Boston University program
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Anything in particular you are looking for?
BU has very strong surgical volume (residents can graduate with over 200 cataracts) and busy clinics. The residents work fairly hard, but come out not necessarily requiring fellowships. The patient population is impoverished and often non-English speaking (lots of pterygia and diabetic retinopathy). The program is weak when it comes to research. The faculty is fairly young, with many attendings that trained at top programs (Bascom, MEEI, WashU, etc.). So, the strength of the BU program basically depends on what other programs you are considering.
BU has very strong surgical volume (residents can graduate with over 200 cataracts) and busy clinics. The residents work fairly hard, but come out not necessarily requiring fellowships. The patient population is impoverished and often non-English speaking (lots of pterygia and diabetic retinopathy). The program is weak when it comes to research. The faculty is fairly young, with many attendings that trained at top programs (Bascom, MEEI, WashU, etc.). So, the strength of the BU program basically depends on what other programs you are considering.
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Residents do decently for fellowships. They tend to either do slightly easier fellowships (glaucoma, cornea) or no fellowship. A few do retina (sometimes at BU) or plastics (usually non-ASOPRS). The BU plastics fellowship is now ASOPRS accredited, so it is competitive.
The new chairman for the last year and a half or so is Dr. Christiansen. He is very nice and involved in national pediatric research. It seems like he is trying to make the program more academic. The new program director (as of this year) is Dr. Ramsey. She is also very nice, and is much more enthusiastic than the previous director. To my knowledge, Dr. Subramanian published the first RCT of Lucentis vs Avastin for AMD this year. There are no real 'bad seeds' that you should know about.
The new chairman for the last year and a half or so is Dr. Christiansen. He is very nice and involved in national pediatric research. It seems like he is trying to make the program more academic. The new program director (as of this year) is Dr. Ramsey. She is also very nice, and is much more enthusiastic than the previous director. To my knowledge, Dr. Subramanian published the first RCT of Lucentis vs Avastin for AMD this year. There are no real 'bad seeds' that you should know about.
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Hi,
Thanks a lot! I didn't know there are so many non-English speaking population there!? Never been to Boston before!! I've always heard very impressive things about the town. So I was a little surprised to hear about its impoverished population!! Good luck guys
Thanks a lot! I didn't know there are so many non-English speaking population there!? Never been to Boston before!! I've always heard very impressive things about the town. So I was a little surprised to hear about its impoverished population!! Good luck guys
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Regarding hotel, the nearest hotel to the campus that I can think of is the Bestwestern Roundhouse suites. Definitely walking distance (about 4 blocks) but the BU med campus is not the best neighborhood. I would say that it is safe to walk from that hotel to the hospital during the day though. Never stayed at this hotel, so I can't say if it is nice or cheap, etc.
BU is a reasonable program in terms of quality, a bit stronger clinically than Tufts but a little less research-oriented/"academic". The fact that Boston is a desirable city increases the competitiveness in landing a spot, but to a lesser extent than NYC and California.
BU is a reasonable program in terms of quality, a bit stronger clinically than Tufts but a little less research-oriented/"academic". The fact that Boston is a desirable city increases the competitiveness in landing a spot, but to a lesser extent than NYC and California.
strong program overall; great city; clinics are functional and busy since they serve many of the indigent; neighboring programs such as mass gen and tufts can be seen as a pro or con; solid name that will make you competitive for any specialty.