Feinberg vs. Pritzker

[dimebag darrell]

So, what do you think? I think I'd pick Feinberg (better location, nicer facilities, less class time), but I'd love to hear your opinions.

Cheers and good luck to all

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[Lests55]

Clinical....P>F
Research...P>F
Location...they're both in Chicago, how different could they be?

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Location...they're both in Chicago, how different could they be?

Clearly, you have never been to either.

 

[lilold3chordme]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=356080

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=258665

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=233286

 

[Lests55]

Clearly, you have never been to either.

Do you see the wink?

 

[ArgaWarga]

I think the worst part about NU (other than not giving me an interview) is the clientèle, which is all private, rich, white, etc. There's a lot more to the world, and a lot more that needs to be done. My passion in medicine is to help those who need it, and I feel that those with almost no health care to speak of need it more. I couldn't be myself, I couldn't have my passion if I were to go to NU, so I'd much rather go to Pritzker.

 

[bobdogsam43]

I think the worst part about NU (other than not giving me an interview) is the clientèle, which is all private, rich, white, etc. There's a lot more to the world, and a lot more that needs to be done. My passion in medicine is to help those who need it, and I feel that those with almost no health care to speak of need it more. I couldn't be myself, I couldn't have my passion if I were to go to NU, so I'd much rather go to Pritzker.

You know "those" people deserve medical care too. Can't see why that's the "worst part" of Northwestern. A rich, old white guy is as entitled to the highest quality of care as a homeless person is.

 

[shadoctor]

tough choice, both are great schools! cant really go wrong either way- reflected by the poll!

 

[ArgaWarga]

You know "those" people deserve medical care too. Can't see why that's the "worst part" of Northwestern. A rich, old white guy is as entitled to the highest quality of care as a homeless person is.

I think I came off wrong in my post. I simply feel personally compelled to help those with very little in the world. Our country is terrible in rankings of things like infant mortality, this is one way to improve that statistic.

 

[Nubcake]

I think I came off wrong in my post. I simply feel personally compelled to help those with very little in the world. Our country is terrible in rankings of things like infant mortality, this is one way to improve that statistic.

Yes because only poor people have kids who die of infant mortality.

Do not blame the poor's issue's on the rich. Do not believe for a second that by helping the poor you are improving some statistic. The issue at hand is not how good or bad the medical care people recieve. The issue is a much larger global dilemma that has plagued human beings since we set forth on this planet: complacency. People are too complacent, don't want to change, and expect others to cover for them. This is a new era, an era of consequences, lost hopes, and tragedies. Who will save them when everyone needs saving?

 

[Raamy]

i was just going to say a few things. first, because the northwestern hospital looks like a 5 star hotel does not mean it only serves the rich. it actually has a quite large indigent population, it just might not seem as obvious because of the quite different locales of feinberg (rich downtown area) and pritzker (poor neighborhood of hyde park). both are very good schools, with great opportunities available to everyone. also, from my own experience at both interviews, there is a quite different type of student at each school. from what i saw (as a gross generalization), people at pritzker were much more "academic" which i didn't really click with. northwestern had a lot of chill, laid back people. this is not to say that each school doesn't have the other type of personality, but the overwhelming majority that i met at each institution was how i described it. so you can take your pick on what kind of people you'd like to be with. with all that said, if i were to pick between the two, i'd pick feinberg.

 

[thinknofu3]

You also have to decide between two very different curriculums. NU has less class time, and relies a lot more on PBL, while Pritzker has more lecture time and has a more "traditional" curriculum. It all depends on your learning style. I would refute that everyone at Pritzker is an "academic type" - in fact I'd say that they are pretty normal and laid back compared to most other med schools, mostly b/c of the fact that it's pass/fail (NU is pass/fail as well, that's a plus for both schools). Regardless of one's feelings on the matter, the two patient populations are very different and that should be acknowledged. U of C's patient population is ~70% african american, and NU's is not. That is not to say anything about who does or does not deserve care, but they do have big socioeconomic differences in who they treat. You probably can't go wrong with either school, but there's definitely no clear cut "one is better than the other". It all has to do with where you fit, and don't listen to any posturing about "we're better because of this". Anyone who tells you boldly that they're better no matter what should be taken with a grain of salt

 

[Critical Mass]

Seems like I've seen this debate a lot.

I always pick NW because I like where it is (safer), and the curriculum would likely suit me (not necessarily you) better. People have failed to prove to me a significant difference in research capability.

 

[deleted128318]

Yes because only poor people have kids who die of infant mortality.

Do not blame the poor's issue's on the rich. Do not believe for a second that by helping the poor you are improving some statistic. The issue at hand is not how good or bad the medical care people recieve. The issue is a much larger global dilemma that has plagued human beings since we set forth on this planet: complacency. People are too complacent, don't want to change, and expect others to cover for them. This is a new era, an era of consequences, lost hopes, and tragedies. Who will save them when everyone needs saving?

(in Zoolander voice)

God, is that you?

 

[UCLAMAN]

since i am on an elective radiology rotation(which means i am essentially on a vacation and have time to post a lot)....

i will reiterate what i have posted on many other threads....that there are many a homeless person and indigent patient to take care of at northwestern. during the 6 weeks i spent on medicine at northwestern, i took care of my fair share of homeless people...from the alcoholic with wernicke's encephalopathy to the poor african american woman without insurance with cholecystitis to the paranoid schizophrenic cocaine addict who was tox-screen positive for cocaine which put him into acute renal failure which almost necessitated dialysis yet posed an ethical dilemma since he was not competent to consent to dialysis port placement who at one point during his 2 week stay tried to attack me and necessitated 2mg haldol intramuscularly and 4 security guards to take him down. and yes, we get our share of multiple GSWs coming into our ER. i have seen several when i was on 3rd year surgery with the trauma team.

by the way...thinknofu3 makes it sound like northwestern never sees any african american/latino patients. we do. s/he is right, it probably isn't 70%...but i would argue that we have our fair share. the prentice women's hospital quotes 40% during the ob/gyn residency interview day. i would guess that the figure is also pretty similar at northwestern memorial hospital.

again...northwestern does serve a good number of indigent people in the hospital. you would never think this because the hospital looks so pretty and it is right off of michigan avenue, but it is true.

furthermore, people fail to realize that we do a lot of our rotations at the westside/jesse brown VA as well(u can have as much or as little to do with the VA as you choose). do you want sick poor people? EVERY patient at the VA is sick, poor, non-compliant, etc. there is also a large (>70%) african american population here.

also keep in mind that northwestern students rotate thru Children's Memorial for peds. you will get GREAT peds experience there.

and also keep in mind that we have our own women's hospital that delivers essentially every high risk baby in the area...poor and rich.

with that said...i think the decision between pritzker and northwestern should NOT come down to patient population. BOTH programs will expose you to poor, rich, young, old, male, female, black, white, martian, fascinating patients and cases. what you should be basing your decision on is the type of curriculum you would prefer. Location is also a personal choice.

 

[BrownianMotion]

i would totally go to uchicago over nw, i mean comon, its uchicago, they are like sooo totallly awesome, hehe

 

[UCLAMAN]

Seems like I've seen this debate a lot.

I always pick NW because I like where it is (safer), and the curriculum would likely suit me (not necessarily you) better. People have failed to prove to me a significant difference in research capability.

there is no difference in research capability...

i dont give a damn what the usnews rankings say as to who gets more NIH dollars. for all practical purposes, you, as a medical student, will NOT notice those differences in NIH dollars.

 

[The Buff]

They are both awesome schools. While their curriculums are not quite as far apart as people make them out to be, you do need to take a look at which one you think you'd like better. I am a firm believer that the schools are different enough to make the decision a little easier.

The same thing can be said about their locations. I have lived in Chicago for quite awhile, and frankly Hyde Park scares me a little. That is not a knock on U of C at all, and if you stay on their campus you will be fine, but outside the confines things can get a little sketchy. This is an unfair anectode, but totally true: my gf goes to U of C for grad school, and her first night in her new apartment, someone got shot outside. I'm sure it is not that bad all the time, especially if you are careful, (and I'm sure people will post that they love there, etc.) and you can always live somewhere else.

Like I said above though, it is impossible to say one is better than the other, and you have a nice choice to make, if it comes down to one of these two for school.

 

[blondie007]

I think one thing that is often glossed over is that Northwestern Memorial is a Trauma 1 center and U of Chicago is NOT. That means anyone in serious car accidents, having gun shot wounds, or any other kind of serious trauma gets taken to NMH or Cook County, even if they right outside of U of C. They told us this on my interview day at Chicago.

Also, Northwestern has an affiliation with Cook County and U of C does not. I think if you're interested in trauma surgery or emergency medicine Northwestern is better. Also, ER and trauma tends to involve a pretty diverse patient population.

 

[Jinterpol]

Clearly, you have never been to either.

Your terse comment is spot on, NovemberWhiskey. I agree.

 

[Lests55]

Your terse comment is spot on, NovemberWhiskey. I agree.

Do neither of you notice the freaking smiley face that I put in my comment?????????????????????????? JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not like I added it later, either. It was there from the beginning, just look at November's quotation of my post. Even the wording "how different could they be..." (do I need to explain this smiley also?).

 

[UCLAMAN]

Do neither of you notice the freaking smiley face that I put in my comment?????????????????????????? JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not like I added it later, either. It was there from the beginning, just look at November's quotation of my post. Even the wording "how different could they be..." (do I need to explain this smiley also?).

people can be a little slow on sdn. future doctors of america...grrreeeaaatt

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

I think one thing that is often glossed over is that Northwestern Memorial is a Trauma 1 center and U of Chicago is NOT. That means anyone in serious car accidents, having gun shot wounds, or any other kind of serious trauma gets taken to NMH or Cook County, even if they right outside of U of C. They told us this on my interview day at Chicago.

Also, Northwestern has an affiliation with Cook County and U of C does not. I think if you're interested in trauma surgery or emergency medicine Northwestern is better. Also, ER and trauma tends to involve a pretty diverse patient population.

you're right about adults, but u of chicago is actually a level 1 peds trauma center. they even take them in via helicopter. but the bigger point i would make is that trauma is *way* over-rated among pre-meds. it's typically less interesting stuff than medical cases, and involves going through a "checklist" in assessing a patient. this is especially true for em docs, as the trauma surgeons run the show. stuff that's surgically interesting is going to be taken pretty quickly out of the ed and into surgery.

last time i heard, northwestern had *no* such affiliation with cook county h. rush does, and i think ui-c used to. so i call bs on this one.

i think if you're interested in emergency medicine u of chicago is probably better. why? the fire department takes patients to the closest hospital, and there are a heck of a lot more poor people who don't manage their diseases well around u of chicago's hospital than there are around northwestern's hospital. fwiw, it's also one of the older em programs in the country (started in the 1970s, i believe). but if you're confident that adult trauma surgery is your bag and not em, then northwestern has the edge.

but both are great schools that can get you to any residency.

people should consider that while feinberg does have a more fun location, you're gonna pay for that if you choose to live in the area. about twice as much in rent.

finally, can we please stop doing this particular comparison? i'm tired of writing the same stuff over and over.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Do neither of you notice the freaking smiley face that I put in my comment?????????????????????????? JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not like I added it later, either. It was there from the beginning, just look at November's quotation of my post. Even the wording "how different could they be..." (do I need to explain this smiley also?).

Haha chill out dawg.

 

[PoeticMD]

So, what do you think? I think I'd pick Feinberg (better location, nicer facilities, less class time), but I'd love to hear your opinions.

Cheers and good luck to all

I was admitted to Pritzker and waitlisted at Feinberg (just another statistic who gets into one and not the other). This is a blessing in disguise since I did not have to make the agonizing decision about where to go. That said, I like the idea of a smaller class, front loaded intensity, proximity to undergrad/grad campus and research focus at U of C. On the other hand I liked the relaxed, more flexible, less traditional approach to teaching at Feinburg. In the final analysis, you can't go wrong on either but I think Pritzker has a slight edge over Feinberg.

 

[DOC PENGUIN]

I think I came off wrong in my post. I simply feel personally compelled to help those with very little in the world. Our country is terrible in rankings of things like infant mortality, this is one way to improve that statistic.

You do know that American hospitals try to preserve and revive babies longer and with more effort, do you. I guarantee, if you have a pre mature baby with little chance of surviving, most foreign countries would not consider saving the baby. In america, we use too much resources to revive that damn sucker.

 

[Fivo]

You do know that American hospitals try to preserve and revive babies longer and with more effort, do you. I guarantee, if you have a pre mature baby with little chance of surviving, most foreign countries would not consider saving the baby. In america, we use too much resources to revive that damn sucker.

5 years too late...

 

[ShenanigansMD]

I'm liking the University of Gotham City - Wayne School of Medicine. Neither Pritzker nor Feinberg are prestigious enough for me.

 

[mmmcdowe]

As this necro thread probably pre-dates the school specific forums, I'm moving it there now.

 

[styleandsugar]

Note that I went to a "top med school" on the east coast and am at neither of these programs for residency... thus I have no vested interest in talking one up over the other. My opinion is based on co-residents, old classmates, and residency program director opinion (at my old med school).

U Chicago >> Northwestern (they are still both great programs)
1. U of C is much more respected on a national level. Historically has better success consistently placing their students in "top" residency programs. However if you want to stay in the mid-west for residency, both are equal
2. Research at U of C trumps NW
3. NW in a much nicer looking location, though it's also a "touristy area" which is pretty bland at night in terms of social scene
4. These days, my impression is that NW is attracting better rounded students. The criteria for admission to U of C have changed drastically in recent years, becoming more numbers heavy (Wash U style) which influences class composition (and dynamic).

To summarize, U of Chicago likely better for career, Northwestern likely more fun for medical school.

 

[Josh7]

Note that I went to a "top med school" on the east coast and am at neither of these programs for residency... thus I have no vested interest in talking one up over the other. My opinion is based on co-residents, old classmates, and residency program director opinion (at my old med school).

U Chicago >> Northwestern (they are still both great programs)
1. U of C is much more respected on a national level. Historically has better success consistently placing their students in "top" residency programs. However if you want to stay in the mid-west for residency, both are equal
2. Research at U of C trumps NW
3. NW in a much nicer looking location, though it's also a "touristy area" which is pretty bland at night in terms of social scene
4. These days, my impression is that NW is attracting better rounded students. The criteria for admission to U of C have changed drastically in recent years, becoming more numbers heavy (Wash U style) which influences class composition (and dynamic).

To summarize, U of Chicago likely better for career, Northwestern likely more fun for medical school.

I can definitely agree with most of your post but I'm not sure about U of C being 100% better for your career. I have a friend whose brother went to university of Illinois at chicago and is now doing his residency at Hopkins. Of course there are special cases though but med school doesnt seem to have a huge impact on where your residency is.