Baylor+New Hospital = Trouble?

[AMedStud]

I recently learned that Baylor is building their own hospital to open in 2011. I hoped to get your insight into how this will affect the otolaryngology department (I think they are currently at Methodist Hospital and have heard other departments have had faculty shuffling).
As I am debating where to attend medical school, I would also appreciate your perspective on how this would affect a medical student applying in 2011-2012. Thank you for your help.

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[Leforte]

Not sure any of us could tell you. I am not from Baylor - I did interview there, and was under the impression the residents were at most of the hospitals within the TMC. If you're apply for Med school in 2011-2012, You'd be graduating 2016 - and wouldn't be starting your PGY2 ENT training until 2017. That's nearly a decade away and a LOT can happen to a department in that amount of time.

1st thing - do well in undergrad, score about 30 on your MCAT, and apply to med school broadly. I think the current acceptance rate is ~35-40%. As far as where to go (assuming you get more than 1 offer), go to the cheapest place. I went to a private med school, and am in residency with people who went to the local state med school. I am 180k in debt, they owe 60k - who made the better decision? What matters is what you do in med school - get involved in research, do well on Step I, crush your 3rd year, try to get AOA, etc. These factors are more important than where you go - granted the proportion of Harvard/JHU/Michigan/UCSF/etc med students that match at some fantastic place is higher than your local state med school - the former are also the students who usually are either 1) innately gifted, 2) are hard core studiers/workers or 3) well connected. My residency is at a state university and we matched 5/5 who applied this year (none with us). So, you see, matching success, IMHO, is more of what you do once you get to med school, not which med school you attend.

2nd - once you are applying for residency, there are SO many factors to consider. 1) your competitiveness, 2) your location desires, 3) your SO's location desires (which trump yours), 4) where you get interviews, 5) the gut feeling you get on the trail, etc, etc, etc. Some people don't want to be in Houston because of the traffic, some don't want to go to a place with fellows, some want to be in CA, or NY, or FL. Also - there are many examples of students who got >10 interviews and do not match, for one reason or another.

In anycase - I like the fact that you've got a 10 year plan - but maybe it's best to focus first on getting into med school, then we talk to you about the next step if your interested in otolaryngology.

Regards,

Leforte

 

[AMedStud]

I am sorry I was not clear. I am accepted at both Baylor and Vanderbilt and am trying to make a tough decision. As I will graduate medical school in 2012, I am curious as to how a new hospital opening in 2011 will effect me. I imagine that some of the applicants to the Baylor otolaryngology residency program had the same question.

 

[abcabc1]

It's good to think to the future, but it may be a bit too early to worry about these issues.

You may choose a specialty besides ENT or take a year off in Medical School to do research. Other things can come up, as well.

I would not recommend factoring the Baylor hospital switch into your decision. My guess would be that Baylor grads have matched nicely into ENT in the past and this is likely to continue. You should go where you think you'll have the best experience. You'll have plenty of opportunities coming out of either school so long as you continue to do well. If you have (or can obtain) TX residency, I'd probably give Baylor the edge b/c of financial reasons. Good luck!

 

[resxn]

A large academic center opening a hospital while you are in medical school will have little to no effect on your ability to get into a residency. It may effect your rotations somewhat especially if they're in a lot of flux when you start, but that's about it.

I would say it's completely a non-issue and you're overthinking this one.

 

[AMedStud]

I would say it's completely a non-issue and you're overthinking this one.

You are probably right, but they seem so evenly matched everywhere else (even from a cost standpoint) that I cannot chose. Any advice about choosing between these med schools would be greatly appreciated.

 

[abcabc1]

It's hard for people who don't even know who you are to make suggestions as to which Medical School to attend. If cost is not a big differentiating factor, maybe you can go by location. Try to visit each school (even for a 2nd time); you might get a feel for which school you like more. You'll likely get a better vibe from one school than the other.

 

[TheThroat]

I went to Baylor Med and cannot say enough good things about it for medical school. They only do a year and a half of basic sciences and so you do 2 and a half years of clinical rotations. You basically get to make up your own rotation schedule and you get to take Step I any time in the 3rd year that you want to. I took Step I in March of my third year, after my medicine and surgery rotations and then taking off 6 weeks to study. Gotta go fix a post-tonsil bleed...arrrggh.

 

[AMedStud]

Thanks for your input guys. It seems that the new hospital at Baylor is not an issue. Both schools seem to be awesome and I feel fortunate to have this choice. Only two weeks left until the decision deadline...

 

[Oto2008]

To answer your question too late...

Having just graduated from BCM and doing oto, I can answer your question, albeit too late for you. First, the new hospital won't be open until 2010 at the earliest. The first phase of the hospital will be small, 250 beds or so. The OR space will be mostly for general surgery use, with all the surgical subspecialties sharing OR space and time. Considering the Neurosensory center at Methodist runs 4 or more ORs full time five days a week, which are majority used by BCM faculty and a few private folks, sharing an OR for a few days a week at the new hospital isn't even close to enough to keep up with the faculty now. If anything, the Methodist contract could and probably should be extended beyond 2010 until a full suite of ORs could be assigned with enough room for all surgical faculty full time 5 days a week. This would happen during the second phase of the hospital. Until then, probably small consult service and shared OR time when the hospital opens. The department hasn't made any plans that I'm aware of (I'd ask current residents). Considering you're graduating in 4 years, the new hospital probably will be open for your clinical rotations and it might change surgery or medicine rotations, but won't mean much change for the Baylor oto program or you in regards to oto apps. But for the future and what the hospital means, it means change. At this point it's impossible to tell if the new hosptial will be the better or worse for you, the department, or Baylor in general, especially because it will not be at full power just yet.

That said... DO NOT DISCOUNT THE POWER OF THE 18 MONTH BASIC SCIENCES. It will be your best weapon for preparation for Step 1. Last year's avg from BCM was around 237 because we are able to put a lot of effort into studying. The faculty, attendings, prog. director and residents from BCM are first-class and will give you great advice if you ask in time to put it into action. Your dean's letter also comes from a respected oto faculty. I've heard some people refer to Dr. Alford as a dinosaur, and if that's true, then that must mean that dinosaurs are benevolent, extremely knowledgeable (always get your name right), connected and powerful, and yet genuinely nice creatures who do not raise their voices.

Lastly, you also have the opportunity to do research at BCM (mostly otology) or at MD Anderson in head and neck. It's like having another awesome 10-person faculty and tons of labs for you to interact with.

This year's BCM oto applicants were as successful as in the last few years and, in my opinion, awesome people who ended up very happy with match results as a group.

So I hope you went to Baylor.

Thanks for your input guys. It seems that the new hospital at Baylor is not an issue. Both schools seem to be awesome and I feel fortunate to have this choice. Only two weeks left until the decision deadline...

 

[AMedStud]

So I hope you went to Baylor.

I did end up choosing BCM and am looking forward to my experience there! I am glad that the new hospital will probably not harm my chances of applying to otolaryngology in the future. Thank you guys for all of your comments in helping me to make this tough decision.

 

[resxn]

best of luck