Importance of Program Director?

[DocStretch]

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So with the ROL deadline pending, I was hoping to get a little feedback before closing the list down for good. I was wondering how important the program director really is for the residents of a program and how much emphasis I should put on them for the list. I'm a little nervous that one of my top two places is getting a new PD and not sure if it's a big deal or not. Please help me go from to 😀.
Thanks

 

[BigRedBeta]

I don't know if I can help you. I'll agree with you that it's frightening about the change. For me if they were really even that would be enough for me to rank the other one higher.

Personally my two favorite program directors (and one assistant director) were at programs I'm not even ranking. My view was that as long as I didn't get a bad feeling from the PD, it was a non-issue, but if I really liked the PD that was just an pleasant extra. But I didn't have any PD's who were brand new or any where there were known imminent changes.

Hopefully some of the residents and fellows here can offer some insight.

 

[drbetty]

Since you would be working most closely with the residents, I think that is a more important factor than how much you like the PD, unless the PD is really weird. I think the new PD situation depends on how many PDs the program goes through (like if there is always change), and whether the new PD has loyalty to the program (trained there, current faculty, etc.) or if the new PD came from a different, but strong program.