Stories from the interview trail 2003-2004: PM&R Applicants share your opinions

[Ligament]

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Dear PM&R applicants,

Last year we had a similar thread, which allowed those of us that were interviewing for PM&R to share information about the programs we liked/did not like.

I would like to restart the thread for this cycle. I think it will be very helpful to all the M4 PM&R hopefuls.

Best of luck this season!

Ligament

 

[drusso]

I've heard through the grapevine that more applicants from midwestern medical schools are applying to PM&R programs this year. One school (which shall remain nameless) had not anyone apply to PM&R for like seven years reportedly has 5-7 people interested in the field this year!

 

[bbbmd]

My program director (a big program in the South) said that there are a lot of early applications this year. He said, like last year, they should not have any trouble filling spots with QUALITY applicants!!! The trend is that they are getting more and more selective!!! I guess this is true for a lot of the other more competitive PM&R programs and maybe PM&R as a whole!

 

[BCJ]

Hello all,

Can you please tell me about the University of Texas, Southwestern in Dallas and their PM&R program. I've been offered an interview there, and I wouldn't mind getting some first hand information about their program.

Once I interview there I'll be sure to come back and tell you all about it, but I won't be interviewing until mid December.

Thanks, and Cheers

 

[drvlad2004]

UPitt was my first formal interview. I found this program to be excellent. UPMC has an outstanding hospital system. The rehab program loves to talk about their numerous and excellent research opportunities, including current research on ski injuries. Everybody, including the PD were very easy to talk to. This program is one of the few that have both TBI and SCI model systems. Unfortunately, Dr. Zafonte, DO had a scheduled conference on the day of the interview. However, Dr. Zafonte is the chairman and he is world reknown in TBI. He has done tons of research in TBI.

The program is very strong in musculoskeletal rehab. They appear to get tons of didactics, not just once per week. Board review is also every week. During sports medicine rotations, you get to work with the Steelers and UPitt athletic squads. I think that this is a very solid program and compares very well with many of the elite programs. I was very impressed by how comprehensive of a program that it really is. The residents that I met really love the city of Pittsburgh and the low cost of living. Many residents have bought homes rather than rent apartments due to the low cost of housing. The program starts at PGY1 year (ACGME internship) but DOs who match into the program can go to UPMC-McKeesport (which is AOA accredited) for their PGY1 year. Remember that Pa is one state that requires DOs to complete an AOA-accredited internship in order to practice within the state. The same goes with Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.

As a side note, PM&R is such a small world. I've already run into other interviewees who I have rotated with or go to school with. Thus far, every interviewee that I have met are very cool and laid back.

 

[Ligament]

Great drvlad, UPitt is one we have not heard about before. Thanks! Keep em coming...Ligament

 

[axm397]

Temple interview today - with 9 other applicants (2 didn't show). Had two interviews with attendings, one with program director. Started at Moss Rehab (soon to move to new site), went to grand rounds (by resident) and morning lectures. (excellent lecture on stingers(sp) by Dr. Weinik). Went to our first interviews (about 20min) during the lectures (8-11am) Then moved to Temple University for lunch and informal talks with residents. Met with second interviewer (20-30min - probably counts more since they are temple faculty members) and program director.

Overall very impressive track record. The number one score on the PM&R boards achieved by Temple residents two years in a row. Alumni network is very impressive and extensive. (chiefs at Spaulding, RIC, etc..) Probably about 70% of graduating residents go on to fellowships (mostly pain and musculoskeletal). Most faculty young and energetic. Dr. Nissley was one of the best conversationalists I have met. He was really nice. Dr. Weinik is team doc for the Eagles and a real cool guy to be around and talk to. The chief residents were pretty laid back and helpful. Residents seemed happy.

The only negative: location

Otherwise, excellent program. I got pimped during first interview but in hindsight, it really wasn't that bad. I don't think he expected me to know the answers. (I hope...😕 )

Good luck guys!

 

[Finally M3]

Only interviewee for the day. This was a site I rotated at, so my interview experience may not be the same as those who haven't rotated there.

Quick tour of the new outpatient facility. 1st floor is a where outpatient (and inpatient?) PT is situated, as well as a health club with brand new Cybex machines, some free weights. Outpatient clinics are also to be located within the new building. 2nd floor includes a track, conference rooms, offices. Connects to the older inpatient building, specifically to the redisigned 3rd floor (SC unit).

Inpatient is a free-standing 90+ bed hospital, connected to other components of the DMC by an elaborate tunnel system. 3rd floor was newly renovated, with assurances they are working their way up. It as probably the nicest inpatient rehab floor I've seen (compared to old RIM, UM, Beaumont).

Lunch with the chief residents (one PGY4, one PGY3) at a local restaurant. Following that, interviews with program director, interim director of RIM, two PGY2s (but I was acquainted with them from my rotation) and the SC attending (again, I worked with her on my rotation). Very laid back interviews, with only the program director asking me the standard 'Why PM&R?' question. The rest of my interviews consisted of addressing my questions regarding the program.

Program consists of 5 residents per class, with 2 of the graduating class doing Pain fellowships and 1 pursuing a Sports Med fellowship. PGY2s start performing EMGs in the VA for 2 months, with on average getting around 100 done during that time. PGY2s also have weekly gross anatomy lab time 😛 . Residents live all over the place, with a couple living downtown, others in the suburbs.

Inpatient experiences are split between RIM and Sinai Grace Hospital during PGY2 and PGY3. Outpatient clinics include those at RIM as well as various SE Michigan sites. RIM has a contract with a local school district to cover high school athletic events, so sports medicine experience is built into curriculum. Call is overnight call broken up between the PGY2 and 3s for the 1st 12 days of the calendar. Following that, IM nightfloat is contracted to cover RIM. After those 12 days, only weekend day-call is expected. PGY2s and 3s average 1-2 overnight and 1 weekend day call a month.

Concerns; Association with the DMC and the resultant financial difficulties it is experiencing; however, I was assured multiple times that the program is operating within the black, and they are attempting to build their endowment in order to a) increase research/reputation and b) be able to weather disassociation from the DMC. Also, if you never have been to one of the DMC hospitals, their ancillary staff isn't the greatest.

Impressions; pleasantly surprised. In the words of the RIM director, 'cautiously optimistic' in regards to the direction of the program. Program director is very resident friendly, tries to tailor the program to resident needs. I'm probably staying in Michigan, so by default it will be in the top 3...just have to sit down and compare RIM to UMich and Beaumont.

 

[axm397]

One of the biggest group of applicants so far - about 23 or so.
Started out with program director and faculty presentations on what they do, what's good about Penn program, pictues of different facilities, etc.... Then had interviews with two people - one attending and one resident. Everyone seemed very happy and laid back. No pimping. They took us out to lunch (very nice). Then wrapped up by 2:30pm (so can miss rush hour.)

All the residents were friendly and fun. they were also very honest and answered lots of personal questions (like how much do you make? did you buy a house?) Both Dr. Lees were really personable and helpful. There are residents who switched from Surgery, Radiology, and Internal Medicine - so that should say something about how attractive PM&R as a field is getting.

Perks:
free parking! One resident owns a Hummer so I guess that's a big thing. 🙂

Residents take courses with residents from other programs in philly. Most residents go on to fellowships in spine/musculoskeletal/or pain. Call is once every one to two weeks for PGY2s and gets fewer as advance in program. They have an education expert as associate residency program director and the administration/faculty seems very responsive to suggestions. ( I think they meet monthly). They have lots of young attendings and new attendings recruited from top notch places.

CHOP-the number one children's hospital in the country - need I say more?

location - in the middle of a bustling campus of many different UPenn schools (law, business, grad, med, undergrad....)

It is a relatively small programs so really depends on your personality whether you like it or not.

As a whole, it's a pretty nice program. the only weakness I can think of would be lack of designated SCI and TBI units. Although that's probably because there is no free-standing rehab facility - which can be positive depending on how you look at it. (don't have to stay and wait for admission past 5pm, etc.) Also, it seems that the program is still evolving to become a better one each year - and reputation is slow to build and old negative image can take long to disappear.

 

[Finally M3]

Interviewed with two other applicants yesterday.

Day started out with breakfast with residency coordinator, chief resident was supposed to be there, but had a death in the family so she couldn't attend.

Interviews followed, with the program director, research coordinator, TBI attending, consult attending. Very laid back, with the research coordinator explaining more about the research requirement in the residency, and some of his personal research in functional electrical stim.

Tour of facilities followed with a PGY2 (chief was supposed to). Metrohealth is Cleveland's county hospital, NE Ohio's only Trauma I center so rehab patients may be sicker than average community hospital. Inpatient rotations include dedicated TBI/SCI/Stroke-etc., with TBI being tag-teamed with 2 residents. You will also see around 1-2 burn rehab patients a month. Call is in-house overnight, with PGY2s averaging 4 calls a month, one a weekend. Other rotations include consults at Cleveland Clinic, Peds at Cleveland Clinic Childrens Hospital. Sports med exposure is also being developed, with opportunities to staff CWRUs track and volleyball clinic. Also working on opportunities for high school game coverage. EMGs are started PGY2, residents say around 20-30 are performed. One attending that performs interventional, another attending performs accupuncture and manual medicine. Attached outpatient facility is site of continuity clinics. PGY3s precept gross for 5 wks at CWRU 😛

5 residents per class, 3 PGY1 slots, 2 PGY2 slots. Most residents were from Ohio, a couple of FMGs as well. About half of the graduating class are pursuing fellowships, most haven't had a problem in finding spots.

Impressions: Pretty well-rounded experiences available. Liked how they were a Trauma I with dedicated TBI and SCI units. Pleasantly surprised at the research component, and how their goal was to become more educated consumers of medical researchers, not to create researchers. I stayed in downtown Cleveland, and the downtown area was definitely a place I could see myself in.

 

[axm397]

Interview at JFK - abbreviated due to medical and family emergencies and SNOW. Interviewed with Dr. Cuccurullo and one of chief residents. Very low key and laid back. Excellent presentation by Dr. cuccurullo about ACGME accrediation (JFK is one of 26% of programs in North East area with 5yr accreditation), excellent board review and scores by recent graduates (Most above 90th percentile, and 100%pass rate), curriculum, 100% fellowship placement (recent graduates at Cleveland Clinic for pain, Memorial Sloan Kettering for Cancer pain, Florida Spine Institute for interventional, and Emory for Spine.). Then had lunch with residents. (Unfortunately, the PGY3s were gone at a course that day) All very happy and friendly.

Call is Q7 from HOME, one weekend every other month. NO PEDS CALL. Lots of research opportunities - model TBI system. Very nice facility.

I really had a lot of fun on this interview - great applicants - we spent time socializing and kidding around between interviews. Traded stories, etc... I love this field!! no cut-throat people for me... 🙄

All in all an excellent program - and the word is getting out. The VERY reasonable lifestyle, the excellent training, and 100% fellowship placement all make for a very competitive program overall. When I interviewed at Penn, they said they got about 230 applications and interviewed 105 for 4 positions. At JFK, they got 400+ applications and interviewed 65 for 4 positions.

Location is safe and beautiful. Mostly stay in one place. Area can be expensive if you want to buy a house but rental is very reasonable. About 45min to NYC (although it depends on NYC traffic). Probably about 1.5hrs to Philly. Nice suburban area with great malls. 😀 What can I say, I'm a jersey girl.

Definitely one of my top programs.

 

[Finally M3]

I think we're the only ones posting here, AXM

Experience at William Beaumont Hospital in MI and UCinci will be posted in a couple days, leaving for my Cinci interview now.

 

[axm397]

Oh well, I do enjoy your company 🙂
I think we're the only cool ones 😎

just kidding. Good luck on the trail and keep sharing!

 

[Finally M3]

Only interviewee of the day, apparently this is their MO to make sure the applicant gets individual attention. Interview day started at 8:30 AM, which was much too early. I was supposed to have a formal meet & greet of the residents and then a tour of the hospital before my 11:00 AM interview with the program director. However, since I had done a PM&R rotation AND my subI at this hospital, the residents felt there wasn't anything else for them to show me at the hospital.

Very laid back program PGY1 only, happy residents (3 per class). Call is from home. 26 bed inpatient covered by 2 residents. You see SCI, TBI, stroke (lots) and some ortho/disability. 8 months inpt. PGY2, 4 mo consults working with a PGY3. 4 months of EMGs in PGY3 with 4 months inpt. 4 months of elective PGY4, with 4 months of essentially independence at Troy Beaumont rehab. Call averages out to around q6-7, 1 weekend a month. PGY2s cover one of Thanksgiving/Xmas/New Years, PGY3s cover Memorial Day/Labor Day/4th of July. Didactics include 3-4 lectures in the morning and evenings, weekly friday morning EMG lectures, journal club, etc. PGY2s and 3s tag-team prosecting cadavers.

Different attendings have sports med affiliations (local high schools, some minor pro), plenty of injection experience, interventional procedure experience available via PGY4 elective time, with residents with a stated interest in this also sent to a training seminar somewhere. Residents feel that they have enough experience in epidurals to utilize this following graduation. Rare for graduates to pursue fellowships, partly explained by the fact that residents feel they do not need further training. Mandatory requirement to perform some sort of research, churn out an abstract for submission to a conference (AAPMR preferably).

Overall impressions; smaller program, residents happy with education, cohesive classes, feel prepared for careers. This is a residency that emphasizes the physical medicine side of PM&R. Although you will see a lot on the inpatient side, you may not see as many or as complex a patient population on an inpatient side than you would see at larger academic facilities. The PGY4 year is VERY flexible; allows for a lot of freedom to pursue what interests you and what experience you need to gain prior to graduation.

 

[Finally M3]

One of five interviewees. Small program, with two adult PGY1 spots, one Peds/PMR spot. Interview day consisted of interviews with program director, department chair, peds attending, and head of research. Very laid back interviews, the peds attending actually knew a bunch of people at my home institution, so we chatted. Quick tour and lunch with residents followed. After lunch, we went on a tour of Drake Center, site of their inpatient rehab floors. Another hospital, Christ Hospital, is site of the senior community inpatient rehab experience, was not seen on tour. Drake is a VERY nice rehab hospital.

PGY2 year is broken up into 6 months Neuro/TBI, 3 mo SCI/Ortho/GenMed, 3 mo consults at UCinci Med Center. PGY3s have 4 mo of EMGs, 2 mo at VA, 3 mo Consults, 2 mo outpatient. PGY4s have 4 mo electives, 3 mo peds rehab at Children's. 1/2 day a week is devoted to continuity clinic. Residents spend 1 week of call at a time, around every 4-6 weeks, at home.

Interventional experience is available, generally to senior residents through a couple of the attendings. Informal arrangements for experience in sports medicine is also available. Recent grads have pursued fellowships, but seems to be kind of rare.

Ultimately, while I liked the attendings I met (esp. the program director, who was very candid with me), I'm not going to rank this program because it is a PGY1 and Cinci is a little to far from home (and girlfriend)
😍

 

[axm397]

I had heard that NYU was malignant so I was a little scared to go. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought. Call has reduced in frequency with the 80hr work wk law and implementation of float system. Ancillary support has gotten better than before with the Council of Residents advocating for themselves. It is pretty in-patient heavy but it is possible to get lots of procedures done as well. Rusk is private - so basically during those months, you are assigned to an attending and his/her service. There are no segregated units for brain trauma, SCI, stroke, Ortho, etc. You get a mix of patients every month. They said they were going to change that to set up units but it has been difficult because the attendings are private and restricting their practice is not the best thing to do.

Bellvue is probably one of the biggest public hospitals in NYC so get lots of uninsured and medicaid pts. Ancillary support is terrible and rehab tends to become a dump ground. I heard they are converting most of the VA into out patient so most call is at Rusk and Bellvue. It's been a while so I don't have all the details off the top of my mind.

The facility is old. They said they are renevating one unit at a time. They do have money so it should look nice by the end. Residents seemed to get along. Dr. Thistle was a very nice person and very respectful. The interview day started around 8:45. Dr. Thistle met with us for 2+ hrs to talk about the program and answer any questions. We met in the "doll room" which can be kind of creepy when you first walk in. There are literally hundreds of old dolls from all over the world where Rusk graduates have gone in the past. NYU definitely has a rich history. The tour was not remarkable - building is definitely in need of renovation. Dr. Moroz the associate residency program director came in to have lunch with us and then went to find some residents so we can talk to them. (apparently, the food is not enough to attract them to come talk to us 🙂)

What was striking was that none of the residents were smiling. It is concerning when you ask a resident "are you happy?" and they can't give you a straight answer. They were very nice though, and answered all our questions.

The afternoon meant two interviews. One with Dr. Thistle - which was pretty laid back and nice. The other with a panel of three doctors - which can be intimidating. It wasn't too bad but it felt a little scattered with questions coming from all directions. I thought all three of my interviewers were pretty pleasant.

Dr. Lee came in to speak with us in the afternoon. He is the chair of the department and just came back from the North Pole - he went to an HIV clinic in Harlem in the morning and was lamenting about the American medical system. He trained with Dr. Rusk and was a real man of history. I really liked him and was touched by his talk.

Overall, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. However, I became concerned by the residents' mood. Perhaps it was because it was cold and raining outside. It probably is a good program if you want to practice in the NYC area - since the alum network is probably one of the biggest and oldest in the country.

 

[axm397]

Interview at R.I.C - started at 7:45am. (which was fine since I was on eastern time). Me and another med student. Started with tour of CSSOR(sp), the outpatient facility with the pain and musculoskeletal clinics. Then back to RIC and tour of that facility. It really was a beautiful facility - you can tell they have lots of funding. It was so nice to see the lake view from the big windows. The ancillary staff seemed happy and personable.

Interview with Dr. Sliwa, the program director - pretty laid back. he clearly had read my application. Asked questions about me. No pimping. Just trying to get a feel for what makes me click. I got the impression that he was a very hands-on program director who carefully screens applicants for compatibility with the program. Very diplomatic and pleasant. However, tough to read about whether he liked you or not.

Didactic session - very excellent lecture by Dr. Senno on TBI. I though the lecture was very concise and clinically useful as well as helpful for the boards.

Lunch with residents - the residents were all very happy. They had nothing but good things to say about the program, the faculty, and the program director. Chicago is a nice place to live despite the cold. They have subsidized housing (I think 750-950/month for studio-1bdrm.) right across the street. RIC is 2 blocks from the "magnificent mile" in a very cush neighborhood. I could tell that the residents were very diverse yet very compatible with each other. They socialize together outside of work and seem to have no problems working with each other. Out of 12 seniors, about 3 are going into fellowships in musculoskeletal. There is a research requirement and a director of research. Call is probably about 2-3 times a month for PGY2. PGY2 is 11months of in-patient. Call is either at RIC or the VA. (Although the VA thing seems to be going through changes). Probably about 1 weekend a month. During the weekends, there is one resident on call, and two note writers. Which helps because you have to cover up to 146 inpatients when on call. Call room is spacious with DVD player and full size bed.

You probably do work a little harder than most programs but the education you receive is worth it. Average day is probably from 7:30-8:00 to 5:30 - 6:00. May have to stay later if have to wait for admissions. (latest 8:30-9:00pm).

Impressive program, friendly atmosphere. One of my top choices.

 

[Finally M3]

I was one of five interviewees, supposedly an abnormally large group. Apparently tOSU is interviewing more people this year due to increase in the number of quality applicants. 16 residents, interviewing for 4 PGY2 1 PGY1 spots this year.

Interview day started around 8-ish, pretty much hung out until 9 AM. Started off the day with Ernie Johnson, which was kind of intimidating, but he was very personable and was eager to tout OSU's strengths and weaknesses. Followed up with interviews with the dept. Chair and the Program Director. All interviews were pretty laid back, some of the standard 'Why PMR' questions, etc. FYI Dr. Clinchot's office is freezing! Dr Clinchot did spend a lot of time talking about how OSU is integrating Palms into the residency (patient and procedure tracking on the Palms) as well as on-line evals. Finished up with a quick tour of Dodd Hall with one of the chief residents. Dodd Hall was on the smallish side, total capacity around 60, running around at 48 beds. It is a stand-alone facility, and even though the main Hospital is right across the street, ambulance transfers for sick patients are required...

Lunch was at the OSU golf club, pretty cool to see the Jack Nicholas stuff hanging around there. One of the other chiefs and two PGY2s tagged along for lunch. 14 mo inpatient (2 mo SCI, 4 mo TBI, 6 mo Gen, 2 mo Children's, 2 mo consults at OSU, Riverside, and Grant hospital. Rest of the time is outpt. Inpatient call is 1/wk home call, 1 weekend/5 wks, rest of weekends off. PGY2s cover one major, one minor holiday. PGY3s cover one minor. Inpatient hours average from 7:30-4-ish, depending on the presence of a late admission or not. Residents will do a TON of EMGs...700-800 by the time you graduate. Sportsmed opportunities are available (high schools as well as coverage for special events (Special Olympics, etc.)).

Didactics are organized into modules, VERY structured with texts provided per module, speakers and grand rounds set up to correspond with module. 3 different journal clubs per month as well (Dept, SportsMed, M&N). Residents have no problem getting fellowships or jobs.

Day finished off with a quick tour of Riverside Hospital and interview with a teaching faculty. Pretty short, in my opinion it kinda was a blah interview since the attending did not have my ERAS info on him and was not expecting to give a 'blind' interview.

Overall impression: I was extremely impressed with this program. They offer a lot of different opportunities in the different aspects of PM&R, drill you on EMGs, and work hard to incorporate didactics into future clinical utility. This is definitely one of my top choices.

 

[axm397]

Had interview at Kessler today - very low stress and efficient. I was one of 12 - apparently, they try to keep it below 10 most of the time. Started at 8am ended by 1pm. Started with a presentation by Dr. Delisa about the program and then a short intro by Dr. Kirshblum. Dr. Kirshblum just became the associate residency program director again - which is definitely a plus for the program. If Dr. Delisa is the strict administrative director who likes structure and results, Dr. Kirshblum provides the more "warm and fuzzy" day-to-day guidance. We then broke up into two groups - one with tour first then interview, the other with interview first then tour. Interview with three people - I got Drs. Delisa, Campagnolo, and Skerker. Other interviewers included one of the chief residents, Dr. Shah, Dr. Kepler, and Dr. Kirshblum. I was a little nervous because Dr. Delisa is notorious for being a tough interviewer. It wasn't too bad for me - he was definitely direct and he did take notes while I answered his questions but he was pleasant. Dr. Campagnolo had lots of energy and was fun to talk to. Dr. Skerker was a private practice physiatrist so it was great to talk to him about current events in PMR. The tour of the facility was good - but I had rotated through there so I had already seen most of the facility. Lunch was very low-key with many of the residents.

Overall a very solid program - one of the top-notch programs in the country. Good history and record of alumni achievement. There is a research requirement - you even can get dedicated time for research up to half a day a week for 4-6 months. Up to $2000 seed money for research and paid conferences. Out of 6 seniors , two are going into fellowships - one in interventional spine in York PA, and the other in TBI at Kessler or California. The number of felloships available at kessler is definitely attractive and they do prefer Kessler residents if it came down to it.

The only negatives - lack of elective time (supposedly a medical malpractice insurance issue - and also because Kessler should be able to provide you with any selectives you may want within the system - and the Kessler name should get you far enough that you dont' need to do more than 3 days at a place to get fellowship - most residents use vacation time to do away audition electives.) also, if you want to stay in one facility, this is not the place for you. There are 10 sites that residents rotate through - one of them being University Hospital in Newark (not the best location). Select Medical just bought Kessler rehab - and the effects of that sale is not all known yet though they do say they are committed to resident education. Cost of living in that area of NJ can be high - I know because I am from the area - but it is still possible to find an affordable place. (it's definitely cheaper than NYC). The last small thing I noticed was that the PGY2 class is all male - 9 out of 10 of them white male. I am hoping that was just a glitch in the match system that year. The other classes seem to be a little better balanced in terms of diversity. That class do seem pretty focused on sports medicine - so I guess that is a strength of the program. You get to work games and work with the sports fellow from the beginning.

Anyways, I hope this helps. If you have gone on interviews, please share your experience. It would be nice to have more than two people contributing to this discussion. 🙂

 

[drvlad2004]

axm397 and finally M3,

Thanks for your wonderful feedback thus far.

Here is a program not often mentioned on this forum:

I interviewed at SUNY Upstate in Syracuse on December 12th. Overall, I thought that was a solid program. I am somewhat partial to upstate NY since I did my undergrad at Cornell University. The day at Syracuse started with a talk with Dr. Weber, the chairman, about the overview of the program. Dr. Weber is a guru when it comes to EMG. He worked with Ernie Johnson when he trained at OSU. Therefore, this program is especially strong in EMG.

Each year of the residency is split 50/50 between inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. The program is also especially strong in pediatric. Dr. Turk is nationally reknown when it comes to peds-PM&R. The interview with Drs. Turk and Weber was laid back. Just recently, Syracuse has opened up the Institute of Human Performance (IHP), which is maybe the biggest selling point about the program. At the IHP, several research studies have begun in regards to gait and athletic performance. This place is must see. The IHP has basketball courts that have pressure plates that can measure the pressure when a players makes a rebound. The pools can change depth from 2 to 6 feet. The track also has pressure sensor that can measure pressure on foot strike and length of stride. However, since the IHP is relatively new, the residents have limited opportunities. Pretty soon, this will change.

The program offer residents 6 months of elective time. This is more than any program that I have interviewed at thus far. The city of Syracuse is a decent city. If you love long, cold, and very snowy winters as well as winter sports, this program is for you. Skiing comes cheap nearby Syracuse. It is not the most exciting city. However, there are numerous bars and nightclubs. People from Syracuse really love their college athletics, especially Orangemen basketball. The physiatrists are team doctors for the minor league baseball team and professional hockey teams. There are opportunities work alongside with them.

Syracuse is a very safe city. Thus, SCI has a very low patient population. Schwab/Univ. of Chicago was the total opposite with all the gunshot victims that they get.

The residents seem to really love this program. Most of them decided to go to this program because of the opportunity to work with Dr. Weber and the reputation that he brings. Drs. Weber and Turk are the main reasons why the residents have landed jobs, all over the country, as soon as the day after they interviewed. Similar to the current trend of PM&R, half the residents have gone into pain management fellowships.

Drawbacks: SCI (low patient population), city of Syracuse is definitely not for everyone if you are not used to snow, not as many injections done compared some other programs

Strengths: Dr. Weber, excellent support staff (PT, OT, etc.), IHP, inpatient and outpatient MSK, peds, EMG

 

[Finally M3]

Interviewee one of three. Program will interview around 50 candidates this season for 6 PGY2 spots. Day started off by intro from program coordinator, going over didactic schedule. Interviews then commenced with assistant residency director, research/interventional faculty (blinded interview), and program director. All interviews were very laid back, standard questions such as 'Why PM&R?' and 'What do you see yourself doing in 10 years'. Some 'future of medicine' discussion with the assist. program director, but that's a topic I liked 😉

After the interviews we had lunch with 3 residents (1 PGY2 2 PGY3s) in downtown Ann Arbor. Talked about their backgrounds, what they liked/disliked about the program. Resident dislikes included lack of sportsmed opportunities within the curriculum itself, however, this was available via elective. Call is at home, averages to around 2-3/months ~1 weekend/month. Lots of flexibility in call schedules, arranged per residents. 4 weeks of vacation, conference time built in (1 wk?), LOTS of holiday time as well...the House Officer Association is pretty powerful at the U, and you can't beat the PM&R Department's schedule for holidays...

After lunch we went to the new Burlington Rehab/Spine Center...off-campus site of outpt clinics, EMGs, one fluro suite as well. After this we took a tour of the inpt. rehab and medical procedures unit (3 more fluro suites, where they do cervical injections, more invasive procedures). The inpatient floor has some SICK patients on it...but the spine service should be more manageable with the addition of a SCI fellow starting next calendar year. 32 beds, average day is 7ish to 5 ish, but dependent upon census. You also spend 2 mo in Peds Rehab at Mott Children's as well. EMGs done PGY3 and PGY4 in various sites...lots of injection exposure, 80-100 epidurals performed can be easily achieved, even with the presence of Spine and Pain fellows.

Impressions; I rotated here and I like the program. Having spent a lot of time in Ann Arbor for school, I really like the area although I know it isn't for everyone. Lots of procedural experience, not as much EMG experience than at OSU although 300+ can be achieved. Definitely one of my top choices. 😀

 

[drvlad2004]

I interviewed at Schwab during the first week of December. There were 3 of us interviewing for that day. Overall, I was very impressed by this program. The impovershed area of Chicago brings numerous and diverse pathologies into Schwab. Immediately, you can tell that the PD, Michelle Gittler, is very different compared to other PDs that I've met. She is very interactive with her residents and is very personable. Every resident that I spoke to have high praises for her. She has written many chapters in various PM&R textbooks.

The PGY2 year at Schwab is rough, but not scut heavy. Every residents, including current PGY2s, say that their prelim medicine or transitional year was easier than PGY2. PGY2 year is solely inpatient rehab. Being that Schwab is in a rougher area of Chicago, with gang activity in nearby areas, the residents have to prepared for more complex medical issues. The chief resident said that she was surprised by the number of times that her patients were crashing even during therapy. More than half of the SCI patients have gunshot wounds, often due to gang related activity. The call schedule is still better than most programs in NYC. The PGY2 call schedule is 3 in-house calls per month. You can schedule your 3 calls almost any time during the month. There is no more inpatient rehab after PGY2.

Virtually all of the faculty members (predominantly female) completed residency at RIC, except for a couple who went to Schwab and UIC (now closed down). As the medical director said, their biggest strength is their faculty and I may agree with that. Hence, some people call this place the "mini-RIC." During PGY3&4, there is more time spent at the U. of Chicago, Sinai Hospital, and Weiss Community Hospital. During that time, all of the outpatient rotations (consults at U of C, EMG, MSK, etc.) done at that time. Pain management is mostly done at RIC. For the first time ever, a resident (the chief) landed an anesthesia-based pain management fellowship at the University of Chicago. There is great opportunity to do sports medicine rotations in the program.

The Schwab rehab hospital is very nice. A therapeutic rooftop garden was recently added. Although in a terrible location, the underserved area of Chicago (which is where most of the major hospitals of Chicago are) definitely prepares residents to become a very competent physiatrist. They see and learn numerous pathologies and how to take care of them. The residents love their staff as their faculty members love to teach. A 360 degree evaluation is used to evaluate residents, attendings, and therapy staff. The residents say that they definitely get way more than enough feedback.

Schwab recently started a 3 person panel interview with Drs. Rayner (medical director), Lie-Nemeth, and Lis. This is a great interview as this was one of my most laid back interviews. The interview with Dr. Gittler was awesome. She was so laid back and great to talk to.

Schwab is a relatively young program and I thought that this program is very solid. It is probably the second best PM&R program in the city, next to RIC of course. If you like working in an underserved area with the serious pathologies it brings, this program is for you. The residents are very happy about their program, even though PGY2 year is very hard. They love their faculty and really love working with Dr. Gittler. Being that I have done numerous rotations in underserved areas (mostly NYC), I will rank this program high, probably top 5. The city of Chicago itself is a very nice city. It is almost as exciting as Manhattan.

 

[axm397]

A quick add-on to last post about UMich - I had my interview there a couple days ago. I was the only one that showed up (two cancelled). Tammie and Alice are wonderful - very caring and makes you feel comfortable. I really liked the program director and the associate PD. They have made some changes to the didactic schedule so they can cover all topics in 12month cycles. They also added a rheum rotation. They have full 5yr accreditation and model status for SCI. Overall, the residentsall seemed very happy and laid back. the PGY2s are a bit more social and hang out together at least once a month. The hospital system is huge with 1000+ residents. This can be a drawback because there's lots of red tape and politics. The only MINOR negatives
- lack of away electives (have to prove to UMich that the elective will provide exposure to something not found at UMich, which is hard. But last year someone matched into fellowship at UFlorida)
-very little of book allowance/educational stipend - again, a minor thing but they only get ONE book for the whole time and 1500 dollars to go to a conference for the whole three years regardless of publication/research/etc. (they do have a 2000/yr research "fellowship" for ppl who are really hardcore researchers)
-no complementary/alternative medicine within PM&R - supposedly, there was someone who did accupuncture on faculty but he left.
-they are moving many of their clinics and department to the off-site facility - which is not necessarily a negative since the facility is beautiful and more spacious.
-you have to pay for parking $600 - 1200 a year. and even with that, parking is difficult to find.
-no call room - again, it's home call but you're technically supposed to live within 15-20min of hospital. So if you live further away, there's no where to stay. PD is working on that though...
-no board review - but many take board review courses elsewhere uring PGY4 - they do have a pretty generous 3mo electve time. (also get 2mo research time) Nice vacation policy too (23days + birthday!!)
Aside from those really minor things, I thought the program was very solid and high quality. Ann Arbor is a great place to live - very good educational system if you have a family - and lots of diversity. Pockets of different ethnic populations. Unlike the review in scutwork.com, I thought the place was pretty liberal and open. (not snotty and conservative) The residents were all very nice. I had the HONOR of meeting LIGAMENT!! I should have asked for his autograph😛
Oh, and a shout out to the Kirksville boys - it was really fun meeting you and hanging out with you - although my cover is now blown😎

Anyways, I had a great time at UMich, and loved the people. Very little ego and arrogance. Very approachable faculty, Very nice location. Fairly cush call schedule. Nice cafeteria with sushi (Oh by the way, they have more than SIX japanese restaurants - no lack of sushi in this town....) What more can you ask for?

 

[MSK]

Has anyone here been to Spaulding and/or Stanford for an interview? If so, what was the interview day like and what did you think of the program? Thanks and good luck.


MSK

 

[jackychanning]

So guys, who has interviewed there and what did you think of it.

 

[axm397]

Had stanford interview - interviews at 2 locations. (3 in a.m. at Stanford and 2 in p.m. at Valley.)


Started 8:30 a.m. at Stanford, had slide presentation about program, then three residents. Then tour by one of chief residents, lunch with residents and faculty/PD. We all drove to Valley (Santa Clara), and had two more interviews each and a tour of that facility as well. Ended around 4:00pm.

Overall very strong program. Model programs for SCI and TBI. 4 locations - Stanford, Valley (mostly SCI), VA, and St. Mary's. about 75% in-pt PGY2, 50% PGY3, and 25% PGY4. Home call about 1 a week and 2 weekends / 3months.

Unique points - for SCI, PM&R residents work with neurosurg from the acute phase of SCI on. PM&R residents help with halo placement, etc. as the patients get choppered in from surrounding areas. Learn to manage acute issues of SCI pts. $1000 educational stipend / year. 3 wks vacation, 1wk educational leave. Limited subsidized housing available. Most residents live halfway between Santa Clara and Stanford. (Home call - supposed to be 25-30min away from facility). Rent has come down a lot. Most expensive around stanford, cheaper as go south. Probably about 900 - 1200 / month for 1 BR. Need a car to drive to different facilities.

Fellowships available in SCI and pain/interventional. (I think there was more but I can't remember.) New fellowship director for interventional from Spaulding -> mass general anesthesia based pain fellowship. Job market is better than the east for physiatrists.

Negatives - peds is weak. if that is what you want to do, better off at UCDavis (they have shriners) Dept of PM&R is actually Division of Orthopedics. Not sure how the politics work in terms of inter-departmental relationships. They say there are no issues. Residents do work harder than most california programs. If you want a cush program, this is probably not the one for you.

Otherwise, VERY good quality program, great training, dynamic and energetic faculty, beautiful location, and solid broad exposure to all aspects of PM&R. If you plan on practicing on West coast, good network, good name. I was very impressed.

 

[Finally M3]

Gonna add onto Vlad's comments, since I am too lazy to post an entirely new one.

The attendings at Schwab are the real strength of the program. I agree that I was impressed with Dr. Gittler; good reputation as a physician as well as being a 'resident advocate'. I met three other staff at the panel interview; very laid back, two RIC grads, one Stanford grad. Seem to have a good working relationship with each other...

The location wasn't that bad in my opinion, although I could very well have a different opinion when the sun goes down 😉

A few areas of concern for me were EMG experience, procedure experience, and the in-house call covering a 100+ bed stand-alone facility. One of my interviews was with a senior resident, and she had only performed 140+ EMGs with two months of EMGs to go...also, the pain rotation (nice, 10 wks as part of your core curriculum) was through Anesth., so you'd have to fight for LEIS experience (1 C-arm). Finally, in-house call...with some sick patients! No high-cervical vents, but... Heh.

Finally, Chicago is a cool city. Much cooler than SE Michigan.

 

[axm397]

Interview at Mt. Sinai - about 6 people. I think 1 was an FMG. There were definitely FMGs at this program - for those of you who are FMGs looking for programs.

Started morning with presentation by PD, then two interviews and tour. Lunch with residents ended the day. PD was nice - although some parts of the presentation was misleading. There are three principal locations - Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, Bronx VA, and Mt. Sinai (on the border of upper east side and spanish harlem). Shuttle buses between all three locations. Parking about $130 a month at Mt. Sinai, $90 at Elmhurst (??) and free at VA (??). (compare to columbia/cornell - 350/month for ppl in their housing, 150/month for those commuting.) Half the residents live in Mt. Sinai subsidized housing which is scattered all over Manhattan. (some residents had good results with the housing process others did not. - apparently, they email you a floor plan and you may not even get to see the actual apartment.) The other half live in the surrounding area including west chester, NJ, etc. Residents were all nice. They seemed to get along well. Good balance of diverse backgrounds.

The program went through a rough period a few years ago when board pass rates plummeted. They also had a really BAD merger with NYU which is now pretty much dissolved. Call which is in-house, averages out to about once every 8days at Elmhurst and Mt. Sinai - but lightens up as go up in years. Call came be pretty busy at Mt. Sinai and pretty cush at Elmhurst. Model SCI and TBI - which is impressive. Chair of department is very well known in the field. Great physiatrists have come out of the program historically. However, I think it has gone down in quality in the past few years. It is getting better now.

PD had a list of rotations residents go through which added up to 40 months. So you actually dont' get 4months of the rotations listed. Also, although they boast 4 months of electives during the 3 years, you actually are required to take your vacation weeks during the 2 month blocks of electives. (2 wks each). Edu allowance will pay for PGY4s to go to AAPMR mtg. They will NOT pay for you to present posters. You must actually be a speaker, etc... They have a float system in place to comply with the work hours law. They have an accupuncture exposure at the VA and are planning on importing the UCLA program so residents can get certified. (not in place yet.) They also just recruited another faculty member to do more MSK and interventional at the VA as well as building another fluoro suite. Residents said you mostly observe though... Some were unhappy with the amount of in-patient rotations. The PD said you would get 2 P&O courses twice in the 3 years but in reality, there were seniors who had not taken the course once. They have an ACGME competency evaluation form that facutly fills out for each rotation. They also have an OSCE type exam. SAEs, and EMG exams every year as well. Relationship with NYU allows MT. Sinai residents to take the NYU board review course for free BUT most residents choose to take the Kessler course. Scholarly activity requirement (basically, a euphomism for research requirement)

Didactic time is reserved on Tuesday mornings from 8-12 but in actuality, they get 1hr of lecture, and the rest of the time spent doing board review with each other. PD said this has raised board scores. 100% pass rate last year. About half the graduates each year go on to fellowships - mostly in anesthesia based pain. Program had 2yr accreditation then 3 yrs. they are up for review this year. (which explains some of the changes that took place regarding eval, etc.)

Overall, not bad. Broad exposure to most aspects of PM&R - weak peds, almost no burns, unclear cardiopulm rehab. According to residents, not as strong in MSK and out-pt. Great SCI and TBI. Wasn't too happy with the way they buried some of the negative details during the presentation. (vacation during electives, etc.) Nonetheless, good for ppl who really want to stay in NYC - it's not as scattered as the Columbia/Cornell program according to the residents. All 3 facilities about 30min from each other. Good for ppl interested in SCI and/or TBI.

Probably good for FMGs as well.

 

[drvlad2004]

I was one of 2 residency applicants during my day at UTHSCSA. Overall, I thought that UT San Antonio has one of the strongest, solid, well-established programs that you will find in the country. It sure helps having Drs. Walsh and Dumitru as chairman and PD, respectively. This is a 4 year program. The 12 months off of the Rehabilitation Medicine service is distributed through the first two years of training. The first year of the program is structured to consist of six months of Rehabilitation Medicine inpatient service, two months of Internal Medicine, two months of General Surgery/Trauma ICU, one month of Neurosurgery Acute Trauma, and a one month Rheumatology Rotation. Rotations during the second year of training consist of six months of Rehabilitation Medicine, two months of Medicine/Geriatric Service, two months of Orthopaedics, and two months of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Hence, you are already considered a rehab resident directly from the start. Also, the resident are able to already establish a working relationship with the medicine and surgery departments.

Most of PGY3&4 years are spent in clinics such as prosthetics/orthotics/neurolysis, ortho/musculoskeletal, SCI, Cardiac Rehab, and Pain clinic. You will get an intense training with EMG, especially when you get to Dr. Dumitru. During PGY3, most residents will have "done" at least the required 200 EMGs performed before getting to Dr. Dumitru. With Dr. Dumitru, you will get an advanced level of EMG training with him. If you have met Dr. Dumitru or even read his EMG bible, you will know how intense he can be. However, he is nice guy. The interview with him was a little intimidating but not all bad. The residents that I met said that, in essence, you are fellowship-trained having Drs. Dumitru and Kalantri (who will be leaving) on staff.

Besides Dr. Dumitru, I was interviewed by Dr. Bowles (TBI specialist) and Dr. Walsh (interventional spine). Dr. Bowles is new to the program and seems to have added "energy" to the TBI department. She recently completed residency at Baylor-Houston. The interview with her was laid back. She is a laid back, "energetic," and gregarious woman. Finally, my interview with Dr. Nicholas Walsh was great. He has definitely done a great job keeping the program well-rounded and making resident education solid. At the 2003 AAPM&R conference in Chicago, Dr. Walsh received the Walter J. Zeiter Lectureship award. The award honors a physiatrist who has made consistent contributions to the specialty and has earned respect and admiration of his or her peers for outstanding accomplishments in the field of PM&R.

I got a tour of facilities at the Reeves Rehab Center, the VA (connected to Reeves), the Pain Clinic (includes a fluoroscopy suite), Warm Springs Rehab (community rehab facility that is 10 minute drive from UTHSCSA), the gait lab, and Engineering Lab/Research Lab (prosthetics/orthotics). The Engineering Lab/Research Lab was a site to see. The program was very strong in prosthetics and orthotics. Plus the labs have their own shop where the engineers actually make the equipments inside the hospital. Also, the GAIT lab was quite impressive.

On the day before, the other interviewee and I had dinner with one of the chiefs and his wife who is also a PGY4 resident. The dinner at the RiverWalk was very nice. I never realized that the Alamo was right in the middle of downtown. I was surprised by that.

Strengths: SCI (has fellowship), peds (just started a fellowship), Prosthetics/Orthotics, strong and well-structured didactic curriculum, pain management, EMG (on average, residents "do", not just watch, 250-400 EMGs), good balance of inpatient and outpatient, very low cost of living.

Weaknesses: limited sports medicine exposure, San Antonio is not the most exciting city (but nearby Austin is!), elective time (7 weeks).

The residents come from all over the country including Puerto Rico, California, New York (one from NYCOM), etc. Most of the residents don't actually come from Texas. That resident that I have met picked this program due to its smaller size (contrasted to that of Baylor) and strong resident camaderie. The residents are a good mix of DOs and US MDs (a few residents from PR and 1 from Iceland). The residents have get togethers every month. The resident seem very proud of their program and were glad they came to the program.

I was amazed by how great this program is and I will rank this program high. It was sooo much program than any Manhattan program. The NYC programs seem to be heading a downwards direction. Even though the sports medicine exposure is somewhat limited (you do get to work at the Special Olympics), the program is so well-rounded that I will be more than satisfied with my PM&R education.

Well, it looks like I do prefer smaller sized residency programs (no more than 6 residents/yr) unlike the NYC programs that have 8-14 residents. It was well worth interviewing here. Bonus: $200 reimbursement on flight and free hotel stay.