Does Kessler have it's own program that accepts residents? or is it just affiliated with UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Program?
JFK? Kessler?
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JFK is affiliated with UMDNJ-RWJ (robert wood johnson) and Kessler is affiliated with UMDNJ-NJMS (New Jersey med school)
I rotated at both. Let me know if you have specific questions.
I rotated at both. Let me know if you have specific questions.
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axm397 said:
What do you think of the two programs? How are they different? Do people from the two programs get along? I read about them on scutwork, but more info never hurts. 🙂
Thanks!
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I'm at Kessler now doing an SCI rotation. It is a great program, very well-rounded. The name goes a long way in the job market, with fellowships, and attracts a lot of complicated patients from all over the east coast and throughout the country. Both the Chiefs are DOs and so is the MSK fellow for the curious osteopaths. The SCI service is very busy, lots of vents, and the attending do a really nice job teaching. Dr. Kirshblum has an informal lecture on Fridays at lunch. Spontaneous lectures are routine. People are busy but very laid back. I've really only seen the West Orange facility (the main facility) but that's where all the complicated patients are. Stroke, TBI, ortho, and burn all seem to be well represented. They are expanding the West Orange facility and the plan is to move the East Orange facility there. No one knows for sure how it will affect call...2 residents on instead of 1, 1 in house and 1 on beeper backup??? Urology is also on site in West Orange so I've been able to see a couple urodynamic studies and the urologist is one of only a couple people crazy enough to be double boarded in Uro and PM&R. There's also an MSK guy, pulmonologist, and internist on staff who are there every day if you need them. I'm still trying to get a feel for the outpatient MSK experience. We had a really good injection workshop and the attending there were very nice and did a good job teaching. The residents say some of the MSK attendings let you do a lot and some don't, but they all teach, and they see lots of pathology. Certainly a solid experience but it sounds like it could be more hands-on. Didactics overall seem to be well organized and informative. I believe they require 2 publications, one case-based and a more formal study. They have the equivalent of 3 months of dedicated research time. Most do a half day of clinic and half research for 6 months. Don't quote me on the research stuff for sure though. Call is in house at West Orange, mainly because of all the vents and their seems to be enough fires to put out and sick people to send out to justify it (in my mind at least). You leave at 8am post call. It sounds like most of the other facilites it's beeper call at worst. I definitely anticipate ranking Kessler very high.
To answer your other question...I don't really think the two programs interact much at all. Different medical school affiliations, different facilities, different cities.
To answer your other question...I don't really think the two programs interact much at all. Different medical school affiliations, different facilities, different cities.
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The JFK residents do a rotation in SCI at Kessler, so you see an occasional JFK resident around Kessler.
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>What do you think of the two programs? How are they different? Do people from the two programs get along? I read about them on scutwork, but more info never hurts. 🙂
I am current PGY-4 at Kessler (aka, UMDNJ-NJMS), and have friends at JFK (aka, UMDNJ-RWJ).
IMO, the biggest different between the programs is their size- Kessler is a much bigger program, with 9 residents each year. I believe that JFK has ~4 residents per year. Both programs are considered amongst the better programs for their size, but most of the programs with strong national reputations (e.g., Kessler, Washington, Baylor, RIC, Mayo, Ohio St, etc) tend to be bigger programs.
The programs have different strengths. My impression is that the JFK, despite being smaller, probably offers better training in EMG, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and maybe Brain Injury. Kessler probably offers better training in SCI, Musculoskeletal medicine, occupational medicine, and pediatric rehab. These things can change, however, since shuffling of faculty can alter a program. For example, our best brain injury faculty, Elie Elovic, was at one time on the JFK faculty.
The programs are often named by their main training sites, but as is the case for many residencies, that misrepresents the residency. For example, in my 36 months of training at UMNDJ-NJMS, I will have spent a total of 10 months within the Kessler system, and only 8 months at the main Kessler facility in West Orange. The Atlantic Health System (with Gregory Mulford, Gerry Malanga, Jay Bowen, Joe Rempson, and others) is an increasingly big part of our training, and I will have also spent 6 months training there. I also spent 8 months at University Hospital in Newark. So Kessler, while an important part of our training program, is by no means the only training site.
I am current PGY-4 at Kessler (aka, UMDNJ-NJMS), and have friends at JFK (aka, UMDNJ-RWJ).
IMO, the biggest different between the programs is their size- Kessler is a much bigger program, with 9 residents each year. I believe that JFK has ~4 residents per year. Both programs are considered amongst the better programs for their size, but most of the programs with strong national reputations (e.g., Kessler, Washington, Baylor, RIC, Mayo, Ohio St, etc) tend to be bigger programs.
The programs have different strengths. My impression is that the JFK, despite being smaller, probably offers better training in EMG, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and maybe Brain Injury. Kessler probably offers better training in SCI, Musculoskeletal medicine, occupational medicine, and pediatric rehab. These things can change, however, since shuffling of faculty can alter a program. For example, our best brain injury faculty, Elie Elovic, was at one time on the JFK faculty.
The programs are often named by their main training sites, but as is the case for many residencies, that misrepresents the residency. For example, in my 36 months of training at UMNDJ-NJMS, I will have spent a total of 10 months within the Kessler system, and only 8 months at the main Kessler facility in West Orange. The Atlantic Health System (with Gregory Mulford, Gerry Malanga, Jay Bowen, Joe Rempson, and others) is an increasingly big part of our training, and I will have also spent 6 months training there. I also spent 8 months at University Hospital in Newark. So Kessler, while an important part of our training program, is by no means the only training site.
