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Apologies in advance as this is a bit long…
I'm almost done with residency interviews and I'm starting to map out a preliminary rank list. I'm having a bit of trouble since I have no idea if I want a community or academic gig when I graduate, and geographic preference is pretty moot since my SO's work may require us to move to any number of geographic areas when I finish residency. I wonder if I could get some opinions from the residents and attendings out there…
There are about 7 programs that I really feel are a good "fit" for my personality (ie I liked the residents/attendings, location, etc), and I'd feel extremely fortunate to end up at any of them. The thing is, some of these programs are really different from each other, and I'm having a hard time deciding what program attributes to prioritize. Take for example the two programs at the most opposite ends of the spectrum on my short list:
Program A: is at a place where residents "see it all and do it all." The patient population at this program has a really high acuity level and they're proud of the fact that there are few procedures and clinical scenarios their residents haven't done or encountered by the time they graduate since there are no ENT/ortho/optho (etc) residents to compete with. They're the strongest residents in the hospital and time in the ED is maximized. The training seems fantastic, though it doesn't seem like residents end up with the most diverse jobs. Most end up in one of three main markets, and those that go into academics tend to stay at the program…I'm not sure if this is due to graduate preference or other factors, but they insist that they can get jobs in any market they want. Not too much research comes out of here and the program isn't well-known outside the world of EM. They say their grads truly finish being able to "handle anything" when they walk out, and while lots of programs have said this, I believe these guys the most.
Program B: is located at a massive, well-known hospital with residents/fellows present in every subspecialty under the sun. The program tries to keep competing services out of the ED for procedures, and the residents say they get enough and are "very comfortable" with procedures, though ortho can be tough to fend off at times and some residents do an ortho rotation as an elective to make up for this. The flip side is that these residents get a chance to "function as an attending" in the 2nd half of residency so they take presentations from lower-year residents which reportedly gives them a ton of "pattern recognition" since they can see so many more patients this way. All the residencies at this hospital are strong, and EM seems to hold its own though is not the strongest dept (politically). There are more off-service rotations here than program A but the residents here say the teaching on them is fantastic and the ones that are sub-par get dropped. This program also seems to give it's residents more administrative training and there's also research to get involved with (and fellowships) in virtually every area of EM. They say the "name" of the program opens doors in academics or whatever part of the country their graduates want to find a job in, and the track record of their alumni seems to attest to this.
Residents at both programs are extremely happy to be there and the program leadership at both is terrific and friendly.
My first priority is to walk out of residency being extremely clinically and procedurally savy, but I want (need) to keep as many doors open to me in the future (ie going into academics or getting a community job in any part of the country since my SO's field may require a few moves)…so that being said, between these two places, which would you choose and why? Is EM still "young enough" that a motivated new graduate can get a decent job in any market/academics regardless of the residency they come from? Is getting to do tons upon tons of procedures during residency blown a bit out of proportion? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
I'm almost done with residency interviews and I'm starting to map out a preliminary rank list. I'm having a bit of trouble since I have no idea if I want a community or academic gig when I graduate, and geographic preference is pretty moot since my SO's work may require us to move to any number of geographic areas when I finish residency. I wonder if I could get some opinions from the residents and attendings out there…
There are about 7 programs that I really feel are a good "fit" for my personality (ie I liked the residents/attendings, location, etc), and I'd feel extremely fortunate to end up at any of them. The thing is, some of these programs are really different from each other, and I'm having a hard time deciding what program attributes to prioritize. Take for example the two programs at the most opposite ends of the spectrum on my short list:
Program A: is at a place where residents "see it all and do it all." The patient population at this program has a really high acuity level and they're proud of the fact that there are few procedures and clinical scenarios their residents haven't done or encountered by the time they graduate since there are no ENT/ortho/optho (etc) residents to compete with. They're the strongest residents in the hospital and time in the ED is maximized. The training seems fantastic, though it doesn't seem like residents end up with the most diverse jobs. Most end up in one of three main markets, and those that go into academics tend to stay at the program…I'm not sure if this is due to graduate preference or other factors, but they insist that they can get jobs in any market they want. Not too much research comes out of here and the program isn't well-known outside the world of EM. They say their grads truly finish being able to "handle anything" when they walk out, and while lots of programs have said this, I believe these guys the most.
Program B: is located at a massive, well-known hospital with residents/fellows present in every subspecialty under the sun. The program tries to keep competing services out of the ED for procedures, and the residents say they get enough and are "very comfortable" with procedures, though ortho can be tough to fend off at times and some residents do an ortho rotation as an elective to make up for this. The flip side is that these residents get a chance to "function as an attending" in the 2nd half of residency so they take presentations from lower-year residents which reportedly gives them a ton of "pattern recognition" since they can see so many more patients this way. All the residencies at this hospital are strong, and EM seems to hold its own though is not the strongest dept (politically). There are more off-service rotations here than program A but the residents here say the teaching on them is fantastic and the ones that are sub-par get dropped. This program also seems to give it's residents more administrative training and there's also research to get involved with (and fellowships) in virtually every area of EM. They say the "name" of the program opens doors in academics or whatever part of the country their graduates want to find a job in, and the track record of their alumni seems to attest to this.
Residents at both programs are extremely happy to be there and the program leadership at both is terrific and friendly.
My first priority is to walk out of residency being extremely clinically and procedurally savy, but I want (need) to keep as many doors open to me in the future (ie going into academics or getting a community job in any part of the country since my SO's field may require a few moves)…so that being said, between these two places, which would you choose and why? Is EM still "young enough" that a motivated new graduate can get a decent job in any market/academics regardless of the residency they come from? Is getting to do tons upon tons of procedures during residency blown a bit out of proportion? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
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