NJ and more

[FZISHN]

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone interviewed at any NJ anes programs (ie, NJMS, RWJ, and Barnabas) and what you thought of the program and/or the interview.

Any views on Albany, Rochester, Hershey, and UIC would also be very appreciated.

BTW, is there a forum for prelim/transitional years or do we post here?

Thanx,
FZISHN

 

[Gas]

I interviewed at Albany and Rochester and was very impressed with both programs. One disadvantage common to both programs is location. Both are in the snowbelt and both cities are "family-oriented," meaning there isn't much to do if you are single. Albany is roughly 3 hours from Boston, NYC, and Montreal, but Rochester is basically in the middle of nowhere. The flipside is that both cities have low costs of living, easy commutes, and some of the best public school systems in the country - ideal for families.

As for the programs, Rochester really stood out - the PD is a wonderful person and seems very committed to resident education. The residents there are all very happy and do not seem overworked. Strong Memorial Hospital also has a solid reputation and brings in all types of cases - more than enough to make sure you complete the program having seen just about everything. Nightfloat facilitates call schedules, so there is plenty of time outside the hospital.

Albany is also very impressive. When I interviewed there, I was concerned about their CRNA school, since it is ranked very highly. I was afraid there would be competition for cases. I did not get this feeling though, since CRNA's rotate all over Upstate NY and since there are only 5 anesthesia residents/year, you will see everything. Residents there were super nice and seemed very happy. Their didactics seem amazing, every Wednesday afternoon for 3-4 hours (1-5ish) and grand rounds Thursday morning make for plenty of teaching.

It is worth checking out both programs - very strong in my opinion. But depending on what you want from your social life, it may or may not be for you.

 

[FZISHN]

Does anyone else have an opinion on the residency programs I listed? No one else interviewed there?

 

[emdoc21]

I've been advised that RWJ is the only program to seriously consider in NJ by multiple anesthesia attendings. There's a resident at RWJ who transferred from NJMS anesthesia because "it was awful" to quote him. I personally would never want to live near Newark.
Some of my friends have interviewed at Barnabas and the only ones who are considering it want to stay in the area and do private practice.
RWJ has some things to work out, like they have an anesthesia simulator but anesthesia residents hardly use it. However, you would definitely get a very solid education there. The hospital is in an exponential growth phase with new facilities: new cancer hospital, new peds hospital, CINJ, etc. The vascular and cardiac surgery departments are excellent so there are tons of tough cases. They don't work you as hard as some more academic programs with bigger names. A few years ago they decided to go unmatched rather than take residents that they considered to be of low quality. So they filled the program with a number of US grads changing specalities, many who where already in NJ. These residents are intelligent, hard-working and speak English as a 1st language. Their match statistics don't look that good, but the quality of their residents is solid.
You can figure out where I go to school.
Signed,
A NJ MS-4 🙂 who has to use her husband's account because her's doesn't work and she has tried unsuccessfully for weeks to reach anyone at SDN to fix it.

 

[soon2bdoc2003]

I will be ranking RWJ very high. Great attendings, great atmosphere, happy residents, and a FANTASTIC hospital. I don't know if they have made any progress finding a chairman, and no matter what they say losing Dr. Kushins was a big loss to their program. I had the oppotunity to meet Dr. Kushins at St. Lukes and he had nothing but good things to say about RWJ, personal feelings aside.

 

[euhsa]

Originally posted by emdoc21
I've been advised that RWJ is the only program to seriously consider in NJ by multiple anesthesia attendings. There's a resident at RWJ who transferred from NJMS anesthesia because "it was awful" to quote him. I personally would never want to live near Newark.

I really do not know why NJMS has gotten such a bad rep on this site. I recently did a rotation in OB anesthesiology, and found out that it was not bad at all. As for the area, Newark is depressing (which is why most NJMS students elect not to stay), but areas like Hoboken, Jersey City, and West Orange are a short commute away. In addition, the hospital sees a wide variety of pathology. (I once saw a patient who was scheduled for a gastric bypass, but the procedure, then reclassified as a diagnostic laporotomy was canceled after multiple nodules were seen in the stomach. The nodules were biopsied and then sent to pathology.) Although University Hospital is weak in cardiac, the program is saved with rotations at Deborah Heart and Lung Center. In addition, the hours are very doable, and the CA-1s all seem to have a good head on their shoulders. The program did have problems in the past, but on the most, the residents and attendings seem to have a bright outlook with their new program chair. In addition, Dr Davidson, the new residency director and interim chair, has a very positive attitude towards teaching and ran a very impressive morning report. The CA-3s all seem prepared for their boards. Dr Kussick was constantly giving his CA-3s mock orals. After doing the rotation, I, for one, ranked this program very high.

As far as the resident at RWJ is concerned, I know him and I recommend that you talk to some of the CA-3s in the Newark program before you post something like emdoc21's spouse. I also did a rotation at RWJ which is also a very good program. Good Luck all!

 

[apma77]

the reason NJMS- Newark has a bad rep is cause the program sucks. The residents are pretty much miserable and many have failed their boards in the past few years. This program lost its chair and has had a tough time finding a new one thats decent. The surgery dept is extremely maliginant which means anesthesia residents are often abused by surgery.

I would not even rank this program. just my 2 cents!

 

[euhsa]

Originally posted by apma77
the reason NJMS- Newark has a bad rep is cause the program sucks. The residents are pretty much miserable

I have also read the post from scutwork.com and since this program is close to home and my significant other, I decided to test the validity of the reputation. After the rotation, I have concluded that most CA-3s are reasonably happy with the experience except two people out of eight. As far as the CA-1s and CA -2s are concerned, they do seem pretty gung ho about the program.

... and many have failed their boards in the past few years. This program lost its chair and has had a tough time finding a new one thats decent.

Here are the facts about the former chair. He did not believe in didactics. Rather, he was very adamant on forcing residents to work more hours and just allow them to learn from the experience in his sweat shop. Therefore, it's not surprising that the pass rate was very low in the past few years, and hence the University fired his sorry as*. Dr Davidson, the interim chair, did not agree with this philosophy and now has instituted more didactics. I, for one attended the resident lectures and morning report. I was pleased with what I saw. BUMP In addition, please be advised that program chairs do not grow on trees. In University programs, they have to meet criteria that a few people in the field fulfill. However, NJMS did find a new chair, and Robert Wood, another excellent program, has not at the time.

The surgery dept is extremely maliginant which means anesthesia residents are often abused by surgery.

I cannot comment on the malignancy of the surgery dept, but I have yet to witness this abuse of anesthesiology residents by surgery.

My conclusion: If you have the time and are serious about UMDNJ, I would suggest that you do the rotation and draw your own conclusions. I know that I have.

 

[FZISHN]

I am a 4th year med student at UMDNJ-NJMS and I couldn't have written it any better than apma77.

And there is a new chair, but I don't know her plans for the program.

On the bright side, the program has nowhere to go but up!

A new holding area is being built outside the OR.