Preliminary Rankings?

[Disciple]

ironically a great pain fellowship program at upenn is going to a kessler graduate this year, not a upenn graduate(who never get that fellowship).

Are you talking about Slipman's program or UPenn anesthesia?

Slipman's is a spine fellowship.

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[Disciple]

One concern I have about Kessler is that let's say you wanna do a pain fellowship in anes. Anes people have no idea about PM&R rankings - they probably just go by big names - like ooh Harvard or Stanford. This was brough up on a previous thread below that I've cut and pasted.

Was wondering what anyone had to say about this...

Anesthesia pain fellowships go by the reputations of Anesthesia residency programs and pain fellowships. If they are interviewing you, it will be alongside the anesthesia applicants. They don't "switch gears" in their thinking because you are a Physiatrist. During my interviews, not once was I asked about my PM&R residency. I was only asked about my experiences in the anesthesia pain clinic, the pain faculty and fellowship at my institution, etc...

A conversation I clearly remember this year from while on the "Anesthesia pain" interview trail

Pain Attending (Anesthesia): "Where was that guy from that spoke at the pain conference?" "What was his name again, Harden?"

Pain Fellow (PM&R): "He was from RIC."

Pain Attending: "What?... Where?"

Pain Fellow: "Northwestern."

Pain Attending: "Oh, Northwestern."

Not to downplay the quality training at RIC or Kessler, both are top 5 programs, but just making a point that the approach to Anesthesia as opposed to PM&R fellowships is entirely different.

 

[Disciple]

Also need to keep in mind when you are applying for jobs, you are still a Physiatrist. Even if you train at an Anesthesia based pain fellowship, you will not be able to compete with Anesthesiologists for jobs involving covering the OR, etc. So most likely, you will be applying for jobs with other Physiatrists which means your residency will be critically appraised by Physiatrists at that time. AND many of your job opportunities will come from alums from your residency program - meaning the better the residency, the better the job potential...

I would say the Anesthesia/OR combo is falling out of favor. They are getting edged out by pain docs who do a better job doing 100% pain. I've also seen many large pain groups that employ both Anesthesia and Physiatry, and many Anesthesia pain groups who bring in Physiatrists to augment their EMG/MSK abilities (the same reason they take us into their fellowships). The other dominant avenue is Physiatry hired on by Neurosurg or Ortho groups, who again know little about PM&R residencies.

Even a Physiatry group looking for an interventional or MSK Physiatrist will look mostly at your fellowship training if they require it. I do agree, though, that the quality of your PM&R residency may help you land a good MSK job with no fellowship, and that alumni connections would be key for these opportunities.

 

[arik79]

I meant Slipman.

Are you talking about Slipman's program or UPenn
anesthesia?

Slipman's is a spine fellowship.

 

[arik79]

being that I am a PGY1 I can't necessarily disagree with your opinion. The only caveat I have with going to a big name institution(university program) is that no one knows what will occur in 3 years. For instance, a hypothetical would be go to Cornell/Columbia thinking you want a pain fellowship down the road. You end up not getting good training and not wanting a pain fellowship(for whatever reasons) and then look back with regret. I also believe that if you went to RIC or Kessler, then these anesthesia programs would recognize that these programs are UMDNJ or Northwestern, which people in those respective fields understand. That should pull some weight as well. Both of these universities have anesthesia departments.

Anesthesia pain fellowships go by the reputations of Anesthesia residency programs and pain fellowships. If they are interviewing you, it will be alongside the anesthesia applicants. They don't "switch gears" in their thinking because you are a Physiatrist. During my interviews, not once was I asked about my PM&R residency. I was only asked about my experiences in the anesthesia pain clinic, the pain faculty and fellowship at my institution, etc...

A conversation I clearly remember this year from while on the "Anesthesia pain" interview trail

Pain Attending (Anesthesia): "Where was that guy from that spoke at the pain conference?" "What was his name again, Harden?"

Pain Fellow (PM&R): "He was from RIC."

Pain Attending: "What?... Where?"

Pain Fellow: "Northwestern."

Pain Attending: "Oh, Northwestern."

Not to downplay the quality training at RIC or Kessler, both are top 5 programs, but just making a point that the approach to Anesthesia as opposed to PM&R fellowships is entirely different.

 

[rehab_sports_dr]

> During my fellowship interviews this year many people commented on the excellence of Kessler grads.

That's nice to hear. My experience on the interview trail, too, was that the directors of sports/spine/pain fellowships valued the quality of Kessler graduates.

> This is consistent with my experience as well as that of some of the other interviewees this year. Of course being at Kessler does not preclude one from getting into a anesthesia pain fellowship. Maybe the previous poster can comment on Kessler grads who have gone into anesthesia fellowships.

As far as I know, no one has had any interest in an anasthesia based program for many years, so it hasn't come up. I think perhaps 5 years ago we had some people go to Temple, but that is before my time.

I think that because we have such strong MSK training, those who go into some form of pain managment wanted a physiatrically based program.

It is also important to keep in mind that many of the physiatry based programs are ACGME-accreditted pain programs. For example, our class has several going to ACGME programs- Fuhrman, Cano, RIC. So, by definition, these are mixed programs, we both physiatry and anasthesia as part of the training.

See the pain thread for more details.

 

[drusso]

Anesthesia pain fellowships go by the reputations of Anesthesia residency programs and pain fellowships. If they are interviewing you, it will be alongside the anesthesia applicants. They don't "switch gears" in their thinking because you are a Physiatrist. During my interviews, not once was I asked about my PM&R residency. I was only asked about my experiences in the anesthesia pain clinic, the pain faculty and fellowship at my institution, etc...

A conversation I clearly remember this year from while on the "Anesthesia pain" interview trail

Pain Attending (Anesthesia): "Where was that guy from that spoke at the pain conference?" "What was his name again, Harden?"

Pain Fellow (PM&R): "He was from RIC."

Pain Attending: "What?... Where?"

Pain Fellow: "Northwestern."

Pain Attending: "Oh, Northwestern."

Not to downplay the quality training at RIC or Kessler, both are top 5 programs, but just making a point that the approach to Anesthesia as opposed to PM&R fellowships is entirely different.

I think that this is pretty accurate and mirrors my experiences. Having some anesthesia connection and/or mentors helps.

 

[avatar]

Noone's mentioned spaulding in their lists
What does everyone else think about the program and how do you think it stacks up against kessler/ric/uw/mayo?

Here's my take:

I really liked the atmosphere. I felt they offer a decent training, and the program has massive potential over the next 10 years. Plus you have the Harvard reputation which might help with fellowships later down the road. I do have major issues with the program though:

1)its only 10 years old which means a tiny alumni base

2)10mo's electives - i know a lot of people think that's a good thing, but I need a little more structure. There's a reason why most programs have more required cores - they have the experience to know what we're supposed to learn and I'm not sure I have the perspective/experience to guide myself. Besides, M4 year has been all electives for me and I haven't learned squat.

3)too many changes (new hospital, chairman just left)

 

[avatar]

same question for temple...I was highly impressed by them during the season (surprised) and not sure if it was just because it was the first interview. Other opinions?

 

[GYMNIST]

Hi how are ya'? I don't post on here often....ok never, however I do like to peruse the comments and I agree that there hasn't been a lot of "talk" about Spaulding. I'm definitly ranking it, however i'm having a very difficult time deciding exactly where it should go in my list. Their program isn't terribly well established and as a result they tend to emphasize their affiliation with Harvard. Well I unfortunately don't have a ton of time to write, however I would definitly appreciate thoughts or comments on the program!


QUOTE=avatar]Noone's mentioned spaulding in their lists
What does everyone else think about the program and how do you think it stacks up against kessler/ric/uw/mayo?

Here's my take:

I really liked the atmosphere. I felt they offer a decent training, and the program has massive potential over the next 10 years. Plus you have the Harvard reputation which might help with fellowships later down the road. I do have major issues with the program though:

1)its only 10 years old which means a tiny alumni base

2)10mo's electives - i know a lot of people think that's a good thing, but I need a little more structure. There's a reason why most programs have more required cores - they have the experience to know what we're supposed to learn and I'm not sure I have the perspective/experience to guide myself. Besides, M4 year has been all electives for me and I haven't learned squat.

3)too many changes (new hospital, chairman just left)[/QUOTE]

 

[Rehab101]

Question regarding Spaulding: When did you hear that the chairman left....is it Frontera who left/is leaving?

Hi how are ya'? I don't post on here often....ok never, however I do like to peruse the comments and I agree that there hasn't been a lot of "talk" about Spaulding. I'm definitly ranking it, however i'm having a very difficult time deciding exactly where it should go in my list. Their program isn't terribly well established and as a result they tend to emphasize their affiliation with Harvard. Well I unfortunately don't have a ton of time to write, however I would definitly appreciate thoughts or comments on the program!


QUOTE=avatar]Noone's mentioned spaulding in their lists
What does everyone else think about the program and how do you think it stacks up against kessler/ric/uw/mayo?

Here's my take:

I really liked the atmosphere. I felt they offer a decent training, and the program has massive potential over the next 10 years. Plus you have the Harvard reputation which might help with fellowships later down the road. I do have major issues with the program though:

1)its only 10 years old which means a tiny alumni base

2)10mo's electives - i know a lot of people think that's a good thing, but I need a little more structure. There's a reason why most programs have more required cores - they have the experience to know what we're supposed to learn and I'm not sure I have the perspective/experience to guide myself. Besides, M4 year has been all electives for me and I haven't learned squat.

3)too many changes (new hospital, chairman just left)

[/QUOTE]

 

[arik79]

hey rehab sports doc. i am going to kessler next year. i wanted to know where is the best housing both location wise and affordability. any input would be greatly apprecited. i went on the umdnj-pmr website and they had a list there, just wanted to have some more input.
arik

> During my fellowship interviews this year many people commented on the excellence of Kessler grads.

That's nice to hear. My experience on the interview trail, too, was that the directors of sports/spine/pain fellowships valued the quality of Kessler graduates.

> This is consistent with my experience as well as that of some of the other interviewees this year. Of course being at Kessler does not preclude one from getting into a anesthesia pain fellowship. Maybe the previous poster can comment on Kessler grads who have gone into anesthesia fellowships.

As far as I know, no one has had any interest in an anasthesia based program for many years, so it hasn't come up. I think perhaps 5 years ago we had some people go to Temple, but that is before my time.

I think that because we have such strong MSK training, those who go into some form of pain managment wanted a physiatrically based program.

It is also important to keep in mind that many of the physiatry based programs are ACGME-accreditted pain programs. For example, our class has several going to ACGME programs- Fuhrman, Cano, RIC. So, by definition, these are mixed programs, we both physiatry and anasthesia as part of the training.

See the pain thread for more details.

 

[mehul_25]

I wanted to quickly comment on the Spaulding program. As a PGY-4 I can tell you that many residents use the Spaulding curriculum as an example when they are attempting to incorporate change at their own programs. Residency is inherently different from medical school in that you choose to "specialize" therefore the curriculum from PGY-2 through PGY-4 is very important. It is a great luxury to have as many elective or selectives as the Spaulding residents particularly if one is attempting to solidifiy their grasp on a topic or fill a gap in their knowledge. Having choice in your PGY-4 year is very different than an internal medicine bound resident rotating through ophtho during their MS-IV year.

Additionally, I have gotten to know several of the (3/5) PGY-IV residents during this years fellowship interview trial. They were all excellent with long lists of research and academic credentials but the Harvard name was also invaluable. As some of the other threads have discussed overall strength at an academic institution is very influential in the fellowship search. In fact I would guess that Spaulding residents would be very competitive in any fellowship they would apply to.

So there is a lot to be said for the Harvard program.

 

[melancholy]

Question regarding Spaulding: When did you hear that the chairman left....is it Frontera who left/is leaving?

You are correct, Dr. Frontera has accepted the position to become dean at his alma mater in Puerto Rico. I received a letter from Spaulding last week, but had heard about it about two weeks ago. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to become dean for a U.S. medical school as well as a chance to return to Puerto Rico where he is from.

I spent a month at Spaulding and had a few minutes to talk to Dr. Frontera about the future of rehabilitation and he was very friendly and down-to-earth which I respect greatly knowing his busy schedule and all he has accomplished in the field of rehab.

As far as the timeline and such, I do not have any information, but hopefully one of the Spaulding residents may know more.

I think there are plusses and minuses to any residency program including Spaulding. Some people may be able to take more advantage of the very flexible PGY-4 schedule than others. As mentioned before, some say that well-respected programs that do not offer much in the way of electives have "figured out" a good combination of rotations so that not many electives are needed to get a well-rounded education.

As far as the alumni base goes, it still is relatively small compared to programs such as UW, RIC, Kessler, etc. so that could potentially make a difference depending on what sort of practice one wants to pursue after residency.

 

[rehab_sports_dr]

> hey rehab sports doc. i am going to kessler next year. i wanted to know where is the best housing both location wise and affordability. any input would be greatly apprecited. i went on the umdnj-pmr website and they had a list there, just wanted to have some more input.

I'll post to everybody, since this might have some relevance for people trying to decide on where to rank Kessler.

First off, the website is a good resource for finding housing. The other major resource is the print edition of the Newark Star Ledger, especially the Sunday edition (the online edition has different ads, and most of them require going through a broker. You get better deals from the print edition).

As to where to live, it depends on whether you are single or with a family.

If you are single, the three most fun areas are:
1. Montclair- I lived there for 2 years when I was single, and it's a really fun place with lots to do, great resteraunts, nice parks, etc. I spent $1120/month for a very spacious 1 bedroom, which was on the pricier side. It was easilly big enough for 2 people, and probably could have handled a baby too if so desired. It's a pretty central location- 12 minutes from Kessler, 25 minutes from UMDNJ, and close to many of the other sites
2. Summit- another fun town, a little more affordable than Montclair, a little further from Kessler (about 20 minutes), closer to some other sites (like Overlook). Expect to pay ~$800-1000 for a nice apartment
3. West Orange- the most central location, with less of a downtown than either Summit or Montclair. Expect to pay ~$800-1000 for a nice apartment

For a family, it depends on whether you want to own or rent. Owning can be expensive, and most people will choose to move outside of Essex County, because they have the highest property taxes in the state. Renting in Chatham or Madison are nice places, but too expensive to buy a house. Bloomfield is a good place to buy, but talk with some of the residents first to find out where the nice parts of town are.

 

[rehab_sports_dr]

> You are correct, Dr. Frontera has accepted the position to become dean at his alma mater in Puerto Rico.

Do they know who will be his successor?

 

[melancholy]

> You are correct, Dr. Frontera has accepted the position to become dean at his alma mater in Puerto Rico.

Do they know who will be his successor?

The letter stated they are moving to find a successor, but being a medical student and not having been around the field that long, i don't know anything about the chair selection process. I mean, it would be somewhat analagous to finding someone to take DeLisa's place at Kessler. Must not be an easy job.

 

[axm397]

> hey rehab sports doc. i am going to kessler next year. i wanted to know where is the best housing both location wise and affordability. any input would be greatly apprecited. i went on the umdnj-pmr website and they had a list there, just wanted to have some more input.

I'll post to everybody, since this might have some relevance for people trying to decide on where to rank Kessler.

First off, the website is a good resource for finding housing. The other major resource is the print edition of the Newark Star Ledger, especially the Sunday edition (the online edition has different ads, and most of them require going through a broker. You get better deals from the print edition).

As to where to live, it depends on whether you are single or with a family.

If you are single, the three most fun areas are:
1. Montclair- I lived there for 2 years when I was single, and it's a really fun place with lots to do, great resteraunts, nice parks, etc. I spent $1120/month for a very spacious 1 bedroom, which was on the pricier side. It was easilly big enough for 2 people, and probably could have handled a baby too if so desired. It's a pretty central location- 12 minutes from Kessler, 25 minutes from UMDNJ, and close to many of the other sites
2. Summit- another fun town, a little more affordable than Montclair, a little further from Kessler (about 20 minutes), closer to some other sites (like Overlook). Expect to pay ~$800-1000 for a nice apartment
3. West Orange- the most central location, with less of a downtown than either Summit or Montclair. Expect to pay ~$800-1000 for a nice apartment

For a family, it depends on whether you want to own or rent. Owning can be expensive, and most people will choose to move outside of Essex County, because they have the highest property taxes in the state. Renting in Chatham or Madison are nice places, but too expensive to buy a house. Bloomfield is a good place to buy, but talk with some of the residents first to find out where the nice parts of town are.

I'm from Chatham and went to high school in Summit, rotated at Kessler, so if you have qs about specific towns in NJ, let me know.

 

[parmed]

Hey ....just wondering how people were assessing NRH? New PD, really great resources, excellent city...any other opinions?

 

[njdevil]

I believe Mehul is a senior resident there. Perhaps, there is wisdom to be offered...

Hey ....just wondering how people were assessing NRH? New PD, really great resources, excellent city...any other opinions?

 

[glenn michaels]

After my interviews I had one program that was slightly above the rest. However my interview day was interrupted due to reasons beyond anyones control. Even with all of that and the fact that I am a strong candidate for this program I decided I was set.

However over the couple of months since the interview I recieved no feedback from this program all the while recieving multiple handwritten letters, emails, typed letters from residency directors and interviewers alike. I'm getting fed back/rank you high letters from some upper tier programs and nothing from my not as competitve top choice. So I decided to go with my second choice and move my first choice down the line.

I was very excited and satisfied with my decision and then I get the call from my orginal first choice last week basically telling me that they are going to rank me one.

Anybody got a opinion on my situation?

 

[Rehab101]

I would reevaluate my decision....if you really liked the program and city you had initially ranked first, don't hold it against the program that they didn't call you before now....many programs were interviewing candidates until now (and PD's can be very busy with clinical duties in addition to interviews and may not have time to call you even though you are their #1). I would definitely look at my list if I were you and make SURE that you moved #1 to #2 because you would be happier at #2.

After my interviews I had one program that was slightly above the rest. However my interview day was interrupted due to reasons beyond anyones control. Even with all of that and the fact that I am a strong candidate for this program I decided I was set.

However over the couple of months since the interview I recieved no feedback from this program all the while recieving multiple handwritten letters, emails, typed letters from residency directors and interviewers alike. I'm getting fed back/rank you high letters from some upper tier programs and nothing from my not as competitve top choice. So I decided to go with my second choice and move my first choice down the line.

I was very excited and satisfied with my decision and then I get the call from my orginal first choice last week basically telling me that they are going to rank me one.

Anybody got a opinion on my situation?

 

[njdevil]

I would go with the inital program you thought standed above the rest regardless of post interview feedback.

After my interviews I had one program that was slightly above the rest. However my interview day was interrupted due to reasons beyond anyones control. Even with all of that and the fact that I am a strong candidate for this program I decided I was set.

However over the couple of months since the interview I recieved no feedback from this program all the while recieving multiple handwritten letters, emails, typed letters from residency directors and interviewers alike. I'm getting fed back/rank you high letters from some upper tier programs and nothing from my not as competitve top choice. So I decided to go with my second choice and move my first choice down the line.

I was very excited and satisfied with my decision and then I get the call from my orginal first choice last week basically telling me that they are going to rank me one.

Anybody got a opinion on my situation?

 

[MM9]

Rank based on where you would be happy.

I hope you realize that trying to predict where a program will rank you does NOT improve your chances of matching there. You do not need to "match" up the ranks (i.e. they are ranking you 1 so you need to rank them 1 to match). The match algorithm works in your favor and you should simply rank them in the order you wish to attend.

Good Luck.

 

[axm397]

Agree with all of the above. It's a shame you changed your rank list based on feedback from PDs. RIC does NOT give feedback and none of us current residents got ANY feedback. I was tempted to change my rank list to reflect the recruiting that came my way but I am glad I did not. You really should rank based on your preference.

 

[undercover]

First, thanks to all of those who said you matched and programs did not contact you. It's a very comforting feeling.

That being said, I had a question regarding the Baylor/UT Alliance. It seems like the program is very good. However, I've heard whispers that make me question the environment (in terms of residents and faculty). Any thoughts? I PM'd the mentor for Baylor, but no answer so far. Has anyone done a rotation there to add more insight?

 

[glenn michaels]

Thanks for the feedback concerning my situation. I am strongly leaning towards switching back to my orginal number one choice. My final decision will be on Sunday-so I'll let yall know then.

 

[melancholy]

First, thanks to all of those who said you matched and programs did not contact you. It's a very comforting feeling.

That being said, I had a question regarding the Baylor/UT Alliance. It seems like the program is very good. However, I've heard whispers that make me question the environment (in terms of residents and faculty). Any thoughts? I PM'd the mentor for Baylor, but no answer so far. Has anyone done a rotation there to add more insight?

If you haven't tried, PM bbbmd on SDN. He tends to post occasionally on SDN and may be more responsive. (if he isn't listed as the mentor already!)

 

[undercover]

PM'd BBBMD, no response so far. Thanks though.

 

[mehul_25]

Hey ....just wondering how people were assessing NRH? New PD, really great resources, excellent city...any other opinions?

Sorry it took so long to respond. I think you have summarized some of the strengths of the program. As many people are aware we have a new program director. As I have stated in a previous post, much of the emotional turmoil that was plaguing the residents in the past has been resolved. The new program director has an open dialogue with the residents and the GMEC as a whole is much more open to change.

We do have tremendous resources. Our physical plant is excellent. We rotate at world-class facilities including WRAMC, GTUH, NIH, CNMC, etc. All the resources necessary for top-notch training are available for residents to be taken advantage of.

The last point you made is about the city. I can not say enough good things about it, when things were bad in the program in the past the location was the saving grace. It is expensive but besides that it is very liveable with great restaurants, museums, and recreational opportunities. 2 hours from the beach, 1 hour from the mountains and 3 major airports within 20 miles.

Personally I have had the opportunity to participate in a 6 month research elective at the NIH working with Drs. Lynn Gerber and Jay Shah. The current PGY-4 class has 2/3 going into competitive pain fellowships next year including our own in-house ACGME-accredited program. Our current PGY-3 and 2 classes are also excellent.

Now that I have given you the positives, I think it is only fair to comment on the negatives.

We suffer from some of the same inadequacies as many other programs. With a group of highly motivated residents in the program many of those deficiencies become points of contention. We could have a greater focus on musculoskeletal medicine with improved teaching and lectures (thus the propensity of most of our residents applying to pain or sports/spine fellowships). Research mentorship could be streamlined and improved with increased focus on publication and again msk medicine. We have some great teachers, some crappy (and dogmatic) and many in between, something I believe is likely similar to many other programs.

At its heart NRH is a community hospital, therefore the pressure to see numbers particularly on the inpatient services and the subsequent domination of the inpatient services for resources and hospital importance is quite apparent. The outpatient program can seem rudimentary at times with some excellent exceptions. There has been talk of initiating a continuity clinic.

I believe that NRH will give you great fundamental training (SCI, CVA, TBI). The resources to improve some of the outpatient experiences are in place, however they need to be taken advantage of. NRH enjoys a good if not great name in PM&R and GTUH enjoys a prominent name in medicine in general, both attributes that are beneficial when hunting for jobs (academic and otherwise) or fellowship positions.

When it comes down to it, NRH is far from perfect but it is what you make of it, as the success of previous residents will verify.

I would be happy to answer any specific questions.

 

[bbbmd]

Undercover, sorry for just getting back to you now, Ive been out of town... I might as well post this here for all to read.

Lots have happened with the program in the last week and things are evolving as I write this. I have good news and news with uncertain consequences.

First, the good. We have hired an interventional spine physiatrist and this is the first step of many for the long term goal of opening our own spine center. I dont know the specifics yet as Ive been out of town, all I know is someone has been hired. I have an idea who, but will not devulge this info until I have confirmed it.

Now, the uncertain... It seems that we are officially splitting from Methodist Hospital. Because of this split we may be losing the rotations that we do there. The rotations are: Inpatient general rehab, EMG with Dr. Vennix and Chronic pain clinic with Dr. Grabois. Again, things are still evolving, but this looks like the direction we are going. Also because of this split, Methodist has recruited 4 Physiatrists from the program. This means these Physiatrists will no longer be Baylor/UT faculty. These 4 Physiatrists are general inpatient attendings, one at TIRR and the other 3 at Hermann. So why am I uncertain about the outcome of this split??? Change can be good because it provides an opportunity for the program to improve itself, or it can hurt the program if it hires the wrong people to fill the spots. Would losing inpatient rotations and attendings create more opportunity for the growth of our outpatient/musculoskeletal exposure? I dont know, but Im a bit excited to see who our department recruits for these open spots- I am hopeful that they will find general physiatrists with strong musculoskeletal interests!!! After all, improving musculoskeletal exposure has been the priority of the program for some time and with these recent changes it may be the "kick in the butt" for it to move in this direction quicker.

With these recent events in mind, I do still think that the training you would get here for TBI, SCI and general rehab is still outstanding. We have enough rotations to go around for training in those areas in all the Texas Medical Center Hospitals, except of course-Methodist. For musculoskeletal--> the addition of an interventional spine physiatrist and the opportunity for us to recruit new staff with interest in this makes me "cautiously optimistic".

Ill keep you all updated as I know the match is coming up!!!

As far as rumors... what are they? I will answer them as candid as I can. I really have nothing to hide--> I want you guys to find the program that best fits YOUR needs regardless if its at Baylor/UT Alliance or not...

B

 

[undercover]

Hey BBBMD,

Thank you very much for the response. I apologize for the impatience. It just gets a little tense with the RoL deadline coming up.

Is the Methodist split a bad break up? For example, if someone wanted to do an elective at Methodist or apply for a job coming from the Baylor/UT program, would it be a harsh treatment?

The rumors I was referring to are primarily the ones on scutwork and a few residents along the trail who were cautious when referring to Baylor/UT. I realize it's only a few people, but with so little information available on programs, each comment weighs heavily.

Thank you for your help.

Undercover, sorry for just getting back to you now, Ive been out of town... I might as well post this here for all to read.

Lots have happened with the program in the last week and things are evolving as I write this. I have good news and news with uncertain consequences.

First, the good. We have hired an interventional spine physiatrist and this is the first step of many for the long term goal of opening our own spine center. I dont know the specifics yet as Ive been out of town, all I know is someone has been hired. I have an idea who, but will not devulge this info until I have confirmed it.

Now, the uncertain... It seems that we are officially splitting from Methodist Hospital. Because of this split we may be losing the rotations that we do there. The rotations are: Inpatient general rehab, EMG with Dr. Vennix and Chronic pain clinic with Dr. Grabois. Again, things are still evolving, but this looks like the direction we are going. Also because of this split, Methodist has recruited 4 Physiatrists from the program. This means these Physiatrists will no longer be Baylor/UT faculty. These 4 Physiatrists are general inpatient attendings, one at TIRR and the other 3 at Hermann. So why am I uncertain about the outcome of this split??? Change can be good because it provides an opportunity for the program to improve itself, or it can hurt the program if it hires the wrong people to fill the spots. Would losing inpatient rotations and attendings create more opportunity for the growth of our outpatient/musculoskeletal exposure? I dont know, but Im a bit excited to see who our department recruits for these open spots- I am hopeful that they will find general physiatrists with strong musculoskeletal interests!!! After all, improving musculoskeletal exposure has been the priority of the program for some time and with these recent changes it may be the "kick in the butt" for it to move in this direction quicker.

With these recent events in mind, I do still think that the training you would get here for TBI, SCI and general rehab is still outstanding. We have enough rotations to go around for training in those areas in all the Texas Medical Center Hospitals, except of course-Methodist. For musculoskeletal--> the addition of an interventional spine physiatrist and the opportunity for us to recruit new staff with interest in this makes me "cautiously optimistic".

Ill keep you all updated as I know the match is coming up!!!

As far as rumors... what are they? I will answer them as candid as I can. I really have nothing to hide--> I want you guys to find the program that best fits YOUR needs regardless if its at Baylor/UT Alliance or not...

B

 

[CasaElGato]

First, thanks to all of those who said you matched and programs did not contact you. It's a very comforting feeling.

That being said, I had a question regarding the Baylor/UT Alliance. It seems like the program is very good. However, I've heard whispers that make me question the environment (in terms of residents and faculty). Any thoughts? I PM'd the mentor for Baylor, but no answer so far. Has anyone done a rotation there to add more insight?

On my interview day there it seemed most of the residents were happy but it seems like they work harder than at many places. I guess if you are very gungho into inpatient S/P finishing residency than you really can't find a more robust location. But if you are more interested in outpatient, occmed, pain, spine, sports, msk, etc you can probably find a better place for exposure to those areas than Baylor. That being said it seems like they have a great time finding fellowships.

 

[bbbmd]

Is the Methodist split a bad break up? For example, if someone wanted to do an elective at Methodist or apply for a job coming from the Baylor/UT program, would it be a harsh treatment?

The rumors I was referring to are primarily the ones on scutwork and a few residents along the trail who were cautious when referring to Baylor/UT. I realize it's only a few people, but with so little information available on programs, each comment weighs heavily.

Bad breakup? Not sure, still evolving. By the way, its not just PM&R that split, ALL Baylor residency programs have split from Methodist. We happen to be the last department to do so. From what I understand PM&R clinics that were once at Methodist will be moved the the brand new Baylor Clinic also in the medical center. Methodist is now a Cornell institution--> I do not know if this means that Cornell residents will rotate there in the future. All of the Physiatrists that have joined Methodist were trained at the Baylor/UT program. I do not anticipate "harsh" treatment.

Scutwork: I just read the most recent ones as I think they are probably the most pertinent. Wow... Such a bipolar perception of our program!!! We are either great or horrible!!! Without sugar-coating anything and only talking facts, let me talk about MY experience. It seems that the most confusion about the Baylor/UT program is our MSK exposure, atmosphere and "malignancy" so I will focus on these three:

1.) MSK: PGY2 year: No dedicated MSK rotation. PGY3 year: 2 months of dedicated MSK rotations at the VA. Slow paced, bread and butter neck, back, shoulder, knee, ankle/foot, hip problems. Read a lot, practiced exams on each other, then on the patient. Attending there is an excellent teacher and goes over radiology and exam with you. He will not teach the lazy resident. I learned and did peripheral joint injections/aspirations, viscosupplementation, trigger points... Easy procedures to do. Drawback: the VA population!!! PGY4 year: 2 more months at the VA doing dedicated MSK rotations--> A lot of the same, refined my skills. One month doing a dedicated MSK rotation with Dr. Cianca: Typical middle aged patients and a lot of the younger atheletes. Refined my examination skills even more from an outstanding teacher known in the PASSOR arena. One more month of dedicated MSK clinic with Dr. Khalifa--> Typical patients again, less atheletes but a whole lot of workers comp, IMEs, Impairment ratings. Refined my skills and did a bunch of flouroscopic injections--> Mostly SI, lumbar Facets, Radiofrequency and even a few cervical injections. I am now comfortable with SI and Facet injections. 1/2 a month with the Baylor SPorts med group orthopods where I learned the "Orthopod way" and screen for the surgical candidate. So in summary- I got 6 1/2 months of dedicated MSK experience- mostly VA, but got to see athletes and industrial stuff as well.

Other things I did to spice up my MSK training: PGY2-4, I was team doc for high school football, Running clinic for Houston Fit with Dr. Cianca, Pre-participation sports physicals for high schools and wheelchair sports, Medical tent physician for the Houston Marathon, Saturday optional clinics with orthopods.

I am not dreaming of becoming a MSK guru like Drs Prather and Press, but I am happy with the training I am getting in MSK. IF you guys want more than what I got, maybe you shouldnt rank Baylor/UT high.

2.) Atmosphere: This is my own experience: My class- the Seniors: Unless I am completely oblivious to any feuding going on--> We do not have any. Every now and then we get some bickering about coverage, especially for job or fellowship interviews. Remember, we are a huge program so obviouisly those that have more in common hang out together more than others, but all of us mesh quite well!!! One attending commented that my class seems to be the closest class she has seen in a while!!! I cant speak for the 2s and 3s, but they seem to be getting a long as well. As a whole: 2s, 3s and 4s hang out occassionally for bbqs, happy hours and big occassions. The faculty are all great to hang out with--> One example: The chairman singing karoake with the residents at a resident's house during the holidays (he is going to kill me for bringing this up). Again, these are facts with no sugar-coating- you be the judge.

3.) Malignancy: OK, lll talk about the hardest rotations per year- again in my opinion: PGY2 year: Hermann inpatient: 2 PGY2s, 24 bed unit and always full with high turnover. A lot of SICK patients termed "rehab ICU" by the residents. Polytrauma, CVA, Neurotrauma, Cardiac, Medical train wrecks with debility. Typical work day: 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. No in-house call. PGY2 takes Home Call. Teaching minimal, experience-excellent. PGY3 year: TIRR Brain injury inpatient- 1 resident covering 2 attending's patient load. Patient cap: 22 per resident. Typical work day depends on when your admissions arrive: I arrived at 7:00 am and left at 5-6 on most days. I stayed til 8pm a couple times to get more practice with phenol and botox injections. In-house call averaging approx 4-5 calls per month. This rotation, by far, was my most malignant rotation, but nothing compared to a typical ward month during my medicine internship in New York. I slept an average of 5-6 hours a night and I am considered a "black cloud" by my class. A lot of teaching (depends on the attending you are assigned to- I go the better one), Experience: outstanding. PGY4: The private practice rotation in North Houston outside the med center. I just realized how hard the private physiatrist work!!! Inpatient consults at 3 hospitals (2 LTACS and 1 acute)- census about 18-23 patients and clinic seeing about 20 patients a day. Arrive at 7 am on most days and leave around 5 pm- Exhausted with my head spinning!!! Clinic patients are pretty much all chronic pain. Teaching- really nothing clinical that you dont know by now, but you get taught about how to run a successful private practice. Experience: makes me not want to go into private practice! No call and No weekends during your PGY4 year (mostly).

I hope that this helps and clears some things up. This is my experience and this is how the program has been from 7/1/2003 to present. You will get at least this much at this time, but remember that there have been a lot of changes. New rotations that I did not do and seem exciting: Interventional physiatry and whatever rotation the new interventionalist will have.

BB

 

[glenn michaels]

Thanks for the feedback concerning my situation. I am strongly leaning towards switching back to my orginal number one choice. My final decision will be on Sunday-so I'll let yall know then.

I went with my orginal number one pick. Certified on last Thursday so I was chilin yesterday!

Anybody got some stories about last minute moves made yesterday?

 

[melancholy]

I went with my orginal number one pick. Certified on last Thursday so I was chilin yesterday!

Anybody got some stories about last minute moves made yesterday?

Had to do some thinking about #6-8 spots. Those were some of the hardest programs to decide on because they each had various compromises in terms of finding the best fit program.. and some of the programs had very diffierent focuses/foci, so it really made me think about what my priorities for resident education were.

 

[CasaElGato]

I went with my orginal number one pick. Certified on last Thursday so I was chilin yesterday!

Anybody got some stories about last minute moves made yesterday?

I had moved a program from #8 to #3 based on reputation then realised I wouldn't be happy there and moved it back to #8, but no real changes anywhere else on my list and the endlist = list from a week ago. Final cert 8pm et.

Had to do some thinking about #6-8 spots. Those were some of the hardest programs to decide on because they each had various compromises in terms of finding the best fit program.. and some of the programs had very diffierent focuses/foci, so it really made me think about what my priorities for resident education were.

I wouldn't worry about #6-8, I think only 15% match beyond their top 3 choices, and an even smaller beyond #5.

I only wished I liked the programs in warmer places more...

 

[melancholy]

I wouldn't worry about #6-8, I think only 15% match beyond their top 3 choices, and an even smaller beyond #5.

I only wished I liked the programs in warmer places more...

HMm I know what you mean about the warmer places. It's probably not going to happen for me.

Where'd you get that stat for the 15%? That seems generous given the increasing competitiveness of the specialty, but hey it would be nice.

 

[CasaElGato]

HMm I know what you mean about the warmer places. It's probably not going to happen for me.

Where'd you get that stat for the 15%? That seems generous given the increasing competitiveness of the specialty, but hey it would be nice.

http://www.savethematch.org/history/brief.aspx

U.S. Medical Students Do Well in Match

Since the beginning of the Match, seniors at U.S. medical schools have done extremely well in the Match. Even over the last 10 years, although the number of total applicants has been higher than the number of positions, about 85 percent of U.S. senior medical students have matched to one of their top three choices, with about 60 percent getting their first choices.

 

[euroboy98]

Hey BBBMD, thanks a lot for sharing all the info regarding the Baylor/UT program. Couple of questions out of curiosity:
1. Can you share who are the faculty members recruited by Methodist?
2. When entering the ROL, the NRMP page showed only 10 spots available for the program (6 baylor, 4 UT); any comments on that? I thought there were more spots available.
Again, thanks!

 

[bbbmd]

Hey BBBMD, thanks a lot for sharing all the info regarding the Baylor/UT program. Couple of questions out of curiosity:
1. Can you share who are the faculty members recruited by Methodist?
2. When entering the ROL, the NRMP page showed only 10 spots available for the program (6 baylor, 4 UT); any comments on that? I thought there were more spots available.
Again, thanks!

1.) Dr. Lawrence Nguyen, Theresa Kaldis, Thao Tran and Jenny Lai

2.) Hmmm.... Ill get back to you about that. I dont know. Ill ask the program director today.

B

 

[bbbmd]

2. When entering the ROL, the NRMP page showed only 10 spots available for the program (6 baylor, 4 UT); any comments on that? I thought there were more spots available.
Again, thanks!

The spots were decreased (2 Baylor spots less) secondary to the re-structuring of the rotations. It is likely that we will still end up with more rotations than the number of residents we have, but this was done as a precaution. It is likely that the program will recruit outside of the match once re-structuring is complete.

 

[euroboy98]

Thanks a lot, once again, for your answers BBBMD

 

[CasaElGato]

hey rehab sports doc. i am going to kessler next year. i wanted to know where is the best housing both location wise and affordability. any input would be greatly apprecited. i went on the umdnj-pmr website and they had a list there, just wanted to have some more input.
arik

How about this link:

Housing and Activities guide

 

[arik79]

thanks casaElGato. That helps

How about this link:

Housing and Activities guide

 

[drfarah]

I am new to the forums, but have been reading nonstop! Thanks for all the great info!

I had a quick question - what is the difference between Kessler and JFK? Aren't they both associated with UMDNJ?

Thanks!

Good luck on the match guys!

 

[CasaElGato]

I am new to the forums, but have been reading nonstop! Thanks for all the great info!

I had a quick question - what is the difference between Kessler and JFK? Aren't they both associated with UMDNJ?

Thanks!

Good luck on the match guys!

UMDNJ-NJ Medical School (Newark) = Kessler
Kessler West is in West Orange. Is a frestanding rehab hospital.
Also has about a dozen other sites they rotate through including University Hospital in Newark.

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson MS (Piscataway) = JFK
JFK is in Edison. Is a rehab inst attached to a community hospital.
Mostly one site. Occasional consults at University Hospital in New Brunswick. Peds outpt at Mountainside. SCI at Kessler West x 1m.

There was another thread on this a while ago.

 

[melancholy]

UMDNJ-NJ Medical School (Newark) = Kessler
Kessler West is in West Orange. Is a frestanding rehab hospital.
Also has about a dozen other sites they rotate through including University Hospital in Newark.

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson MS (Piscataway) = JFK
JFK is in Edison. Is a rehab inst attached to a community hospital.
Mostly one site. Occasional consults at University Hospital in New Brunswick. Peds outpt at Mountainside. SCI at Kessler West x 1m.

There was another thread on this a while ago.

I think this was the short-lived thread you may be thinking about:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=226858

 

[drfarah]

thanks so much everyone... that thread helps a lot