Just a few unorganized thoughts off the top of my head about the programs that I interviewed at/ranked, in no particular order. please note that i am extremely biased and that i'm not making any efforts to hide it, but i figure that's what i wanted to hear when i was looking for information like this nearly a year ago.
Kessler
attendings were very friendly, residents were very down-to-earth, willing to teach whenever they were free. PD is extremely friendly and willing to offer assistance with whatever you need. didactics were onsite directed by attendings, but weekly morning didactics (on wednesday i think) also had parts where physical exam was taught by R4s. by the location, i would say that it's good but not great, as the PD will say that you can live essentially in NYC, but that's different from living in NYC and working in NYC. Northern NJ has its charms, but i would say most of the USA cannot appreciate those charms. i think i interviewed with two attendings and a chief resident. they have two chief residents, one devoted to academics, and the other to management and allocation (i forget the official term used for this). residents and attendings are extremely friendly with each other - i didn't see too much evidence of heirarchal structure while i was there, a good thing. the main site is a standalone rehab center, meaning that emergencies involve the resident sending patients off to ERs at nearby hospitals, instead of a simple transfer to a medical floor up/downstairs. this is both good and bad, depending on your attitude. residents here do _very_ well on the boards. also, the acuity of patients here is higher than at your typical rehab center (patients on vents, etc.). in-house call.
Kessler clearly has an excellent reputation, but also seems to live up to the hype. their grads place very well at fellowships, and have a lot of exposure to TBI, SCI, etc. and generally feel comfortable doing whatever it is they want to do coming out of residency. i came away from the interview thinking about where i'd look for apartments, what sites i would prefer, essentially thinking that i'd rank it first, but i guess i'm easily wined and dined.
Columbia/Cornell (New York Presbyterian)
my favorite program that i interviewed in NYC, as they had the friendlist staff and residents present during the interview day - which i did with a fever. i had 6 interviews here, 5 with attendings and one with a chief. the hospital is absolutely enormous. one upside was that we were able to take a look at the one of the housing sites including the inside of a two bedroom (which was decent given their subsidized price and its location). the residents i interacted with were all very happy and eager to tell me about how great their experience has been, and that the R4s felt confident practicing immediately if they needed/wanted to. also, the residents emphasized that they worked a very fair amount, and that they had time to pursue outside interests while still getting a good education. they get to rotate at HSS, which an actually unique experience (the word unique is... overused, to put it mildly), and seems pretty interesting. one downside i came away thinking about was that they have some sites that are not in manhattan, and require some use of public transportation (that is subsidized), and that a significant number of blocks are spent at the columbia medical center, which is a ways (in NYC distance, anyhow) from NYP. in-house call. one restrictive thing is that there are no chances for outside electives here, meaning you need to use your vacations weeks for audition rotations for fellowships.
overall, a program that surely offers a very solid range of training, has happy residents, is situation on the upper east side. what more could you want?
RIC
the often spoken of RIC. the residents i interacted with here were very friendly and eager to convince me that they really liked it there, and that i should come also, which i take as a good sign. i interviewed with 3 attendings, while the chiefs did the presentation and tour. the attendings were nice, but i didn't get to see too much attending/resident interaction to see what the atmosphere was like. one thing i had written down on my notes coming away was "lack of procedural training?", which at this point honestly i don't remember what prompted me to note that. that aside, their inpatient training has a reputation that needs no introduction. research is big here, and i felt strongly coming away that i would be able to find somebody to work under/with and get a lot done during my residency, which was pretty exciting to think about. in-house call. they take 4 categorical and 8 advanced - not a small program.
one huge note: they are putting up some kind of crazy expensive, state-of-the-art 40-story standalone rehab building, should be complete by 2017 (construction deadlines... yea, you know how they go). this building will be amazing, i am 100% convinced that it will be the most amazing rehab center in the world. one floor of the current building is a sort of scaled-down version of what the new building will be - technology integration is at a high level here, as is decor and equipment. also, i remember hearing that each floor will have both offices and patient rooms, so that researchers can be close to their patients. did i mention research is big here?
da bears
NYU
firstly, i came away from my interview day blown away by how awesome everything looked and sounded. the PD is very direct: his goal is to attract and employ very motivated residents who have the goal of becoming leaders. he wants to make the program a better program, and it's clear that this is already in motion. the residents i talked to were pretty happy, but it seemed like those i talked to interacted with lots of friends outside of the program - apparently that particular class of residents did not have a high level of cohesion, but this is prone to happen at any program with a large class, and varies year-to-year. the PD emphasized that the program is very open to working with residents who want to take charge and improve the system, and that he is very motivated to go to bat for the residents. these claims were in fact supported by what residents told me. they have several sites, but they are all roughly in the same area, so travel is rather convenient if you like walking down avenues. the program is opening an accredited sports fellowship on top of its existing fellowships in the near future. in-house call, except at the VA (i think this is pretty standard practice at VAs in the programs i've interviewed at).
the R2s here work very hard, make no mistake. they have a problem where services consult for transfer down to rehab units very late in the day (~5pm), and the residents have no choice but to start an admission at that time - multiple admissions might come on the same day. i was told by an R2 when i asked about frequency of violation of 80hr work weeks, that you cannot think about your education that way, and that the quality as well as repetition of education are essential for preparedness. while i'm not sure if i buy that explanation, i have no problems with working hard, and did not count this against the program. R3/4 do not work nearly as hard - they described their activities outside of work, and that R2 is just a year to get through and learn from.
GLA VA/UCLA
the people here are extremely nice. residents are extremely happy, and work good hours. home call only, i believe. tons of opportunity to get procedural exposure. residents sign up to do volunteer sports coverage for high school football games on friday nights, with sports clinic on saturdays. apparently the residents go on a cruise together/do a big skiing trip. the PD here was the nicest i met at any program, hands down. she is awesome. the pain clinic/fellowship is renowned. tons more reasons to come, i liked what i saw, i walked out feeling like i'd be back in a year and a half as a resident, and excited to do so. residents get to do EMGs starting from the first rotation if you're at the main site on outpatient. i interviewed with the PD and the previous PD who now runs the pain fellowship, and is also a very nice person.
the downsides: the program is based at a VA, with a smattering of rotations at non-VA sites. be prepared to deal w/ various problems that the VA system has everywhere. the program is very well regarded in southern california, but not perhaps so much across the country, but i can't speak as to how much this even matters 3-4 years out from residency anyhow. TBI/SCI aren't emphasized, and i don't think there is any burn rehab exposure. the sites are spread across LA and in the valley, so if you like parking on the 405 for certain rotations, then no sweat. the farthest site i think is long beach, which is a good amount of traffic from the VA (at least an hour, i believe).
the western part of LA is an amazing place. did i mention that the VA is a 15 minute drive from santa monica pier, aka the pacific ocean? one resident said that he actually lived in an apartment in santa monica. gosh, sign me up.
North Shore/LIJ
i'm not a big fan of the long island area, but it certainly has its merits (or so i've been told repeatedly). the interview was a bit odd, since their main rehab site is due to change to a different location, meaning there was nothing to tour reasonably - we were given the chance to head out a ways to another site and tour, but it's rather hard to build motivation to do so when most of the tours you go on just reveal the same looking floor you've already been on too many times (except RIC and Spaulding). i don't think anybody actually headed over there afterwards from my group. the residents seemed nice enough, but i didn't get to interact with them too much since they were around during didactics, from which we were pulled one by one to go to interviews. one interview was a bit odd, as the interviewer was somebody who had just come to work there, but otherwise there were no issues. seems like residents get pretty decent procedural training, as well as a wide range of exposures. there were a handful of students also there during the didactics, and i asked them how they felt about the program and was told that they liked it a lot, but i guess that response has to be taken with a grain of salt.
i didn't like the program much, but i think it's because i am biased against long island (not sure why). can't argue against their resident salaries, though, as LIJ has the highest salaries across the board for any type of residency that i know of.
Montefiore/Einstein
the bronx leaves me with mixed feelings, but the program itself seemed very legit, if you excuse my slang. the PD here is a very nice guy who definitely goes out of his way to to work for the benefit of the residents. the electives here offer a huge amount of flexibility, as the PD is willing to allow you to do rotations nearly anywhere you can find a reasonable opportunity to gain experience in PM&R and further your education. this is huge, as some programs have no ability to do outside rotations. it seems like there are some rather unique learning experiences here, such as pelvic floor rehab, and performing arts rehab in terms of both research and practice, which is extremely cool. i interviewed with i believe 6 (?) interviewers here, which were all very relaxed. i was very pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. in-house call, i think.
but again, the bronx, it's a tough sell for me. if the program was somewhere else, i'd have ranked it higher.
Penn
Penn had the best pre-interview social. they rented out a bowling alley which employs people with disabilities and invites all their residents to bowl, eat pizza, and talk about Penn with the applicants. i think this is why the interview day was so large (more than 20 applicants at the interview day!!), because it's not reasonable to do that too many times. that said, the program seemed pretty legitimate. while Penn has the reputation in PM&R residency world of being behind its two regional competitors of Temple and Jefferson, it's clear that Penn has more resources, and that eventually, some of those resources are coming to the PM&R program. there seemed to be a lot of positive changes that recently happened, along with many more positive changes to come. seems like residents are excited about learning, and like what they're getting in terms of their experience here (although i would say that i didn't visit a single program where this wasn't true). the main site is a standalone rehab hospital (see above). it seems like the chairman and PD both are highly involved in improving and nurturing the program, similar to at NS/LIJ. also, i believe residents get to rotate at CHOP, very important if you're interested in pediatric PM&R. they take 2 categorical, 4 advanced.
that said, in the present, Penn is the smallest name out of the three Philly programs. i would say its location is 2nd best, as it is basically next to Rittenhouse Square, which a very nice upscale part of center city philadelphia, with jefferson being the most central and best situated, but only by a hair. i believe that at Penn residents reported that they didn't need to have a car.
Temple
the interview day was a bit weird, since it involves meeting at temple university hospital, then being driven 20 minutes by residents to moss rehab (which is in a suburban location), attending didactics while being pulled out for interviews and tours, then being driven back to TUH and doing more interviews and another tour. if anything, this seems to reflect what the residency might be like at times, as call (in-house), involves covering both sites and may require driving from one to the other during the night. that said, temple has a great reputation, and has a great alumni legacy to lean on (as do a few of the above programs as well). they have a great range of exposures, and their residents were extremely eager to be helpful to the applicants. in the car between sites we chatted about how easy it is to be a resident and have kids, what to do in your free time, how happy residents are for choosing to come to temple, the various private practices that residents get to rotate and get procedural training in, etc. temple is a great program. i'm not sure if residents from here get to rotate at CHOP also.... probably something to look up.
temple is not in the safest part of philly. i remember in med school interviews being told that the new floodlights on top of the medical center keep the surrounding very well lit at night, as a big positive change. that said, you don't have to live in north philly, and i don't believe many of the residents do. obviously, you'll need a car here.
UCI
this program stuck out to me because when i asked the PD what he was looking for in residents, instead of the usual answer of "friendly, team-oriented people who love to learn" and so on, i was told that he was looking for people who are independent, leaders, willing to take action and initiative and create change instead of just hoping for it. this is cool because i would at least like to fool myself into believing i am such a person. that said, research has been good at UCI for a while, but in the last few years has really opened up for residents - the powerpoint presentation included a lot of very interesting research involving residents that i would love to jump into immediately, such as robotic rehab and video game-incorporated rehab. also, residents here absolutely love where they are in terms of both the program and the location. i interviewed with 3 attendings, a fellow, and a chief resident. orange county is as close to a utopian society as there is in the USA so far as i know. most of the residents i talked to are from southern california, though. home call only. residents advocate that there are absolutely tons and tons of procedural training going down here, which i would say was not necessarily true everywhere else (and often a focus of needed improvement). the medical center at UCI is gorgeous, but unfortunately PM&R residents only walk in to do consults. residents here felt very confident to practice coming out without a fellowship, but about half go to fellowship anyway. that said, UCI is not a big name, but the residents have placed to pretty good fellowships.
i've been told that there is a goldmine of outdoor activities to do in orange county, which is not even mildly surprising.
UC Davis
people here were extremely nice, and the medical campus is beautiful. there are i think two satellite locations, as well as clinics that are not on the campus, but the majority happens at UC Davis medical center. they have some nice outpatient clinics that showcase a wide range of patient populations including neuromuscular disorders. residents here get a pretty good amount of procedural training. the staff is very relaxed and friendly. the inpatient side is small, but i'm told it is made up for by the other sites. a relatively small program that takes 3/year including one categorical. peds is big here, as they have Shriners, meaning that a large chunk of peds PM&R patients across northern california are all coming here. home call only, but with only 3 residents in a class, you'll be on call a bit more.
sacramento left me wanting a bit more, as it didn't seem particularly exciting, but i would think it is a good place if you're not young and single like me.
JFK
JFK has a surprisingly good range of exposures (at least surprising to me). i liked the PD, as her presentation was pretty straightforward and really taught me a few things about what i ought to be looking for in programs, explained accreditation, board scores, etc. i interviewed i believe with 2 attendings and a chief resident. the residents were extremely relaxed during the interview and during the attending run didactic i sat in on. i got the sense that they were a tight-knit bunch who hung out outside of work and enjoyed what they did. residents go to kessler for some parts of their training. i walked away feeling that i would get a solid complete training at JFK, and that i would not have any regrets there.
edison has a surprising amount of traffic, especially right near JFK itself. i think you'll need to have a car if you want to go anywhere in NJ.
Harvard/Spaulding
the facility, opened less than a year ago, is fantastic. i need not go into all the details, but just believe me when i say that i was totally amazed by how wonderful the facilities at the Spaulding are. that said, residents rotate there about half the time, and do training elsewhere, including MGH, where residents do a month with neurology, another unique experience that is sure to be challenging and highly informative. residents absolutely love it in boston, they got into a debate about what is the best part of boston to live in when asked about where they live, and concluded that boston has a niche for everybody. this is the only place where residents and attendings were all on a first-name basis. the PD is an extremely helpful guy who goes out of his way and works hard for residents, a view shared independently to me by several residents. he is very open to changes to the program, and takes suggestions very seriously. residents pointed out to me changes that had been made to the curriculum at their behest, including adding a rheumatology month. electives here are a big deal, as you are given 2 months each in R3 and R4 to rotate outside the system in a PM&R-related role. past residents have been overseas working or at home working on medical student curricula. also, an additional in-system selective month in R4. they have TBI, SCI, and burn model systems (not sure what other programs have all 3, but there aren't many).
Boston is a great city, or so i'm told, since i haven't lived there before. tedy bruschi (former NFL linebacker for the patriots) donated to spaulding, as he rehab'd there after his stroke, which is kind of cool. this program appealed to me greatly because it is already highly reputable, yet still young and constantly changing to accommodate residents and improve their experience.
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sort of ran out of steam there near the end. there are a lot of things like how many calls, didactic schedule, how much money you get for buying another ipad for yourself, but those things didn't affect my rank list. they're all minor things that you simply adjust to once you are locked into a situation. i only talked about things that i felt would really change my mind about whether or not to go to a program. feel free to PM me with any questions, especially regarding the interviews, but no guarantees on timing of response.
