Columbia vs. Yale

[Section31]

I know these threads are annoying, but I wanted to know your actual opinions on the differences between these two. Both seem excellent. Both have wonderful faculty and great reputations.

I'm one of the rare people for whom being in NYC is not necessarily a plus. In fact, geography is not much of a factor for me at all, as I'm from a completely different part of the country.

I only care about the quality of the training and the amount of experience you get. Any real-world thoughts from people who know these programs would be very much appreciated. From my interviews, I got the impression that Columbia sees more cases, but Yale seemed like a friendlier atmosphere.

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[Freak]

I would also be interested in the difference from people in the know.

I think Columbia might have better peds training given Morgan-Stanley Childrens and they had the first artificial heart transplant in the country.

The caliber of schools that feed into both seem to be about the same. I had heard about the "bureaucracy" at Columbia and how it makes doing novel things much more difficult. The thing I heard about Yale was that they hand-held a lot in the beginning.

The difference I saw was in the placement. Yale seems to be more regional where as Columbia appears to have a more national reach (although this could be biased by the larger sample size of Columbia).

 

[powermd]

I graduated the residency in 2008, and I've never visited Yale, but you can not go wrong with anesthesia residency at Columbia. Every department offers a robust experience, and academics are given high priority. Although Columbia has plenty of friendly attendings, I wouldn't go looking for too much touchy-feeliness. You're training to become an anesthesiologist, not a day care worker. When "it" hits the fan, no one is going to coddle you-- YOU must step up to the plate and deliver. My only criticism of Columbia would be the risk-averseness you see in an academic hospital (you get used to having an echo and multiple other advanced studies available on basically every ASA III patient having surgery), as well as the lack of independence from attending support that you get at lesser programs. The world of PP in many places doesn't have the luxuries you get used to at a top medical center like Columbia. That's a rude awakening for some graduates, but I haven't known anyone to fail to make the transition.

 

[W222]

I pm'd you.