last-minute program advice?

[the_wiseguy]

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before i commit, once and for all, i wanted to see if there was any "last-minute advice" out there. i want an academic program; i don't mind working hard, however i'd like to be at a place that's relatively benign, that supports their residents and where the atmosphere/camaraderie is good. good location is nice but not absolutely necessary here are some of my considerations- an asterisk means i'm still unsure-

UConn*
Rush-Presbyterian (IL)
BI-Deaconess
Brigham&Womens
St.Vincent (MA)*
North Shore-Manhasset
Einstein-Long Island Jewish
Einstein-Beth Israel
NYMC-St.Vincent's
SUNY-Stonybrook
UPenn
UPitt*
UArizona
Cedars-Sinai
UCLA Med Center*
UCSD
Stanford*
UCLA-Harbor
George-Wash
UFlorida
Mt.Sinai, Miami Beach*
John Hopkins*
Emory
UNLV*
Duke*
UTSW
Baylor*
UWash

Comments?

 

[ckent]

My only advice would be to apply now. It's starting to get later in the game and I wouldn't advice letting program selection hold up your app. I would err on the side of applying to too many programs now and sort stuff out later when the interviews start coming in. It's only money, and by applying to ~20-30 programs, it's only $15 per program. That's a small price to pay for peace of mind so that you never have to wonder what if you had applied to a program that you later hear was great.

 

[chicamedica]

Well I can comment on Pitt's IM program, at least from a perspective of a med student. I've had the opportunity to work with several teams on the medicine service there, and for the most part had a great experience. Sure there are a few malignant personalities from among the housestaff, but the majority are very collegial and are all about teaching, as opposed to beating their co-workers down. Several of my residents (and even attendings) made it a point to have team outings (e.g. meeting for an informal dinner where we all talk about non-medical stuff and joke around) even after our teams had already changed. Actually I consider some of my teammates that I'd met on prior teams to now be good friends of mine. This goes specifically for the dept of medicine. I think depts like surgery can be slightly different.

The workload can be rough on the floors, but there are some easier months thrown in as well, such as ambulatory med, subspecialty electives, nighfloat, etc. I can't really compare it with other programs, since I only have experienced Pitt's program as a med student at that. But I'm planning on applying to Pitt's medicine program. I think it's a great education (and with most people being nice to each other, which is important to me as well, just like to you).

One thing that I should mention is that the nurses here can be a VERY mixed bag. Some are exceptionally good, nice people who genuinely care about patients first and foremost. But just as many are mean, lazy, and selfish, sometimes out to be nasty to as many MDs/soon-to-be-MDs as possible, sabotaging patient care out of principle. I suppose it's the same at most tertiary care academic centers, though. Sometimes people who enter nursing school are there for the WRONG reasons (as happens in med school as well, but for med school the screening process is a bit more rigorous and the actual MD education is quite long and difficult which would tend to filter out more of those who have other priorities). OK enough venting. . .

 

[the_wiseguy]

ckent- thanks for the reminder to get my butt in gear...in fact as soon as i read your post i jumped on the computer and got the ball rolling...

chica- words on upitt definitely appreciated as this is one that i am seriously contemplating but still on the fence...no matter how academic minded one is it is foolish to discount the importance of a good working atmosphere, especially in a stressful profession, such as medicine. by the way what's pittsburgh like? i recall it being named as one of the best (or was it one of the worst?) places to live in the U.S.