Looming financial crisis

[darkelven29]

Academic institutions go through transition periods where people are laid off, operations scaled back, and important faculty leave, especially during weak economy... fiscal cliff for example. UChicago had a crisis in 2009, Mt. Sinai in 2003.... They are all on track now, but I would just hate to be there during those several years.

Please chime in, but do not bash programs without merit/evidence. Any programs to watch out for in 2013?

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[TKib]

Seriously, it will have zero impact on your training if it is a big institution. The only time to worry is when you have smaller community programs...because those hospitals might actually wind up closing down altogether, which is a major issue. But a large university affiliated program will always wind up surviving....and even if it shuts down, there would be a lengthy warning period before then, probably long enough to span more than three years. Mt. Sinai and UChicago have lost nothing in the way of prestige; Baylor might have taken a bit of a hit, but Baylor is in Houston, where a lot of people would rather not be to begin with.

 

[Blackcomb]

Seriously, it will have zero impact on your training if it is a big institution. The only time to worry is when you have smaller community programs...because those hospitals might actually wind up closing down altogether, which is a major issue. But a large university affiliated program will always wind up surviving....and even if it shuts down, there would be a lengthy warning period before then, probably long enough to span more than three years. Mt. Sinai and UChicago have lost nothing in the way of prestige; Baylor might have taken a bit of a hit, but Baylor is in Houston, where a lot of people would rather not be to begin with.

I disagree- larger university programs may not shut down, but they may hire less ancillary staff, put more pressure on programs to increase reimbursement (i.e. see more outpatients in less time, scrutinize documentation and billing practices) and deprioritize the educational mission to maintain the bottom line. Education is not a profitable endeavor and education does suffer in not-so-obvious ways when money is short.

 

[LovelyBRass]

Education is not a profitable endeavor and education does suffer in not-so-obvious ways when money is short.

This! I've had at least 2 programs talk to the applicants about their financial status without prompting. I thought this was odd at first (who thinks about the financial aspect of the application process?) but I grew to appreciate it and started to be more proactive about finding out this information. It's terrifying to think my training hospital could close down during my residency! Or that funds could be cut to my program. Definitely not something to take for granted at any institution.

 

[darkelven29]

One more, Baylor is a good example of financial instability causing decreased reputation despite clinical training relatively not affected. Any others?