Hey Purple,
Wow, that IS a huge list. =) I'll do my best:
Kaiser LA - good community program; residents had only great things to say about the PD, who, however, is known for being a tough interviewer; has plenty of cases and also a large Kaiser database to draw from for retrospective studies. Nice facilities.
Kaiser SF - also a good program, albeit small, with only 4 residents a year (if I remember correctly). seems to be "in the shadows" of ucsf, so less well known in the community. call schedule is benign, though i can't remember details. keep in mind the expenses of living in sf.
Kaiser Oakland - had a rather poor impression of this program. PD seemed a bit "off" and was a difficult interviewer (same impression was shared by my co-interviewees that day and also many others on the interview trail). Residents were friendly, but seemed busy and were worried about the move from Alta Bates back to the newly remodelled KP Oakland facility. The move, however, will improve teaching sessions, which were previously held via video-conferencing. Oakland is also not the best of locations in which to live.
Cedars - Did rotation here. Excellent program with five residents per year, friendly and well-trained. Extensive surgical training, beginning very early in first year. Plenty of deliveries. Strong gyn surg training. Excellent gyn-onc attendings; onc fellowship combined with ucla. Wide networking potential. Supportive and attentive PD. Night float system helps alleviate work load, which can be heavy at times. Residents manage both housestaff and private patients, but private attendings deliver private pts. M&Ms are more east coast-style. Facilities are beautiful and food is good!
Harbor - County program. Strong faculty, but seems to be a bit lacking in resident camaraderie in the more senior classes. The younger classes seem to be much more friendly. Low on deliveries, but high on high-risk. Uses an alternating gyn-clinic-ob system which the residents seem to really like. Spends a few months at KP Bellflower. Hospital is typical LA County hospital, but very hands on, including scut.
White - Very small program, meaning many calls. Residents didn't even have time to eat with interviewees. Rotates through Cedars for gyn-onc. Some strong faculty and an excellent detail-oriented PD. Seventh-day adventist institution, meaning no coffee or meat, though religious affiliation required.
Stanford - Did rotation here. Also small program with 4 residents a year. Very academic and private institution, though beautiful hospital. MFM attendings were friendly, but some of the onc attendings seemed too busy to teach. Residents were very friendly, and like the night float system. Has an elective rotation to Eretria. Has some administrative hassles with all deliveries held in "Packard Children's" and gyn in "Stanford". (Hard to explain...)
UCLA - Large program with 8 residents +/- 2 transitionals. Very very academic. Deliveries low in number. Hands-off surgeries. Research very strongly encouraged, also in applicants. Combined with Olive View county, where residents don't seem as happy as compared to home institution. New PD kind of fell into the position, but nonetheless seems enthusiastic with good development ideas. Some reports of lack in camaraderie, but I didn't see any.
UCSF - Also large program with 8 residents. Also very very academic and evidence-based, as expected. Strong abortion training and allr esidents essentially expected (though technically not required) to participate in training. All attendings I met seemed very strong. Numbers are low. Some resident malignancy reported by medical students, but none were seen amongst residents I met. Didn't meet many residents during interview though. Know a few of the incoming interns, all of whom are wonderful individuals. Has a two month rotation in Hawaii.
UCSD - Didn't interview here, but great reputation.
USC - Large program with 12 residents, I think. County setting in typical county hospital. Heavy academic bend, with excellent fellowship potential after residency. Very hands-on, so residents run the show. OB is low in numbers but gyn is very strong. M&Ms are east-coast style. Also know some of incoming interns, all of whom are excellent academician/clinicians but also very friendly. Has rotation in Hawaii also.
UCI - Intern class from last year seemed to get along very well. Friendly and strong faculty, but expressed disappointment in the fact that they've been unable to recruit students from bigger-name schools. Strong gyn-onc. REI program had a bad reputation for past decade due to a scanal, but slowly recovering. Facilities are a bit depressing and dark.
UCD - Didn't interview here. From what I heard on the trail, their residents are REALLY REALLY busy.
Hope this helps.
-B.
purple said:
Hey Brows_kat--
I would like to hear your take on Kaiser LA, Kaiser SF,Kaiser Oakland, Cedars,
Harbor-UCLA, White Memorial, Stanford, UC Los Angeles, UC San Francisco,
UC San Diego, USC, UC Irvine,UC Davis, and Stanford. Sorry for such a huge list. I understand if you don't have time to cover them all. Thanks!
