Interviews

[wanttocut]

Anyone interested in listing pro's and con's of recent programs interviewed?
Temple:
pro's: awesome chairman (Dempsey), all the residents have nothing but praise; strong CT and trauma; new dean is John Daly from Cornell; residents get along well; claim to abide by 80hr RRC ruling now
con's: North Phila; some rotation sites require travel; Dempsey is now searching for new chairmen for vascular, trauma and new residency director

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[triathlete411]

This is an excerpt from my medical school's forum on an interview at UT-SW for general surgery:

Interview - Day started with a 30 minute presentation on the program. Then there were 3 30 minute interviews with 2 faculty and 1 resident. Mostly selling the program. Basic questions on "why medicine, why surgery, etc." Most difficult question was "How would you describe your academic record?" Tour of the facilities and lunch followed.

Program notes - This is a large program taking 12 categoricals per year. Overall residents appeared happy. Program has work hour rules in effect, currently averaging 82 hrs per week. No specific emphasis on academic or private practice. Has a month long rotation in the 4th year in a private practice to gain experience in billing, business skilss, etc. Program also has a lap training room with simulators and virtual reality to help hone skills before going to the or.

Hospital - System is made up of 5 hospitals. Parkland is the large county hospital. Older physical plant, but no worse than the older parts of NC Memorial. There are two affiliated private hospitals, one community and one university, one children's hospital, and the VA hospital.

Location notes - Dallas is a spread out town. Like Charlotte but bigger. Most places were easily accessible via the freeway sysyem. No central Chinatown, but rumor has it there are good restaurants and groceries located. Two good hiphop stations located in Dallas 97.9 and 104.5.

 

[triathlete411]

Here's another review about Emory general surgery from my med school's forum:

Interview - The night before there was a reception with the residents. Casual affair with food, beer, etc. Day begins with video presentation and some remarks from faculty and residents. There are 2 30 minute interviews with faculty during a 3 hour period. When you don't have an interview, you hang out with the other interviewees and residents. Interviews weren't bad. Mostly selling the program. Lunch and a tour of Grady followed.

Program notes - Takes 8 categoricals per year. The residents that were present all seemed to enjoy the program. Of note, the program lost 3-4 interns last year, mostly preliminaries. The positions were replaced, and the residents stated that such departures were unusual. They are starting to implement the 80 hour work week. Not everything is in place yet, but according to the residents things are supposed to be ready for next year.

Hospitals - Residents rotate through Emory Hospital, the children's hospital, a few privates, and of course Grady. On the tour, Grady is Grady. Not as bad as the horror stories you hear, but it is still a large public county hospital. The residents spend about 40-50% of their time there.

Location - Atlanta is a great city. Large enough to have almost everything that one could ask for, but still with a community feel. Most residents live within 15 minutes of the Hospital. An above average selection of Chinese food is centrally located and they have a Ranch 99. All your hiphop joneses can be satisfied by the beat 95.5.

 

[blood&guts]

Speaking as one who has actually gone on UTSW interview this year this is fairly accurate information Tri. However they have 13 spots, and last year only graduated 9. HMMM makes you wonder. They have never graduated a whole class of chiefs. Either they drop out, fired, or go into research for a few years. On the interview I was very impressed with everything. The residents I did see seemed pleased, although they were worn out. They get good balance of education and clinical training. They are expected to read and have monthly quizes on the information. Also get pimped pretty hard at conferences. Lots of resident-resident teaching at parkland/VA, with minimal supervision by attendings. They are not really strict with the 80 hr work rule, interns rarely go home post call. They plan to tighten up this july.

I have UCSD interview this weekend. Any one with experience?