thanks for the additions. I have to agree about ted deweese.
Interview impressions
- Thread starter stephew
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Sorry Steph, I've been off on a pre-match cruise to ease the nerves (definitely a good decision by the way!) Anyway, I'm sure many of us are going to get around to these interview impressions soon. But I'm with everyone else, anxiety is still pretty high and even thinking about programs admittedly raises my heart rate a bit.
But I digress. I did a rotation at Loma Linda for two weeks and loved the place. You'd be hard pressed to find a NICER bunch of faculty and a HAPPIER group of residents. They really take care of the residents. When I was there, the program was handing out brand new laptops to all the residents. They also get plenty of cash for books, conferences, etc. They really seem to bend over backwards to make the residents happy. Another potential financial perk is the proton center. The residents "moonlight" at the proton center, which basically means they get paid to study. The proton center needs coverage in the evenings and they can rake in $40-60 bucks an hour to be on call for that. But this is not something you can bank on getting throughout your entire residency as it is based on a seniority system..but nonetheless a nice perk at some point during your training.
The town of Loma Linda is a little lacking..but your very close to other beautiful areas. A little over an hour to Disneyland, beaches, San Diego, Palm Beach..
In terms of training, you treat most everything with protons. Some have criticized Loma Linda b/c you don't really get much in the way of IMRT. I tend to think that with proton centers popping up all over the place, you'd be a hot commodity when you finish. I know the current chief resident had some attractive job offers. Also, radiation is radiation really. Does it really matter that much if you "learn" to treat someone with protons, electrons or photons. I think what's most important to learn from residency (and I admit that I know very little at this point!) is the fundamentals how to go after a tumor..I think you could probably pick up the basics of using different modalities along the way. Anyway, there is a heavy emphasis on protons, but that didn't matter to me and in the end I ranked this program very high.
But I digress. I did a rotation at Loma Linda for two weeks and loved the place. You'd be hard pressed to find a NICER bunch of faculty and a HAPPIER group of residents. They really take care of the residents. When I was there, the program was handing out brand new laptops to all the residents. They also get plenty of cash for books, conferences, etc. They really seem to bend over backwards to make the residents happy. Another potential financial perk is the proton center. The residents "moonlight" at the proton center, which basically means they get paid to study. The proton center needs coverage in the evenings and they can rake in $40-60 bucks an hour to be on call for that. But this is not something you can bank on getting throughout your entire residency as it is based on a seniority system..but nonetheless a nice perk at some point during your training.
The town of Loma Linda is a little lacking..but your very close to other beautiful areas. A little over an hour to Disneyland, beaches, San Diego, Palm Beach..
In terms of training, you treat most everything with protons. Some have criticized Loma Linda b/c you don't really get much in the way of IMRT. I tend to think that with proton centers popping up all over the place, you'd be a hot commodity when you finish. I know the current chief resident had some attractive job offers. Also, radiation is radiation really. Does it really matter that much if you "learn" to treat someone with protons, electrons or photons. I think what's most important to learn from residency (and I admit that I know very little at this point!) is the fundamentals how to go after a tumor..I think you could probably pick up the basics of using different modalities along the way. Anyway, there is a heavy emphasis on protons, but that didn't matter to me and in the end I ranked this program very high.
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- Resident [Any Field]
U Michigan: I thought the chair is a very inspirational person, and I think the programs boosts of having produced only academic clinicians for the past ten years or so (people can switch from academics back into private after a number of years, but I think they are all academic when they leave at least). The atmosphere was very friendly, and there is strong research in biology physics and clinical. Residents were very nice and friendly, they are very clear though that they work very hard. They get a whole year of research, but outside of that year, they stated clearly that they work very hard, from the mandatory internship at Michigan until they finish residency. I think they were happy, but you definitely have to pull your weight during the non-research years. I was also a little surprised when the residents told me that if I am not married/settled, I should not come to Ann Arbor (they meant that as good honest advice). Overall: very strong program, definitely up there among the top, be ready to work hard and go into academics, and you have to decide if location is right for you.
Yale: I was pleasantly surprised by the strength of this program. For whatever reasons, I had thought this was a good program but small and not too much is said about it. The program actually has a fair number of faculty, including multiple senior/famous people. They also recently increased their research time to 9 month-1 year. This was another program where I felt the senior faculty was more limited in terms of the number of disease sites they study, but again, most programs just do not have the numbers to have excellent/senior people in everything. Residents seemed very nice and it really came across that they wanted us to have a good interview day. Faculty seemed friendly enough as well. New haven, well, once again, we all want different things in terms of location? Overall: very good program with happy enough people, has some top rate research going on, location to be judged by you individually.
Columbia: I hate to say anything negative about a program, especially when I thought the people that I met were actually nice enough, but the interview day at least was horrible. If they run the program like they run the interview day at all, it is amazing they are accredited. I really liked the residents I met, they seemed like very smart and nice people, and the faculty seemed nice as well. However, I think until they actually get a new chair, things will not improve. They told me that they are in the very final final stages of getting a chair, so hopefully that will happen soon and then the whole place will turn around. Until then, it is very disorganized. For the interview, they had about 16 or so applicants all wait in one room, and we were supposed to see about 5-6 faculty members, but there was no real schedule, so you just sit around and wait for someone to come get you. The program is in NYC, and I think they get really good people for residents because of it, but I think I have heard someone comment that if the program were in the Midwest or something (no offense to the Midwest), it would not fill. I think they might also merge with Cornell in the near future, but that depends on the new chair as well.
Mayo Clinic: The institution of mayo clinic is beautiful. Gorgeous buildings, impressive hospital. The rad onc faculty were nice people, the residents seemed friendly and laid back. There is some good research happening. I think it is a very solid program, and you would probably be trained well. Location is a HUGE issue though, at least for me. Rochester MN has NOTHING other than the mayo clinic. I mean, there are a number of hotels and restaurants, in support of the mayo clinic, and I think I saw a walmart, but really, there was NOTHING else there. Unlike other residency programs that might be in the middle of nowhere, there is no associated undergrad campus, and no large grad/professional school either. I am not trying to be negative about the place, I think it is just a matter of fit. The residents seemed to have mostly come from the Midwest at some point in their lives, and they were happy with their location. Cost of living must be dirt cheap. Some would say Minneapolis is only about 90 miles away, but I think out of the 16 or 17 places I visited, this is about as barren as they come. If you are from the Midwest and like the region and maybe are married and have multiple children, this is a great place to train.
Georgetown: a small but solid program. Very active cyberknife service with lots of research activity in that arena. Both faculty and residents were nice. Location is great, I personally love DC. They really seemed to stress the flexibility of their program. I think they have only four residents, and they are willing to tailor your years there to your interests. Of course there are requirements, but I think you can have upto a year for research if you need it, and you have many electives months to focus on whatever disease sites you want to. The workload seemed a bit on the light side, but enough to train you. With only 4 residents, call is more frequent than the bigger programs. I know we should never complain about call in rad onc compared to our medicine or surgery colleagues, but q4 can be irritating for four years. Overall: not one of the superstars, but solid program with nice enough people where you will get good training.
UNC: another small program, but very strong in what do they have. Dr. Tepper is the old chair but is stepping down (he will stay on faculty, just no longer chair, I think the transition is a peaceful one?). New chair is an internal candidate Dr. Sartor, who seemed to run an active basic science lab and a busy clinical service. People seemed very nice. Can be a bit busy with only four residents, they have to split all call nights and morning reports between them. Location chapel hill can be a nice affordable area to live in, you can decide if North Carolina is for you. Overall: very solid program, small but very good in what they do have.
Yale: I was pleasantly surprised by the strength of this program. For whatever reasons, I had thought this was a good program but small and not too much is said about it. The program actually has a fair number of faculty, including multiple senior/famous people. They also recently increased their research time to 9 month-1 year. This was another program where I felt the senior faculty was more limited in terms of the number of disease sites they study, but again, most programs just do not have the numbers to have excellent/senior people in everything. Residents seemed very nice and it really came across that they wanted us to have a good interview day. Faculty seemed friendly enough as well. New haven, well, once again, we all want different things in terms of location? Overall: very good program with happy enough people, has some top rate research going on, location to be judged by you individually.
Columbia: I hate to say anything negative about a program, especially when I thought the people that I met were actually nice enough, but the interview day at least was horrible. If they run the program like they run the interview day at all, it is amazing they are accredited. I really liked the residents I met, they seemed like very smart and nice people, and the faculty seemed nice as well. However, I think until they actually get a new chair, things will not improve. They told me that they are in the very final final stages of getting a chair, so hopefully that will happen soon and then the whole place will turn around. Until then, it is very disorganized. For the interview, they had about 16 or so applicants all wait in one room, and we were supposed to see about 5-6 faculty members, but there was no real schedule, so you just sit around and wait for someone to come get you. The program is in NYC, and I think they get really good people for residents because of it, but I think I have heard someone comment that if the program were in the Midwest or something (no offense to the Midwest), it would not fill. I think they might also merge with Cornell in the near future, but that depends on the new chair as well.
Mayo Clinic: The institution of mayo clinic is beautiful. Gorgeous buildings, impressive hospital. The rad onc faculty were nice people, the residents seemed friendly and laid back. There is some good research happening. I think it is a very solid program, and you would probably be trained well. Location is a HUGE issue though, at least for me. Rochester MN has NOTHING other than the mayo clinic. I mean, there are a number of hotels and restaurants, in support of the mayo clinic, and I think I saw a walmart, but really, there was NOTHING else there. Unlike other residency programs that might be in the middle of nowhere, there is no associated undergrad campus, and no large grad/professional school either. I am not trying to be negative about the place, I think it is just a matter of fit. The residents seemed to have mostly come from the Midwest at some point in their lives, and they were happy with their location. Cost of living must be dirt cheap. Some would say Minneapolis is only about 90 miles away, but I think out of the 16 or 17 places I visited, this is about as barren as they come. If you are from the Midwest and like the region and maybe are married and have multiple children, this is a great place to train.
Georgetown: a small but solid program. Very active cyberknife service with lots of research activity in that arena. Both faculty and residents were nice. Location is great, I personally love DC. They really seemed to stress the flexibility of their program. I think they have only four residents, and they are willing to tailor your years there to your interests. Of course there are requirements, but I think you can have upto a year for research if you need it, and you have many electives months to focus on whatever disease sites you want to. The workload seemed a bit on the light side, but enough to train you. With only 4 residents, call is more frequent than the bigger programs. I know we should never complain about call in rad onc compared to our medicine or surgery colleagues, but q4 can be irritating for four years. Overall: not one of the superstars, but solid program with nice enough people where you will get good training.
UNC: another small program, but very strong in what do they have. Dr. Tepper is the old chair but is stepping down (he will stay on faculty, just no longer chair, I think the transition is a peaceful one?). New chair is an internal candidate Dr. Sartor, who seemed to run an active basic science lab and a busy clinical service. People seemed very nice. Can be a bit busy with only four residents, they have to split all call nights and morning reports between them. Location chapel hill can be a nice affordable area to live in, you can decide if North Carolina is for you. Overall: very solid program, small but very good in what they do have.
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University of Wisconsin
Location: Madison, amongst the more 'cultured' cities in Wisconsin. College town if that's your thing. Lots of people I know loved living there and could see myself living there as well. For me living n Madison was neither a positive or a negative.
Faculty: Boy, I will say that as a whole this was the best bunch of attendings I met on the entire interview trail. From Dr. Harari right down to the most junior attending. Usually having dinner with attendings present is a negative but I didn't mind at all and enjoyed their company in fact. After dinner Dr. Khuntia the new program director even came with us to a bar after dinner. Dr. Harari's research is money and really like the stuff he does combining drugs and radiation. Can't think of many better chairmen to work for.
Residents: A really nice laid back bunch. Especially the dude from Florida who I think posts on here. All seemed very happy.
Department: Solid. Seem to have everything except Protons. Home of tomo in madison and believe they have 2. Clinical and translational research opportunities abound. Not so sure about basic science; pardon my ignorance.
My Two Cents: One of my favorite programs. Ended up in my top 2 if that is any indication. You cannot go wrong here whether you want to go academic or private practice. Strong faculty support for residents. Non-malignant atmosphere but residents learn their stuff well.
Location: Madison, amongst the more 'cultured' cities in Wisconsin. College town if that's your thing. Lots of people I know loved living there and could see myself living there as well. For me living n Madison was neither a positive or a negative.
Faculty: Boy, I will say that as a whole this was the best bunch of attendings I met on the entire interview trail. From Dr. Harari right down to the most junior attending. Usually having dinner with attendings present is a negative but I didn't mind at all and enjoyed their company in fact. After dinner Dr. Khuntia the new program director even came with us to a bar after dinner. Dr. Harari's research is money and really like the stuff he does combining drugs and radiation. Can't think of many better chairmen to work for.
Residents: A really nice laid back bunch. Especially the dude from Florida who I think posts on here. All seemed very happy.
Department: Solid. Seem to have everything except Protons. Home of tomo in madison and believe they have 2. Clinical and translational research opportunities abound. Not so sure about basic science; pardon my ignorance.
My Two Cents: One of my favorite programs. Ended up in my top 2 if that is any indication. You cannot go wrong here whether you want to go academic or private practice. Strong faculty support for residents. Non-malignant atmosphere but residents learn their stuff well.
The dude from Florida thanks you 🙂
I'm glad you had a nice time here, and appreciate the kind words about the program.
I've heard the line that "the best program in the country is the one where you match", implying that bias is especially prevalent when one lacks a basis for comparison. I can tell you that Wisconsin wasn't my first choice (#3 on my list, actually), but in retrospect, I couldn't be happier ending up here.
Anyway, I'm happy to address any questions about the program, either on the board or via PM.
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As one of the applying-next-year class, I would petition those of the already-interviewed class to give more opinions about the second-tier and hidden-gem programs. We all already know that MDA and MSK are wonderful programs, but not all of us will have interviews there let alone a shot at matching. Thanks.
fyi harari has had MANY chair opportunities and you should take it seriously that he opted to stay at U Wisc. (in spite of the cold).
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nice job! 😀
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So yeah, it's Kansas. But there are some advantages to living there. If you are married or have a family like me, it would be a great place. If you're single..probably want to look elsewhere..! But houses are CHEAP. The residents tend to live within walking distance of the hospital..in HOUSES that they paid less than 100K for. So that's huge.
Down-sides: The chair told me at the end of my interview that not a single resident had passed the boards on their first attempt in the recent past (approx 5 years). My jaw honestly dropped open when he VOLUNTEERED this information..I did not even solicit it. He tried to add a silver lining by saying, "but all passed after several attempts..don't worry, everyone passes eventually." I couldn't get this off my brain when I made my rank list, so they ended up being pretty low for me. Both of the faculty (there were only 2 full-time faculty when I interviewed..there may be more now) are FMG's and I had a really hard time understanding one of them. I'm not at all bagging on FMG's, but I'm just saying that I'm a little leary of the training that one might get there. The faculty were extremely friendly and I'm sure not at all malignant..but their track record with boards scores may be a reflection of the training from only 2 faculty members.
But the residents I met there were among the coolest I met on the trail. Very friendly and surprisingly very happy with the program too (despite pretty primitive technology). They painted the picture that, while the program has a somewhat sketchy past, it is on it's way up and is definitely improving.
Down-sides: The chair told me at the end of my interview that not a single resident had passed the boards on their first attempt in the recent past (approx 5 years). My jaw honestly dropped open when he VOLUNTEERED this information..I did not even solicit it. He tried to add a silver lining by saying, "but all passed after several attempts..don't worry, everyone passes eventually." I couldn't get this off my brain when I made my rank list, so they ended up being pretty low for me. Both of the faculty (there were only 2 full-time faculty when I interviewed..there may be more now) are FMG's and I had a really hard time understanding one of them. I'm not at all bagging on FMG's, but I'm just saying that I'm a little leary of the training that one might get there. The faculty were extremely friendly and I'm sure not at all malignant..but their track record with boards scores may be a reflection of the training from only 2 faculty members.
But the residents I met there were among the coolest I met on the trail. Very friendly and surprisingly very happy with the program too (despite pretty primitive technology). They painted the picture that, while the program has a somewhat sketchy past, it is on it's way up and is definitely improving.
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University of Arizona
Location: Sunny tucson. I was kind of surprised that the city had so many people. Beautiful scenery, the mountains in the distance are amazing. Not sure about housing/living costs but I imagine they're fairly reasonable.
Faculty: I had a pretty benign interview day although the chairman, Dr. Stea did bust my balls for a bit during the interview. However, I kind of liked him-he's a bit of a boisterous character sort of like myself in a way. Definitely not boring. Dr. Dougherty the program director was very nice and is a tag team with her husband who heads the radiobiology arm of the program. I liked them both very much and would be very nice to work for. As for my physics interview I only had one with Dr. Hamilton and we hit it off very well.
Residents: One of the better groups I ran into. Very down to earth - good peeps. Seem to like the program very much. There was a guy who transferred from USC and putting the rumors I heard about USC together with the fact that he transferred out I imagine it was due to malignancy issues. Didn't really ask him about as it's one of those sensitive issues.
Department: Pretty decent overall. They have the standard linacs and a Novalis for stereotactic. Stea is a strong chair who like I said appeals to me. A new cancer center just sprouted up for the heme-onc department. I believe that rad-onc may be moving in there at some point - I think the issue is moving the linacs over.
My Two Cents: This was a program I wasn't expecting much from and almost didn't accept the interview b/c I thought they were only taking 1 person and knew they had a very strong internal candidate. However, I was pleasantly surprised after my interview and later found out that they are taking 2 this year. They ended up in the upper half of my rank list.
Location: Sunny tucson. I was kind of surprised that the city had so many people. Beautiful scenery, the mountains in the distance are amazing. Not sure about housing/living costs but I imagine they're fairly reasonable.
Faculty: I had a pretty benign interview day although the chairman, Dr. Stea did bust my balls for a bit during the interview. However, I kind of liked him-he's a bit of a boisterous character sort of like myself in a way. Definitely not boring. Dr. Dougherty the program director was very nice and is a tag team with her husband who heads the radiobiology arm of the program. I liked them both very much and would be very nice to work for. As for my physics interview I only had one with Dr. Hamilton and we hit it off very well.
Residents: One of the better groups I ran into. Very down to earth - good peeps. Seem to like the program very much. There was a guy who transferred from USC and putting the rumors I heard about USC together with the fact that he transferred out I imagine it was due to malignancy issues. Didn't really ask him about as it's one of those sensitive issues.
Department: Pretty decent overall. They have the standard linacs and a Novalis for stereotactic. Stea is a strong chair who like I said appeals to me. A new cancer center just sprouted up for the heme-onc department. I believe that rad-onc may be moving in there at some point - I think the issue is moving the linacs over.
My Two Cents: This was a program I wasn't expecting much from and almost didn't accept the interview b/c I thought they were only taking 1 person and knew they had a very strong internal candidate. However, I was pleasantly surprised after my interview and later found out that they are taking 2 this year. They ended up in the upper half of my rank list.
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Re: Columbia
Forget about not following the interview scheduling, we just flat out missed one of our interviews because the faculty member never showed. The *most poorly* run interview hands down of all the places I visited. The coordinator was very nice but shoeless most of the interview day, which another applicant and I thought was entertaining, but certainly inappropriate.
Forget about not following the interview scheduling, we just flat out missed one of our interviews because the faculty member never showed. The *most poorly* run interview hands down of all the places I visited. The coordinator was very nice but shoeless most of the interview day, which another applicant and I thought was entertaining, but certainly inappropriate.
Your voice has been heard! Actually, that (and department of Radiotherapy rather than Radiation Oncology) is a bit of historical holdover. Dr. Harari has a particular pet peeve about the "Radiotherapy" part, and is in the process of changing that. I'm not quite as sure if there will be a change to the "Human Oncology" part, but I hope so. I guess it serves to differentiate us from "Dog Oncology" as we do have the veterinary rad oncs come in after hours on occasion.
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UC-Davis
Location: Sacramento, not Davis. Seems like a sleepy little city. The saying is that its 2 hours from just about anything: SanFran, Lake Tahoe, etc. In California so living expenses aren't cheap. Plus, you get screwed by the UC systems relatively low pay. The department does give you a 'book' stipend of a few thousand per year which in reality serves to lessen the blow of the base salary and can be used for anything you want.
Faculty: Small number of faculty and most are on the younger side. Dr. Vijay is a very laid back and soft spoken chairman. He was on faculty at the University of Chicago so he has a good pedigree. Seems to be trying to implement the same style of program. Dr. Ryu the program directo is also very nice and sharp as a tack. She has an incredible knowledge base of multiple disease sites, even those she doesn't really treat. It appears she takes the lead during the morning conferences in teaching the residents. Dr. Purdy on the physics side of things is very well-known and is also the vice-chair of department.
Residents: Seemed like a nice bunch and had a good time with them at lunch. 5 residents in total.
Department: They use Siemens linacs in addition to tomo and gamma knife - they are well stocked in terms of technology. Program is on the newer side of things and was basically built from the ground up by Dr. Vijay. The cancer center they are in virtually brand new and is cozy - its not a behemoth. Strong research opportunities on the physics side of things with Dr. Purdy; not so sure about radbio. Clinical research is getting off the ground with Dr. Vijay. The program is moving toward a more academic bent.
My Two Cents: Not a bad place overall. I like places that have younger faculty. Very motivated chair and program director. Sacramento may not be my thing in the end but don't think I'd hate living there. Can't hate the weather that's for sure. Good place if your looking for private practice but the academic side of things is coming around. This place ended up in the top half of my rank list.
Location: Sacramento, not Davis. Seems like a sleepy little city. The saying is that its 2 hours from just about anything: SanFran, Lake Tahoe, etc. In California so living expenses aren't cheap. Plus, you get screwed by the UC systems relatively low pay. The department does give you a 'book' stipend of a few thousand per year which in reality serves to lessen the blow of the base salary and can be used for anything you want.
Faculty: Small number of faculty and most are on the younger side. Dr. Vijay is a very laid back and soft spoken chairman. He was on faculty at the University of Chicago so he has a good pedigree. Seems to be trying to implement the same style of program. Dr. Ryu the program directo is also very nice and sharp as a tack. She has an incredible knowledge base of multiple disease sites, even those she doesn't really treat. It appears she takes the lead during the morning conferences in teaching the residents. Dr. Purdy on the physics side of things is very well-known and is also the vice-chair of department.
Residents: Seemed like a nice bunch and had a good time with them at lunch. 5 residents in total.
Department: They use Siemens linacs in addition to tomo and gamma knife - they are well stocked in terms of technology. Program is on the newer side of things and was basically built from the ground up by Dr. Vijay. The cancer center they are in virtually brand new and is cozy - its not a behemoth. Strong research opportunities on the physics side of things with Dr. Purdy; not so sure about radbio. Clinical research is getting off the ground with Dr. Vijay. The program is moving toward a more academic bent.
My Two Cents: Not a bad place overall. I like places that have younger faculty. Very motivated chair and program director. Sacramento may not be my thing in the end but don't think I'd hate living there. Can't hate the weather that's for sure. Good place if your looking for private practice but the academic side of things is coming around. This place ended up in the top half of my rank list.
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I'm just trying to pass the time until I can open that envelope in 12 hours to find out where I'm headed 😀 Thought I'd try to finish up my interview impressions. Here are my comments about Mayo Jacksonville.
This program, for some reason, did not fill in the original match in 2006. Perhaps people were leary of a new program. I also heard their rank list was probably too short.
That aside, I LOVED this program. I ended up ranking it highly. The residents are all EXTREMELY happy with the program. Very, very nice faculty. Dr Buskirk, the chair, seemed like the kind of guy who'd bend over backwards for the residents. He was very down to Earth and just seemed like a really cool guy.
The facility is TOPS. Very nice new-looking building with radonc on the first floor. WINDOWS - that alone sold me! The schedule sounded to be 8-5 most days..which I liked (7am is only an hour earlier..but I'd rather spend that time eating breakfast with my wife & kids personally..so I like the 8am start programs). The residents were very happy with the training. Since it's Mayo, they get a lot of their physics/radbio training from Rochester's program and sit in on lectures via satellite which the residents said was ok. Also, being linked into the Mayo system has it's advantages. Residents can do rotations at the other Mayo sites (Scottdale, Rochester) and the program will put them up in an apartment and pay expenses, etc. So that sounded cool.. Also, Mayo is pretty inbred, so training at any of their satellites opens doors for future employment.
Jacksonville looked like a great place to live..warm and beautiful..close to the beach..an hour from Orlando..etc. Another thing I liked is that the TY program guarantees you a slot if you match into radonc..so it's kind of like a categorical program if you want it to be. I liked the idea of only moving once personally.
I was very impressed with this program..I envy whoever is lucky enough to train there. If you get an interview there, I'd definitely accept it.
This program, for some reason, did not fill in the original match in 2006. Perhaps people were leary of a new program. I also heard their rank list was probably too short.
That aside, I LOVED this program. I ended up ranking it highly. The residents are all EXTREMELY happy with the program. Very, very nice faculty. Dr Buskirk, the chair, seemed like the kind of guy who'd bend over backwards for the residents. He was very down to Earth and just seemed like a really cool guy.
The facility is TOPS. Very nice new-looking building with radonc on the first floor. WINDOWS - that alone sold me! The schedule sounded to be 8-5 most days..which I liked (7am is only an hour earlier..but I'd rather spend that time eating breakfast with my wife & kids personally..so I like the 8am start programs). The residents were very happy with the training. Since it's Mayo, they get a lot of their physics/radbio training from Rochester's program and sit in on lectures via satellite which the residents said was ok. Also, being linked into the Mayo system has it's advantages. Residents can do rotations at the other Mayo sites (Scottdale, Rochester) and the program will put them up in an apartment and pay expenses, etc. So that sounded cool.. Also, Mayo is pretty inbred, so training at any of their satellites opens doors for future employment.
Jacksonville looked like a great place to live..warm and beautiful..close to the beach..an hour from Orlando..etc. Another thing I liked is that the TY program guarantees you a slot if you match into radonc..so it's kind of like a categorical program if you want it to be. I liked the idea of only moving once personally.
I was very impressed with this program..I envy whoever is lucky enough to train there. If you get an interview there, I'd definitely accept it.
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This is another program that I really liked and ended up ranking very highly on my list.
The glue of this program is definitely the chair, Dr. Komarnicky. Dr. Komarnicky is awesome. She was very friendly and made it clear to me that residents are her #1 priority. Several of the faculty there followed her from Jefferson to Drexel when she accepted the chairmanship. They all raved about her, and after meeting her I could see why.
The residents seemed like a really tight-knit, happy bunch. You could tell that they eat lunch together and socialize outside of work.
The interview day was a little rushed. I think they interviewed around 15 people for 2 spots..so it was pretty good odds. But they interviewed all of us on the same day (half in the morning and half in the afternoon). I would have liked to have a little more time to talk with some of the faculty..but the program coordinators had to run a tight ship to herd us all through in a hurry.
Our interview day began with Dr. Komarnicky announcing that if anyone in the room was looking for a really research-intense program, then Drexel probably was not for them. I appreciated her candor and my ears also perked up b/c I'm not a huge research person. I like to do some..but I don't want to feel pressure to do it all the time, and Drexel definitely doesn't seem to put the heat on like that. But there are opportunities if you want to do it..
One thing that sounds interesting about Drexel is their affiliation with CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America). I had seen adds by these guys on TV a couple of times..they incorporate holistic medicine with western medicine and have several centers accross the country. One center is in Philly and the residents spend time there. I think that would be kind of cool..it gives you a view of private practice and also a glimpse of how to handle pts with an alternative mindset.
Great program in my opinion for anyone who is interested more in clinical training than strong research or academic pursuits.
The glue of this program is definitely the chair, Dr. Komarnicky. Dr. Komarnicky is awesome. She was very friendly and made it clear to me that residents are her #1 priority. Several of the faculty there followed her from Jefferson to Drexel when she accepted the chairmanship. They all raved about her, and after meeting her I could see why.
The residents seemed like a really tight-knit, happy bunch. You could tell that they eat lunch together and socialize outside of work.
The interview day was a little rushed. I think they interviewed around 15 people for 2 spots..so it was pretty good odds. But they interviewed all of us on the same day (half in the morning and half in the afternoon). I would have liked to have a little more time to talk with some of the faculty..but the program coordinators had to run a tight ship to herd us all through in a hurry.
Our interview day began with Dr. Komarnicky announcing that if anyone in the room was looking for a really research-intense program, then Drexel probably was not for them. I appreciated her candor and my ears also perked up b/c I'm not a huge research person. I like to do some..but I don't want to feel pressure to do it all the time, and Drexel definitely doesn't seem to put the heat on like that. But there are opportunities if you want to do it..
One thing that sounds interesting about Drexel is their affiliation with CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America). I had seen adds by these guys on TV a couple of times..they incorporate holistic medicine with western medicine and have several centers accross the country. One center is in Philly and the residents spend time there. I think that would be kind of cool..it gives you a view of private practice and also a glimpse of how to handle pts with an alternative mindset.
Great program in my opinion for anyone who is interested more in clinical training than strong research or academic pursuits.
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I was really impressed by the Yale Rad Onc program. Lynn Wilson is such a dynamic and excellent program director (also an Editor of Red Journal) that I am sure that he will be offered a chairmanship somewhere very soon in the future. Yale has the right mix of clinical training and research, and the radiobiology department at Yale, led by Dr. Glazer, is probably the largest in the country. All the faculties member were extremely friendly and approachable, and the residents were very nice. New Haven is actually a pretty awesome little town... crime rate has gone down significantly since 5 years ago, and the gothic undergraduate architecture was so beautiful. The freedom to do a preliminary medicine year anywhere is definitely a plus for the Yale program. The new cancer center is going to be awesome. And NYC is only 1.5 hr away. Relatively more affordable housing in comparison to Boston, NYC, and SF.
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(note: the author of these is not the person who uses Impressions as a user name)
Harvard: I was pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone was and the overall attitude of the department at the MGH side. Everyone was genuinely interested in the applicants and spent the time to read my application. Most of the interviews were very laid back. A lot of junior faculty involved. One thing that was a little strange was that everyone asked me what other programs I was interviewing at and what my father did (did not get that anywhere else). The facilities were a little disappointing. MGH is an old hospital and everything is very crammed. That being said they do have protons and treat a lot of patients on this machine. The Longwood side had a much different feel to it. Here some of the Harvard attitude came out. The chair seemed to pressure applicants to rank them number one. Harvard seems to care a lot about this, so if you are considering them make sure they know. Also make sure you tell them you are doing a prelim year or else they will think you are lazy. There was a lot of walking in-between offices at Longwood and it was very very cold out. At Longwood most of the interviews were with residents. They were all very nice people. The strange thing was that everyone I encountered went to undergrad and/or med school at Harvard and/or Yale. The few who did not were PhD's. So just from my impression they value pedigree more so than any other program. Also most of the residents had something very unique about them (grew up in another country, played collegiate sports, artists, etc…😉. The main complaint I think many have about this program is that is is very large and spread out over many sites. There is little interaction between the Longwood and MGH side and you do not get to work with every attending. It is a very strong program and has unlimited opportunities in terms of research and career development. Boston is very expensive and cold but is a great city in many other aspects.
MDACC: They put us up in a very nice hotel and even gave us a welcome basket, a very nice touch. The cancer center and greater medical center are ridiculously large. The facilities are beautiful and very up to date. The residents and faculty were very friendly. Most of the day was spent touring the massive cancer center. The actual interview itself was in the panel format. It was a fairly tough interview, many tough questions which you had to answer with stories about your life. Plus you had to do a five minute presentation on something non-medically related. The panel included an all star cast of radiation oncologists but was not overly intimidating. After the interview we all went out to a nice bar and had drinks and food with the attendings and residents. This was a lot of fun but still a little nerve racking because you felt that you were still being interviewed, although I do not think this was the case. The residents were a lot of fun to hang out with. All very smart, mostly PhDs. Overall a great program with maybe the best clinical research opportunities. Not as good basic science as some of the other big name programs but the opportunity is definitely there. You are the only residents at the program which may be a little weird but it seemed like a tight knit group with plenty of people to hang out with. Houston is a very livable city but it is Houston which unless you are from Texas may not be the most desirable city to live in.
UCSF: When I interviewed there the chair situation was still uncertain and that reflected a little in the interview. All of the faculty were very nice people and very laid back, California. Seemed to be interested in basic science this year and I think they ended up taking mostly PhD's. The campus is split up in two sites which take quite awhile to go in between. Facilities were a little outdated at one site and I was personally scared of the potential of Earthquake damage but realize that it was probably ok. Gamma knife and cyberknife, great CNS. Many young energetic faculty. I was very impressed by the residents I met and the overall beauty of the city. I would have ranked this program higher but SF is very expensive and my advisors did not think as highly of this program as I thought they would. After the interview we had a nice meal. The chair brought some wine and we had a good time. Overall, a very good program. Some have said that the teaching is a little limited and that the program is not as good as it was in the past. I really did not appreciate this when I was there. If you want to be on the West Coast this is a great place.
Duke: I was unsure was to expect when I visited this program. I had heard mixed reviews about it from other residents I know. It used to be considered malignant and low on technology but the program has changed dramatically in the past five years because of the new chair. I was very impressed by the faculty. They have recruited a lot of big names from other departments including the old chair from Arizona and PD from Wake. The PD was a nice guy and pretty funny too. He made is clear that they were not malignant and the residents backed this up. They have vastly expanded their technology and physics department over the past years and now are leaders in that field. Residents also rotate at the VA which is on campus and supposedly a great experience with lots of IMRT. Good elective time, 9 months total, and a lot of flexibility as to what you can do during that time. Combined didactics with UNC which I thought was pretty cool because you get to see other departments and meet other residents. Duke cancer center is very well respected nationally and sees a lot of patients and has a very strong cancer biology program. The research triangle also has many drug companies if you are interested in drug development. They have a huge hyperthermia grant which is kind of cool and unique. The residents were all very friendly and smart people. Took us out to a nice meal beforehand. Durham is a very pleasant and affordable city. Overall, an excellent program with great research opportunities and clinical training. Probably the best program in the south.
Wisconsin: Wisconsin has been praised multiple times on this board and it was easy to see why. The faculty and residents were all very nice people. The have some big name faculty including the PD/new chair who is a leader in translational research. The residents have the opportunity to work in his lab and have been very productive because of it. Research time is limited during the actual residency but they encourage a post doc which is a fantastic opportunity. The interview itself consisted of two panels which were described as a JV (junior faculty/residents) and varsity one. They are the home of tomotherapy which is a pretty cool technology. Madison is a very nice place, very liberal and affordable. May be too cold for some but if you like the outdoors you can't go wrong. After the interview we went to a tasty lunch with the faculty. Very laid back atmosphere. Overall, an excellent program that some may overlook because of its location. I would highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance.
Michigan: The interview day here was very long but overall a good experience. The chair is a very impressive person who was great to talk with. You had the feeling that this program was very interested in training future academic leaders in the field. Most of the other applicants there were very accomplished in terms of publication record. It was also my understanding that everyone goes into academics following residency, so don't apply here if you are not interested in doing this. The facilities were very nice and up to date. No overly fancy toys but all the equipment they had was all recently updated. The residents were a great group as were most of the faculty. There was one faculty member with a MBA who was simply a jerk. This turned me off a little bit but I got over it because everyone else was so friendly. We had a great dinner the night before with the residents only. Overall a very strong program and maybe one of the best for people interested in academic careers. The chair is a huge name and makes the program what it is. But there are a lot of very accomplished junior faculty. Probably, the best program in the mid west. Supposedly they interview their top candidates on the first date so if you are in this group you have a good shot of matching there.
Harvard: I was pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone was and the overall attitude of the department at the MGH side. Everyone was genuinely interested in the applicants and spent the time to read my application. Most of the interviews were very laid back. A lot of junior faculty involved. One thing that was a little strange was that everyone asked me what other programs I was interviewing at and what my father did (did not get that anywhere else). The facilities were a little disappointing. MGH is an old hospital and everything is very crammed. That being said they do have protons and treat a lot of patients on this machine. The Longwood side had a much different feel to it. Here some of the Harvard attitude came out. The chair seemed to pressure applicants to rank them number one. Harvard seems to care a lot about this, so if you are considering them make sure they know. Also make sure you tell them you are doing a prelim year or else they will think you are lazy. There was a lot of walking in-between offices at Longwood and it was very very cold out. At Longwood most of the interviews were with residents. They were all very nice people. The strange thing was that everyone I encountered went to undergrad and/or med school at Harvard and/or Yale. The few who did not were PhD's. So just from my impression they value pedigree more so than any other program. Also most of the residents had something very unique about them (grew up in another country, played collegiate sports, artists, etc…😉. The main complaint I think many have about this program is that is is very large and spread out over many sites. There is little interaction between the Longwood and MGH side and you do not get to work with every attending. It is a very strong program and has unlimited opportunities in terms of research and career development. Boston is very expensive and cold but is a great city in many other aspects.
MDACC: They put us up in a very nice hotel and even gave us a welcome basket, a very nice touch. The cancer center and greater medical center are ridiculously large. The facilities are beautiful and very up to date. The residents and faculty were very friendly. Most of the day was spent touring the massive cancer center. The actual interview itself was in the panel format. It was a fairly tough interview, many tough questions which you had to answer with stories about your life. Plus you had to do a five minute presentation on something non-medically related. The panel included an all star cast of radiation oncologists but was not overly intimidating. After the interview we all went out to a nice bar and had drinks and food with the attendings and residents. This was a lot of fun but still a little nerve racking because you felt that you were still being interviewed, although I do not think this was the case. The residents were a lot of fun to hang out with. All very smart, mostly PhDs. Overall a great program with maybe the best clinical research opportunities. Not as good basic science as some of the other big name programs but the opportunity is definitely there. You are the only residents at the program which may be a little weird but it seemed like a tight knit group with plenty of people to hang out with. Houston is a very livable city but it is Houston which unless you are from Texas may not be the most desirable city to live in.
UCSF: When I interviewed there the chair situation was still uncertain and that reflected a little in the interview. All of the faculty were very nice people and very laid back, California. Seemed to be interested in basic science this year and I think they ended up taking mostly PhD's. The campus is split up in two sites which take quite awhile to go in between. Facilities were a little outdated at one site and I was personally scared of the potential of Earthquake damage but realize that it was probably ok. Gamma knife and cyberknife, great CNS. Many young energetic faculty. I was very impressed by the residents I met and the overall beauty of the city. I would have ranked this program higher but SF is very expensive and my advisors did not think as highly of this program as I thought they would. After the interview we had a nice meal. The chair brought some wine and we had a good time. Overall, a very good program. Some have said that the teaching is a little limited and that the program is not as good as it was in the past. I really did not appreciate this when I was there. If you want to be on the West Coast this is a great place.
Duke: I was unsure was to expect when I visited this program. I had heard mixed reviews about it from other residents I know. It used to be considered malignant and low on technology but the program has changed dramatically in the past five years because of the new chair. I was very impressed by the faculty. They have recruited a lot of big names from other departments including the old chair from Arizona and PD from Wake. The PD was a nice guy and pretty funny too. He made is clear that they were not malignant and the residents backed this up. They have vastly expanded their technology and physics department over the past years and now are leaders in that field. Residents also rotate at the VA which is on campus and supposedly a great experience with lots of IMRT. Good elective time, 9 months total, and a lot of flexibility as to what you can do during that time. Combined didactics with UNC which I thought was pretty cool because you get to see other departments and meet other residents. Duke cancer center is very well respected nationally and sees a lot of patients and has a very strong cancer biology program. The research triangle also has many drug companies if you are interested in drug development. They have a huge hyperthermia grant which is kind of cool and unique. The residents were all very friendly and smart people. Took us out to a nice meal beforehand. Durham is a very pleasant and affordable city. Overall, an excellent program with great research opportunities and clinical training. Probably the best program in the south.
Wisconsin: Wisconsin has been praised multiple times on this board and it was easy to see why. The faculty and residents were all very nice people. The have some big name faculty including the PD/new chair who is a leader in translational research. The residents have the opportunity to work in his lab and have been very productive because of it. Research time is limited during the actual residency but they encourage a post doc which is a fantastic opportunity. The interview itself consisted of two panels which were described as a JV (junior faculty/residents) and varsity one. They are the home of tomotherapy which is a pretty cool technology. Madison is a very nice place, very liberal and affordable. May be too cold for some but if you like the outdoors you can't go wrong. After the interview we went to a tasty lunch with the faculty. Very laid back atmosphere. Overall, an excellent program that some may overlook because of its location. I would highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance.
Michigan: The interview day here was very long but overall a good experience. The chair is a very impressive person who was great to talk with. You had the feeling that this program was very interested in training future academic leaders in the field. Most of the other applicants there were very accomplished in terms of publication record. It was also my understanding that everyone goes into academics following residency, so don't apply here if you are not interested in doing this. The facilities were very nice and up to date. No overly fancy toys but all the equipment they had was all recently updated. The residents were a great group as were most of the faculty. There was one faculty member with a MBA who was simply a jerk. This turned me off a little bit but I got over it because everyone else was so friendly. We had a great dinner the night before with the residents only. Overall a very strong program and maybe one of the best for people interested in academic careers. The chair is a huge name and makes the program what it is. But there are a lot of very accomplished junior faculty. Probably, the best program in the mid west. Supposedly they interview their top candidates on the first date so if you are in this group you have a good shot of matching there.
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- Mar 17, 2007
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Here were my impressions of the programs at which I interviewed...
YALE: I was extremely impressed by the department at Yale, both during my away rotation there and from the interview process. Great group of people. The residents are all very down-to-Earth and funny and seem to be very happy with their experience. It seems as though the scut-work is kept to a minimum and all of their clinical services are busy, with the possible exception of peds (which seems to be true almost everywhere). The new cancer center which is in construction only promises to make the clinical training that much better. Lynn Wilson, the program director, is a fantastic guy- intense, but very straightforward and approachable. There is a nice mix of junior and senior faculty, all of whom take an active role in educating the residents. In addition to solid clinical training there are a lot of opportunities for research, including 9-12 months of elective time during residency and one of the largest radiobiology departments in the country. They do a nice job of selling the program on interview day. The night before there was a cocktail party attended by all the residents and several attendings. During the interview day you have plenty of time with the residents (beware of programs where this is not true) and shockingly, I think I finished the day only having to interview with 4 attendings.
Probably the biggest disadvantage is the location, depending on what you're looking for. New Haven has some cultural offerings (mostly related to Yale University) and is close to Boston and New York but obviously does not compare to those cities in its own right. Overall, I was pretty much blown away by this program and I wouldn't be surprised if its reputation continues to grow.
YALE: I was extremely impressed by the department at Yale, both during my away rotation there and from the interview process. Great group of people. The residents are all very down-to-Earth and funny and seem to be very happy with their experience. It seems as though the scut-work is kept to a minimum and all of their clinical services are busy, with the possible exception of peds (which seems to be true almost everywhere). The new cancer center which is in construction only promises to make the clinical training that much better. Lynn Wilson, the program director, is a fantastic guy- intense, but very straightforward and approachable. There is a nice mix of junior and senior faculty, all of whom take an active role in educating the residents. In addition to solid clinical training there are a lot of opportunities for research, including 9-12 months of elective time during residency and one of the largest radiobiology departments in the country. They do a nice job of selling the program on interview day. The night before there was a cocktail party attended by all the residents and several attendings. During the interview day you have plenty of time with the residents (beware of programs where this is not true) and shockingly, I think I finished the day only having to interview with 4 attendings.
Probably the biggest disadvantage is the location, depending on what you're looking for. New Haven has some cultural offerings (mostly related to Yale University) and is close to Boston and New York but obviously does not compare to those cities in its own right. Overall, I was pretty much blown away by this program and I wouldn't be surprised if its reputation continues to grow.
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- Mar 17, 2007
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This was another program that really impressed me. The location is awesome- upper east side overlooking central park. It's a fairly small department (I think 4 attendings and 6 residents) which is good and bad. Good- the department felt like a community and everyone seemed to get along for the most part. Bad- there are a limited number of attendings to rotate with and it sounds like residents get a disproportionate amount of training in prostate cancer because the program director, Richard Stock, specializes in this. The radiobiology curriculum is taught by Barry Rosenstein (he also teaches the residents at MSKCC and NYU, I believe) and it sounds like the Mt. Sinai residents pretty much smoke the boards (radbio, physics, and oral). Overall: great location, excellent clinical training, some limitations in clinical training and research opportunities due to its small size.
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Wash U: Wash U was another program I was unsure what to expect. It definitely had a malignant reputation in the past. On the interview day I was taken back by how large the med center was. The cancer center looks brand new and the department was very impressive. The program has a new chair from Harvard who is a big DNA repair guy. Went on a tour of the facilities which were very up to date, I believe they are a test site for one of the manufacturers. They are also supposedly building a scaled down proton accelerator in the near future, the first of its kind (if it works). Lots of open, recently built lab space just waiting for new faculty to fill. The interview process was pretty relaxed except for the interview with the chair and PD, be prepared to get grilled on your research, but nothing too bad. The residents seem like a good group. They did a slide show for us which was pretty funny. St. Louis is a decent place to live in, maybe a little too conservative and mid west for my taste. We went to a fantastic meal the night before. I was impressed by the downtown area. Overall, a very solid program which is looking to expand its basic science with a lot of exciting technology, and good opportunities for residents.
Stanford: It was great to walk outside and have it be 70 degrees and sunny in the middle of winter. The new cancer center is amazing, very well designed with good interaction between rad onc, medicine, and surgery. At the time they were putting in their second cyberknife which was invented there by a neurosurgeon. The interview itself was not too bad. The chair spent most of the time asking us about the interview trail and books we have read. The PD who is a former gold medalist was very energetic. They were big on the department's history which was very impressive. The residents were all very nice people and seem like a close group, supposedly they all drink beers in the department on Fridays. There were a lot of young faculty members who were very involved in translational/basic science research. Over the course of the interview day everyone was very flattering. Like Michigan they tend to interview their favorites first. Told us that they did not need you to tell them they were your number one although the residents gave me a little different impression. Overall, arguably the best west coast program. Many big name faculty especially in lymphoma, Great research opportunities in all aspects of rad onc.
Stanford: It was great to walk outside and have it be 70 degrees and sunny in the middle of winter. The new cancer center is amazing, very well designed with good interaction between rad onc, medicine, and surgery. At the time they were putting in their second cyberknife which was invented there by a neurosurgeon. The interview itself was not too bad. The chair spent most of the time asking us about the interview trail and books we have read. The PD who is a former gold medalist was very energetic. They were big on the department's history which was very impressive. The residents were all very nice people and seem like a close group, supposedly they all drink beers in the department on Fridays. There were a lot of young faculty members who were very involved in translational/basic science research. Over the course of the interview day everyone was very flattering. Like Michigan they tend to interview their favorites first. Told us that they did not need you to tell them they were your number one although the residents gave me a little different impression. Overall, arguably the best west coast program. Many big name faculty especially in lymphoma, Great research opportunities in all aspects of rad onc.
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- Mar 17, 2007
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I did not know what to expect from Drexel when I got invited for my interview. First of all, they called everyone very late in the interview season (early December) and invited everyone to one interview day (Saturday, with a morning and afternoon group). Their website has pretty much no information so it was very difficult to be overly prepared with no way of learning about the program in advance. I was pleasantly surprised by my visit. As a previous poster mentioned, the department very much revolves around the PD- Lydia Komarnicky. Several of the interviewers (attendings and physicists) made a point to emphasize how great a person she is and pointed out that they left Jefferson to follow her to Drexel. The program is VERY clinically oriented (i.e. practically no research going on) and they are very upfront about this fact. If you're an applicant with limited research background (like myself) you should definitely check out this program. There is almost an anti-research bias, not that they have anything against research, but they believe that their program might not be a great fit for a budding researcher. The residents (5 or 6) were extremely friendly. They rotate at three different sites- Hahnemann, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and Abington Hospital (suburban community hospital). Apparently Hahnemann is somewhat chaotic and the least favorite site for the residents but as you get to your PGY 3 and 4 you spend your time at the other sites, both of which are very impressive. I would definitely recommend going for a second look to Drexel if you are interested b/c you only see Hahnemann on the interview day so coming back allows you to 1) see the nicer clinical sites and 2) show interest. Philadelphia seems like an awesome city, slightly more affordable than NYC with a lot of history/culture and plenty to do. Drexel is located in downtown Philly, in a slightly sketchy area. Overall: Incredibly nice people, very clinically focused, good location.
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I thought I was going to like this program a lot more than I did. My main objection was two of the attendings that interviewed me. First of all, if I may go on a brief rant, any interviewer that BEGINS the interview with the question "so, what questions do you have for me" has three strikes against him already. I know the interviewers don't have time to read every last word of every application, but I think minimal effort would be to glance at the cover page and ask a question about my medical school or my home town or the origin of my name. Something other than the dreaded "questions" question as an opener. Anyway, one of the attendings was a character who I'm surprised they allow to interview applicants. He was swearing like a sailor and clearly resented the fact that he was spending his morning interviewing applicants. A second attending was unfriendly bordering on hostile. Those interviews aside, the program was not without its positives. The location is desirable and if the much talked about merger with the Columbia residency program happens, everyone seems to agree that a superior program would result. Obviously, these impressions are highly biased. The residents seemed content (although we didn't have much time at all with them) and I'm sure the clinical training is good. This is another program with a very clinical focus. Overall: probably good clinical training, great location, possibly big improvements pending if the merger happens, interesting personalities...
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- Mar 17, 2007
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I thought I was going to like this program a lot more than I did. My main objection was two of the attendings that interviewed me. First of all, if I may go on a brief rant, any interviewer that BEGINS the interview with the question "so, what questions do you have for me" has three strikes against him already. I know the interviewers don't have time to read every last word of every application, but I think minimal effort would be to glance at the cover page and ask a question about my medical school or my home town or the origin of my name. Something other than the dreaded "questions" question as an opener. Anyway, one of the attendings was a character who I'm surprised they allow to interview applicants. He was swearing like a sailor and clearly resented the fact that he was spending his morning interviewing applicants. A second attending was unfriendly bordering on hostile. Those interviews aside, the program was not without its positives. The location is desirable and if the much talked about merger with the Columbia residency program happens, everyone seems to agree that a superior program would result. Obviously, these impressions are highly biased. The residents seemed content (although we didn't have much time at all with them) and I'm sure the clinical training is good. This is another program with a very clinical focus. Overall: probably good clinical training, great location, possibly big improvements pending if the merger happens, interesting personalities...
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Sorry about the double post on Cornell- rookie error.
I was warned by multiple people that SUNY Downstate was not the most desirable of programs. While it certainly didn't blow me away I thought it was a reasonable option. One interesting aspect is that the residents rotate at 5 different clinical sites in Brooklyn, Manhatten, and Staten Island (thereby indirectly proving that there are people on Staten Island after all?). While the attendings were touting this as a selling point and it seems plausible that the residents get broad, varied clinical experience, they seemed a bit exhausted with all the traveling required (they have to go to Brooklyn most days for didactics) and it seemed like over the course of 4 years you'd lose a substantial amount of clinical time in transit. Perhaps it is made up for in the very busy city hospitals and the apparently advanced pathology that the residents see. Dr. Rotman, the PD, was very nice but did provide for an awkward interviewing moment when I sat in the room for 2-3 minutes before he said a word. There appear to be plenty of opportunities for clinical research. Most of the attendings seem to have trained there which I took as a testament to the enjoyable work atmosphere (but which I guess could also be interpreted as slightly insulated and incestuous).
I was warned by multiple people that SUNY Downstate was not the most desirable of programs. While it certainly didn't blow me away I thought it was a reasonable option. One interesting aspect is that the residents rotate at 5 different clinical sites in Brooklyn, Manhatten, and Staten Island (thereby indirectly proving that there are people on Staten Island after all?). While the attendings were touting this as a selling point and it seems plausible that the residents get broad, varied clinical experience, they seemed a bit exhausted with all the traveling required (they have to go to Brooklyn most days for didactics) and it seemed like over the course of 4 years you'd lose a substantial amount of clinical time in transit. Perhaps it is made up for in the very busy city hospitals and the apparently advanced pathology that the residents see. Dr. Rotman, the PD, was very nice but did provide for an awkward interviewing moment when I sat in the room for 2-3 minutes before he said a word. There appear to be plenty of opportunities for clinical research. Most of the attendings seem to have trained there which I took as a testament to the enjoyable work atmosphere (but which I guess could also be interpreted as slightly insulated and incestuous).
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This is a program that just about everybody recognizes as being on the rise. It is only a few years old and many people in the field see it as sort of a hidden jewel because it hasn't been around long enough to build its reputation but it has Bruce Haffty as chairman and program director. One salient aspect of this program is the TECHNOLOGY that they have and are in the process of getting. The department is brand new and already has IGRT, IMRT, and tomotherapy and is in the midst of acquiring a single unit proton machine in the next couple years. The residents seem very happy but obviously the program is still working out some of the kinks as the radonc department figures out how to incorporate the residents. The interview day was conspicuously light on the interviews, which I would normally be happy about but when only three people interview you, each for 15 minutes, you almost wonder how much the interview day matters. For me, the major drawback of UMDNJ is that it is in New Jersey. If you like traffic and divided highways then this program is definitely a must-see. In fairness, the residents seemed to have figured out how to navigate the congestion and appeared to be very well taken care of at this program. Overall: young program on the rise, lots of neat toys, in New Jersey.
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The radonc department at UIowa is brand new and very impressive. They do a lot of cutting edge work with IGRT and LINAC-based radiosurgery. Dr. Buatti, the chairman, is a great guy- very dynamic and motivational. Dr. Smith, the PD, is also very nice but more soft-spoken. There are 5-6 residents who seem mostly happy. The department is on a big push for translational research and seem to be putting much of their energy in establishing links between the radonc department and the basic scientists, which at times seems to result in increased burden on the residents. The residents take a PhD level radiobiology course along with grad students and there is some discussion about doing the same with the physics curriculum. All in all, my impression is that the residents get truly excellent training, with busy clinical services and many opportunities for research. For me, I couldn't see spending 4 years in Iowa but I do believe that this program is up and coming.
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Fox Chase: I was a little taken back by the location of this program. Its in an ugly semi-suburban area of North Philly, about 30 minutes to center city. The cancer center itself was very nice and secluded. The PD sold his program well, maybe over did it a little. The chair is from MDA and heads one of the translational research committees. The interview itself consisted of a single panel which I was not a huge fan of. The interview was short and I had few opportunities to ask questions. Also once I left the interview I could only recall the names of the PD and chair. There was a lot of time with the residents, we went out to dinner in center city the night before and they were around all during the interview day. They also had a famous scientist associated with the cancer center come talk to us. The residents seem like a good group of guys and the faculty all were very nice and welcoming. Overall, FCCC is a solid program with good clinical training, opportunities for research, and good people to work with.
Loyola: Like FCCC this program is located outside the city in a not so aesthetic area. The hospital itself was nice but a little old. It was a long interview day. We talked to just about everyone associated with the program including the business administrator and program coordinator (I think). The chair is a really good guy, has done a lot of work with dose tolerances. The residents do a lot of their training at the VA which sounds like it has better technology than the university hospital does. I had the feeling from the interviews and talking to the residents that this was a great program for clinical training, they seemed to pride themselves on it. However, research opportunities were very limited especially in radiobiology. I think this would be a great program for someone wanting to go into private practice in the mid west. Maybe not the best to build your career in academics, however, they do have residents go on to become faculty members.
Maryland: I very surprised by Maryland. I had no idea what to expect from them but they had a great interview day. We went to dinner the night before with only the residents and the interview itself tool place on a Saturday. It was a very very long interview day. I think we had 14 interviews if you can believe that. The faculty were very nice and involved in a variety of projects. The cancer center itself was impressive and they were updating some of their technology. The residents I met seemed like a great group of people however many of them were not there on the actual interview day b/c it was on a Saturday. Also since the interview was on a weekend you did not get a good sense of how the clinic was run. Both chairs were very nice to talk with. The interview with the PD consisted of generic interview questions like "describe yourself in three words" which I was not a big fan of. During and after the interview they strongly encouraged us to come back for a second look. All the current residents supposedly did this. I found this personally annoying. I had already spent a lot of money to come out there and I just did not have the time to come back. I felt like I wasted my day being there because of this.
Loyola: Like FCCC this program is located outside the city in a not so aesthetic area. The hospital itself was nice but a little old. It was a long interview day. We talked to just about everyone associated with the program including the business administrator and program coordinator (I think). The chair is a really good guy, has done a lot of work with dose tolerances. The residents do a lot of their training at the VA which sounds like it has better technology than the university hospital does. I had the feeling from the interviews and talking to the residents that this was a great program for clinical training, they seemed to pride themselves on it. However, research opportunities were very limited especially in radiobiology. I think this would be a great program for someone wanting to go into private practice in the mid west. Maybe not the best to build your career in academics, however, they do have residents go on to become faculty members.
Maryland: I very surprised by Maryland. I had no idea what to expect from them but they had a great interview day. We went to dinner the night before with only the residents and the interview itself tool place on a Saturday. It was a very very long interview day. I think we had 14 interviews if you can believe that. The faculty were very nice and involved in a variety of projects. The cancer center itself was impressive and they were updating some of their technology. The residents I met seemed like a great group of people however many of them were not there on the actual interview day b/c it was on a Saturday. Also since the interview was on a weekend you did not get a good sense of how the clinic was run. Both chairs were very nice to talk with. The interview with the PD consisted of generic interview questions like "describe yourself in three words" which I was not a big fan of. During and after the interview they strongly encouraged us to come back for a second look. All the current residents supposedly did this. I found this personally annoying. I had already spent a lot of money to come out there and I just did not have the time to come back. I felt like I wasted my day being there because of this.
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Only a couple of highlights from my own experiences now that the match is over, (not meant to be thorough):
Harvard - Strong clinical program, hands down maybe the best research opportunities in the country. However, the arrogance was in the air throughout the interview day(s), some of the questions they asked us, and the games they play(ed) were outright ridiculous.
MSKCC - Much less research opportunities, but much stronger clinical program than HROP. Importantly, the faculty are just normal, nice people, who all know their stuff.
MDACC - Everything about this program is great, except for Houston.
Stanford - very nice weather, but the residents seem unhappy, and some of them seem mean.
Yale - Strong clinical program, very strong research. Dr. Wilson seems like an amazing PD, and the residents love him, as he has built the program from the ground up. Glazer is one of 4-5 RadOnc's in the country with >4 RO1 grants and serious basic science research.
Harvard - Strong clinical program, hands down maybe the best research opportunities in the country. However, the arrogance was in the air throughout the interview day(s), some of the questions they asked us, and the games they play(ed) were outright ridiculous.
MSKCC - Much less research opportunities, but much stronger clinical program than HROP. Importantly, the faculty are just normal, nice people, who all know their stuff.
MDACC - Everything about this program is great, except for Houston.
Stanford - very nice weather, but the residents seem unhappy, and some of them seem mean.
Yale - Strong clinical program, very strong research. Dr. Wilson seems like an amazing PD, and the residents love him, as he has built the program from the ground up. Glazer is one of 4-5 RadOnc's in the country with >4 RO1 grants and serious basic science research.
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Interview impressions
Well, here are a few of my interview impressions. I'll list the places that stand out most in my memory (it's already starting to become a blur now), as well as places not covered yet by other posts.
Harvard- I had a completely different impression of this program than the previous poster (impressions)—i.e., I was quite surprised by how genuinely warm and caring the faculty appeared to be, and did not detect much arrogance at all; they seemed to be excited about what they were doing and excited about advancing the field of radiation oncology. (I have to admit I thought the faculty might be potentially arrogant, and was completely surprised to find the complete opposite.). The interviews were relaxed and relatively informal (nothing was asked to put me on the spot, such as "name the most technically challenging case you've dealt with in radiation oncology" or "what are your weaknesses", which I got at U Mich.) Most common question asked was "where do you see yourself in 10 years?". For a long two day process I was surprised there was no introductory session or program overview, in contrast to other programs. Residency coordinators were friendly and kept the days running smoothly and on time, and made effort to come and chat with interviewees while we were waiting for our next interviews. Totally impressed with the research opportunities available. Residents get 12 months of protected time for research but can use this to obtain an MPH instead. Was told they were looking for three things- 1. clinical competence 2. good personality 3. future leaders in the field. Many of the faculty I met during my interviews had some past connection to Harvard- either went to HMS or did residency at Harvard. I don't know if this is by design or just reflects the large number of excellent graduates coming out of the residency program every year. Same goes for the residents- many of them were from HMS. Residents were friendly and seemed happy (but then again I was only there for 2 days, and met only a handful of the many residents in the program); overall I agree this would be a top program for anyone wanting to go into academics, and I left with the sense that the faculty would make great mentors. Can not remark about the facilities since I did not get to take a tour.
Cornell- The most bizarre interview day. Met with one attending who, I'm sure, did not even know my name, and refused to shake hands with any of the interviewees. He barely looked up from his work during my short 5 minute interview and looked as if he could care less about selecting applicants for the program, plus made it clear he did not like his job. The rad onc residents train at two facilities- one located in Manhattan, the other in Queens, so the interview day was split between the two sites. Two other interviews at the Manhattan site ended up being cancelled, so I only got to meet the PD (who seemed friendly enough) and one other attending, who was swamped with work that day and could only interview for 5 minutes. So most of the interview day was spent waiting (probably spent about 4 hours waiting total) and wondering when we would be called in for our next interviews. Residency coordinator was excellent however, and seemed to be trying to make the best of the situation. Met two residents for about 10 minutes total, and they had to go work, so I can not comment about their happiness or satisfaction. However, they mentioned excellent work hours (get out most days around 4-5) and fantastic subsidized housing. At the Queens location, the attendings were more cordial and fortunately no interviews were cancelled last minute after hours of waiting. One attending told me that if I wished to pursue research, Cornell would not be the program for me. Overall I didn't know what to make of this program- on the plus side, the program is in NY, has good housing, and potential of improving once it combines with Columbia. On the minus side, I had the impression that some of the faculty had no interest in selecting future applicants and this made me wary- what does this mean once you start working with them on a daily basis? Take my impressions with a grain of salt though perhaps everyone was just having a bad day.
NYU- Interview day was very well-organized. The chairman, Dr. Formenti, was welcoming and expressed strong interest in selecting future academicians. Sensed she would be supportive of research endeavors. New program director, Dr. Narayana, is strong in CNS, and I heard talk they would be getting a second gamma knife. Have also heard he has brought a lot of improvements in didactics to the program. Radiobiology is taught by Dr. Rosenstein and combines NYU, MSKCC and Mt. Sinai residents. Residents appeared to get along very well with each other (there are 6 total) and were some of the nicest I've met. Got pimped by one new attending during the interview, who made comments about my CV that can be interpreted as disparaging/arrogant, but perhaps he did not realize how he comes across. I believe residents get 9 months of protected research time but can negotiate for up to 12. Rotations in pathology and radiology are required. Beautiful cancer center in midtown Manhattan; residents also see patients at Tisch (private hospital) and Bellevue (a lot of advanced pathology can be seen at this public hospital).
Will be continued…
Well, here are a few of my interview impressions. I'll list the places that stand out most in my memory (it's already starting to become a blur now), as well as places not covered yet by other posts.
Harvard- I had a completely different impression of this program than the previous poster (impressions)—i.e., I was quite surprised by how genuinely warm and caring the faculty appeared to be, and did not detect much arrogance at all; they seemed to be excited about what they were doing and excited about advancing the field of radiation oncology. (I have to admit I thought the faculty might be potentially arrogant, and was completely surprised to find the complete opposite.). The interviews were relaxed and relatively informal (nothing was asked to put me on the spot, such as "name the most technically challenging case you've dealt with in radiation oncology" or "what are your weaknesses", which I got at U Mich.) Most common question asked was "where do you see yourself in 10 years?". For a long two day process I was surprised there was no introductory session or program overview, in contrast to other programs. Residency coordinators were friendly and kept the days running smoothly and on time, and made effort to come and chat with interviewees while we were waiting for our next interviews. Totally impressed with the research opportunities available. Residents get 12 months of protected time for research but can use this to obtain an MPH instead. Was told they were looking for three things- 1. clinical competence 2. good personality 3. future leaders in the field. Many of the faculty I met during my interviews had some past connection to Harvard- either went to HMS or did residency at Harvard. I don't know if this is by design or just reflects the large number of excellent graduates coming out of the residency program every year. Same goes for the residents- many of them were from HMS. Residents were friendly and seemed happy (but then again I was only there for 2 days, and met only a handful of the many residents in the program); overall I agree this would be a top program for anyone wanting to go into academics, and I left with the sense that the faculty would make great mentors. Can not remark about the facilities since I did not get to take a tour.
Cornell- The most bizarre interview day. Met with one attending who, I'm sure, did not even know my name, and refused to shake hands with any of the interviewees. He barely looked up from his work during my short 5 minute interview and looked as if he could care less about selecting applicants for the program, plus made it clear he did not like his job. The rad onc residents train at two facilities- one located in Manhattan, the other in Queens, so the interview day was split between the two sites. Two other interviews at the Manhattan site ended up being cancelled, so I only got to meet the PD (who seemed friendly enough) and one other attending, who was swamped with work that day and could only interview for 5 minutes. So most of the interview day was spent waiting (probably spent about 4 hours waiting total) and wondering when we would be called in for our next interviews. Residency coordinator was excellent however, and seemed to be trying to make the best of the situation. Met two residents for about 10 minutes total, and they had to go work, so I can not comment about their happiness or satisfaction. However, they mentioned excellent work hours (get out most days around 4-5) and fantastic subsidized housing. At the Queens location, the attendings were more cordial and fortunately no interviews were cancelled last minute after hours of waiting. One attending told me that if I wished to pursue research, Cornell would not be the program for me. Overall I didn't know what to make of this program- on the plus side, the program is in NY, has good housing, and potential of improving once it combines with Columbia. On the minus side, I had the impression that some of the faculty had no interest in selecting future applicants and this made me wary- what does this mean once you start working with them on a daily basis? Take my impressions with a grain of salt though perhaps everyone was just having a bad day.
NYU- Interview day was very well-organized. The chairman, Dr. Formenti, was welcoming and expressed strong interest in selecting future academicians. Sensed she would be supportive of research endeavors. New program director, Dr. Narayana, is strong in CNS, and I heard talk they would be getting a second gamma knife. Have also heard he has brought a lot of improvements in didactics to the program. Radiobiology is taught by Dr. Rosenstein and combines NYU, MSKCC and Mt. Sinai residents. Residents appeared to get along very well with each other (there are 6 total) and were some of the nicest I've met. Got pimped by one new attending during the interview, who made comments about my CV that can be interpreted as disparaging/arrogant, but perhaps he did not realize how he comes across. I believe residents get 9 months of protected research time but can negotiate for up to 12. Rotations in pathology and radiology are required. Beautiful cancer center in midtown Manhattan; residents also see patients at Tisch (private hospital) and Bellevue (a lot of advanced pathology can be seen at this public hospital).
Will be continued…
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I want to dispel the myth created by two previous postings that Michigan interviews their 'top' candidates on the first day. This is simply not true.
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- Pre-Health (Field Undecided)
I rotated at the The University of Washington a few years ago and while I have heard things are on the rise there with the influx of new faculty, all is not rosy in the department. Seattle is an amazing city in the summer but has overcast rainy winters. My impression of Dr. Douglas, the program director is he does not advocate for the residents and is a pretty bad program director. Unless something has changed he is not easy to get along with and I often saw him getting into confrontations with the residents. If you ask the residents who have graduated from there in recent years they have no good feelings about him.
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I agree with the above. I rotated through UW this year and it sounds like not much has changed. Dr. Douglas was quite abrasive during the rotation, though he was alright during the interview. One should keep in mind, though, that Dr. Douglas is stepping down as PD.
The thing that bothered me most about UW is a complete lack of emphasis or priority on research. This is a program that provides no support to residents for research, training, or much of anything. In fact, there was talk about completely taking away the last remaining 3 months of research electives.
Talking with the current residents at UW, it was very apparent to them that their only purpose in the department was to be H&P monkeys and do scut work. First priority is that all of the attendings must be covered by residents all of the time. Residents are currently covering multiple attendings simultaneously. Teaching was not considered a priority by the senior attendings. Morning teaching conferences would be scheduled and attendings would not bother to show up. I would certainly not characterize the current residents as happy. They appeared quite desperate for change.
With the new influx of attendings and new PD, it is possible that UW will change, however, currently I'm not sure how good of a training program exists there.
Seattle, though, is an awesome city...
The thing that bothered me most about UW is a complete lack of emphasis or priority on research. This is a program that provides no support to residents for research, training, or much of anything. In fact, there was talk about completely taking away the last remaining 3 months of research electives.
Talking with the current residents at UW, it was very apparent to them that their only purpose in the department was to be H&P monkeys and do scut work. First priority is that all of the attendings must be covered by residents all of the time. Residents are currently covering multiple attendings simultaneously. Teaching was not considered a priority by the senior attendings. Morning teaching conferences would be scheduled and attendings would not bother to show up. I would certainly not characterize the current residents as happy. They appeared quite desperate for change.
With the new influx of attendings and new PD, it is possible that UW will change, however, currently I'm not sure how good of a training program exists there.
Seattle, though, is an awesome city...
