PCCM Application thread '08-09 version

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It is mid Feb already; in another 3 weeks, I start interviewing. is this it? Should one expect rejections now... I see people hearing from CCF, UMD, Creighton, and other places where I have applied too, but no reponse for me yet. As per last years trends, things were pretty smoothly running around this time; I am wondering if the inviting season is almost over and the interviewing season is taking over now.

PS: anyone interviewed at Yale? any input will be much appreciated.
 
Hey Moozy,

Some PCCM applicants are putting out 60(?) or more applications. Some of these guys will rack up interviews, then start to pick and choose around this time which ones they will cancel. My guess is, many of the programs expect people to start cancelling, so they'll start inviting applicants that were not offered interviews on the first go-round for whatever reason but are still considered good possibilities. I've received rejections quickly from programs that were sure that they didn't want me.

When I spoke with my PCCM mentor about a program that I really wanted to interview that hadn't yet responded to me, he told me that it couldn't hurt to call the program and express interest. He also said that this should only be used for programs that you really want to be part of, not just as a method to rack up interviews. He said that programs respond well to applicants that express genuine interest, because they know that some people just apply to every program.

So I called a program. It turned out, they hadn't even looked at my application, and they said they'd get back to me. I guess it's better than an outright rejection?
 
Thank you Nickel for your fine input. I did call 2 places that I am extremely intrested in and both said they have not even reviewed my application. Well, I have to wait i guess.

rejection: Rush Uni
 
Have been reading along here for a little bit, so I thought I should finally add my information...

AMG, ongoing research, no publications, Step 1 230's, step 2 250's

Interviews:
Boston U.
Harvard
Columbia
NYU
Thomas Jefferson
U. Penn
Georgetown/WMC
U. Cincinatti
Wash U. St. Louis

Rejections:
Georgetown
Albert Einstein
Johns Hopkins

Have not tried calling places yet, but definitely sounded like good advice, especially if it is a place you are interested in.

Personal issue is that I am trying to arrange my match with a significant other...this is a major pain, since you can only do the couples match if you are in the same specialty...I know this is taboo, but does anybody know any info. on out of match offers?
 
gagolden: what day are you interviewing in Kansas City (and is that UMKC?)
 
rejections: TJUH, Alber Einstein PA, Mayo
 
all today:

Rejections:
-Cedar Sinai
-UCLA
-Thomas Jefferson

Interviews:
-Loma Linda
 
Heard from:
UMDNJ-(Camden) - email 1/22 - "we will let you know by 1/31"- still waiting 2/9/09
​
Interviews:
Indiana University School of Medicine Program, - via email 1/22
Creighton University Program, - via email 1/22
Allegheny General Hospital Program - 2/3 via email
Cleveland Clinic Program - 2/9/09 via email

​
Rejection:
Ohio State University Hospital Program,- via email
Henry Ford Hospital Program, - via email 1/29
University of Wisconsin Program, 2/8/09 via email
Albert Einstein Medical Center Program, 2/9/09 via Email
Maine Medical Center Program, 2/10/09 via email
University of Louisville Program, , 2/10/09 via email
Case Western Reserve University/MetroHealth
Thomas Jefferson University Program,​
Waiting on:
University of Kansas Medical Center Program,
University of Kentucky Medical Center Program,
University of Nebraska Medical Center Program,
University Hospital/University of Cincinnati
MCP Hahnemann University Program,
Temple University Program,
East Tennessee State University Program,
University of Tennessee Program,
UH Case Medical Center/Case Western Reserve
Vanderbilt University Program,
Texas A&M College of Medicine-Scott and White Program,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Program,
University of Vermont Program,
Medical College of Wisconsin Program,
West Virginia University Program,
Wake Forest University
Penn State University/Milton S Hershey
​
 
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rejection metrohealth.

Somehow I feel, that the season is over now. Start interviewing in 2 weeks. Good luck to you all.
 
anyone interviewing at Yale on 2/25??
 
Been many days that I posted, being busy with wards. I too feel that the interviews may have been over except for some new york programs which are traditionally late. Waiting for my interviews to start now. Updates from my side:
Interviews at UMDNJ camden, Tulane, Cleveland clinic
Rejections from many places
Am getting the feeling that this year it seems more competitive or our forum is not as good a representation as it was last year.
 
UC Fresno today by email

I applied thinking it was only a 2 year pulm only program
but now it's offering a 3 year pulm/cc program
 
morte said:
interviewing at Yale on the 25th
Click to expand...


How did it go? Hows the program? I have heard it is very research oriented. They have 5 positions; not sure how many internal candidates and how FMG friendly they are. can you PM me your experience if you dont mind.
 
rejection NSLIJ - NY
Invite Cooper Camden
 
Hello all:

I am new to the thread, but have read some great stuff so far. I am two interviews into the trail and already getting sick of it!

Here's my list. Does anyone have any thoughts, opinions, or things to watch out for?

Accept:

Yale
Duke
UNC
Emory
UVA
Ohio State
Pittsburgh (UPMC)
Boston U

Reject:
Hopkins (boo!)

Waiting (still):

U Maryland
MUSC
Vandy

Good luck everyone! I can't wait till this is over!
 
which ones have you done so far folkdoc? I am starting soon. Yale next week. I am also waiting to hear from UMD and a few in NYC. U have some great interviews; you should do well. Will post UVa and yale experience soon.
 
Just had a question. How many of the programs you applied to had in-house call for fellows? I just heard of one that will require it with the new ACGME changes and wondered if there were alot out there already.
 
hello all. i have been following the thread, and have gotten much appreciated insight. just thought i would throw out my current status to see if it helps any.

i'm a third year at a community program.

Interviews:
Temple (as of 3/6)
Drexel
TJUH
UMDNJ-New Brunswick
Georgetown
Duke
Tufts
Yale
MUSC
AEMC
Wake Forrest

Rejections:
Washington Hospital Center
UMDNJ-Camden
St. Elizabeth's
John's Hopkins
Emory
BU
UNC

Waiting:
Brown
Penn State
GW

Good luck all. Will keep posting.
 
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Hi, long time lurker here. I'm going to post my interviews as well. Hope this board transitions to people's impressions of programs at some point.

Interviews thus far:
Harvard
Chicago
University of Illinois - Chicago
Pittsburgh
Johns Hopkins

Upcoming
Boston U
Penn
Thomas Jefferson
Colorado
University of Washington
NYU

Good luck, all!
 
Tufts interview:

Strong clinical program with clinical and basic research opportunities. 3 positions/ sponsor both J1 and H1. The PD is new and is interested in interventional pulmonology. they anticpate having an interventional pulm program in future but at present fellows go to beth Israel for intervemtional experience. Big Pulm HTN program and the chairman is very interested in research in Pulm HTN. They encourage research but do not let you decide how you want to proceed. ample research time in 2nd and 3rd year. All in all; I liked the program. Interviewd by 3 faculty members. Very relaxed interview and the day ended by a pulm case conference.
 
UMDNJ-New Brunswick
Strong clinical program. Rotate at three hospitals, opportunities for clinical research. Nice faculty, program director was friendly. Only two fellows per year, one usually seems to come from within.

Drexel
Very good clinical program, slightly more geared towards critical care versus pulmonary. Nice faculty, good interventional program. Program director was very nice, put on a good presentation and seemed committed to the fellows. Fellows seemed happy, and appeared confident with their training. Lots of opportunity for bronchs and procedures. Mostly clinical research with a few opportunities for basic science. Rotate at University hosptial and Crozer-Chester (large community hospital with a burn unit).

Thomas Jefferson
Also a clinically oriented program. Faculty was nice, and looking to improve the program. Internal Medicine program director is a pulmonologist and acting division chief. Currently does not have interventional, but actively seeking to hire someone. Recent new faculty to do Pulmonary Hypertension. New MICU under construction, at present only an 8-bed ICU with overflow to CCU and SICU. Rotate at University hospital and Lakenau, a large community affiliate. Clinical research, and program supports an MPH that can be built into the three years.
 
First of all, I'm having nightmares about this whole process. Okay, only one nightmare, but clearly I'm extremely anxious about how it'll turn out.

Here's some interview feedback:

In general, all of my interviews have been pleasant. The most difficult part is keeping the interview flowing by making sure I have questions prepared in case the conversation hits a lull. My most difficult question, which is not difficult at all, has been "Why bother with pulmonary if most of your interests are in critical care?"

Georgetown University:
Pros: Some of the faculty were nice and probably would have been good mentors.

Cons:Let's see if I can remember everything I disliked about it. The fellows were too cool to talk to me during lunch. The afternoon conference started with a word from the pharm rep. The speaker during the afternoon conference spoke too softly, read the paragraphs off of the powerpoint slide, and didn't have a single citation in his presentation. The fellow salaries come out of the attendings' paychecks. This is not by itself a bad thing, but it likely becomes an issue if you want to do an extra year of research, want to pursue a master's degree, etc. They are "transitioning" to an electronic ordering system. Yep, the hospital still has paper orders.

Overall: The pits. Probably won't rank it.



Cleveland Clinic:
Pros: The faculty seem really fantastic, energetic, happy to be there, and happy to work with fellows. The program is well-funded and can support most academic endeavors. Also, if something happens, they can afford to hire extra help (PAs, RNs) rather than shift the work onto the fellows. Cleveland Clinic is clean, bright, and aesthetically pleasing.

Cons: Ohio may not be the best place to move if you have a spouse who will need to work. The fellows were a little serious. Talking to them during lunch felt like talking to old people.

Overall: Great program if you're not a snob.



I've actually been on more than two interviews, will post later.
 
Cleveland Clinic: Different perspective

Great building, huge hospital is a very uncool city. The faculty is very good with a young program director. they have lung transplant available and a very clinical oriented program. fellows were relaxed but are pretty much on their own when it comes to pursuing research. One fellow told me that the research is mainly clinical based and not many are very enthusiastic about it. No fellow publications; few abstarcts in meetings. They have a primary pulmonary and Transplant service where you are pretty much working as intern. The day on the service is very boring as after seeing patients, fellow may just wait for attending to show up forever to round again on same patients. I git the feeling that they were very bored. Very laid back program. Will probably not rank them.
 
Accepted an out of match position in critical care fellowship at Mayo clinic,MN.
I am really excited and very happy.
Good luck to all of you.
 
==================================================

Waiting to Hear From (4)

University of California (San Francisco) Program, San Francisco, CA
University of Chicago Program, Chicago, IL
University of Massachusetts Program, Worcester, MA
University of Michigan Program, Ann Arbor, MI (being reviewed)
 
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few more rejections in last week. Cant be bothered to write from where.

Yale interview is still pending. Will post experience soon.
 
I've interviewed at Indiana University, Creighton, & Cleveland Clinic so far. I'll try to post an overview after my next interview.
 
Congratulations on signing the prematch; must have created some impression. 👍

Somehow; I thought that prematches are not done in fellowships or not allowed. Obviously I was wrong.

drnomimi said:
Accepted an out of match position in critical care fellowship at Mayo clinic,MN.
I am really excited and very happy.
Good luck to all of you.
Click to expand...
 
Uni of Virginia interview:
2 positions/year; great clinical training in ICU. Fellows do lots of intubations and even perc trachs. 18 bedded ICU but no step down unit. The day began with an introduction by PD and followed by 3 interviews. The faculty is young and energetic. Lots of ongoing basic research in Asthma/COPD. Not much going on in terms of clinical research, but one can certainly try. The PD looked very approachable and they encourage research activities. Some fellows are doing projects where as some are not; so more or less it depends on your interest. The fellows looked happy. VA is a lung transplant centre. Charlottesville is not the best town; but will do for the clinical training craving mind. all in all, good program.
 
Hi guys,

sorry, got really busy with work and couldn't respond earlier

i finished few interviews and have a couple lined up..

beth israel, ny: please see one of my previous posts

tulane: fairly balanced pulm and cc, established faculty, have sleep fellowship, bringing in an interventional guy from july and planning to re-start their intervention prog (was closed post-katrina). renovated buildings (what else do u expect after katrina 🙂), fellows are pretty happy, faculty and teaching is great...lots of opportunities for research yet a very good clinical prog. i am a little hesitant to go to new orleans, or i would rank this 1st.

LSU, shreveport: another balanced prog..they have 2 tracks (pulm/cc and cc alone) but faculty for both is the same...teaching more inclined towards cc as most of the faculty are just cc. they just brought a guy from BU who is doing pulm htn research and sort of the 2nd main pulm/cc guy after pd. i think they have sleep...didn't ask. the best thing about this prog is cc..pulm/cc fellows don't get to do stuff that the cc fellows do which includes ECMO, CRRT, CVVH/CAVH, craniotomies, EGD, peg, chest tubes, bronchs, lines etc etc. my primary interest is cc and i just started salivating at these things. their biggest asset..they have steve conrad and keith scott!!!

interviews yet to attend:
MSKCC (pulm) with Cornell (cc)
SLU (pulm/cc)
SLU (cc)
MCW (pulm/cc)

if anyone has any idea about the MCW prog..please do let me know ASAP.

i have been offered a cc position out of match..thinking of taking it as i don't believe i have a good chance with just 5-6 iv's. i know 2 friends from last year who didnt match after having 5 iv's each 🙁

keep em coming guys..

pmdoc.
 
I wrote a completely personalized, heartfelt, "non-kissing-up", adequate & respectful thank-you letter to the Program Director a well-known southern California program, and this is what he wrote me back:

"Hmmm, this looks familiar." (that's all he wrote)

Note the multiple m in the sentence that makes the sarcasm especially poignant. Again, the thank-you letter I wrote was completely adequate, even after I showed the letter to my peers. No one could tell me why the sarcastic and rude response. Btw, I never sent him any email or correspondance before, nor did I plagiarize the content of my thank-you letter.
 
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I dont know whether one should even bother sending thank you letters. I sent a few after 3 Ivs... no replies. Have not sent any since. Are you all getting replies for your thank you letters?
 
dartmouthgreen said:
I wrote a completely personalized, heartfelt, "non-kissing-up", adequate & respectful thank-you letter to the Program Director a well-known southern California program, and this is what he wrote me back:

"Hmmm, this looks familiar." (that's all he wrote)
Click to expand...

That certainly sounds like a lousy response from a PD. After match, perhaps you should post the program who did this?

Moozy said:
I dont know whether one should even bother sending thank you letters. I sent a few after 3 Ivs... no replies. Have not sent any since. Are you all getting replies for your thank you letters?
Click to expand...

I have been sending thank you letters. Not because I feel that it will help my application, but because it seems like a cordial thing to do.
 
That kind of reply definately is very unprofessional..that may actually represent the attitude of the program towards its fellows...probably should not rank it
 
Moozy said:
I dont know whether one should even bother sending thank you letters. I sent a few after 3 Ivs... no replies. Have not sent any since. Are you all getting replies for your thank you letters?
Click to expand...
I guess if they reply one can take it as a positive sign....but it does not mean that if they don't you dont stand a chance..some programs as a rule donot reply...I would still send them though...just to show we are interested..what do you guys think
 
pmdoc said:
Hi guys,

i have been offered a cc position out of match..thinking of taking it as i don't believe i have a good chance with just 5-6 iv's. i know 2 friends from last year who didnt match after having 5 iv's each 🙁

keep em coming guys..

pmdoc.
Click to expand...

Congrats on being offered an out of match position..let us know how it pans out...
as for me 5 down---3 more to go...no offers of outof match yet...
 
Hello All-

Completed Interviews:
U Michigan
Wash U in St. Louis
U Chicago
Northwestern
Pittsburgh

Upcoming:
MGH/BWH
Colorado
Penn

Has anyone else interviewed at any of these programs? Any thoughts?

I would appreciate it. Thanks!
 
That is a very strange reply...almost seems like they didn't realize they were actually writing a reply.

Anyway, I have been writing thank you notes, mostly to the PD, possibly the chief, if they were involved with the day, and then to any other interviewer who I felt a particular connection with. They are usually quite brief, 3-4 sentences. I would say about 20% respond. And, I agree, I don't think getting a response necessarily means anything.

As for interview feedback,
Penn: 3 and 1/2 year program. 1 and 1/2 years clinical, 2 years research with possibility for more. Excellent research options. Good interventional program. Automatically accepted to sleep program fellowship (so you can do that if you stay another year). Very friendly atmosphere. Newly built lung center, which is where you do clinic. 3 interviews, but time in the afternoon to meet with someone else if you are interested in a particular area. No in-house call.

Harvard: realistically, 4 year program. 18 months clinical. Interview day split between MGH and BWH. You do ~4 interviews split between the two sites. Great program, though split between 3 hospitals. You can look at this as a pro: good exposure to multiple phsycians with different specialized or con: lost in the shuffle, disjointed from other fellows. BI and BWH have intesivists in house, so not bad when there, but at MGH, busy when on ICU.
 
warezz said:
Congrats on being offered an out of match position..let us know how it pans out...
as for me 5 down---3 more to go...no offers of outof match yet...
Click to expand...


Thanks warezz..I did accept that position and am happy.

Good luck to all of you for the upcoming match, hope it works out for everybody here.

P.S: I got 1 more interview today..UT, Memphis...obviously not going there..any takers???

GL again...
 
Hey PMDOC,

Congrats and good luck with the upcoming fellowship training.Can you share with the group where you accepted the prematch ( only if you want to ).
 
Hopkins:

Pro's: front loaded and allows for protected research time. very strong basic science research with faculty who have track records of successful mentoring. fellows are well prepared to advance in academic medicine and a very high percentage of them do just that. with their T32 grant and their NMSA grants, fellows have the opportunity to get formal training in clinical epidemiology, public health, etc. they are building a new critical care tower due to open in 2011-2012. there fellows seemed like a fairly cohesive group that seemed happy. they have a very cool pulmonary physiology block where a clinical fellow spends a month one on one with a faculty member discussing pulmonary physiology in extreme detail. the housestaff are very strong, which translates into no in house call and very few calls overnight while on the ICU block.

Con's: not all fellows start off on the clinical year -> some start on research and do their clinical year last. while on pulmonary consults, fellows pre-round and write notes. all fellows are forced to write nmsa grants in order to spread the wealth around the department. this is a "great experience to practice grant writing", but seems like a forced process. they are very strong in pulmonary medicine, basic science and clin epi related to pulmonary - but they don't have many faculty members doing exciting outcomes research or health policy research in intensive care. over the course of the interview day, i heard the same example of "an exciting research project in our unit" - i thought they'd have much more than that. their icu is ridiculously small. they mostly described the clinical year in a way that suggested that it was just an annoyance that gets in the middle of research. i don't think it necessarily has to be that way.

On a personal note: the fellowship director mentioned how much time they spend trying to make our interview day unique. To that extent, we were told that we are paired with interviewers that can discuss in detail our career interests. Well, I'm interested in academic intensive care with an emphasis on clinical epi and health policy and I interviewed with a vascular cell biologist, the director of lung transplant and the program director. It made it feel haphazard.

Overall, it is a very impressive program that provides fellows a lot of dedicated research time and the resources to succeed in research. The atmosphere is a mix between a romantic view of medicine and putting too much emphasis on the past. Clinically, it is strong, but not super impressive.
 
congrats pmdoc,
i am on my interview trail and will post my experiences pretty soon, good luck to all

pmdoc said:
Thanks warezz..I did accept that position and am happy.

Good luck to all of you for the upcoming match, hope it works out for everybody here.

P.S: I got 1 more interview today..UT, Memphis...obviously not going there..any takers???

GL again...
Click to expand...
 
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