Interview experiences

[dochubert]

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I was wondering if anyone thought it might be a good idea to start a thread where we can post our interview experiences after we have visited programs?

 

[irlandesa]

agree with above idea.. My first scheduled interview isn't until Nov. 24 at this point, but I would greatly appreciate hearing about anyone's experiences (particularly at New England programs).
So far scheduled interviews at:
Brown(Dec. 1), Dartmouth (Dec. 6), St. Vincent's-Manhattan (Nov.24), NYMC-Westchester (Dec. 10), Albany Medical Center (Dec. 21). Haven't scheduled GWU or RWJ yet.

Please remind me later on to post about these interviews; would be happy to share.

 

[bof]

this might be a helpful thread after most of us have started interviewing, don't you think?

 

[mackie]

Great idea! It is November now and a few programs start interviews in late October, so I think this was a decent time to start this thread. 👍

 

[peptidoglycan]

I have my first interview on Friday. I'll make sure to tell everyone how it goes!

 

[irlandesa]

ended up getting bumped to Nov. 15 at Dartmouth, UVM and Rochester may also be in November. good luck!

 

[irlandesa]

OK, just bumping this thread up with a list of my rearranged interview dates, please remind me to share my interview experiences in the rare event that I actually get a life and stop posting on here every day LOL.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock-Nov. 15
Tufts-NEMC-prob. sometime in Nov; Tufts students get some flexibility here
Brown-Dec. 1
UMass-Dec.3
BU-Dec. 6
Lahey Clinic-Dec. 9
Jefferson-hopefully Dec. 10 or 13, waiting for them to call me back
Maryland-hopefully Dec. 14, if not, will have to take Dec. 9 (assuming that is available) and rearrange Lahey since I can go there anytime
UVM-Dec. 16
Rochester-Dec. 20
Albany-may cancel if I get too overwhelmed, but Dec. 21 at present
NYMC-St. Vincent's-Dec. 29 (had to reschedule due to jury duty)
Baystate (if they are kind enough to interview me): January, as I'll be out there anyway

 

[peptidoglycan]

So, I had my first interview last Friday at Tulane. First off, I have to admit that I am a little biased with this being my home institution. I also doubt that my experiences will mirror most outsiders' experiences at the Tulane interview simply because I already knew everybody.

Thursday night was a pre-interview gathering at Dr. Wiese's house. Dr. Wiese is the program director and an amazing man on top. He lives in a really cool old New Orleans house, which he opens up to his residents to make this night a meaningful one for the interviewing students. It was casual -- people showed up in jeans and T-shirts, and hamburgers and chips were served. Beer and wine were on tap with some of the hard stuff available for those brave enough to want to drink heavily the night before an interview. Most of the interviewing students headed out by 10, but apparently the residents hung around for several more hours playing pool and drinking, and a few even headed out to a dance club until about 330 AM.

Friday started at 8 with an introduction by the program coordinators and then Dr. Wiese. They really tried to sell us the place, a totally different technique than was used for most of the med school interviews I went on. After Wiese said his part about the mission of the program, about serving the truly underserved at Charity Hospital, about turning down a full-time position at UCSF where he did his residency and fellowship, Dr. Puschett, chairman of IM came in for a minute. He lends an air of respectability and worldliness to the place that is a nice balance to Dr. Wiese's youth and vigor. Wiese then talked a little more and sent us off to interviews. We each had 3 interviews, and mine were with a resident (next year's chief), a current chief, and a staff physician. I had mentioned in my personal statement a possible interest in ID and the staff physician I was paired with was in the ID section. These initerviews were all very laid back and comfortable. The resident especially made the point that you have to want to be at the program you end up matching to. He emphasized how much he loves Tulane and how he enjoys the attitude of all his colleagues. He said there is so much autonomy there that you can get yourself in trouble. If you are not the most self-disciplined person, you can easily get caught becoming mediocre. If you get involved and work hard, though, you have no choice but to become great.
After the interview portion, all the residents and faculty met for lunch. The applicants were then taken on a tour of Charity Hospital and Tulane Hospital. We also have a VA and another hospital, but since I was a Tulane student I didn't stay around long enough during the tour to find out if they went over there.
I then went back to Dr. Wiese's office where he does "Two Minutes with the Program Director." He takes each student into his office individually and talks to him or her about the day. If the student has an unresolved issue or a question, a complaint or a compliment, he is there to listen. After this, if people are up to it, he will walk with you down the street to the bar and have drinks with you.
That evening, the residents got together at a bar on Bourbon St and invited the interviewing students to join them for drink specials and a little pool. Some nights they head to a local dance club instead. Either way, it's a fun, relaxing way to end the day, and it gives you one more chance to see the residents in their natural environment.

So, that's it. If anyone has any questions, fire away or PM me.

 

[irlandesa]

hmm.. the last review kind of makes me wish I had applied to Tulane. Anyway, here is the low down on Dartmouth:
The night before the interview, the residents and interviewees and sig. others meet at a local restaurant for drinks and dinner. It was a bit hard to talk to many residents individually, but everyone seemed very nice, and I talked with one resident in the primary care track for sometime about why she chose Dartmouth and what was special about the program. Most people are big fans of the outdoors and do a lot of hiking and skiing, which is great with me!

On the day of the interview, the program director came and talked to us about how much he liked Dartmouth, then we went to morning report, then on a tour of the hospital (one of the most beautiful hospitals I've ever seen), then I had an interview with the co-program director (we each had 1 interview). She was really nice and approachable, and answered all my questions (including those I was thinking of asking so I didn't end up having to ask them!) and told me why she came to DHMC for her residency and later as an attending and primary care physician. The chief resident then gave us a detailed slideshow about the program, followed by lunch, noon conference, and a wrap-up at the end of the day where the program director offered to meet with anyone who had questions.

What I liked:
1)Can tell the faculty and program directors are really friendly, enthusiastic, and genuinely value the residents.
2)Great morning report, described as "rigorous academic environment", and teaching appears to be outstanding.
3)Geniunely happy, talented residents who seem to have good comraderie.

Minuses:
One of the main reasons cited by people for choosing Dartmouth is that it is not in the city or they wanted to escape from the city. While I like the outdoor aspects of the area and the idea of living in a different environment, I don't dislike city living at all (in fact Boston is a great city, and liked living in Baltimore City as well) and don't know how well I'd fit in b/c of this. Also, I didn't get the impression that Lebanon and Hanover are great places for a single person, as ~60% of the residents are married, and over half of those have kids.

Overall, I liked the program and people a lot, but it may not be the best match for me.. But there are more interviews to be done, so we'll see..

BTW, I forgot to mention; I think I met one of the posters on here at my interview (based on where he was talking about going to interview next and had already interviewed, and his name even began with the same letter as the SDN moniker) who claimed on this board that he went to a "lesser-known" school.. Guess what, that lesser known school is a top 25 program, so don't believe everything you hear on here! And I think as far as schools go, might as well give credit where credit is due; I know that with my stats the Tufts name helped me quite a bit, as my credentials are not spectacular.

 

[peptidoglycan]

Anybody have any new experiences to share?

I'm moving this weekend, but as soon as I get the chance I'll throw up my thoughts on Colorado from last weekend.

Good luck to all!

 

[irlandesa]

None here; just been working on scheduling/unscheduling interviews, studying for Step II, and enjoying Thanksgiving since I came back from Dartmouth.. However, I have Brown and UMass this coming week, BU and Lahey the week after that, Step II CS and Maine Med the week after that, St. Vincent's-NYMC during the last week of December, and Baystate, Yale (weekend date!), and hopefully Maryland in January (given my schedule, the Dec. 16 date they had available doesn't work for me anymore, have to try to change). Still waiting on BIDMC, and waiting for NEMC to give me an interview date (this is a long story that makes me want to go to NEMC even less than I already did). So I will keep posting. Would love to hear about Colorado as I'm a bit interested in moving west when I grow up😉 Good luck to all!

 

[pretzel]

You guys are really on top of things. Logging in for the first time on this site.

Visited Wash U. Residents seemed very happy and treated well, buildings and facilities are very well-maintained. St. Louis is not so desirable -- some residents told me that it's not uncommon that residents get mugged if they walk home late at night after work, town seems more for couples than singles (I'm generalizing, but no big city around), but Forest Park is supposed to be very nice with museums and shops and bike path for miles. PD is very sharp, very warm, gives a nice impression of the program. Residents said the chair is not very involved with them (read this as you will). Treated interviewees very nicely, was fed 3 times in 8 hours. Residents were all genuinely nice people and happy there, did not feel like they were smiling for us.

Great idea to exchange experiences. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[peptidoglycan]

Went to Colorado:

Night before was a pre-party at the Wynkoop or something that sounds like that. There were ~25 applicants there and only 2 (yes, you heard me right) interns. I also ran across one second year resident and 3 or 4 chiefs. There program is 148 strong, so this representation was less than impressive. I did enjoy my talks with the Nebraska couple and the UTSW girls. I thought the preparty was a chance to get to know the residents, but I guess they saw it differently. And no, the PD was not there.

On interview day we went over to the hospital and were met in the lobby and brought up to a conference room. There the chiefs ran the show, introducing us to the people who run medicine at the 5 hospitals out of which they work. We got an overview of the hospitals and a talk from the chief residents about the time we will spend at each.

We were then broken into groups and led to the buildings in which we would be interviewed. We each had 2 interviews, both with faculty (no resident input here). The interviewers seemed very nice (I interviewed with the PD who is a very interesting guy, and very entertaining to talk to -- he's an older guy, 60s-ish, nephrologist from the Midwest via Boston, been in Colorado for a long while, likes running and elliptucal machine, reading, and "stories" ) and pretty laid back, working off a form with questions.

Next was Morning Report either at the VA or at UH. I was at UH and I was sorely unimpressed with the case I saw and the way the whole thing was run. No attending was even in the room. Chief resident ran the whole thing and I thought a lot was glossed over that should have been discussed. Lasted about 30 minutes.

Next we went to lunch. They had very nice box lunches for us. This time there were several interns there to talk to (I spoke with maybe 3) and they all said several times that they work hard and that if anyone tells you they are fully complying with the 80 hours work week, they are lying. Apparently, they have had a hard time complying at Denver General, the public hospital. They do have plans to get an extra hospitalist service over there to take some overflow sometime in the very very near future. They also have a day float system employed in order to cut down on scutwork.

After lunch, we boarded a bus to see the new fancy hospital at the old FitzSimmons Army base. Wow, this place is super fancy. Designed by Disney. We won't be able to work there until our 3rd years (unless you're on their unofficial hospitalist track), but it ought to be a very cool place to work. About 15 minutes away from the main campus, but they are all planning to move out there in the next 8 years or so.

Lastly they brought us back to the UH for an informal "ask the interns" session. Big problem though: only one ontern showed up. And he said the same things we had heard over and over for 2 days. Ugh.

So, I'm worried that they work harder over there than they let on and that they don't have the sense of camaraderie that I want, but we'll see as the trail goes on. Denver is, of course, a lovely place and would be an amazing place to live.

Okay, next!

 

[Filter]

NYU:

Started the morning with conference. Than given a talk by the Chair of Medicine and the PD. They seemed to emphasize the degree of autonomy granted at NYU and seemed really forthright and intelligent. Following this the chief residents gave a talk about the rotation schedule and so- forth. The Program seems pretty rigorous, lots of call at Tisch Hospital (2 short call, 1 long in a 4 day cycle....only 1 call free day (yikes)...although they say u only get 2-3 pts on the short calls. ), lots of work as bellevue (as you would expect). But, overall the residents I talked to seemed to like the program and looked like they could handle anything. After the chiefs talk and interview/tour, went to noon conferece, ate and talked with residents/interns, many of whom were available.

Overall: The program seems well suited for people who really like getting their hands dirty and working hard. The program rewards you with a confidence few hospitals but bellevue could give you. The faculty seem bright, accessable, and willing to get people involved in research. However, with this excellent clinical training comes long days, and poor ancillary services....although they appear to be improving. (the interns said they would routinely stay till 6-7 pm, and would admit over caps at times) . The lack of housing is also a drawback. The fellowship list is outstanding... they match really well in all fields, and seem to attract really bright, hard-working residents. ...So in all, this program is great for those seeking a high powered, hands on, clinical training program and who aren't afraid of being the hardest working residents in NYC.

 

[irlandesa]

Interviewed at Brown yesterday; won't go over the whole day since the schedule is almost identical to other places, but here's a summary:
Morning report at Rhode Island Hospital didn't have a huge attendance considering the size of the program, but I'm told this is due to the fact that we were interviewing on Resident Switch Day. However, the PD attends EVERY single morning report and participates fully. I interviewed with one of the PD's and he was GREAT to talk to; geniunely cared about finding out what I was looking for in a program and what Brown specifically had to offer to meet my interests. He even drew a map for me about where people live with respect to the location of the 3 different hospitals! As for the tour, RIH seems nice but didn't blow me away in terms of appearance (that's OK, I'm not picking programs based on hospital beauty); they have developed a nicely organized computer sign-out system that impressed me. All of the residents I met seemed really happy and enthusiastic about Brown, and there reportedly is a good balance of singles and married people, not too many ppl w/kids. After lunch (Indian food, which I love!), we took a shuttle bus over to the Miriam Hospital, which is a smaller community hospital with a renowed Immunology/HIV clinic, where we met with other residents, heard about International Health Opportunities, and ate ice cream. Overall, I was very impressed with this program, and will rank it in my top 3. There was really nothing that struck me as blatantly negative. But my dinner just popped out of the oven, so I'll write more later. good luck!

New note today: not much new to add about Brown, except that I think one would receive excellent training at this program, and the PD's were probably the most involved with the residents that I've seen so far. The only thing that may keep me from making it my first choice is that I'd probably prefer living in Boston over Providence (though Providence seemed very liveable) as my family is here and moving is never that fun. I'll just have to see what my impressions of BU are on Monday.

 

[irlandesa]

just got back from Woostah a few hours ago. Given that this program is in Worcester, I was a little worried that this program was not one that med students from any type of program would be all that enthusiastic about matching at. Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact, the reason the majority of US grads there come from UMass Medical School is that the UMass students absolutely love the learning environment there and want to stay on. Everyone I met was enthusiastic and happy to be there, and the comraderie and socializing seemed to be good. Most IMG's were at the top of their class, many were MD/PhD, and a good # chose UMass b/c they had enjoyed their pre-residency research experiences there. I was actually pleasantly surprised by Worcester; the University Hospital (one of 3 training sites) is near a lake with a state park, and according to the residents there are plenty of good bars and pubs. In fact, during interview season, they invite applicants to come out to Worcester for get-togethers with the residents at a local bar.
Overall, I thought this was a great program and I liked it way more than I expected to! One special aspect of this program is that all teaching attendings are required to spend one consecutive month doing attending rounds at a given site, with no interruptions or confusing schedule changes. It seems like residents have a good amount of autonomy, but the faculty and attendings are always there to help. This is a very similar program to Brown in terms of its' strengths and the program format. The main difference between UMass and the other New England programs is in the makeup of the residents, and the location is considered less desirable. I have to admit that I'd probably enjoy being at a program with more single people and would probably prefer to stay in Boston (liked Providence as well). It all depends on your preferences. Good luck, and feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[Renea]

Greetings! This is my first visit to this forum, and I thought I would provide my input on a couple of programs I have seen on the interview trail.

CASE: Looked at both programs, MetroHealth and Univ Hosps.
Metro is a great public hospital that specializes in providing care to indigent patients--they have great social work/pharm services to facilitate that, too. They have a q5 call system--however, you are always q5, even on ambulatory months. I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with the PD and he impressed me as a person truly dedicated to the residents and Metro Hospital. Residents I met were very friendly and welcoming, and seemed thrilled with the education and teaching at Metro. The drawbacks for me: several residents mentioned that they scrambled for spots here and I met a few American IMGs--it seems they are having difficulty attracting top candidates, and I imagine that it is very difficult to break out of that vicious cycle. Also, although they seem dedicated to teaching and pride themselves on being an "anti-pimping" program, I was not very impressed with the morning report. Finally, single hospital program without VA (minus for me).

Case Univ Hosps: Strong academic program, rotating at both the Univ hospital and the local VA (which is gorgeous!). I enjoyed my dinner with residents (although a lot of ppl there so hard to talk with residents), and the morning report was better than at Metro (to be fair, it was a Chief's presentation). Also really enjoyed my interview with an assistant PD--she was really cool and convinced me that CASE is a great program. I did not get a warm, fuzzy vibe from the PD, but he was nice enough and took the time to meet with all of us for a brief exit interview. The residents seem very happy here, although they talked almost too much about how great it was to live in Cleveland. You also take a bus tour through a neighborhood with a lot of big houses.
Drawbacks for me: The hospital floors seemed quiet and kind of deserted--four patients in the unit--lots of empty beds on the floors, too. Also, for me, this program may be a little too cush for me--I am looking for that magic balance of a little cush + down n' dirty medicine.

Wash U: In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Wash U student and I have really enjoyed medical school and in particular my medicine rotations here. That being said, I think there is sometimes a tendency to take your home program for granted. Imagine how glad I was to leave my interview day here thinking, WOW--we have a great program here! I agree with the previous poster: residents are very happy here, the teaching conferences are great, and (important to me) they have a VA where residents rotate 1 (maybe 2) months/year. There are ample opportunities and support for research here as well. I know that I will have a lot of options open to me as a graduate of this residency program.
Having relocated here from near Austin, TX, I can say that St. Louis has grown on me quite a bit. There are a lot of cultural things to do here (symphony, museums, university events/theater), we get our fair share of live music, and we have some nice parks. I also like that the cost of living is very reasonable.
A previous poster mentioned that muggings are "not uncommon." From my experience here, the most common type of crime in the West End (near med center) is car vandalism. I think, like any big city, you have to be careful walking around at night--we have a security escort service and they have been prompt the couple of times I have called them. Our University has a very open reporting policy that sends out ALERTS on any campus incident--often the same message gets forwarded to us by different ppl--maybe this makes it seem like there are more incidents than there actually are???
All in all, I have been happy here at Wash U and in St. Louis and I would be very happy to stay here, too.

Wow--this is long. I will try to post about other interviews later--
Appreciated the information on Brown.

 

[irlandesa]

Interviewed at BU on Monday and overall really liked it. B/c it is a large program, there are 6 different PD's, we met most of them and they all seemed to be very enthusiastic and caring. BU is a program that takes pride in its' mission to care for underserved populations at Boston City Hospital, and has a large # of affiliated community health centers in the Boston area. The Primary Care track is amazing and has a long history of turning out General Internists in academic medicine and/or community practice, the fellowship matches are strong in both tracks, and I personally love living in Boston. I enjoyed my interview with one of the program directors, who was more concerned with making sure I was informed about the program and was very conversational.The main drawback of the interview day was that we didn't get to meet as many residents as I would have liked at the luncheons as the residents are split up among the 3 hospitals and other ambulatory care centers (and work very hard). The ones I did meet, however, were enthusiastic and glad to have been at BU. At this point, I would rank this program #1 or #2 on my list b/c of a)amazing diverse population (both residents and patients!) and breadth of training, b)location, and c)opportunity to work with BID and BWH residents at the W. Roxbury VA. However, if you are averse to urban hospitals, don't want to live in any kind of city, or are quite politically/socially conservative (BU has a residents' union and seems to be a very liberal institution), this is not the program for you. The workload is tough, but did not seem horribly unreasonable in contrast to rumors I've heard. Please feel free to PM me with any questions. Glad to have 3 programs that I would rank in my top #4 at this point. Going to Lahey Clinic tomorrow.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Anyone interview at UVA yet?

 

[Renea]

Interview at UVA: Strong, academic program centered at one, large hospital (very nice facility, by the way!) that has few/no private patients. They currently have a interesting call system on wards: teams take night call every 5th week on service (basically a week of night float as a team) with transition weekends on both sides of the night week. Residents seemed very happy there, the teaching conferences were some of the best I've seen to date on the trail. Also, both conferences were very well attended. The PD spoke about the unique "esprit de corps" at UVA, and I have to say, I felt that there was something great about the place. It's only the second program of six where I felt at home and could see myself there in the future. Charlottesville seems like a liveable city with a large university to supply some cultural events, and ppl do come from all over the country for residency.
Drawbacks for me: one hospital system, althought residents felt they saw a diversity of patients. C-ville is pretty, but 200,000 may be small for some. I have some key programs to see yet, but this one is high on my list for now.

I also checked out MCV the next day, and I was very impressed with that program as well. Great PDs, very dedicated to teaching with a strong conference. They have a very old hospital (and sounds like they are beginning the process of building quite a bit--they have a new patient building) where residents do 60% of their rotations, the other 40% at a referral center VA (transplant service, all sorts of things I didn't know the VA could do!). They seem dedicated to attracting and retaining a core of faculty dedicated to teaching, and several residents told me you could not beat MCV for patient diversity. They seemed pretty happy there as well, and wre some of the nicest people I have met thus far. Richmond is a larger city, and seemed to have a good number of restaurants, etc--I am not sure about cultural events.
Drawbacks for me: Although the VA is lovely, the main hospital leaves something to be desired. The program has a strong regional reputation, but I am not sure about nationally--their residents do seem to get some good fellowships, and they say that ppl generally get 1st or 2nd choice--but is it just me or do all the programs say that?

I hope this is helpful!

 

[irlandesa]

This is not a program that many people on here will probably interview at, so I'll keep this brief. This is a smaller program with ~12 categorical residents in each year and a sprinkling of prelim interns. Lahey's independent IM residency only came into play about 10 years ago, and its' tight affiliation with Tufts has been in place for ~6 years. So this is an up and coming program with plenty of potential. AM report was quite good, and the teaching attending was super enthusiastic and bright. The only drawback is that attendance could have been better, and the attending did more talking than all of the residents combined. The program director seems very nice and approachable, faculty interviews were very low-key, and the residents were an intelligent, pleasant bunch. As a Tufts student who rotated through GI here, I can tell you that the attendings and fellows here are probably the brightest of any I've ever met.

Pluses:
1)Major teaching affiliate at Tufts with ample opportunity to participate in med student education.
2)Nice mix of university/community program, doesn't really fit into either category.
3)Good balance of Gen. Med and subspecialty medicine
4) Strong relationships between attendings and residents
5)Hospitalist service covers admissions between 7AM-12:30PM so residents/interns can attend to their duties and go to conferences; this also has some minuses.

Minuses:
1)Traffic is a nuisance unless you live in Woburn, walking or biking to work here is simply not an option no matter how you play it.
2) When I asked some of the residents why they chose LCMC, they mostly mentioned not liking Boston and made some unnecessarily disparaging comments about BU. I know BU is not for everyone, but I generally prefer it when people try to convey their enthusiasm for their program rather than bashing others. I also felt the enthusiasm was a bit lacking compared to nearly all of the programs I've interviewed at so far.
3)Whole new wing of the hospital is being built, with some new medical beds. One interviewer told me they are already short on IM residents and he doesn't know if they'll be expanding the # of residents to fit the new demand.
4)Confusing information regarding where residents attended school and on ABIM pass rates. Although I know that there are residents from Finch/CMS and LECOM, for example, I did not see these schools listed in the handout they gave us. Also, they said their residents had a 100% ABIM pass rate in 2003, but the presentation at Dartmouth said the pass rate (don't know for what year(s)), was ~77%.
Overall, a young but solid program, I would encourage anyone who has an interest in GI and/or prefers smaller programs in suburbia to check it out.

 

[irlandesa]

Anyone interview at UVA yet?

I ran into an old friend at my BU interview who had just interviewed at UVA and she loved it. I didn't get too many details, but the academics are top-notch and she said the residents were the happiest and most enthusiastic she'd met so far. Interestingly enough, she is in the middle of her class with all HP's during 3rd year, 220-something on Step 1, no Step 2 yet, mid-tier state school, and also was invited to interview at Duke, UNC, and BIDMC! Just some hope for those of you out there worrying like I did! I also met another person on the interview trail who is an SGU student who also interviewed at UVA; she was very impressed by the hospital and area, but felt that the program might not be for her as it is not particularly IMG-friendly.

 

[mattaustein]

I was wondering if anyone thought it might be a good idea to start a thread where we can post our interview experiences after we have visited programs?

JOHNS HOPKINS: basically incredibly impressive...insane hours intern year...but chill later in years 2 and 3....massively front loaded....q4 overnight call...almost choice of fellowships from here...but you have to live in Baltimore and be able to go a year without sleep.

COLUMBIA: great repuation...again, almost choice of fellowship from here...2 attendings per team....somwhat like the NYU/Bellevue program squished into one hospital...similar mix of patients....autonomy....but more work and eventually, more reward. But no warm/fuzzy feelings here people.

NYU: The perfect place for someone who wants to be a doctor TOMORROW....they throw you in head first....(with good backup)...unbelievable clinical education (probably the best in NYC)....very good fellowship placement....weak point is TONS of scut and POOR ancillary support. Great group of residents who genuinely like what they do and eachother. One step down from JH and C in terms of reputation.

Mt. SAINI, CORNELL, EINSTEIN to follow...

 

[carol ann]

I am all for the quick and dirty -- I'd love to discuss any of these programs on forum or through PM...I just haven't had the time to do in depth summaries

1. Duke - Clearly an excellent program with program staff and faculty who are very dedicated to their resident education. Lots and lots of fellowship people (over 50% of class usually ends up in CARDS), but the primary careish people that I talked about said that they did not feel marginalized or pressured. Residents were a pretty nice bunch, although clearly much more intense than at any other program I have been to.

2. Alabama - Birmingham - great program, intelligent and VERY PERSONABLE residents. As expected, most of their residents tend to come from the deep south. Faculty that they roll out on interview day are very nice. Birmingham is a very nice little city. I wish that this school was closer to some of my extended family -- It will make it in my rank list, but probably top 5, not top three.

3. Vandy - I had a great day, felt like the residents were very intelligent and they were very insistent that they were happy. I liked the location of the medical campus and the proximity of the VA. The program has a significant dedication to resident conferences and education and the program director is outgoing, helpful, and will be there for awhile. I think it is an amazing program, I just did not feel like it was a great place for me.

4. MUSC - Very nice day in Charleston. They seem to work you pretty hard in the first year, but no more so than other places. Their program had enough little quirky things to prevent me from ranking it too highly, but it was a very nice place with a dedicated program director and residents who have a life outside of the hospital.

5. Wake Forest - I had a great day at Wake -- I felt that I really clicked with the residents and the faculty that I met. The program has a night float system for interns, and I am not quite sure how I feel about it; I see the advantages, but there are also significant disadvantages. The department seems to be in a constant state of flux, I know there have been some significant faculty losses, and someone at another program flat out told me they were stealing someone else. I really loved this program and felt comfortable, I just have a few reservations about what direction it is going in (Up vs. down) and seeing as they didn't fill last year...Felt like there weren't enough women in the program.

 

[Filter]

Haven't posted here in a while...been interviewing.....am tired.

1. BIDMC - Day started off with resident report, well attended, relaxed atmosphere with vice- chair present. Following that gave us a slide show as to what makes the program unique, etc. Faculty were very impressive with tons of pubs, textbooks, etc. Went on 2 interviews after that. Interviewers were nice, and basically sold the program well. Had a tour of the facilities which I loved. AMAZING computer system, best ive seen. Had lunch with the residents who all seemed happy with the program. Great fellowship match list, and the residents seemd to have published more than faculty at some places. All in all, seems llike a top notch place to train without any trace of malignancy.

2. Hopkins - Interviewed on a friday so day started with grand rounds, which were amazing. Really made you want to go to hopkins! Had talk with PD, interview, etc. Very impressive faculty and residents. The first year here is really a killer. You admit and cross cover the floors, and the way they have the call set up you come in at 12pm your call day, and stay tilll 5 pm the following day. However, after the intern year things seem to get A LOT better and all the residents were very happy. Baltimore is an ok city, definitely not NY/Boston but liveable.

3. St. Lukes - Roosevelt - Typical day with a particularly long but informative slide show by the chief resident/ senior asst. program director. Strong community vibe here with happy residents. Faculty and interviewers seemed nice, caring, and supportive. One of the chief's stated that about 1/2 of the residents were fmg's. Rotate through 2 hospitals..Roosevelt was exteremely nice and was definitely more on the private side. St. Lukes had a more public hospital look, feel, and population. The housing was great and they offer a variety of buildings to choose from (diff prices/ locations). Fellowship list was ok...not bad not great. Also, they did not give a listing of residents and the schools they attended, which was a bit odd. But overall, a good community program for someone looking to live in NYC.

Dont feel like writing about North Shore or beth israel in NYC.....basically they were decent community programs with friendy happy residents. Both had good housingwith apparently good faculty. North Shore seemed a little stronger overall. Again, fellowship lists were ok...mainly local places. Basically comes down to location with these 2.

Next week, TJ, Upenn..after that Mt. Sinai, Cornell, Monte, and Tufts....with more in Jan (Columbia/brown/yale)....im getting tired and i have so many more to go..everything is starting to look the same...

 

[MypetCat]

Here are one liners about the places I've been so far

Lahey: The PD is nice, program is blah, residents don't really seem ectastic to be there when you meet them.
Brown: Good Indian food for lunch. A lot of emphasis on international health. Jane Brown building where most med patients are is depressing.
Tufts: I'm from there, so we get special treatment and separate dinner etc..
Georgetown: PD is awesome. Sends everyone a personalized email inviting them. BEST FOOD on the interview circuit, faculty dining club, 8 dessert buffet.
GWU: New building, ambience is awesome, skip the tour if you can, it took us 1 hour!
Mount Auburn: The hobo uncle in the Harvard family. They keep telling you you can do rotations at the other Harvard hosp during your time there. Hmmm... not a good selling technique

 

[irlandesa]

Here are one liners about the places I've been so far

Lahey: The PD is nice, program is blah, residents don't really seem ectastic to be there when you meet them.
Brown: Good Indian food for lunch. A lot of emphasis on international health. Jane Brown building where most med patients are is depressing.
Tufts: I'm from there, so we get special treatment and separate dinner etc..
Georgetown: PD is awesome. Sends everyone a personalized email inviting them. BEST FOOD on the interview circuit, faculty dining club, 8 dessert buffet.
GWU: New building, ambience is awesome, skip the tour if you can, it took us 1 hour!
Mount Auburn: The hobo uncle in the Harvard family. They keep telling you you can do rotations at the other Harvard hosp during your time there. Hmmm... not a good selling technique

hey amazing how 2 tufts students have pretty similar impressions. However, I do wish the Tufts residents had shown us more of the special Rx by showing up at our special dinner (maybe there were 4 there??). Dr. Kopelman is nice though, and the CR I interviewed with today seemed like a really nice, well-rounded guy who liked the program. NEMC could use a little more enthusiasm, just like Lahey. Talking about how other guys are too big is not a good selling point either; I mean, would you use that as a selling point..

My additions to the one-liners are:
Brown: wins the prize for most enthusiastic, happy residents and PD's
BU: wins in location, patient population, prestige, primary care.
UMass: a close second in the enthusiasm dept., UMass students love their school. Love the "what can we do to get you to come here" attitude.
Dartmouth: honk (and come here) if you hate Boston
Lahey: "Lahey good.. BU bad.." Unfortunately, this phenomenal selling tactic is not unique to Lahey from what I've heard.

So, any reviews of Yale-New Haven (esp. PC track), U of Maryland, Baystate, Maine Med? I will submit one for MMC after Friday.

 

[buz]

I visited Maine Medical Center recently, so here's my .02$:
The day starts off with the PD, Chairman of Med, and other key players giving a brief overview of the program. This is over coffee and a light breakfast. Next we attended morning report, followed by either an interview or a tour of the hospital. After this we spent almost an hour talking to most of the residents and asking them questions. Lunch with all of the residents was next, followed by a 2nd interview in early afternoon. Each interview was only 1/2 hour and it was nice to have a lunch break b/t the 2. The last part of the day was a bus tour of Portland, guided by a resident who's a local.
Overall Impression: hands down the friendliest residents, PD etc of any program that I've seen so far. Residents were very happy at MMC.
Pros: Fellowships take many internal canididates.
PD and staff seem very trustworthy and supportive.
Cost of living in Portland is great.
Cons: I wasn't very impressed with the pace of the hospital- many beds were unfilled and I'm not sure whether the volume is high enough.
Hope this helps.

 

[irlandesa]

thanks buz, I interviewed there today and pretty much agree with your assessment.. I really liked Portland; kind of a smaller version of Boston and very cute city! Also was quite impressed with the quality of the faculty and the residents are right up there with Brown for the happy resident award..

Drawbacks: q4 o/n call for ALL inpatient rotations; the 3 single residents I met (yeah, 3 the whole day!) said that they like the system but that it makes socializing with other residents and people in Portland a bit more difficult. The program hasn't filled via the match in the past 2 years, which is a little concerning, but o/w I really liked it. Will rank, but not in top 3. I think I've got my top 3 already (esp. now that I got the boot from BID), just need to decide who to rank first! Still, Yale and Maryland might surprise me...

 

[Filter]

UPenn - Typical interview day schedule. PD seemed very nice and friendly, she just gave off that vibe. Interviews were very laid back, 1 faculty, 1 resident. Once again, great faculty , strong fellowship placement and research opportunities for residents. Nice international electives available (fully paid travel, housing, and no call). All the residents i talked to seemed like very down to earth, intelligent and supportive people. Great facilities. No negatives i can think of, except for the lack of night float, like at many "upper tier" programs. I got the overall impression that this was a top program without the attitude. Morning conference was excellent, I really liked the teaching style and the non-threating atmosphere. A great place, would be an honor to train there.


Thomas Jefferson - Again, typical interview day set up. The PD gave us an "interactive" lecture where he went over the goals of a residency program. Faculty seemed interested in teaching. Good masters opportunities. Alot of Jeff students seem to stay at the program, and all the residents appeared to like the place. Large hospital, with good facilities as well, with a definite sense of history (lots of portraits). Mostly american grads from solid schools, with a few fmg's sprinkled in (mainly from SGU). Interviewers were particularly nice. Fellowship list was above average. Alot of "private" patients, although the residents claim that they are able to manage the patients and that the pd/chairman is a strong resident education advocate ( apparently he revoked the privaleges last year of 2 docs who were not teaching). As a sidenote, hospital has a great location in philly. Overall, a strong university program with no real negatives and a good sense of cameraderie.

Please excuse my sloppy typing/poor spelling....its late.... im lazy

 

[buz]

Irelandesa,

Where can I find the statistics on # of unfilled spots via match for other programs? Thanks 😕

thanks buz, I interviewed there today and pretty much agree with your assessment.. I really liked Portland; kind of a smaller version of Boston and very cute city! Also was quite impressed with the quality of the faculty and the residents are right up there with Brown for the happy resident award..

Drawbacks: q4 o/n call for ALL inpatient rotations; the 3 single residents I met (yeah, 3 the whole day!) said that they like the system but that it makes socializing with other residents and people in Portland a bit more difficult. The program hasn't filled via the match in the past 2 years, which is a little concerning, but o/w I really liked it. Will rank, but not in top 3. I think I've got my top 3 already (esp. now that I got the boot from BID), just need to decide who to rank first! Still, Yale and Maryland might surprise me...

 

[irlandesa]

Irelandesa,

Where can I find the statistics on # of unfilled spots via match for other programs? Thanks 😕

http://www.scutwork.com/other/match2004/Unfilled_Program.pdf

the scutwork home page (www.scutwork.com) also has a link to the 2003 unfilled programs. In both 2003 and 2004, MMC filled 8/12 categorical spots through the match, and the rest via the scramble. One resident told us that surveys conducted of applicants who did not rank Maine very highly showed that single applicants were very concerned about fitting in at the program ("social suicide" was a reported concern of a few people in the survey). The q4 o/n call may be an issue as well, as most of the New England programs (where a large # of MMC applicants come from) except for Baystate, Yale, MMC, and Dartmouth have switched to long call until 9 or 10 pm (or until admissions are capped and work completed) on Gen. Med ward rotations (ICU/CCU, of course, is q3-4 o/n everywhere).

 

[the citizen]

Went to Hopkins, Yale, and UPenn.

Hopkins: very impressive, intense, and front-loaded program. Ten and a half months of call the first year where interns get the call from the ER and don't talk to the resident until the next day (unless needed). Call starts at noon so that the admitting intern can follow his new patients throughout the next day. Teams have 4 interns one of whom takes a call each night, 2 PGY3 residents whose primary job is to teach about admitted patients, and a PGY5 chief who acts as a wards attending. Faculty attendings run teaching rounds three times a week.

I met a number (about 20) of interns and residents and found them all to be very nice and enthusiastic about the program. From students to the chair, everyone was very bright, and no one apologized for the intensity of the program. The program is self selecting--new interns know what they are in for. It goes without saying that the facilities, faculty and fellowship placements are second to none. Baltimore seems nice with decent neighborhoods and suburbs and with affordable home prices.

Others to follow.

 

[the citizen]

Yale: nice, strong program with beautiful research facilities integrated into the hospital complex. They have overnight call, but otherwise the ward months are pretty standard. Overall the program is a little smaller than most, the faculty is impressive and enthusiastic, and the residents seemed genuinely happy and laid back. The research opportunities are world class, and the residents do well in fellowships. Morning report was well run--a very nice case was presented with good resident participation. One strength of the program is the availability of a fully paid international elective.

New Haven wasn't the hellhole I was expecting. Actually, it was like any other town I guess and the undergraduate campus is beautiful. There were a number of small, quaint, New England neighborhoods and towns at easily commutable distances from the hospital.


UPenn: another strong program. Overnight call, but a benign wards schedule. They broke us up into small groups for the dinner before; this was nice as the conversations were easier, but I only got to talk to two residents at the dinner. The interview day was cake (two faculty and one resident) and I was impressed by the hospital facilities and by the residents I met. Report was very well run with much attending input and participation by all. Graduates match well into fellowships.

Philly is no New York, but townhouses are affordable at least, and the commute from Penn or Jersey is not bad at all.


Making a ROL is going to be tough, as I get sold on every program I visit. So far I have yet to have an interview that was any more than a nice conversation...Boston awaits though...

 

[Art Vandelay]

PENN & UVA:

Totally agree w/ above post in that every place I go will probably be my #1 for at least a few days.

As mentioned several times, PENN was a tasty little program. I wanted to dislike it because it wasn't on my pre-interview top 5, but dagnabbitt it's just too good! Residents were so dadgum nice and smart, PD was amazing, Philly was nicer than expected, extremely responsive to resident input, nice system in place to make sure attendings teach (my personal #1 criteria), and just a nice family feel for a big program. Downsides: The hospital is kinda yucky, ......might be it? Oh wait, I guess they don't get "golden weekends" so they can't get away to see out of town family/friends very often or something.

UVa: Also quite tasty! I loved the place. Great atmosphere, happy people everywhere, strong rep w/o the tude, responsive PD, attendings teach, NO overnight call- in fact- go home around 10PM on call nights! Downsides: might not be great if your single, smallish town, ....I'm out.

 

[Filter]

1. Cornell - Got mixed feelings about this one. The facilities were excellent for a NYC program, with an impressive looking dept of medicine and conference room. I went the optional morning rounds, which were below average (might be due to the upcoming holidays w/lots of people out on vacation and the low # of admissions that day???). The morning report was pretty good, with a nice case and solid teaching, but it felt kind of formal. Interviews were cake. The main drawback, which surprised me because it came out the mouth of the chairman, was that caps were not adhered to at the hospital. When a couple of other applicants asked the residents about this, they stated that they tried to keep the # of new admissions to about 6 on call nights, but that transfers counted only partially towards that "cap" (i didnt really fully understand this), and that at times they had to go over. Also, i couldnt really get a good grasp of avg. patient census, service vs. private etc., because there were mainly 3rd years availlable to talk with and not interns. Some residents said the were given enough autonomy, but others stated that they really were not. They apparently just added a nonteaching PA service, and plan to add another one soon becuase of the high volume of patients, which may help with the cap situation. I'm also not too sure that the 80 hour work week is adhered to that strictly here. Another element of concern is that there is very little elective time in the first two years, and that while you are on elective you are on jeopardy and sick call coverage, so you could get pulled frequently. However, the fellowship placement still seemed to be quite good, likely due to the excellent quality of the residents there, who by they were very nice and seemed easy to get along with. The housing is outstanding, with mutiple options, and and ideal locations (they even have underground tunnels to connect the apts to the hospital). I really wanted to like this program, but there were definitely some issues there that give me pause. Basically, the pluses are good facilities (for NYC), great housing, intelligent, friendly residents, and strong fellowship placements. The negatives included: iffy commitment to 80 hour week, nonadherence to pt. caps, a "formal" atmosphere with the chairman and PD, and questionable autonomy.

2. Mt. Sinai - Typical interview day setup. Morning report was more "management based" than at other places, and felt more like work rounds than report. Basically the residents went through all thier admissions quickly and briefly discussed a topic with the PD/Chairman. (They said intern report was more typical of a "morning report" format with 1 case presentation...disc. of pathophys, etc.) Hospital facilities/ancillary services were good. Again, no real elective time as an intern, although you get some early 2nd year. You spend 3 moths a year at either the bronx VA or elmhurst hospital, where you get more autonomy and do more scut than at Mt. Sinai. The residents here were all friendly and appeared laid back. Interns pre-round at 6. occasuionally earlier. They adhere to the regular ACGME caps/80 hour week here. Have a unique visiting docs program where u spend 1 month doing home visits with patients. Good housing across the street, but basically at market rates according to residents. Call system is a little unique, with you taking long call (admissions till 7 pm) every four days, and overnight call every other call. ( ex: Mon. - stay with team, admit till 7..... Friday - admit till 7, then cross cover floors overnight, etc. ). PD.Chairman seemed nice. Solid fellowships in all specialties.

More next week.

 

[mainelyboy]

"The negatives included: iffy commitment to 80 hour week, nonadherence to pt. caps..."

are you kidding me? anyone out there who views a program negatively based primarily on the fact that you might have to work more than 80 hours, or admit more patients, is going into medicine for the wrong reasons.

 

[FriendlyGuy]

I disagree with the previous statement. It's a pretty big leap to say that someone is going into medicine for the wrong reasons just because they don't wish to work more than 80 hours per week. You can go into medicine with the most earnest of intentions and for all the "right" reasons, but still be desire to have time to do your laundry, pay your bills, and surprise-surprise... spend time with your family.

"The negatives included: iffy commitment to 80 hour week, nonadherence to pt. caps..."

are you kidding me? anyone out there who views a program negatively based primarily on the fact that you might have to work more than 80 hours, or admit more patients, is going into medicine for the wrong reasons.

 

[irlandesa]

"The negatives included: iffy commitment to 80 hour week, nonadherence to pt. caps..."

are you kidding me? anyone out there who views a program negatively based primarily on the fact that you might have to work more than 80 hours, or admit more patients, is going into medicine for the wrong reasons.

I also have to admit that these are concerning aspects for both patients and residents. The 80-hr work week was instituted to protect patients from resident mistakes caused by fatigue, and every single patient that I've talked to about this (I was surprised at how many of them bring up this issue in conversation) strongly approves of the change. Therefore, it is a definite negative in my book when a program disregards (intentionally or not) rules that were designed to protect their own staff and patients.

 

[dmc05]

I absolutely agree. Whether or not you realize it, patient care is compromised and you are basically left with a bunch of bitter residents who will be constantly whining about their work hours and the unfairness about the structure of the program (my opinion). Do not also forget, for many, lifestyle is an important issue that is consistent with their personality, the familial and social commitments they have, and essentially, the specific aspects of an IM training program that is compatible with their beliefs and goals...not everybody wants to be slammed during their residency with 80 hr work weeks. Personally, I want to work hard in residency, b/c it's only 3 years, and the amount of clinical experience and confidence you gain in these years will definitely be an advantage afterwards. But with residents with families and kids, and what not, how can you blame them for wanting to spend more time with their family? Bottomline, you cannot generalize and say that just b/c one doesn't want to work 80+ hrs, he/she shouldn't go into medicine.

 

[MypetCat]

There was actually an study published in the NEJM maybe 3 or 4 months ago(? End of october I think) about the impact of work hour reduction on attentional and medical errors. It looked at ICU residents working 24 hour shifts. And it showed a huge decrease in errors. So I would say to all those old foggies tha talk about work hour decrease as sacrificing patient care continuity...blah. .. I rather have a new doc every 8 hours than be dead. So I agree... programs that don't respect that or talk down about it are probably too dogma rather than data driven and I would not wont to be there.

 

[Filter]

Thanks everyone for the input and support. Mainleyboy, if you do not view my comments about a program as relevent to your priorities, please disregard them. There was no need to comment on my "place in medicine." I fully understand the lifestyle of a physician (my father, grandfather, uncles, cousins, etc. are all doctors...I have seen firsthand what impact a physician's life can have a family). Also, I was not stating that the ONLY concern i had with cornell was the fact that it might not adhere to the 80 hour work week, but rather the overall attitude of the program towards its residents. Anyway, i wish all of you luck on the interview trail and look forward to hearing about your interview experiences (as per the original topic of this thread).

Good luck!

 

[lurkerboy]

It is ironic that this is all coming from Cornell where the whole 80hr work week was started because of the death of Libby Zion there. I bet THAT didn't come up during the interview day!

"The negatives included: iffy commitment to 80 hour week, nonadherence to pt. caps..."

are you kidding me? anyone out there who views a program negatively based primarily on the fact that you might have to work more than 80 hours, or admit more patients, is going into medicine for the wrong reasons.

 

[irlandesa]

There was actually an study published in the NEJM maybe 3 or 4 months ago(? End of october I think) about the impact of work hour reduction on attentional and medical errors. It looked at ICU residents working 24 hour shifts. And it showed a huge decrease in errors. So I would say to all those old foggies tha talk about work hour decrease as sacrificing patient care continuity...blah. .. I rather have a new doc every 8 hours than be dead. So I agree... programs that don't respect that or talk down about it are probably too dogma rather than data driven and I would not wont to be there.

I believe this study was conducted on the now third year residents at BWH.. It came out around the same time I was finishing up my ICU rotation at Faulkner and the Program Director at BWH started a major overhaul of the ICU schedules at that time.. Now the residents on call in the FICU (and prob. the Brigham MICU and VA CCU as well) are required to keep a strict time sheet and sign out when they leave. For all you >80++ hour cowboys out there who hope to go at BWH (and likely other Boston programs), you have been forewarned that Dr. Katz takes these study results VERY seriously and to put it tactfully, will not give you brownie points for trying to spend extra post-call time in the ICU.

 

[lurkerboy]

Ironically, the Brigham does not adhere to the schedule they propose in the article.

I believe this study was conducted on the now third year residents at BWH.. It came out around the same time I was finishing up my ICU rotation at Faulkner and the Program Director at BWH started a major overhaul of the ICU schedules at that time.. Now the residents on call in the FICU (and prob. the Brigham MICU and VA CCU as well) are required to keep a strict time sheet and sign out when they leave. For all you >80++ hour cowboys out there who hope to go at BWH (and likely other Boston programs), you have been forewarned that Dr. Katz takes these study results VERY seriously and to put it tactfully, will not give you brownie points for trying to spend extra post-call time in the ICU.

 

[irlandesa]

Ironically, the Brigham does not adhere to the schedule they propose in the article.

this is very true with regard to the Brigham GM wards, where residents are often in the hospital until 3-4 pm after being on overnight call and their "protected sleep time" is sometimes far from being just that. However, it seems like they are starting to make the changes at smaller affiliates like Faulkner, where it is easier to affect change.

 

[Filter]

Back again, with 1 more review to add.

Tufts - NEMC - I got a good vibe here. Program is pretty small for a major university program, with only 20 something residents per class, and no prelims. PD and chairman seemed like straightforward approachable guys. The residents all got along and there was a good team feeling there (from my limited experience). Facilities were very nice, the hospital was basically all new. They kept saying that it was a small hospital with only about 300 beds, but it certainly did not feel that way (although the ER was pretty tiny). Fellowship placements appeared to be solid, but they did not give out a list of where the third years were going specifically, just a general list of where people have gone. However, I spoke to about 6-7 third years, and they all had good fellowships secured ( cards - Brown, UMass, etc.) I think ill email the program to try to get a more specific listing. I really liked the subspecitalty ward setup - u rotate through each of the subspeciaties (nephro, pulm, Cards, ID, GI, etc.) and there is 1 attending of record who is also the teaching attending and a specialist - no running down attendings. Call schedule was standard issue q4 with night float. Ancillary services seemed average, with regular phlebotomy, but not too many night - time draws, requiring a little more scut when on night float. Residents said they had a great relationship with the nursing staff and attendings. Residents themselves were laid back, and definitely not competitive. I spoke with one at length about how much he liked BID and why in the end he chose Tufts ( he said it was because of the smaller size and subspec. system - yet he in no way disparaged BID during our entire converstation and acutally praised the residents/teaching there, which i thought was very classy). Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the program, and did not get a sense that the residents were overworked ( as has been stated by some on this board).

ps - Although both irelandesa and mypetcat have both discussed the program (thanks to both - thier comments were right on point in my opinion), i was wondering if they could be kind enough to comment further on whether or not my assesment of the program seemed accurate. Also - i know that the ward schedule is broken up into 14 blocks - but does anyone know exactly what an intern schedule looks like...is there ANY guarateed amb/elective time? (they list like 17 rotations during the intern year on the web site, and an intern i talked with said your schedule was variable...she had no elective time..but she did say it would be balanced later)

thanks.

 

[irlandesa]

Filter,

Very good assessment, I think you hit the nail right on the head for the most part. Now that I've seen a list of T-NEMC's fellowship matches, I have to admit that I am also quite impressed. My opinion is that where you rank Tufts-NEMC in relation to BIDMC and/or BU will likely depend mostly on your personal preferences and career goals, rather than on presumed prestige. All 3 programs are excellent, and you can't go wrong with any of them. My reasons for not ranking T-NEMC higher on my list are as follows, once again,this shows how much of a personal preference this is:

1)As a Tufts student, I've had some REALLY negative experiences with some of the departments at NEMC (although Psych and Surgery were fun there), and the idea of being near some of the rude residents on other services for 3 years takes the program down a notch for me.

2)There are a few people in my class (not MyPetCat, if he is who I think he is, he's a-ok) who I know plan to rank NEMC highly that are on the snooty side. In itself, this is not enough to bring the program down for me, as every program will have people you don't get along with that well. But, it would be nice to have a chance at more of a clean break from confirmed toxic individuals.

3)I have a strong interest in Gen Med/Primary Care, and while NEMC is an excellent program, these are not its' strongest areas at the moment.

4) The most important reason is that I really clicked with what BU, Brown, and UMass had to offer. Some people don't like the idea of 3 hospital programs like these, but I really enjoy the variety and broad exposure that they seem to offer. I've talked in some detail about what I liked in each program before, but will be happy to elaborate for anyone who wishes.

Good luck, and enjoy your interviews! Happy New Year, too!

oh yeah, sorry I forgot to answer the question about the schedule; I actually don't know that much about it, but 14+ blocks does seem a bit confusing. I'd say the PD is the best person to ask directly.

 

[Filter]

irelandesa, once again thanks for the great response. i pm'd u.

HAPPY NEW YEARS !!!

 

[gnalt]

Just wanted to comment on Pretzel's description of St. Louis. Being a student at Wash U, I will be the first to admit that St. Louis is a big city that is not immune to big city problems. As in any city, a resident would be well-advised to take due caution when traveling alone on foot at night. That being said, the security services are vigilant and will gladly provide escorts or rides whenever needed. They also send out multiple warnings after any incident that occurs. The neighborhood surrounding Wash U (Central West End) is actually very pleasant and populated by many residents and some faculty members. I have thoroughly enjoyed Wash U and St. Louis and would gladly stay here for an internal medicine residency.