Thoughts on Upstate, NY programs?

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Ether Screen

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the only one I interviewed at was Rochester. I thought it was a good program, nice night float system for overnight call. Good didactics, nice residents that didn't seem overworked. Rochester is a little dull for some people, depends on what you want.
 
I went to SUNY upstate, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY stony brook and U of R. and in my opinion U of R is a bit stronger than the other upstate programs. I agree with seattledoc; the residents I met were very happy and did not seem overworked. But I think one of the biggest strengths of U of R is the great clinical exprience the residents are able to get while staying at strong. They dont have to leave for anything and they seem to get plenty of cases in all the sub-specialty areas.
As far as Buffalo and Syracuse go, it has been kind of hard for me to decide how to rank them. At Buffalo the residents train at six different hospitals and seem to get plenty of cases. However, it was my impression that this was all they got. There wasnt much of an emphasis on didatics and with residents at so many different sites orgainizing any kind of lecture series seemed to be a problem. I think one of thier biggest strengths is the PD Dr. Leema. He seems to be very well conected in the political scene and would probably be a good guy to know when the time comes to get a job.
My impression of Syracuse was that the residents worked very hard much like Buffalo but there was a little more emphais on didactics. However the residents do have to leave for two months to do OB and Peds rotations. I think it is great that the program recognizes their weaknesses and is making an effort to give their residents a good exprience, but I can also see it being a hassle to move away for two months for rotations. From what I gather their pain dept is a strength of the program and well respected in the area.
I am not from the northeast so all of my impressions came from the interview process and what I could find on the web. If any of you local guys know anything about these programs the info would be greatly appreciated.


:)
 
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Rochester is actually a premier program, it rates up there with the best of them in the country, honestly. The other upstate programs don't even come close to touching it. It's the only one with a simulator, best childrens hospital, overall a great place with great residents and strong didactics. Strong Memorial is quite highly regarded as a wonderful place in the academic medicine community.

Albany is probably next best. Combined 4 year program. Decent caseload, probably good didactics but hard to tell from an interview day. Residents were a large percentage of FMG's.

Syracuse is interesting. University hospital, but it's small (300 or so beds). They don't do OB or major peds, so you go away for those as mentioned previously. Two things here, one they will be finishing a full children's hospital in 2006. That's a great plus for this program. Two, you can rotate through the nearby (connected I believe to University hospital) private hospital for OB during your elective time. Now realize that as an attending you will be doing lots of epidurals most likely. Most programs you have much more exposure to OB and when on call cover OB a lot more than you will here. There are no CRNA's here at all. None. That means that if there's a heavy night caseload, you're there. They have a big "backup" call thing, 1st thru like 7th. I got the impression that residents here work pretty hard. Again, a lot of FMG's in this program. I see this program as getting better and once they have a children's hospital, if they can fix OB it will be much better.

Buffalo I cancelled my interview after I heard they didn't show you the hospital.
 
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