Attention: 2008 Match Applicants- Residency Programs To Avoid Thread

[Thaitanium]

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The application season is nearing and I, like most other applicants, would like to know which programs to AVOID like the plague. If anyone knows of ANY program with the following "danger signs" please state the program. I know some of you are currently in these types of programs.

-little to no teaching at sign out
-little to no didactics (conferences, etc.)
-unhappy residents
-malignant attendings
-scutwork
-little to no camraderie among residents; residents backstabbing each other.
-no feedback from PD in regards to resident concerns
-programs with a history of residents failing board exams
-low numbers of specimens/no variety in specimens to learn from

If there is anything I missed, please state so and name the institution.

Thanks for all the advice guys and gals.

 

[yaah]

The problem with this is that every program is going to have its malcontents, and if the malcontents happen to be the ones that post, that bias will come out. From experience, I would wager that you aren't going to get much of a response here, people fear of reprisals (which is probably unjustified but paranoia is a strong sense). The best information ultimately will come from your interview day because you have to see it for yourself.

All of the items you listed are things to appropriately be concerned about (some more than others), although many of them are in the eye of the beholder, so you always have to take that with a grain of salt. I remember going on a couple of interviews where some of the residents were exceedingly happy, but when I learned more about the program it kind of wasn't the greatest for learning. And there were other places that the residents were unhappy because they had to work reasonably hard. You can't please everyone.

 

[so somatic]

I agree with yaah here. Also, although we have some issues in my program, when someone wrote about them on another residency website, the program director had the comments removed, as they included some personal attacks (a malcontent).

As I have written before, a top criterion of mine, if I were looking around at programs, would be the 1st time pass rate for AP and CP boards. Pity that the American Board of Pathology doesn't post these results for public consumption. Those objective numbers would tell volumes about a program. But, as yaah wrote, visit the program and glean as much as you can: it's probably the best one can do to assess each program. Good luck.

 

[yaah]

That is a good thing to pay attention to but don't pay TOO much attention to it. Even the best program can't help a ******* or someone who just doesn't study for it. And because path went through a low period 7-10 years ago, some of the fairly recent graduates of even good programs just weren't that good.

 

[so somatic]

Agreed, yaah.