SUNY upstate

[dstressed]

Does anybody have any info on SUNY upstate. I am getting ready to apply and am interested in the Syracuse area.

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[Pathoresident]

SUNY Upstate and SUNY at Stoony Brook are better

 

[Thaitanium]

What do you mean by "service-oriented?"

 

[Mindy]

Hi:

I both went to medical school at SUNY Upstate as well as did a post-sophomore fellowship in pathology at Upstate.

I do not really know what "Service-Oriented" means, though I'd be hesitant to say we weren't service oriented!

I know that you can get solid training in pathology at Upstate. In fact it is my experience there as a PSF that inspired me to be a pathologist. I still regard some of the staff as some of my most important mentors to this day. It is (was, it has now been 4 yrs since I have been there) the type of place you can really grow with, and I have thought that I'd be very happy being on staff there, had life not led me so definitively to Boston. In particular, if you are certain that Syracuse is an area that you would like to live in, don't necessarily pass it by because it is not in this tier or that tier. Upstate is a large regional referral center--the only game besides Rochester in central NY really, so gets a lot of specimens.

PM if you would like specifics or more info.

Mindy

 

[DarksideAllstar]

To me, service-oriented=more focused on getting cases signed out rather than teaching residents or ensuring that residents aren't grossing-monkeys.

 

[Fluble]

I attended medical school there, and did a few pathology electives. I didn't like the city of Syracuse but if the program was transplanted to somewhere with sun and a hint of culture, I would have been happy ranking them highly. Spend a couple of weeks there if you are strongly considering it and see how you like it. I believe their residents get pretty good fellowships.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

I am currently a PGY-2 at Upstate, and I am very happy with the teaching I am receiving at this program.

Our surgical pathology service is busy--but you will NOT be in the gross room past 6pm. We see an excellent mix of pathology, especially bone & soft tissue, neuro, GI, and lung (a la Dr. Katzenstein). I'd say we're a bit lacking in GYN pathology, but I saw at least a few TAH's and BSO's during my months on service. We have a very active molecular pathology service as well.

I wouldn't say this program is "service" oriented; it does get busy at times, but teaching is stressed highly at this program. Dr. Katzenstein is an excellent resident advocate, and both she and the staff are receptive to any issues residents may have. CP is and always has been very strong here, especially hematopathology (you'll have no trouble working up a complete bone marrow--count and flow cytometry--coming from here). We have quite a few conferences (typically one a day), in both AP and CP. Syracuse is a relatively cheap place to live, and has excellent schools.

There are drawbacks, of course: AP is in a separate (but connected) building as the main hospital, which can be frustrating if you're on frozens. Syracuse is cold and snowy in the winter. The lab instrumentation is modern, but the facilities themselves are a bit dated (probably true of other SUNY institutions).

My fellow residents are awesome, and we really do have fun while at work. I think this program is often overlooked, and I would come here again in a heartbeat.

PM me if you have any other questions (or Mindy, too)!

Brian

 

[NNguyenMD]

Throughout all four years of medical school at Upstate I was at the bottom tier of my class, and despite being what I like to call "the worst medical student" in my graduating class I would do it all over again in a heart beat.

Why? Because even though residency is a big pain in the ass, my experiences at SUNY Upstate thoroughly prepared me to take on a very hectic, very insane internal medicine residency program in a mega city.

I won't goes as far as saying that I'm doing a stellar job, but so far in this first month of this very loco residency program I feel that I am holding my own pretty well. I thank the education that I received at Upstate for preparing me so well.

What made Upstate such a great place to get an education? Upstate is a program that is very dedicated to solid teaching across the board (clincial and basic science faculty). They're not a program that will ignore you as a med student and leave you with nothing to do. They will put you to work, and keep you on your toes, and most importantly they will make you get your hands dirty. Upstate also offers three clinical sites all within walking distance from each other, some people may look at this as nothing important but I see it as an invaluable luxury to have a VA Hospital, the academic University Hospital, and Crouse Hospital all next to each other.

One other thing about Upstate that I feel made it such as great fit for me was the fact that we're an underdog institution. We've got almost every department service and capability offered by any major academic medical institution in the nation. Everything that bigger giants like Rochester, TJU, UPenn, or NYU offers we've got too, and yet few people have ever heard of us. But when you come out of this school and people from outside institutions see exactly who and what you're made out of, then you'll know how lucky you were to come here.

My only question is, how much better of an education could I have gotten out of Upstate had I not been such a lazy bum of a slacker?

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Throughout all four years of medical school at Upstate I was at the bottom tier of my class, and despite being what I like to call "the worst medical student" in my graduating class I would do it all over again in a heart beat.

Why? Because even though residency is a big pain in the ass, my experiences at SUNY Upstate thoroughly prepared me to take on a very hectic, very insane internal medicine residency program in a mega city.

I won't goes as far as saying that I'm doing a stellar job, but so far in this first month of this very loco residency program I feel that I am holding my own pretty well. I thank the education that I received at Upstate for preparing me so well.

What made Upstate such a great place to get an education? Upstate is a program that is very dedicated to solid teaching across the board (clincial and basic science faculty). They're not a program that will ignore you as a med student and leave you with nothing to do. They will put you to work, and keep you on your toes, and most importantly they will make you get your hands dirty. Upstate also offers three clinical sites all within walking distance from each other, some people may look at this as nothing important but I see it as an invaluable luxury to have a VA Hospital, the academic University Hospital, and Crouse Hospital all next to each other.

One other thing about Upstate that I feel made it such as great fit for me was the fact that we're an underdog institution. We've got almost every department service and capability offered by any major academic medical institution in the nation. Everything that bigger giants like Rochester, TJU, UPenn, or NYU offers we've got too, and yet few people have ever heard of us. But when you come out of this school and people from outside institutions see exactly who and what you're made out of, then you'll know how lucky you were to come here.

My only question is, how much better of an education could I have gotten out of Upstate had I not been such a lazy bum of a slacker?

I think the OP was asking about the path residency program, not the med school (ie we are in the path forum).

 

[Mindy]

Yeah but NN's right. Upstate really has a "take no prisoners" sort of attitude. It is a tough medical school. And it does translate to the pathology program -- at least when I was there. You will learn no matter what!

Mindy