UChicago vs. BIDMC

[beardpapa]

An interesting comparison but I'd like your input. Both are great programs and you'd probably get amazing training at both. I'd say they are probably both top 20 programs but definitely not in the elite group of UCSF/Stanford/Duke/Penn/Columbia/etc.

But on reputation, I'd say UChicago is (arguably) the best program in Chicago while BIDMC, while Harvard-affiliated, is probably not as reputable as MGH/BWH.

I know the naysayers will say "the best program is the one that fits you best" and that "reputation doesn't matter" but I'm looking to land a fellowship/job in a yet undetermined location so reputation actually does matter to some extent. So please, humor me.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Cathyran]

They're actually pretty comparable programs as best I can tell. I think you're right. Along with NW, I think uchicago is the best in the city. I actually thought BIDMC was a very average program overall. Small hospital, small ICUs. A fairly large number of residents. Of course, the Harvard name helps if you're into that sort of thing. To be honest, I think it comes down to where you want to live.

 

[caprisun]

They're actually pretty comparable programs as best I can tell. I think you're right. Along with NW, I think uchicago is the best in the city. I actually thought BIDMC was a very average program overall. Small hospital, small ICUs. A fairly large number of residents. Of course, the Harvard name helps if you're into that sort of thing. To be honest, I think it comes down to where you want to live.

Interesting take. I wonder how many private practice gigs outside of Boston/East even know BIDMC is associated with Harvard. Is it something where you'd have to say, "Yes, I trained at BIDMC... ummm it's one of the Harvard hospitals." I know that UChicago and Northwestern have the Chicago area on lockdown. I also don't know how to rank BIDMC. Without the Harvard name, I think it'd just be another strong, mid-tier, nothing too special program.

 

[cchoukal]

I trained at U of C, so I can only tell you about my experiences there. Since you specifically asked about reputation, I'll address that (I've addressed other aspects of the program, and these posts can be searched).

What you're really interested in is what is the outcome of the reputation; what does it get you? With regard to fellowships, I can say that in the last handful of years, we've averaged about 1/3-1/2 going onto fellowships, the rest doing PP, mostly in the surrounding suburbs (there isn't a great PP environment within the city itself).

Of the grads doing fellowships, over the last few years, we've sent people to Hopkins for peds and pain, UCLA, the Brigham, cleveland clinic, and others for cardiac, Stanford for Peds, UCSF for ICU and pain, Columbia for ICU, Penn for cardiac and peds. Many of these people have taken faculty posts at places like UCSF, Sinai, Milwaukee Kids, DC Childrens', University of Colorado, Ohio State, and others. What you'll see is that that people end up all over the country at places you've heard of.

A decent number of grads stayed at U of C for fellowships (Cardiac is pretty strong, ICU is okay, peds is probably improving), and some stayed on faculty (which either means it's a good place to be, or they were stuck; you decide).

I have no idea how this compares to the outcomes for BI grads, and only you can decide if these are the kinds of outcomes you desire, but this is what U of Chicago can get you.

 

[gas maker]

I just came across this thread and wanted to provide a few comments about fellowships and job placement at the BI. More recently BID has seen an increase in graduates pursuing fellowships. Here are some of the fellowships obtained over the past couple of years.

Cardiac - Duke, BIDMC, Cleveland Clinic
Regional - Duke, HSS, UCSD, Mayo
Critical Care - BIDMC, Univ of Washington
Peds - Boston Children's, Texas Children's, St. Louis Children's
Pain - BIDMC

The pain program at the BI is definitely one of the best on the east coast, and if you complete residency at the BI you are already halfway through the door. Residents rotate through Boston Children's for peds which helps out a ton for fellowship placement there also.

A lot of things come into play when looking for a fellowship just like residency, ie location and of course clinical training. Out of the residents going on to fellowships in the last 2 years at the BI, every one of them landed their number 1 choice. As for private practice, graduates did not have issues finding jobs all over the country. The Chair and Program Director have plenty of connections, as do the faculty members, throughout the country and they do not hesitate to make a phone call for a recent grad.

It looks like U of C has some solid fellowship placements too. Ultimately, it comes down to which program fits you the best. You can listen to all of these people about reputation and prestige of certain programs, but when it comes down to it, you will get great clinical training at the majority of programs in the country and for the most part be able to land a good fellowship. Find a program that best suits your personality. Reflect on the resident dinners, think about your impressions on the interview day, do second looks, and keep in contact with residents at programs you are considering. In the end, you should go to the program where you think you will happiest. Residency is not easy, and if you are unhappy with your colleagues it will make things that much more miserable. Go with you gut; you won't regret it.

 

[cchoukal]

i just came across this thread and wanted to provide a few comments about fellowships and job placement at the bi. More recently bid has seen an increase in graduates pursuing fellowships. Here are some of the fellowships obtained over the past couple of years.

Cardiac - duke, bidmc, cleveland clinic
regional - duke, hss, ucsd, mayo
critical care - bidmc, univ of washington
peds - boston children's, texas children's, st. Louis children's
pain - bidmc

the pain program at the bi is definitely one of the best on the east coast, and if you complete residency at the bi you are already halfway through the door. Residents rotate through boston children's for peds which helps out a ton for fellowship placement there also.

A lot of things come into play when looking for a fellowship just like residency, ie location and of course clinical training. Out of the residents going on to fellowships in the last 2 years at the bi, every one of them landed their number 1 choice. As for private practice, graduates did not have issues finding jobs all over the country. The chair and program director have plenty of connections, as do the faculty members, throughout the country and they do not hesitate to make a phone call for a recent grad.

It looks like u of c has some solid fellowship placements too. Ultimately, it comes down to which program fits you the best. You can listen to all of these people about reputation and prestige of certain programs, but when it comes down to it, you will get great clinical training at the majority of programs in the country and for the most part be able to land a good fellowship. Find a program that best suits your personality. Reflect on the resident dinners, think about your impressions on the interview day, do second looks, and keep in contact with residents at programs you are considering. In the end, you should go to the program where you think you will happiest. Residency is not easy, and if you are unhappy with your colleagues it will make things that much more miserable. Go with you gut; you won't regret it.

+1

 

[beardpapa]

Great info on this post. Any other BI residents want to weigh in on their thoughts of their program in Boston?