Interview Experiences 2006

[kaw]

I have looked to this site so much for advice that I thought I would contribute a brief synopsis of my interview at the NIH.

BEWARE: you will have your car searched when you arrive, so dont be like me and end up being late to meet the director because of it. IT took about 10-15 minutes to get my car searched.

My day was basically a series of 6 or so interviews, 30 minutes each and then a lunch with the residents.

The faculty: not much needs to be said, they are all leading authorities in their fields, and all of them were humble and enthusiastic to interview me.

The residents were very honest in answering all my questions, pointing out that there is a lot of paperwork, not as much previewing time as they would like, etc. However, they do get to see very unique specimens and work with great faculty. Also, although busy, the hours do not seems as bad as other programs and call is not very cumbersome.

The interviews: the typical, why pathology and then questions from my personal statement and CV which were mainly conversational. Being a research oriented place, I got a lot of deeper questions like what area of pathology was I interested in and where do I see myself in 10 years, etc. I got a lot of "what questions do you have" and surprisingly, I struggled with this. I think I thought it would be a lot easier to ask questions, but because I got their late, I was a little disorganized. However, by the 3rd or so interview I was ok with that. I found that you could always ask about structure of the rotation if you need to stall for a bit (ie how does the autopsy service run?). I did find it a little too much to ask a place like the NIH about specimen numbers, types of specimens, and some of the more mundane aspects of pathology since this was a more specialized place.

For me, I think it isvery important to stress to them that you are a research oriented person and that you want to be in a place like the NIH where you might not see the bread and butter cases, but you would be skilled in the zebras. I think MD/PhD students are the ideal students here, me not being one unfort. However, I got a different vibe from the residents, where they felt you could just be more interested in being a diagnostician than an academic and that would be ok from here if you are dedicated to reading on your own and doing outside rotations.

conferances: some are organized by teh residents, and there are plenty of conferance daily, and especially very interesting talks given by other faculty at the NIH.

Research: first off, I thought I was a "research" person having had a few publications and so forth. HOwever, be mindful that case studies and small contributions (ie not first author) are not really considered research at a place like the NIH. Interestingly and somewhat exciting, one faculty member told me in reference to publications, that most of the "routine" work that she does ends up being published because of the type of cases that come through.

hope this provides some insight into the program.

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[kaw]

btw the director let me know they have rolling admissions there. How soon do they let someone know, I did not press, but I had thought they waited until Jan to give offers. i will try to let you all know how long it takes for a reply. My guess is by Dec, since I think they will want to interview a batch before sending out offers.

 

[kaw]

Vermont:

This place has really moved up on my list.

Structure of Interview day: again 8 or so interviews 30 minutes each with a sweet lunch in downtown burlington thrown in. I also attended the unknown conference and was given a short tour.

Interviews: without exception, all were casual and cordial, with no tough questions or put in the spot type questions. Bascially, why Vermont, why pathology, and various comments about your CV or PS. All the interviewers adn residents seemed to have read my PS pretty thoroughly and commented on it.

Facilities: jsut moved into a new 350 million dollar expansion of the hospital. Now pretty much everything is grouped together. No windows, but plenty of light and space. Numerous multiheaded scopes, 5 gross benches (adjustable!!!), with a very nice, ventilated gross room.

Faculty: all very approachable and nice. There is a lot of dedication to education there, but also a substantial research effort which takes place. They have an experimental lab (staffed) which anyone can use, and seems to really work really well.

HIghlights: on autopsy call the first two years and then full call the last two years (ie normal path call). Thre is a break-in month for the residents. There is a pretty nice Hot seat rotation which really works like a hot seat should. There is plenty of money to go around for trips and meetings.

 

[AznDragon]

Well, this was my first interview. It wasn't exactly a bad interview experience but I don't think it was great either especially compared to my second interview. I don't know, I can't really tell if it was just because it was my first interview or something.

When they first invited me, they gave me like 2 dates in Sept, one of which was 4 days from the day they interviewed me and the other one was the next week. Talk about short notice. Of course since I was studying for Step 2 which I was planning on taking at the end of Sept, I told them I couldn't interview in Sept but was willing to interview in early Oct, which was fine with them. Another thing that bothered me was that I didn't even get my itinerary until noon the day before my interview. My flight was in the afternoon, so I barely got my itinerary before I left for the airport to go to Houston where I would have no internet access or a printer. When I called the contact person the morning before I left to ask about my itinerary, she said it wasn't ready because some of the interviewers hadn't been finalized. I was like, at least tell me when where I'm supposed to go for my first interview, which she finally told me over the phone.

Anyway, my interview day was from 8am-2:30pm and consisted of 12 interviews all 15-30mins. Most of the interviewers were pretty nice. All of the interviewers emphasized that although Methodist is a new program, it's really not a new program because almost all of the faculty have a ton of experience with Baylor's program. I think 2-3 interviewers had been the residency program director at Baylor for some years. I think the program director said they get like 48,000 surg specimens a year. Everyone emphasized how the faculty all love to teach. The facilities seemed very nice with state of the art machines. The program definitely has no money issues. I mean, the hospital lobby looked like a hotel lobby. All the faculty strongly encouraged residents doing research and having publications, which is good for the research-oriented people. It was definitely not good for me because I haven't done any research/publications. One interviewer even told me that if he had 2 applicants and one had a publication and one didn't, he would pick the one with the publication. Like I didn't already know that not having any research or publications was a major flaw in my app. During the interviews, I got a lot of tell me about yourself, where do you see yourself in the future, why path, why our program, do you have any questions, etc. I also noticed that like 3/4 of the interviewers didn't seem to read my CV/PS very thoroughly. For some reason, a lot of interviewers thought I graduated med school in 2005. I don't know why, since I clearly put May 2006. Then a couple of interviewers thought I did a rotation at Wash U, when I actually just worked there for a summer in my mom's dept before I started med school. It's like they just saw the name Barnes-Jewish Hospital and then didn't bother to read the fine print or look at the date. After awhile, I just got so tired of correcting them that I just started nodding to everything they said.

I thought the best part of my day was lunch. The chief resident and a year 1 took me out to eat at a very nice restaurant. The residents were both really nice. They said that all of the residents seem to get along pretty well, but they've only been together for 3 months. It seems the latest that anyone stays to gross is 6pm. First year residents don't have call the first 6 months. Right now, Methodist also has half of the Tulane path residents working there.

 

[emu kid]

EMORY

It was my first interview, and admittedly I am a bit rusty. While it wasn’t an altogether bad experience I would’ve like to come off a little stronger. I tend to have a casual approach to interviewing as playing the tough-minded, serious student just isn’t my personality. That is not to say that I’m lazy. I just don’t like acting to impress. However, now I am wondering if my interest in their program came through.

I was emailed the schedule the day before, which did not give me sufficient time to look through the CVs of the interviewers. Not that it mattered as the interviews were mostly them telling me about the program and answering my questions. I had plenty of questions especially concerning faculty teaching, amount of guidance for junior residents, and research mentoring opportunities. I was honest about my lack of research but offered my recent 4th year foray into research as an indication that I was genuinely interested given the right mentor. I also told another interviewer that I was not worried about the numbers since I knew Emory was not a “small” program. Instead I told him that I was very interested in the faculty-resident interactions as I want to learn from THEIR experiences as well as learning on my own. Maybe this was a mistake but I wanted to come across as genuine as possible. The interviewers were all very pleasant and did not put me on the spot except for one last minute question that caught me off guard. Tell me something about yourself that is not in the CV (in our last minute of the interview). I had a few answers in mind but none that could be explained in less than a minute. I laughed and joked with the interviewers, which now I wonder if this is a good or bad thing.

There 6 30-minute interviews during the morning and a 1-hour lunch with three residents (PGY-1, 2, and 3). After returning from lunch I was given a very lackluster tour of the clinical laboratories. I didn’t mind that the resident was disinterested since all laboratories are pretty much the same everywhere. The day would have concluded with an explanation of the benefits by the coordinator, but I stuck around for consensus conference. It was a very familiar format albeit in a smaller room than what I am used to. The entire day went from 8:45am to 2:30pm.

 

[kaw]

MCV interview:

6, 30 min interviews with breakfast/lunch with residents. I finished around 2 pm which was nice. of note, at the OMNI, the parking is 19 dollars! The lunch athe Jefferson is probably the best lunch buffet you will EVER have.

Interviews: one AP was with three pathologists, which was a little intimidating until the interview actually begun because they were non-threatening and told me they did this so I would not have to answer "why path" a ton of times. The questions were: why path, what motivates you, what questions do you have, why MCV, long term plans (10 years from now). Although there is a lot of research going on, theydid not ask about it that tmuch. I also got asked about what areas I like most in path

residents: all seemed to really love it there. all really loved richmond too

pathologists: all cordial and interested. they had all read my application beforehand. they were all very serious about education.

MCV: great and relatively new facilities, sign out is specialty type, CP is really strong, and the res do get subst preview time. Richmond is so-so to me, but I could def live there. if you like CP, this is a pretty good spot to do it, they do tons of bone marrows. The residents do very well after graduating: this years class was dermpath, surg path, some other fellowship and private--all first choices for the residents. Not everything is within close prox so you may have to do a lot of walking. Hours seem pretty good. There is a lot of evaluation of the residents (see the 120 page handbook) which I worry may be excessive, but it does seem to work out in that it brings a lot of structure.

 

[yaah]

Here's a tip about CP, by the way: Every program says CP is strong at their institution. It's hard to know the right questions to ask to figure out if this is bull**** or not (if it matters to you). I guess the most important question is do residents pass the CP boards easily the first time.

 

[CameronFrye]

If living in Richmond turns you off, there are lots of nice places to live out on the west end. I know several MCV residents who have bought houses in the area (plus, there are lots of nice apartments if you just want to rent). Traffic in Richmond is pretty manageable, so the commute isn't bad.

 

[kaw]

agreed. I would have no problem living in Richmond, but I dont think i would stay downtown.

As for CP, I think it is pretty easy to tell just by talking with faculty if CP rotation consist of sitting in a corner reading vs actually doing stuff. The board question is something I did not consider and I thank you for that one. I will use that now.

If living in Richmond turns you off, there are lots of nice places to live out on the west end. I know several MCV residents who have bought houses in the area (plus, there are lots of nice apartments if you just want to rent). Traffic in Richmond is pretty manageable, so the commute isn't bad.

 

[drPLUM]

I had my first interview today. I don't have time to write all the details right now but I will this weekend sometime. For now this will summarize my findings (in addition to the "why pathoogy" questions)...

1. Everyone (and I mean everyone) wants to know if you want to do academics or private practice. If you say academics be prepared to give examples that illustrate your interest and back it up. They can smell b^*&**** a mile away.

2. Have an answer for "Tell me about yourself" that includes more than "I am drPLUM, I went to school at PLUM University, and now I want to go here."

3. Dress well. I am not the fashion police but I had at least 2 interviewers noticably check out my shoes (I am a guy) to see if they were high quality. Maybe the fact that I am from a small town makes them think I don't know how to dress professionally or something (petty if you ask me). But still, no reason you can't go and get a decent suit and some nice shoes (try B. Republic or Express Men or something) and, good grief, leave your peg-legged pants at home, seriously man.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

1. Everyone (and I mean everyone) wants to know if you want to do academics or private practice. If you say academics be prepared to give examples that illustrate your interest and back it up. They can smell b^*&**** a mile away.

Yeah, this is an important question which you should be prepared to answer. But it is totally acceptable to say that you are entertaining a career in either private practice or academic diagnostic pathology or academic research. Don't feel obligated to pigeonhole yourself into one particular track. Plus, use this opportunity to ask the question concerning how well people at a particular institution are trained for private practice vs. academics. This will spark an interesting conversation and you can pick up on some "personality traits" of a given program.

2. Have an answer for "Tell me about yourself" that includes more than "I am drPLUM, I went to school at PLUM University, and now I want to go here."

Well, you can start from the beginning. For instance, I would say, "My name is Andy and I am the son of Korean immigrants. I love America!"

3. Dress well. I am not the fashion police but I had at least 2 interviewers noticably check out my shoes (I am a guy) to see if they were high quality. Maybe the fact that I am from a small town makes them think I don't know how to dress professionally or something (petty if you ask me). But still, no reason you can't go and get a decent suit and some nice shoes (try B. Republic or Express Men or something) and, good grief, leave your peg-legged pants at home, seriously man.

If you're a guy, invest in a nice suit. Don't go overboard and buy some $2000 suit but just look nice. Enough said.

Slightly off topic, we just started interviewing and I'm scheduled to go out to lunch with an applicant tomorrow. In my mailbox was an evaluation sheet which makes me feel uncomfortable. Perhaps I will just give the sheet to the applicant and have him fill it out.

 

[Mr. Plow]

3. Dress well. I am not the fashion police but I had at least 2 interviewers noticably check out my shoes (I am a guy) to see if they were high quality. Maybe the fact that I am from a small town makes them think I don't know how to dress professionally or something (petty if you ask me). But still, no reason you can't go and get a decent suit and some nice shoes (try B. Republic or Express Men or something) and, good grief, leave your peg-legged pants at home, seriously man.

If interviewers have the pomposity to comment about what shoes you wear during the interview, you may want to seriously re-consider their program. Oh, and make sure to comment about their crappy shoes.

 

[cytoborg]

Here's a tip about CP, by the way: Every program says CP is strong at their institution. It's hard to know the right questions to ask to figure out if this is bull**** or not (if it matters to you). I guess the most important question is do residents pass the CP boards easily the first time.

Good point yaah, but I have a hunch that MCV in particular really does have strong CP, based on my interview as well as more recent interactions with the program. I'm sure it's a common claim programs make, though.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

Interview started around 9:30, and ended after lunch with a few of the residents (around 12:30 or so). I won't put too much about the program itself here (I'll post on scutwork), but in a nutshell:

Interview consisted of 4 interviews with various faculty members, lasting generally about 20-30 minutes. All were very low-stress and relaxed, basically just "getting to know you" types of things. I never really got asked "why pathology", but by looking at my work history, it's easy to figure that out.

I know a few of the residents from doing my dermpath elective there, and they seem happy. Let's face it, Mt. Sinai has a reputation of being busy, and they are: over 140,000 SURGICALS logged in for the year! This is definitely a service-oriented program, but it seemed to me that there are opportunities for teaching and/or small research projects. No-repeat-NO scheduled "elective time", simply because it's just too darn busy to take a resident away (no away electives, either).

My overall impressions: This program is not for the faint-of-heart. Those wishing to sit and read for a couple of hours simply won't be able to. Attendings will not hold your hand and guide you; rather, they expect that you will know what you're doing, more or less. Having said this, the attendings I've interacted with were extremely into teaching, and very approachable. Those that are into "names" probably have already applied; certainly the name does help out. Residents are very well trained, and end up with great fellowships.

I'll post more on scutwork!

 

[sinaility]

No-repeat-NO scheduled "elective time", simply because it's just too darn busy to take a resident away (no away electives, either).

My overall impressions: This program is not for the faint-of-heart. Those wishing to sit and read for a couple of hours simply won't be able to.
I'll post more on scutwork!

Dear Brian,
I'm happy you enjoyed your interview today. Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you. I just want to clarify a few things:

1) We do have electives. Actually we have a ton of electives. Additionally, our residents are allowed to do away rotations. We don't let anyone from outside of MSSM rotate here as a resident.

2) I read every single night, as do most of our residents. I just don't do it at the hospital. I personally don't think reading 3-4 hours everyday is that productive. I read for about an hour or two over the topics I covered that day at work.

I hope this helps!

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

Dear Brian,
I'm happy you enjoyed your interview today. Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you. I just want to clarify a few things:

1) We do have electives. Actually we have a ton of electives. Additionally, our residents are allowed to do away rotations. We don't let anyone from outside of MSSM rotate here as a resident.

2) I read every single night, as do most of our residents. I just don't do it at the hospital. I personally don't think reading 3-4 hours everyday is that productive. I read for about an hour or two over the topics I covered that day at work.

I hope this helps!

I agree--reading that long really is counter-productive.

But, I was told by the chief that there is no "elective time" built-in to the program. I was a little confused, since I was also told that if I expressed a particular interest in an area (cytopath, for example), I could do electives in that area. I was also told that I need to express that very early, and also work hard to express that interest early on. I was also told (by more than one resident) that doing outside electives really isn't possible, simply because they can't afford to have a resident off a particular service. Again, this is just information that was given to me.

My impression was that the residents who I spoke to were quite happy that they're there. It certainly is a solid program, and has an excellent reputation. I enjoyed my time there, and I think I would do quite well in that environment. As this was my first interview, I have little to compare it to.

Hope I didn't give out any wrong information, or sound like I was totally against the program. Thanks for clarifying some things for me!

 

[deschutes]

In general I think it is actually quite difficult to read during the day when you're on an AP rotation, and on busy CP rotations - except maybe while you're grabbing lunch (and even then you probably want to give your brain a rest for a few minutes ).

 

[sinaility]

I agree--reading that long really is counter-productive.

But, I was told by the chief that there is no "elective time" built-in to the program. I was a little confused, since I was also told that if I expressed a particular interest in an area (cytopath, for example), I could do electives in that area. I was also told that I need to express that very early, and also work hard to express that interest early on. I was also told (by more than one resident) that doing outside electives really isn't possible, simply because they can't afford to have a resident off a particular service. Again, this is just information that was given to me.

My impression was that the residents who I spoke to were quite happy that they're there. It certainly is a solid program, and has an excellent reputation. I enjoyed my time there, and I think I would do quite well in that environment. As this was my first interview, I have little to compare it to.

Hope I didn't give out any wrong information, or sound like I was totally against the program. Thanks for clarifying some things for me!

Ok, the deal is that since our program is subspecialty based, you might not get a specific specialty elective, by way of scheduling, until your third year. If you want to do a fellowship in that area your application needs to be in early third year if you are AP/CP, or early into your second year if you are AP only. That is what they meant by saying you need to express an interest in a certain area early on. Residents have done away electives from our program, especially if they want to go to a part of the country really far away from NY. However, it is generally not needed since we have fellowships in almost everything and our residents typically get whatever fellowships they want.
I'm glad you liked the program. Since you did the dermpath elective, what did you think of Dr. Phelps? He is hilarious and an amazing diagnostician. We have a very good dermpath fellowship here.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

In general I think it is actually quite difficult to read during the day when you're on an AP rotation, and on busy CP rotations - except maybe while you're grabbing lunch (and even then you probably want to give your brain a rest for a few minutes ).

Agreed. Trust me, when you're having a busy day and you find little pockets of free time, it's very therapeutic to relax, unwind, and catch a breather. And lunch is only for eating. No reading. to that

 

[quant]

I just interviewed at SUNY Buffalo and wanted to write down my experiences.

The interview started at 8 in the morning, with an hour of general orientation by the PD. Then there were 4 interviews of approximately 25 minutes each. The faculty were uniformly great and the interviews were fairly low stress. Mostly the questions were about getting to know you and what your future plans were. The specimen volume is reasonable and so are the working hours. I believe the AP side of the program is much more stronger than the CP. But then, i believe there is an attempt at integration of facilites and also there is a wickedly nice centralized facility doing quite a bit of CP testing.The program has PA's who help in grossing and are also a valuable source of learning. Research on part of residents is encouraged, though the primary focus is on teaching. No seperate time is alloted for research purposes.

Residents- The residents seemed quite happy about the program and were forthright about answering all the questions. Teaching is emphasized a lot and graded resposibility is assigned to the residents in a way it is not too harsh on them.

Afterwards, we went out to a lunch at the birthplace of Buffalo wings with the residents, who then answered more questions. Then there was a general tour of Buffalo which also included a tour of the other hospitals through which the residents rotate.

Buffalo seems to be a nice place, though i hear it gets awfully cold in winters in part due to the wind chill blowing across the lake Erie.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

I just interviewed at SUNY Buffalo and wanted to write down my experiences.

The interview started at 8 in the morning, with an hour of general orientation by the PD. Then there were 4 interviews of approximately 25 minutes each. The faculty were uniformly great and the interviews were fairly low stress. Mostly the questions were about getting to know you and what your future plans were. The specimen volume is reasonable and so are the working hours. I believe the AP side of the program is much more stronger than the CP. But then, i believe there is an attempt at integration of facilites and also there is a wickedly nice centralized facility doing quite a bit of CP testing.The program has PA's who help in grossing and are also a valuable source of learning. Research on part of residents is encouraged, though the primary focus is on teaching. No seperate time is alloted for research purposes.

Residents- The residents seemed quite happy about the program and were forthright about answering all the questions. Teaching is emphasized a lot and graded resposibility is assigned to the residents in a way it is not too harsh on them.

Afterwards, we went out to a lunch at the birthplace of Buffalo wings with the residents, who then answered more questions. Then there was a general tour of Buffalo which also included a tour of the other hospitals through which the residents rotate.

Buffalo seems to be a nice place, though i hear it gets awfully cold in winters in part due to the wind chill blowing across the lake Erie.

Glad you enjoyed your interview!

I can tell you from experience: Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo have a contest each winter to see what city gets the most snowfall. It's quite fun! I think Buffalo usually wins. And yes, it can get pretty cold there...but probably not as cold as where deschutes is!!

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

Ok, the deal is that since our program is subspecialty based, you might not get a specific specialty elective, by way of scheduling, until your third year. If you want to do a fellowship in that area your application needs to be in early third year if you are AP/CP, or early into your second year if you are AP only. That is what they meant by saying you need to express an interest in a certain area early on. Residents have done away electives from our program, especially if they want to go to a part of the country really far away from NY. However, it is generally not needed since we have fellowships in almost everything and our residents typically get whatever fellowships they want.
I'm glad you liked the program. Since you did the dermpath elective, what did you think of Dr. Phelps? He is hilarious and an amazing diagnostician. We have a very good dermpath fellowship here.

AAAh, it's all becoming crystal clear now! I figured I was confused.

Dr. Phelps is WONDERFUL! The guy is so smart AND down-to-earth! I had a blast there during my month, and learned a heck of a lot of dermatopathology, too. I didn't mind starting at 6am, either. Much better than being on a medical floor at that hour!

Patrick is awesome, too. He made sure to teach whenever he could. I just can't say enough about all of them.

 

[deschutes]

I think Buffalo usually wins. And yes, it can get pretty cold there...but probably not as cold as where deschutes is!!

I am, um, still patiently waiting for the legendary cold here.

It's November for heaven's sake! We should have seen snow (even if it melted on contact) at least two months ago!

 

[Dr.Nick Riveria]

I have an interview at yale on tues. Unfortunately, It's going to be my first interview. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[deschutes]

Where in all this is the problem?

Seriously, turn up on time and you will be fine. It is not that easy to screw up an interview day.

If you feel like you absolutely have to do something then just look through that thread about Questions to ask/Questions asked on interviews.

And after Tuesday you will be back here saying "That wasn't too bad at all."

 

[cytoborg]

I have an interview at yale on tues. Unfortunately, It's going to be my first interview. Anyone have any suggestions?

Make sure you have an arsenal of questions to ask THEM. This was the toughest part for me...by the last interview of the day, I could not think of a single thing to ask, and probaby came off looking dumb.

Other than that, just enjoy it! Interviews in path are fun!

 

[Dr.Nick Riveria]

Make sure you have an arsenal of questions to ask THEM. This was the toughest part for me...by the last interview of the day, I could not think of a single thing to ask, and probaby came off looking dumb.

Other than that, just enjoy it! Interviews in path are fun!

Thanks for the help, deschutes and cytoborg. I have been reading the interview question threads and actually do feel a little more prepared.
I'll let you know on tues!


Everyone good luck!!!!

 

[lucy01]

I have looked to this site so much for advice that I thought I would contribute a brief synopsis of my interview at the NIH.

Hi, Kaw,
Thank you for sharing your experience? any medical questions asked?

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

SUNY Upstate Medical University

This one admittedly took me by surprise. First off, let me qualify this review by saying that I did my cytology training here, plus worked in the department (both clinical and anatomic) for a number of years combined. I know quite a few people here.

I met formally with 6 members of the staff, about 30 minutes each. A few I know very well, a few I only knew by face, one (the director of AP) is new within the past couple of years. All members were collegial, and genuinely interested in what I was looking for in a residency program. The program director has made some changes to the curriculum (with the help of staff and resident input) in that the fourth year is now made up of different "tracts", geared towards AP/community practice, AP/academic, or CP (or something like that). Residents still have a few months with which to basically schedule anything they want, but these tracts are a way to get electives in areas that one pursuing one of the three mentioned areas would take anyway.

AP and CP are taken throughout the 4 years, and the residents are active in both inter and intra-departmental conferences. There are both medical technology and cytotechnology schools within the institution, so opportunities for teaching are there if you so choose. Although many residents are quite prolific in publications, research per se is not mandatory.

The director of AP, Dr. Katzenstein, is a well-known expert in Pulmonary pathology, and I really think she has changed this program for the better. AP was in a state of flux a few years ago; they now have achieved a level of stability that is reflected in their residency program. She is very easy-going and pleasant. She expects a lot from the residents, but is completely committed to their education.

During my interview, I was asked by an attending (with whom I was interviewing) if I'd like to see a specimen that a resident needed a hand with in the gross room. It was an above-the-knee amputation, and there was a rather large chondrosarcoma buried close to the knee joint. He walked us through a beautiful leg dissection, pointing out all the muscles, neurovascular bundles, and finally, the rather large tumor. All the while, saying "I'm showing you this because I want you to see that I'm not doing anything special here. You could probably do it better than I..." This is the type of teaching that stands out to me, and is what makes a quality program. The gross room is new, but rather small. They get around 40-50k surgicals a year, and there are 4 residents at each level, plus some fellows in heme, neuro, cyto, and surgical path.

Drawbacks: the facility is a bit old, and could use a cosmetic overhaul. This isn't a "name" program as it used to be (Miller and Henry have since retired). Syracuse is infamous for cold and snow.

Positives: dedicated faculty. Upstate is a regional referral center, which means a good mix of bread-and-butter and rare pathology. CP has always been strong here (not many places can say this), AP faculty is stable. Cost of living vs. salary ($41k for PGY-1). Residents get great fellowships (Mayo clinic, Sloan-Kettering...). Somewhat IMG-heavy, but these are very bright and friendly individuals.

So, I think this is one of those "sleeper" programs that many don't look at either because of the location, lack of a huge "name", or whatever. I think this program provides a great mix of academia and community-type practice, all the while giving residents a chance to read and actually learn pathology.

 

[drswam]

hey brian,

thanks for the detailed experience. Looks like Upstate is a good place to train. I agree with you in terms of CP...i heard from one of my resident friend that is very strong in CP.....anyway goodluck brian.......thanks again.

 

[miko2005]

Thanks to everyone for posting their interview experiences. I have only interviewed at 3 places up to now but ALL claim to have a really strong CP programs. Is that just something every program states (even if they don't have a strong CP program)? At some places, I am applying for AP only so it doesn't matter a whole lot to me but I am just curious.

 

[AngryTesticle]

Is that just something every program states (even if they don't have a strong CP program)?

Yes. It is your job to call bullsh*t and find out more by asking pointed, incisive questions.

 

[deschutes]

Also, strong CP does not equal strong CP teaching.

How do you tell if CP is strong? The jury is out on that one. I mean, sure there might be tons of CP-related research going on, or the authors of textbooks are at this place or ther other, but if you see these folks for 2 hours per week (some places not at all) is it so much that CP (or CP teaching) is weak there, or that it really is just the way CP works?

One can bark up the CP tree all one likes, but really, the clincher is if you plan to go into CP, or will have some CP involvement.

If the residents are passing CP boards, I think that is all you really need from an AP/CP residency program.

Take bloodbank for instance. For most day-to-day work it seems like one gets along fine with a healthy dose of common sense.

 

[luvalotapath]

has anyone out there interviewed at Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. I'm goin there next week and wanted to get some info if anyone has anything to offer. Its my first interview, so I'm a little freaked.

 

[GreatPumpkin]

MCV interview:

residents: all seemed to really love it there

QUOTE]

hehe


But, yes CP is actually very strong at MCV. You basically act as the attending on every service and you have at least an hour of face time with the faculty everday.

Richmond is actually a pretty nice place to live. You will never be going into the places that are bad unless you are involved in an illegal activity. The housing is affordable and it is yuppyville out in the burbs.

 

[yaah]

So didn't Richmond make the list of the 5 most dangerous places to live? I guess it's probably big enough so that the bad areas are clearly bad. I think Ann Arbor is a dangerous place to live, but only because people seem to fail to realize that there may be cars on the road before they set up their protest or start wandering into the street with their hair in their face.

 

[kaw]

Interview day at maryland was as all others. 5 interviews of 30 minutes each. Lunch with residents and then tour. there was also a consensus conferance in which all the attendings get together and discuss cases. I was finished by 3 pm.

the questions were again the same: why path? Why maryland? Where else am I applying? I did also get: what do you think will be the best and worst parts or residency?

They have recently hired a new chair and a few new faculty. the chair has come in and really taken an active role in making changes to the program. As you may know, Dr. Silverberg is at maryland and still works (I think) 6 months of the year. I did see him going to sign out. I also think he runs an unknown once a month.

Other things: they do have a PA training program there, and have one full time PA grossing who is very nice and patient. They also rotate at the VA nad Mercy (where TO got his ankle surgery )--sort of a community hospital experience. The grossing tables are adjustable so you wont have to bend down. They have conferances almost everymorning. Educ fund is 1000 a year. AP/CP is mixed throughout. VA rotation is pretty chill.

 

[beary]

I thought Wash U was a very impressive place. They are very academic and research oriented, which is what I am looking for. The hospital and huge and it seems like you can do great research in just about anything.

Warning about the hotel for those going there: it is gross. The worst place I have ever stayed in my life. But back to Wash U.

The first night there we (the applicants) went to dinner with some of the current residents. The residents were really cool - intelligent, friendly, interesting, just seemed really neat. The biggest thing they talked about is how insanely hard people work there. There isn't really any graduated responsibility and you just get tossed in as an R1, and they have a HUGE volume. The surg path schedule that I am used to at Iowa is like this: Day 1: gross all specimens and do frozens. Day 2: preview and sign out smaller specimens. Day 3: preview and sign out bigger specimens that didn't come out on day 2. At Wash U, that whole thing is sped up 3-fold. Everybody grosses every day from about 4 pm - 8 pm. Then you sign out the smaller specimens at 8 am the next morning, so you have to choose whether to preview from about 8-10 pm or come in at around 6 am. After signing out the smaller ones, you preview the bigger ones (late morning - early afternoon), and then sign those out in the afternoon. Then off to the gross room. They said that the residents get extremely stressed out.

The interview the next day was the standard setup - several half hour interviews with faculty and lunch with the residentsl. The faculty were very open about how intense it is there, but framed it as a "challenge." As I mentioned earlier, they have a very academic/research orientation (though I thought it was weird that none of the residents I talked to were at all interested in research). They give academic-oriented folks 2 or 3 years of funding for salary and supplies for a postdoc in any lab on campus, which is an awesome deal.

A unique thing about the program is that you do all your AP the first two years and then do all your CP. They talk about about how strong and rigorous their CP is.

I thought Saint Louis was a nice city. The hospital is right next to Forest Park, which is bigger than Central Park in NYC. There are some really nice neighborhoods right near the hospital, so I think it is possible to walk to work if you want.

Conclusion: great clinical and research training. High volume and high stress.

Edit: I found out after my interview that they are in the process of hiring a new chairman and apparently the department is in a transition period. They didn't mention this on the interview day. I don't really have any idea if this is a factor or not.

 

[beary]

This is my home institution so I was already pretty familiar with the program here. It was a very laid back interview day. I went to dinner with two of the residents the night before and they are both very happy here and feel that they are getting great training.

I already described the surg path schedule in my post about Wash U. The residents here also work very hard, especially on surg path, like most places I guess. The residents feel that most of their work is really educational and they do very well on boards.

I was extremely pleased that Iowa would be very flexible in terms of research as well - they would basically let me do as much research as I wanted, whenever I wanted, with whomever I wanted. I also like that AP and CP are integrated here instead of at Wash U where you do all of your AP and then all of your CP. They are just starting up a PSTP (physician scientist training program).

A unique thing about the program here is that from day 1 of your R1 year you are expected to dictate the microscopic description and come up with a diagnosis on all your cases before signout. I think this method has pros and cons - there is somewhat of a "throw in" feel, but overall I think this is a really active way to learn.

I love Iowa City. It is the perfect mix of small town and big city.

So basically, I was already interested in staying here since I have been so happy here for the last several years and my interview was very positive and just made me more interested.

 

[beary]

I was extremely impressed with UTSW. It was in my "top five" before I went there, and now it is definitely one of my top choices. I really enjoyed the day. It was a standard interview setup, and I felt that many of the faculty were genuinely interested in my research and in my interests and goals. I felt like I could relax and be myself.

They assigned a resident to walk me through my whole day which was really nice. She was super cool and I never would have been able to find my way around without her - the campus is HUGE. It was really mind boggling. They have several hospitals, the med school, tons of research buildings, etc. There is a shuttle that runs between all the buildings constantly. The facilities were extremely impressive - lots of brand new spacious lab space, and outside they have these little streams and paths. It was just very pleasant.

They have a very academically oriented program - about 50% of the residency graduates go into academics, and about 1/4 of the current residents are MSTP grads. They offer a PSTP there with funding for postdoctoral fellowships. Unfortunately, it is quite competitive and you don't apply until you have been in residency for a few years. I am concerned about not getting into it (and therefore not having money for a postdoc), but they assured me that money would be available since the department is so academically oriented and basically dripping with money.

It seems like they have great clinical training too. They offer fellowships in almost every path subspecialty you can think of, which I think shows how strong they are in so many areas. The residents seem like a friendly bunch (I got to have lunch with quite a few of them) and they are all happy there. There is not much scut to do because they have PAs. Also, since it is such a large program, they can afford to be flexible with electives according to your individual interests and career plans.

Everybody seemed to like Dallas too. Obviously it is very hot in the summer, but you just go from one air conditioned space to another so it is not too bad. The cost of living is reasonable and it is supposed to be safe except for a few known areas which you just avoid. There is lots of stuff there to do - zoo, arboretum, sports, great restaurants, etc.

Anyway, I was very impressed and am excited about maybe going there. So far I feel like all of the places I have interviewed (Wash U, Iowa, and UTSW) are all great places with their own unique environments. I think you would get great training at any of these institutions.

 

[miko2005]

A unique thing about the program is that you do all your AP the first two years and then do all your CP.

That's exactly how the Bay area programs are set up as well. I think UWash is also like that.

Thanks for your interview experiences posts!!!

 

[AngryTesticle]

I thought Wash U was a very impressive place....
Edit: I found out after my interview that they are in the process of hiring a new chairman and apparently the department is in a transition period. They didn't mention this on the interview day. I don't really have any idea if this is a factor or not.

It was probably an oversight. They are not trying to hide this from applicants. In fact, I was told that Emil Unanue had stepped down when I went to interview last year. In fact, some folks in my class interviewed there and were aware of this transition as well. The fact that they didn't tell you this...you shouldn't read into it much. The one thing I respected very much about the folks at WashU was their upfront honesty.

A unique thing about the program here is that from day 1 of your R1 year you are expected to dictate the microscopic description and come up with a diagnosis on all your cases before signout. I think this method has pros and cons - there is somewhat of a "throw in" feel, but overall I think this is a really active way to learn.

That's not completely unique and this happens at a lot of programs. And there is nothing wrong with this. The thing is that your "give a damn" needs to be turned off. There is certainly the self-imposed pressure to get every microscopic description to be thorough and correct. But in all actuality, you're gonna get stuff wrong. When you start, you're gonna get a lot of things wrong...in fact, you won't have any idea on a lot of cases. That's OK. The key is to not take things personally and to grow thick skin (if your attendings are total dinguses).

I was extremely pleased that Iowa would be very flexible in terms of research as well - they would basically let me do as much research as I wanted, whenever I wanted, with whomever I wanted.

I think this is a very important issue that research-oriented applicants need to address and it's good that you picked up on this. Be wary of places that place limitations or restrictions (i.e., try to implicitly force you to work in a pathology lab for postdoc). Programs won't come right out and admit this. But you can probe into this by asking about funding mechanisms and training grant support (which will fund you while you are generating preliminary data for a K grant) that is given if they joined a non-pathology lab vs. a pathology lab.

They have a very academically oriented program - about 50% of the residency graduates go into academics, and about 1/4 of the current residents are MSTP grads. They offer a PSTP there with funding for postdoctoral fellowships. Unfortunately, it is quite competitive and you don't apply until you have been in residency for a few years. I am concerned about not getting into it (and therefore not having money for a postdoc), but they assured me that money would be available since the department is so academically oriented and basically dripping with money.

This would raise a big red flag for me, to be honest. What this sounds like is a "gentlemens' agreement" which can easily be broken given changes that may happen DURING your residency.

 

[deschutes]

By the way, if any of you are going to be reviewing U of MN, please don't feel like you have a gag order just because I frequent this forum.

If you didn't like it, it'd be great to hear what you didn't like about it, and how we compare to other places you visited. I think any residency program is permanently "under renovation". Don't feel you have to gloss things over.

~
Since the question of benefits came up recently when I was lunching with an applicant:

(Obviously this is unlikely to be a major major factor in your decision - I mean, few people are going to say "I wanna go here because they have a $1200 book allowance per year versus $500!" etc." - but I thought it'd be helpful anyway for anyone who had wondered about it.)

Here we get $500 first year, $400 subsequent years and I think $200 for fellows - and working on upping the dose. The chief residents managed to get us parking at the U this year, which was a major issue in previous years which I have no personal experience of...

You'll notice that as a rule of thumb, smaller programs often have bigger book funds. It certainly helps to level the playing field a little.

Thing is, some places the book fund also encompasses conference travel funds.

Plus when you are at a large centre, the conferences come to you. We get our registration fees waived for some of the in-town updates and symposiums.

Things like that which I certainly didn't know when I was making out my rank list, but nice to have

 

[beary]

This would raise a big red flag for me, to be honest. What this sounds like is a "gentlemens' agreement" which can easily be broken given changes that may happen DURING your residency.

Thanks for all your insight on my interview reviews. This was a red flag for me as well. But honestly I am starting to feel like this is how it is at all programs and I don't know what all I can believe.

For example,
Wash U: Interview with PD promised me that I can do AP/CP and then 2 years of funding for any lab on campus. Apparently no one has ever done this before (like you, many research applicants just do AP or CP). Other interviewers on my same day said this setup was not possible and were surprised that I was told this by the PD. But the PD and I were very clear and had a long discussion about this so it's not like I misunderstood.

Iowa: Similar deal. They are brand new with their PSTP, it's not well established, certainly no one in pathology has done it before (there are a few people doing it in medicine this year). They offered me basically the same thing as Wash U. Again, when I was interviewing with other faculty, they had never heard of this, didn't think it was possible, etc.

UTSW: The PSTP mechanism seems very clearly laid out and is exactly what I'm looking for. But, it is very competitive within the institution and I can't apply for a few years. I would like to think I would get it, but can't count on it at all since UTSW has all kinds of academic-oriented folks. So then I am left with what the PD is telling me.

Basically all of these situations give me some red flags.

 

[path2006]

As a MD/PhD candidate I think your blowing smoke where there is no fire. I think UTSW is the best place for people thinking about academics but also not sure. From my interview, the residents are not stressed (as comp to WashU) and they get the perfect amount of exposure without undue stress. It sort of reminds me of the "old medical school" philos that every one should be q3 because they have always done it that way and thus its the way it should be done and they call this "evidence based medicine". However, research and common sense tells us that the amount you learn when your sleep deprived or extremely stressed goes down very fast!! Its just amazing how slow the medical field is to get this!!

Bottom line, pick a school where you can get good exposure without killing youself. I think UTSW has the right combination of research (if you want it) and path exposure. As far as getting money for your research, you will be an MD/PhD and we are a very rare breed, so dont worry about getting money, it will be there if you have a real interest and project!! Just make sure you go to a academic center.

Hopefully we both will make it to UTSW!! Regardless, good luck.

Thanks for all your insight on my interview reviews. This was a red flag for me as well. But honestly I am starting to feel like this is how it is at all programs and I don't know what all I can believe.

For example,
Wash U: Interview with PD promised me that I can do AP/CP and then 2 years of funding for any lab on campus. Apparently no one has ever done this before (like you, many research applicants just do AP or CP). Other interviewers on my same day said this setup was not possible and were surprised that I was told this by the PD. But the PD and I were very clear and had a long discussion about this so it's not like I misunderstood.

Iowa: Similar deal. They are brand new with their PSTP, it's not well established, certainly no one in pathology has done it before (there are a few people doing it in medicine this year). They offered me basically the same thing as Wash U. Again, when I was interviewing with other faculty, they had never heard of this, didn't think it was possible, etc.

UTSW: The PSTP mechanism seems very clearly laid out and is exactly what I'm looking for. But, it is very competitive within the institution and I can't apply for a few years. I would like to think I would get it, but can't count on it at all since UTSW has all kinds of academic-oriented folks. So then I am left with what the PD is telling me.

Basically all of these situations give me some red flags.

 

[beary]

As a MD/PhD candidate I think your blowing smoke where there is no fire. I think UTSW is the best place for people thinking about academics but also not sure. From my interview, the residents are not stressed (as comp to WashU) and they get the perfect amount of exposure without undue stress.

Hi path2006, I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I was very very impressed with UTSW and agree with everything you said about a great place for research and great clinical training without undue stress.

I think you are probably right that the money will be there somehow. I just have OCD-tendencies and want to plan everything out in advance.

Good luck with your interviews and maybe we'll be together at UTSW next year.

 

[sohsie]

Previous post: "At Wash U, that whole thing is sped up 3-fold. Everybody grosses every day from about 4 pm - 8 pm. Then you sign out the smaller specimens at 8 am the next morning, so you have to choose whether to preview from about 8-10 pm or come in at around 6 am. After signing out the smaller ones, you preview the bigger ones (late morning - early afternoon), and then sign those out in the afternoon. Then off to the gross room. They said that the residents get extremely stressed out.
The faculty were very open about how intense it is there, but framed it as a "challenge."

Translation: We care more about turnaround time than teaching residents or their well being, but we call it a "challenge" to jab at your self-esteem and throw you off from this obvious conclusion.

Yes, I selectively edited the post for the quotes that I wanted.

 

[yaah]

Previous post: "At Wash U, that whole thing is sped up 3-fold. Everybody grosses every day from about 4 pm - 8 pm. Then you sign out the smaller specimens at 8 am the next morning, so you have to choose whether to preview from about 8-10 pm or come in at around 6 am. After signing out the smaller ones, you preview the bigger ones (late morning - early afternoon), and then sign those out in the afternoon. Then off to the gross room. They said that the residents get extremely stressed out.
The faculty were very open about how intense it is there, but framed it as a "challenge."

Translation: We care more about turnaround time than teaching residents or their well being, but we call it a "challenge" to jab at your self-esteem and throw you off from this obvious conclusion.

Yes, I selectively edited the post for the quotes that I wanted.

This is a matter of personal preference I guess. Here, we have a similar schedule, we gross, preview and signout every day. Slides come out in the afternoon so your afternoon is combination previewing/grossing. I prefer it this way, I don't think I would see as much if everything was spread out even more.

 

[cytoborg]

Translation: We care more about turnaround time than teaching residents or their well being, but we call it a "challenge" to jab at your self-esteem and throw you off from this obvious conclusion.

Well said, sohsie.

I have a feeling that most high-volume centers are going to be stressful in this way - but yaah is right, the flipside is that you get to see more and do more, which is important. I figure now's the time to bring it on -not when I'm in my first year of practice!

 

[sohsie]

This is a matter of personal preference I guess. Here, we have a similar schedule, we gross, preview and signout every day. Slides come out in the afternoon so your afternoon is combination previewing/grossing. I prefer it this way, I don't think I would see as much if everything was spread out even more.

I am also in a program where you gross, preview, and sign out every day. The difference in my program (and I imagine yours as well) from WashU is that you are not signing out the cases the same day you are previewing them. You sign out the cases that you previewed and wrote up the day before, and then you gross and preview/write up the cases that you will sign out the next day. If you want to spend 2 hours previewing a difficult case, you can if you want (Not that I recommend that). At WashU, it sounds like you are previewing as fast as you can because you have to sign the cases out the day that you preview them, all before 4PM when you have to gross. It makes 24 hour turnaround time at the expense of the residents.