Sticky: Official Rumorville Thread

[InternalWhizzzz]

This is the official thread whereby all rumors are validated and debunked as urban myth....

Let me just say these are some of the things I've heard about the various programs...can someone validate or refute the claims?

1) Univ of Washington was on probation, but is expected to get back on track this year
2) Georgetown's night call is q2, hospital is bleeding financially, very malignant, two unfillled spots last year
3) Lennox Hills medicine program almost lost accredation last year, they don't take any of their own residents for fellowship, --> end result, 10 unfillled spots last year
4) Albert Einstein - Jacobi, all scutwork from top to bottom


Can anybody validate or refute these claims, they are all probably urban legend...but it will be good to see what others out there know...

also feel free to share other rumors from the mill...

---

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[BigBadBix]

I have info about this one:

1) Univ of Washington was on probation, but is expected to get back on track this year

UW is currently on probation. They found out about it this past spring right after Match Day. They are being visited again by the ACGME on Nov 17 and are working hard to ensure that they will be taken off of probation after that date. I know this is true based on conversations with residents (including a chief) and the associate PD during my away rotation there.

I'm sure there are other rumors I've heard so I'll try to think of them and post here...

 

[upekkha]

great idea! i feel like there a lot of rumors and stereotypes floating around on sdn, and it would be great to try to get some "facts" -- evidence-based decision making and all of that

ps trying to break 10 posts!

 

[upekkha]

(hooray! i just broke 10 posts with that last one!)

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

I have info about this one:

UW is currently on probation. They found out about it this past spring right after Match Day. They are being visited again by the ACGME on Nov 17 and are working hard to ensure that they will be taken off of probation after that date. I know this is true based on conversations with residents (including a chief) and the associate PD during my away rotation there.

I'm sure there are other rumors I've heard so I'll try to think of them and post here...

ok, good, so Nov 17th is the final word? Anybody else know of any facts to isprove those claims? anybody else heard anything from other schools?

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

ok, I want to know if this is true

St. Vincent of New York, several people told me that the program almost faced bankruptcy? Is this true? Is this a rumor or a fact?

 

[BigBadBix]

ok, good, so Nov 17th is the final word?

Just to clarify since I didn't this part before - they are being visited by the ACGME again on Nov 17 but I don't know how long after that the ACGME will get back to them about their status. At my interview they said they were hoping to have the letter in hand by January so applicants could see it before the rank lists were due.

 

[DoctorSax]

2) Georgetown's night call is q2, hospital is bleeding financially, very malignant, two unfillled spots last year

I heard things like that about Georgetown as well. Rumor has it that cards is quite weak there and that they are indeed bleeding faculty. Rumor or trumor? Only more speculation will lead to the truth...

DS

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

I heard things like that about Georgetown as well. Rumor has it that cards is quite weak there and that they are indeed bleeding faculty. Rumor or trumor? Only more speculation will lead to the truth...

DS

Any Georgetown students want to confirm this? Are there any Georgetown students left? Can someone please reply back? I hear echo .....echo .....echo ...echo

anybody there?.....there.....there

DS by the way, I heard the same thing about the faculty as well, I heard they are leaving like crazy! That sucks,

 

[phllystyl]

hahaha love how you wrote "sticky" at the front of the title HAHAH

 

[Zolpidem25]

hahaha love how you wrote "sticky" at the front of the title HAHAH

what the hell is a "sticky"?

also, what does it mean when someone responds just with the word "bump"

all this jargon, man... i can't keep up!

 

[Tar Heel Born]

what the hell is a "sticky"?

also, what does it mean when someone responds just with the word "bump"

all this jargon, man... i can't keep up!

"sticky" is a tag put on a thread by one of the forum moderators (usually ) that permanently pins the thread at the top of the board.

"bump" is used when somebody just wants to bump a thread back to the top of the board, but doesn't really have anything to add to the thread....

BUMP

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

hahaha love how you wrote "sticky" at the front of the title HAHAH

for whatever reason, this sticky is not sticking

 

[BigBadBix]

"sticky" is a tag put on a thread by one of the forum moderators (usually ) that permanently pins the thread at the top of the board.

"bump" is used when somebody just wants to bump a thread back to the top of the board, but doesn't really have anything to add to the thread....

BUMP

Yes, plus I recently learned that BUMP stands for "Bring Up My Post," which makes sense.

 

[Want2ScopeU]

2) Georgetown's night call is q2, hospital is bleeding financially, very malignant, two unfillled spots last year


Hey guys. I'm a 4th year at Georgetown. I like the rumors, unfortunately almost none of them are true. Hopefully, I won't sound defensive, but I actually think we have a pretty good IM program. In my graduating class, I would say at least 50% are planning to stay at Georgetown. I haven't made my mind up yet, I may leave, but I just want to set the record straight...

Night call is q2
-The worst call is q4 in the ICU. We rotate through several hospitals other than Georgetown, but 70% of your time is at Georgetown where you take one overnight call per month on a Saturday on the wards. Otherwise night float covers the entire hospital and admissions 8pm - 8am. First and second year you spend 2 weeks doing night float.

Hospital is bleeding financially
-This is a rumor that won't die. It was true 5 years ago, then our hospital merged with the Medstar network. Since we haven't even really been close to having financial issues... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I believe our hospital has grossed somewhere in the area of 140 million since the merger, and profits have increased each year. A bigger problem has been not having enough beds more recently. The hospital is constantly full. Today there were 15 boarders in the ER...

Very malignant
-I would say couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, it is East Coast medicine. I don't call attendings by their first name. But I wouldn't say malignant at all. I think almost every resident is happy at Georgetown, and compared to other IM residencies I'd say the internship is reasonable. No one goes over 80 hours.

Two Unfilled Spots
-This may be true. I know we didn't fill all our spots. If you look back, Vanderbilt, UTSW and UWash have all had years they haven't filled recently.

Bad Cards
-Both true and false. We don't have our own fellowship BUT we're associated with Washington Hospital Center (WHC), which does more caths than any other place in the country. We don't have interventional cardiology at Georgetown, BUT we do diagnostic cath, we have fellows inhouse, and people who are interested in cardiology do CCU at Fairfax and WHC. More importantly, we match well in cards, especially into the WHC program. I don't think this info is on the internet, maybe it is. Regardless, out of 29 total residents per year:
2006 5 placed - 3WHC, 1GW, 1UPitt
2005 4 placed - 2WHC, 1Henry Ford, 1UPitt
2004 3 placed - 2WHC
2003 4 placed
2002 5 placed
2001 6 placed

Faculty bolting
-I can't think of even one person who has left...



Hope this helps... Good luck to you all. If you have questions let me know.

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

2) Georgetown's night call is q2, hospital is bleeding financially, very malignant, two unfillled spots last year


Hey guys. I'm a 4th year at Georgetown. I like the rumors, unfortunately almost none of them are true. Hopefully, I won't sound defensive, but I actually think we have a pretty good IM program. In my graduating class, I would say at least 50% are planning to stay at Georgetown. I haven't made my mind up yet, I may leave, but I just want to set the record straight...

Night call is q2
-The worst call is q4 in the ICU. We rotate through several hospitals other than Georgetown, but 70% of your time is at Georgetown where you take one overnight call per month on a Saturday on the wards. Otherwise night float covers the entire hospital and admissions 8pm - 8am. First and second year you spend 2 weeks doing night float.

Hospital is bleeding financially
-This is a rumor that won't die. It was true 5 years ago, then our hospital merged with the Medstar network. Since we haven't even really been close to having financial issues... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I believe our hospital has grossed somewhere in the area of 140 million since the merger, and profits have increased each year. A bigger problem has been not having enough beds more recently. The hospital is constantly full. Today there were 15 boarders in the ER...

Very malignant
-I would say couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, it is East Coast medicine. I don't call attendings by their first name. But I wouldn't say malignant at all. I think almost every resident is happy at Georgetown, and compared to other IM residencies I'd say the internship is reasonable. No one goes over 80 hours.

Two Unfilled Spots
-This may be true. I know we didn't fill all our spots. If you look back, Vanderbilt, UTSW and UWash have all had years they haven't filled recently.

Bad Cards
-Both true and false. We don't have our own fellowship BUT we're associated with Washington Hospital Center (WHC), which does more caths than any other place in the country. We don't have interventional cardiology at Georgetown, BUT we do diagnostic cath, we have fellows inhouse, and people who are interested in cardiology do CCU at Fairfax and WHC. More importantly, we match well in cards, especially into the WHC program. I don't think this info is on the internet, maybe it is. Regardless, out of 29 total residents per year:
2006 5 placed - 3WHC, 1GW, 1UPitt
2005 4 placed - 2WHC, 1Henry Ford, 1UPitt
2004 3 placed - 2WHC
2003 4 placed
2002 5 placed
2001 6 placed

Faculty bolting
-I can't think of even one person who has left...



Hope this helps... Good luck to you all. If you have questions let me know.

I want to thank you for giving us your input. Although, no one can really say if you are the Program director or really a resident...

couple of things, I got this from your own website, which contraindicates what you said..about q4

for the MICU rotation, it states that call is q3 where the med student and the resident and intern are on call.

http://www3.georgetown.edu/som/curr...earelectives_intensivecareunits_medicine.html

Description: This is a sixteen bed combined MICU/CCU. The elective emphasizes evaluation and management of acute medical illness including myocardial infarction, severe heart failure, cardiac dysrhythmia, respiratory, renal and hepatic failure, GI bleeding, acid-base and fluid-electrolyte disturbances. Students become familiar with procedures and devices used on the unit including cardioversion, temporary and permanent cardiac pacemakers, right heart and arterial catheterization, intraaortic balloon counterpulsation, invasive and non-invasive electrophysiologic study, mechanical ventilators and oxygen therapy. Students take call every third night with a medical resident and intern.


Also, GT did have two unfilled spots. I'm sorry I really don't buy this whole, Program director was picky stuff? did you interview or not interview enough students? if you did, then why not rank most of them?

although you might like to think your program is top notch, that doesn't make it true. The fact is that you have couple of osteopathic or foreign grad students in each graduating class. So the medicine program is not in the same league as cornell, columbia, jhu, brigham or even nyu where they have no or at most 1 foreign grad or osteopathic student.

thanks for your time though

 

[AJM]

for whatever reason, this sticky is not sticking

It must be some kind of conspiracy...

 

[Zolpidem25]

I want to thank you for giving us your input. Although, no one can really say if you are the Program director or really a resident...

do you really think the Georgetown PD (or any PD for that matter), would come on the forum and respond to these "rumor" posts, pretending to be a resident? i mean, i don't know... i'm honestly asking. maybe they very well would. i have no idea. if I personally were a PD, i would think i'd be too busy for something like SDN, but i could be totally off base....

although you might like to think your program is top notch, that doesn't make it true. The fact is that you have couple of osteopathic or foreign grad students in each graduating class. So the medicine program is not in the same league as cornell, columbia, jhu, brigham or even nyu where they have no or at most 1 foreign grad or osteopathic student.

i agree, this certainly causes one to raise an eyebrow. but the reality is, i don't think anyone was even putting GT in the same league as cornell, columbia, jhu, or brigham in the first place. where did you get the idea that GT is that elite to begin with? i've always thought its a well above average place, but certainly not at the top.

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

do you really think the Georgetown PD (or any PD for that matter), would come on the forum and respond to these "rumor" posts, pretending to be a resident? i mean, i don't know... i'm honestly asking. maybe they very well would. i have no idea. if I personally were a PD, i would think i'd be too busy for something like SDN, but i could be totally off base....



i agree, this certainly causes one to raise an eyebrow. but the reality is, i don't think anyone was even putting GT in the same league as cornell, columbia, jhu, or brigham in the first place. where did you get the idea that GT is that elite to begin with? i've always thought its a well above average place, but certainly not at the top.

I know three Program Directors that frequent Scutwork...

One of the program directors a while back, like 3 years ago, told one of their own residents to stop bashing their own school or risk getting kicked out of the program..

(that is why unfortunately, you dont see as much reviews on scutwork as we would want)...

so it wouldn't be hard to believe that there are other program directors that frequent this website either...

besides, just realize this, people posting their EXACT step score, AOA status and honors in class can be traced back to the applicant pool....

 

[Want2ScopeU]

I know three Program Directors that frequent Scutwork...

One of the program directors a while back, like 3 years ago, told one of their own residents to stop bashing their own school or risk getting kicked out of the program..

(that is why unfortunately, you dont see as much reviews on scutwork as we would want)...

so it wouldn't be hard to believe that there are other program directors that frequent this website either...

besides, just realize this, people posting their EXACT step score, AOA status and honors in class can be traced back to the applicant pool....

Just so you know, I'm not a resident or the program director, I'm a 4th year med student... But I can see where you'd think I was the PD, as I had a lot of numbers and info. That's only because I already did my Georgetown interview, so all that info was provided on interview day.

I don't think anyone would put Georgetown in the league of JHU or the others you mentioned, and I wasn't trying to. But for people to post 5 or 6 negative rumors about Georgetown that are completely untrue and unfounded, I have to respond and defend my institution.

Last year Georgetown went unfillled, which I acknowledged. Actually, it's 3 unfilled and not 2. I looked this up on scutwork.com. In 2005, UTSW had 9 unfilled spots. In 2004, Loyola, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest didn't fill. Those are facts, interpret them however you like.

As for the call schedule, the website that you looked up is for visiting students and isn't the actually residency program webpage. That page probably hasn't been updated in years. If you had gone to the actual residency program webpage, you would have found this:

Call Schedule: The call schedule on all general medicine ward rotations is every fourth, every fifth or every sixth night. ICU experiences require every fourth night call.

http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/medicine/residency/guhfeat.htm

I'll spare you the time of trying to figure out whether I made up my fellowship numbers as well, here's the link:

http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/medicine/internalmed/res/2004career path.DOC

You can believe what I have to say or not believe what I have to say... If you're not interested in Georgetown, that's completely fine. But for the people that are actually interested in Georgetown, or interested in DC, I merely posted my perspective, and they can come for the interview, talk to other students and residents and form their own opinion of the program, rather than give up an interview at a potentially great place based on negative publicity and false rumors...

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

Just so you know, I'm not a resident or the program director, I'm a 4th year med student... But I can see where you'd think I was the PD, as I had a lot of numbers and info. That's only because I already did my Georgetown interview, so all that info was provided on interview day.

I don't think anyone would put Georgetown in the league of JHU or the others you mentioned, and I wasn't trying to. But for people to post 5 or 6 negative rumors about Georgetown that are completely untrue and unfounded, I have to respond and defend my institution.

Last year Georgetown went unfillled, which I acknowledged. Actually, it's 3 unfilled and not 2. I looked this up on scutwork.com. In 2005, UTSW had 9 unfilled spots. In 2004, Loyola, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest didn't fill. Those are facts, interpret them however you like.

As for the call schedule, the website that you looked up is for visiting students and isn't the actually residency program webpage. That page probably hasn't been updated in years. If you had gone to the actual residency program webpage, you would have found this:

Call Schedule: The call schedule on all general medicine ward rotations is every fourth, every fifth or every sixth night. ICU experiences require every fourth night call.

http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/medicine/residency/guhfeat.htm

I'll spare you the time of trying to figure out whether I made up my fellowship numbers as well, here's the link:

http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/medicine/internalmed/res/2004career path.DOC

You can believe what I have to say or not believe what I have to say... If you're not interested in Georgetown, that's completely fine. But for the people that are actually interested in Georgetown, or interested in DC, I merely posted my perspective, and they can come for the interview, talk to other students and residents and form their own opinion of the program, rather than give up an interview at a potentially great place based on negative publicity and false rumors...

thanks for the clarification. Everything you said made sense. I don't know why I thought you were a 4th year resident . Good luck with the interview process.

 

[ucla2usc]

west coast rumors i've heard:

UCLA, great rep, great fellowships, terrible training experience. i hear they are all tertiary patients. arrogant unhappy attendings and arrogant unhappy residents and arrogant unhappy patients.

Stanford, great rep, great fellowships, too cush to be a competent physician. more worried about research than clinical work.

Cedars, o.k. rep, ridiculously super cush training, great fellowships anyway


Harbor, among the best training places in the country, too much scut, not the best fellowships.

UCSF, arguably the best place in the country to train because of 3 hospital system, but the rep is always explained as "we are as good as MGH" but never the otherway around.

 

[Zolpidem25]

west coast rumors i've heard:

UCLA, great rep, great fellowships, terrible training experience. i hear they are all tertiary patients. arrogant unhappy attendings and arrogant unhappy residents and arrogant unhappy patients.

Stanford, great rep, great fellowships, too cush to be a competent physician. more worried about research than clinical work.

Cedars, o.k. rep, ridiculously super cush training, great fellowships anyway


Harbor, among the best training places in the country, too much scut, not the best fellowships.

UCSF, arguably the best place in the country to train because of 3 hospital system, but the rep is always explained as "we are as good as MGH" but never the otherway around.

can anyone expand on some of these California program rumors? also, what about USC -- what's the word on the street about the program there?

to the original poster -- sounds like you have quite a bit of knowledge and firsthand info on the Cali programs... i have interviews lined up at both UCLA and USC. i'm from the midwest though, and would only consider a move to california if i knew that i was def going somewhere exceptional, in terms of both training and fellowship placement. i've heard things like "UCLA is malignant, but will get you a good fellowship", and also things like "USC is a good place to train, but with less repuation and somewhat poorer fellowship placement". could you (or anyone) comment/advise on these two programs. how does UCLA compare to places like Emory, WashU, UMich, and Northwestern.

thanks!!

 

[ucla2usc]

can anyone expand on some of these California program rumors? also, what about USC -- what's the word on the street about the program there?
i've heard things like "UCLA is malignant, but will get you a good fellowship", and also things like "USC is a good place to train, but with less repuation and somewhat poorer fellowship placement". could you (or anyone) comment/advise on these two programs. how does UCLA compare to places like Emory, WashU, UMich, and Northwestern.

thanks!!

UCLA has a GREAT reputation in the academic circuit, so i would say when looking for fellowship you may be considered in higher regard than UMich and Northwestern, and equal with Emory and WashU. However, I have heard from multiple people, including current residents who were from USC, that the training is very tertiary and that its not the happiest place in the world.

USC is too big, over 60 spots, lots of less than qualified house officers, too much autonomy, leading to poor patient care. The nursing frankly is the worse I have ever seen, and is arguable the worse nursing in the country, making it both inneficient and unhappy. Fellowship placement reflects this and is much worse than you would expect from a large academic center. Nevertheless, the quality of someof the professors, Drs. Pohost, Rahimtoola, Levine, Laine, Feinstein etc. is outstanding, they are world class and well known, so the potential to make a strong career is still there. At the very least you will come out a strong clinician if you are good at utilizing the learning opportunities (though it seems like most of the house officers get lost in the cracks of the old building). They do match well in heme/onc and critical care. Their GI program is great if you are lucky enough to stay.

 

[quidnunc]

Having done my third year medicine clerkship and a sub I in internal medicine, I've gotten to know quite a few interns and residents at UCLA. I've also had various frank discussions with faculty there about the program (both strenghts and weaknesses). THe following is my pitch.

1. Strength: Great national reputation, especially considering it's been "best in the west for over ten years." Excellent teaching and great clinical training (although not as strong in procedures like some of the other schools). Awesome Fellowship placement, and of course the location and weather. Having the new state of the art, paperless hospital opening later this year will also be a plus.

2. Weaknesses: Back a few years, yes the program was called "malignant", due to crazy call hours and lack of organization and resident support. That's changed in the last couple of years. The administration is more supportive, the call hours are much better (Q6 in the wards, Q4 in the iCU), and generally, residents and interns feel much more comfortable and are enjoying it more. I could see the improvement during my third and fourth year rotations, especially during morning report and noon lectures.

Anyway, that's my take. Don't know much about County-USC.

 

[ucla2usc]

Having done my third year medicine clerkship and a sub I in internal medicine, I've gotten to know quite a few interns and residents at UCLA. I've also had various frank discussions with faculty there about the program (both strenghts and weaknesses). THe following is my pitch.

1. Strength: Great national reputation, especially considering it's been "best in the west for over ten years." Excellent teaching and great clinical training (although not as strong in procedures like some of the other schools). Awesome Fellowship placement, and of course the location and weather. Having the new state of the art, paperless hospital opening later this year will also be a plus.

2. Weaknesses: Back a few years, yes the program was called "malignant", due to crazy call hours and lack of organization and resident support. That's changed in the last couple of years. The administration is more supportive, the call hours are much better (Q6 in the wards, Q4 in the iCU), and generally, residents and interns feel much more comfortable and are enjoying it more. I could see the improvement during my third and fourth year rotations, especially during morning report and noon lectures.

Anyway, that's my take. Don't know much about County-USC.

i hope what you say about UCLA is true, cause I'm giving them a serious look and may (gasp) even rank them higher than The Brigham.

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

i hope what you say about UCLA is true, cause I'm giving them a serious look and may (gasp) even rank them higher than The Brigham.

I've never heard anything bad at UCLA...I have a lot of my friends who are residents and interns in all the different fields, and all are exceptionally happy.

Besides it's in the best location in LA, near westwood and santa monica beach...terrific weather...a WONDERFUL location and place to be.

If you've gotten an interview, congrats! It would definitely be my first choice in the west coast. I wouldn't blame you for choosing UCLA over Brigham...I mean, yah reputation is great and everything, don't you want to enjoy the next 3 years of life? UCLA faculty are not as snobbish as brigham...

I personally got a rejection there, but congrats to anyone who gets an interview there and match there...

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

can anyone expand on some of these California program rumors? also, what about USC -- what's the word on the street about the program there?

to the original poster -- sounds like you have quite a bit of knowledge and firsthand info on the Cali programs... i have interviews lined up at both UCLA and USC. i'm from the midwest though, and would only consider a move to california if i knew that i was def going somewhere exceptional, in terms of both training and fellowship placement. i've heard things like "UCLA is malignant, but will get you a good fellowship", and also things like "USC is a good place to train, but with less repuation and somewhat poorer fellowship placement". could you (or anyone) comment/advise on these two programs. how does UCLA compare to places like Emory, WashU, UMich, and Northwestern.

thanks!!

this is the first time, I've heard that UCLA's program is malignant. To be honest, I've never really heard bad things about UCLA's program..

USC even though the medical school is great, it's program is really week, the workload and scutwork are enormous. Also, they even have a lot of foreign and osteo grads...

UCLA is definitely THE STRONGEST program for southern california.

I mean comparing WashU and Northwestern to UCLA is like apple and oranges. Remember this, at the end of the day, each residents experience is unique. You should ask yourself this, what are you looking for, for the next 3 years?

if you want excellent chance for fellowships, then they are all great programs. I would think WashU wouldnt be the strongest of all the ones you listed, but then again. What can beat Southern California weather? Spring throughout the year? no snow shoveling, no car accidents?

and you have the beach here 365 days in a year...so yes they are all strong programs, and you will definitely have great options when fellowships come around, but one thing you should also consider is location, location, location

 

[irlandesa]

Rumors about UMass IM:

1)Almost no US allo grads: Both true and false..Typically about 55% of the categorical interns are US grads, and the majority of these come from UMass. The IMG's we have are generally excellent, the majority having US clinical and research experience (often at UMass) and/or MD/PhD's. Although I hate to be a snob and this is my program, I have to admit that UMass would do well to attempt to sell itself a little better to grads from US MD schools other than UMass. IMO, most of the best residents I've met so far (not referring to interns here, as we all are clueless) graduated from US allopathic schools (BU, New Mexico, Temple, UMass, etc.). Nearly all of the prelims and Med/Peds are US MD's. Interns in the rotating DO program are very bright, motivated, and fun people to work with, but most will go on to other programs next year!

2)Worcester sucks: once again, true and false.. It's not Boston, but during intern year, you'll probably be too busy to care that much. Worcester does have some decent restaurants, a nice lake, and is ~45 minutes drive from Boston. You can definitely take advantage of the latter here if you wish since we get 3 elective months (one a very cush Geriatrics month). Nonetheless, I don't anticipate spending the rest of my life in Worcester, and the weather leaves plenty to be desired (at least 7 months of the year).

3)6 people left the program in anger last year, leaving PGY-2 spaces that needed to be filled by IMG's: False. 1 Med/Peds spot did not fill in '04, 2 interns left to switch specialities (it happens), and 1 intern had to re-mediate part of her year due to unforseen circumstances. This left 4 open spaces that were happily snatched up by IMG's transferring in from other US programs, and I don't know how the other 2 ended up transferring in, but the more the merrier I say.

 

[Major Subunit]

Irlandesa - Could use your advice...tried to send you a private message, but your inbox is full.

Rumors about UMass IM:

1)Almost no US allo grads: Both true and false..Typically about 55% of the categorical interns are US grads, and the majority of these come from UMass. The IMG's we have are generally excellent, the majority having US clinical and research experience (often at UMass) and/or MD/PhD's. Although I hate to be a snob and this is my program, I have to admit that UMass would do well to attempt to sell itself a little better to grads from US MD schools other than UMass. IMO, most of the best residents I've met so far (not referring to interns here, as we all are clueless) graduated from US allopathic schools (BU, New Mexico, Temple, UMass, etc.). Nearly all of the prelims and Med/Peds are US MD's. Interns in the rotating DO program are very bright, motivated, and fun people to work with, but most will go on to other programs next year!

2)Worcester sucks: once again, true and false.. It's not Boston, but during intern year, you'll probably be too busy to care that much. Worcester does have some decent restaurants, a nice lake, and is ~45 minutes drive from Boston. You can definitely take advantage of the latter here if you wish since we get 3 elective months (one a very cush Geriatrics month). Nonetheless, I don't anticipate spending the rest of my life in Worcester, and the weather leaves plenty to be desired (at least 7 months of the year).

3)6 people left the program in anger last year, leaving PGY-2 spaces that needed to be filled by IMG's: False. 1 Med/Peds spot did not fill in '04, 2 interns left to switch specialities (it happens), and 1 intern had to re-mediate part of her year due to unforseen circumstances. This left 4 open spaces that were happily snatched up by IMG's transferring in from other US programs, and I don't know how the other 2 ended up transferring in, but the more the merrier I say.

 

[orientedtoself]

I heard a rumor a couple of years ago that an attending got shot in front of JHU. I didn't apply to Hopkins, but does anyone know if that's true?

 

[medlaw06]

i did a sub-I @ columbia....YES! the interns RE massively scutted out....

Jacobi: i know for a fact that they scut the hell out of interns...


St. Vincents: they DID in fact file for chapter 11 bankruptcy!!

 

[InternalWhizzzz]

i did a sub-I @ columbia....YES! the interns RE massively scutted out....

Jacobi: i know for a fact that they scut the hell out of interns...


St. Vincents: they DID in fact file for chapter 11 bankruptcy!!

which st. vincnet are we talking about? aren't there more one st. vincent in new york?

I've heard the same about Jacobi...apparently, of all the einstein programs...montifiore is the prized one, the rest I heard the workload is hell...

 

[medlaw06]

which st. vincnet are we talking about? aren't there more one st. vincent in new york?

I've heard the same about Jacobi...apparently, of all the einstein programs...montifiore is the prized one, the rest I heard the workload is hell...

wait...I thought that there was only 1 st. vinnie's in NYC...the 1 affiliated w/ NYMC, right? Is there another 1?

also, confused as to what you mean about monte being the "prized" one...do you mean that in the sense that it is the best of the 4 AI programs (Monte, Beth Israel, Jacobi, and LIJ), or do u mean prized in that it is the least scut of the 4....

 

[maddog75]

I heard that Baylor (houston) faculty is bolting due to the sale of their private hospital. Any baylor students want to lend a hand on this one?

 

[DoctorSax]

I heard that Baylor (houston) faculty is bolting due to the sale of their private hospital. Any baylor students want to lend a hand on this one?

I hear similar things--that Baylor is having a hard time holding on to its medicine faculty and that the atmosphere is poisonous over there. Like if you are faculty and you leave Baylor, you're "jumping ship" and "abandoning the team." Apparently their cards department is quite fragmented these days as well--many have gone to Methodist. It's hard to blame a lot of these folks for leaving since so much of their clinical research was based at Methodist. I'm not a student there, but I have many friends that are that say that their med school experience hasn't been affected that much. Residents I know there seem relatively unaffected as well, since they didn't do a ton of time at Methodist anyhow.

So in the end, I'm really not sure what to think. I'd be very interested to hear what Baylor folks have to say...

DS

 

[DoctorSax]

There's a review on scutwork.com that tackles the issue...

 

[GIMed]

So I'll try and tackle this one althought it is more complicated that I could possibly explain in a post.

Yes faculty have been leaving. They have also been staying. Many excellent faculty have moved their practices from Methodist to St. Luke's where they continue to teach. Private hospital experiences for residents now consists of St. Luke's instead of Methodist. I personally only spent 2 months at Methodist as a student and none at St. Luke's but the residents that I have discussed this with actually all prefer St. Luke's to Methodist for work environment. Another upside to this whole mess has been since there is one less hospital you have more residents/interns at Ben Taub and the VA so when I was on my sub-I we had 3 interns (aka less individual work and fewer calls). So...while we have lost some great faculty members, many excellent teachers remain. Overall, this did not affect my med school experience at all except for all the gossip. It did affect many faculty members. Most residents seem quite comfortable with the change to St. Luke's and have no issues with the split from Methodist. I highly recommend you interview and question the residents yourselves as most are quite open to talking about it.

Hope that helps.

 

[BStein76]

There's a review on scutwork.com that tackles the issue...

The scutwork.com reviews seem to take a real dive in 2005 compared to previous reviews of Baylor. This blog seems to give some sense of a timeline of what is going on:
http://blog.kir.com/archives/cat_news_baylormethodist_split.asp

 

[The Med-Peds Dude]

I know three Program Directors that frequent Scutwork...

One of the program directors a while back, like 3 years ago, told one of their own residents to stop bashing their own school or risk getting kicked out of the program..

(that is why unfortunately, you dont see as much reviews on scutwork as we would want)...

so it wouldn't be hard to believe that there are other program directors that frequent this website either...

besides, just realize this, people posting their EXACT step score, AOA status and honors in class can be traced back to the applicant pool....

So, I really am a program director. And I scan scutwork.com, as should any P.D. who cares about their program. And I know one of our programs was reamed by an unhappy PG3 (yes, it vas pretty obvious who, though I don't believe he/she knew we knew) who's standards were so high he/she became a parent with a fellow resident's spouse. No kidding! Like any uncontrolled survey tool, you're not likely to get a representative sample.

Look at the number of positions and number of USMG's and tell me how most programs will ever fill with all USMG's. Or, tell me how a few good DO's & FMG's ruin a 1st rate program. I think we can agree a program with a large number of FMG's & DO's deserves some scrutiny, but to broadly discredit a reputable training program on this basis is, well, silly.

 

[BStein76]

Like any uncontrolled survey tool, you're not likely to get a representative sample.

It sometimes easy to pick out when someone is reposting poor reviews over and over because the syntax of grammar is very similar. Also when the program has had no reviews for about 1-2 years and all of a sudden it has 4 reviews in a span of 3 months I wonder about the validity of the reviews. Just like other information on the web, I would hope that people aren't betting their futures on an anonymous review.

 

[LaurieB]

Just a quick FYI - you can look up withdrawls and decisions on the ACGME website:

http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/

Withdrawls:
http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/reports/withdrawn_progs.asp

Decsicions:
http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/reports/accreditation_decisions.asp

This should help you determine if accreditation rumors are true or false.

 

[ucla2usc]

i hope what you say about UCLA is true, cause I'm giving them a serious look and may (gasp) even rank them higher than The Brigham.

I was visiting UCLA today and what I saw was very impressive. The environment is super friendly, the attending was great and even came back after rounds to supervise an LP. People seem very happy, and the windows make the hospital beautiful with sunny LA in the background. Also, the hospital has probably the best ancillary services I have seen to date. And the house officers were super smart and friendly. The only draw back was the patients were very tertiary/quatenary and I don't know if 2 months a year at oliveview/va will cut it for bread and butter training. Though the residents seem to think they can handle anything, so maybe it is enough. Anyway, I have dispelled my own rumor that UCLA is malignant, cause it is quite the opposite. They even switched to q6!

 

[Fermi]

I thought I'd bring up a couple threads about Colorado from last year to see if anyone has any info to substantiate, dispel or otherwise update on the situation there:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=106213
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=105156

 

[chemo-man]

Hello Everybody,

It is an interesting link, and very helpful if it can be validated or refuted!
Being at Jacobi I can say that it is somewhat close and far to reality.
Being an inner city hospital definitely brings a load of good and not so good things. I can promise that the people here are phenomenol, which makes the second issue less concerning. True as an intern (more so) and now less often we had to do quite a bit of scut, but hings have been changing for good. Our PD and chairman are very understanding and tryiing to make the program more appealing and constantly improving things.
We are hiring more PCAs, transport/escort people to ease the burden on the housestaff. Although you might have to do some scut (which happens in any city hospital), we have a phlebotomy, IV team etc which takes care of it most of the times, unless you need it at the middle of thenight.
The teaching attendings are excellent, and apleasant to work with. Camaraderie is wonderful. We are also now having a monthly board prep by one of the hospitalists. Also we have a resident quality improvement committee which presents resident issues to the PD regularly and I see the effects happening.
So, keep options open, Jacobi is a great place to train with wonderful attendings and great camaraderie. Let me k now if you have any further qs.

p.s- we are moving to the new hospital end of this month!! Cant wait)

 

[APACHE3]

Look at the number of positions and number of USMG's and tell me how most programs will ever fill with all USMG's. Or, tell me how a few good DO's & FMG's ruin a 1st rate program. I think we can agree a program with a large number of FMG's & DO's deserves some scrutiny, but to broadly discredit a reputable training program on this basis is, well, silly.

The doctor with the most malpractice payouts in the US (last year I think) was a US grad from the Univ. Texas system that practiced orthopedic surgery for 20 years more than half on probation, nicknamed "eric the red" because his patients bled to death all the time and was recently arrested again (past cocaine arrest in Houston) this time in Colorado for practicing without a license. NOT a DO nor IMG. The mentality of PD's would choose this gentleman over us 99/100 times. Programs with large IMG have to recruit these doctors because: 1. US medicine does not produce enough MD.s and 2. USMG don't go there...it that simple. Although I appreciate the last sentence disclaimer...I'm glad I'm not interviewing in the midwest...

 

[orientedtoself]

The doctor with the most malpractice payouts in the US (last year I think) was a US grad from the Univ. Texas system that practiced orthopedic surgery for 20 years more than half on probation, nicknamed "eric the red" because his patients bled to death all the time

APACHE3,
"eric the red" is obviously not representative of all US allopathic grads. Thanks for the rant.

 

[Zolpidem25]

I was visiting UCLA today and what I saw was very impressive. The environment is super friendly, the attending was great and even came back after rounds to supervise an LP. People seem very happy, and the windows make the hospital beautiful with sunny LA in the background. Also, the hospital has probably the best ancillary services I have seen to date. And the house officers were super smart and friendly. The only draw back was the patients were very tertiary/quatenary and I don't know if 2 months a year at oliveview/va will cut it for bread and butter training. Though the residents seem to think they can handle anything, so maybe it is enough. Anyway, I have dispelled my own rumor that UCLA is malignant, cause it is quite the opposite. They even switched to q6!

what??? they switched to q6?? hmmmm.....
the more i hear, the more i like.

 

[APACHE3]

APACHE3,
"eric the red" is obviously not representative of all US allopathic grads. Thanks for the rant.

You are welcome orientedtoself. I know most US grads are stellar. I was just trying to make a point that numbers of IMG/DO's does not necessarily mean a program is weak. However, most USMG's and PD's do subscribe to that notion, and I'll just have to live with it and do my job, practice ethical medicine and eventually, grudgingly, earn their respect! In the end, its what the patient thinks that counts anyway. see ya

 

[IntMed]

bump