Anyone care to comment on BUMC vs NYU for the rank list? I liked both programs and will rank them probably right next to each other. I'm asking because I feel like I have a very very good chance at matching at either one, and I want to make sure I'm thinking about this the right way. I feel like their reputations are both similar (do more experienced people agree with me on this?), and both Boston/Manhattan seem to provide a similar living/social scene. Thoughts? I'm interested in a strong general IM training. Future plans are undecided but maybe cards/CC/ID/hospitalist....really, who knows? Thanks everyone!
I will preface this by saying that I am (obviously) biased at this point and (obviously) know much more about one program than the other but will throw in my thoughts….
You are correct in your assessment that these two programs are similar. Structurally each has a city hospital and a large regional VA. The patient populations are fairly similar with lots of poor and immigrant patients with poor access to healthcare and poor health literacy. The difference is that NYU has Tisch, the private hospital where you will see rich patients with good insurance. I’ve heard that while this provides a diversity of experience it generally detracts from the overall resident educational perspective. I’ve heard that you will encounter patients there who refuse to be seen by a resident. I’m unsure about whether there are private attendings as well.
With regards to reputation I think both programs are known to provide strong training and are both viewed highly. NYU probably has a slight edge since BU is a more up-and-coming program that has just recently broken free from its past reputation of being a “malignant” program and now attracts very strong residents. Overall though I don’t think your opportunities would be significantly different coming from either of these programs.
The major differences between the programs as I see them:
- Block scheduling: BU has a 3+1 system while NYU still has the traditional system. The block scheduling is excellent in that it is a huge boost to quality of life (8-5 schedule for a week plus a golden weekend every month) and educationally (able to focus on outpatient IM rather than having clinic be a burden that detracts from everyone’s inpatient experience)
- Scut work: non-existent at BU while I hear NYU has the same issues as other NYC programs (residents having to do blood draws and transport patients)
- Culture of the residency program: PDs at both programs are fantastic, personable and care greatly about the residents and their respective programs. My feel was that NYU had a bit more of a frat house feel to it whereas at BU people are a bit more down to earth though I'm sure you'd find people you get along with at both programs since they are fairly large.
- Cost of living: Boston is way cheaper than NYC. In Boston you can easily pay half as much rent for a larger apartment than you would get in NYC. NYC does have an edge from a cultural and nightlife perspective but it’s not going to be very accessible on a resident’s salary when you’re blowing 2/3 of it on rent. On the other hand I’ve found that I have a lot of discretionary income in Boston since I’m paying ~40% of my salary for rent and am getting three square meals daily for free during inpatient weeks. In addition shows/concerts/sporting events/nightlife is significantly cheaper than in NYC. Unfortunately IMO to truly enjoy life in NYC nowadays you have to at least be pulling in a six-figure salary.
Regarding your specific interests BU is a great place to be for ID and Pulm
Finally IM has been getting progressively more competitive so don't underestimate how competitive these two programs will be given their extremely popular locations. Also last year almost half of NYU's incoming intern class consisted of NYU graduates.
