Biologyman said:
"If the OP stated good reasons for wanting to go there thats fine but from his comments it appears he probably either really just wants to get into EM (and falsely (IMO) believes that MLK is desperate or really wants to do EM in SoCal and he thinks that this is his best shot. "
I want to do EM very much, and I like the location, I have family in LA. Is that not a good enough reason to apply to this program? Is this the wrong reason to apply? What kind of reason do I need to apply to this program?
Ok, let's all stop beating around the bush -- I feel terrible for Biologyman, it is as if we're trying to get him to read between the lines or worse, as if we're making some subtle inferences about MLK.
First -- Bilogyman -- please don't take our defensiveness to heart. We who are in EM always get a little touchy when the topic of weak/strong programs come up in EM because we feel (apologies for representing the collective here) that there are so few programs compared to, say, IM and the regulations by the governing body (Resident review committee our RRC) are so stringent, that there are no bad or perfect programs -- we tend to emphasize the perfect "fit" for each individual. For that reason, you need no other reason to apply to any given EM program other than that you are interested. Full stop. Many have ranked a program #1 that they didn't think was going to be their fit until they interviewed.
I hasten to point out that the OP never brought up the issue of weak/strong program. But it is that issue that the rest of the posters have been dancing around, BioMan. MLK had some problems IN THE PAST that I believe were related to things like non-EM boarded attendings. This is likely an oversimplification because I don't know much about MLK. There are posters here who do, however. The point is, some may have been assuming that you wanted MLK because the potential is there for a given applicant to think that MLK is an "easy match" because of the assumption among some people that previous problems = current problems = desparate to get residents. All would be patently bad assumptions. You will encounter the same concerns from some people regarding "new" programs, and "new" is a relative term.
My advice? You are on the right track. Apply where you want, for whatever reason you want. Make your own (informed) decision. And don't mind us (slightly) seasoned posters who might misinterpret or who may indeed be misinterpreted in return in our responses. I can tell you that anyone I would meet at a conference, for example, gets a firm look in the eye, a strong handshake, and my mutual respect regardless of which program he/she is at.
