Rank List:
Below are my top 5 in order and 5 more that I will be ranking in alphabetical order. I don't feel good publicly listing my order of my bottom 5 because they are all great programs. Yes, one is my least favorite, but it's still a great program and I'd be happy there. There are actually 3 more that will make my list, but I really didn't like them and don't feel comfortable publicly bashing them. My number 1 and number 2 may switch depending on my wife's preference. Honestly, any of my top 5 and I'd be amazingly thrilled.
About me:
low ranked state school, AOA, ~250/~270, lots of research (none in EM), no externships
1. UAB – Wow. This program was amazing. There PD was a man who I immediately trusted. He was the kind of guy I want to have as my boss. They have a clear process of resident development and graduated responsibility, both in the ED and in their moonlighting opportunities. I felt like this was the type of place where you would learn more about medicine every day, but you would also grow as a doctor (that is to say, it's not a program where you are doing the same role as a pgy-1 and pgy-3 except you just have more experience as a pgy-3). They are big on resident satisfaction. Schedule's worked so you have every other weekend off. Lighter hours intentionally – they want you to have time to moonlight, research or explore other areas of interest (the PD made it very clear that this wasn't so you could be lazy, but that you would find your niche and work in that). Very family oriented. There facilities were amazing. UAB is an institution for both medicine and surgery. Benefits aren't great, but moonlighting opportunities are killer and the COL is very low. The curriculum is very ED-heavy which I see as a plus. Very high on resident autonomy. My advisor told me that he knows a few of the attendings that they have hired over the past couple years and really seems to think this program will be an elite program in the very near future. Good job opportunities for my wife. Very sick patient population. My only reservation is that I didn't really spend any time in Birmingham. I basically flew into it for the interview and out the next day. I'm from the south though and I've heard some really great things about Birmingham. Supposedly there's a lot of stuff to do for a city of its size. Even with this as an unknown, I loved the program that much. One minor concern was trauma, but I think it's a non-issue. Birmingham has a ton of blunt and penetrating trauma, but you don't do any when you're on your ED months. You have separate trauma months which are supposed to be very fruitful. You also do community months were you're the trauma guy. They said they have no concerns about their trauma experience. I really ‘fit' there.
2.Carolinas – Again, wow. This place is an institution. I mean, this is one of THE places for EM. It (EM) is king of the hospital, and CMC isn't a hospital to turn up your nose at. I had a great time with the residents at the pre-interview dinner – they were a great group of people that I'd enjoy working with. They took us to a lecture on the interview day that was very laid back but high yield and engaging. Charlotte is amazing. The benefits are stupid good there. Honestly, I can't think of one negative thing to say about CMC. It was my number 1 throughout the interview season until my last interview at UAB.
3.Vandy – Great place to train. Amazing didactics, great benefits. Nashville is awesome. I loved the residents. I saw this very much on par with CMC, except I had a slightly awkward interaction with the PD in my interview. They have anything you could ever want at your disposal. I prefer Charlotte to Nashville, but just by a hair.
4.BWH/MGH – Awesome place to train. I mean, common' – it's Man's Greatest Hospital AND the Brigham AND Boston Children's – it's an embarrassment of riches. I was really surprised by this one. Part of the reason I wanted to interview was to simply see the facilities. I expected to be turned off by the people. I actually had a great time at the pre (actually post) interview dinner. All of the residents were extremely approachable. I even commented on that to one of them – the response was "yea, like him, that's bob. Sure went to MIT undergrad, HMS and presented his own research last week at a huge conference….to me, he's just bob who lost 40 bucks to me playing poker last night." The faculty was an all-star cast and very down to earth. Had a really great interview there. I would consider ranking this program number 1, but Boston isn't a great place for my wife – the market is saturated with people in her field. Also, it's REALLY cold and a 4yr program. I'd still be thrilled to end up here. It sounded like there might be a little too much "hands-off" attitude from the peds fellows, but I don't doubt that you'd still get plenty of great peds training.
5.Emory – Man, do you get it all here? They have Grady, the quintessential county hospital where you see EVERYTHING. They have Emory Midtown where you can get your community experience. They have Emory University where you can see the crazy "there are only 10 of these in the country" disease. I really liked the residents. A very eclectic group. They are big on public policy. You would walk out of this place ready for anything.
Other programs that were all excellent in alphabetical order.
BIDMC: I wanted to fall in love with this program, but I couldn't. Like I said before, Boston would be tough for my wife to find a job. With all the affiliate-hospitals, there is a lot of travel. I feel like if I went there, I would want to have a car for all the travelling, and my wife would most likely need a car for her job. I feel like it would be tough to find a reasonable place to live in a desirable neighborhood with parking for two (if you can even find an apartment with parking). They had all sorts of opportunities and their faculty had a bunch of heavy-hitters in the field. Their EMR is unreal. A few residents mentioned that they felt like they were overworked – no hints of malignancy, just a heavy work load. Their 3+1 model is incredible. This is a GREAT program, I just thought it would be tough logistically for my wife and I, and I think they work a little too much.
MUSC: Awesome PD. This program is making leaps and bounds and has an undoubtedly upward trajectory. Charleston may be the prettiest city in the county. Their ED has a poor physical layout. I had no questions about the training here.
ORMC: Amazing program with a PD who I suspect would give you the shirt off his back. This program reminded me of CMC – I thought they were very similar in most aspects. Orlando is a great city with a ton to do (other than just Disney). My wife and I have both lived in FL and would both like to have something else for a little while. If not in FL, this would be top 5.
UF Jacksonville: Great program, kind of a trial by fire. Very resident run, but not overly so as it may have been in the past. They always have attendings available, but they won't hold your hand. Residents were all very competent and easy to get along with. EM kinda runs the show for a lot of the hospital. Felt like they hadn't read my file at the interview. Jacksonville, contrary to popular believe is a great city. Like I said, want to get out of FL for a little while, if not I would have ranked this much higher.
UNC: Awesome PD – this guy was on par with the UAB PD – those two were easily the two men that I would want to work for. Great curriculum with stellar international opportunities. Their faculty was all extremely accomplished, apparently Tintanelli still works shifts in the ED. Loved the aPDs that I met. There's a lot of driving, but the traffic isn't bad, so that's not really a deal breaker. I liked the university and community. It seemed like you'd be a little overshadowed by surgery and IM since UNC is such an institution, but have great opportunities at WakeMed and a freestanding ED. Had a bad interaction with one of the residents – one just seemed really pretentious and acted like I was beneath them. Unfortunately, 90% of the time I talked had with residents was spent with just one, so my sample size is pretty small, even still, I would not want to work with that person.
Nicest dinner: UNC
Best Beer: BWH/MGH (Boston Beer Works)
Favorite food: UAB (Nachos and Pizza)
Most fun dinner: CMC
Worst Traffic: Emory
Best swag: tie – ORMC (helicopter shaped USB drive) and Vanderbilt (Moon pie)
You don't have to give reasons why you ranked them the way you did. I'm just curious to see where you all want to go.
