UCLA program...comments??

[Fooman]

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I just got back from a long vacation to find out that UCLA has invited me for an interview for Jan. They only have 3 dates available, and in reality, it only looks like I'll be able to make only 2 of them since the first interview is on Jan 3rd! Next possible date is Jan 10th and since I'm actually in the Bay Area right now, it's definitely possible.

I haven't heard much about the program other than what I read on scutwork and a search for it in the previous interview trail didn't have much either. Has anyone interviewed there yet? Or any comments regarding this program? I'm wondering if it's worth the time/money to interview there still.

 

[dragon0626]

Go Bruins

 

[pmRch]

Go Bruins!

 

[Disciple]

one of the best. no joke since it has 1 of the 4 PM&R interventional fellowships.

There are 11 accredited PM&R interventional pain fellowships at this time and 80+ nonaccredited ones, many of which are very good. There are also 90+ accredited anesthesia pain fellowships to look at.

 

[Rehability]

Pain Fellowship or not, UCLA has one of the best, most well-rounded programs out there. Of course, I have my bias as I will be starting there in a year, but there is a reason I ranked them #1 after interviewing at 15 programs.

Another thing to keep in mind... UCLA was accredited for a FULL 5 years on there last site visit (by the ACGME or whoever the accreditation people are). How many programs can make that claim? From what I've heard, less than 20% of programs get this distinction. Also, their pain fellowship was given a FULL 2 year accreditation ( the most allowed for a pain fellowship).

Of course, you cant beat West LA as far as location goes. Oh yeah... the basketball team isn't so bad either.

GO BRUINS!!!! 😍

 

[fozzy40]

What exactly do you like about UCLA?

 

[SCIronMike]

I rotated at the WLA VA program two years ago as a 4th year med student and interviewed there. It is a solid program. Overall, I had a favorable impression.

A few things that I really liked about the program were excellent teaching by Dr. Pangarkar, Dr. Davis (no longer there?), Dr. Calliet (amazinig chalktalks), Dr. Dumas.... I learned a lot during my rotation. The residents there are a cool group. They would go out for lunch a lot.... Mexican... Indian buffet..... we'd go play tennis, chill out. It was a great rotation and those are a great group of guys out there.

There were a few things that I didn't like as well. I got the impression from MANY residents that Dr. Scremin (program chair) was someone that they avoided rather than someone they went to for support. I like research, but their mandatory research projects seemed pretty rough. Being in that program means A LOT of driving between UCLA, Cedars, Sepulveda VA, West LA VA, Long Beach VA..... in LA traffic, that really sucks. Their residency coordinator is unorganized and can decide to be VERY unhelpful. When you apply for clerkship or residency, you need to follow up on EVERYTHING because otherwise it simply doesn't get done. Pain clinic there is PAINFUL. It is a busy program....... maybe a touch malignant? I don't really like using that word, but I definitely felt that some of the residents felt overworked, especially while they were at Rancho Los Amigos. Dr. Ayyoub and Dr. Scott at Rancho were great, but the other attendings left quite a bit to be desired. From what I understand, the residents may not be rotating there anymore and instead are doing SCI at Long Beach VA. That would solve that issue. As far as location, in my opinion West LA is a love it or hate it location. Personally, I hate the traffic, lack of parking, crowds.

When it came time to rank programs, I did rank UCLA very high. There were other programs that I liked more, but in the end I put quite a bit of weight into location since I really wanted to stay in southern California. I think it is a solid program and you should make the effort to schedule the interview.