Rank Order List (2014-2015)

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kmb1908

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Happy New Year all!

I thought I'd be the gunner to start this thread. Looking over years past has been really interesting and helpful for me and I'm already starting to flesh out my own.

You can post as much of your rank list as you're comfortable sharing (full list or top 3 or 5 +/- pro/cons for programs they ranked) and for relevant discussions about the lists. To help future EM applicants out, a generalization of your stats (step 1/2, clerkship grades, EM rotations) appeared to be helpful in the past as well.

Is there a moderator willing to post anonymously for people?

All the best to everyone!

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Finished interviews this week, rank list is basically done except for some minor tweaks, but would be happy to share if possible to do it anonymously.
 
So it goes....

I will post anonymously if anyone cares to send me their list.
 
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You have 2 posts on this forum. I think you're pretty anonymous already.
There was a guy a few years ago that posted his rank list, but left out his home program (which was somewhere down the list), because, he said, he wanted to stay anonymous. Now, if he had just posted the list, exactly no one would know what was his home program. I mentioned this, and he deleted the whole thing. Uh, OK? I mean, serious as a heart attack, I can find a whole slew of the attendings here with no problem. What did Eleanor Roosevelt say? Something to the effect of, "People that worry what others say about them would be surprised to find out how little others think of them".

True story!
 
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While discussion of ROLs is interesting, I don't know that it's all that helpful for making the ROL. Maybe people are making their ROL differently than I am. It's easy enough to separate programs by broad categories like 1) wish upon a star, 2) could have been worse, 3) huh..... interesting, and 4) god!! oh god please noooo... well atleast I matched. I find it difficult to truly compare programs (particularly programs where I did not rotate). For example, I prefer the community/county setting but my number 1 is at an academic institution because I rotated there, I know what to expect, I enjoy the people, and I love the area. Ultimately, distinguishing between programs in category 2 and 3 is mostly gestalt for me.
 
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Loma Linda vs UCSD
Any thoughts?
 
How hard is it really to get a texas medical license? Is it worth it to just train there to get one.
 
I know nothing about LL, but I interviewed at UCSD and it seemed great. Great area and pt population. SD is a wonderful place to live and tough to get a job in without training there. It was definitely one of he nice surprises for me on the interview trail.

what makes you say they have great pt population?

Also, how did you feel about trauma bypassing the ED and the fact they are 4 years instead of 3.
 
How hard is it really to get a texas medical license? Is it worth it to just train there to get one.

People seem to fear the medical jurisprudence examination, but at my school (in TX) we prepare for it with a mini class at the end of MS4 and apparently nobody has a problem passing it. Which program are you looking at?
 
But again, you've heard it over and over, trauma is over rated.

I disagree with this. Critically ill trauma patients give you an opportunity to become more comfortable managing resuscitations, managing difficult airways, performing procedures (chest tubes, central lines, fracture/dislocation reductions), for a minimal time investment (patient goes to OR or SICU within minutes of arrival). I think sick trauma patients are very high-yield for this reason, even though the management itself becomes algorithmic.
 
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Thoughts on mgh/bgw vs Bi in Boston?

There have been a few threads approximately 5 years ago, but does anyone have any more insight/new thoughts?

Thank you!
 
Thoughts on mgh/bgw vs Bi in Boston?

There have been a few threads approximately 5 years ago, but does anyone have any more insight/new thoughts?

Thank you!

I preferred BIDMC to BWH/MGH when I interviewed; a large part of this was simply the 3 vs 4. The BIDMC residents seemed fairly tired though - said they worked a ton.
 
Yes- I felt the same way. My main concern w/ BIDMC was the amount of shifts they were work and if they are still able to pursue outside interests like research etc...Otherwise both programs seemed very equal on all fronts (i.e. reputation, responsibility, off rotations, residents, attending, opportunities) etc.. Therefore the main difference was the 3 v 4 year...

Any other thoughts. Am I missing something?
 
Yes- I felt the same way. My main concern w/ BIDMC was the amount of shifts they were work and if they are still able to pursue outside interests like research etc...Otherwise both programs seemed very equal on all fronts (i.e. reputation, responsibility, off rotations, residents, attending, opportunities) etc.. Therefore the main difference was the 3 v 4 year...

Any other thoughts. Am I missing something?

Just that Boston is crazy expensive for a resident...or anyone.
 
Thoughts on mgh/bgw vs Bi in Boston?

There have been a few threads approximately 5 years ago, but does anyone have any more insight/new thoughts?

Thank you!

I think BI and MGH have strong and weak points. From what I recall during my interviews there...

MGH/B&W: better trauma and relative county experience.
BI: better community experience, 3 yrs more appealing than 4 (IMHO)

Weak point for both: peds.

Just go with whichever one you think you'll be happiest at.
 
People seem to fear the medical jurisprudence examination, but at my school (in TX) we prepare for it with a mini class at the end of MS4 and apparently nobody has a problem passing it. Which program are you looking at?

I interviewed at the big 3 and Austin. I really like Texas and hope to work there at some point. Not sure if it's an environment that is terribly difficulty to break into like CA.
 
I'm assuming he means UTSW, UT Houston, and Baylor
 
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How many shifts/month did bgw/mgh do compared to BI? I cant remember does anyone know?
 
I interviewed at the big 3 and Austin. I really like Texas and hope to work there at some point. Not sure if it's an environment that is terribly difficulty to break into like CA.

Right now it's easy to find jobs because urgent care centers are opening as fast as people can build them, and there's a supply/demand mismatch that's resulting in high salaries. I think it's less like CA because people move to CA to live in Cali-- people move in Texas to get the jobs that are here (and the salaries attached). Definitely helps to know people though, and I can't imagine that the current job market will be sustained so being here for residency will help.

For whatever it's worth, UT Houston's program is amazing. It is my home program, and while after being in Houston for seven years I am planning on doing residency elsewhere to try to diversify my experience (with the belief that I may come back for fellowship or possibly a job later), I love it and cannot say enough good things about it or the people here. The faculty and residents here have become like family, and from that I can tell you that although they work very hard (as one should in a three year residency if you expect to be clinically awesome), the volume and acuity that Dr. Luber describes on interview day is real and it, combined with really smart faculty that value teaching and resident autonomy will leave you clinically very well-trained and in-demand by employers.

My PGY3 friends from last year and this year got jobs wherever they wanted them, from fellowships at great programs to very lucrative TX medical directorships. Relationship with trauma surgery here is awesome, and Dr. Holcomb (amazing person) is exactly the kind of person who will continue to develop the Texas Trauma Institute in a way that includes EM, which may not be the kind of attitude you find at other institutions. Your off-service rotations are high-yield, and you're respected by those services and the rest of the hospital.

Please feel free to PM me if you have questions about the EM program at UT. I'm an MS4 who interviewed with many of you at places all over the country, and want to do what I can to help make sure the people who match here are happy and well-informed about the residency/hospital system/city that has given me so much over the last four years.
 
Any opinions on SUNY Downstate and/or Denver Health?
 
Any opinions on lincoln medical center (Bronx) or Staten Island?
 
Here's my opinion: what's the point?

I understand the utility of the interview thread, the general application thread, etc. But I really don't understand the value of seeing someone else's rank list. We all rank our programs based on a wide variety of factors, many of which are heavily influenced if not entirely determined by subjective opinion. If you have valuable thoughts on a program, why not just post them in that specific program's thread?

That + everyone this year seems to be too afraid to post anything, imo this thread should just be allowed to die.
 
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My opinion is the following: no way in hell.
Why? I posted mine before I matched... No one at any program is going to go through the trouble to figure out who a random username is on this forum
 
Why? I posted mine before I matched... No one at any program is going to go through the trouble to figure out who a random username is on this forum

I think people only want to see others' rank lists to validate their own. Like someone said above, there are a wide range of reasons to rank programs a certain way. If someone wants to post interview day reviews, that'd be more interesting to me.
 
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I think people only want to see others' rank lists to validate their own. Like someone said above, there are a wide range of reasons to rank programs a certain way. If someone wants to post interview day reviews, that'd be more interesting to me.

I enjoyed last year's rank list because people didn't just post their list. They posted the pros and cons of their choices. That way you got to see not only what everyone thought of certain programs, but also how strongly they valued the statements they made about each program based on what number they were assigned.

In my mind, this satisfies everyone. The people who want to see lists get their lists, the people who want to know "thoughts on xxxx vs yyyy" get those data too. Win win.

If you're worried about posting under your own name for whatever reason, just submit it to the user who is doing anonymous postings this year. That's what I did in my MS4 paranoia.
 
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That + everyone this year seems to be too afraid to post anything, imo this thread should just be allowed to die.

Just like everyone is scared to post their actual default pictures and names on Facebook... :p

Any opinions on posting rank lists?


Challenge Accepted. I am only going with my first 5 because they are the ones that I have the best reasons for. They are in alphabetical order... Mainly because I am so transparent on SDN that people actually know who I am sometimes.

KUMC- Newer program and smaller ED (~30 beds all run out of one “pod”) were the two things that were negatives for me. However, they have a great group of residents, amazing US experiences, and a well established hospital with a good reputation. Their patient population is older and seem to have complicated histories. The fact that the PD and APD built this program from the ground up means that they have vested themselves into the success of their residents.

LSU Shreveport- I was really surprised by this program. The thought of them being on probation this year was a big red flag for me until I actually went to the interview. After hearing the whole story and seeing how they have been changing their program because of it, I feel like the probation may have been a blessing in disguise. There were no negatives for me really. Its a few hours from where my family lives in Texas and has a good cost of living. Pros about the program in my opinion are interesting layout of the ED (Rare concept of an inner area for staff and outer doors to the patients rooms. I’ve heard less than 5 EDs in the country have this concept.), chair is a toxicologist, and one of the docs is the county’s coroner…

UMKC- The reasons I like this program are that it has a large ED layout with 3 pods, is one of the oldest programs in the country with a good reputation, and has a new emphasis on research (they require 2 projects). The con that I have with the program is that I have heard it is so well established that it may be less progressive about changing anything. Also, they seem to be somewhat occupied with their UMKC students, and in turn they don’t try to sell their program to applicants. Still, they boast a solid program. Cool aspects of the curriculum are the large amount of ICU and critical care months they do.

UTSW- Cons are living in Dallas and having to deal with ridiculous traffic… There are also many specialists and lots of other residents running around, which will mean less procedures. They don’t get to do much more than airway during traumas when in the ED. Pros are the large amounts of research opportunities and specialists that are in the top of their field. For an older program, I feel like they are open to changing things as needed. The curriculum is very unique because they have the most ED months I have seen (27 out of 39 blocks) and have many half block rotations (like ortho, burn ICU, neuro ICU, etc).

Virginia Tech Carilion- Listening to the program director speak about the business of medicine and politics involved made me excited about this program. For such a new program, they really have a solid faculty base and a good vision for the program. This hospital system has a lot of resources, and money… They will have 9 ultrasound machines by the end of the year, and they have around 7 pods if I remember correctly. There is a cool downtown area that is super affordable to live in (one resident told me she pays $700 a month for a newly remodeled apartment). Beautiful views of mountains all around the hospital! One of the things I heard during my interview was how the PD sends the residents out into the community to see what the nursing homes and rehabs are like. This enables them to understand what resources are available to patients when they are transferred out for further care. Very interesting concept and makes their program unique.


Disclaimer: I didn't do any crazy comparison lists when I interviewed. I didn't even take notes before, during or after my interview. I made my rank list based on the vibe I got when I was around the residents and faculty. The pros and cons I have listed were things that stood out to me, but may not have swayed any of my decisions.
 
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There it is. It's interesting to see from a resident perspective as well. Seeing pros and cons allows us to make changes and improve our residency programs.
 
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USIMG, 215+/235+, 3 EM Rotations, HP/H/H

Top 5. Like noshie (who I think I met on the interview trail), I went with my gut feeling.

1. UT-Memphis- Pros: New program in a very crime heavy city (#3 in the country, #1 Detroit, #2 Flint). 80K visits a year and very sick people (on a shadow shift I saw 3 central lines, LP and STEMI). Chest pain and stroke center. Recently expanded the ED to (about) 56 beds, just finished in September and looks AWESOME. Has low risk chest pain/obs area in the ED and a fast track staffed by PAs. Highest rates of strokes in the country. Heavy critical care focus with a possibility of a neurocritical care fellowship in the future. Trauma is covered at The MED as a intern and a junior. It seems to be set up a lot like Cook County (separate trauma center from ED). Faculty is a good mix of newbies and seasoned attendings who were all very enthusiastic and passionate about the program and opportunities presented. Clicked with two of the faculty members almost instantly. Ties to TN and the greater Memphis area. PD is a cool laid back guy that has a lot of interest in things like tactical/hyperbarics which I've never considered before. Would be interested in learning more about that from him. Great opportunity to really build a program that shines. Had the most amazing pre-interview dinner. The food and wine at the restaurant was incredible (that probably carries a little bit too much influence) Even though this is a new program, I feel as though I would be a beast coming out. Cons: Peds isn't seen in the main ED, but peds shifts will be mixed in with the ED months. With the new expansion of the ED, nursing staff wasn't also amped up, so there has been a lot of nurse turnover. Nurses were very nice and friendly on the shadow shift, but I don't know how that will play out in regards to the amount of scutwork.

2. KUMC- Pros: good vibe on interview day. PD and APD started the program and seemed very invested in the program and getting the best residents. Epic EMR. Seemed to have an interesting mix of patients being the only Level 1 in KS. Felt I would get amazing mentorship from the PD. Kansas City BBQ was delish for lunch. Residents were very nice. Cons: Simulation experience seemed a little sparse.

3. Sinai-Grace
- Pros: diverse group of residents in location and in education. I met residents from Mexico, Trini and SA and those who trained in caribbean and stateside. Very laid back and fun group. Strong resident turnout at dinner and during our tour on interview day. EM program is the strongest program in the hospital. Other services frequently look at EM residents to take hold and do everything. Lots of procedural experience. Strong name. New PD who has a lot of plans to bring residency more into the spotlight. He seemed very approachable and the residents all liked him as well. Residents do a lot of advocacy and mentorship in the Detroit community which was amazing to me. Big city. Cons: had a weird interview with an APD who I think may be socially awkward/Asperger syndrome....

4. CMU Saginaw- Pros: Rotated as a student and enjoyed it immensely. Great group of residents and nice, very approachable faculty. Got a lot of sick people which surprised me as a student. Brand new Peds ED. Cons: Location. Didn't feel as though I would be pushed hard enough as a resident.

5. Detroit Receiving- Pros: DRH carries a big name. Big city. High volume and a heavy focus on critical care. Cons: Hospital was a little run down and ED setup wasn't to my liking. Residents didn't seem friendly. Weird vibe on interview day. I think the chief resident was super jetlagged or she just thought I was very boring. *shrugs* She looked like she was fighting sleep during the entire interview. PD is a little full of himself and I wouldn't feel comfortable approaching him for anything.
 
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Props to you 2 guys/gals for posting. It helps inform other students and addresses the "any thoughts on program x" kind of questions that come up frequently.

If you've ever read existing reviews/rank lists on here you should pay it forward. It's the right thing to do.

Send them anonymously if you like (that's what I did when I was an applicant). I'm also willing to post them anonymously for people.

Best of luck to everybody in the match!
 
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As namethatsmell said...thank you guys/girls for posting. The residency reviews thread has a lot of old info but a lot less newer stuff...as a third year about to pick aways hearing from y'all about what certain places are like is super helpful. Thanks again and good luck to everyone!
 
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I've certainly drawn my fair amount of support from these threads, so I guess it's time to contribute a little. My top few programs were all on instinct but the specific order that I'm ranking them in has to do with a combination of distance to home and their curriculum (mainly, how much time they spend in the MICU).

Listed in alphabetical order, which seems to be customary:

Henry Ford: I felt like this was a pretty well respected program, and really the acuity in Detroit seems to be pretty high compared to a lot of other places I went. Big plus for this program was the critical care focus. Lots of places say that they focus on critical care, but not too many of them are one of the two hospitals in the country with EM/IM/CC programs, and not too many of them have an EM->CC track at home. Granted, this is a new pathway with Henry Ford but they seemed pretty excited about it, which is good news for me. I also actually liked the graduated responsibility system they have. I don't feel competent to run codes at this point in my training, and I'm sure most of the other people starting residency feel similar, so why bite off more than you can chew right at the beginning? Either way you'll be adequately trained, the question is just how stressful it'll be to get there.

Mayo Clinic: I was a bit apprehensive about this interview on the way in, because Mayo is one of the most specialist-heavy places there is. That being said, everyone there was very talkative about how important teaching is, and the residents talked a lot about how much the services they consulted taught them. I got the vibe that you didn't need to do much advocating for yourself, because everyone there just *wants* to teach so much. Rochester might not seem like the most exciting place to most people, but compared to the city I'm in for med school it's a big step in the right direction, so I don't care too much about that. Plus they fly, which seems pretty cool.

OSU: This was probably the biggest "vibe" one on my list. It's hard to point at why I liked it so much. The program director is doing some interesting things with didactics (he's converting some of it to small group sessions, which I think are much more useful compared to lectures). The emergency department is gigantic, and they get some pretty high acuity patients due to cancer center there.

Regions Hospital: I really enjoyed my interview there, and all of the faculty were very nice. I also felt like the residents got along there probably the best out of anywhere I went, which is not surprising because Minnesotans tend to be pretty friendly. Proximity to home made this a pretty attractive choice for me, too. Decent mix of rotations, although I wish they had a bit less time in the SICU and a bit more in the MICU, but that's a minor issue.

University of Wisconsin: This was one of the earlier interviews I went on, and I was just really impressed from start to finish. The residents were all really nice at the pre-interview dinner. The program director spoke to us off the top of her head for a bit over half an hour about her vision for the program, which was pretty impressive. We also spoke with the past-PD who is staying on to head up their global health program, and he made a very good case for how much support UW gives to their residents for going overseas. We also got a talk from the chairperson; while UW wasn't the only place that this happened it was rare enough to be memorable. They have optional flight time, which is cool. The big thing that stuck out at UW though was the "3+1" schedule. It's a three year program but they will create an optional fourth year 'mini-fellowship' kind of thing for anyone who feels they need it. The time is not wasted, either-they make sure that you're completing whatever career goal you have during this time. I thought that was very, very helpful as a backup option if needed. Emergency department sees a bit less volume than some of the other programs, but it's also growing at something like 5x the national average, so I'm not sure that's a really big deal. The faculty have been really involved in pushing to get EM on equal footing with other residencies in the hospital, and it seems to have worked here despite the program being relatively new.
 
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FYI this thing is changing seemingly by the day, like an evolving EKG. ;) Here’s what my rank list looks like today though! A lot of my ranking is based on the city rather than the program, btw. Feel free to PM me if you want to trade insights on any of these programs...

1. USC – unrivaled volume and pathology. Their enormous ED is like a hospital within the larger hospital. Benign and friendly leadership, though residents do work hard and long (and become outstanding clinicians in the process). Faculty are leaders in educating the field (EMRAP). Being able to speak at least broken Spanish is pretty important. Traffic in LA is at this point bordering on a human rights violation.

2. UCSD – Solid program, multiply credentialed faculty with many letters after their names, San Diego is IMO the nicest city in the country to live in. A few too many hospital sites for my taste, if I'm being picky. I don't know how heavily to rate their apparently non-ideal trauma triage situation.

3. Utah – Extremely benign PD, established older program, unbelievable access to the ski slopes 20minutes away, strong outdoorsy culture generally, everyone is really smart, Salt Lake City itself nearly as Mormon as the rest of Utah (Starbucks, bars everywhere).

4. University of Nevada @ Las Vegas – People seem to get a ton of procedures here, one of those places where the EM residents dominate in the hospital hierarchy/ICUs. Internationally renowned city. May not be as academic as I would like. I may be overrating this program based on how much I like Vegas.....

5. Wash U in St. Louis – Wasn’t super amped on this program until arriving, concerned about the vast number of subspecialists around to take your procedures and be mad at you when you try to admit to them. In interviewing there, thought the PD and leadership were extremely benign, they get all the cool airway toys, Wash U has an amazing reputation generally in medicine, the area around the hospital in St. Louis itself seemed like a hip place to live. Gets a bit cold for my taste there. Fun fact: a 2nd year resident told me she performed ECMO cannulation on an infant. Only at Wash U I suppose.

6. UTSW – The most prestigious program in Texas, again concerned about all the subspecialists and the possibility I might not get procedures, but again thought the leadership exceptionally benign and residents universally cool. Crazy volume. Tons of residents (22 this year, I hear). This could be awesome, or perhaps I’ll get swallowed up by this monster of a hospital? Shiny new hospital this year, new chair, departmental status as of this year. Things definitely on the up and up. Still unsure of whether to put Parkland or Wash U first...thoughts? Prefer that UTSW is County vs. academic Wash U.

7. Davis – Rotated here, mostly impressed, a few of the faculty are straight up stinkers though! Could have just been my experience but was shocked at the abrasive personality of one faculty member in particular, and 2 or 3 faculty were strange in general. Sacramento is a wildly underrated city IMO.

8. U of Arizona South Campus. Am I the only one ranking this above U of A main campus? Prefer the autonomy, county feel, opportunity to “run the hospital” as an EM resident vs...

9. U of Arizona Main Campus. Better didactics here by far than South Campus. Better reputation. For both of the U of A campuses, I am concerned about the volume of patients they are seeing. Seems like it might be low based on my peeks at the waiting rooms, talking with residents. Anyone else concur? Else I would have them rank much higher.

10. UT San Antonio – New program, but seems to be starting off very strong. PD had to fire like 45 faculty members to start the program. Can’t figure out if that’s scary or comforting. The new faculty look very good. They have an absurd number of ultrasound machines. Still turf battles to be fought, but that PD is a helluva general to be leading that charge...

11. UT Houston – Unparalleled trauma, solid program, solid city, seems weird to me to be literally next door to another major EM program at Baylor. Could be much higher on my list, just got a few weird vibes on interview day.

12. Kaweah Delta – new program, residents get crazy procedure #s, air quality horrific, absolutely nothing to do nearby

13. Texas Tech El Paso – clearly a program in financial distress, poor reputation, PD seemed a bit strange to me, chair is well known here at SDN but is unfortunately apparently retiring soon, and yet they do have a catchment area of basically Mexico. A truly unique program in this regard. Crazy pathology as a result. This program swings wildly up and down my list depending on the day. I've had it as high as #5 or #6 at times, as I really love treating the hispanic pt population.

14. Stonybrook – Weingart, whispers of landing some other EM big fish soon. Exciting program, but I’m not a New Yorker and definitely not a Long Islander. This program should be higher for NY folks.

15. Rutgers NJMS. Solid enough. Newark gets lots of penetrating trauma. But you have to live there. For four years.

16. Texas A & M/Scott and White. Amazingly benign leadership, residents renowned tertiary care center......in a town of 50k. Can’t deal. Good for families though as people there are super nice.

17. LSU-Baton Rouge. ED Dept publishes 1 peer-reviewed article/yr, no joke. I want a strong clinical program first and foremost, but I mean, there should be at least some academic underpinning. PD seemed very nice though. Residents nice, too.
 
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After a change of heart, I've edited my post and below is the actual order I submitted.

  1. Highland: Obviously a big name in EM. The residents seem very close, and appear to have a lot of pride in their program. Similar to what you can read about this program elsewhere on SDN, it's a very inbred faculty but I didn't really see this as a downside. No one seems to want to leave. Faculty are very laid back. GI rounds TID is awesome. You don't want to live next to this hospital, but it's relatively close to nice parts of Oakland and some people even commute from SF. The residents seem to have a good work/life balance, and a lot have clinical interests outside of EM. I didn't get the feeling research was a big thing here if that's your interest. Significant resident turnout at the social, at least a dozen I'd say.
  2. University of Illinois Chicago (UIC): This place stood out for resident-resident and resident-faculty interaction, in a good way. Everyone seemed very happy to here. Their new assistant PD, David Snow, I think is a highlight of the program, seems incredibly interested in boosting the program to the next level. Really smart down to earth guy. I was also impressed with their academics, Dr. Bunney gave a great presentation during the interview. They have 4 core sites plus a couple others you spend a small amount of time at. I personally find this a plus, being able to learn in a variety of practice environments with a huge faculty, although the programs I interviewed at with only one site tended to list that as their strength. They definitely don't appear to overwork their residents, averaging 45hrs/week clinical work as an R1 (18 10's per 4 weeks). There's probably no one right answer there, but it suits me. Like Highland, huge resident turnout, applicants were definitely far outnumbered.
  3. Jacobi/Montefiore (Albert Einstein): Like Lincoln, VERY county, especially montefiore. That hospital is like a warzone, and privacy rules get tossed to the wind with beds lined up double-long, like sardines. No curtains between most beds. People being actively treated in chairs. Jacobi is newer, mostly private rooms, but there's almost always patients in hallway beds and some in chairs. This is very well established program with strong training and academics. They work very hard, more than any other program I interviewed at, with ~60hrs/week (20-21 12's per 4 weeks) or more. I think this place earns its name recognition, but there's definitely a work/life sacrifice involved. It's also located more in central Bronx, near the Bronx Zoo (which they partner with for their snake bite center). For those that don't want to live in the Bronx (me), this means a decent commute either from Manhattan or even Connecticut if you want.
  4. New York Methodist: I think this is going to be a program on the rise. They just received their trauma center designation, which many felt was a weakness to the program. We'll see how long it takes FDNY to start bringing the trauma's they use to take to Brookdale/Kings County to NYM. The location is awesome, it's in Park Slope, one of the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn, also very expensive to live in and most residents need to commute from other nearby neighborhoods. The PD was very enthusiastic, the residents overall seemed nice. Very high admission rate via sifting off the low-acuity stuff in fast track (claim 50% admit rate for R1's). They are apparently the highest paid EM residents in the country, and they also get free medical insurance, which is significant when you're paying for NYC rent. They also provide medical control for a huge portion of EMS (I think all the privates, which are a LOT in NYC, can't recall about FDNY), so if EMS is your thing, they have a lot of connections.
  5. Lincoln: Wow, this place is busy. HUGE volume, although far outnumbered by Parkland. If you want a very county experience, this is a good place to train. I really liked the program, although their residents put in a lot of hours, about 57/week (19 12's per 4 weeks).. on par with some other NYC programs like Jacobi/Montefiore. I was not incredibly impressed with the PD... compared to other programs, her presentation/interview seemed to lack some enthusiasm. However, the residents were great, and the other attendings I met appeared enthusiastic. Location is great because it's at the southern tip of the Bronx, which allows you to live in either upper west or upper east side of Manhattan and take a 20 minute train ride (if you can afford the rent there lol). Big red flag to me is their board pass rates are 70 & 85% for the qualifying and oral exam, respectively, over the last 5 years (ABEM data). One attending brought this up when I asked about areas of improvement. Really conflicted here because it otherwise seems to have good training, in a new ED, with a good location.
  6. Maricopa: The PD seemed to stress work/life balance. As most probably know, he started the Las Vegas program, but took over 'Copa a couple years ago. They seem to have more graduated responsibility than some other places I've interviewed, with R1's having limited access to critical patients. The city has a great cost of living with a lot to do and fairly minimal traffic for a bigger city. Residents seem very outdoorsy types, which is typical of EM in general but seemed pronounced here. They work about 50 hours/week as R1's (20 10's per 4 weeks). The residents seemed like a fun group.
  7. UT Southwestern Dallas (Parkland): Obviously this place is known for it's volume being the busiest county ED in the country. They just built a new ED that opens in August, which apparently has around 90+ beds (people aren't allowed in the building yet so didn't see it). The new hospital looks like a glass tetris set, that houses 900+ hospital beds. Their current ED is maxed out, packed with chairs, etc.. but that's kind of moot since you won't be working there except for the first month. I was very impressed with this program, seems strong academically and in other aspects. About half their residents go to New Zealand for two months all expenses paid during their R3 year, how awesome is that? More than one attending emphasized this is a "learn by doing" environment, which I'm personally fine with. They work about 50 hours/week (18 11's per 4 weeks). Dallas seems to be a decent area to live, with great cost of living, lots to do, and obviously a major airport hub so easy to travel from. For this one, I will say I did not rotate here, and will end up ranking it much higher on my list than expected.
8-14: Cleveland Clinic, UT San Antonio, Baystate, USF, Allegheny, Kaweah, Wayne State Sinai Grace


 
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Well if everyone else is doing it......

Here are my top 4 and their places change almost daily.

1. SLU
2. Maimonides
3. LSU- Shreveport
4. KUMC
 
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Anonymously posted for another user:

1-3 (Alphabetical):

EVMS - Residents seemed very happy here. Faculty seemed very devoted to teaching. Liked the way they set up teaching med students (same med student all month works your shifts with you). PD is a really nice guy. Norfolk is a cool city. Close to home.

Palmetto Health - Lots of time in the ED. Attendings are part of a private group and they do a great job of making sure you understand the business side of medicine when you get out into the real world. Dr. Cook is a really nice guy and seems like he would be a very strong advocate for the residents. Cost of living in Columbia is very affordable and nearby Lake Murray looks like a great way to spend time off.

Wake Forest - Very strong academic program. One of the oldest programs in the country. ED gets a lot of volume so I’d see the zebras among a lot of the bread and butter I’ll absolutely need to know. PD here is a program alum and very passionate about making the program a great place to train.


4-6 (alphabetical again):

Indiana University - This place is a powerhouse for emergency medicine. The residents were all very passionate about selling their program and seemed genuinely happy.

UAB - Birmingham is a great southern city. UAB Medical center is huge and would provide tons opportunities throughout my training. Residents were all very friendly and the PD personally took us on a tour of the hospital and seemed to be a genuinely nice guy.

Vidant Medical/ECU - A hidden gem in EM. Very strong program in a county style hospital. Has a huge volume and plenty of trauma since they serve the eastern third of NC. ED is recently updated and pretty big.

Interviewed at 8 other programs but I’ll just end by saying they were all great places and for most of them it was things like location or my overall gut feeling that ultimately separated them from the top of my list.
 
Well if everyone else is doing it......


2. Maimonides- Loved this program! Everyone was really enthusiastic about their program, and the residents spoke genuinely about how much they loved their faculty. PD gave a great presentation. I was ready to sign up as soon as he was done speaking. Very busy ED, sees 123,000 and admits 30%, very high number of peds and OB cases. Love that they have patient "expeditors" to complete many administrative tasks so residents can move on to the next case. Lots of event medicine. Only downside is the trauma experience is only 2 blocks out of 3 years. I know trauma isn't everything and the trauma experience they do have is at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, but I still worry about not getting consistent exposure for 3 years. If it were not for this fact Maimo would be my number one. Also, cost of living in Brooklyn would put me back on the Ramen for 3 meals a day diet I had in college.

.


What exactly does a patient expeditor do?
 
What exactly does a patient expeditor do?
From what they explained on interview day it sounds like patient expeditors serve as a liaison between the doctor and the patient. They make it possible for residents to keep on top of the high patient volume by relaying information to patients for you and vice versa so you don't have to run back to a patient room multiple times when busy. The residents I spoke to the day I was there mentioned these people as being a huge benefit of the program.
 
My top 6 in alphabetical order:

Alabama Birmingham (UAB)- This place had a great PD that was very approachable and great residents that were friendly. There are a lot of power residencies at this hospital (IM), but EM has a great staff and felt like they could get what they wanted. Not the newest facilities, but not the oldest either. Big tactical medicine experience here.

Arkansas (UAMS)- This is actually an older program (80's), but has had staff change in the last 2-3 years. Most of their staff that is active in the residency education came from Indiana and Ohio State and most of those were trained at Indiana or Carolinas and are very friendly. They have a great vision for where they want their program to go and there is actually plenty of visits and mix of trauma, acuity, and numbers. Great Children's Hospital. Also heard they just had the Surgeon General or former sign on to the staff.

Carolinas- This program has a rich history and is known for putting out quality residents. They have more off service rotations as was mentioned, but they seem to all serve a role. They had a very open staff that was approachable and their residents were great. Charlotte is a beautiful city and this would be a great place to train for 3 years.

Indiana- This place has a big residency, but still has a close family feel. They operate out of two hospitals one is more academic and the other is more of a county setting. The county one is just about a year old and really nice. The staff is really accomplished and established. They seem to have a lot of pull in the hospital and have enough resources to help you do whatever you need or want to do either academically or in general with you EM career.

UTSW- This is a huge county program obviously. On some other interviews some people seemed to try and give the idea that UTSW's residents were overworked, but I didn't get that sensation from their residents. The residents seemed happy and down to earth. I know you will see plenty of volume here and learn how to function efficiently. Another bonus is that they have the new Parkland opening up and even another new hospital as well.

Wake- This is a very old, one of the first, program. They seem to have a strong academic presence, but also have great clinical training. They put you in the ED a lot starting from the beginning. The ED is somewhat older, but the Children's is new. Winston-Salem has a small town feel and has great housing market.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone who has posted there rank lists so far and encourage more people to do it in some fashion or another as people start to figure out their lists. It's super helpful getting others perspectives (and it's just interesting / fun to see). I'll be posting mine in the coming days if I can finally get some of my thoughts in my head pinned down.
 
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Top 5 as of now. Would love any opinions.

1.) MGH/BGW: +resources, +oppurtunities, +people, residents. The residents I met were amazing and very down to earth. +u/s, possible patriot games, ++Boston, +pathology, integrated peds ¾ year .+elective time Not sure of surgery resident in ED, - potential pushback, childrens too many residents,. If not for 4th year would be clear cut favorite.
2.) BIDMC: (+)3+1. Probably the best set up for residency. +Boston. +residents. Got along very well with them during interview. +resources/name, +community/many hospitals. . – travel (2months 2/3 year are way outside boston. – only 1wk of dedicated u/s, no integrated peds
3.) Carolina- Loved this program! If location was better for significant other it probably would be one. Great mix of pathology and pediatrics all at one hospital. ++benefits $1900 CME +food +free benefits every year not mention low COL. Residents were awesome, but leadership besides PD kind of rubbed me a little wrong. ++charlotte and warmth. – only one site, tons of offservice
4.) Advocate Christ- great community site, +residents and leadership, +++pathology, +u/s and trauma. – travel to south Chicago especially in winter might be tough, -only one site
5.) Pittsburgh: +leadership, +icu, no floor months. ++EMS. It has to be the best EMS in the country with opportunities for flight. +COL,+friends in the area. Just not a great area for significant other. – limited elective time
 
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