I recently did an ICU sub-I there (not applying to this program but it's in town). It's a private hospital (mostly Kaiser) but with a separate uninsured patient service (both covered by residents). Teaching is very good for the most part, they have one the best electrocardiographers in the world on staff and he is a superb teacher to boot. The program is definitely not for me (I want to do academic medicine) but here are pro's and con's from my viewpoint. I was in the ICU so the wards may be different.
Pro:
- Good teaching
- Free good lunch every day
- Fairly interesting patients
- Nice residents.
- Great (and, most importantly, happy!) nurses.
Maybe:
- Very small program, this is a plus for some, minus for others (including yours truly).
Cons:
- Private attendings.
- Very little resident autonomy (can you say "cheap labor?"). Residents cannot even call consults (the private attending has to do that), not to mention discharges, ordering major tests or procedures, etc. A lot of order-writing behind the residents' backs and without notifying them (true for all 3 private hospitals I've been at).
- Poor support from private attendings. Getting someone into the hospital at night is almost impossible. Some attendings take hours to return pages. Etc.
- ICU call is q3 (ouch).
I think my qualms with St Joseph are basically true for every private hospital. The "cons" are for me against doing a residency there -- I had a very enjoyable sub-internship.