Emory
Positives: Cheap cost of living in Atlanta, diverse patient population ranging from indigent to more affluent, faculty seemed responsive to resident's needs, lots of independence at Grady (the whole hospital is run by residents), good reputation in the South and is well-known by other programs
Negatives: Grady still somewhat lacking ancillary services compared to other county hospitals, commuting between the hospitals seemed to be a gripe from some residents
Washington University
Positives: Interns sleep 5-6 hours on call, no crosscover of patients completely unknown to you, cheap cost of living in St. Louis, excellent ancillary services (social work, nursing), academic focus with research time in 2nd and 3rd year, indigent patients are treated equally to patients with insurance, good reputation in Midwest and is well-known by other programs, Department head was very knowledgeable about basic and clinical research in the program
Negatives: Little to no outpatient experience, the size of program makes it hard to know your fellow residents, the computer system seems a little more antiquated than other programs
UTSW
Positives: Excellent fellowship placement, lots of independence at Parkland, faculty seemed really approachable, cheap cost of living in Dallas, lots of opportunities for procedures
Negatives: Lots of ward months, patient census per intern seemed higher than other programs, residents seemed pretty tired, little to no time for doing research compared to other programs
Baylor Houston
Positives: Excellent place for people interested in cards, 2nd year seemed pretty cush, cheap cost of living in Houston, residents seemed to live near the medical center in "Condo land", 3 hospital system (private, county, VA), although it is a large program, the residents seemed to know each other, tons of independence at Ben Taub and the VA
Negatives: Ben Taub county hospital lacked many ancillary services, according to some interns, fluent Spanish is a must or it takes forever to get a translator, research opportunities seemed somewhat lacking, reputation is relatively unknown outside the South, program seemed like it needed Methodist for extra income
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Positives: Excellent fellowship placement, great academic reputation, hospital facilities and computer system were excellent, lots of integration between the basic and clinical sciences, faculty seemed very approachable and taught during morning report
Negatives: Little to no sleep on call as intern, very busy program, residents seemed tired, Ann Arbor is a college town and has less to do compared to larger metropolitan cities
BID
Positives: Very happy residents, best computer facilities so far on the interview trail, interns get to go home on call (sleep 5-6 hours on call), resident education is emphasized by the faculty, supposedly the department head makes personal phone calls to help with fellowship placement, hospital located in a very nice, safe neighborhood
Negatives: Patient population seemed skewed toward geriatrics, very little to no inner city patients, although it is a Harvard affiliate, the program seemed a little isolated from BWH and MGH (more Harvard students matched at BWH and MGH)
For the most part the major differences I notice between the programs are: cost of living, amount of sleep the interns get on call, patient census, level of ancillary services, clinical vs. research experience emphasis, quality of computer system, level of autonomy. I think everyone has a personal bias of how things work based on their experiences at their home institution.
