Strong programs in warm weather

[obiwan]

The interesting thing I later found out was, not a lot of people apply to UTSW because its considered a very malignant program (not 'not cush' malignant, but some posters have described it as "residency being hell"...)

Could you elaborate specifically about what your attendings have said about Baylor? Anything about UT Houston? And their reputation on the "coastal ivory towers" (well put )?

yeah, UTSW definately does not get as many applicants from the top med schools as you can see from its resident list because I believe combination of location and perceived malignancy... I think this reputation of being malignant is basically the amount of work you're doing even though I think UTSW has tried to address some of these issues with Q5 call... my clerkship director was chief resident at utsw and our program director also did residency at parkland and both of them said that training at UTSW is amazing... my attendings just mentioned that baylor is still solid but the whole situation there isn't that stable so they recommended not being your top program in TX unless you really want to stay in houston... i don't know too much about UTH but its below baylor from what i've heard

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[unfrozencaveman]

Hey- Two things about University of Miami-Jackson Memorial. It is not a community program, it's a large university program. Apparently it was listed incorrectly, confused with its counterpart community program in palm beach county. It is attached to an ENORMOUS hospital (I think most beds/highest volume in the country, and if not the absolute highest, it's up there)

They also have a global health Internal Medicine residency program, which is obviously poorly advertised, but in my opinion, is one of the best (I'm applying to these all over the place, and I go to Miami for med school, so that's the basis of my expertise)

They also have warm weather. I would venture to say the warmest, which is also unverified other than by myself.

 

[shydrager]

Most of the programs you mentioned are in the midwest!! i am trying to get out of the cold!!N. Carolina - UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Virginia are a bit too cold for me!!!
But of course sacrifices can be made for working the rest of my life.





Ok... South Carolina guy here. Have you been to North Carolina? I'm not sure how the state would be too cold for you unless you really wanted spring weather year round. Great schools and great weather... And South Carolina is pretty nice too - we don't have the prestige of a UNC or Duke, but we do have loads of great pathology, top notch attendings, and better weather.

 

[Ariee]

Shydrager (I can't believe you chose a parkinson plus as your screenname- super nerdy COOL!)

Can you coment further on SC and the IM program where you are at. IMHO, SC ROCKS dude!

 

[Frugal Traveler]

I think the summary of this thread is as follows:

Storm into the interview. When asked why you chose the program, pull out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html), and say "I came to your program because it is strong and warm."

You are guaranteed to get ranked #1 .

 

[Ariee]

I think the summary of this thread is as follows:

Storm into the interview. When asked why you chose the program, pull out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html), and say "I came to your program because it is strong and warm."

You are guaranteed to get ranked #1 .

!!! FUNNY!

 

[LPMDLP]

Ochsner and Tulane in New Orleans are both very strong and you can't get much warmer than New Orleans. Ochsner in particular has been sending its grads to really great fellowships over the last few years-- Yale, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, MD Anderson-- and they have one of the largest cards fellowships around (and they take lots of their own residents into their fellowship programs). Tulane is well known nationally and has a very popular program director.

 

[docscience]

I think the summary of this thread is as follows:

Storm into the interview. When asked why you chose the program, pull out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html), and say "I came to your program because it is strong and warm."

You are guaranteed to get ranked #1 .

LOL. I guess it is a pretty good summary. But I don't see anything wrong with saying "I love your program as it matches well with my training goals and I love the location"

I am going to go through the thread and compile a master list here soon. Great suggestions guys.

 

[Inquisitive]

also anyone have an answer to the UCLA question? are there many campuses? ( i am an AZ med student and don't know sorry)
do you apply to all of them?

There are three UCLA programs in SoCal.

1. UCLA in Westwood is the main program and is the most competitive of the three. During your intern year you rotate through UCLA-Olive View, which is a county hospital and during your second year you rotate through Harbor-UCLA, also a county hospital.

2. Harbor-UCLA is in Torrance and is a county hospital. It is affiliated with UCLA and has UCLA faculty. You do most of your rotations at Harbor but go to UCLA during your second year for one month.

3. UCLA-Olive View is in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley and is a county hospital. It is also a UCLA program. During your intern year you do a few months at the main UCLA campus but most of your time is spent at Olive View. You have more opportunities to do rotations at the main UCLA campus your second and third year.

I hope this helps.

 

[shydrager]

Shydrager (I can't believe you chose a parkinson plus as your screenname- super nerdy COOL!)

Can you coment further on SC and the IM program where you are at. IMHO, SC ROCKS dude!

Thanks for the comment about the name... I wonder what the lives of future med students will be like without eponyms... http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/125/1/74

Glad to offer more information. There are 3 programs in SC: Greenville, USC, and MUSC. Greenville is the lone community program, although it is affiliated with USC. USC is in Columbia; MUSC is in Charleston. Within SC people still get this confused sometimes. USC is where I am going to medical school. The Chair is one of the most personable doctors I've met - and there aren't many I can say that about. Definitely committed to the program and the personal development of students and residents. I don't know much about the PD. Faculty seem to enjoy teaching and most are good at it. Workload seems pretty middle of the road, not cush, but not ridiculous. Q4 or Q5 call - no overnight except in MICU (covered by nightfloat). Charleston is a pretty decent program as well. Both schools have similar board passing rates, but MUSC has more research and fellowships. Columbia is better if you like the outdoor sports (biking, kayaking, etc.), and Charleston is better if you like the beach. Both programs seem to keep some of their top medical students. Diversity of the patient population is pretty decent at USC. Columbia (and Charleston as well) both can boast a fairly high minority population. Exposure to Hispanic patients is steady - you will get a chance to show off any Spanish you know. Diversity of the residents at USC is also pretty decent for a small program - some FMGs help that. Although in terms of African-American representation, which would be of better benefit in reflecting the local population, there is room for improvement.

I think USC and MUSC should be on anyone's list looking at warm weather programs. Great location with supportive faculty at both schools.

That's about all I got right now - I'm sure there are some things I have left out. I actually haven't seen too much written about SC schools on here, which is a shame. I feel the responsibility to spread the word!