now that the rank list is finalized and done with, I just wanted to give some of my opinions (mainly negative) on some of the programs I interviewed at but didn't rank. I just want to say before hand that this is solely my own personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. I figure I would help out some of the students that will come after me because I wish someone told me this before I wasted my time interviewing at these places. Some background info: I go to a med school in New York and due to family reasons, limited my applications to the North East, hence there will be a regional bias present. I interviewed at 15 programs and ranked 9. I really liked all the programs I ranked and would be pleased with matching to any of them. The following 6 programs I interviewed at but didn't even see fit to rank them because I disliked them so much. I would rather not match and take a year off than go to any of these programs. There are a lot of threads here that say positives about a program, but I think it would also be useful to make a thread of programs someone didn't like. Please feel free to correct me or add to this thread.
1) maimonides - this is a community program in brooklyn with very limited research opportunities and very unorganized schedule. The residents seemed nice but almost timid to give me details about the program. The faculty did not seem too eager to teach. The most honest opinions of the program I got from a student currently rotating from SGU. He said there is very little teaching done and the residents seem overwhelmed. I have nothing concrete per se but I didn't like the overall feel I was getting from this place. The hospital is run down and the ancillary staff seem lazy more so than other NY hospitals. Everyone seemed to have a chip on their shoulder. my friend from my med school also interviewed here at a different date and mirrored much of what I felt. She said "that place seemed a little off". She isn't ranking this place either.
2) stonybrook - university program on the island. for those not familiar with NY, this place is in the boonies. I had someone from chicago interviewing with me and they thought it was one of the suburbs of NYC. While technically true, it is easily 2 hrs away from NYC if taken traffic into account. So for those looking for an NYC experience, look elsewhere. Also the residents did not seem eager to sell the place to us during interviews. Some of them almost tried to dissuade us, which I found somewhat odd. They all looked over worked and under appreciated. The hospital is very big and you almost felt lost. The anesthesia department from the looks of it seems to take a back seat. The nurses were giving the residents attitude right in front of us, and it seemed like something they were perfectly used to and accepted. Very little professional respect, not a place for me.
3) NUMC - community program on the island. everyone from the very beginning was awkwardly rude. the secretary that let me in was talking to me like i was in a fight with her over something. very weird experience, but i figured this was an anomaly. but the whole day, everyone was rude. not just to me. i even asked this girl from downstate if there was something odd here, and she's like "these people think they're columbia or something". true this was a rude thing to say as well, but it goes to show what a bad taste they left in our mouths. The hospital is run down comparably speaking and the attendings did not come across as personable. This was on the bottom of my list going in, and after the interview, it further cemented my sentiments.
4) methodist - community program in brooklyn. very similar complaints to maimonides except the hospital was prettier and more upscale. but other than that, very little research opportunities, and it seemed that all the residents there got there because they "knew someone". obviously this is not true factually, but thats the sense they gave off during interviews. one of them was like "yea, my grades weren't that good, but it's not what you know, its who you know". he was undoubtedly speaking in jest but its just the feeling i got. if you play ball with the right people, you seem to get far here. i realize this is the way life works, but this place made it seem like sucking up is half your job. i pass...
5) albany - university program in upstate ny. since i'm from the city, i'm slightly biased in thinking that anyone that willing comes up this far north in the cold has to have a few screws loose. Unfortunately, it didn't disappoint in that sense. I don't want to insult anyone I met there since they were all very nice people, but needless to say, they were a little loopy. Can't see myself working with that crowd for 4 years. And did I mention it is insanely cold up there. Albany is a dead city. there is NOTHING to do there. I drove around for a little bit and living souls were no where to be found. I feel sorry for anyone that has to live there and do residency there for 4 yrs. A lot of DOs which is a red flag for me personally. But whatever the case, not my cup of tea.
6) brookdale - community program in brooklyn. if this program isn't on probation within the next year or so, i'll be shocked! lol. i would be surprised if the residents coming out have a very high pass rate because none of the attendings or anyone seemed to teach anything. i felt like i was interviewing for a prelim IM spot. where was the part about anesthesia??? and the hospital is in a really really bad neighborhood. i would have to invest in a bullet proof vest if i was there for 4 years. all the residents however were very nice and seemed to get along well, but the structure of the program is... invisible.
I apologize if I have insulted anyone. These are just my opinions and as you can tell from what I've written, they are very biased and based on very little actual data. To each their own. Just some ramblings of a 4th year student. If I had to do it over again, I would not waste my time interviewing at these places. Money and time poorly spent.
have a great day!
1) maimonides - this is a community program in brooklyn with very limited research opportunities and very unorganized schedule. The residents seemed nice but almost timid to give me details about the program. The faculty did not seem too eager to teach. The most honest opinions of the program I got from a student currently rotating from SGU. He said there is very little teaching done and the residents seem overwhelmed. I have nothing concrete per se but I didn't like the overall feel I was getting from this place. The hospital is run down and the ancillary staff seem lazy more so than other NY hospitals. Everyone seemed to have a chip on their shoulder. my friend from my med school also interviewed here at a different date and mirrored much of what I felt. She said "that place seemed a little off". She isn't ranking this place either.
2) stonybrook - university program on the island. for those not familiar with NY, this place is in the boonies. I had someone from chicago interviewing with me and they thought it was one of the suburbs of NYC. While technically true, it is easily 2 hrs away from NYC if taken traffic into account. So for those looking for an NYC experience, look elsewhere. Also the residents did not seem eager to sell the place to us during interviews. Some of them almost tried to dissuade us, which I found somewhat odd. They all looked over worked and under appreciated. The hospital is very big and you almost felt lost. The anesthesia department from the looks of it seems to take a back seat. The nurses were giving the residents attitude right in front of us, and it seemed like something they were perfectly used to and accepted. Very little professional respect, not a place for me.
3) NUMC - community program on the island. everyone from the very beginning was awkwardly rude. the secretary that let me in was talking to me like i was in a fight with her over something. very weird experience, but i figured this was an anomaly. but the whole day, everyone was rude. not just to me. i even asked this girl from downstate if there was something odd here, and she's like "these people think they're columbia or something". true this was a rude thing to say as well, but it goes to show what a bad taste they left in our mouths. The hospital is run down comparably speaking and the attendings did not come across as personable. This was on the bottom of my list going in, and after the interview, it further cemented my sentiments.
4) methodist - community program in brooklyn. very similar complaints to maimonides except the hospital was prettier and more upscale. but other than that, very little research opportunities, and it seemed that all the residents there got there because they "knew someone". obviously this is not true factually, but thats the sense they gave off during interviews. one of them was like "yea, my grades weren't that good, but it's not what you know, its who you know". he was undoubtedly speaking in jest but its just the feeling i got. if you play ball with the right people, you seem to get far here. i realize this is the way life works, but this place made it seem like sucking up is half your job. i pass...
5) albany - university program in upstate ny. since i'm from the city, i'm slightly biased in thinking that anyone that willing comes up this far north in the cold has to have a few screws loose. Unfortunately, it didn't disappoint in that sense. I don't want to insult anyone I met there since they were all very nice people, but needless to say, they were a little loopy. Can't see myself working with that crowd for 4 years. And did I mention it is insanely cold up there. Albany is a dead city. there is NOTHING to do there. I drove around for a little bit and living souls were no where to be found. I feel sorry for anyone that has to live there and do residency there for 4 yrs. A lot of DOs which is a red flag for me personally. But whatever the case, not my cup of tea.
6) brookdale - community program in brooklyn. if this program isn't on probation within the next year or so, i'll be shocked! lol. i would be surprised if the residents coming out have a very high pass rate because none of the attendings or anyone seemed to teach anything. i felt like i was interviewing for a prelim IM spot. where was the part about anesthesia??? and the hospital is in a really really bad neighborhood. i would have to invest in a bullet proof vest if i was there for 4 years. all the residents however were very nice and seemed to get along well, but the structure of the program is... invisible.
I apologize if I have insulted anyone. These are just my opinions and as you can tell from what I've written, they are very biased and based on very little actual data. To each their own. Just some ramblings of a 4th year student. If I had to do it over again, I would not waste my time interviewing at these places. Money and time poorly spent.
have a great day!
However, I want to be in California and am used to county hospital work ethic so...yeah... A lot of people I know are ranking Harbor VERY low this year though.
