Duke/ UNC Chapel Hill
Started by tenacious_one
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I interviewed both places, and liked them both. PM me if you have any questions.
i go to carolina and matched in peds (although not here).
i went to a ton of interviews and i can honestly say that i didn't go to a program that i thought was any better run or better for the residents. the attendings are great, the chiefs are awesome, the facilities are great, the computer system is unparalleled. the only things negative i can say are 1. i was tired of being in chapel hill for 8 years and 2. the attendings in the ER were jerks.
i went to a ton of interviews and i can honestly say that i didn't go to a program that i thought was any better run or better for the residents. the attendings are great, the chiefs are awesome, the facilities are great, the computer system is unparalleled. the only things negative i can say are 1. i was tired of being in chapel hill for 8 years and 2. the attendings in the ER were jerks.
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As someone with a good friend considering getting a job there, I am curious are you referring to the ER attendings at Wake Med or UNC? the adult attendings or the pediatric attendings? thanks.
There is one, in particular at WakeMed.
I've heard that UNC Peds is a very tough program hours-wise. For example, they apparently take q2 call on heme-onc, but they're forced to go home for a while so that at least those hours don't count towards the 80-hour work week rule ("home call" doesn't count, legally). They also supposedly have tons of call months. I know people in the Duke peds program who say it's much more laid-back, at least in terms of the hours you typically work.
i will respectfully disagree. coming from the program, i've never heard of anyone having to take q2 on hem-onc. the only time you take q2 is over christmas or new years. for four days total and then you get the other four days off. seems fair. the floors work on a float system now, so you're only overnight in the nicu and the picu. there are call months, but i'm certain it's not any more than the average and i think this is one of the most benign programs i've ever experienced. the feeling around here is that duke is the much more malignant program.
I just finished at Duke and matched in peds (not at Duke - I left NC for personal reasons). It is true that in the past, Duke has had a reputation for being somewhat malignant. However, the attitude of the program has changed a lot in recent years, largely due to the hiring of a new chair, who is fabulous. Compared to other places I interviewed, the call schedule is pretty good and the work load reasonable. Overall the faculty are wonderful and they do a great job teaching, and the residents are a fun bunch. We (the students) all think the peds dept is great, too, and from our class this year, everyone staying in the Triangle chose to stay at Duke (3 peds, 2 med/peds).
I think both programs are solid and I know Duke grads at both that have been happy with their choice. The main stereotypical differences that we hear at Duke are that UNC is better for primary care and that Duke has a more academic focus (at least I think they have more fellowships). Even then, the differences are probably minor, and you can definitely do whatever you want out of either one.
I think both programs are solid and I know Duke grads at both that have been happy with their choice. The main stereotypical differences that we hear at Duke are that UNC is better for primary care and that Duke has a more academic focus (at least I think they have more fellowships). Even then, the differences are probably minor, and you can definitely do whatever you want out of either one.
I didn't mean to imply that UNC is more "malignant," just that I've heard that their call schedule is more intense than other peds programs. For example, there are rotations in other parts of the state where you're basically forced to drive home 1 hour post call. Sounds unsafe and unusual to me.
i can't deny that; it's true that there are rotations in greensboro and raleigh. i'll still say (and i'm not attempting to blow my own horn here) i interviewed at some of the more prestigious programs in the country, and i didn't find one that i thought was any better for the residents than UNC.
