Finding a Residency Program

[jonwill]

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I've heard differing opinions on the subject and of course have mine. When should a podiatry student (or pre-pod for that matter) begin researching and looking into where they would like to do residency? I was told 3rd year but feel that is too late. Thoughts?

 

[Feli]

Don't you have to decide what externships you are going to do, get LORs, etc near the very beginning of 3rd year? That is my impression of what to do if you want your top choice externships and especially if you want them in a certain scheduling order.

If my understanding is correct, that would mean that I have to have a pretty good working list of my top residency choices by the end of the summer between 2nd and 3rd year in order to plan my externships well. I am currently frequenting the CASPR/CRIP site for info and talking to as many 4th year students as I can right now...

 

[Podman]

Ideally, it would be great to know all this before third year but practically this is not the case - at least from my personal experience. When I began my third year, I had a more complete understanding or foundation of medical knowledge than I did when I was in 2nd year - and so I became more selective in terms of what I liked or wha I was looking for in a residency program - with that knowledge at hand, I was more responsive when I visited residency programs and felt more confident in making more educated decisions about which programs fit me best.

I'm sure not everyone will agree, but I don't think I would've been ready or able to make decisions about residency program had I started thinking about that from first or 2nd year.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I've heard differing opinions on the subject and of course have mine. When should a podiatry student (or pre-pod for that matter) begin researching and looking into where they would like to do residency? I was told 3rd year but feel that is too late. Thoughts?

I think it maybe different for each school. At DMU if you start worrying about programs in your 1st year, you might flunk out. I think that your 2nd year you should start looking and by the end of the 2nd year you should have an idea. Then into the beginning of the 3rd year, you have your final list.

 

[krabmas]

Ideally, it would be great to know all this before third year but practically this is not the case - at least from my personal experience. When I began my third year, I had a more complete understanding or foundation of medical knowledge than I did when I was in 2nd year - and so I became more selective in terms of what I liked or wha I was looking for in a residency program - with that knowledge at hand, I was more responsive when I visited residency programs and felt more confident in making more educated decisions about which programs fit me best.

I'm sure not everyone will agree, but I don't think I would've been ready or able to make decisions about residency program had I started thinking about that from first or 2nd year.

I agree with this. I didn't even really know what I would like or not like until I externed places and started to think about what the differences in programs would mean for my training.

If you are in the same boat as me and you are not sure what you would like, then pick esternships that are different from each other.

I also did not realize how different the programs are from each other. Even the top programs are very different from one another. from the hours spent in one hospital or all over the city at different surgicenters and how many hospitals you round at or even if there are in patients to deal with. The academics vary extreme amounts from program to program as well.

I advise 1st and 2nd years to start looking and asking questions of their upper classmen but to keep an open mind until the end of 2nd year.

 

[Dr. BDix]

I was wondering what are some of the better residency programs out there? I know this is kind of a touchy subject like what pod school is better than another pod school, but I thought it was an interesting subject to jump into. I read a while ago on sdn that Yale has a very good 3 year residency and was just interested in other very good 3 year residencies. Any feedback would be awesome!

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I was wondering what are some of the better residency programs out there? I know this is kind of a touchy subject like what pod school is better than another pod school, but I thought it was an interesting subject to jump into. I read a while ago on sdn that Yale has a very good 3 year residency and was just interested in other very good 3 year residencies. Any feedback would be awesome!

INOVA
West Penn
Tucker
NW Podiatric
PSL
UPMC-SS
DMC
UT-SA
Houston


There are more out there but that is a quick short list. I'm not really big on Yale; most of the NE has limited scopes. It is not a big deal when you are a resident b/c you can do anything as long as you have a qualified physician that works in that scope. But I like lots of attendings and techniques, and it will be limited b/c a ton of orthopods are not going to take you in. That is why places like DMC are great, tons of attendings.

 

[bdaddyjolley]

INOVA
West Penn
Tucker
NW Podiatric
PSL
UPMC-SS
DMC
UT-SA
Houston


There are more out there but that is a quick short list. I'm not really big on Yale; most of the NE has limited scopes. It is not a big deal when you are a resident b/c you can do anything as long as you have a qualified physician that works in that scope. But I like lots of attendings and techniques, and it will be limited b/c a ton of orthopods are not going to take you in. That is why places like DMC are great, tons of attendings.

What are the full names of these residencies? I'm not familiar with the acronyms. thanks.

 

[Feli]

What are the full names of these residencies? I'm not familiar with the acronyms. thanks.

Some of those acronyms I'm not sure about either. I recognize some, though:

-Univ of Tex Health Sciences - San Antonio
-Tucker, GA (Northlake) *recently moved, became PMS-24+ (still very good I'm sure)
-Western Pennsylvania Med Center (Pitt)
-Univ of Pittsburgh Med Center - South Side
-Detroit Medical Center
-Inova Fairfax (Virginia)

For more info, do your own research:
http://www.casprcrip.org/html/casprcrip/directory.asp
(^info on all residencies including pay, rotations included, minimum reqs, contact info, etc)

*Feelgood, I'd be interested on your future impressions of externing at DMC if you get a chance to post it or PM me. I'm pretty interested in returning to the midwest eventually, and I'd like to learn more about DMC (and Botsford also if you know anything). I'll be meeting with a 4th year Barry student who just did all of his externs in Michigan (incl DMC and Botsford) to talk about him impressions, but the more I can get, the better off I think I'll be. Thanks

 

[krabmas]

West Penn - Western Pennsylvania
Tucker - North Lake Georgia (will change names again when the hospital switches)
NW Podiatric - NorthWestern Podiatric - in Seattle
PSL - Presbyterian St. Lukes ( now called Highland's PSL due to the hospital name change,last year it was HealthOne)
UPMC-SS
DMC - Detroit Medical Center
UT-SA - University of Texas at San Antonio
Houston

 

[bdaddyjolley]

Thanks!

 

[jonwill]

I was wondering what are some of the better residency programs out there? I know this is kind of a touchy subject like what pod school is better than another pod school, but I thought it was an interesting subject to jump into. I read a while ago on sdn that Yale has a very good 3 year residency and was just interested in other very good 3 year residencies. Any feedback would be awesome!

There is actually a pretty good thread in the podiatry residency forum on the issue of "the best residency programs." Below is a link to the thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=306230

 

[Ski Bum]

so many programs are very similar these days. at one point there were super high power programs, which were simply the ones with hospital privleges. now a days there are many competive programs with about 10-15 in the upper ranks. opinions vary among schools which are the best, i would rec picking aspects you want in a program and starting there- academics, clinic, variety of attendings, hospital based, etc.

 

[SportPOD]

Remember residency programs are 3 -4 years in length. Most of the time you end up practicng not too far from where you did your residency, because one of your attendings had an opening available by the time you got out.

While in residency you spend alot of time with your attendings, so you develop a good relationship with them. Based on this you can also see if you would like to practice with them.

I'm not saying that you cannot find a job in another part of the country, but most of the time, residents usually find a job in the area where they did their residency, so plan accordingly.

 

[Dr. Gangrene]

Remember residency programs are 3 -4 years in length. Most of the time you end up practicng not too far from where you did your residency, because one of your attendings had an opening available by the time you got out.

While in residency you spend alot of time with your attendings, so you develop a good relationship with them. Based on this you can also see if you would like to practice with them.

I'm not saying that you cannot find a job in another part of the country, but most of the time, residents usually find a job in the area where they did their residency, so plan accordingly.

SO, did you do residency in AZ leading to you living there? Just curious. Thanks

 

[SportPOD]

SO, did you do residency in AZ leading to you living there? Just curious. Thanks

Actually, no, I did my residency in Michigan. How I ended up in AZ is a convuloted story, but the reader's digest version is that I did my 4th year core in Arizona and developed a relationship with a family practice group. They always wanted to have me in their practice, but I didn't end up working with them until 6 years later.

After my residency in Michigan I practiced in Massachusetts for 3 years and then moved to Arizona.