Boston Children's Hospital

[DrJ2B]

Hey all!

I am really interested in pursuing a residency at Boston Children's Hospital and then a fellowship in hematology/oncology there afterwards. I really like Boston and would like to settle down there permanently. I know it is a really competitive program, so I was wondering from those who applied and interviewed there, what does the program look for in prospective residents? In addition, did you find that residents were happy there? I would like to do a year of research there between my 2nd and 3rd years of medical school so I can get some more clinical research experience (I want to go into academic medicine.) and also see how I like it there. Do you think it would work in my favor to do a year of research there or should I do a year of research elsewhere? I would appreciate any information and advice.

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[notstudying]

Hey all!

I am really interested in pursuing a residency at Boston Children's Hospital and then a fellowship in hematology/oncology there afterwards. I really like Boston and would like to settle down there permanently. I know it is a really competitive program, so I was wondering from those who applied and interviewed there, what does the program look for in prospective residents? In addition, did you find that residents were happy there? I would like to do a year of research there between my 2nd and 3rd years of medical school so I can get some more clinical research experience (I want to go into academic medicine.) and also see how I like it there. Do you think it would work in my favor to do a year of research there or should I do a year of research elsewhere? I would appreciate any information and advice.

I'll get to the specifics of your question in just a second, but first a word of advice...it sounds like you are just starting med school-please don't box yourself in to one specialty-it's way to early for you to be so sure about what you want to do (I had a sense I wanted to do academic peds when I started med school, but kept my options open-though this is where I'm headed 🙂 ). Also please don't focus so hard on one school-the BCRP is only one excellent program among many, and you may find others you prefer (I did). In Boston, The Mass General has a great, Harvard affiliated (if that's tyour thing) peds residency that one of my classmates (who could have gone to either) is now at. Most good academic residencies will be able to get you into a great fellowship programs, so don't worry about that. And remember that there's no longer a "Boston Children's" residency-it is now combined with the Boston Medical Center (I think) pediatric department (affiliated with BU), and about 20-30% of residency is spent there.

That said, doing a year in research at Children's would be helpful-it will help to know someone there, though. You can certainly do elective rotations there 3rd or 4th year. They are looking for people with great USMLE scores, great grades, great references, AOA, and something that sets you apart. I thought the residents who were there seemed happy, or at least happy to be there. They didn't really seem like they were having much fun, though-they were very business-like, and kept mentioning how things were hard...but they are hard everywhere.

Good luck!