U Mass vs. Brown program

[pathomatic]

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Hi guys,

I am in the process of creating my ROL and was wondering if you had any opinion about U Mass vs. Brown pathology program and pros and cons, and which one would you chose over the other

thanks and appreciate the input (especially from residents currently in the program)

 

[magician]

I prefer UMass.

 

[pathomatic]

Hey magician, did you interview at both places? If you have, please share your experiences. At this point, I am having a difficult time in my ROL deciding between where to place U Mass and Brown.

Personally, I liked U Mass better too on the interview day, although it's a difficult decision because both programs seem equivalent. I think U Mass previously had issues with the CP aspect which has been rectified.

TO "YAAH", You mentioned somewhere else about DeLellis moving to Brown, DO you think that has made a huge impact in the BROWN training program. U Mass doesnt seem to have its share of big names, although the residents there seemed to be happier. Any input, Yaah?

thanks

 

[magician]

undergraduate programs of brown are good. but medicine is average. my impression of brown is not good at all.

 

[mlw03]

undergraduate programs of brown are good. but medicine is average. my impression of brown is not good at all (a small program with the ego of a big program). i will not even rank it.

magician -

care to explain the reasoning that goes into interiewing somewhere and then deciding not to rank that program? seems like a waste of money. is it as simple as "i'd rather scramble than go to program X"? or is it more complex - ie, you feel confident you'll match higher up and just don't feel it's necessary to rank more than Y programs, and Brown didn't make the cut for you?

 

[magician]

scramble.

 

[yaah]

Don't worry so much about big names. UMass has a group of veteran attendings who are experienced and good teachers. There have been big names who come through there from time to time and stay a few years, generally they then move on to a leadership position somewhere else or something like that. UMass' problem in the past has been attracting good residents. As I have said in the past, a good motivated resident would probably excel there. I don't know anything about Brown other than it is in Rhode Island.

I have posted a lot else on UMass in the past, should be easy to find.

 

[pathomatic]

Thanks yaah and magician, I guess its time to flip a coin

 

[Cloaca]

I interviewed at both. Briefly (and incoherently) here's what I thought:

Brown has some big names, especially in Head and Neck and Gyn. If you are considering a Gyn fellowship then Brown has an advantage of having a famous attending with lots of consults and a huge women's hospital. In addition, Brown seems to have some decent collaborative research between pathology and other departments that I think residents could get involved in. In fact, when I interviewed there, they called in a pediatrician to come talk to me, spur of the moment, so we could chat about a project. Disadvantages about Brown: You end up traveling a lot between rotations - there are several hospitals that are part of the residency program, including one that is a bit of a drive away. And the residents are kind of a hodge-podge of people that didn't seem very comfortable with each other.

UMass doesn't have as many big names but has great facilities and good attendings. The disadvantage there is that you are physically isolated from the rest of the hospital community by being across the street. I also didn't get a feel for opportunities for resident research. I liked the PD there, he seemed very interested in his residents. However, I actually felt that the residents I met seemed a little unhappy. Could be wrong. Oh, and the clinical laboratory is amazing - they do EVERYTHING there because they are a regional referral center. Great opportunity to learn clinical chemistry if you like that sort of thing.

At the end of the day, the ROL is all about what you want to do (i.e. if you want research vs community practice, hemepath vs gyn path or whatever) and where you want to live. If you can figure that out at least partially, then all the rest will work out.

That's about all I have to say about that...good luck!