Rank List Help

[mikey014]

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I have been thinking about my rank list day & night. And it's pretty much a deadlock between the top 5-6. I understand that residency choices is very much dependent on personal factors but any input would be much appreciated (i.e. what would you put as #1, positives or negatives about a program that is a major selling point for you, etc.)

Specifics about me: I'm from CA. Not dead set on moving back to CA. But possibility of moving back after residency / fellowship. The ability to get into a SoCal Group would be important for me. Not sure if reputation, geographic, or networking is more important for this. This would be a major factor that I don't know exactly which program would help me the most.



UTMB - Galveston
UPMC
Cleveland Clinic
Oregon Health
UAB
U Mich
Case Western Reserve - UH
Mt Sinai / Loma Linda
Mayo AZ
Baylor
University of Chicago
U of Arizona / UC Davis
Penn State / Ohio State
NYU
USC

** I really like Alabama's program, however, it's in the South. As a minority I do wonder about safety and feel of fitting in within the South. And Birmingham isn't the safest place in the world as I hear. I am interviewing with them soon though. If anyone has any input on this I would appreciate that.


Thanks!

 

[gasblaster]

Obligatory preface: your personal decision, only you know what's best for you, etc etc. However, I was in your shoes last year and appreciated any input that the senior members could/did provide. So just paying what I can forward. Didn't interview at some of the places you listed, but here's what I can provide based on what programs we had overlap. This is just how I would/did rank it. I'm sure other people will have different opinions, but this is just my personal preference.

All these programs have great training, case exposure, etc and none of them will hinder you in any way. Whatever minor deficiencies I came up with in regards to training, didn't affect my decision in any significant way. It often came down to other stuff like research and academics, location, how I thought I meshed with the leadership, faculty, and residents, etc

1-3 (no specific order)
OHSU - (+) awesome chair (does lots of weekend call to work with residents and puts that money toward resident activities), really resident focused learning environment, great group of residents that seemed to get along well, lots of academic research, strong hospital overall, PNW and Portland are awesome . (-) smaller residency program
UPMC - (+) can't beat the monopoly that the hospital has on the city, lots of case variability between all the different sites, lots of academic research, great group of residents, actually like Pittsburgh. (-) maybe a little too spread out in terms of resident cohesiveness, the Steelers haha jk
Michigan - (+) lots to be said about the PD and chair (one of them is the longest standing), big on technology and anesthesia advancements, Michigan Mafia for post-residency connections, larger residency, UofM sports. (-) Ann Arbor (I guess +/-), seemed like more of the residents were older with kids/farther on in life, categorial only (intern year seemed rough and I prefered a TY)

4-6 (no specific order)
Chicago - (+) brand new hospital, lots of academic research, Chicago is an awesome city (-) location of the hospital, didn't mesh with the faculty as much as I did at other places
Sinai - (+) great, approachable PD who seems to really advocate for residents, fun group of residens, moonlighting opportunities, (-) not a fan of Manhattan (esp cost of living), looking for a more academic program
NYU - (+/-) essentially grouped Sinai and NYU together except the PD and moonlighting stood out for Sinai.

7+
CCF - (+) strong hospital, lots of money (-) didn't mesh well with the PD and faculty as much as I did at other places, interviewed like 30 people per day, Cleveland...

 

[mikey014]

thanks for your input. anyone else have any other thoughts?