Official 2016-2017 Rheumatology Fellowship Application Cycle

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Excited but nervous due to the match statistics this past year! :nailbiting:
 
Hello guys. Planning to apply for rheumatology fellowship this year. On J1 visa so will have to go in for a waiver post fellowship. Does anyone know how that works and is it difficult to find J1 waiver after fellowship? Thanks and good luck to everyone out there
 
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Hi everyone, applying for Rheumatology this year. IMG at University program. Can anyone recommend a decent/safe number of programs to apply to? Thanks a lot & good luck to everyone
 
Hi applying for rheum, usually how many program one should apply to have a reasonable chance of matching?
 
Hi Guys
What are the top 20 programs?
Thanks
 
kcrheum said:
Hi applying for rheum, usually how many program one should apply to have a reasonable chance of matching?
Click to expand...
I was told by my program director that 20 would be safe and interview with ~6 programs. Think this is from the nrmp data!

Good luck to all!
 
That sounds like a reasonable number, but it's going to be so variable depending on your application and the strength of programs you're applying to. It's probably too individualized to really pick a number, but those ones sound about right. Another weird variable will be how competitive rheum winds up being this year. Typically it isn't bad, but if the spike in apps last year is a trend (maybe reflecting increasing specialization and rheum's good work/life balance) as opposed to a fluke (there were like 60 more applicants last year than the year before, which is about a 25% year to year increase) then it may require a deeper list. Data from here: http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Results-and-Data-SMS-2016_Final.pdf

Regarding the top 20 programs; I'd love to have an answer to that as well. It doesn't seem like there's much information anywhere about rheum programs. Since there aren't as many applicants as some of the bigger specialties, there are a few (reasonably big name) programs I'm applying to based solely on location because I can't for the life of me figure anything out about them. I would imagine the top fellowship programs are loosely correlated with this list here, but by no means is this definitive. http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/rheumatology

FYI to anyone who hasn't - tonight is the "soft deadline" to apply. Programs can download apps tomorrow, so finalize if you can! Good luck to everyone.
 
Submitted 30 minutes prior to the stroke of midnight.
Good luck all!
 
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My PD letter is not uploaded. Should I apply now or wait?
 
DH0pe said:
My PD letter is not uploaded. Should I apply now or wait?
Click to expand...
Mine isn't either but I got an invitation. Apply now. My medical school always said that each day you wait to apply is a day you are missing interviews.
 
missbeemd said:
Mine isn't either but I got an invitation. Apply now. My medical school always said that each day you wait to apply is a day you are missing interviews.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I just did.
 
congratulations.

can you guys write down the background?

thanks
 
congrats on the interviews, i know ill be very excited once i get that first interview
 
Guys, I have only PD letter available. Do you think I should apply or should I wait two to three more days until I have all the others?
 
Apply now. You can send in the additional letters when they become available.
 
AMG, midtier program. A few posters, but no publications.
 
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@aranciata_rossa cool! thanks for the reply. Another quick question, maybe you are the right person to answer. Does the status of the documents in track documents in ERAS change after the program downloads the application? or it stays the same as "Available". I am not sure if programs downloaded my applications as the status of the documents stayed the same (Available) since the beginning. Thank you!
 
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It still just says "Available" next to all the documents, whether the program responded or not.
 
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19
UTSW-Dallas 7/20

Guys, we should probably not list names next to the interview dates, or else it's going to be a bulky list!! Haha
 
Everything is online this year, programs won't be "downloading" apps anymore. Verified with a Peds resident who just matched in May.

You guys will probably know me when you meet me on the trail... :D
US MD grad from state university program
Below average Step 1, Step 2> 240, step 3 average
Started in another specialty, changed to IM at a university-community based program
3 posters, >6 publications, 2 QI projects, 1 small research experience with no publication
Applied to 39 programs
 
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Congrats to everyone so far.

With respect to outstanding letters, my PD letter was only uploaded today. I think submitting early is probably better than waiting.

My credentials.
IMG, Univ program, Avg step 1, Step 2 > 240, Step 3 230. One publication, 8 posters, few oral presentations, 1 QI. Applied to 40 programs.

Best of luck everyone!
 
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
 
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
Dartmouth - 7/21
 
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Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
Dartmouth - 7/21
U Washington - 7/22
 
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19, 07/21
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
Dartmouth - 7/21
U Washington - 7/22
 
If I ever hear or see the same thing I did on last year's thread that people were:snaphappy: not informing fellowship programs to cancel their interviews, there will be a special killing gaze reserved just for you when you are sleeping.

Just thought to leave this here, to deter dingus behaviors early. I better not have you come to the program I get into. I am watching you! WE are watching you! :diebanana:
 
I am glad that few of us have IVs from great places. congratulations!

Any suggestions regarding IV prep material. I am looking for something which has common IV qns and also the answers.
I need some prototype answers to start working on my IV prep.
much appreciate the help!
 
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deadpool2016 said:
I am glad that few of us have IVs from great places. congratulations!

Any suggestions regarding IV prep material. I am looking for something which has common IV qns and also the answers.
I need some prototype answers to start working on my IV prep.
much appreciate the help! my email is: [email protected]
Click to expand...
remember residency interviews...its kinda like that.
 
Kind of a random question but what do people think about 1 fellow vs. 2 fellow programs? Is that a deal breaker? Or is it just that you have a bit more call?
 
Not a deal breaker but a 2 fellow per year program is definitely prefered. Less call being the obvious benefit
 
akviv47 said:
Not a deal breaker but a 2 fellow per year program is definitely prefered. Less call being the obvious benefit
Click to expand...

That makes sense - something like 30 weeks total vs. 52 weeks total. Kind of adds up.

Do you think it also signifies a difference in quality? Like maybe 2 per year programs get better didactics?

I guess the flip side would be that with 1 per year you're getting more clinical exposure, so maybe that's better training in the end?

Just trying to reason through this in my head. Thanks!!
 
doctorbeastmode said:
That makes sense - something like 30 weeks total vs. 52 weeks total. Kind of adds up.

Do you think it also signifies a difference in quality? Like maybe 2 per year programs get better didactics?

I guess the flip side would be that with 1 per year you're getting more clinical exposure, so maybe that's better training in the end?

Just trying to reason through this in my head. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

I think the more clinical exposure is stretching things. Any top program should be able to provide more than adequate clinical exposure. Like you mentioned, stuff like didactics and research would be better in places that have strength in numbers.
But at the end of the day rather match in a 1 spot place than not matching at all!
 
Does anyone know where we can find a comprehensive list of how many positions each program has available? I feel like I saw this somewhere last year when the list of unmatched spots came out but can not remember how to locate that again. Any help would be much appreciated.

Nevermind...just realized it's on the NRMP site
 
doctorbeastmode said:
That makes sense - something like 30 weeks total vs. 52 weeks total. Kind of adds up.

Do you think it also signifies a difference in quality? Like maybe 2 per year programs get better didactics?

I guess the flip side would be that with 1 per year you're getting more clinical exposure, so maybe that's better training in the end?

Just trying to reason through this in my head. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

I checked the websites for some of the 1 fellow per year programs and it seemed that they generally have fewer faculty. My primary concern was fewer faculty might mean less overall disease expertise, like there may not be a "vasculitis guy" if there are only 4 faculty members. This is of course a generalization and may not be accurate.
 
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19, 07/21
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
Dartmouth - 7/21
U Washington - 7/22
Rush - 7/25
 
I doubt number of fellows is significantly associated with quality of education. I'm sure there are programs with 3+ fellows where the education isn't great

Frequency of call is not a major concern... rheum call is more or less a formality most of the time. You may have slightly more weekend rounding to do at an academic hospital when on call, but even then it's likely to be a handful of patients you're already following, not a 30 patient service that need discharges, new orders, etc.

Faculty with focal expertise is a double-edged sword. If you want to do vasculitis research and become an academic vasculitis researcher, then yes definitely look for a program with that. If you just want to be a good well-rounded rheumatologist, your vasculitis guru may not have much to teach you about RA, SSc, gout, fibro, etc (i.e., the things you will actually spend your career diagnosing and treating). Or maybe you never actually see that person outside their lab, or when you do you're just a glorified lab assistant for them. In my program I definitely learned the most useful knowledge from the "general" rheumatologists

The bottom line is you'll be best off at a program where you feel comfortable and inspired. I wouldn't spend your energy trying to game out relative quality on the basis of objective metrics like number of fellows, faculty, hospitals, etc; that stuff only matters if the program is using it properly anyway. (Of course, any spot is better than no spot, as someone said above)
 
deadpool2016 said:
I am glad that few of us have IVs from great places. congratulations!

Any suggestions regarding IV prep material. I am looking for something which has common IV qns and also the answers.
I need some prototype answers to start working on my IV prep.
much appreciate the help! my email is: [email protected]
Click to expand...

Most rheumatologists are pretty easygoing people in my experience. For the most part in the interviews they are just trying to figure out if you will fit into their program, and if you will do well there from the standpoint of developing your own future career. So in that sense your best bet is to be yourself. I doubt many interviewers will be asking you "gotcha" questions, and if they are you should consider whether you really want to be in such a place, because they probably won't be nicer to you as a fellow.

Make sure you have something interesting/worthwhile to say about anything you have listed on your CV because that is basically all they have to go on when talking to you. If you are interested in doing a lot of research, make sure to make that clear because it will be attractive to research-oriented programs. If you are not, don't pretend like you are just to get in because you will be very unhappy in a program expecting you to be highly productive doing things you aren't interested in.
 
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Reactions: 1 user
Johns Hopkins 7/15
Mayo Clinic 7/18
Emory 7/18
OHSU 7/19, 07/21
UTSW-Dallas 7/20
UCSD - 7/20
Dartmouth - 7/21
U Washington - 7/22
Temple - 7/25
Drexel -7/25
 
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