SUNY Downstate Internal Medicine (Program update from an insider!)

[IMChief44]

Hi all. So I saw the post from 2007 when searching my program on Google that said SAY NO TO SUNY DOWNSTATE. I was not here in 2007, but I can speak for 2017. I am coming from a US medical school, so I was not desperate for a residency program. The thing that stuck out most to me on interview day was the camaraderie I saw among the residents. Now being a resident here, this has proven true. The residents ARE the best part, by and large we work together.
We work at FOUR, not three, sites: Kings County, University Hospital Brooklyn- Downstate, Brooklyn VA and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
As far as a malignant program, I don't know if any of the residents would say that this is a malignant program (and we are the ones to judge). Two of my good friends were Downstate medical students, and they are very happy with their life as a SUNY resident.
As far as our matching opportunities for fellowship, since I've been here we have had residents match to USC (PCC), Harvard (Renal), Columbia (PCC), Westchester (Cards), Northshore (Cards), Lenox Hill (GI), NYU (Renal), Stony Brook (PCC), Oklahoma (PCC), Univ of Florida (Renal), University of Michigan (Rheum), Virginia Tech (Cards), Tulane (Cards)... two residents and I just thought of these while writing this post. I will update the post after the next match, but they are interviewing at Georgetown, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, MSK, Cincinnati, NYU, Northshore, Stony Brook, UAB, Cornell, Stanford, University Cal San Francisco, Winthrop, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Boston University, Mass Gen Hosp, Northwestern, Rush, U Chicago, Mt. Sinai, Tufts, Duke, Univ Va, Montifiore...THIS LIST GOES ON!!!! Also, I believe this year will be our best match ever and we will only improve.
Downstate also takes their own, so if you want to stay, that option is there (PCC is amazing here and we often stay as fellows).
The ancillary services have improved significantly->All labs are drawn at Downstate, and morning, 2Pm and 9PM phlebotomy are done at KCH and VA (so stat labs need to be done by you).
Education has improved with the new X+Y block system. Have daily noon conferences streamed across all 3 sites with morning report, and resident report across all 3 sites.
The workload on inpatient ward blocks is heavy...we see A LOT of patients, but we have never broken CAP. We certify in lines, because we place a lot of them. This program is not for you if you want very relaxing inpatient ward months for residency. When on call at downstate, it is typical to admit 10 and reach cap. This is an underserved community and the patients are sick, so it is busy. If that is not what you desire, Downstate may not be the program for you. It will make your fast and efficient, by necessity.
SUNY Downstate is big, and we do have autonomy, but that is the best part. We are not alone and without support in the hospital, but we also have the liberty to make decisions for our patients (when attendings build trust in us).
In short, the best way to get to know a program is to visit. Come see for yourself, and I'm sure you will be happy with what you find.

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[notcool]

Hi all. So I saw the post from 2007 when searching my program on Google that said SAY NO TO SUNY DOWNSTATE. I was not here in 2007, but I can speak for 2017. I am coming from a US medical school, so I was not desperate for a residency program. The thing that stuck out most to me on interview day was the camaraderie I saw among the residents. Now being a resident here, this has proven true. The residents ARE the best part, by and large we work together.
We work at FOUR, not three, sites: Kings County, University Hospital Brooklyn- Downstate, Brooklyn VA and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
As far as a malignant program, I don't know if any of the residents would say that this is a malignant program (and we are the ones to judge). Two of my good friends were Downstate medical students, and they are very happy with their life as a SUNY resident.
As far as our matching opportunities for fellowship, since I've been here we have had residents match to USC (PCC), Harvard (Renal), Columbia (PCC), Westchester (Cards), Northshore (Cards), Lenox Hill (GI), NYU (Renal), Stony Brook (PCC), Oklahoma (PCC), Univ of Florida (Renal), University of Michigan (Rheum), Virginia Tech (Cards), Tulane (Cards)... two residents and I just thought of these while writing this post. I will update the post after the next match, but they are interviewing at Georgetown, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, MSK, Cincinnati, NYU, Northshore, Stony Brook, UAB, Cornell, Stanford, University Cal San Francisco, Winthrop, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Boston University, Mass Gen Hosp, Northwestern, Rush, U Chicago, Mt. Sinai, Tufts, Duke, Univ Va, Montifiore...THIS LIST GOES ON!!!! Also, I believe this year will be our best match ever and we will only improve.
Downstate also takes their own, so if you want to stay, that option is there (PCC is amazing here and we often stay as fellows).
The ancillary services have improved significantly->All labs are drawn at Downstate, and morning, 2Pm and 9PM phlebotomy are done at KCH and VA (so stat labs need to be done by you).
Education has improved with the new X+Y block system. Have daily noon conferences streamed across all 3 sites with morning report, and resident report across all 3 sites.
The workload on inpatient ward blocks is heavy...we see A LOT of patients, but we have never broken CAP. We certify in lines, because we place a lot of them. This program is not for you if you want very relaxing inpatient ward months for residency. When on call at downstate, it is typical to admit 10 and reach cap. This is an underserved community and the patients are sick, so it is busy. If that is not what you desire, Downstate may not be the program for you. It will make your fast and efficient, by necessity.
SUNY Downstate is big, and we do have autonomy, but that is the best part. We are not alone and without support in the hospital, but we also have the liberty to make decisions for our patients (when attendings build trust in us).
In short, the best way to get to know a program is to visit. Come see for yourself, and I'm sure you will be happy with what you find.

Thank you for writing this. Any idea how the heme/onc matches look?

 

[IMChief44]

Thank you for writing this. Any idea how the heme/onc matches look?

We rotate through MSK, so our exposure is fantastic. I will update when we match

 

[tikmle]

I am a recent grad from downstate and currently doing Hospitalist in an academic center. When I was a resident at downstate I didn't appreciate the good things at the place. Now looking back via the rear view mirror I can comment on the MANY positives of downstate
-Clinical experience: Downstate gives a great hands on approach with a good deal of autonomy. As a third year resident my experiences in running a team at kings county with a good degree of autonomy has made my transition as an attending seamless. Also
-Leadership experience: Every team in the program is headed by a resident: usual structure is one resident, 2 interns and 2/3 medical students. I have been trained to be a doctor and to have an analytical brain since I was a toddler, but I was never trained to be a leader or give out orders to other doctors till I became a resident. At the beginning of my second year I was trained to be a leader of the team and also given a lot of teaching responsibilities: the close ties with the medical school has helped in that regard. As a teaching attending now, those experiences have been invaluable
-The people at the program are awesome. The faculty and PD helped me so much and STILL does, in finding a job/ signing a good contract etc and my friends have matched to the fellowships they want because of them. I think the biggest driver in the positive trends of the program has been the program leadership
-Residents at downstate are awesome, very diverse in cultures and ethnicity. Great group of people to work in and we are still in contact with each other. My class is all over the country now but we all miss the 3 great years we spent at downstate
-And Brooklyn is an awesome place to live!

I am glad that fellowship match is improving each year. The program still has a lot of upside

From my class everyone who applied for Heme/Onc matched: the connection with MSK helps a lot. A lot of research oppurtunities for Heme Onc available. Same for other fellowships too, all my friends who applied matched to their fellowships

 

[IMChief44]

a) if a program has to make posts like this, something is inherently wrong with the program
b) you're an IMG mill...
c) none of those fellowships are particularly impressive
d) Every med student within 100 miles of NYC is aware of the ****show that is Downstate Medical Center.

Y'all got a lot to work to do before coming to SDN to advertise. Best of luck recruiting in the upcoming cycle

 

[W19]

Can a current resident comment about the program? It's high in my ROL.

 

[BSLIV]

Can a current resident comment about the program? It's high in my ROL.

The OP in this thread was from a current resident...

 

[CherryRedDracul]

The OP in this thread was from a current resident...

And you're replying to a post from 2 months ago ...