IMG Internal Medicine Applicants - Match 2019

[hope_to_match]

Hi everyone. Can anyone give an insight of what a second look day looks like? I was told I will be with a resident for half a day. Thanks

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[Bobbbyyyy]

oh shiett this thread reached the 100 page mark, is that a record on SDN or nahh?

 

[magical_world]

Did anyone attend the aamc webinar today? Was it useful?

 

[Nate brown]

Super subjective question. Depends on how many other interviews you have and where they're from. If you have 10+ non HCA interviews at better quality programs, then you don't. But if you have less than that, I think you should. I guess it depends on whether you think it's better to go to an HCA program or risk going unmatched.

Thank you that’s solid advice.

 

[Pugsnhugs]

Thank you that’s solid advice.

What’s the hesitation with HCA programs?

 

[Nate brown]

I was just wondering what your hesitation is regarding ranking HCA program? Kind of want to know if there is something I should be wary of considering I do have to rank some HCA programs as well.

I just have corporation phobia. Corporations will do whatever they have to do to maximize their profits. They also are too powerful so you’ll be at their mercy. So deciding to rank it should be subjective truly.

 

[ddwest]

Please don’t use this “strategy”. It doesn’t matter how the program ranks, time and time again it’s been said to PLEASE RANK ACCORDING TO YOUR PREFERENCE. The match favors applicants. Don’t know why people still don’t understand this concept

Don't know why people like you just don't mind your business. I was answering someones question honestly which you were not a part of. Of course you should rank according to your preference but honey you are sadly misinformed if you don't think connections/contacts/rotating at hospitals don't go into play when a program completes their rank list.

 

[ddwest]

Montgomery safer than Chicago? You must have never been to Montgomery. Under no circumstances is Montgomery better than Chicago-except for snowfall.

Chicago has a higher crime rate (Comparison: Chicago, Illinois - Montgomery, Alabama). It is a better city but it is not safer than Montgomery.

 

[ccmscuem]

I just have corporation phobia. Corporations will do whatever they have to do to maximize their profits. They also are too powerful so you’ll be at their mercy. So deciding to rank it should be subjective truly.

You're going to be a resident, you're going to be at everyones mercy. Corporations will continue maximizing their profits, and everyone's at that mercy. Those 2 equations will never change (although it would be nice if it did).

Not sure if being a corporate entity has any effect on your experience, as CMS pays for most of the GME training and the curriculum is largely guided by ACGMEs guidelines. Where I think being a part of a corporation might affect your performance/output, is as an attending, as there are all these aspects that affect your compensation.

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[Nate brown]

You're going to be a resident, you're going to be at everyones mercy. Corporations will continue maximizing their profits, and everyone's at that mercy. Those 2 equations will never change (although it would be nice if it did).

Not sure if being a corporate entity has any effect on your experience, as CMS pays for most of the GME training and the curriculum is largely guided by ACGMEs guidelines. Where I think being a part of a corporation might affect your performance/output, is as an attending, as there are all these aspects that affect your compensation.

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Are you saying the effect outlasts residency and may result in perception of inferior attending status? Please excuse my ignorance because I really want to know that. This can determine whether I have to even consider it.

 

[Dr. Opout]

I was just wondering what your hesitation is regarding ranking HCA program? Kind of want to know if there is something I should be wary of considering I do have to rank some HCA programs as well.

Half my list is HCA. I think the stigma results from them being newer programs and therefore facing the growing pains that all new programs face. Other than that, I thought there was tremendous variability in their quality of education, research experience, and fellowship matching. Some HCAs are definitely more desirable than others and won't really limit you in terms of career plans.

I just have corporation phobia. Corporations will do whatever they have to do to maximize their profits. They also are too powerful so you’ll be at their mercy. So deciding to rank it should be subjective truly.

I think the same can be said for essentially any hospital. At the end of the day, it's a business, even the academic places. But if it makes you feel better, providing decent quality training to residents is in the program's best interest. Because that's how they get approved for more training slots i.e. receive more money for more residents. The more residents they have, the more they get paid per year by the government (I think it's 150-200K per resident per year). So rank accordingly, but don't despair if you end up deep into your rank list. Some are actually pretty good.

 

[Applicant019]

People are debating rank lists and here I am still getting rejections.

Good luck matching y'all!

 

[Endorphins]

What's HCA?

 

[thelegend23]

This question is directed to all the Canadians on this thread:

Did any of you apply for CaRMS this year and got an interview?

 

[Nate brown]

What's HCA?

Hospital Corporation of America

Hospital Corporation of America - Wikipedia

 

[Nate brown]

Chicago has a higher crime rate (Comparison: Chicago, Illinois - Montgomery, Alabama). It is a better city but it is not safer than Montgomery.

It depends on who you are. If you’re of European origin, you’ll be fine anywayhere. If you’re a person of color, I assume most of us imgs are Chicago is by far multicultural and safer place to live. You have to keep in mind hate crime in southern states thanks to Trump . Racism is not an issue in Chicago or bigger cities but before you choose any southern states, findout about race relation in the area. Crime rate statistics shouldn’t prevent you from choosing. As long as you don’t intermingle with criminals and you mind your business you can be safe anywhere.

 

[idhope]

Hi! Anybody in Chicago on the waitlist for Jan 24 - Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center?

 

[MoLarryKerlyBLine]

Chicago has a higher crime rate (Comparison: Chicago, Illinois - Montgomery, Alabama). It is a better city but it is not safer than Montgomery.

Not the entire story.

 

[NGTY1991]

Not the entire story.

Just ignore the dude, he seems like a troll

 

[ddwest]

Just ignore the dude, he seems like a troll

I'm not a troll and just FYI to everyone here it seems I got a warning for giving my opinion because of my tone via a complaint. I think everyone in this thread can look back and see what I posted and inform me if I was out of line. I simply gave my opinion. It's actually you who has the harsh tone that should be sanctioned here.

 

[sherry1006]

Hi, I really need some advice putting the list together, tried to post it on the other thread but no one replied.
I am pretty set on 1 and 2, 3 - 6 is a big mess.

Can someone comment on the reputation and opportunities for potential heme/onc fellowships? I know most of them are community programs with no in-house fellowships, but I thought I'd give it a try.
1. cedars sinai
2 Kaiser - fontana
3 Eisenhower medical center - new community programs in california, only 6 yrs, but great location for me
4 LSU - baton rouge
5 Legacy emanuel
6 methodist dallas
7 ochsner new orleans
8 texas tech el paso
9 st mary long beach
10 st agnes fresno
11 LSU lafayette
12 montefiore new rochelle

 

[Gsof]

How is Howard medical center (Washington DC). Any one else interviewed there?

 

[Beastkiller]

Don't know why people like you just don't mind your business. I was answering someones question honestly which you were not a part of. Of course you should rank according to your preference but honey you are sadly misinformed if you don't think connections/contacts/rotating at hospitals don't go into play when a program completes their rank list.

How important is having done rotation?

 

[Beastkiller]

About SOAP. Do you need to register, if so when and where?

 

[ccmscuem]

About SOAP. Do you need to register, if so when and where?

You'll have that option if you don't match, nothing to do now.

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[Endorphins]

Hi, I really need some advice putting the list together, tried to post it on the other thread but no one replied.
I am pretty set on 1 and 2, 3 - 6 is a big mess.

Can someone comment on the reputation and opportunities for potential heme/onc fellowships? I know most of them are community programs with no in-house fellowships, but I thought I'd give it a try.
1. cedars sinai
2 Kaiser - fontana
3 Eisenhower medical center - new community programs in california, only 6 yrs, but great location for me
4 LSU - baton rouge
5 Legacy emanuel
6 methodist dallas
7 ochsner new orleans
8 texas tech el paso
9 st mary long beach
10 st agnes fresno
11 LSU lafayette
12 montefiore new rochelle

Hey from the places in your list I only interviewed at montefiore new rochelle so I don't really know the others you mentioned. That being said, I am also ranking it last/considering not ranking it. Don't know if that helps in anyway! Good luck!

 

[rokshana]

Don't know why people like you just don't mind your business. I was answering someones question honestly which you were not a part of. Of course you should rank according to your preference but honey you are sadly misinformed if you don't think connections/contacts/rotating at hospitals don't go into play when a program completes their rank list.

Because it’s obvious that you don’t have basic understanding of the match algorithm. Time after time people who are involved with the match, including a number of actual IM PDs have stated that the match favors the applicant...those things may influence how a programs ROL list looks like but it plays no role in how nrmp runs the algorithm. In fact the nrmp has a very good article on how the algorithm works.

And you must be new to SDN...anything you post here is subject to comment...want a private conversation? PM the poster.

 

[rokshana]

You're going to be a resident, you're going to be at everyones mercy. Corporations will continue maximizing their profits, and everyone's at that mercy. Those 2 equations will never change (although it would be nice if it did).

Not sure if being a corporate entity has any effect on your experience, as CMS pays for most of the GME training and the curriculum is largely guided by ACGMEs guidelines. Where I think being a part of a corporation might affect your performance/output, is as an attending, as there are all these aspects that affect your compensation.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Being at a for profit program can affect your student loan payback and those years will not count toward loan forgiveness

 

[rokshana]

It depends on who you are. If you’re of European origin, you’ll be fine anywayhere. If you’re a person of color, I assume most of us imgs are Chicago is by far multicultural and safer place to live. You have to keep in mind hate crime in southern states thanks to Trump . Racism is not an issue in Chicago or bigger cities but before you choose any southern states, findout about race relation in the area. Crime rate statistics shouldn’t prevent you from choosing. As long as you don’t intermingle with criminals and you mind your business you can be safe anywhere.

Dont kid yourself that racism is not seen in large “diverse” cities and it’s located to the south. Having been raised in the south and trained in the NE I find that the racism is more subtle in the NE but still very much present.

 

[MoLarryKerlyBLine]

Hi, I really need some advice putting the list together, tried to post it on the other thread but no one replied.
I am pretty set on 1 and 2, 3 - 6 is a big mess.

Can someone comment on the reputation and opportunities for potential heme/onc fellowships? I know most of them are community programs with no in-house fellowships, but I thought I'd give it a try.
1. cedars sinai
2 Kaiser - fontana
3 Eisenhower medical center - new community programs in california, only 6 yrs, but great location for me
4 LSU - baton rouge
5 Legacy emanuel
6 methodist dallas
7 ochsner new orleans
8 texas tech el paso
9 st mary long beach
10 st agnes fresno
11 LSU lafayette
12 montefiore new rochelle

Looks good to me.

 

[freespiriteddoctor]

Hey from the places in your list I only interviewed at montefiore new rochelle so I don't really know the others you mentioned. That being said, I am also ranking it last/considering not ranking it. Don't know if that helps in anyway! Good luck!

If I may ask, what are some of your reasons for not ranking Montefiore new Rochelle?

 

[Endorphins]

If I may ask, what are some of your reasons for not ranking Montefiore new Rochelle?

Mainly based on my personal impression of my interview day... the intern and resident they paired us with seemed pretty unhappy, repeatedly mentioned how exhausted they were and kept complaining about so many things about the hospital (not necessarily the program itself). Things like how they don't have an MRI and need to send all the patients elsewhere for that and the logistics of it and how patients complain about this. One resident would say they hardly do any scutwork and the intern would laugh and say the exact opposite. I understand that every program/hospital has weaknesses but I don't know.. it was the way they complained about this things that gave me a bad feeling. Also, I know that people can have bad days and they might have had a rough day/week/month but I have several other programs with similar statistics that are closer to where I want to be for personal reasons. Thought process along the lines of "why go through the trouble of complicating my personal life for a place that gave me a bad feeling on interview day?" and "would I rather not match than match here?". Disclaimer: I am in a very lucky position where I have a good amount of interviews and a solid plan B if things don't work out during this match season. That being said, everybody was extremely nice, they seem to really enjoy each other's companies, you can do away rotations, have access to montefiore's databases if you're interested in research and the program director seems awesome.
Short answer: gut feeling and personal reasons hahaha

 

[freespiriteddoctor]

Mainly based on my personal impression of my interview day... the intern and resident they paired us with seemed pretty unhappy, repeatedly mentioned how exhausted they were and kept complaining about so many things about the hospital (not necessarily the program itself). Things like how they don't have an MRI and need to send all the patients elsewhere for that and the logistics of it and how patients complain about this. One resident would say they hardly do any scutwork and the intern would laugh and say the exact opposite. I understand that every program/hospital has weaknesses but I don't know.. it was the way they complained about this things that gave me a bad feeling. Also, I know that people can have bad days and they might have had a rough day/week/month but I have several other programs with similar statistics that are closer to where I want to be for personal reasons. Thought process along the lines of "why go through the trouble of complicating my personal life for a place that gave me a bad feeling on interview day?" and "would I rather not match than match here?". Disclaimer: I have a good amount of interviews and a solid plan B if things don't work out during this match season. That being said, everybody was extremely nice, they seem to really enjoy each other's companies, you can do away rotations, have access to montefiore's databases if you're interested in research and the program director seems awesome.
Short answer: gut feeling and personal reasons hahaha

Wow! It seemed that my interview day was completely opposite from yours. The interns I had seemed pretty happy and satisfied and the residents actually 'boasted' about how much free time they had. That fact, and the fact that they had access to Montefiore, as well as the PD were the reasons I had initially decided to rank them highly. This actually shows me not to just rank a program solely based on what I see/hear on my interview day and take other factors into consideration.Thanks for your input.

 

[Nate brown]

Dont kid yourself that racism is not seen in large “diverse” cities and it’s lomoted to the south. Having been raised in the south and trained in the NE I find that the racism is more subtle but still very present.

Subtle once in civilized NE I can push back if you can or keep your head down and deal with it if the racist is your higher up. You might find fair minded people that will stand with you and defend you. The in the South it’s open game and can be in physical danger and you might not have people to protect you. You have to weigh sublet racism vs physical danger. There are nice cities in the South and horrible cities in the north as well. My advice is that you should do you’re due diligence before you commit to any place.

 

[Beastkiller]

Mainly based on my personal impression of my interview day... the intern and resident they paired us with seemed pretty unhappy, repeatedly mentioned how exhausted they were and kept complaining about so many things about the hospital (not necessarily the program itself). Things like how they don't have an MRI and need to send all the patients elsewhere for that and the logistics of it and how patients complain about this. One resident would say they hardly do any scutwork and the intern would laugh and say the exact opposite. I understand that every program/hospital has weaknesses but I don't know.. it was the way they complained about this things that gave me a bad feeling. Also, I know that people can have bad days and they might have had a rough day/week/month but I have several other programs with similar statistics that are closer to where I want to be for personal reasons. Thought process along the lines of "why go through the trouble of complicating my personal life for a place that gave me a bad feeling on interview day?" and "would I rather not match than match here?". Disclaimer: I am in a very lucky position where I have a good amount of interviews and a solid plan B if things don't work out during this match season. That being said, everybody was extremely nice, they seem to really enjoy each other's companies, you can do away rotations, have access to montefiore's databases if you're interested in research and the program director seems awesome.
Short answer: gut feeling and personal reasons hahaha

What is a solid plan B? I need one! Not knowing and not having a contingency plan don’t feel good at all.

 

[Endorphins]

Wow! It seemed that my interview day was completely opposite from yours. The interns I had seemed pretty happy and satisfied and the residents actually 'boasted' about how much free time they had. That fact, and the fact that they had access to Montefiore, as well as the PD were the reasons I had initially decided to rank them highly. This actually shows me not to just rank a program solely based on what I see/hear on my interview day and take other factors into consideration.Thanks for your input.

Honestly, you should take your experience and opinion on the program more seriously than mine. We might be looking for different things and/or I might have a different personality than you. Also, I have a strong personal bias towards one specific city so I might be waaaay more critical than I should be to programs outside that city just to make a stronger case to stay there haha everything is possible! If you are considering ranking this program high and have some questions, I am sure residents that are currently training there will give you an honest answer!! Your interview day may be closer to the truth while mine was a bad day...

 

[Endorphins]

What is a solid plan B? I need one! Not knowing and not having a contingency plan don’t feel good at all.

I am very lucky to currently be a postdoctoral research fellow at an academic institution and can stay here for another year if needed. If I was in your position I would try to find all the alternatives of things you can do next year to strengthen your CV (volunteer clinical research, volunteer basic science research, scribe, observerships, NGO focused on healthcare etc) but I would not contact anybody until knowing for sure if you matched or not. Every situation is different and a lot of variables go into play (visa status, experience, goals, debt, family etc). PM if you want to talk about it more specifically. I am really not an expert by any means but I can share my experience with you and what I've done if it helps

 

[Beastkiller]

I am very lucky to currently be a postdoctoral research fellow at an academic institution and can stay here for another year if needed. If I was in your position I would try to find all the alternatives of things you can do next year to strengthen your CV (volunteer clinical research, volunteer basic science research, scribe, observerships, NGO focused on healthcare etc) but I would not contact anybody until knowing for sure if you matched or not. Every situation is different and a lot of variables go into play (visa status, experience, goals, debt, family etc). PM if you want to talk about it more specifically. I am really not an expert by any means but I can share my experience with you and what I've done if it helps

Would like to pm, but it was blocked somehow.

 

[Dr. Opout]

Hi, I really need some advice putting the list together, tried to post it on the other thread but no one replied.
I am pretty set on 1 and 2, 3 - 6 is a big mess.

Can someone comment on the reputation and opportunities for potential heme/onc fellowships? I know most of them are community programs with no in-house fellowships, but I thought I'd give it a try.
1. cedars sinai
2 Kaiser - fontana
3 Eisenhower medical center - new community programs in california, only 6 yrs, but great location for me
4 LSU - baton rouge
5 Legacy emanuel
6 methodist dallas
7 ochsner new orleans
8 texas tech el paso
9 st mary long beach
10 st agnes fresno
11 LSU lafayette
12 montefiore new rochelle

I think it looks pretty solid. Only question is why is texas tech so low? Well-established academic place with cards, GI, nephro in house. Didn't like the location/vibe?

Edit: I know you're into heme onc so those specific fellowships don't apply, but wouldn't they add some value to the reputation of a program and improve chances for heme onc somewhere else?

 

[Endorphins]

Would like to pm, but it was blocked somehow.

Just changed my settings... maybe it works now?

 

[freespiriteddoctor]

Hello everyone, I am an IMG with average scores and I would appreciate receiving help with my ROL. I have no specific future interests yet(thinking global health/ID for now). I received mostly community programs and I live in Connecticut so I have a preference to that area.

1.Uconn (does not have x+y schedule but I live in Connecticut.)
2. Uconn New Britain-PC (really enjoyed my interview day)
3.Yale Waterbury program
4.Mount Auburn
5. Norwalk Hospital
6.Drexel (university program but not in Connecticut)
7. St Mary's waterbury
8.Staten Island uni hospital
9. Montefiore(New Rochelle)
10. York hospital,PA
11. Richmond university Staten Island
12.Roger Williams, Rhode Island
13.UPMC Pinnacle

 

[TheHardWorker]

do we certify our ROL now or we wait till feb 20th?

 

[ccmscuem]

do we certify our ROL now or we wait till feb 20th?

You can certify and edit it again and then re-certify. After Feb 20, that wont be possible and whatever list you have certified is what will be submitted to the algorithm to process.

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[sss2g2]

Hi, I really need some advice putting the list together, tried to post it on the other thread but no one replied.
I am pretty set on 1 and 2, 3 - 6 is a big mess.

Can someone comment on the reputation and opportunities for potential heme/onc fellowships? I know most of them are community programs with no in-house fellowships, but I thought I'd give it a try.
1. cedars sinai
2 Kaiser - fontana
3 Eisenhower medical center - new community programs in california, only 6 yrs, but great location for me
4 LSU - baton rouge
5 Legacy emanuel
6 methodist dallas
7 ochsner new orleans
8 texas tech el paso
9 st mary long beach
10 st agnes fresno
11 LSU lafayette
12 montefiore new rochelle

Think you can't go wrong with picking cedars as your #1 especially with the potential for the heme onc fellowship.

 

[sss2g2]

Sorry if this has been posted here a bunch of times already but was inquiring about the format of the LOI and if we send it to only the Program Director or everyone we interviewed with + the coordinator.

 

[MoLarryKerlyBLine]

Hello everyone, I am an IMG with average scores and I would appreciate receiving help with my ROL. I have no specific future interests yet(thinking global health/ID for now). I received mostly community programs and I live in Connecticut so I have a preference to that area.

1.Uconn (does not have x+y schedule but I live in Connecticut.)
2. Uconn New Britain-PC (really enjoyed my interview day)
3.Yale Waterbury program
4.Mount Auburn
5. Norwalk Hospital
6.Drexel (university program but not in Connecticut)
7. St Mary's waterbury
8.Staten Island uni hospital
9. Montefiore(New Rochelle)
10. York hospital,PA
11. Richmond university Staten Island
12.Roger Williams, Rhode Island
13.UPMC Pinnacle

Not sure what exactly you're looking for since you mentioned that staying in Connecticut is important. However, based on the programs, I would put Drexel >/= UConn with UConn New Britain in my 3 slot. I'd also be inclined to move any program up ahead of Staten Island. The rest are interchangeable.

 

[sss2g2]

Not sure what exactly you're looking for since you mentioned that staying in Connecticut is important. However, based on the programs, I would put Drexel >/= UConn with UConn New Britain in my 3 slot. I'd also be inclined to move any program up ahead of Staten Island. The rest are interchangeable.

What's wrong with Staten Island?

 

[MoLarryKerlyBLine]

What's wrong with Staten Island?

Don't know about the training, but as somewhat of a local, it's not known to be the greatest of hospitals. Just my 2 cents, though

 

[sherry1006]

I think it looks pretty solid. Only question is why is texas tech so low? Well-established academic place with cards, GI, nephro in house. Didn't like the location/vibe?

Edit: I know you're into heme onc so those specific fellowships don't apply, but wouldn't they add some value to the reputation of a program and improve chances for heme onc somewhere else?

I have thought about it, Texas Tech actually offers really good match results in Heme/onc, location and language is the main thing, El Paso is a really small city, and I don't speak Spanish. I had great interview experience that day.

 

[sherry1006]

Anyone here interviewed at St Mary long beach or heard about it? I only get to interact with one chief resident on interview day, no intern showed up, interview day is not very organized. Is that a red flag?