Interview experiences

[b&ierstiefel]

Unlike the Malaysian dude, the thing on Kim's head isn't a hat. It's a unique fro sported by one of the rappers in the group (notice I don't use the word "band") called Kid 'N Play.

Hair,
not hat ----|

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deschutes]

I did think it was a bad case of hat hair. But I also thought the resemblance was uncanny!

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Aight...getting this thread back on track. I gots my WashU, Chicago, and Cornell interviews coming up. Reviews to come soon...probably in a week. Hope all your interviews are going well . Time to fly. Ciao!

 

[pathdawg]

That's why I was concerned. I got this info straight from the mouth of an interviewer (or the PD himself...can't recall now). Either he was wrong, or this is a big red flag, or other programs lie about having 100% pass rates and this is just normal?

True answer: other programs lie (or lets say exaggerate-its less pejorative)about having 100% pass rates. Just an observation.

 

[Mrbojangles]

Aight...getting this thread back on track. I gots my WashU, Chicago, and Cornell interviews coming up. Reviews to come soon...probably in a week. Hope all your interviews are going well . Time to fly. Ciao!

Hey Andy,
When is your Cornell interview, mine is this Monday.

 

[jeff2005]

Another 5 stars!

So far:

Wash U/Iowa/MGH *****
Utah/Yale ****
MUSC ***

I didn't expect to like Wash U since I had heard that the residents were abused. But I loved it.

1. Research: I've been thinking lately that I would go into private practice but after visiting Wash U I'm back to wanting academics. The attendings seem eager to mentor and they do some amazing research.

2. Residents: The ones I met were freindly and down-to-earth.

3. Facilities: AP is physically separated from CP. I liked the interconnected AP/CP at Iowa better. Also, all you do all your AP rotations first then move on to CP. It makes your first year that much harder.

4. St. Louis: Affordable & attractive.

5. Specimens: Kick-ass volume and variety.

Arrgh! My ROL is doing some rearranging.

 

[deschutes]

True answer: other programs lie (or lets say exaggerate-its less pejorative)about having 100% pass rates. Just an observation.

I think part of it is that there are relatively few residents per year per program in path. If there are just 4 residents taking the boards that year, then it's going to be a pass rate of 100%, 75%, 50% or 0%.

Here comes my MUSC review:

(Jeff2005 what didn't you like about MUSC?)

Personally I have never been so confused. I am seriously considering moving to Charleston, acquiring a Southern accent and annoying the heck out of people like yaah. No snow for 4 years! Real banana trees!

My MUSC visit was almost a repeat of Iowa, except in a (dare I say it?) much better location

Interviewed with 2 others, 8 interviewers in all!

The attendings were awesome - I got great general advice once I announced I wanted to do academic AP in the long run. Residents love their program, hang out and razz each other and the PD a great deal, resident quarters incredibly plush by my standards, well-lit well-ventilated spacious AP/CP labs. And a multi-head sign-out room for each AP, frozens and derm! They have the first dermpath fellowship I've seen on my travels. The website at http://www.musc.edu/pathology/resident/ is one of the more informative ones, only slightly outdated.

~3/4 go into private practice. Their academics-bound residents have a good track record of being placed to MSKCC, Hopkins and I forget what the other place was.

Have not yet made it down to the Battery, but King St. is awesome! Shoe shops every 5 steps - and that's just on one side of the street. And not just any shoe shops - we're talking Vera Wang! Jimmy Choo! Manolo Blahnik! (Not that I wear any of the aforementioned, but it's the principle of the thing ) And there's Ann Taylor. And Ann Taylor has petites!

@#$%^&*!!!! I really can't go around falling in love like this.

 

[jeff2005]

(Jeff2005 what didn't you like about MUSC?)

Personally I have never been so confused. I am seriously considering moving to Charleston, acquiring a Southern accent and annoying the heck out of people like yaah. No snow for 4 years! Real banana trees!

My MUSC visit was almost a repeat of Iowa, except in a (dare I say it?) much better location

.

I thought MUSC was great - but I didn't think it was in the same league as the other programs I had been to (especially Iowa!! ). I certainly would be happy to go there though. As for Charleston, the historic part is beautiful but that's not where I would be living. Charleston was my first exposure to the South and it was a bit of a shock to my system.

 

[deschutes]

I thought MUSC was great - but I didn't think it was in the same league as the other programs I had been to (especially Iowa!! ).

Okay, if I can't tell a very strong program from a strong program, my radar must be blunted. After Interview #3 of 7, I am still trying very hard to answer the question "If most of my programs are in the same league, then what am I looking for??"

I mostly go by where they place their fellows. I only counted one resident going (gone?) to UPenn for hemepath. Were there others?

Care to share what criteria you are evaluating them by?

PM me if you prefer.

~
Research is another part I have difficulty asking questions about. Everywhere says that they have lots of projects and it's easy to get involved in a project and your goal should be to publish.

I welcome any input from any of you.

 

[beary]

I didn't expect to like Wash U since I had heard that the residents were abused. But I loved it.

I am interested in Wash U because of their research emphasis, but had heard the same thing about residents being abused. Did the residents you met with shed any light on if this is just a rumor, they used to be abused but aren't any more, etc.?

 

[jeff2005]

Okay, if I can't tell a very strong program from a strong program, my radar must be blunted. After Interview #3 of 7, I am still trying very hard to answer the question "If most of my programs are in the same league, then what am I looking for??"

I mostly go by where they place their fellows. I only counted one resident going (gone?) to UPenn for hemepath. Were there others?

Care to share what criteria you are evaluating them by?

PM me if you prefer.

~
Research is another part I have difficulty asking questions about. Everywhere says that they have lots of projects and it's easy to get involved in a project and your goal should be to publish.

I welcome any input from any of you.

I'm sorry - Don't listen to me! I don't base my decisions on hard evidence, it's more a matter of gut feeling and the programs reputation. Also, the residents at MUSC admitted that their CP wasn't that strong. The hemepath electives and the fellowship are run by a hematologist, according to a resident. In any case, I'm going to rank MUSC pretty high because it has a lot of other strengths such as an awesome chair and PD. And, as i said in my review of the program, I think that is going to be getting even better and better.

 

[jeff2005]

I am interested in Wash U because of their research emphasis, but had heard the same thing about residents being abused. Did the residents you met with shed any light on if this is just a rumor, they used to be abused but aren't any more, etc.?

I brought this issue up with the PD. He admitted that the program does not "coddle" its residents, and that noone is going to give you a pat on the back for doing good work at Wash U. They expect the residents to be self-motivated and to work hard. I also brought it up with the residents. They denied being abused and I believe them. The residents seem pretty happy there.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

OK, I'm on a really slow connection so hopefully this will make it.

I got to campus around 7:30 today so I go an early tour and met a resident early on who gave me the scoop about the program. Right off the bat, one things was stressed...residents work really really REALLY hard here. More about this later because this was a consistent theme which wasn't overemphasized at other places. Residents are not merely observers at this program. As a first year in this program, you get "thrown in with the wolves."

Started with a didactic conference. It was fine. Just like any conference...presented by an attending...funny guy.

First interview with Dr. Pfeifer who just became program director like a few days ago according to the program coordinator. Described the program philosophy...this program is definitely geared towards academics. He told me that the chair is big on training academic pathologists (given the tradition of this institution, this is not surprising). BUT, he's stepping down. No idea about who is gonna replace him. Surg path - you get thrown in with the wolves, nobody holds your hands and responsibility does not seem graduated. There are 2 PAs who help you out but I got the impression that they're really busy too so as a PGY-1, you will do stuff, you will screw up many times, and you will learn from those mistakes. Specimen volume is around 45000-50000/yr. Great specimen variety. Residents will work their tails off here (he was not shy about admitting this--he said that residents who don't plan to work hard will not like it here) and will get trained very well. The rest of the interview was spent discussing career interests. Apparently, I WAS originally scheduled as an AP/CP candidate interviewee which surprised the PD a bit. I clarified that I'm AP only and was interested in the AP/research tract deal (2 years of AP + 2 years postdoc). The PD did the same pathway and told me more about this track. What was appealing was that during the 2 years of postdoc, the resident has ABSOLUTELY NO clinical responsibility. That gets an A+ in my book. When I do research, I wanna focus on only that. Don't wanna do signout. Don't wanna get called in on jeopardy call. Postdoc is fully funded so one doesn't have to worry about applying for grants...one can just focus on bench work from the get-go. The resident is not confined to the path department for finding a research mentor. One can work with practically anybody. The tone set in this meeting was very positive and this place grew on me.

Next several interviews were pretty much informal conversations. One involving a dermpathologist with whom I discussed my career goals and how I got interested in path. One topic discussed was the didactic schedule. Daily 8 am conference. During July-September, there are basic core conferences touching on basic concepts of pathology (re-orientation to basic pathology) on a organ system basis.

Lunch with residents - very friendly and honest about the program. One was dissatisfied with the autopsy rotation setup. Again, it was stressed that residents work very hard here but are a collegial and friendly bunch. Before lunch, I met some other residents in the PGY-1 resident room (which is in a different location that PGY-2 resident room). Residents do not have enough time to read during first year...this was a consensus. Heard a story about how one or two residents cried because the work was so overwhelming. There is a lot of work to be done here...and the residents do almost all of the grunt work! I had to pry this information out but I have no shame when it comes down to this.

Interview with a recent graduate from AP(2yr)/research track who just became an attending/assistant professor. Did research in a closely related field. Spent the first few minutes about career interests. Again, he was surprised that my interview itinerary said "AP/CP candidate" at the top. My career interests/goals were clarified and it was clear that my goals for residency training was identical to what he did. So that was a short conversation. The rest of the interview, we talked shop. He had apparently printed out and read my publications which was flattering. He showed me some recent results from his lab and asked for my input regarding significance and new ideas. This was a fun interview...and it was awesome to run into a young faculty who did exactly what I would do if I came here.

Wrap up interview at the end of the day - pretty chill and short. Basically had more of my questions answered. I had communicated with him the philosophy of this place is very consistent with my philosophy. This place is a research powerhouse! There is so much going on here. The environment is very collegial and there is a lot of collaborative spirit. My impression of this place in a nutshell is that WashU is like a MGH but without the East coast mentality (less collaborative spirit, people keep to themselves, people being all uber secretive about their research even when speaking to people within the same institution, yada yada yada). I really liked this program. About the work ethic here, I don't mind it much. I would rather learn by seeing/doing rather than having my nose buried in a book. Plus, I'm going the academic route so I'm not aspiring to be some uber-diagnostician like Rosai, Ackerman and those big guys. Overall, I think I will thrive here and my career will highly benefit from training here.

PM me if you have any questions/concerns/disagreements...(I may get a little flack from the Boston contingent...about that East coast mentality comment though, I'm really gonna pry into this when I visit the Boston programs.)

Random thought - I think all high-powered academic centers will have malignant characteristics. However, working in an isolationistic, sink-or-swim environment is not appealing to me.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Hey Andy,
When is your Cornell interview, mine is this Monday.

Sup dude,
My Cornell interview is this coming Thursday. So after this upcoming week, we can get some Cornell interview experience posts in this hizzouse.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I brought this issue up with the PD. He admitted that the program does not "coddle" its residents, and that noone is going to give you a pat on the back for doing good work at Wash U. They expect the residents to be self-motivated and to work hard. I also brought it up with the residents. They denied being abused and I believe them. The residents seem pretty happy there.

One other thing I thought of after my interview was regarding the receptiveness to change issue (i.e., how programs will institute change based on resident feedback). WashU doesn't have a digital camera in the surg path area for example. According to a resident, they've been "fighting" to get this and don't know how long it will take. Also, they recommended a change to the autopsy rotation (it takes 3 weeks to get slides back for a given autopsy case) to decrease slide turnaround time. Instead, according to this resident, they were "punished."

I value these comments since I realize that NO residency program is perfect. There are strong aspects as well as drawbacks. However, this is one person's opinion too so I try not to make too much of a big deal out of this. To rank a program low just because it doesn't have a digital camera would be plain silly.

 

[jeff2005]

One other thing I thought of after my interview was regarding the receptiveness to change issue (i.e., how programs will institute change based on resident feedback). WashU doesn't have a digital camera in the surg path area for example. According to a resident, they've been "fighting" to get this and don't know how long it will take. Also, they recommended a change to the autopsy rotation (it takes 3 weeks to get slides back for a given autopsy case) to decrease slide turnaround time. Instead, according to this resident, they were "punished."

Interesting story - and pretty concerning in my opinion. I heard that they had a digital camera in the gross room but that it was stolen. They won't replace it until they figure out how to keep the camera from walking off. In the meantime there is a good quality regular camera.

 

[yaah]

Interesting story - and pretty concerning in my opinion. I heard that they had a digital camera in the gross room but that it was stolen. They won't replace it until they figure out how to keep the camera from walking off. In the meantime there is a good quality regular camera.

There are lots of "little issues" that you can ask about that tell you a lot about the program - like this resistance to change business. While it may not say a ton about the job opportunities and fellowships you get when you finish, it may indicate that there is little flexibility for electives, or a lack of support, etc. I always liked to ask if a program allowed you to request recuts of slides you had signed out, so you could keep them for your personal collection. Most programs said yes (or at least within reason). One very well known and famous institution said no. I found that peculiar.

Other things can involve resident interactions - do they share books? Can new textbooks that are purchased by the department and placed in the resident room for general use actually be used? Or do they "disappear" very quickly after someone "borrows" it for personal use?

Are there conferences just for residents? Run by residents for residents, e.g.? Do you have to make an appointment to see an attending for everything? Stuff like this.

 

[deschutes]

There are lots of "little issues" that you can ask about that tell you a lot about the program...

*busily scribbling* Perfect! That's the stuff I never knew enough about or figured out how to ask.

 

[jeff2005]

I've been thinking about deschutes and her negative reaction to Iowa. It reminds me of a PD who said, "Iowa? Great program! The people are wonderful there! You won't have any problem matching there though. No one's going to want to go to Iowa." Fine with me, but I actually don't think that's true since they have great residents.

 

[deschutes]

I've been thinking about deschutes and her negative reaction to Iowa. It reminds me of a PD who said, "Iowa? Great program! The people are wonderful there! You won't have any problem matching there though. No one's going to want to go to Iowa." Fine with me, but I actually don't think that's true since they have great residents.

Glad I'm in someone's thoughts

I stated for the record, and will state again, that I really have not verbalized a true "negative reaction to Iowa" If you look through my posts, you will see that I was as neutral overall about UMN as Iowa, possibly slightly more enthusiastic about MUSC. I doubt this has any reflection either way on my final ROL.

Don't anyone base their rank list on my assessments! I can barely make out my own!

 

[jeff2005]

I stated for the record, and will state again, that I really have not verbalized a true "negative reaction to Iowa" If you look through my posts, you will see that I was as neutral overall about UMN as Iowa, possibly slightly more enthusiastic about MUSC. I doubt this has any reflection either way on my final ROL.

Blah, blah, blah - we know the truth!

 

[pez head]

i've just returned from mt. sinai in miami beach. everyone was very nice, but nothing was organized. NO THING at all. they hadn't rounded up any one to interview me - like i showed up without an appointment. i sat in on an unknown conference, which was well done, but then things fell apart. they didn't have a plan for interviewing, so they didn't know what to do with me. i sat in various chairs around the hospital. no research, no book fund, and it seemed like the objectives for the different rotations weren't well defined. it's a small program (no website) and the residents were happy, so at least it was working for them.

they said this was a 2 day interview - i gathered that this is so because "nobody's around on Monday", why did they want me to come today?

after waiting about 45 minutes on one interviewer to appear, i apologized and ditched. i got stuff to DO. bid'ness to attend to.

bad vibes, man - my viscera was feeling it.. so i went back to the hotel they had recommended (a charming sec. 8 motif, a motel 3.6 if you will), rearranged my flight and fled the scene.

maybe i caught them on a bad day - i don't want to disrespect, but i definately learned a lesson.

or, look at it this way: the program could be stellar, but i didn't stick around to find out. my loss? i'll never know. but the weather was beautiful.

 

[yaah]

Stellar programs don't screw around with the interview process like that. Perhaps you did catch them on a bad day, but that is unacceptable. If they were having trouble, the least they could have done is explain it to you.

 

[pez head]

seriously!

i'm going to vcu on friday - i reckon it'll be better and free me of these clinical shackles.

 

[joedogma]

Agree with yaah, the effort that is put into recruiting/interviewing says a lot about a program. Props to you for following your instincts and gettin' outta dodge, I am not sure I would have had the nerve to leave early. My interviews have been so well planned and organized, maybe the residents are all happy because the "nobody's around monday" thing often turns into three day weekends for the residents...

 

[pez head]

yeah - i got really lucky that an earlier flight was available.
props greatly appreciated

random, pointless interjection: some lady brought a cat on the flight - weeeeird- it meow'd continuously in what i guess was a miserable fashion. it was only one cat so i can't assume she was a crazy cat lady.

 

[Mrbojangles]

OMG this interview process is killing me. I finished my eigth interview today and I have like seven more to go and one more to schedule. It's harder and harder to excite yourself and pump yourself up each time. All right enough bitchin.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Overall a good interview day. Really enjoyed my time here.

First meeting was with the chair of the department, Dr. Kumar. Great guy...we talked for over an hour and agreed on many topics regarding career options and pathways in academic pathology. I got the impression right away that he truly cares for the welfare of his residents not only during residency but beyond that. He would be a wonderful mentor to have in your corner during your career in pathology. His take on the program was this...Chicago is a smaller program than some of the others but still offers a wealth of opportunities and research. The program is VERY flexible and residency paths can be custom-tailored to meet one's needs. Another point he made is that the faculty (including himself...who is very busy as you can imagine) are genuinely nice people who would go out of their way to mentor people.

Next meeting was with the associate program director. We talked more about the program and my career options. He is a GI pathologist who does mostly basic science research. GI is considered the strongest department at U Chicago. Him and Dr. Kumar told me that there are few places that match Chicago in this field. Then we talked shop. For those who are academically oriented, the residency/postdoc program is similar to other places. You get paid PGY based salary instead of postdoc salary & they fund up to 2 years. You can work in any lab you want and during the postdoc, you still have signout duties.

After this interview, I got to meet with all of the GI pathologists throughout the day.

I got to meet a bunch of residents who were all collegial and friendly and all around happy folk. I had lunch with 4 residents who said they were all happy there. They rave about the attendings and the mentorship they receive. The surg path months are humane and you get a lot of teaching from excellent faculty which include the very well recognized Dr. Krausz. They get around 25000 specimens a year, a significant chunk of which is GI and GYN. So the residents are not too bogged down (if they work until 7 pm, it's considered a long day). Signout is somewhat general and some subspecialty.

The program director did admit that CP is a bit weak but is up-and-coming and constantly under improvement under the direction of the CP director, Dr. Miller. They are in the process of setting up a Molecular Diagnostics rotation in the future and are working towards establishing a fellowship in that field. In AP, they told me that weak areas include dermpath and neuropath.

Another very impressive aspect of the place were the facilities. Especially the surg path facilities which are new, renovated, clean, well-ventilated, etc. These rooms are all contiguous along one hallway so the facilities are quite centralized. The resident room is impressive as well. They have a multiheaded scope (I think 5 heads give or take) which really encourages residents to teach each other and share cool cases. They also have ~20 headed scope for consensus conference which takes place everyday at 2 pm. Then there is a specific "AP club" which is held at that scope at 5 pm. Residents bring a variety of cool cases from the day and discuss them with Dr. Krausz. I've heard so many good things about Dr. Krausz from a lot of the residents. He goes out of his way and will make time to teach residents and assist them during their days work.

Overall, I loved this program. They went out of their way to make this interview day a productive (and busy) one. I told Dr. Kumar from the get-go that I am leaning towards subspecializing in GI. He notified the program coordinator and PD about this and they set up some improptu interviews with all their GI people. At the drop of a hat, they made time to talk to me regarding the opportunities at Chicago. This is consistent with the open door mentality and the accessibility of attendings.

Anyways, I'm feeling a little rushed but I wanted to get this in while memories were fresh in my mind. If I didn't cover something that you would like to know about, please let me know.

Aight folks...on to NYC. Reflections on my Cornell experience will probably pop up this weekend. Yo Mr.Bojangles...what ya think man?

 

[deschutes]

i'm going to vcu on friday - i reckon it'll be better and free me of these clinical shackles.

I am desperately longing for the weekend when I take off for Columbus. Gedme outta here!

I'm on my 4th week of a very disorganized Ob/Gyn rotation right now, having just switched over to Gyn. Rounds start at 7am!

A classmate who was due to switch over to Gyn with me turned up on L&D at 8am and got the roll-eye from the residents.

The chief resident only turns up when I have a minute to sit down - and asks things like "How come you guys aren't at Grand rounds?" (Well sir, I read the package from cover to cover and there sure was no rounds schedule in there!)

I was post-call yesterday and am on-call again tonight. I have an effin 10-minute presentation on the role of low-dose ASA in pre-eclampsia on Thursday.

12 hours to go.

Can I take that fibroid uterus up to pathology?
"Here, make sure you slide the bladder blade around to the side he's working on."

 

[QuietSylph]

Here are some quick summaries... if anyone wants more detail on a particular point let me know, as I'm sure to leave things out.

UC Davis - Liked more than I expected. Small program in feel, but taking 4 residents for next year. Flexible, very relaxed atmosphere. Workload not too intense, but opportunities exist to take on more. Young approachable faculty (not many big names or the connections that go with them). Working on recruiting more faculty, especially from UCSF. Residents spend a fair chunk of time at the VA. Get your own cubicle, computer, microscope, phone. Residents seemed happy and got along well. Liked the chief-resident-to-be for next year a lot.

Univ of New Mexico - Liked a lot. Will be taking 4-5 residents for next year. Faculty very friendly, interesting, smart. Emphasized that the program is family friendly with hours almost never going past 6pm. Has the ideal 3 day surg path signout schedule with a full day to preview slides. Three months of required research. Residents go on to fellowships at great places (Stanford, MD Anderson, etc). Areas of particular strength include forensics and hematopathology. Residents get cubicles with their own scopes. Shared computers are scattered about. Parking is very cheap and convenient. Traffic isnt too bad. Lots of affordable new housing developments. Albuquerque is great with lots of outdoor activities and beautiful skies.

Univ of Arizona - Good program, had friendly faculty. Great chairman who is right at the center of most of the work done on telepathology (he contributed quite a bit to the design of microarray scopes, which are the size of a stack of 5 quarters) - he was fascinating and welcomes resident participation. Tucson was very appealing and is still affordable. Residents were pleasant. Some residents were foreign grads, some residents said they chose the program because they really wanted to stay in Tucson or AZ overall. Parking, crime, traffic all not bad.

UTSW - Also liked a lot. Taking 8 AP/CP residents next year, 2 CP. Faculty also seemed very interesting, smart, approachable. All-around strong program with lots of fellowships. Tons of interesting conferences. Call is extremely manageable. Resident facilities were nice - they get their own cubicle and laptop, though I think microscopes are shared. Residents said that surg path usually involved 12 hour days, sometimes a bit longer. Grossing is done in the morning and slides are read in the afternoon, so people apparently tend to come in early or stay late to have previewing time. Autopsies are handled in an interesting way - there are two three-month blocks of autopsy time, and in each block the last month is reserved strictly for paperwork catchup and no new cases. Research is not mandatory but is definitely available. Parking is very close and reasonably priced. Dallas has some good affordable suburbs, though traffic can really prolong commutes. Residents were truly awesome - I really felt comfortable with them and enjoyed their presence.

 

[garfield]

UTSW - Also liked a lot.... Residents said that surg path usually involved 12 hour days, sometimes a bit longer. Grossing is done in the morning and slides are read in the afternoon, so people apparently tend to come in early or stay late to have previewing time. Autopsies are handled in an interesting way - there are two three-month blocks of autopsy time, and in each block the last month is reserved strictly for paperwork catchup and no new cases... Residents were truly awesome - I really felt comfortable with them and enjoyed their presence.

A couple of extremely minor, nitpicky corrections. 1) The surg path hours are usually not that long, even for the average first year, unless you count the amount of time sitting around chatting and Internet surfing. 2) There is only one three month block of autopsy time in your first year (two months hospital autopsies, one month for writing/catchup), then as a senior resident there is a two month block (one month hospital autopsies, one month at the ME). Thanks for the compliment... the people interviewing here have also been really cool, too.

 

[Gut Shot]

Univ of New Mexico - Liked a lot.

Hey, QuietSylph. I liked New Mexico too, but I was a bit cheesed off at how they arranged my interview schedule. I was hoping to meet the PD, the chair, and Kathryn Foucar. After a pleasant meeting with the PD, I was taken to the chair's office and she never showed. While waiting in her office (for 40 minutes) I learned she had a meeting at TriCore (off site labs) that was set to end at the same time my interview with her was supposed to begin. I guess the teleporter was broken, so she couldn't zap over to her office instantaenously.

By the time that was over, and I had met with someone at OMI (really nice, by the way), my trip to meet Dr. Foucar at TriCore had to be cancelled and I went straight to Presbyt. When I got back to the department for lunch the residents expressed surprise that I wasn't incredibly late (which I would have been, had part of my schedule not been nixed). I suppose that was the norm.

In the end I feel utterly conflicted. The program is obviously very good, with excellent fellowship placements, etc. But I'm still irritated by the utter ineptness with which my interview day was carried out. I wasn't spending the time, effort and money to go through Albuquerque just for kicks.

Did any of this happen to you?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Hey, QuietSylph. I liked New Mexico too, but I was a bit cheesed off at how they arranged my interview schedule. I was hoping to meet the PD, the chair, and Kathryn Foucar. After a pleasant meeting with the PD, I was taken to the chair's office and she never showed. While waiting in her office (for 40 minutes) I learned she had a meeting at TriCore (off site labs) that was set to end at the same time my interview with her was supposed to begin. I guess the teleporter was broken, so she couldn't zap over to her office instantaenously.

A similar thing happened to me. It threw off my interview schedule a little bit at the start but things worked out at the end. But yes, this is frustrating.

 

[QuietSylph]

Did any of this happen to you?

Actually, my day went really smoothly. In fact, I got to leave early for lunch with the residents (which they did indicate was unusual). However, my itinerary did not include meetings with Dr. Lipscomb or Dr. Foucar, and it's my guess that those two are busy enough that interviews with them can throw off the day.

The program coordinator also told me that she was new and that this was her first interview season to oversee, so I am guessing she is not as assertive with the reminders as are other program coordinators (who usually seemed hyper-organized and detail-oriented). That probably accounts for a lot of the scheduling issues.

What did you think of the program otherwise? How did you like the residents and their facilities, etc?

 

[Zoloft]

I interview at Mt. Sinai next week. Anyone have any interview reviews?

 

[Gut Shot]

I interview at Mt. Sinai next week. Anyone have any interview reviews?

Aside from the rather unflattering one that Pez_Head posted earlier in this thread?

 

[Gut Shot]

What did you think of the program otherwise? How did you like the residents and their facilities, etc?

Otherwise I thought the program was pretty tight. The rotations appeared very organized, the surg path schedule was a nice 3 day cycle, the hours were good (work but not overwork), the volume and variety appeared to be excellent, and the book fund was hefty (as I recall). The residents all looked quite satisfied and were complimentary to the faculty and locale. In fact, the two that took me to lunch were both displaced New Yorkers, and they found UNMH and Albuquerque to be great, despite the rather drastic contrast to Syracuse and *The City*. I also thought the integration of the university with OMI was a nice touch, and potentially a great learning tool.

I don't think I got a great feel for the facilities, although they seemed adequate at the very least. The exception might have been the many flavors of stench that were prevalent in the different areas of the OMI. That place is definitely in need of a razing.

In summary, I think it would be a solid place to do residency, with few (if any) major drawbacks or deficiencies in the training. In my mind the question is whether I would rather be somewhere else. I can't say where I would rank them since I decided to keep that info to myself, but UNM is certainly going on my rank list.

 

[deschutes]

Aside from the rather unflattering one that Pez_Head posted earlier in this thread?

I think that was Mt. Sinai Miami Beach. I didn't apply to no Mt. Sinai, but Miami Beach doesn't sound like the City.

 

[Zoloft]

I think that was Mt. Sinai Miami Beach. I didn't apply to no Mt. Sinai, but Miami Beach doesn't sound like the City.

Yeah there is a BIG difference between The Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC and Mt. Sinai Miami Beach.

 

[pez head]

affirmative, it was the beach

 

[sandyworks]

Anyone know when the day at MGH ends? My last experience with getting out of Boston around 4pm via the turnpike was absolutely awful...(of course that was during the Red Sox's sweep).

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Anyone know when the day at MGH ends? My last experience with getting out of Boston around 4pm via the turnpike was absolutely awful...(of course that was during the Red Sox's sweep).

My day at MGH ended around 5 pm. However, I interviewed on a Monday (which is when the MD/PhD applicants interview). We had a few interviews down at Charlestown which made the day longer so your day may end much earlier than 5 pm. What time were you planning on trying to get out of Boston?

 

[GreatPumpkin]

I'll look forward to further comments on UNC, as I have my interview there in the near future.

I didn't know much about MCV prior to interviewing, but I came away impressed. The interview day was laid-back (as most path interviews seem to be) with lots of time with the residents. The faculty interviews, with one exception, were positive and interested in a mutual exchange of information. As for the program, it is one of the most well-balanced I've seen, with one of the strongest CP programs anywhere. The residents were sharp yet friendly and laid-back, and seemed happy with their program and had great relationships with one another. The environment seemed supportive and learning-oriented. They have adequate PA support. Their facilities are really nice, with a sparkling new gross room, a cool aphoresis area and a brand new molecular lab that unfortunately they don't let applicants view. Most of their grads seem to wind up in private practice, but a good number do fellowships. A minority go into academics. Richmond seems to be a great place to live. It is affordable to live there and even buy a house, has city cultural opportunities but is close to outdoor activities, and has a cool historic downtown with an allegedly adequate night-life (did not actually witness this myself on a weekday evening). Also, it's very well-situated being 2 hours from DC, 2 hrs from the beach and a few hours from the mountains. The downsides seemed to be that there is no hotseat experience, only the senior residents do frozens to any meaningful extent, and 1st yrs do not dictate diagnoses (in fact, it was not clear to me when, if at any point, residents begin to dictate their own reports). Again, the senior residents did not seem to feel this was an issue, though none of them had taken boards yet. Overall I was very impressed with the program, and the interview definitely bumped them up a few notches on my mental ROL.

Glad you had a good time with us.

Couple of notes
We never dictate the diagnosis, but are expected to write them out from day one. This gives the attendings the chance to see what you have written prior to signout and modify it if they so choose.

You learn to do frozens within the first month and are expected to participate in them right away. We do not have a specific person that does them everyday so the upper level residents tend to do more just because they are more efficient with the rest of their work. And, as a 4th year we take around 6 weeks of attending call for frozens.

Hotseat is available as an elective.

 

[cytoborg]

Glad you had a good time with us.

Couple of notes
We never dictate the diagnosis, but are expected to write them out from day one. This gives the attendings the chance to see what you have written prior to signout and modify it if they so choose.

You learn to do frozens within the first month and are expected to participate in them right away. We do not have a specific person that does them everyday so the upper level residents tend to do more just because they are more efficient with the rest of their work. And, as a 4th year we take around 6 weeks of attending call for frozens.

Hotseat is available as an elective.

Hey thanks a lot Rob for those clarifications. You addressed all of my concerns! They weren't even really "concerns" for me as my main criteria are how happy the residents were and the overall vibe I got...both were great. But thanks for correcting me so other SDNers don't get misinformed.

 

[GreatPumpkin]

Hey thanks a lot Rob for those clarifications. You addressed all of my concerns! They weren't even really "concerns" for me as my main criteria are how happy the residents were and the overall vibe I got...both were great. But thanks for correcting me so other SDNers don't get misinformed.

Yeah, we generally have a great time. We are having a super bowl party this weekend at on of the first years house (she has a 50" TV woo hooo).

A couple of our services (surg path and blood bank) are very very busy and we work hard. But, that is how it goes at most large places. I have never worked over 80 hours, but been close to 70 two or three times.

 

[deschutes]

UMinnesota

My #1. What more can I say? Every time I flew through en route to other interview destinations, I looked longingly out the window.

Doesn't advertise itself much. The website is unfortunately a little out of date. I think they received ~180 applications this cycle. Has tended to take equal #s of AMGs and IMGs in the past, though the trend seems to be favouring AMGs.

6 spots this match, with a +1 outside the match.

The PD has a habit of surprising people in their own homes on weekends with interview invites. I think he thinks it's more personal that way He was going to call me tonight (he wouldn't have found me, since I am on call) but I beat him to it.

Residents rotate through the UH, VA, county hospital and private hospital. (Somewhat like my home institution's set-up, which was perhaps why I am more amenable to multiple sites than others might be... *shrugs*) Combined load of 42k surgicals/year.

My interview day was at the Fairview University Med Ctr and I was a little disappointed at the facilities there, but am told the Hennepin County MC (Level I Trauma Ctr) has first rate facilities.

Very flexible, strong CP, AP while perhaps not as strong as they were historically is still excellent. Has plugged its dermpath hole. Equal numbers of grads to academics/private practice. Academics placed to MSK and I believe Hopkins and Mayo among others.

"Distant but warm" is how I initially felt about the place: The people were great but I couldn't wrap my head around the program. I finally chalked it down to sheer diversity. The place has potential, and I'm a sucker for potential.

I stayed only 24 hours and it rained for most of that time, but I loved it to bits. And I didn't even make it downtown or to the Mall of America.

They were the only place I considered going for a 2nd visit and had pretty much invited myself but had to pull out because with USCAP I couldn't get any more time off.

I received a "Do you have any questions?" call which was very nice, because I did have questions - although not written down next to the phone as the rumour goes I did get a "We hope to see you here in July", but it was the answers to the questions I had that weighed in more heavily.

I ended up ranking them above NWU because while NWU doesn't have all of Chicago, UMN has all of MSP as catchment.

 

[deschutes]

Northwestern Chicago

Another 24-hour trip. What a way to round off the interview trail! Having never visited Chicago and thinking its appeal would be lost on me, I didn't expect to fall so completely and totally head-over-heels. I got from O'Hare to downtown and back again for I think $1.50 - a lady shoved a valid CTA pass in my hand as I was trying to figure out the vending machine.

Surprisingly affordable groceries (no Cherry Limeade; but they had blackberries in January for heaven's sake), very clean, extremely walkable. I had the option of walking Michigan Avenue vs. Lake Michigan and I chose the lake.

The PD told our group that "everything you could possibly want is within a 1.2 mile radius of where you are sitting now", and I believe him.

The work environment i.e. the hospital is legendary.

Not much to add to what has already been said, except to say that the program, the conferences and the interview day struck me as being very well-structured and organized (although I don't know if the latter was because it was the end of January - I twisted their arm into phone interviewing me and then converted that into an invitation to interview on-site and the PD agreed to do one last slot).

They have only 2 months of electives. This had appealed to me because I sure as hell didn't know what was important to learn. There seemed to be an emphasis on Peds path in the rotation breakdown we received that I didn't see in other places I visited - although I don't know if this is because the Children's is a separate site.

P.S. The infamous panel interview... I spent 2 weeks mulling over an answer to SLUsagar's posted question of "Describe a situation in which you thought you succeeded but failed, and what you learnt from it"... and when I got there nothing remotely close came up.

 

[DasN]

gettting closer