Hopkins program

[yaah]

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So, I have heard on some occasions that some folks are not huge fans of the Johns Hopkins path program - anyone care to share why? I just visited in the last couple weeks and found it very nice. Sure, the area is kind of dangerous, and I think Baltimore is a close second to New Orleans in the number of panhandlers per capita, but the hospital itself is pretty isolated. Residents seemed happy, schedule is not too malignant. Seems to be a good AP/CP balance although there are places with stronger CP. Opportunities are certainly there.

What are the drawbacks? There is a lot of construction going on. And it is really big, and I wonder if one can simply get lost with all the staff and things to do.

Anyone? Bueller?

 

[admitted]

Yaah, you got a PM.

 

[fleegle]

Admitted, if it's not too much trouble, would you be willing to PM me too with your thoughts on Hopkins? I guess I am wondering if there are things about the program that (other than reputation alone) would be significant pluses or minuses compared to other big residency programs. (I'm not into the whole name-game, wish I could find a good (research + diagnostic) program with faculty interested in treating its residents like people on the verge of becoming their colleagues! but hey, we can all dream, can't we 🙂

thanks...

 

[rirriri]

what did the Hopkins pathology department look like?? was it huge? Were the attendings all old and wise?

i always get this impression of Hopkins being a very serious place and very rigid and cold.....i dunno if i'd like to ever go to a place that i wouldn't necessarily have a chance to have my voice heard....Yaah, does Hopkins seem like an intimidating place?

Intimidating..yes. so much that they rejected me two (2) times for some reason...LOL. maybe they just wanted to make sure i understood i was rejected! haha

 

[pbp4]

best hospital in the world, birthplace of modern medicine, third in NIH funding for path- if you hate this kind of stuff-that would be a draw back.....

 

[yaah]

Originally posted by pbp4
best hospital in the world, birthplace of modern medicine, third in NIH funding for path- if you hate this kind of stuff-that would be a draw back.....

Yup, I know all that. I am talking about intangibles. But the department itself was pretty spread apart, multiple buildings. There is a bit of construction around and some movement will be taking place. Not all the attendings I met were old and wise, some were quite young (although still wise!). It did not seem intimidating at all, on the contrary seemed to be quite open, particularly to motivated residents, and with a good mentor system which would allow you to get plugged into any area of interest that you felt like. I think you would get a chance to have your voice heard. Perhaps harder to be taken seriously, but resident education seems to be a priority. I think they definitely expect one to work hard and pull their weight, which I would hope they would anyway.

I would say, however, that it is a large department.

 

[Ludy]

I would say besides the obvious (the horrific location), I was a little concerned about the size of the program. At some other large programs (ie, Penn and Brigham), there's a formal mentor/advisor system in place to make sure you don't go through 4 years of residency without ever figuring out what you want to do with your life. I didn't hear anything about that at Hopkins... did I miss something?
Other negatives from my detailed evaluation sheet 😉 :

The conferences seemed heavily biased towards didactic lectures (3X/wk). This of course a style thing; some people prefer those. I'd rather have lots of unknown conferences and slide-based teaching.

Since all of the faculty are required to do research (there's no clinical, non-tenure track), I was concerned about the amount of teaching I'd get from faculty. Not that it would be bad, but maybe not as good as at some other places.

I didn't like the idea of having to go to Bayview for 5 months. I'd rather stay in one hospital, and the "advantage" of being better prepared for private practice by training in this general setting doesn't appeal to me because I'm planning on an academic career.

I prefer a curriculum with AP and CP rotations mixed in throughout the year. Hopkins was very AP-heavy in the first year (the intern I went to lunch with was all AP in his first year; I think some others had blood banking in their first year). That's okay, but leaves less time for projects (and relaxation!) that you can work on while on CP rotations.

Not much elective time -- only 3 AP electives, and those were all in the 4th year.

Some of the department was new, but some was really, really old (did you go in the elevator with the metal grate door you had to close yourself?), and it was really spread out.

Parking's not free and the cafeteria was pretty limited (hey, those things count too!).

Overall, though, the biggest thing for me was the safety/security aspect.

 

[yaah]

That's interesting. The intern I went to lunch with couldn't tell me anything about surg path because all he had done was autopsy, cytopath, and blood bank. They told me their schedule was 6 months of AP and 6 of CP during the first year. Interesting to see how all the programs do this. There are extremes from places like Michigan and Dartmouth which switch you every month (blood bank to surg path to micro to autopsy, etc) to the Brigham where you don't see any CP until year 3! (perhaps, at which point you say "the heck with it, give me more AP").

About the mentor program - I got the impression that everyone was assigned an advisor, and there tended to be lots of guidance. You are right about the conferences though - lots of didactics. Some unknown conferences. Basically, LOTS of conferences!

I was/am somewhat concerned about the teaching too. I asked most of my interviewers about this, they had good responses and maintained there was a good emphasis on teaching. The surg path 4 day sign out did include one day where you review cases with the fellow, but one day where you review with the attending. The Bayview rotations were interesting, I thought. I don't anticipate private practice either, but don't want to rule it out. I also have to review what I heard about elective time, because I seem to remember there being more than 3 months. I think there is more elective time, but a lot of it is taken up by rotations that everyone picks so it seems like less, perhaps.

I definitely agree with the size of the department and it being spread out. That elevator was great though, reminds me of an old New Hampshire hotel I know. Either that or it reminded me of The Shining. Minus (most of) the blood, of course. The autopsy suite did have an unpleasant odor. And I have to love a place that has a bright red light that comes on outside the room whenever an autopsy is in progress.

Listen to me, I sound like a politico. These are good concerns though, things to think about. Thanks!

 

[Ludy]

Yeah, most first-years do get some CP. The schedule is:
Surg path - 2 months
Transfusion medicine-2 months
Autopsy-4 months
Cyto-1 month
Gyn-1 month
GI-1 month
Bayview- 1 month
However, there were 7 PGY-1s and only 6 can do the 2-month transfusion medicine block first year. The one I had lunch with happened to be the one who didn't get it first year, and instead would have it at the beginning of second year. I don't remember when he had to start taking CP call, but I think it was before he would have had blood banking, which is a definite disadvantage.