Ranking PCCM programs

[DocAck]

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Hey all,
Kinda new to the site. I am a 4th year med student interested in going into IM and then pursuing a PCCM fellowship. My feelings are that I should focus on IM programs that have strong PCCM fellowships.

What I am looking for in a program includes: on east coast between Baltimore/DC and Boston areas, with focus on NYC/Philly. I also want to go into academic medicine, and a combined Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine program. Of course, I don't NEED to go to a top 5 program to be happy... I just want one that offers a strong education and provides me with considerable clinical competency.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[indiamacbean]

go to the best residency program you can get into. Your training will be better and you will have a better shot at getting into the fellowship program you want. If you are looking at programs of equal caliber for residency then the deciding factor should be where you think you'll be the happiest. residency is a long time and you might not even end up wanting to do the specialty you think you wanted. PCCM is not very competitive (though it is an awesome field) so you should have great choices.

 

[jdh71]

Hey all,
Kinda new to the site. I am a 4th year med student interested in going into IM and then pursuing a PCCM fellowship. My feelings are that I should focus on IM programs that have strong PCCM fellowships.

What I am looking for in a program includes: on east coast between Baltimore/DC and Boston areas, with focus on NYC/Philly. I also want to go into academic medicine, and a combined Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine program. Of course, I don't NEED to go to a top 5 program to be happy... I just want one that offers a strong education and provides me with considerable clinical competency.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

Match for residency as high up the academic food chain as possible at a place you like.

Now, while PCCM in general is not hard to get into for an american grad, it can be tough to find spots in the top programs, especially if you want one specific top program in particular (for instance a strong candidate might get an interview at say Colorado, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Hopkins, and Penn, but to try and land a spot specifically in one of those places will be tough, but landing a spot a top place without a preference, much easier) . . . being picky can get you into trouble. With that said, PCCM is a lot like Renal in that you can move up a tier from the tier of your residency generally, BUT it's better to hedge your bets and make sure you get your residency as high up the general gestalt rankings as possible, and then you'll be sitting pretty come time to apply.

So based on your criteria I like Penn the best. A top 10 medicine program. A top 5 PCCM program, based on it's balance between pulm, critical care, and academic research. But getting into any of the academic powerhouses on the east coast and you should be fine for a match to PCCM on the east coast.

 

[abcabc1]

Hey all,
Kinda new to the site. I am a 4th year med student interested in going into IM and then pursuing a PCCM fellowship. My feelings are that I should focus on IM programs that have strong PCCM fellowships.

What I am looking for in a program includes: on east coast between Baltimore/DC and Boston areas, with focus on NYC/Philly. I also want to go into academic medicine, and a combined Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine program. Of course, I don't NEED to go to a top 5 program to be happy... I just want one that offers a strong education and provides me with considerable clinical competency.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

The area you mention encompasses pretty much all of the elite (top 6-8) IM programs, except UCSF. Between NYC/Philly programs, I'd also recommend Penn. Its IM program is very good (though maybe a fraction of a hair below Hopkins, UCSF, Brigham and MGH). They also have a VERY good Pulmonary medicine program, with a very strong research component.

Keep in mind, these IM programs are VERY selective. You'll need top USMLE scores and grades just to be considered now. If you don't have these, it's too late to obtain them at this stage. Research will help you as well.

Remember, there are other good programs in this region that, while selective, are not as competitive as Hopkins and the like. Jefferson certainly comes to mind. Harvard's Beth Israel program is probably a little less tough to get into, though not east by any means. My sense is that, after these two programs and the elite programs in this area, the prestige/rank does drop off a bit. Not that G-town, Temple, BU, etc are bad but they are not at the level of the higher programs in the area.

Good luck!