Cinci vs. Denver

[Koschei]

Hey,

I am planning out my 4th year schedule and want to do one away rotation far from my home state. The two big names that I keep hearing are Cinci and Denver. I don't know much about them except that they are both competitive and rotating there helps a lot. Anyone rotate through one or both that can give me some 411?

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[Koschei]

Also, what are the advantages and disadvantages of rotating at each?

 

[palmettobay]

I was stuck with the same decision - doing an away rotation at Cinci or Denver. In the end I chose to do it at Denver, loved it, and matched there. I think its a great experience for a student - there's a ton of teaching, ton of trauma, ton of experience (read reviews on scutwork.com for more info). The one downside was that students report/signout patients always to the (usually very overworked) chief resident, which can back things up pretty bad sometimes on busy nights. Can't really say much about Cinci because I interviewed there but didn't do a rotation. One thing to think about is if you have any inclination about wanting to end up at one place over the other, I would DEFINITELY do the rotation there. Hope that helps.

 

[GCS:3]

A classmate of mine rotated at Denver and LOVED it. She said the didactics were top-notch, and the staff were great. That and when she was off-duty, Denver was a blast. Can't speak for Cinci, though...

 

[endo]

I rotated at Denver as a 4th year and am now a Cinci EM-R1. I enjoyed the Denver rotation but ended up ranking Cinci higher (1st) for several reasons (won't go into here). I can't speak to the Cinci MS4 rotation experience too much because I didn't do it, but I think there is significantly more attending contact here than at Denver. One of the problems with the rotation structure at Denver is that all the MS4s (~6 on duty at a time when I was there) report to the R4 chief, so many times the wheels don't move very quickly because that R4 is usually ridiculously busy. The teaching rounds at Denver are great -- they happen twice a day... here at Cinci we only do them once/day. Both are about the same style. Now I only spent a month at Denver so I don't know as much about their program as ours, but I tend to think our program is a bit more structured. I would say the type of patients you'll see are about the same. I think Cinci probably sees more trauma than Denver, especially penetrating, but I don't know the numbers. If you want a letter from an attending, you could go to either place, but I think you'll get more 1 on 1 contact here. Obviously I'm biased . Now as far as recreation / weather, I have to conceed that Denver wins hands down...

-endo

 

[Arcan57]

I know nothing about the Denver experience, but I rotated at Cinci in December (and will be there in July). I don't know how typical my experience was, but when I rotated I was the only student there. There weren't any organized student didactics (although grand rounds were uniformly good), don't know if that changes when there are more students. However, there is tons of attending contact on all of your shifts, especially C-pod where it's you and a PA and an attending. I wasn't looking for a letter, but there are tons of big names at Cinci, which increases your chances of actually working a shift with one of them. I thought it was a great chance to audition the program. I learned a lot from the attendings, but I don't think I would rotate there as a first EM rotation because of the lack of student didactics (although maybe someone else did it in Sep. or Oct. and there were lecture then).

 

[SurfAndTurf]

I rotated through Denver. Ditto to what was said before. Great clinical experience, great teaching, great reputation = great letter. I really liked them and ranked them #1 (I guess they didn't like me as much ). I can't say much about Cincy except that I interviewed there and they seemed like a very similar program to Denver in terms of quality of experience and faculty. You can't really go wrong either way though, you will probably get a great letter from both, some say that they are the two best programs in the country.

 

[Virion]

Rotated and Matched at Denver. Interviewed at Cinci. Very similar from what I could tell. Everyone above has described the Denver rotation well. I think that Cinci has better "extracurriculars" than Denver, such as flight, tactical EMS, research, etc... but few of these things matter for a rotating students. Personal impression, Denver is a much better city and you can't beat the outdoor opportunities for your off days.
V

 

[SewerRat]

Didn't rotate at either though did interview there so I can just say a word or two about away rotations. Two main objectives: 1) get a good LOR 2) impress somewhere you want to go. As for objective one, generally want to get it from a well known faculty from a famous program. As said above, both Denver and Cinci are extremely well regarded nationally and as I can say from interviewing, share mutual respect for each other. You will get a good LOR from either. As for objective #2, I guess you just have to get a feel for which program you may like better.

BTW are you from California?