Interview reviews

[deleted50478]

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Anyone have any positives to describe re: UNM?

Ok. I went to UNM ages ago, but I remember a little. The city was about as good as they come for outdoor enthusiasts. Great weather, clear dry air, mountains and rivers in your backyard. There seemed to be a street with several clubs and bars, but I passed through early in the evening while things were slow. You could also afford to buy a 2br house near the hospital if you wanted to. The program had very friendly residents and they all thought the regional experience was very good. I heard that hearts were light but adequate and that neuro has improved. This is the best I can do since it has been a while. I did leave really liking the place though.

 

[DrDre']

Thx Nola
I will be seeing it for myself soon but wanted some more info.

Ok. I went to UNM ages ago, but I remember a little. The city was about as good as they come for outdoor enthusiasts. Great weather, clear dry air, mountains and rivers in your backyard. There seemed to be a little street with some clubs and things, but I passed through early in the evening while things were slow. You could also afford to buy a 2br house near the hospital if you wanted to. The program had very friendly residents and they all thought the regional experience was very good. I heard that hearts were light but adequate and that neuro has improved. This is the best I can do since it has been a while. I did leave really liking the place though.

 

[DR. JJ]

Does anybody have anything to add to the previous review by wcostell on UNC that is listed below? I do know that their website says they work 68hr/week average and call schedule is q5 your CA1 through CA3 year. Any other info would be appreciated.

4. UNC Chapel Hill - Excellent experience. Nicest hotel thus far. Close knit with the University. People are great (Chief with Big Lebowsky Fan in his bio). Nice facilities, beautiful area. No downsides, with possible exception of limited autonomy as a resident(Rumours of Attending pushing meds into CA-2 year). Lots of Anesthesia in Intern year.

 

[no oxygen]

Does anybody have anything to add to the previous review by wcostell on UNC that is listed below? I do know that their website says they work 68hr/week average and call schedule is q5 your CA1 through CA3 year. Any other info would be appreciated.

When I was there, the residents said they worked approx. 55-60 hrs per week. They only do 2-3 overnight calls per month...they have 2-3 late stay calls monthly in addition, so not bad at all. Extremely friendly faculty and residents...some of the best people I've met on the trail. Great interview day as well--you'll enjoy yourself. No dedicated regional month could be construed as a weakness...they have a philosophy that if you do the block, you should also run the case (they got this from Virginia Mason), which makes sense. They don't do tons of cardiac (certainly enough to get your numbers with ease but you won't double or triple the requirements like at some programs) but they've got tons of pediatrics, which is what I want to do. Beautiful area with affordable areas near Chapel Hill, so most residents buy homes. I'll definitely be ranking this place highly.

 

[MD/TX2006]

Univ of Arizona

Good program- 12 advanced positions
Tuscon is freakin' gorgeous! Lots of outdoor things to do; UofAriz basketball is high on everyone's list here! And the people there are super-nice. Weekend trips to Las Vegas or LA not uncommon.

Call is about 4-6 per month all three years, but it changes on their system (most of this is correct 🙂 ):
First Call- person most likely to stay up, but still gets a couple of hours of sleep
Second Call- person will help out if needed, but usually gets more sleep
Third Call- back up from home (usually a CA-1)

16 main ORs, no childrens hospital, but enough cases to where no one needs to leave (but they have an elective to take as a CA-3 in Phoenix). The breadth/depth of cases are really good- sick patients, have the artificial heart program (!). Level 1 trauma. Only one CRNA. Some months at the VA and another hospital which displays a more private practice model. Also, pre-op clinic is staffed daily by rotating CA-1s, so that when your room is finished you do not have to start on all the pre-ops, just kind of double-check it.

Faculty-resident relations are really good with lots of outside activities to maintain good spirits. Journal club at restaurants. Book fund each year, first year they buy the important books for you, two following years the money is yours to spend as needed. Hospital is a nice environment, clean; decent cafeteria- get ~$1400/year on food card; access to library and computers. Nice call rooms with computers. Hospital is mostly computerized charting except for ICU. Currently, 2 months in the SICU- closed unit- no MICU/CV-ICU. Research available if desired but NOT required. Pain fellowship and Critical Care fellowships generally available.

Overall, pretty great, laidback but "gets the job done" program in a sweet location! PD is looking for folks he feels will make great teams and fit in well with others. Many CA-3s have great jobs lined up in the area or elsewhere.

 

[aredoubleyou]

Univ of Arizona

Good program- 12 advanced positions
Tuscon is freakin' gorgeous! Lots of outdoor things to do; UofAriz basketball is high on everyone's list here! And the people there are super-nice. Weekend trips to Las Vegas or LA not uncommon.

Call is about 4-6 per month all three years, but it changes on their system (most of this is correct 🙂 ):
First Call- person most likely to stay up, but still gets a couple of hours of sleep
Second Call- person will help out if needed, but usually gets more sleep
Third Call- back up from home (usually a CA-1)

16 main ORs, no childrens hospital, but enough cases to where no one needs to leave (but they have an elective to take as a CA-3 in Phoenix). The breadth/depth of cases are really good- sick patients, have the artificial heart program (!). Level 1 trauma. Only one CRNA. Some months at the VA and another hospital which displays a more private practice model. Also, pre-op clinic is staffed daily by rotating CA-1s, so that when your room is finished you do not have to start on all the pre-ops, just kind of double-check it.

Faculty-resident relations are really good with lots of outside activities to maintain good spirits. Journal club at restaurants. Book fund each year, first year they buy the important books for you, two following years the money is yours to spend as needed. Hospital is a nice environment, clean; decent cafeteria- get ~$1400/year on food card; access to library and computers. Nice call rooms with computers. Hospital is mostly computerized charting except for ICU. Currently, 2 months in the SICU- closed unit- no MICU/CV-ICU. Research available if desired but NOT required. Pain fellowship and Critical Care fellowships generally available.

Overall, pretty great, laidback but "gets the job done" program in a sweet location! PD is looking for folks he feels will make great teams and fit in well with others. Many CA-3s have great jobs lined up in the area or elsewhere.

Perfect review - Az was defenitely awesome...first time in Tuscon during daylight hours, a bit underwhelmed with the city, but it makes for some cheap living during residency. I thought it was going to be a lot like Phoenix (dont ask me how I got that in my head!!), which I'm very familiar with, so quite surprised that it wasn't. Although North Tucson looks like scottsdale did when I was kid - I have the feeling that the locals don't want it to look like modern day scottsdale. Mountains were tall and close, beats the hell out of camelback! All that being said, probably a number one place for me - liked the program and I live to go hiking.

 

[Sugar72]

Just looked through the reviews to work on my rank list - thought I would move it up so others can take a peek just to remind themselves of their interviews. Of course, I am probably the only one who didn't make notes/reviews anywhere else but here!

 

[lvspro]

Figured I revive this thread for all ya young grasshoppa's interviewing/applying now.

Ta-Dow!!😎

 

[DreamLover]

Just a quick glance through the postings and I've seen good info on several places I'm about to interview with....I will keep this UTD with my new info if everyone else does

 

[Magnus67]

Bump Great Post

 

[Green912]

Interview Setup:
Met with the residents on friday night at the hospital for an infromal talk and tour of the hospital. Saturday had 5 one-on-one interviews lasting for 15-20 minutes each. One of the interviewers was a chief resident. The interviews lasted from 8am-11:30am after which we were invited to a nice resturant in downtown Cleveland for lunch with the residents.

The Residents:
We had a lot of opportunity to talk candidly & privately with the them. Overall they seemed like a very happy and tight group of people and all spoke highly of the program. The interaction between residents and faculty seems very open and informal. Problems, whether or not they are totally solved, are addressed quickly and given serious consideration. Overall it looked like residents are treated well and enjoy their training.

The Hospital(s):
The physical appeal of the hospital is amazing. I've heard someone describe it as a "Las Vegas" hotel and I don't think they were too far off. The entrance, and even ordinary hallways are decorated to the hilt. This certainly isn't the dingy old hospital you rotated at a few months ago. We didn't get to tour the ORs other than peeking behind the "yellow line" but from what I could see i'd be suprised if they wen't as nice as the rest of the hospital.

The Interviews:
In a word..Relaxed. Of the five interviewers only one asked some of the typical questions like why anesthesia, the good & bad and so on. Mostly they asked something about your file that they thought was interesting. In my case why did I go to med school after 8 years of working full time. Overall I'd give the interviews a rating of 4-5/10 on the stressful scale.

Overall Impressions:
Very strong program that is interested in turning out quality attendings. Residents are treated well and given plenty of didactics. Faculty is attentive and work well with residents. If I had to pick a downside it would be the amount of OB. Even the residents made several jokes about the amount of OB exposure. Other than that i'd say it's a pretty solid program.

 

[ketafol]

Thanks for kickin off the 2006 review season. Look forward to my interview there at Case, and everywhere for that matter.

 

[Swaydaa]

This is coming from current Ca1 and I posted this somewhere else to answer some questions about Ohio State...thought it may benefit some of you guys on this thread. Take it with a grain of salt because I'm a current resident.

GOOD STUFF-No shortage of cases....Do everything. Work 55-65 hours week with 2 long calls and 2 short calls per month...out by 0700. One SICU month during first year and 2 in second year....You work ten 30 hour shifts per month in SICU. Hired more CRNA's and notice the change already. 3 full weekends off each month....everything mentioned here gets a little tougher during CA2 year then back to "norm" for CA3. Have 4 weeks vacation plus a 5th week off for a conference...I'm heading to the CRASH (Colorado Review of Anesthesia and Ski Holiday) course in VAIL Colorado in FEB. On your 5 weeks off they put you on overnight call the thursday before your vaction which gives you a full 10 days off! You get $2000 a year to spend on the conference or books and $500 for food when on call. All holidays off (if not on call) including 4 days for thanksgiving and 5 days for either Christmas or New years.....thats over 6 weeks off in addition to your normal non-work days! No call first 2 months. What else??? Well you have The #1 Ohio State Buckeye football team and a top ten ranked basketball team. Housing is cheap and Traffic is good for a city this size. Good for singles or married.

BAD STUFF- Not a whole lot. didactics below average. Couple of attendings stink, but I think this occurs at most places. Parking $400 per year. No perm chair yet...new one coming from Wake Forest in Jan.

Louisville- Not a bad place to be, Just thought Ohio State was a little better

Cincinatti- Cancelled interview after hearing it was not a great place to be after talking to residents and other students on the interview trail.

 

[irlandesa]

Out of curiousity, does anyone have an opinion on BWH? One of my friends from MD school looks forward to interviewing there; I originally highly encouraged him to go b/c I had such positive learning experiences under the direction of the BWH medicine residents. However, my mom ran into a very rude BWH anesthesia resident in the Shaw's in Boston who was really nice to her until she found out I was an IM resident at lowly ol' UMASS. Hmm, I wonder how that resident treats her DO and IMG colleagues, BWH has been known to take some of those in anesthesia I believe. Another anesthesia resident from BWH went to my med school and seems OK, but definitely a gunner; took 4 Sub-I's or something of equal insanity during 4th year and did a tough prelim. program to boot. Yet, it seems unreasonable to cast judgement based on the only 2 people I know in the program.. que piensan?

 

[Gern Blansten]

it seems unreasonable to cast judgement based on the only 2 people I know in the program

Correct.

 

[OB1🤙]

Interview Setup Info session in the morning with PD and chair, followed by tour given by one of the chiefs and a CA1 (for us at least). Then lunch and 3 interviews, with the chair (Dr. Lumb) PD (Dr. Patel) and another faculty.

The Residents Very friendly and outgoing. All seemed sincere in their happiness at the program. Ran into random residents in the halls who all agreed they loved the program.

Hospitals Toured at LA County, showed the site of the new County which will be open by our CA1 year. Now many ORs are on different floors of the hospital, in the new building all ORs will be consolidated to one floor, making logistical issues much easier to deal with.

The interviews Very low stress interviews, no grilling or pimping. Basically just asked "Why USC?" and then discussed the questions I had. Drs. Lumb and Patel were very congenial, honest, and straightforward.

Overall impression I was very impressed by this program, much more than I thought I would be based on what's on Scutwork (the bad reviews on there are dated). The faculty have worked with the residents to greatly improve the intraop teaching and add didactics. They were straightforward about the fact that their reputation had suffered because of the mid-90s anesthesia situation, and they were working hard to bring the program back to the level they felt it should be at. The residents seemed happy, friendly, and all endorsed the program, including the ones we curbsided. Also, because it's LAC, there is no shortage of trauma and other challenging cases. This program will end up much higher on my rank list than I would have thought preinterview.

 

[Sammich81]

Cleveland Clinic foundation:

- Night before: nada
- Morning of: bagels, yogurt, and coffee. Brief overview of the day with Shelly, the administrative director for residency, then about a 90 min power point presentation about the nuts and bolts of the program with the PD.
- 4 interview: 3 staff, 1 chief
- Lunch where you meet a bunch of other residents who can get away from clinical duties
- 30 min tour of the giganormous hospital
- Exit interview (like 5 minutes) with the PD where he gives you some feedback on how you did

Overall: relaxed, nice, non-stressful interviewers (except for one, who pushed a little with the questioning). Not overly warm and fuzzy, but perfectly welcoming. Cleveland is not at its best in the winter months unfortunately.

 

[ketafol]

Cleveland Clinic foundation:

- Night before: nada
- Morning of: bagels, yogurt, and coffee. Brief overview of the day with Shelly, the administrative director for residency, then about a 90 min power point presentation about the nuts and bolts of the program with the PD.
- 4 interview: 3 staff, 1 chief
- Lunch where you meet a bunch of other residents who can get away from clinical duties
- 30 min tour of the giganormous hospital
- Exit interview (like 5 minutes) with the PD where he gives you some feedback on how you did

Overall: relaxed, nice, non-stressful interviewers (except for one, who pushed a little with the questioning). Not overly warm and fuzzy, but perfectly welcoming. Cleveland is not at its best in the winter months unfortunately.

The exit interview sounds kinda cool. Always good to get feedback, since it seems these people are impossible to read.