Case Western Ophthalmology Residency Program on Probation?

[ophthalorbust]

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I was wondering if anyone had any more info on Case Western's probation, and on the program in general? Thanks!

 

[Ophtho222]

I was wondering if anyone had any more info on Case Western's probation, and on the program in general? Thanks!

I had no idea until my interview and the PD's announcement. They cited a variety of reasons including poor surgical numbers, unsatisfactory contracts with affiliated hospitals and changing PDs too often. They tried to minimize the situation and said they've resolved the many issues but it was definitely sketchy. When I asked main interviewer, he was actually angry at me for asking and basically said the solution is needing "better residents." I was quite put off by his negative impression of current residents, especially since they all seemed pretty cool and nice.

After searching through the ACGME website, I found that only 3 programs are on probation, including Case Western. That is definitely a red flag for me.

It overall seemed like a decent program to me but there is only so much you can pick up during a 8 hours interview day.

Any other thoughts?

 

[nsxracingy2k]

I was very concerned when I first heard of the CW's probation status one day prior to my interview. However, it seemed like the residents weren't that concerned ever since the program has taken many steps to address the problems. One of the residents told me that she talked to the Chair immediately when she first got here this summer and she's confident that everything will be ok. She was very straightforward and honest with her comments. Overall, I think the program is strong and it will be fine. I rather match there than some of the programs I interviewed at even knowing of its probation status now.

 

[xanthomondo]

I had no idea until my interview and the PD's announcement. They cited a variety of reasons including poor surgical numbers, unsatisfactory contracts with affiliated hospitals and changing PDs too often. They tried to minimize the situation and said they've resolved the many issues but it was definitely sketchy. When I asked main interviewer, he was actually angry at me for asking and basically said the solution is needing "better residents." I was quite put off by his negative impression of current residents, especially since they all seemed pretty cool and nice.

After searching through the ACGME website, I found that only 3 programs are on probation, including Case Western. That is definitely a red flag for me.

It overall seemed like a decent program to me but there is only so much you can pick up during a 8 hours interview day.

Any other thoughts?

Can you link us to the web site?

The only ACGME probation list I could find was 10-11 and only had St Luke's Hospital on it for ophthalmology.

I know the second program is NYMC - Valhalla, who is the third?

 

[alleyez2011]

http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/
Then on left hand sidebar click: "accredited program history"
So, 5 year accreditation is the best that a program can get. It's interesting to note that a number of the top 10 ophtho programs were only accredited for 3 or 4 years

 

[MstaKing10]

While it is very important to be an accredited program and it certainly is a red flag for a program to be on probation, It is important to keep perspective. The accreditation process is quite intense and detailed, and even a minor infringement can lead to fairly significant repercussions. It is not uncommon for a program to be on probation one cycle, for them to work on and fix the issues cited, and then get a 3-5 year accredidation approval on the next visit.

I would guess that a decent program like Case will be able to overcome the deficiencies and do well in the long run.

 

[JMK2005]

While it is very important to be an accredited program and it certainly is a red flag for a program to be on probation, It is important to keep perspective. The accreditation process is quite intense and detailed, and even a minor infringement can lead to fairly significant repercussions. It is not uncommon for a program to be on probation one cycle, for them to work on and fix the issues cited, and then get a 3-5 year accredidation approval on the next visit.

I would guess that a decent program like Case will be able to overcome the deficiencies and do well in the long run.

I would hope that any program on probation is up front with the reasons they were put on probation and what steps were taken to correct it.

 

[DrEyeBall]

While it is very important to be an accredited program and it certainly is a red flag for a program to be on probation, It is important to keep perspective. The accreditation process is quite intense and detailed, and even a minor infringement can lead to fairly significant repercussions. It is not uncommon for a program to be on probation one cycle, for them to work on and fix the issues cited, and then get a 3-5 year accredidation approval on the next visit.

I would guess that a decent program like Case will be able to overcome the deficiencies and do well in the long run.

That is not really accurate. It takes quite a lot to be put on probation. Usually there has been a very large deficiency or smaller ones that have not been addressed over a number of visits. Probation is a serious issue and while it is unlikely that the program would fold because the issues do not get fixed, it should be a warning sign about the program, the training and how it is run.