Chicago Programs

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SallySux

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Yo--What does the forum know about the Chicago programs? I hear UChicago has the big-namers and the rep, but may be having some $ problems. Anyone know about this? Northwestern has the cash, prestine facilities and is the up-and-comer as rumor has it. Anyone know? How do these programs compare with eachother and with the other national big guys?
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I just visited Northwestern a few weeks ago. i loved the place. facilities are beautiful. the program director and other interviewers were very friendly, of course. the hospital location is great, right by the lake. it's coooold out there, though. the rent is very expensive too.

i was very impressed with the program. they are heavily into regional anesth, which i seem to be quite interested in. of course, it's not like virginia mason, where an overwhelming amount of their anesthesia is regional.

residents work very hard. in by 600-630, out around 530-700pm. little time to read during CA1 year.

i'm probably putting this program in the top three of my rank for now.

i'll visit u chicago and loyola later.
 
Thanx for the input gas-x. I'm headed to NW in early Jan. UChicago is early next week--I'll give you lowdown. Good to hear that NW doesn't neglect the regional, however, I'm scared of the cold.
 
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How about the University of Illinois at Chicago program? Any input? How would you rank the Chicago programs?
 
Even though I was invited to interview at UChicago, I have decided to opt out. I only applied to UChi & NW...no word yet from NW. But, I recently researched housing costs vs what UChi pays...I just do not feel that the quality of their program justifies thrusting my family into poverty. And, I do not want to live in a city that large again. Dallas was a load of fun when I was young, wild & single. But the same elements that made it fun are a huge pain in the ass when you're married, with a kid and having to be a productive member of the professional world...at least in my opinion.

So, I released my UChi interview slot. I hope they award it to someone who can & will use it. I understand it to be a top-notch program and really hated opting out. But, a man has to do what a man has to do and my family is a higher priority than where I train.
 
Hi,

I think the more time you spend researching Northwestern, the more impressed you will be. The anesthesia dept was one of the top programs in the 80's and early 90s. But they had problems in the mid 90s. Their current chairperson Dr. Stock has turned the program around in the last 3 years and it has been her goal, as well as the medical school and hospital's goal to do everything possible to be in the top again. They have aggressively persued renowned faculty, have expanded their program to over 100 attendings and are currently doing 60-70 K cases per year. Their strenght lies in the PEDS (Children's memorial, a top ranked hospital) OB (Prentice women's hospital) Regional (very aggressive regional practice) and a strong variety of general cases.

The hospital is awsome. The resident's work hard but are treated very well, with lots of perks such as free parking/free food/and substantial moonlighting. (although, I;ve heard that may be curtailed) Most residents are very happy and more importantly, very competent and confident.

Regards
 
the uillinoischgo program is awesome. one of the few programs in the area with pain fellowship. attendings are extremely friendly and accessible and a lot of big names from harvard and some other big programs came into the leadership of the dept a few years ago. the dept keeps growing and there are a wide variety of cases. plus the dept has tons of money to fund breakfast, lunch, and quite a few dinners with speakers, and research too. the facilities and neighborhood not as ritzy as northwestern, but really a wonderful program.
this is all from a friend of mine who is a pgy2 in the program--i happen to know all this b/c i was interested in anesthesia at one point. hope this helps.
 
anaismd

actually most chicago programs have pain fellowship. The best seems be Rush, followed by Northwestern/Univ of Chicago. UIC has a decent program, but lacks the ancillary support in flouro rooms and somewhat dated equipment, but nontheless, decent. I believe Loyola has a pain fellowship too....so that leaves out Illinois Masonic, which I don't know enough about.
 
Will someone who went to the interview already help me? When does the interview day end?

I am going there next week and need to schedule a flight out immediately after the interview is over. I have tried like crazy to reach the residency coordinator with no luck!

Thanks---RT
 
Nevermind....I decided that I am not going to go and the program must be really unorganized if they can't get their act together.
 
Hi Y'all!

New to the board...but just curious if you guys might have any thoughts/input on the other programs in Chicago aside from NW or U of Chicago (i.e. Loyola, Illinois Masonic, Cook County, Rush, U of I)?? Thanks!
 
I interviewed at Illinois Masonic early in the season. You don't hear much about this program so I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The faculty seemed outstanding and very eager to teach, and the residents were all happy. Also their board scores were outstanding. Unfortunately they only offer 2 spots each year through the match, both starting at the PGY-1 level. The other 8 they fill at the PGY-2 level out of the match. Just an FYI.

Interviewing at the rest of Chicagoland in January...I'll get back to ya then.
 
Thanks CircleK! Being as you're from Madison, I was just curious if you have any insight on MC Wisconsin! (sorry all, I know this is the "Chicago" forum...but i thought it might help others looking near Chi!?) i've heard/read that this is a strong program, but i don't really know how it compares against a Rush or a NW????
 
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The only info I know about MCW is second-hand. It's a large program with a legendary chair. I only know one resident there (a CA-3) and he's pretty happy. I've only rotated through 2 of the hospitals that you get to work in, and I thought they were excellent. Milwaukee itself is a fairly nice city to live in, not a huge city but has a decent nightlife; lots of restaurants, decent amount of smaller clubs; and is close enough to Chicago to drive down for a night or two. I'm interviewing at MCW in early Jan, so I'll let you know more after that. If you've got questions bout the city just drop me a line.
 
(BUMP) Come on guys....with 1400+ views, somebody's gotta have *SOME* insight on the other Chicago programs besides NW!? (Thanks CircleK for previous posting) Again, I'll throw MCW in also. Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks so much! :clap:
 
I interviewed at cook county a while back.. they are now in the new hospital which is an amazing building but the program is 100% in shambles.. no chairman, not even a program coordinator. On the day I went it almost felt like they completely forgot we were even coming.. and on top of that we never even met a single resident nor were we offered a tour. From what I know the call schedule is heavy at 7-8 per month and they are only interviewing for 4 pgy1 spots this year.. thats it!
 
Just finished interviews at Rush, U of Chicago, and MCW. They all seemed like very good programs (too many interviews...everything's starting to blend together). One difference I found is that at U of Chicago the CA-3 year is entirely elective and they offer a peds CV elective month which I haven't seen anywhere else. All the residents I talked to were happy at all three. The Chairs at U of Chicago and MCW were great, didn't meet Rush's Chair. MCW is the bigger of the three programs. If you've got specific questions about them let me know...
 
I decided to cancel my NW interview b/c it would have cost too much to fly back to chi-town, but I did go to UChic. Thought it was a solid program--probably the best didactic program of all the places I visited. They really care about teaching as evidenced by the med students voting anes as best rotation for past 10 years. Also, have weekly oral board review. Didn't try to hide their performance on inservice/boards. Anes dept runs ICUs and very prominent in hospital/med school admin. Good case load I think (couldn't get a copy of their avg RRC numbers for last years grad class). Seemingly cool PD and Chair. Downfalls are peds experience (they say new Children's Hosp will be ready when we start--now its just a hole in the ground). I'm not sure about their $ situation--they said they're fine, but several people from other programs say differently. Residents didn't seem all that happy/enthused about the program. Chicago is frick'n cold. Will probably be toward the bottom of the 'ol ROL (mostly based on the "gut feeling" factor and location), but I would be cool with going there.
 
i pretty much agree with SallySux with her thoughts on U Chicago, but I like it alot more than she did. i didn't get much info about their money status though. as far as happy residents, i thought they were quite happy. during our dinner, about 13-15 residents showed up. i had no idea who were residents and who were applicants. that was the largest pre-interview gathering i've ever been to. i thought that said alot about the program.

didactics were excellent. it is damn cold out there, but it's chicago!! the area around u chicago is hyde park. not the safest or nicest place to live, but cheap. otherwise you live downtown and pay more for rent. one aspect that i thought was unique was that all residents (CA-1 included) will take part in mock oral boards. they'll put you on the spot to get you used to explaining your reasoning (or lack thereof).

board scores stay well above 90%tile. no call for the first 2 months; they stress education and fundamental skill mastering at those times.4-6 calls per month.

i'm actually ranking this program very high. hope i have a chance.
 
as far as loyola, i didn't like it as much. it's said to be a high acuity hospital. it's also in the suburbs, which look like crap. about 20 miles from downtown i think. small program.

i don't remember much from the program, but i do remember that they have the nicest gym i've seen at residency programs. in fact, anesthesia is the only department that will pay for your gym dues. no other dept will pay for the fees!

it's not a high research facility. the faculty are mainly private docs that stress education. the program director, Dr. Jellish, is a nice guy but looks mean as hell in his profile.

as you can tell, i can't remember a damn thing about loyola. i don't know what the reputation is. my preference is in NW and U Chic.
 
Hey R U SED8, are we getting the pormised MCW review?
Thanks. All who know about the program are welcome to contribute.
 
I think MCW looks like a great clinical program. It is well fairly well known, the chair is very well known, and the residents seem to come out very clinically competent. Also a large research dept so that option is there. Big program. Nice city. Low cost of living. Would rank it higher if I wasn't originally from that area.

Anyone have opinions about Rush, esp those that go to med school there? Lots of talk about the other Chicago programs but not that one. Thanks for everyone's input in advance...
 
BUMP

I'm focusing on Chicago programs and am having a tough time deciding where to rank programs. Here are my general impressions. Please voice if you are privy to any additional helpful info.

NW:+ Nice Hospital, good cases, name, anes run ICU's, peds rotation, decent regional, some very outstanding attendings.
- workload, strange but heavily palpable dichotomy between staff and residents, feel that some residents are somewhat arbitrarily labeled as weak or stupid and treated as such for the duration of residency (yes I understand that if you consistently screw up and show no effort at improvement then you can be labeled as weak or stupid).

RUSH: + good cases (surgical hospital), high competency of grads, trial by fire attitude forges strong residents, peds rotation.
- abused residents? (requests for change ignored?),morale seems very low, focus on service and not teaching, ICU is consult only, didactics lacking, relationship with surgical department seems volitile?

ILL MASONIC: + happy residents, learn to be fast secondary to private hospital = get out earlier, peds rotation, level I trauma center, lots o "reading" time.
- lack of name?, case load too light?, anes does not run ICU, regional huh?

LOYOLA: + Trauma heavy, good cases (surgical hospital), plenty of hearts, residents seem very confident of skills.
- didactics lacking, name lacking?, frequent heavy call schedule, I have no idea what to think of ICU situation.

UIC: I haven't a clue about this program. Just hear that folks are "happy" here.

The overall general consensus is that if you are going to train in Chicago go to NW (good mix of clin/didactics), Rush (clinical behemoth), or U of C (high caliber didactics). Whenever I ask attendings at various hospitals about Loyola I always hear "I don't know what goes on over there." Not bad, not good, just unaware. Well trained folks none the less.

Thats all I'm looking at in shy town.

Venty
 
Roots C5-T1,

I'm going to take a second look there to find out what their OR time is like. The Saturday interview I had didn't lend itself to much perspective of daily activity over there.

BP, Lets me know why you think I should pick RUSH over the other institutions in this freezing cold yet kick aS$ city.
 
Two words to the non-spontaneously breathing G.......

Money, money..........

Rush has such an extensive alumni network with such mad connections that you'd be remiss in passing them up if given the chance. Three years is nothing compared to the rest of your life. If the rest of your life can be made infinitely easier by virtue of where you did your residency then choose Rush.

Peace out
 
Here's my two cents for the following programs:

NW: name++, resident happiness+ (sometimes have to take cases over for CRNA, or teaching +/-, regional ++, didactic++,. ICU+, trauma- , peds+++, ob+++ xplant+, hearts+/-

Loyola: name+/-, resident happiness++, or teaching ++ regional +, didactic+,. ICU+/-, trauma+++ , peds+, ob+ xplant++, hearts++

U of C: name+++, resident happiness++ , or teaching +/-, regional ++, didactic+++,. ICU+++, trauma- , peds++, ob++ xplant+, hearts+
 
I agree with that last post except 2 areas.

Loyola: peds++ because you get constant peds in ambulatory throughout residency

UChicago: resident happiness+++ because they are waaaay happier than everybody else.

otherwise its right on.
 
With regard to going to RUSH just for the connections. I don't know how many alumni they have, but isn't there only one guy on faculty who has these "mad" connections? Is it really worth it to base your decision on this?
 
Having interviewed, done another look, and talked to others who have done the same, I think I can speak to a few aspects of the program without rehashing too much of what was already said. Since all of us have been beaten over the head with the good things about each program, in this post I will focus solely upon the NEGATIVE aspects. The purpose of my post is NOT to dissuade anyone from ranking this program highly, but to let people know what really happens and let them decide on their own.

1. Hours: It's true....residents routinely stay until 6-7pm without being relieved early the next day. I had expected this based on my interview day and what I had already heard about the program. BUT, contrary to what we told during our interview (2 free weekends), residents routinely work 2-3 weekends/month THROUGHOUT the 3 years. Interestingly, the residents were told the same thing at their interviews, too.
2. CRNAs: After speaking to several residents, the rumors of having to take over CRNA rooms are apparently true: according to some of the residents, CRNAs are "the kings of the operating room". They clock out promptly at 3pm and put up quite a fuss if they stay a minute over. Residents are then sent in to take over their cases, even if their room is done and they're NOT on call. With over 15 CRNAs, it would make sense to stagger them so some would be working later shifts and relieving residents, rather than the other way around.
3. Moonlighting (in-house): Absolutely NONE. The department used to offer extra OB call and pay handsomely, but that option has been taken away this year and MORE mandatory OB call has been added on top of that. Hence the 1 free weekend/month. With the department apparently rolling in so much money (revenue of $30 million/year according to the chair), this is definitely a low blow.
4. Happiness: Most were tired and run-down and morale seemed pretty low. In light of 1, 2, and 3 above, I can understand why.
5. Trauma and cardiac are very weak. Although it is a Level One trauma center, being located near the Magnificent Mile doesn't exactly lend itself to the typical Chicago GSW driveby. If you're not interested in trauma, then it doesn't really matter. Regarding cardiac, the chair mentioned trying to aggressively recruit new surgical faculty to bring up the caseload. However, she also did mention that they have been trying to do that for the last several years. I remember asking this to one of the chief residents, who was unable to really answer.
5. No heart-lung transplants. This may not matter to everyone, but I didn't want it to get glossed over.

I have to admit that they did a REALLY SLICK sales job during the interview day. I was really sold on the program and planned on ranking them very highly until my second look. Now, however, I doubt it. If anyone has further questions, PM me and I can fill you in on more details, ones which I wouldn't be comfortable revealing in a public forum.

Hope this helps.
 
wow! Can't believe this post is still running. I think I wrote on here last year asking about input on programs. Anyway, I ended up choosing Rush where I'm currently doing my CA-0 year. I don't do any anes rotations until this May, but if anyone has questions about the intern year, let me know. My experience thus far in terms of the hospital has been consistent with one of the main reason I picked it...the people. My coworkers are great, intelligent people and my patient pop is very diverse. Oh yeah, and nothing beats livin in Chicago.
 
I haven't heard too much from anyone about UIC. I only hear that the residents are happy. Anybody know anything else about the program? Would like to know the pros and cons about the place including its pgy-1 year.
 
I really liked UIC a lot. Yes, the residents are happy. This probably comes from the program director who is pretty laid back. Everyone had good things to say about him. The chair is also pretty involved it seems and is a genuinely nice person all around. PGY-1 is 6 months medicine, remainder being surg, ER, peds, electives, and 8 weeks anesthesia. They say that at the end you will be able to run a simple case on your own.

I was especially impressed by the peds here. With a childrens' hospital in town I didn't think that UIC would have a lot of peds, but they do! All kinds of cases, including hearts and transplants. Even peds liver and small bowel. The peds chair is from MGH and I interviewed with him. He is really nice and expanding the program a lot.

Didactics- The most comprehensive I've seen anywhere. Daily morning lectures at 0630. I guess this could be a downfall depending on your view of didactics.

Call - No overnight call your entire CA-1 year. I don't recall the schedule after that, but the residents seemed pleased.

Outside rotations- VA (on the same block) and Christ hosp. for hearts and trauma, I think this is on the south side of the city. Also time at Michael Reese, I think this was for more of a private practice atmosphere.

Residents seem to get good fellowships. I recall at least one going to Boston Children's. Sorry I don't know anything about pain as I'm not that interested in it. Connections seem to be in place though (PD is MGH trained as well if I recall). Residents seemed to be from all over as well, at least a few cali people. I didn't meet any FMG's here, but on my sheet I got at the interview there are two European grads in the PGY-1 class. I would assume that these are ex-practicing physicians from europe, which generally make excellent residents. There are 2 DO's in the PGY-1 class for those of you who are wondering (KCOM and CCOM).

Facilities - Didn't see the OR's, but the hospital is not too bad looking. It's on the same block as Rush, right off of 290, west of the city but not much. There is an El stop at the hospital. Residents were split as to where they lived. Single tended to live downtown while married in the suburbs. Good access to each, but traffic can be bad in the afternoons/evenings. 30-40 min for me to get downtown at 5 pm after the interview. Frustrating, as you can see it and it's sooo close.

Overall UIC is a strong program. I would put it up there with the best in Chicago, but I didn't interview at the big name Chicago programs. Personally I liked it better than Loyola. Loyola has beautiful facilities, don't get me wrong, but the peds sold me on UIC. Loyola is also a bit more down the road and there is no train to get there. I got a much happier vibe from UIC, but the residents all spoke highly of Loyola as well. Even though they do 8 calls a month. I am actually ranking UIC very highly, but not higher than NEMC which I loved. Unfortunately, I have gotten no feedback after my interview at UIC...so we'll wait 'till March 18th to find out!
 
Hello 2ndyear,

I have several friends at the UIC program and have rotated and interviewed there, so I'm familiar with all of the ins and outs of the program.

Didactics: Pretty good. There is a daily conference for 30 minutes every day, but realistically, it's more like 20 minutes when all is said and done (you lose 5-10 minutes to get things underway--people walking in late, grabbing coffee, miscellaneous conversations, etc.) All junior and senior residents attend the daily conferences, and i don't think that there are any additional class-specific lectures. Other things like M&M are a little more infrequent (once a month, i think), with grand rounds once/week.

Peds: Based upon resident input, it's actually pretty weak. The case volume is relatively small (2-3000/year). There have been several residents doing extra months of peds in their CA-3 year and even fellowships because they felt their experience wasn't strong enough earlier in the residency. The peds transplants are a relatively recent addition. I thought Peds was actually one of the weakest points of the program, and is definitely NOT a selling point. You might want to dig a little deeper and find out more. Personally, I've always take the program presentations wherever I've interviewed with a grain of salt.

Regional: Weak but that is a national phenomenon. It is improving though, with plans to set up a regional month for additional experience. However, this is still really early in the process and residents get stuck doing a lot of general for ortho cases instead of the promised blocks on their regional month.

Attendings/Environment: Good intra-op teaching, very friendly and personable interactions with attendings. There are a lot of homegrown attendings, though, so take that as you will. Hospital is shoddy and run-down, but it is a state hospital, so that's to be expected. Reese is pretty run-down too, but Christ is a decently nice community hospital. (Although a good 30-45 minute one-way commute depending on traffic.)

Resident diversity: Yes, they are from all over....The entire CA-2 class (excepting a few residents) is comprised of people who scrambled into the program. The CA-3 class also has a huge chunk of FMGs. This, however, is more attributable to the recent bad times in anesthesia more than anything else, and not really reflective of it being a bad program.

Lifestyle: Excellent. Rarely stay late unless on short/long call. Known throughout the city as a cush program. Residents even describe it as such. Whether that is good or bad, I guess is up to you. However, there is no in-house moonlighting available at all, and outside moonlighting is VERY frowned upon.

Overall: A good program, but mostly regional reputation (IL, IN, WI primarily). Compared to the big names (NWU and UofC), it holds up decently but again, there isn't any national recognition and if prestige and the opportunity to practice outside the Midwest are important to you, this is probably not the place for you.
 
Octopus,
Very interesting observations. My experience was totally from the interview day. The peds really did sell me on the program, but I'll take your input into consideration. I think that the peds chair is relatively new and he did say that before he came peds was basically non-existant. He hired fellowship-trained faculty and is recruiting more. It's neat how we all view different programs based on our presumed competitiveness though, isn't it? I will freely admit that I'm a mediocre applicant. I didn't even apply to NW, Rush or UofC. I would consider myself very lucky to match at UIC. For us middle of the road people, UIC is like my Brigham or something.
 
I really liked UIC, check out my rank list, its #2 (was #1, last min switch). I think that Rush and NW offer a higher caliber clinical experience however.

I'm sure UIC sees its share of medically complicated patients, it being a state hospital and all. People tend to wait till things get pretty bad before they end up there. Residency is also what you make of it. I'd rather put in some extra effort at a place with socially compatible people rather then get dragged around and kicked on my tail at a place with people who are socially inept.

Hope I'm making the right decision, but this is my honest opinion. Don't think I'll even match there seeing as how they have only 1 advanced position open. Anyhoots I'm midwest bound.

Vent:)
 
can anyone please give more specifics on the call schedule at UIC ?

any good input will be appreciated!
 
Uh, didn't you match at UIC? Shouldn't you be the one telling us?
 
Originally posted by apma77
UIC Chicago Anesthesia...woohoooooooooo!!!!
awesome program!
Click to expand...


This is from last years "match results" thread......WTF?
 
yes i did match at uic for ca-1 2004 but im not there this yr so was wondering if any of you guys got any info on the latest call schedules there????
 
This thread was an excellent thread. I was wondering if there were current residents or students who rotated at the respective programs in Chicago who could comment on the positives and negatives of each. What has changed? What are your thoughts?

Also if people are familiar with a program please drop a line.
 
Last edited:
hi) i'm interested in Cook,Masonic,Loyola,Rush, please reply
 
citixen said:
hi) i'm interested in Cook,Masonic,Loyola,Rush, please reply
Click to expand...

I would forget about Cook unless you are an intern there or have an 'in' with an attending there one way or another. They typically prematch 9 out of their 10 or so spots, and they go to the superstar foreign grads who are IM residents/interns at cook, or the occasional less competitive american or carrib grad who spends time auditioning there..Rush is not foreign grad friendly from what i've seen, Loyola interviewed a reasonable number of FMG/IMG candidates but i don't think ranked any this year..Masonic is probably your best shot, Khorasani is an awesome teacher; but again, from what i've seen, not really any foreign grads in their program this year.
 
shaz8901 said:
This thread was an excellent thread. I was wondering if there were current residents or students who rotated at the respective programs in Chicago who could comment on the positives and negatives of each. What has changed? What are your thoughts?

Also if people are familiar with a program please drop a line.
Click to expand...

Uchicago - great name, probably the best in the city. great didactics, teachers, and can probably easily get a fellowship of your choice if you do well here. Very difficult to match - realistically need a 235+ step1 score. tons of research oppurtunities

Northwestern - Glitzy, awesome facilities and location. Again, great faculty and staff * though a reasonable amount of foreign grad professors * , great name , likely 2nd to or as good as UChicago, again probably easily get a good fellowship coming out of here. tons of research oppurtunities.

UIC/Rush - Both solid academic programs, I've heard the hours at Rush are pretty rough CA-1 year, and that clinical experience may be limited compared to other programs, but that is just hearsay. Decent research opportunities.

loyola - decent program, not as good as it once was , lost some staff to masonic I believe.. Decent work hours and opportunities to do research.

County - well, it's county. It's a decent enough hospital, but a pretty low-income , high complication patient population. Not great didactics, lots of FMG/IMG residents and staff; though if you make it out of here you're likely to do well in just about Any Operating Room.

Masonic - newer staff and program. Great pain fellowship match and pain research opportunities. Friendly staff, great location, reasonable hours.

Any of the programs will do you well - Uchicago/northwestern are at the top, UIC/Loyola/Rush in the middle, with County and Masonic probably near the bottom based on raw reputation.
 
thank you, karizma098, this is great overview
 
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