Northwestern

[Amy]

To anyone who cares:

Northwestern just started reviewing applications. They won't offer any interviews until the 3rd week of November.

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[imtiaz]

where does NWern rank in terms of difficulty to get into? would you say you have to be an average, above average, or stellar candidate to get in there? it's probably in my top 3 of places i'd like to go.

 

[Amy]

I have no idea. I'll have a better idea once I hear from them.

 

[friendlyfriend]

these programs need to send out their invites b/c i want to start buying plane tickets!

 

[jdubya]

Hey, look into the Northwestern thing, since you're in Rockford you should have access to some good information. See the problem I have heard about is this: it ain't got access to Stroger (aka Cook County) so the residents don't have an indigent exposure, and they don't get to operate enough. A trustworthy Illinois source suggested it is one of the least attractive programs in Chicago because only three have the aforementioned Stroger access. They are, I think, RUSH, Loyola and UIC. Think about it, if you had an elective surgery and you went out of your way for the NWU reputation would you want a resident to operate on you? Of course not, the people at stroger don't either but in exchange for low cost care, they get resident surgeons.

 

[imtiaz]

Hey, look into the Northwestern thing, since you're in Rockford you should have access to some good information. See the problem I have heard about is this: it ain't got access to Stroger (aka Cook County) so the residents don't have an indigent exposure, and they don't get to operate enough. A trustworthy Illinois source suggested it is one of the least attractive programs in Chicago because only three have the aforementioned Stroger access. They are, I think, RUSH, Loyola and UIC. Think about it, if you had an elective surgery and you went out of your way for the NWU reputation would you want a resident to operate on you? Of course not, the people at stroger don't either but in exchange for low cost care, they get resident surgeons.

one of the reasons i want to go to NW is because every surgeon that i've met that has trained there has been exceptionally skilled technically, moreso than others. i don't know what the training involves but it's got to be good. as far as i know only rush has access to stroger. the only other program now where residents operate at stroger is univ of chicago. uic used to share the old cook county with rush but the new cook county is exclusively rush from what i've heard. uic residents now operate at UICH/Christ/WSVA. loyola residents don't operate at stroger as far as i know. they go to LUMC/Hines VA. i definitely plan on applying to all the above programs, and getting into any of them would make me happy.

 

[lindyloohoo]

I've been looking at NW too. I'm pretty impressed with their curriculum. You get assigned to a "mentor" for a month at a time, in addition to doing the normal team stuff. It's you and the mentor. They let you operate at an appropriate skill level. It seems like a good way to go to me. The night float system also seems nice. Every third weekend if you're on days you get a full weekend off?! If you're the night float guy, you get every weekend off. All I'm looking for is a program that will get me into the OR sooner than later. Everyone fawns over cook county. Yeah it's a great experience due to the indigent pop, but if it's anything remotely like docs/nurses who trained there years ago describe (ie scut like you've never seen before) I'm not interested.

 

[pre-doc]

one of the reasons i want to go to NW is because every surgeon that i've met that has trained there has been exceptionally skilled technically, moreso than others. i don't know what the training involves but it's got to be good. as far as i know only rush has access to stroger. the only other program now where residents operate at stroger is univ of chicago. uic used to share the old cook county with rush but the new cook county is exclusively rush from what i've heard. uic residents now operate at UICH/Christ/WSVA. loyola residents don't operate at stroger as far as i know. they go to LUMC/Hines VA. i definitely plan on applying to all the above programs, and getting into any of them would make me happy.

I love to read imtiaz's posts, as they are usually riddled with errors. This reminds me somewhat of your duke post - just because it is duke, it has to be good. It's funny that you know very little about these programs, though you chime in. Cook County is by now means exclusively rush. In fact, UIC, U of C, and Northwestern do rotate there. In terms of general surgery, UIC and Rush are the only two schools, U of C does trauma, and NW is mostly ortho. Furthermore, there are several hospitals that you left out where residents rotate. Loyola rotates at Resurrection and UIC at Michael Reese. Finally, although off-topic to this thread, how the heck do you plan on going into surgery (especially with aspirations to go to duke per your previous posts) and have no idea who sabiston was? Unbelievable.

 

[imtiaz]

I love to read imtiaz's posts, as they are usually riddled with errors. This reminds me somewhat of your duke post - just because it is duke, it has to be good. It's funny that you know very little about these programs, though you chime in. Cook County is by now means exclusively rush. In fact, UIC, U of C, and Northwestern do rotate there. In terms of general surgery, UIC and Rush are the only two schools, U of C does trauma, and NW is mostly ortho. Furthermore, there are several hospitals that you left out where residents rotate. Loyola rotates at Resurrection and UIC at Michael Reese. Finally, although off-topic to this thread, how the heck do you plan on going into surgery (especially with aspirations to go to duke per your previous posts) and have no idea who sabiston was? Unbelievable.

i guess it's my rural roots, man. i knew who sabiston was (as evidenced by my post asking if it was the same guy who wrote the famous surgery textbook), i just didn't know he was at duke. relax, i don't claim to be an expert on residencies. i am just responding with what i've heard. if you know more, by all means enlighten us (including me). i don't have aspirations to go to duke, my credentials are not good enough. i merely responded to that thread in which the original poster was addressing their dress code. all i was saying was the duke name should be enough to make you want to go there and not worry about the dress code.