Interviewed/Opinions

[Future EM?]

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Let's start a thread on places interviewed and opinions of different programs. EMRA.org has a good forum, but last year it was shut down due to the candor of the posts. It would be nice to be able to do that without doing it on an official website where all the program directors, etc. look at.

 

[jpgreer13]

I can do this. I did an away rotation at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and also interviewed there at the rotation's conclusion. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed by the program. Pitt Memorial Hospital handles an amazing amount of patients and diversity of pathology (I want to say about 60K per year, with 36 residents). The faculty are generally outstanding and committed to teaching, and the residents are mostly happy people with active social lives outside of work. One notable strength is that the consulting physicians are a mix of university and private docs, so that you'll get the experience that you will have in private practice of working with community docs (not always pleasant, mind you, but a necessary skill to acquire). The major sticking point for most people is Greenville itself - at 60,000 strong, it's not exactly the cosmopolitan metropolis some might require. However, it is a college town, and has all the basic amenities as well, and it is 1.5 hours away from both the Research Triangle area of NC and the beaches. That's been my experience so far.

 

[ResidentEvil]

Heya guys. Thanks for the input JPGreer.

I rotated at Albert Einstein Medical Center, in Philadelphia. Its a four year MD/DO EM residency. I can definately DEFINATELY say that when you are done with that residency, you will be able to handle anything. The senior residents were very comfortable and as sharp as a lot of EM attendings I've had (I guess they really would be junior attendings if they did a three-year residency...)... AEMC does do a decent amount of research as well, if that's your thing. Lots of trauma, too. High acuity of patients... and you're in a very urban setting... however, I can't honestly say that all the residents were happy. They all agreed that they were competent and well trained, but they werne't the most content/happiest of residnets I've ever seen.

 

[Future EM?]

Why were the residents unhappy?

 

[mikecwru]

I did my interview at Akron General in Ohio:

I had a really nice experience. They take you out to a fairly fancy dinner the night before with a couple residents. There actually ended up being more residents than students, so it was a little awkward but after some wine people loosened up.

The stand-out things from the day were: the faculty/residents seemed easy to get along with, the ED itself is pretty technically advanced. They don't have peds but longitudinally go to a children's hospital (I was concerned when I thought you just did a couple month blocks of peds). Most trauma is blunt, so they ship you to the bigger hellholes of Cleveland/Baltimore to experience those Gun/Knife clubs. The faculty seemed like really good teachers, both in philosophy (just talking to them at the interview) and watching them work at their didactic sessions. Very laid and informal (I DID NOT catch if they call attendings by their first name, though).

Benefits for the hospital are amazing. The food was pretty good, it's all free, the cafeteria stays open late, educational allowances are high, health club membership, call rooms are nice, lounges have big TVs, etc.

Helicopter experience seems weak, other than you can ship over to MetroHealth and be involved in LifeFlight... only concern is the drive. Otherwise, EMS seems pretty strong.

You interview with like 5-6 people for a short amount of time, which seems cool in theory, but got a little tiring especially when the same questions were asked.... "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" x 4. I wasn't into fullgear interviewing mode, so I wasn't that aggressive into steering the interview. Need to try that more next time.

Overall, I left with a MUCH MUCH better opinion of the place, but I didn't know exactly how to make this known diplomatically. Kind of like telling your wife her hair looks really pretty... ("What?!?! You thought it was bad before????") So, I kind of kept my mouth shut on that.

Anyone going to Ohio St on Nov. 7th?

mike

 

[ResidentEvil]

Thanks for your input Mike. I have four interviews this month and will post my experiences on here... AND HOPE EVERYONE DOES THE SAME.

 

[DrQuinn]

All righty. Well, I interviewed at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, in Toledo, OH this past week. I must say, I will rank it rather high on my ROL. I was very impressed...

It is a community-based EM program. 600 or so bed hospital. Toledo isn't a huge city but big enough I suppose, its definately not in the absolute middle of nowhere. Cleveland is 2 hrs, Chicago 3, detroit 45 minutes. Cost of living is real cheap too. Anyways, you do most of your stuff at St Vs but there is another community hospital you will do your training at as well.

The ED is up to date, very clean, nicer than some of the other EDs I've been in. I asked, adn the patietn population was a lot of urban/indigent. Not too many HIV paitents.

PD was a real nice guy, we didn't have much interaction with him, but he seemed real down to earth with the residents. He just gave us a powerpoint. Two clinicians and a resident interviewed us. Same basic questions. Also you go out to dinner with the reisdents in the ngiht before. There were 8 total applicants, and about 10 or so residents with their spouse. It was kinda nice, answered a lot of my questions the night before. The WYndham they put you up in is real nice too. 3 minutes from the hospital.

All in all, its a great residency. One of the big things that St. V's has a focus on is flight medicine/EMS, which I am pretty interested in, so if that's your cup of tea, check it out. Not all of the residents do that, so if it isn't your forte, you aren't forced to do it.

The only weakness I can see and that the residents admit is that it is not the focus of academia/research. If you want to do research you are better suited for a university program. Also, you have to be able to live in Toledo for 3 yrs (didnt' seem that bad hwen I was there... I am from DC).

Hope all of you continue to contribute, instead of just reading.

 

[mikecwru]

Interviewed at Ohio State:

Was really impressed by the program. Strong in all points with the exception of not having a physician-led helicopter program. Gave an informational session, interviews x 3, 5 min mtg with chair, then lunch and tour (including driving to affiliate hospitals).

Questions asked were pretty standard and very nonstressful: 1. Why EM? 2. Where do you see yourself? 3. Why Ohio state? 4. Future of EM 5. Thoughts on 3 vs 4 year programs (be careful, OSU is 3 years but this ? is asked by a 4 year trained person, 6. How will EM fit into your family life, etc?

The chiefs handled most of the touring and they were all really nice. What's kind of creepy (a little) is that the chiefs are both 6 year BS/MD --- so these 3rd year residents are the same ages as all of the applicants.

The interviews were really laid back... the chair is nice. I was warned that the PD is "stern" in his inteviews but a nice guy in "real life," but he was really nice to me.

mike

 

[IamTomRiddle]

I really appreciate these interview feedbacks. I will try to do the same after my first interviews. Does anyone know of any other questions that are commonly asked?

 

[DrQuinn]

Questions that are commonly asked...

well, go here:

www.emra.org... click on students at the top of the screen, then click on the link for interview guide/info. you'll see three-four different PDF files at the bottom... click on the one for "Questions they will ask you."

Its about 140 or so........

I've only been on one interview so far (got another coming up Tues), but its very different from medical school. A lot more laid back and less scary questions. They REALLY just want to get to know you.

 

[overnight]

I interviewed at Lincoln in the Bronx.
A few impressions:

Positive Impressions:
This place reminded me of M*A*S*H a bit.
A crazy high volume program.
Emergency Medicine dominates their territory.
Get to see lots of interesting path and trauma.
NYC location.
I imagine one gets to see and do it all there.

Ughh, Negatives:
3 years of 12hour shifts (more like 13-14hrs). While the # of shifts supposedly decreases by 1 a year, the residents weren't very convincing.
Prelim year required.
A ED that looks like hell.
An ED that appears much too small for the volume served.
Questionable resources to deliver quality care.
(How can NYC's busiest ER not have a radiologist on duty overnight? Although, truth be told, I'm not sure I've ever had a film that an ED attending couldn't read...)
Not enough services or supports.
Lack of strong academic reputation.
Lack of research.
(I'm not sure I consider climbing a mountain every spring at the cutting edge of EM research). (They tried selling this a bit too much.)
Potential for burn-out.
Lack of basic perks for residents (ALS, PALS on your own time, buddy; no orientation).
Their current chief resident makes a poor impression, and was inappropriate at times. Maybe she's a better clinician than she is a spokesperson.
Their residents seem more than a bit overworked.
Underfunded hospital with what appears to be low morale.
The interview process was depressing: the room, the food, the offices.

Impression:
One would obtain a pretty amazing clinical education.
I expect a Lincoln grad could do just about anything.

Unfortunately, this seems to come at the expense of a life.
They work their residents hard--which, theoretically is not wrong; but considering what they ask from their residents, the program could certainly be more respectful.
It makes me sad to think that if the program were just a little bit more friendly, it would really be awesome.

I believe that the residency director is new, and he seems like a very decent guy, and perhaps will positively affect the program.

Caveat:
These are pretty superficial impressions. It's somewhat uncool of me to judge a program on 1 afternoon. Of course, the program is doing the same thing to me...

 

[IamTomRiddle]

Just curious.. what kind of answer would you give to the 10 year question? What are they looking for? All I can think of for myself is working in an ED, most likely community but open to teaching hospital.. want to hopefully have a family by then, and active in a church.

 

[DrQuinn]

They're not looking for a specific answer. They just want to know what your objective/goals are.

Residency interviews are not like medical school interviews. Well, as far as the two I've been on, and from the advice I've gotten from residents. Its pretty informal (especially EM), and laid back. They just want to pick your brain.

You definately want to be honest with them... you need to paint yourself in a good light (so don't tell them how you can shotgun a beer in 2 seconds... well, actually that's pretty cool too), but you shouldnt' make up an answer becuase you think that's what they want to hear.