NIH IRTA Baltimore

[ThatQuestionGuy]

Has anyone who has done IRTA done it in Baltimore? I am interested in a lab there, but also in one in Bethesda. I'm worried that Baltimore is more expensive and dangerous, and also that I won't get access to some of the lectures, hospital volunteering/shadowing opportunities on the main campus.

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[LucidSplash]

Has anyone who has done IRTA done it in Baltimore? I am interested in a lab there, but also in one in Bethesda. I'm worried that Baltimore is more expensive and dangerous, and also that I won't get access to some of the lectures, hospital volunteering/shadowing opportunities on the main campus.

I can't really give any info on this program but I would find it strange that Baltimore would be more expensive than Bethesda. Perhaps if you clarified in what sense?

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

I can't really give any info on this program but I would find it strange that Baltimore would be more expensive than Bethesda. Perhaps if you clarified in what sense?

Oh I guess I just assumed that because Baltimore is a big city. Is that not true?

 

[TigerSoup]

Maybe it's because I don't work in a clinical lab or in the clinical building, but I don't think the shadowing/volunteering opps on the Bethesda campus are that great. It can be pretty tough to find a volunteer spot because there are so many eager premeds here and they fill up very fast. I waited a long time to find one, and by the time it opened up I couldn't do it because they required a 12-month commitment and I already lost part of my year waiting. That said, when I worked in a clinical lab over the summer, I had fantastic shadowing experiences, both in my work and through the connections we had with other departments.

Also, a lot of the lectures are video taped and are stored on the web (http://videocast.nih.gov/default.asp). There definitely will be things you'll miss out on if you work in Baltimore, but there's also way more stuff on that site than you'll ever have time to watch.

Housing in Baltimore is cheaper, but you should probably look into transportation at the two. Having a car is nice in either spot, unless you live in DC (which is much much much pricier of course).

Personally, I would just go where the lab is more interesting.

 

[jackson123]

I worked at the NIA in Baltimore for a summer. It is located on the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus. There are plenty of clinical opportunities that you could get involved in at Hopkins..

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

Thanks guys, that's very helpful.

 

[LucidSplash]

Oh I guess I just assumed that because Baltimore is a big city. Is that not true?

Yeah, not true. Bethesda and the area around NIH is a much nicer area than most of Baltimore and housing costs, etc will be more expensive.