UMDNJ Ophthalmology Program
- Thread starter eyeballz
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I have heard great things about this program. I have heard it has great surgical experience. The only negative I have heard about the program is its location I was told to definitely apply, and did, didn't get an interview offer. My wife totally wouldn't have wanted to move there anyway, but from what I have heard it wouldn't have been a bad place to end up.
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It's an alright place. They've actually dumped a whole bunch of money into that area trying to rebuild it. (e.g. libraries, museums, art exhibits, etc...)
That being said, I too felt uncomfortable in the area. Definitely a good idea to take a look around to see if it's someplace you'd consider hanging around for 3+ years!
That being said, I too felt uncomfortable in the area. Definitely a good idea to take a look around to see if it's someplace you'd consider hanging around for 3+ years!
I am a current 1st yr ophthto resident @ UMDNJ. Thus far my experience has been wonderful. To touch on the location, I live in manhattan -> 20 min drive to work. None of the residents live in newark, it's either manhattan or NJ suburbs, so the only time you spend in newark is treating the diverse pathology its city offers. Safety is a non-issue, unless you choose to hang out in the city, which we do not. Clinical & surg volume & diversity is excellent here, & I would strogly encourage applicants to apply if they would like strong training.
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nyeyes what kind of stats did u have to match? also r they img friendly?
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KBerg21 said:
i think that a car is a necessary...i mean u can take the train to the newark train stations but then after that i dono whats next...maybe a bus? but u prolly get jacked quik on the brciktown buses
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haha...always carry mace in your left hand
always carry a baseball bat in your right hand
should your attacker be resistant to mace, you can always use the bat
for added fun, alternate between left and right hand!
always carry a baseball bat in your right hand
should your attacker be resistant to mace, you can always use the bat
for added fun, alternate between left and right hand!
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As a recent graduate of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, I will have to ditto the thoughts of nyeyes and say it is an EXCELLENT ophthalmology training program. They have faculty members, many nationally known, covering ALL subspecialties inlcuding oculoplastics, neurophth and ocular pathology along with an extremely diverse/large patient population as this is the only residency training program in the state of New Jersey. There are several hospitals that are covered including University hospital, the East Orange VA, Jersey City Medical Center, and Columbus Hospital. Their surgical volume compares to among the highest in the nation. It definitely is a tough program to get through including 24 hour in house call every 6th night as a first year, but this is the price you pay to have exceptional training.
As for location, I think its a mute point. ALL residents including >95% of medical students and attendings live in the periphery of Newark such as bloomfield, west orange, montclair..etc, all upper middle class neighborhoods of New Jersey. Shortest drives to the hospital are about 10-15 min, with the furthest distances being the Manhattan where several of the ophthalmology residents have lived. Its a safe commute as long as you do not decide to roam the newark streets at night. I had no problems during my four years as a med student in newark. A car is a MUST as you cover multiple hospitals and the transportationo system to UMDNJ is nothing comparable to the NYC subway system.
If anyone has any further questions, feel free to PM me.
As for location, I think its a mute point. ALL residents including >95% of medical students and attendings live in the periphery of Newark such as bloomfield, west orange, montclair..etc, all upper middle class neighborhoods of New Jersey. Shortest drives to the hospital are about 10-15 min, with the furthest distances being the Manhattan where several of the ophthalmology residents have lived. Its a safe commute as long as you do not decide to roam the newark streets at night. I had no problems during my four years as a med student in newark. A car is a MUST as you cover multiple hospitals and the transportationo system to UMDNJ is nothing comparable to the NYC subway system.
If anyone has any further questions, feel free to PM me.
a few things: I have taken public transportation from nyc -> newark w/o any problems. trains go to newark penn station where i hopped on a bus that took me to the hosp. This is a longer commute than driving though. Having said this, u still need a car b/c u have rotations at different hospitals that r not as friendly to mass transport. plus, as a 2nd & 3rd yr, when u take home call, u'll need a way to get to the hosp. A previous post brought up a very important point: we r the only program in the state of NJ. This means that all ruptured globes & ocular trauma in the state is funneled our way. I have had a night on call when 3 ruptured globes have come in. To answer a previous post, my scores: AOA from SUNY Upstate, 245 step 1, no ophtho research at time of interviews, letters from ophtho chairman & eye path attg from home med school. There is a current resident who is a FMG, but he did many yrs of reseacrh w/ the chairman before he was accepted.
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UMDNJ is an excellent program. My research mentor (who is very well known) advised me it was the best program in the New York area, and a top tier program overall. Sadly I went lower on my list 🙁 but am still happy with my match.
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Name changed to Rutgers now. No more UMDNJ
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Great program. You won't live in Newark anyways... Most live in suburban NJ or the city
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Rutgers New Jersey medical school, not UMDNJ (name is changed). They have full time faculty. Nationally renowned: Zarbin, Frohman, Fechtner... Plenty research opportunities with like an army of medical students working with bhagat and khouri (who is also the program director and residents say he cares a lot about their education). Chief resident very friendly and great team player with the residents. Guo organizes rotation for med students and you spend time in all clinics and get tons of experience. Clinics start at 8 and finish around 5 or 530 daily. They work hard but seemed happy. Lecture is 7-8. In house call (good idea for Newark!!) and next day is off.
I heard from residents many times... that because there are no fellows, all surgery goes to residents... so you will be super trained (not just do cataract surgery like lots of other programs where fellows take the specialty surgery). When I was there I watched a resident one day in OR do 5 cataract cases- all of them needed a ring and some extra hooks... At another program I didn't see residents do any of that stuff.
Negatives are: location (Newark is not a happening place by any stretch). I simply drove in and out. Also the space is limited (for example, no wetlab or resident rooms). But, residents all live in nice places west of Newark or in the city. Overall, if you want to be close to NYC and not compromise your training... Then def apply there.
I heard from residents many times... that because there are no fellows, all surgery goes to residents... so you will be super trained (not just do cataract surgery like lots of other programs where fellows take the specialty surgery). When I was there I watched a resident one day in OR do 5 cataract cases- all of them needed a ring and some extra hooks... At another program I didn't see residents do any of that stuff.
Negatives are: location (Newark is not a happening place by any stretch). I simply drove in and out. Also the space is limited (for example, no wetlab or resident rooms). But, residents all live in nice places west of Newark or in the city. Overall, if you want to be close to NYC and not compromise your training... Then def apply there.
