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I got interviews at four of the texas schools, (houston, dallas, El paso and temple) but have no idea about any of these programs. Thoughts or opinions, anyone?
Texas Programs
- Thread starter Lovehandles
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I'm an Tech/El Paso grad, so that's what I know best, but here's my $0.02 on those programs.
Houston - had a couple classmates of mine who matched to Houston, but it was at the bottom of my match list because at the time they had a very poor RRC review and IIRC had their accredidation pulled revoked briefly before being reinstated the next year. To my recollection there were a variety of factors involved, but the main problem at the time was very poor leadership and high faculty turnover. This was 6 years ago or so, so things may have changed drastically. The classmates I knew there seemed pretty happy though.
Dallas - At the time I applied was a very new program, with all those attendant worries. Those should mostly be over now, but you still have to fight with surgery (who ultimately runs the ED) and they're still a division within the dept of surgery IIRC. Parkland is going to be a high volume, high acuity, lots of pathology hospital, so you'll defiintely see a lot there.
A&M - aside from being an Aggie program, the guys from Temple seemed very happy with it. Nice hospital. Temple is one of those sit down and read programs, as their patient volume doesn't match up to any of the others mentioned. It depends on what your style of learning is like. Some people really do well in that setting. "At least we're not far from Austin" was the most common refrain I heard from those guys.
El Paso - I've spoken at length about my program elsewhere, so I'll be brief here instead. Good program, strong clinically, better be willing to learn Spanish, as about half of your patients will be Spanish-speaking only. Last had an RRC review during my senior year 3 y ago, and it was a solid review for us. It's the oldest non-military program in the state, so we've got grads everywhere (including the PD at Dallas, who's a super nice guy).
I'm no longer in Texas, so I'm a little out of touch with the current status of these programs. Take c one grain NaCl prn.
Houston - had a couple classmates of mine who matched to Houston, but it was at the bottom of my match list because at the time they had a very poor RRC review and IIRC had their accredidation pulled revoked briefly before being reinstated the next year. To my recollection there were a variety of factors involved, but the main problem at the time was very poor leadership and high faculty turnover. This was 6 years ago or so, so things may have changed drastically. The classmates I knew there seemed pretty happy though.
Dallas - At the time I applied was a very new program, with all those attendant worries. Those should mostly be over now, but you still have to fight with surgery (who ultimately runs the ED) and they're still a division within the dept of surgery IIRC. Parkland is going to be a high volume, high acuity, lots of pathology hospital, so you'll defiintely see a lot there.
A&M - aside from being an Aggie program, the guys from Temple seemed very happy with it. Nice hospital. Temple is one of those sit down and read programs, as their patient volume doesn't match up to any of the others mentioned. It depends on what your style of learning is like. Some people really do well in that setting. "At least we're not far from Austin" was the most common refrain I heard from those guys.
El Paso - I've spoken at length about my program elsewhere, so I'll be brief here instead. Good program, strong clinically, better be willing to learn Spanish, as about half of your patients will be Spanish-speaking only. Last had an RRC review during my senior year 3 y ago, and it was a solid review for us. It's the oldest non-military program in the state, so we've got grads everywhere (including the PD at Dallas, who's a super nice guy).
I'm no longer in Texas, so I'm a little out of touch with the current status of these programs. Take c one grain NaCl prn.
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So El Paso is the best program in texas? Interesting. Thanks for the info.
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Did I say that? I suggest you stop putting words in my mouth. You asked for thoughts and opinions, and I gave you mine. If you don't want them, or you only want purely facts, then say so. As it is, I'm done with this thread.
edit: well, it turns out that the OP wasn't sarcastic after all. my bad for taking it the wrong way after a long, lousy night shift.
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I'm familiar with Houston and Temple so my imput...
Houston-- pro's are great location, high acuity (sick people and trauma), not a community hospital, but clean and lotsa $$ in technology, new PD from chicago who wrote the/a book on procedures, so various changes are afoot. cons- I think this is the 1st or 2nd yr off probation so their rep is building. teaching is not as emphasized as doing. (from my perspective)
Temple-- pro's are genuinely nice staff and residents, friendly hospital with good technology. teaching through lectures are emphasized. prbably acurately represents the real world population base of EM. DO friendly BTW. con's- location is a 50k town with bad places to eat (bring a spouce who can cook!). level of trauma is low and since trauma is cook book medicine, I'm not sure how bad that is. level of acuity and # of pts is lower than some.
I recommend both programs.
Dallas-- (info from other docs and grapevine) the ED is a dept of surg and the relationship has been bad for both. They are a high volume county hospital. Definately doing is more than teaching there. They are more focused on numbers (much like the whole school). crummy neighborHOOD.
I'm sure you will be well prepared for anything if you go to Dallas.
Houston-- pro's are great location, high acuity (sick people and trauma), not a community hospital, but clean and lotsa $$ in technology, new PD from chicago who wrote the/a book on procedures, so various changes are afoot. cons- I think this is the 1st or 2nd yr off probation so their rep is building. teaching is not as emphasized as doing. (from my perspective)
Temple-- pro's are genuinely nice staff and residents, friendly hospital with good technology. teaching through lectures are emphasized. prbably acurately represents the real world population base of EM. DO friendly BTW. con's- location is a 50k town with bad places to eat (bring a spouce who can cook!). level of trauma is low and since trauma is cook book medicine, I'm not sure how bad that is. level of acuity and # of pts is lower than some.
I recommend both programs.
Dallas-- (info from other docs and grapevine) the ED is a dept of surg and the relationship has been bad for both. They are a high volume county hospital. Definately doing is more than teaching there. They are more focused on numbers (much like the whole school). crummy neighborHOOD.
I'm sure you will be well prepared for anything if you go to Dallas.
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I went to med school in texas but only interviewed at Southwestern. (I wanted to go out of state... I applied to southwestern as a concession to my advisor and for family members.)
I was pleasantly surprised by the program. I had a general dislike of southwestern and had ranked it lower for medical school. But I liked the program. The faculty was really good. There are lots of opportunities for teaching (med students, etc) if you are interested and they seemed to have research opportunities available.
The resident attitudes bothered me a little. Just the typical Southwestern attitude. but not insurmountable. The other major downside is as previously noted. They are still a new program and it shows. You have to do 2 months of general medicine wards. (not required by ROC and in my opinion a waste)
Not really certain how solid thier ultra sound exposure is. Dallas is not a bad place to live (I lived there for 10 years).
I didn't apply anywhere else in texas.
I was pleasantly surprised by the program. I had a general dislike of southwestern and had ranked it lower for medical school. But I liked the program. The faculty was really good. There are lots of opportunities for teaching (med students, etc) if you are interested and they seemed to have research opportunities available.
The resident attitudes bothered me a little. Just the typical Southwestern attitude. but not insurmountable. The other major downside is as previously noted. They are still a new program and it shows. You have to do 2 months of general medicine wards. (not required by ROC and in my opinion a waste)
Not really certain how solid thier ultra sound exposure is. Dallas is not a bad place to live (I lived there for 10 years).
I didn't apply anywhere else in texas.
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I would hesitate to say that Scott and White is D.O. friendly. They used to be but last years director, a D.O. was fired (?????) and they accepted only one D.O. there last year instead of the usual three. They do have eight spots opening this year. The new director is only accepting USMLE scores.
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That is false about Texas A&M only taking the USMLE. I was told that as well late in the summer when I called them; however they stated that if they were to look atthe COMLEX only it would have to be outstanding. I assured them that they would not be disappointed. Well I went ahead and applied not caring if the money was wasted or not. Well I am interviewing now.
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