a "vacation" - forget it.

 

[GuP]

comment on the program? pros and cons? the hospital? the work load? thanks

I am a 4th year med student at UMDNJ who did many rotations there, including my medicine clerkship. Pros: diverse, sick people; Newark is a poor community with lots of immigrants - you will see some serious disease there. I suppose proximity to NYC is an advantage, but Newark is not a nice place (except the Iron Bound district). Cons: poor inner city hospital with less than adequate ancillary staff; this means that you will have to do some of the work yourself. The hospital is also having some upper level management/federal investigation issues, most of which won't affect your training. The hospital is 500-600 beds, computerized labs, imaging and discharge summaries, but paper everything else. Work load: you will work, but the residents are generally good and the attendings are very good; I would recommend it for a transition year and feel that my training as a student there was very good. If you are looking for a "vacation" - forget it.

Do you know how many hours an intern puts in there weekly?

 

[Walter]

I don't know exactly how many hours interns work. They are busy. There are 4 general medicine teams that rotate call; so you are on call Q4d. There is a night float system. Typical days start 6-7am (depending on your patient load, etc.) and finish late afternoon/early evening for days not on call. Call days I think you pick up patients until 8pm or so...cannot remember exactly when. There are also weekend responsibilities, with the work being somewhat less than weekdays. Obviously, the other rotations (MICU, night float, etc.) are different. Residents also rotate at Hackensack University Medical Center and the VA, I believe, both of which are lighter rotations - but I don't know if interns get to go to these places. I believe that residents/interns average one day off per week - but I could be wrong. This is not an easy internship, but the diseases you will see and the patients you will care for can be pretty interesting. You will definitely learn a lot there - I sure did as a student. Good luck.

 

[bobg504]

comment on the program? pros and cons? the hospital? the work load? thanks

I am a 4th year med student at UMDNJ who did many rotations there, including my medicine clerkship. Pros: diverse, sick people; Newark is a poor community with lots of immigrants - you will see some serious disease there. I suppose proximity to NYC is an advantage, but Newark is not a nice place (except the Iron Bound district). Cons: poor inner city hospital with less than adequate ancillary staff; this means that you will have to do some of the work yourself. The hospital is also having some upper level management/federal investigation issues, most of which won't affect your training. The hospital is 500-600 beds, computerized labs, imaging and discharge summaries, but paper everything else. Work load: you will work, but the residents are generally good and the attendings are very good; I would recommend it for a transition year and feel that my training as a student there was very good. If you are looking for a "vacation" - forget it.

Actually, the only nice place to live in Newark is the Forest Hill Section. Iron Bound is a bit to "urban" for most studentdoctor.net folks

 

[NinerNiner999]

The hospital mismanaged its debt and is now 125 million in the hole, the last I heard...

 

[GuP]

The hospital mismanaged its debt and is now 125 million in the hole, the last I heard...

Does that affect residency programs?

 

[NinerNiner999]

Probably not, but it will affect their facilities, renovations, staffing, etc outside of residency...

 

[neurofx]

I just interviewed there last week. The PD did mention the medicare/medicaid double billing issue and how she agreed they were screwing up and doing something wrong, but have now fixed it. I also came straight out and asked my interviewer (pulm/critical care director) about the current situation and he seemed honest about what he was saying, or at least thought what he was saying was true. He said the cards program was hit the hardest, and that there shouldn't be much if any trickle down that would effect the medicine program. He said that because of all the recent news some of their top picks for applicants have bailed out and so they may not get the same level of residents for the next few years that they have gotten in the previous years. I'm not completely sure about how I feel about the program, and my issue is that they didn't give me any feedback whatsoever about if they were interested in me. For many this wouldn't be a big deal, but since I am currently participating in the osteopathic match and the allopathic match, it's complicated. I'm looking at St. Michael's in Newark just down the street from UMDNJ, which has a dual accredited program but participates in the osteo match. They've already given me the feedback I need. Then there's UMDNJ, which is my pick for the allopathic match, but they haven't given me any clue like St. Michael's did. I have about no days left to decide whether or not to pull out of the osteopathic match for St. Michael's to stay in the match for UMDNJ, where I have no clue what my chances are but I think I would prefer to go there over St. Michael's. It would be nice if they gave me a rough idea so I know where I stand. This sucks.