actually, we do have a chair named, Dr. Ulatowski who was an internal candidate. He is currently undergoing negotiations with the university and should be named the official chair soon. as for attendings leaving, I think it is common everywhere b/c the PP market is so good. But what I have noticed is the lull in recruitment as we wait for Dr. U to be named chair. The program is very very stable and nothing bad will happen. In fact, I think w/ Scott Mittman as out PD things are getting even better. His goal is to emphasize more education and keep residents out of non-educational cases... which will likely mean more CRNAs at Hopkins. As many know, Dr. Fleisher has left to become chair at PENN, as for other big-names leaving... that has not been the case. It seems that attendings are getting younger... which means they are open to trying different things... great for us... may not be useful in everyday PP but you never know where your career will take you.
as for MGH and Mayo... I agree with Tenesma... you need to pick the best place for you... Baltimore and Rochester, MN may not be ideal for single people but I think you will get solid training at any places.
a lot of interviewees have asked "since your patients are so sick and the cases are so complex, can you handle bread and butter?" answer- of course... admittedly, I have not done an appy and only 1 lap chole.... but I do feel comfortable walking into "easier" cases.
I think there are a lot of rumors regarding Hopkins, MGH, UCSF... as the residents are overworked, unhappy... nerds... etc... come to Hopkins... I think you will be pleasantly surprised...
