Northeast Programs

[little mermaid]

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So I am having a hard time balancing my priorities- the culture of the program (positive, welcoming environment), the prestige of the program (what opportunities can it open up for me in the future), and the location (near, and ideally IN New York). So these are my impressions, and I would love all your opinions and please correct me if I am wrong.

Brigham
Pros- amazing name, amazing facilities, available teaching faculty, would open up all sorts of doors in the future
Cons- spent time there and didn’t really love it, residents seemed to work harder than my home institution (also excellent program but not in northeast), hierarchical and somewhat stuffy/intimidating environment, poor ultrasound training, lack of autonomy

Yale
Pros- enthusiastic environment, young and excited leadership, residents seemed to be happy (at least on interview day), nice facilities
Cons- New Haven, prefer city environment not only for social life but also for case variety, program seems to be on the up and up but will it stay there?, lesser name than BWH, Hopkins?

NYU
Pros- Bellevue giving you great autonomy and sense of fulfillment, New York, chairman seemed really nice, residents happy, have heard that work hours are pretty good (keep to 80 for most part)
Cons- lost some MFM’s, poor ancillary services, how is the teaching/faculty?, name may not get you into as many of the top fellowships

Columbia
Pros- faculty seemed nice on interview day and the interns repeatedly said that the program has turned around in the last year, seems to be most academic/teaching-oriented program in NY
Cons- all the rumors about the malignancy and you can’t really tell the truth about whether things really are better

UPenn
Pros- seems pretty academic, program director seemed charismatic, new female chair seems cool, too
Cons- seemed to be on the more intense side, overall don't know that much, Philly is no New York but has some cool stuff and is close

Johns Hopkins
Pros- also amazing name, very enthusiastic and warm program director, residents also seemed genuinely happy, seemingly great teaching and service population, wonderful facilities and surgical skills training
Cons- Baltimore in and of itself seemed a bit dangerous and devoid of social avenues, and also I at least know a couple of people in the cities of the other programs but none in Baltimore, residents spread thin between three hospitals not that close to each other?

 

[DRMICKEY]

Hi Little Mermaid,

I interviewed at all of these programs and am struggling with many of the same issues (plus I have to deal with other strong programs like UNC, Duke, Brown, Northwestern). I am personally skeptical as to how "amazing" Hopkins' name is when it comes to OB. It just doesn't seem to be as well received as it is in other specialties. I was not so impressed with the residents or with their fellowship match results in recent years. It really seems like NYU may be the best fit for you if you really want to be in NYC. I think their residents have gone into great fellowships so wouldn't worry to much about that.

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into Penn's program -- how "intense" is it? Is the teaching good? Anyone do an elective their?

MICK

 

[gynsurgeon]

I interviewed at all of those places as well including Cornell. As you probably have seen in my other posting I am trying to get info on it's program. So am I missing something? Everyone always talks about Columbia and NYU and noone EVER mentions Cornell really...is it the wicked step child of NYC or what?

Otherwise..I did an elective at Columbia and thought that in general it was a somewhat malignant place. The residents did NOT seem happy and there was a good bit of smack talking about each other. I also heard from a resident while I was there that when you are on night float you get thrown into the weekend call pool as well which would definitely suck. In terms of the maligancy it was kind of hit or miss with some attendings being old school and some being pretty cool...which I guess you could have anywhere. In terms of fellows stealing cases, I don't think this is a problem as much at Columbia as it is at the Brigham. There didatic sessions were pretty hard core as well. Just depends on what kind of atmosphere you are into...you definitely would see a lot and get superb surgical training....

So, little mermaid in terms of Yale...I unfortunately only got to meet a few residents as only 3-4 attended the social due to a holiday party, so that is a key feature of Yale that is missing for me. But, you really thought they all seemed to like each other and get along? Did they hang out outside of work?

 

[DRMICKEY]

Gynsurgeon,

I wouldn't worry so much about the perception of Cornell. If you think you like it, go with your gut. Maybe the program has the perception of being less academic than the Columbia and NYU at this point, but it hasn't stopped people from getting great fellowships in recent years -- eg Gyn Onc at Brigham, REI at Cornell, etc. From what I saw the residents get along very well. Plus NYC is the best city in the world and you'll have great housing across the street. So go with your gut.

 

[little mermaid]

I agree w/ Dr. Mickey about Cornell. I have to admit that I did interview there, but it was a Sunday, and I barely remember a thing from my interview- it was neither negative nor positive. I believe that it is never talked about when it comes to OB/Gyn programs in NYC b/c it has a large private population. But as Dr. Mickey said, that fact did not seem to hinder them in the slightest way in terms of fellowship placement.

I am going on a second look at Yale and will update you if I get any more insight.

A lot of my friends in other specialties are finding that perfect program, or at least a clear-cut number one, and the couple of us in OB/Gyn are just not. Is there a reason?

 

[Diane L. Evans]

NYU and Columbia were in my list way back when I was interviewing but I got up to 27 interviews and had to stop......
FYI Columbia recently acquired a new faculty from Drexel who is very pro teaching. Good luck with your dilemma

 

[DRMICKEY]

Did anyone notice from APGO that Brigham has a 93% pass rate on the written boards. That sounds high, but with 10 residents a year that means that almost 1 fails each year. I wonder why. Any thoughts?

 

[lizor]

Did anyone notice from APGO that Brigham has a 93% pass rate on the written boards. That sounds high, but with 10 residents a year that means that almost 1 fails each year. I wonder why. Any thoughts?

I was wondering the same thing and actually emailed the PD about it. She said they are aware of it and are now enforcing mandatory attendance at their weekly lectures/didactics etc... But yeah, at a place like BWH I was surprised to see such a low pass rate. Not sure why, but at least they are doing something about it.
😕

 

[little mermaid]

well, i did an away elective there and would attend the didactics, and a number of the residents, especially the juniors would still get pulled to do stuff.

anyone have thoughts on yale?