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Of all the IM residency programs in Texas.... which are the most competitive and hard to get into? Which are less competitive but still pretty good?
from what i've heard, baylor, UT houston, UTSW (dallas), UTMB (austin), and UTHSCSA (san antonio) are the best programs in texas for IM. baylor is probably the most competitive of the five.
all i know about the others is that UTMB (galveston) has about 50% IMGs. i haven't heard anything about Texas A&M or the Texas Tech programs.
however, from their website they seem to take a lot of their own students and a handful of FMGs as well. Same with Baylor.
So I definitely don't think FMG = inferior training by any stretch.
how diverse are the texas programs (specifically UT houston and baylor) in terms of number of whites/blacks/asians/latinos/indians?
one of the reasons i'm hesitating to move down to texas is b/c i'm worried that i'll feel out of place (i'm not white).
I am a fourth year at UTHSCSA. It is a good program and definitely has its +'s and -'s...
Positives:
- Great clinical diversity, you see some CRAZY stuff. VERY good clinical training, once you get out you can handle pretty much anything in the hospital
- Call schedule is fairly cush q 5 at the University, no overnight EVER, q 5 at VA, overnight only when it falls on the weekend, MICU q 4 with post-post call OFF most of the time
- Great faculty that are approachable and very approachable
- Fellowships in house in almost everything
Neg:
- New PD is clueless
- Salary sucks
- 50% FMGs in last years class... not so high in previous years
- VA is terrible
- UH is a dump
- Poor ancillary services
- Fellowship placement outside SA is questionable
- San Antonio is OK... I guess
- Need to speak spanish at University!!!
- Outpatient experience and facilities suck
I am not even applying there... mostly because San Antonio is not a place I want to stay, otherwise I would'nt care so much. PM me if you have any specific questions, would be happy to answer them.
UTHSCSA is great program. Much better trainting than at UTMB and much less malignant than at UT Houston or UTSW.
New PD is not clueless and not really new. He has actually been there for several years as associate PD and took over full time when the former PD stepped down to take on a more direct role in teaching. The PD is very on top of things. Once a month we have "housestaff issues" where he discusses the latest updates from the ABIM. He keeps us very well informed. Contrary to rumors, the former PD did not step out of pressure, etc but to be more involved in resident teaching. She was a teacher for going into medicine.
UH is not a "dump." It is a county hospital funded by tax dollars, so it is not as nice as a private hospital. It will soon undergo a major multi-million dollar renovation.
VA is the VA.
Ancillary services are very good at both hospitals. Maybe as a med student its different, but as a resident, I have never had trouble getting things done. I put in orders, and they get done.
Salary is low, but the cost of living in SA in very cheap. I am paying a $170K mortgage.
FMGs are from Columbia, where they have to work for a year as MDs before they are allowed to apply, so they are actually on the level of PGY2 as interns.
Spanish is a plus; however, I dont speak a word of Spanish and have gotten by just fine. Translators are always available. Even in Russian at 3:00a.m.
Med student and resident experiences are different; OP facilities/experiences are adequate and meet ABIM guidelines. However, the program is very geared for inpatient care.
Most fellows stay in SA because of heavy internal recruitment. Had one person match to Cleveland Clinic for Cards last year.
If you want to be a hospitalist, you will have your pick of jobs anywhere you want to go.
We are all very happy (isnt that what counts the most) and are all friends with each other.
There are negatives.
UH is extremely busy with high volume. Teams get the max number of "shorts" everyday. Call teams usually cap. I have yet to be on call and not cap.
Pts are very sick with MMP; watchout if you need to consult surgery. The surgery program here is VERY malignant. Residents are very grumpy about being called for consults. I remember an incident calling Gen Surg for an acute abdomen. The resident said I had "two words" to explain what I wanted. He was very rude and there were two words I wanted to use, but instead I said "acute abdomen." BTW, the patient went to OR within 1 hr.
My point is, UTHSCSA is a great program. I did med shcool here and stayed for residency. Experiences are different for med students, not much respect from nurses. As a resident, if I ask for something, they nearly jump out of there seats to get it for me. Of course politeness and courtesy go along way.
If you come to UTHSCA, you will be very well trained and will be able to pick your job.
I maintain that UH is kind of crappy
i haven't heard anything about Texas A&M or the Texas Tech programs.
Anyone have any info on A&M or Tech? You never hear much about them. I'm looking to get back to that part of the country and if anyone knows anything more, I'd love to hear it.
Don't know anything about Tech...(heard Lubbock has a lot of dust storms and ragweed, that's about all I know)
Right on. Thanks guys! We'll see if anyone will chime in on Tech.
I've got a good friend who's brother has CGD and aften ends up in Lubbock at the teaching hospital - his father a GP in Hobbs, NM speaks highly of the hospital, but knew not much about the IM program there.