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Any current or former residents have any opinions about this program?
Ucsf?
- Thread starter cozmopak
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They are one of America's top 5 residency programs also including BWH, MGH, JHU and Stanford.
UCSF there is no substitute.
And for anyone that disagrees with me the three people that one the nobel prize today are from UCSF, MGH and JHU. If you want to be around smart people, if you want to be around people that know what they are doing, go to one of those five programs.
UCSF there is no substitute.
And for anyone that disagrees with me the three people that one the nobel prize today are from UCSF, MGH and JHU. If you want to be around smart people, if you want to be around people that know what they are doing, go to one of those five programs.
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Okay, this maybe the most worthless post of the last year on the Path section of SDN.
Pathstudent, relax your right hand. Let it dangle at your side for a second. Then with all your might, slap hard against your face.
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That was funny
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Yeah no doubt.
Hopkins and BWH are undeniably in the top 5 programs as they are sort of the vanguard of pathology.
SF and Stanford and in there as they are great universities and Northern California is such a desirable location, so they are just naturally drawing from a larger pool of people both in terms of attendings and residents and medical students. Not every person would prefer to live in SF over Cleveland, STL, Rochester or Ann Arbor, but many many people would.
MGH gets the wild card spot party due to its prowess and partly due to the fact that it is Boston (the second most desirable city on the East Coast).
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Who was it a few months ago that actually posted a REASONABLE list of top pathology programs, listed by region and based on solely reputation? We should repost that here before the shouting match begins. Ranking programs based on your arbitrary preferences and limiting it to 5 programs is beyond ******ed. "Top 5" programs, for YOU maybe... not anyone else. If you think there is even a hint of consensus of those "top 5" programs you are seriously delusional.
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What the hell? I'm pretty new to this forum and yes, I've seen all the weird threads that pop up in here, but seriously? I'm just confused by this one. I don't understand why people post things that are clearly intented to piss other people off. At the same time, I don't understand why people are so touchy and defensive.
???
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This is not a specific knock on UCSF as many other programs have this same problem, but they have residents rotating at a number of sites that are spread throughout the city.
When I was a med student I didn't think that residencies with far flung rotations were a big deal, but as a resident I know better. It is immeasurably easier to show up to big-ass medical center day after day. Packing my books up every couple of months and enduring a longer commute every couple of months just has a way of wearing on one when added to all the other little stressors of residency. And I only rotate between 2 hospitals in my residency. Plus, having grown up in The City I know how crappy the morning commute can be intracity due to the serious dearth of freeways.
It's a great program no doubt, certainly one of the tops in the country. But the aformentioned drawback was something I didn't put in the equation then but definitely would now.
When I was a med student I didn't think that residencies with far flung rotations were a big deal, but as a resident I know better. It is immeasurably easier to show up to big-ass medical center day after day. Packing my books up every couple of months and enduring a longer commute every couple of months just has a way of wearing on one when added to all the other little stressors of residency. And I only rotate between 2 hospitals in my residency. Plus, having grown up in The City I know how crappy the morning commute can be intracity due to the serious dearth of freeways.
It's a great program no doubt, certainly one of the tops in the country. But the aformentioned drawback was something I didn't put in the equation then but definitely would now.
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Parnassus campus, the General, dunno if they still send peeps to St Mary's by the park and Mission Bay (stuff here now?) are all in the city.
At one point UC Davis was sending residents all the way to Martinez VA and Travis AFB, that is a bonkers commute.
Even the fact they are all in SF is not that great though, SF is total nightmare of parking and driving if you arent used to it. So yeah Z-N is absolutely correct in saying from a quality of life standpoint, you arent getting up, rolling out of bed and SOing out cases like you might at Stanford, BWH etc.
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When I interviewed the residents were between Moffit (Main campus, inner sunset), Mt. Zion (Japantown/Geary Corridor), VA (Outer Richmond), and SF General (Mission). During my interview I asked about living in the Richmond and getting to SFG; a resident told me that it would be super easy to get on the N downtown and take BART to 24th and Mission. I almost laughed out loud (having endured the L-Taraval on my daily trek to high school).
This subject has been breached in this forum before... COLA in your area of residency either restricts or frees a resident with regards to making life easy on one's self. Had I gone to UCSF, I would have moved back in with the 'rents to save cash and endured a ridiculous commute. HAd I gone to Wash U in the Lou I would have lived 10 blocks north on Euclid and rode my bike to work. Most residents are so fixated on the name of the residency institution that these "peripheral" issues are never considered. They can make a big difference.
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The UCSF set up sounds non-ideal, just from personal experience can really make it conference at the main campus (where I assume they have rounds etc) if you are rotating at the VA for example? Lot of missed conference if not. Meanwhile you roll down Euclid grab a bagel at Einstein Bros. and show up for every conference. Or roll down to BWH, get your elite Au Bon Pain cinnamon dutch crunch bagel and walk around the corner to your cubicle. Stanford you got a Peets and Starbucks right there, no solid bagel option until the cafe opens at the Translational Research Building.
As you can see, Im obssessed with 1.bagels 2.coffee and 3. the ease of my morning commute so I can enjoy items 1 and 2.
As you can see, Im obssessed with 1.bagels 2.coffee and 3. the ease of my morning commute so I can enjoy items 1 and 2.
i did my residency at UCSF and it was great, although can't compare it to anything else. and i only did AP, so i can't comment on CP.
Three sites: UCSF Medical Center, SF General, and SFVA. You spend 3 month blocks at each site, with a minimum of 6-9 months at UCSF med center per year.
UCSF Medical Center is actually 2 sites because in addition to the main campus on Parnassus, there is the Cancer Center at Mt. Zion (about 15 minutes away by shuttle). The pathology department is split between the two campuses, with attendings at both, histo lab at Mt. Zion, and morgue at Parnaussus. The fragmentation of the department was a bigger pain in the ass when it came to getting day to day work done (consults, stains, pulling old cases, etc) than it was for conferences. if you prefer the single aircraft carrier model (MGH, stanford?) then UCSF would be an inconvenient place. but on the other hand, it's nice to get a change of scenery every few months and avoid cabin fever. commute was never a problem.
Also there is a third, newer, massive research campus at Mission Bay (next to the ballpark/Bay Bridge) which is currently under development to be the site for the future Cancer Center, Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital.
http://missionbayhospitals.ucsf.edu/
The pathology department will be housed at the new hospital when they are completed. That's if California is a solvent economy in the near future.
my general feelings on the thread topic--
UCSF: cool city, expensive
Stanford: mellow and beautiful setting, expensive
JHU: they should just give you a crack pipe and a gun at orientation. i mean, the state is actually shaped like an armpit!
BWH/MGH: fun city, expensive, and fuh-reezing
Three sites: UCSF Medical Center, SF General, and SFVA. You spend 3 month blocks at each site, with a minimum of 6-9 months at UCSF med center per year.
UCSF Medical Center is actually 2 sites because in addition to the main campus on Parnassus, there is the Cancer Center at Mt. Zion (about 15 minutes away by shuttle). The pathology department is split between the two campuses, with attendings at both, histo lab at Mt. Zion, and morgue at Parnaussus. The fragmentation of the department was a bigger pain in the ass when it came to getting day to day work done (consults, stains, pulling old cases, etc) than it was for conferences. if you prefer the single aircraft carrier model (MGH, stanford?) then UCSF would be an inconvenient place. but on the other hand, it's nice to get a change of scenery every few months and avoid cabin fever. commute was never a problem.
Also there is a third, newer, massive research campus at Mission Bay (next to the ballpark/Bay Bridge) which is currently under development to be the site for the future Cancer Center, Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital.
http://missionbayhospitals.ucsf.edu/
The pathology department will be housed at the new hospital when they are completed. That's if California is a solvent economy in the near future.
my general feelings on the thread topic--
UCSF: cool city, expensive
Stanford: mellow and beautiful setting, expensive
JHU: they should just give you a crack pipe and a gun at orientation. i mean, the state is actually shaped like an armpit!
BWH/MGH: fun city, expensive, and fuh-reezing
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I have a few questions for UCSF residents, or anyone familiar with the program.
Do any residents drive scooters? I'd assume this would be a more convenient way to travel between hospitals, especially if parking is a consideration.
In terms of sign-out, are residents previewing all cases? Are they signing out with attendings? What's the quality of the teaching at the scope? How about grossing? Are the PAs helpful and take the little specimens and biopsies, allowing you to focus on the bigger complex ones?
I've read that UCSF is very research oriented, and that their primary mission is producing basic scientists. I am interested in participating in research, but my goal in residency is to aqcuire strong diagnostic skills that will make me a good clinician first and foremost.
I get the sense that the residents at UCSF are a little happier than those at Stanford. Not sure what to make of this.
