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UMass IM program

Started by vir0n
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Anyone have the skinny on the UMass program?

It's been a few years since I interviewed there, but here are my thoughts.

Pros:
A "no-call" system. Initially I thought this was a horrible idea - no leaving early, no post-call days off - but in retrospect (and being in a fellowship program where you admit every day and only admitting 3 or 4 patients in a day is a massive win), I think it's a very interesting and forward-thinking plan. Basically, every team admits every day in a rotating fashion. There is a "long call" team who stays until the NF team shows up.

It's the only game in town...lots of good pathology.

Very supportive PD.

Cons:
Y'all ever been to Worcester? I'm very familiar with Central/Western Mass and actually like the area. But when asked what people @ UMass do for fun, the answer was "Boston is 2 hours away." "But what is there to do in town?" "Boston is 2 hours away."

Not particularly well known outside of the area if prestige is an issue for you.

Overall, it was a program I initially blew off but ended up thinking much more highly of after seeing more programs.

As to the question about fellowship matches...there's not much on their website, but http://www.umassmed.edu/medicine/residency/graddata.aspx
 
Boston is actually only 45-50 minutes away (depending how fast you drive!) and some residents/students choose to live in Boston. Apparently the commute is not too terrible since it is a reverse commute and the traffic tends to be going the other way.