4th year said:
Any opinions? Is it a solid program? I've heard it's in an extremely bad area of Philly. Is this true?
As an alumnus I can say that Temple is definitely a solid program. It has an excellent reputation for clinical training. It is true that North Philly is not such a great area, but this should not discourage you from interviewing there. My med school experience was great due in part to the fact that Temple has one of the sickest patient populations in the city. There is some gentrification going on surrounding the hospital and they will be breaking ground soon on the new med school. The good part is that Temple is a short subway ride from Centre City or a quick drive from the suburbs, so you don't have to live there if you don't want to (although some people do!)
From a student's perspective, I think the residents work hard, but they get great experience. The anesthesia equipment is probably the same as it is in most university hospitals. They do have some new fiberoptic scopes though. They have also made some changes in the past year like recruiting a few new attendings, who I have heard are really great, and starting dedicated regional anesthesia and pain management rotations for the CA-2 class.
I think Temple is one of the top programs in the city. There are always a couple of Temple students who choose to stay for their residency, which I think says something good about the program. If you have an interview I would definitely go. Don't let the location discourage you. It really isn't that bad.
As far as the chief resident, I know that he was arrested in his apt in Centre City after an undercover investigation. He was taking ketamine from the OR and selling it for cocaine. He was also about to start a peds fellowship at CHOP....now he's on "administrative leave", but I don't think he'll be coming back. It's unfortunate. Everyone really liked him.
Well, I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, PM me.
