Cedars-Sinai IM program impression after interview

[tray85]

Hey Guys, I'm actually new to this forum, so I apologize if this thread is in the wrong spot.

I was wondering what people who interviewed at Cedars this year (2010-2011) thought of the program? Did anyone get the impression that they were not being to forthcoming with information about the program, and that we were not able to meet a lot of residents? I was just concerned about that because I was wondering if they were possibly trying to hide something.

Looking at the list of where applicants end up for fellowship, it seems as if they do well. Does anyone know any residents there, and if so have they said anything about the program? I would appreciate any information that you might have about the IM program (positive or negative). Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[brujerizmo]

Well, if you are comparing Cedars-Sinai to the other programs in southern california, then yes, you dont see as many residents as you do other programs. For instance, you see every resident at Harbor, Olive View, UCI, but with Cedars, very few if any during interview day and supposedly, its a CUSH program. I even talked to many residents at USC while they were supposed to be extremely busy. So take it as it is. I was not thoroughly impressed with their program. Morning report was subpar at best. Noon conference was not that great. I actually thought Olive View was significantly better in terms of conferences.

 

[diatom85]

comparing the socal programs, i think they're all decent choices but the final decision really comes down to what you're looking for.

i liked cedars for the fact that they get a lot of free time to pursue research etc even starting intern year. and they do have some big names around. so that combination really help them match quite impressively every year. so i think if you're interested in fellowship/academic medicine, cedars is a great choice aside from UCLA proper. also people have a love/hate relationship with the VA where cedars residents do spend a considerable amount of time. i love the VA thus it's a plus for me personally. and along with the cush-iness, you'll have more free to actually have fun too, something to take into consideration.

other places like harbor, usc etc are obviously quite different since they're county hospitals so you'll get much more hands on clinical training. if you're goal is to be a superb clinician dedicated to clinical practice, then they would be awesome options.

 

[tray85]

Thanks for all your replies! I think it was the opportunities for research that pushed it over the top for me. All the residents do go on to some amazing residencies. The only concern I had was about the actual teaching. I agree with brujerizmo that the morning report and the afternoon conference did not seem to be too educational, which is concerning since it indicates that it wasn't just a bad lecture day when I was interviewing. Anyone hear anything about how interested the attendings are in teaching during the inpatient services? Sorry to keep posting about this, but Cedars is one of my top choices, and I wanted to use this info to make my rank list. Thanks!

 

[diatom85]

i didn't do a rotation there so i don't know personally, but a friend who's an intern there says that the attendings can vary, some are fantastic teachers, some are not so great. but honestly i'd imagine that's the case for every program though. but the good thing is that all the ward attendings are teaching attendings (no privates), so they signed up to do this teaching stuff. the only privates you'll see is in the ICU when they obv don't have a choice but to send their patients in... but that's a small part of the whole year. there are other places that still have privates on the gen wards and that's a big negative for me.

as for conferences. the morning report when i was there was actually pretty good. i've seen a lot worse on my interview trail... noon conference was a 3rd yr resident grand rounds and that was kinda (really) boring... hit or miss.

 

[brujerizmo]

I did a Sub-I at Cedars Sinai and can honestly say that most of the noon conferences were pretty bad. Also, the morning reports were not very well done as well. On wards, there was some teaching involved that were hit or miss. If you subtract the cushiness of the program and the relatively good fellowship placement, id put it in the lower tier of southern california programs. Olive View, Harbor-ucla, and other programs in the area seem to create better physicians.

On another note, I talked to a Cedars graduate at another institution who wished he trained at Harbor...

 

[IMstudent82]

I am thinking of ranking cedars as my #1, well above university of minnesota, USC, loma linda and CCF. Do you think cardiology fellowship at cedars has similiar flaws (lack of academics) as its IM program. My long term plan is a cardiology fellowship in California.

 

[pullandbear]

Bump. For those that interviewed at Cedars this year, what did you guys think?

 

[SillyGiraffe]

I've done a sub-internship as well as interviewed at Cedars, and I found the residents to be a mixed bag. Some were exceptionally good and very knowledgeable, and others were...not so.

What bothered me were a few points:

1) There were fewer hands-on opportunities (lines, intubations, etc.) at Cedars Sinai for the residents than other places. This means a R2 may or may not have signed off on all the procedures.

2) On interview day, they emphasized that half of the patient population was underserved. That may be true, but I didn't feel that way...at least not for IM. I thought this was good though - fewer headaches regarding placement, etc.

3) Teaching was also a mixed bag. More than half the time, I thought it was decent. There were some really good teachers, particularly in cardiology.

4) Every. single. resident talked about fellowship match and how great it was coming from Cedars. It just made me feel like Cedars was a stepping stone to something else. I don't know if I want that as my residency experience.

The good points:

1) Great fellowship match besides being known as a "cush" program in the southern California region. However, I don't know how far this reputation extends outside of California. And being cush doesn't mean the patients are less sick. I thought the patients were still sick enough to be hospitalized and offer good clinical training.

2) Plenty of research time. Maybe this helps with the fellowship matches significantly.

3) Big names on the services. This likely helps with fellowship match.

 

[wyme84]

Aside from the size and location of the programs, how do you think Cedars compares to Scripps Green?
My impression was that they were pretty similar, except that I felt a more positive overall energy at Scripps.