Pediatric Anesthesia fellowship applications for 2015-2016

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Jay82

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I figured I would begin a thread so we could discuss programs reviews, announce interview invites and experiences.
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I've got interviews at:
  1. UAMS (Little Rock)
  2. Vanderbilt
  3. Baylor / Texas Children's
So far, I've only been to UAMS. It seems like a good program. Only 4 fellows per year, which I think is a god number. 2 elective months, which you can set up at other programs if you'd like. For example, they admit their weak area is acute pain, so one fellow this year went to Seattle for 2 months for acute pain. They seem to be really heavy in cardiac (which I'm sure a lot of programs claim to be). They don't seem to have to worry about fighting over cases as a good bit of rooms are run by attendings alone (as in you are not fighting with other fellows / residents). The 2 fellows with which I talked the most said there is the potential to moonlight, but neither seemed real sure about it since they both had job stipends and chose not to moonlight. Little Rock was a nicer city than I expected. Lots of outdoor opportunities with a decent downtown from what I could tell.

I'd apprecite any info on any of the programs from the Southeast (Dallas to Duke region) if anybody has any. That's the only area to which I applied.
 
UAMS is a great program. Two years ago they did more heart transplants than any other center. Acidemics are pretty strong. Attendings are good. The Chair, Dr. Martin is an amazing man as well as the program director, Dr. Aunspaugh. Acute pain is good not gonna have the breadth of knowledge as seatle however.
Other than the "top 5"

Laurie childrens, cinicinati, emory, texas childrens, pittsburg, are all strong programs that I personally know about.
 
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checked out most of the bigger programs on the east coast (boston, chop, hopkins, dc) and for the most part they all seem the same. i really think the most important feature of a program in peds is the number of fellows because that's what really determines whether your experiences get distrubuted (big programs) or cherry-picked (smaller). i think i'd prefer a small program, but i want to stay academic and most of the big academic places have a ton of fellows.

for anybody that did this in years past: is the match a pure process or are making phone calls and writing emails the real way to get a spot?
 
ambiturner said:
checked out most of the bigger programs on the east coast (boston, chop, hopkins, dc) and for the most part they all seem the same. i really think the most important feature of a program in peds is the number of fellows because that's what really determines whether your experiences get distrubuted (big programs) or cherry-picked (smaller). i think i'd prefer a small program, but i want to stay academic and most of the big academic places have a ton of fellows.

for anybody that did this in years past: is the match a pure process or are making phone calls and writing emails the real way to get a spot?
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I think you could land an academic position after going to a big or small program for fellowship. Go where you want, then worry about getting your academic job. It's a pretty small field and there are lots of academic opportunities. Don't sweat it. If I had it to do over again, I would go where they treat you well.
 
ambiturner said:
checked out most of the bigger programs on the east coast (boston, chop, hopkins, dc) and for the most part they all seem the same. i really think the most important feature of a program in peds is the number of fellows because that's what really determines whether your experiences get distrubuted (big programs) or cherry-picked (smaller). i think i'd prefer a small program, but i want to stay academic and most of the big academic places have a ton of fellows.

for anybody that did this in years past: is the match a pure process or are making phone calls and writing emails the real way to get a spot?
Click to expand...

Go where you feel you will fit in the best and get the best vibe.
I looked at all those programs several years ago and there are significant differences between them. They are not the same at all.
Hours, duties, in house/home call, non clinical time, research expectations, attitude, facilities, environment, volume, etc. they are all different at those programs. The endpoint is the same however for the most part.
If you interview there you will see obvious differences.

As for the match, it's a real match. Calling, sucking up, sexual favors, bribes all could increase your rank on their list. Being better than the other applicants is usually enough.
Many programs do not have all of their spots in the match. Those spots are given out to whomever the PD wants, outside of the match.
 
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From my search, I have not found any current information of pediatric fellowships. Do any residents, fellows or recent graduates of pediatric anesthesia programs care to comment on pros and cons of their respective programs or even programs where you recently interviewed?
 
I interviewed last cycle at:
UNC
Emory
Arkansas
Denver
CHOP
UPMC

I am starting at UPMC in August.

Happy to answer any questions that I can.
 
Bones -

I did residency there - I hope you'll love Children's in Pittsburgh. The Chief, Dr. Davis, is one of the best connected anesthesiologists in the country, perhaps the best physician I know, and a normal, funny person. And the PD, Dr. Cladis, is an outstanding anesthesiologist and great person as well. As you saw, the hospital gets a huge volume of cases. Great place with great people, in a fun, affordable city.

Congrats,
 
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bigdan said:
Bones -

I did residency there - I hope you'll love Children's in Pittsburgh. The Chief, Dr. Davis, is one of the best connected anesthesiologists in the country, perhaps the best physician I know, and a normal, funny person. And the PD, Dr. Cladis, is an outstanding anesthesiologist and great person as well. As you saw, the hospital gets a huge volume of cases. Great place with great people, in a fun, affordable city.

Congrats,
Click to expand...
I am really excited! It is going to be a lot colder than I am used to in the South, but I am looking forward to the training and the city. Both were great at my interview and big reasons I wanted to match there.
 
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I've recently gotten a few more.

1. Little Rock (interviewed)
2. Texas Children's
3. Vanderbilt
4. UAB (was emailed a couple weeks ago)
5. Duke (was just offered yesterday)

Only waiting to hear back from Emory and UT Southwestern. Has anyone heard from either of these?
 
I dont know when you guys started this thread but whenever I google search I always find older ones first.... Glad to see one got started though!!!

I heard from Cinci, Little Rock, Stanford, Texas, MCW,
Great programs. I was especially impressed with Arkansas - amazing experience at such a remote place. The fellows seemed really happy
Anyone interview at Seattle yet?
 
My application was complete by May 30...since then I've interviewed at UT Houston.

Going to interview at
1. Arkansas (is it just me or are they interviewing everyone???)
2. WashU
3. TCH
4. UTSW (heard back from them mid June I think)
5. New Mexico
6. Loma Linda

Anyone know if any of these programs offer an August 1 start???
 
lilowangatang said:
My application was complete by May 30...since then I've interviewed at UT Houston.

Going to interview at
1. Arkansas (is it just me or are they interviewing everyone???)
2. WashU
3. TCH
4. UTSW (heard back from them mid June I think)
5. New Mexico
6. Loma Linda

Anyone know if any of these programs offer an August 1 start???
Click to expand...

Arkansas has an August 1st start date. I'm not sure about any of the others.


My updates:

1. Arkansas (been) - liked it alot, nice town, 4 fellows, no problem competing with other people (other fellows, residents, or CRNAs) for cases (attendings do alot of their own cases, so there's plenty to go around), not sure of recent numbers but a few years ago had more peds heart transplants than anywhere else in the country, weak in acute pain, but allows 2 elective months and can travel elsewhere for those, faculty and PD all seemed very nice

2. Duke (been) - liked it alot (I'm sure I'll like them all alot), 1 fellow so no competetition with cases, many of the cases they showed me (cardiac on and off pump) and liver transplants were >90th %ile (maybe 78th%ile for livers, can't remember), great town

3. UAB (going) - new program, don't know much about them, 1 fellow

4. Vanderbilt (going) - have heard not-so-good things about them, 4 fellows (I think), was told by my recently graduated co-resident now at U Michigan for Peds not to even interview there, we'll see, supposedly work you like a resident (I'm sure there are worse problems in life than that, but I'm sure there's more scoop I didn't get)

5. Texas Children's (going) - have heard only great things, 6 fellows

Have not heard from Emory or UTSW (which I find somewhat interesting because I applied for Pain before I switched to Peds and have gotten interview offers for both of those in Pain)
 
Thanks @twoliter for the info. For anyone who cares,

UT Houston has 2 fellows each year, heavily focused on their number of GI cases they do, don't remember what they said about cardiac, and I THINK they're pretty good at the pain aspect from what I was told. Fellows seemed really happy.

I have also not heard back from Emory. Nor from GWU. I'm going to count those as not going to interview me.
 
How does CHOP and Boston Children's Compare? Any thoughts on the pros and cons of each place?
 
UAB is a new program, its run by a PP group associated with the UAB system. Residents from UAB has been rotating at the Children's hospital for many years. Seems like a nice place. Hospital is newly built and has all the high tech gadgets. Cases are good. I think they are the only major children's hospital in Alabama. If I was doing peds, I would want to go there.
 
Interesting question in comparing Boston Children's to CHOP. I would imagine that they are very similar. Boston Children aka Harvard probably has more name recognition to a non-medical individual.
 
Back in the day, Boston made you spend your post-post-call day in the pre op clinic. They tried to sell it as a positive (of course), but it adds up to a lot of days out of the OR. And, you consider pre op issues and optimization for all your complex patients anyway. In a one year fellowship, I wanted to maximize my exposure to challenging OR patients not save them the cost of a NP. Current and former fellows, at the time, acknowledged that as a weakness. Not spending that time in pre op clinic doesn't seem to have affected my ability to generate an appropriate plan for complex patients.
Both should provide excellent research opportunities if you're interested and motivated.
They had a way to make extra money working late or weekends which might appeal to some people, CHOP did something similar on the weekends.
Things may be different now. Ask when you interview.
 
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Jay82 said:
Interesting question in comparing Boston Children's to CHOP. I would imagine that they are very similar. Boston Children aka Harvard probably has more name recognition to a non-medical individual.
Click to expand...

I was at CHOP as a med student (so I don't know much) and rotated at Boston Children's as a resident.

As I see it the strengths of Boston are a superior schedule (come in late on your call days), better cardiac experience (more cases and place more lines), top notch pain service, good educational program, and the academic productivity of the department. Weaknesses include a huge class of 16 people plus superfellows in cardiac and regional that dilute the cases, the aforementioned preop clinic, and the ridiculous cost of living in Boston.

The strengths of CHOP are a slightly smaller program (12) and great regional experience. Weaknesses include longer (24h) and more frequent calls and weaker cardiac experience (the surgeons place lines from the field).

I imagine you would get similar rare pathology and surgeries at both places and the above is pretty much splitting hairs. Also, having never been a fellow it's hard to say if the above is actually even important. As peds has become more popular the moonlighting at both seems to have fallen off, I know Boston still has some occasional opportunities but this year CHOP massively overhauled their call structure and a lot of the perks are now gone.
 
We had a good young faculty member who did her fellowship at Boston Children's. I asked her why she wasn't doing any hearts now, and she said that she didn't really do any complex hearts in her fellowship. There were too many fellows. Take that for what it is worth.
 
Has anyone been to Seattle Children's?

Oregon seems to have a nice program but fewer complex cases. Taking three fellows next year. They did say they "doubled up" on the TEF cases because they were so rare.

Cincinnati seemed like a solid program with good training however they do a night float system for call. Huge referral center so also get lots of strange pathology
 
Jay82 said:
Has anyone gone to Wash U in STL? What is that program like?
Click to expand...

Sorry if this is late... I interviewed at St. Louis Children's. Very friendly atmosphere. It's a smaller program (6 IIRC), the case load averaged out to be pretty comparable to other places I'd been.
 
Now that the interview season has nearly come to an end. Which places were unexpectedly impressive to you guys?


I must say that Washington University overwhelmed me. Solid clinical experience. Reasonable call schedule. Down-to-earth attendings. STL wasn't that bad either.
 
I felt the interview season went well. I got invitations for interviews to all but one program to which I applied (still curious about the one I didn't get, oh well). I really liked each program, but I like certain parts of some programs more than others. That's bound to be the case, but it makes this rank list all that much more difficult to make. So I'm basing my rank list off location (since I feel I'll get more than adequate training at each place at which I interviewed) -- as in both how desirable is that area and proximity to home (gotta get those kids closer to their grandparents). I know it's only 1 year, and I could live anywhere for a year, but I'm also thinking wherever I end up for fellowship, I'll be likely to stay in that area afterward.

With that being said: here's my (very subjective) breakdown of the programs.

Vanderbilt (4 residents) I had heard some not-so-desirable things about their program before I interviewed. Someone (a recent graduate of my program, current Peds fellow elsewhere) actually suggested to me not to waste an interview there. The complaints were basically service over education type complaints, treated just like a resident, etc. I don't mind working hard, but I have to say I look forward to having a little easier lifestyle than a resident. The program addressed those concerns head on (I brought it up in a couple interviews, they brought it up in others). They have since had a new fellowship director who really seems to have taken those complaints to heart. I still feel they work harder than the "average" program, but that's ok. I was only in Nashville for a short time, but could see myself staying there. Nice financial perks, too (salary ~$60k, up to $3k moving expense reimbursement, ~$2300 CME money, moonlighting opportunities).

Little Rock (4 residents) Probably a lesser known program nation-wide, but seems to be well-respected in the South, as far as Peds anesthesia (or Peds anything) goes. Little Rock the city was better than I thought with lots of outdoors stuff (waterways, camping, etc.) close by. Good heart numbers for a program that size. Attendings do some of their own cases - which means there are more cases for the fellow to choose from (fellow first choice, residents next, CRNAs and solo attendings next). Closest to home (for me). But probably less likely to stay in that area after I'm done. Moonlighting opportunities.

UAB (1 resident) UAB is a well known name in the medical world (at least in the South), but this current year is their first year of an accredited fellowship, which worries me a little. I feel like I would still get good clinical training, but most questions about didactics (and many other questions in the interview) were answered with "well, it's a work in progress, we may change it up later." It's a private group at a children's hospital which is a little different than most places, so they way they do things is a little different -- more focus on $$$ than other academic places (I'm not saying that's a bad thing). So a larger portion of the fellowship is designed for fellows to be supervising CRNAs than I saw at other places.

Texas Children's (6 residents) Probably the best name and ?best training of all the places I interviewed. I can't say I'm all that excited about living in Houston. Yes, I know, there's plenty of stuff to do, but 3 kids (and currently no moonlighting opportunities) make it less desirable for me. I was really impressed with the program itself, and would love to have that name on my resume, though.

Duke (1 resident) Again, would love that name on my resume, great research opportunities and support. Good BBQ. But a little too far from home. Moonlighting opportunities.

Texas Children's was the only place that did not have any current moonlighting opportunities (as I mentioned above), but none of the fellows I asked at any of the places allowed actually did moonlight. So I don't know how much the programs encourage/discourage fellows from doing it if the opportunity exists, or if the fellows just weren't interested / too busy. The fellows at TCH did say the program is trying to arrange something, but not to count on it.
 
I interviewed all over the country but would enjoy staying in the South close to family. I chose my number one based of location but the rest of my list were based off how solid I viewed the programs to be.

I interviewed at Washington University STL, Hopkins, DC Children's, Colorado, Boston Children's, Emory, and Arkansas. All programs were strong in my opinion.
 
I applied pretty late (May), and am blessed, I mean BLESSED, with the interviews I got:

In no particular order:

*Seattle Childrens (UW) I'm biased from experience, but SCH as an institution is top-notch on the west coast and should be a role model for all the other university-affiliated hospitals. One of the first programs with a regional experience which is pretty solid. Summers are beautiful..12 days of sun for 1-2 cloudy days.

*Texas Childrens (Baylor) - I thought St. Louis was humid/hot, but wow let me take that back. Only program where all 6 fellows (and their 2nd year CT fellow) showed up for lunch. Excellent amount of 1:1 cases, unbeatable cardiac, and attendings will relieve you at 5pm during board study time...say what ?!?

*CHOP (UPenn) - world famous...philly cheesesteaks, Pat's King of Steak's at 9th and Passyunk. And their peds anesthesia program is alright ;). Strong interest in clinical/medical informatics, with a dedicated group of attendings in this area.

*BCH (Harvard) - 55 anesthetizing locations and a renowned faculty that is larger than most general anesthesia programs. Flexibility in terms of starting July vs August, for people who want to concentrate on studying for written boards (not sure about the value of this).

*SLU (Wash U) - really lenient call schedule. Barnes/Jewish is a publishing hotspot for the Anesthesiology journal.
 
I interviewed a few places. I'll post my impressions in no particular order. Overall, all the places listed were very friendly and I was impressed by all of them:

Hopkins- Very dedicated to research. Appropriate volume for the fellows. Friendly fellows and faculty. Everyone seemed happy. Baltimore seems like a fun city (although East Coast $$$).

CHOP- Very high volume center, with that volume spread across 12 fellows. Referrals from across the world. Nice faculty and fellows. Strong focus on research and advancing the field. You'll see plenty of crazy stuff. They do have advanced fellowships available. The hospital has had a facelift but some of the areas are starting to look a little dated. Philly also has a bit of an east coast feel and is also a bit pricy. CHEESESTEAKS!

UPMC (Pitt)- Another very high volume center, volume spread across 9 fellows. High volume for transplants including liver. Very nice fellows and faculty. Plenty of exposure to everything you'd want to see. The hospital is new and very pretty. Pittsburgh definitely has a midwest feel, and is less expensive than the above places. Lots of good food. They have advanced fellowships available.

Michigan- Good volume spread across 9 fellows. Very strong congenital cardiac program. Great faculty and fellows. Hybrid OR with intraop MRI. Brand new hospital, very pretty. Tight knit anesthesiology department, they always show up in force wearing their Michigan gear at conferences. Ann Arbor is a smaller city which is definitely a college town. Lots of fun, food and drinks to be had.

WashU (STL)- Very friendly atmosphere. Good volume spread across 6 fellows. St. Louis is a very midwest city and a great sports-town.


Overall, I would be very happy to do a fellowship at any of these places and I would suggest future applicants check them out.
 
Now that nearly a week has passed, has died everybody feel about where they matched? Although I did not get my #1, I was pleasantly suprised.

No one in my program got his or her number 1 choice. How did the rest of you guys do?
 
Applied to 13 programs, received 12 interviews, interviewed at 7 programs. Focused on the West Coast for family reasons. Matched at Stanford, my number 1 choice. Over the moon about this. Three of us matched at #1 on our ROL, two at #2, one scrambled for a spot, and one did not match. Tough year. My advice for 2016-217 spots, apply broadly.
 
Chief Brody said:
Three of us matched at #1 on our ROL, two at #2, one scrambled for a spot, and one did not match. Tough year. My advice for 2016-217 spots, apply broadly.
Click to expand...

Since you mentioned that one scramble for a spot...just wondering how many spots were in the scramble. Seems like that would a reasonable indicator of how competitive it is. Still deciding on peds anesthesia, also trying to decide how broadly to apply--two of my colleagues spent more almost $5k applying for pain, both matched.
 
I had ten interviews and did not match. Competitive I would say....
 
The NRMP says the match "opens" June 4th. Is that when applications can be submitted or is that earlier in the year? (I thought applying happened earlier for some reason.)
 
You should start applying soon but you cannot sign up for the match until June. It isn't like residency. You do not apply through the match. You apply to individual programs. You simply put in your rank list in Sept.
 
Can anyone shine some light on the start dates and how strict they adhere to it for some of the programs. I'm particularly interested in the West Coast programs. Seattle Children's website says August, Denver says July 1st, etc. Thanks!
 
gasblaster said:
Can anyone shine some light on the start dates and how strict they adhere to it for some of the programs. I'm particularly interested in the West Coast programs. Seattle Children's website says August, Denver says July 1st, etc. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Most of the programs I interviewed at started in July 1, but seemed okay with a later start date (e.g., mid-July, August 1). Only UAMS (Little Rock) had a set August 1 start date. I see plusses and minuses to each date.
 
bonesmd said:
You should start applying soon but you cannot sign up for the match until June. It isn't like residency. You do not apply through the match. You apply to individual programs. You simply put in your rank list in Sept.
Click to expand...
Is it best to wait for your ITE CA-2 score and then submit an application or is that too late for most places?
 
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