California programs

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lame_brain

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For family reasons, I am looking for a residency program in Southern California. Does anyone have info on the best (and I guess the worst) programs in that region?

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Best in So. Cal IMHO are UCLA and UCSD. UCLA gives you a great variety of cases, strong cardiac and pain, great faculty, works you hard and prepares you for anything. Residents seemed solid, but easy to get along with. Location is amazing; you will be in Beverly Hills, and if you are into this type of thing, they are the only game in town in terms of West LA connections. Easier places to match include USC, which was once a wreck, but has now improved somewhat significantly, although they seem a few years away from being strong, you will see everything there. Stay away from King-Drew, it will be a blemish on your CV. If you plan to attend in Southern Cal, it would be better to do residency in another state even and come back rather than be associated with that disaster of a hospital. UCLA-Harbor is a very small program, with ridiculously light work, and UCI is solid so I hear, but also gettinig increasingly tough to match.

In a nutshell, every program in California is far more competitive than it should be. The only truly tip top program in CA is UCSF, and you need to be a superstar to match there. UCLA is strong, but a far tougher match than a program of its same caliber would be in another geographical locale. A couple of years ago, no problem, but word was that it has been really heating up. They took a fairly large number of their own last year, including at least one very marginal candidate, so a rotation there or networking would def. help. Even places that are not strong programs are relatively tougher to match in because of the weather and the LA vibe.

Best of luck.
 
Thanks for the great info, Blocks. Any opinions on UCSD? And what about the mysterious Loma Linda?


blocks said:
Best in So. Cal IMHO are UCLA and UCSD. UCLA gives you a great variety of cases, strong cardiac and pain, great faculty, works you hard and prepares you for anything. Residents seemed solid, but easy to get along with. Location is amazing; you will be in Beverly Hills, and if you are into this type of thing, they are the only game in town in terms of West LA connections. Easier places to match include USC, which was once a wreck, but has now improved somewhat significantly, although they seem a few years away from being strong, you will see everything there. Stay away from King-Drew, it will be a blemish on your CV. If you plan to attend in Southern Cal, it would be better to do residency in another state even and come back rather than be associated with that disaster of a hospital. UCLA-Harbor is a very small program, with ridiculously light work, and UCI is solid so I hear, but also gettinig increasingly tough to match.

In a nutshell, every program in California is far more competitive than it should be. The only truly tip top program in CA is UCSF, and you need to be a superstar to match there. UCLA is strong, but a far tougher match than a program of its same caliber would be in another geographical locale. A couple of years ago, no problem, but word was that it has been really heating up. They took a fairly large number of their own last year, including at least one very marginal candidate, so a rotation there or networking would def. help. Even places that are not strong programs are relatively tougher to match in because of the weather and the LA vibe.

Best of luck.
 
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Blocks, are you from UCLA? Just curious how you know about the "very marginal" candidate they took last year.


blocks said:
Best in So. Cal IMHO are UCLA and UCSD. UCLA gives you a great variety of cases, strong cardiac and pain, great faculty, works you hard and prepares you for anything. Residents seemed solid, but easy to get along with. Location is amazing; you will be in Beverly Hills, and if you are into this type of thing, they are the only game in town in terms of West LA connections. Easier places to match include USC, which was once a wreck, but has now improved somewhat significantly, although they seem a few years away from being strong, you will see everything there. Stay away from King-Drew, it will be a blemish on your CV. If you plan to attend in Southern Cal, it would be better to do residency in another state even and come back rather than be associated with that disaster of a hospital. UCLA-Harbor is a very small program, with ridiculously light work, and UCI is solid so I hear, but also gettinig increasingly tough to match.

In a nutshell, every program in California is far more competitive than it should be. The only truly tip top program in CA is UCSF, and you need to be a superstar to match there. UCLA is strong, but a far tougher match than a program of its same caliber would be in another geographical locale. A couple of years ago, no problem, but word was that it has been really heating up. They took a fairly large number of their own last year, including at least one very marginal candidate, so a rotation there or networking would def. help. Even places that are not strong programs are relatively tougher to match in because of the weather and the LA vibe.

Best of luck.
 
Not at UCLA, but I know people who know people. As for UCSD, I am not as familiar, but it is very well respected, especially in Southern California. Pretty much neck and neck with UCLA, though a smaller program. Loma Linda is solid as well I hear, a little less competitve. I can't get past all the religious overtones, no caffieine, dietary, and relationship restrictions...what you do outside the hopsital is your perogative, but I have heard that there is sort of a general don't ask don't tell about everything from alcohol to premarital sex, and that's a little creepy to me. Just one man's semi-informed opinion though.
 
blocks said:
Not at UCLA, but I know people who know people.QUOTE]

Ah.
I am at UCLA. And I will say that after that "very marginal" candidate was accepted, we were all quite surprised. It definitely made it seem like UCLA protects its own, but then again, maybe there's more to that person than the rest of know.... who knows.
Anyway, good info on the CA schools! Thanks!
 
blocks said:
Not at UCLA, but I know people who know people. As for UCSD, I am not as familiar, but it is very well respected, especially in Southern California. Pretty much neck and neck with UCLA, though a smaller program. Loma Linda is solid as well I hear, a little less competitve. I can't get past all the religious overtones, no caffieine, dietary, and relationship restrictions...what you do outside the hopsital is your perogative, but I have heard that there is sort of a general don't ask don't tell about everything from alcohol to premarital sex, and that's a little creepy to me. Just one man's semi-informed opinion though.

I am not going into anasthesia, but when I did a rotation in it at Loma Linda the opinion of the residents was that the anasthesia program was a hidden gem. They all thought the program was solid, and they were by far the most laid-back, cool group of residents I ever worked with. Don't buy into the hype about Loma Linda being this ultra religious school. The only people who are like this are some of the attendings, and this does not seem to apply as much to the anasthesia guys. Most of the residents are NOT religious. Words such as sh**, fu**, etc. are common among residnets. Most of the them do/did have premarital sex. The cafeteria does not sell caffeine (or meat!); however, every nursing station has caffeinated coffee and nearly everyone drinks it. Many of the residents also drink alcohol. I would agree, though, that around some attendings (not so much anasthesia, however), the residents generally enact the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Even though the school isn't well known, apparently it is still quite competitive given its location--3.5 hrs from Vegas, 1hr from the beach, etc. Last year's average USMLE for residents was 235. Also, the school likes to take its own or people who rotated through.
 
Thanks for the 1st hand info on Loma Linda. I was really wondering about the residency environment, given that it is a religious institution. Having grown up as part of a non-religious family in a conservative, highly Christian town (not far from Loma Linda, actually!), I'm not so fazed by "religious environments." The only thing I can't handle is people trying to "convert me" 24/7. I guess that's why I escaped to Berkeley and San Francisco after high school. :) Good to know there's a nice mix of folks at Loma Linda.

RonaldColeman said:
I am not going into anasthesia, but when I did a rotation in it at Loma Linda the opinion of the residents was that the anasthesia program was a hidden gem. They all thought the program was solid, and they were by far the most laid-back, cool group of residents I ever worked with. Don't buy into the hype about Loma Linda being this ultra religious school. The only people who are like this are some of the attendings, and this does not seem to apply as much to the anasthesia guys. Most of the residents are NOT religious. Words such as sh**, fu**, etc. are common among residnets. Most of the them do/did have premarital sex. The cafeteria does not sell caffeine (or meat!); however, every nursing station has caffeinated coffee and nearly everyone drinks it. Many of the residents also drink alcohol. I would agree, though, that around some attendings (not so much anasthesia, however), the residents generally enact the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Even though the school isn't well known, apparently it is still quite competitive given its location--3.5 hrs from Vegas, 1hr from the beach, etc. Last year's average USMLE for residents was 235. Also, the school likes to take its own or people who rotated through.
 
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