Unofficial 2009 EM ROL Thread

Started by Old_Mil
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1. University of Mississippi
2. Detroit Receiving/WSU
3. Thomas Jefferson University
4. York Hospital
5. Sparrow Hospital/MSU
6. William Beaumont Hospital
7. St. Louis University
8. Sinai-Grace/WSU
9. Lincoln Medical Center
10. University Hospitals / Case Western
 
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It is done!
1. Pitt: Down-to-earth people, very personable PD, surprisingly cool city, and a strong feeling of "good fit." Also, seems like graduates can go wherever they want.
2. University of New Mexico: Beautiful surroundings, happy residents, friendly PD, good pathology mix, low call.
3. Advocate Christ: Residents are really a friendly and intelligent group. Lots of trauma, diverse pt pop. Chicago is awesome. Ample moonlighting.
4. Maine Medical Center: Friendliest people on Earth? Great teaching here, new ED, and Portland, ME speaks for itself.
5. University of Arizona: Well-established program which clearly produces excellent grads. Tucson may not be everyone--convergence of cultures+nice weather+outdoors+large university=unique city with (I think) an exciting atmosphere. Cool PD.
6. Indianapolis: Would have been near the top, but I just don't like Indy. Enough patients to see anything/everthing, and PD who genuinely seems to care. Nice residents.
7. Vanderbilt: Beautiful facilities, Nashville seems like a groovy town with lots of outdoor options, top-notch teaching from some big names in EM. Would be at top, but awkward interview day.
8. University of Maryland: Big names, seems like great teaching, and the Charm City has it's...charms. Just didn't vibe well with anyone.
9. University of Utah: Some very nice and very smart residents who could have gone anywhere, but wanted to be here. Lots of outdoor opportunities. I just want a little more pt diversity.

I hope someone finds this helpful down the road...
 
1. Utah
2. Stanford
3. New Mexico
4. Arizona - Tucson
5. Oregon - OHSU
6. UCSF - Fresno
7. Denver
8. UCSF
9. UC - Irvine
10. UC - Davis
 
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1. Christiana Care -- Rotated here, loved it, great residents and teaching
2. Carolinas -- Loved it here, great mix of county/community, fit in well
3. Wake Forest -- Really 2b, again nice mix of county and community
4. Jacksonville-Shands -- Autonomy, location, and EM is well-respected
5. Duke -- pleasantly surprised, PD very energetic, tracks designed 4 u
6. Georgetown -- Energetic PD, one on one teaching
7. Indianapolis -- Would have been #2/3 if not in Indy,
8. Emory -- Very busy and hectic, autonomy
9. Louisville -- most autonomy in country, great residents
10. Maryland -- separate/artificial trauma, great teaching
11. MUSC -- New program w/lots of upside in future, energetic directors
12. U of Kentucky -- solid residency, just wrong location for me
 
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Evil Eye said:
My short list:

There were a lot of places I didn't rank because of location...hope this is enough to get me through 🙂
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Yeah, I've noticed the length of the match lists so far...not surprising given this from Charting Outcomes 2007, I suppose.

Median number of contiguous ranks
----------------------------------------
US Seniors who matched: 10.0
US Seniors who didn't: 5.0

Guess we'll see...
 
Old_Mil said:
Yeah, I've noticed the length of the match lists so far...not surprising given this from Charting Outcomes 2007, I suppose.

Median number of contiguous ranks
----------------------------------------
US Seniors who matched: 10.0
US Seniors who didn't: 5.0

Guess we'll see...
Click to expand...

Those statistics may be a bit misleading. Those who had only 5 interviews were probably weaker candidates, and less likely to match, as opposed to those with 10+ interviews (more likely a better application). Furthermore, the more interiews you have, the more likely you will be to turn some down - whereas the person with 5 interviews will probably go for them all.

I'll use myself as an example - 18 programs applied to, received 15 interviews, went on 11, ranked 6. Probably better odds than someone who applied to 30 programs, and got 6 interviews and went to them all (at least I hope so! :scared:)
 
pucker factor! Geographical location was very important for me. My wife needed for us to be relatively close to family. Although I intially applied to around 20 programs, and received 10 invites, I went on only 4 interviews....expecting to match at my #1. It was just too hard to give up the money needed to hit those other 6 interviews when I think I did enough to match into a community program with 15 spots. My #1 ( a local communtiy based residency) is not considered competitive. We'll see on Matchday2009!:xf:


Old_Mil said:
Yeah, I've noticed the length of the match lists so far...not surprising given this from Charting Outcomes 2007, I suppose.

Median number of contiguous ranks
----------------------------------------
US Seniors who matched: 10.0
US Seniors who didn't: 5.0

Guess we'll see...
Click to expand...
 
1. Brody ECU
2. York
3. Univ of Nebraska
4. Albany
5. Univ Kentucky
6. Univ Missouri KC
7. Scott & White
8. Univ of Arkansas
9. MUSC
 
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I loved/liked all the programs, and it mostly came down to location, family, and fiancee.

1. UIC
2. Duke
3. Maimonides
4. Beth Israel
5. Baystate
6/7. Cook Co. (cat > avd)
8. Kalamazoo
9. William Beaumont
10. Univ Hosptials - Case Western
11. St. John
12. Albert Einstein - Philly
 
Keep in mind that even if your list is short - something like 90% of US seniors match in their top 3. EM isn't the least competitive specialty, but it's certainly not the most. If you got 10 interviews then I think it's likely you'll match in your top 3.
 
Any of you peeps do combo programs? EM/IM, EM/peds, etc. I haven't really heard any feedback on any of them. Not that it matters to me per se, as I never plan to step foot on a ward for the rest of my life...
 
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Finished fiddling with this on Sunday, then just did the paranoid "is it really certified?" check last night. I'm happy with my final list, which is a nice synthesis of my head and my gut.

1 SUNY Downstate
2 Maimonides
3 UMDNJ-Newark
4 North Shore
5 Morristown
6 LIJ
7 St Lukes-Roosevelt
8 Newark Beth Israel
9 Einstein Beth Israel (NYC)
10 Jacobi
11 Methodist
12 Metropolitan
13 Stony Brook
 
After thinking and rethinking... it is official, and I finally have time to post it! Ranked based on location, reputation, and gut feeling.

1- Christiana Care
2- Yale
3- Jacobi
4- Morristown
5- UMass
6- North Shore
7- Baystate
8- Stony Brook
9- UConn
10- Albany
11- NY Methodist
 
1.) Indy - Great residents, great faculty, strong program. Nice hospitals in a nice city with excellent cost of living.
2.) UIC - Peoria - This one caught me off guard...Not the best town I've been to, but it has great residents and faculty. Strong program. Excellent hospital. Nice flight program. In the end, as hard as I looked to find reasons not to put it at the top, the only one I could really find was the fact that their lab coats are U-G-L-Y.
3.) Wash U - #1 medical school in country USW&R, with great resources, top 10 hospital in US, great faculty that are great teachers. Mostly nice residents.
4.) Kalamazoo - Wow! The leadership here is probably the best I've come across. The program is great, the weather is horrible.
5.) SLU - I really liked some parts of this program. It's new and it in St. Louis which I love, but the hospital is old and depressing and horror stories from interviews about (one from a classmate)
6.) WVU - I loved the town and the program. Has a great feel to it. Felt like the personality of the residents were a nice fit, but my wife didn't want to move that far from home.
7.) UConn - I wouldn't have minded the change of scenery from the midwest. Regardless, I liked the hospital and the residents. Some of the facutly I thought were great...one was particularly rude. So, down the list you go.
8.) Toledo - New program, but it has a lot going for it. The hospitals are nice and the faculty seem great. Has a focus on research though, and I'm not sure that's where I'm heading. Will be a great program for whoever matches there.
9.) Lansing - I kind of miss the college town feel. The new ED is amazing. The residents are cool and the faculty are great. Not sure I wanna do the Michigan thing though considering their economy is tanking right now.
10.) Saginaw - Great program, but it is WAY up there! I could definitely be happy up there, but see my previous comments about Michican.
 
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1.Henry Ford -- I heart this program. Rotated here and loved it.
2. U Mich -- I really liked this too; had I rotated here maybe I could have made it #1
3. Detroit Receiving (DMC) -- Rotated here and really liked it, but better teaching (per my experience) at Ford
4. Sinai-Grace -- Faculty is cool as hell
5. St V's -- Bunch of Cowboys! 🙂
6. Beaumont -- Great program but less Urban than I wanted...
7. St John -- Hmm... mixed feelings about quality but I'm sure it's unfounded
8. Kalamazoo -- Fun place to live with amazing PD
9. Synergy -- Amazing program, just a little far north
10. Case Western/MetroHealth -- Wish I could make this #2 or #3, but alas, 3 hours from my hubby is too far :-( Oh wells.
11. Grand Rapids -- Just not for me.
12. MSU Lansing/Sparrow -- Totally wasn't feeling this program in interview day. I would leave it off my list if it weren't for the fact that the scramble is so awful!
13. Summa Health/NEOUCOM -- I fell in love with this program when I interviewed there at the beginning of the season, but I just don't think it has enough variety for my tastes. It seems like a great place though.

Bottom line: I will be insanely thrilled with #1 or 2 and ecstatic with #3-6 and happy with #7-10, and okay with #11-13

20 days and counting!
 
1. UVA
2. BIDMC
3. Christ
4. Brown
5. Cinci
6. UNM
7. Albany
8. UMass
9. BMC
10. Southwestern
11. ECU
 
tybalt said:
12. MSU Lansing/Sparrow -- Totally wasn't feeling this program in interview day. I would leave it off my list if it weren't for the fact that the scramble is so awful!
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I interviewed there last year before I got the news from the military that I had to do an intern year first... but anyways... I went on that interview with such high expectations, but ended up walking out about 2/3 of the way through.

I know it's bad form to walk out of an interview, but hey. I stopped by the PCs office on the way out to let them know that I was not going to be ranking them and to apologize for taking up an interview slot. They asked why, I gave my reasons and that was that.


NEATOMD said:
2.) UIC - Peoria - This one caught me off guard...Not the best town I've been to, but it has great residents and faculty. Strong program. Excellent hospital. Nice flight program. In the end, as hard as I looked to find reasons not to put it at the top, the only one I could really find was the fact that their lab coats are U-G-L-Y.
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Hehe... powder blue labcoats... at least it's distinctive.
 
My choices were based mainly on geographic location, reputation, and gut feeling.


1. Pitt - Rotated here and fell in love. Abby (PD), the faculty, and residents are phenominal. Solid camaraderie. Best teaching I've ever received in 4 years of med school. The Jeep is awesome. I love the 'burgh, and it's 50 minutes away from my family and friends. Now, I just have to keep my fingers crossed.

2. UMass - Also rotated here and loved it, nice people and the nicest ED I've ever seen. Have family and friends in the area so easily earned #2 spot. Flying was a bonus.

3. CWRU - Very close to family and friends, tons of resources, and good people to work with. Cleveland is a fun city with very affordable living.

4. Allegheny General - My 2nd look (worked an ED shift) is what moved this program UP my list. They used to be the big kid on the block until UPMC bought everything, but I can tell you that this program is very solid and doesn't get anything less than the UPMC hospitals. Again, love the city.

5. Summa - would have been higher (#2) on my list if it wasn't for geographic location. While it's close to my friends and family, it wasn't the right city for me personally (maybe if I was married with kids). By far one of the hidden gems and an amazing program. Free accessible parking, onsite free gym, and all the food you can eat at a level 1 trauma center.

6. Akron General - Akron's other program, nice people and busy ED. Got the vibe that there is excessive competitiveness throughout the program (PGY2's were seeing like 24 ppl a shift, PD seemed to encourage the competition)...obviously this made me question whether they concentrate more on moving the meat than academics.

7. Albert Einstein Philly - Great program, great PD, awesome residents that took time out of their day to approach our group on interview day and support their program. Would have been higher on my list, but I wasn't digging Philly as much as the other cities. Also, no friends or family nearby.

8. Penn State - Another great program that I think gets overlooked due to location. Again, if I was married with a family Hershey, PA would be a great place.... which is why it's further down the list.

9. UConn - Good program, Hartford just wasn't for me. Mediocre vibes.

10. Jefferson - In all honesty, I wasn't going to rank this program, but in fear of some freak incident I would not match I did. My interview day was mostly bad vibes, only met 2 residents that complained about off services. Small congested ED. Center city is cool... but again liked other cities compared to philly.


To the applicants next year.....just make sure you check out the programs for yourself, these are just opinions and every has different wants/needs 🙂
 
1. Orlando Regional
2. Indiana
3. Yale
4. UAB
5. Wake Forest
6. Emory
7. Chattanooga
8 .Loma Linda
9. UCSF
10. Louisville
11. Cook County (Cat.)
 
Doctor Bob said:
I went on that interview with such high expectations, but ended up walking out about 2/3 of the way through.

I know it's bad form to walk out of an interview, but hey. I stopped by the PCs office on the way out to let them know that I was not going to be ranking them and to apologize for taking up an interview slot. They asked why, I gave my reasons and that was that.

.
Click to expand...

Yikes... what could be so bad during an interview that you actually walk out?
 
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1. Yale - great ultrasound, critical care, ems, international. Awesome PD. Everything I wanted in a program except that it's 4 years but with 6 elective months, I can deal.

2. UMass - could've been #1 if they weren't so huge on flight. Also great ultrasound, ems, and international. No floors! Hawaii for a month! Beautiful ED.

3. Christiana - great reputation, great ultrasound, curriculum is all EM and critical care, no floors. Not a fan of Delaware and suburbia. Seemed like most of the residents were married. Gorgeous ED.

4. Buffalo - gut feeling, just clicked really well with the residents and my interviewers. Good ultrasound and ems. Wanted a program that was a little more academic.

5. Rochester - PD very commited to resident education but she struck me as really intense. Didn't click as well with the residents. Wanted more than one site (with more exposure to community/county pop).

6. Jacobi/Monte - loved the faculty and residents. No turf wars with surgery here--EM is very well respected in the institution. Too many IM ward months and not enough electives. Impressive network of alumni.

7. St. Luke's-Roosevelt - awesome location with great subsidized housing. Not enough critical care months for me. Happy residents. Thought the PD was odd. Wanted to love this program but didn't.

8. Mount Sinai - great location in NYC. Strong in critical care and international. The "mini-fellowship" in 4th year felt a little half-hearted to me and wasn't enough to justify the extra year in my opinioin.
 
1. Albany : leadership, people, location, no floors!
2. UMass : same, but location not so great and not as interested in flying
3. Christiana : loved the U/S, not the location
4. Maine : loved the location, nice people, community program
5. Brown : great program but 4 years?
6. Connecticut : up and coming, loved the residents
7. Baystate : great residents, needs new ER

Good luck everyone!
 
1. Univ. S. Fl - Best facilities, esp. the ED!, Awesome Residents, On the beach, cool city, total package!
2. U. Conn - pros: faculty was cool, emphasized strong camaraderie
cons: cold! hartford is not the best
3. Albert Einstein Med Center - philly pros: very nice PD, faculty seems to make a point u learn, strong Charting system, cultural city (i suppose)
cons: 4 yrs, expensive city
4. Tx tech El Paso pros: Strong teaching (sat through inservice), cool res., starting a med school 09, come out with med. spanish.
cons: Suburbia hell, population is 98%...hispanic
5. York - strong PD over 20 yrs, great benifits, free food!,
cons: 80% of res. already have families to tend to, city..well....lets just say it's lucky to be called that.
6. Detroit Receiving - Strong academic setting for learning, strong path, established prog & faculty, gym in hosp.
cons: well...its detroit, cold
7. U. Toledo - enthusiastic faculty, front lines in EM international med., very strong research base, University resources, ancillary staff was VERY NICE!, nothing but good words from rotating med students, low res to attending ratio
cons: whole city looks the same, seemed to have a slow ED, PD kinda academic scary
8. Maimonides - enjoyed it as a student, nice ED, cool staff, res. were cool, peds EM, pretty sick pts, very diverse pop, Strong PD, subsidized housing, strong autonomy
cons: no truama, sick of NY, hate subways, too expensive
9. Allegheny General - just wasn't impressed.
cons: its pitts,
10. Sinai Grace - seems more chaotic than structured, got a very weird vibe from some of the interviewers (awkward), its Detroit, still a decent program tho.
 
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Captainwada said:
1. Univ. S. Fl - Best facilities, Awesome Residents, On the beach, total package!
2. U. Conn
3. Albert Einstein Med Center - philly
4. Tx tech El Paso
5. York
6. Detroit Receiving
7. U. Toledo
8. Maimonides
9. Allegheny General
10. Sinai Grace
Click to expand...

Wow - That's a really geographically diverse list!
 
1) Morristown Memorial NJ: Great location close to home. One of the oldest programs around. Amazing PD. Great ancillary staff and facilities. The type of environment I can see myself at as an attending. Absolutely love this place.

2) St. Luke's Roosevelt NY: Great location. Laid back residents. I've always thought of this place as the best 3yr program in NYC.

3) NYHQ NY: I just had a really good feeling while I was interviewing here. The residents seemed like a good group and interacted well with the attendings and staff. Not huge on the location.

4) Jacobi NY: Solid program with tons of experience and sick patients. A good amount of autonomy with oversight and not as much hand holding which makes for good training in my eyes. Not really sure how I feel about the extra year.

5) Stony Brook NY: Great updated facilities. A little out there in terms of location.

6) NYU NY: Just not my type of program. The interview with Dr. Goldfrank was worth the train ride though.

7) Columbia: Similar to above minus Goldfrank.

8) Buffalo: Can't see myself living in Buffalo for 3 yrs. I almost died of hypothermia during my interview. Seemed like a pretty solid place though with good training.

9) Newark Beth Israel NJ

10) Beth Israel NY
 
Okay... I was going to wait, but I guess I have to jump on the bandwagon...

1. Vanderbilt
2. Carolinas
3. Indiana
4. Orlando Regional
5. UT Southwestern
6. Christ
7. Pitt
8. USF
9. Emory
10. UF - Jacksonville
 
This list was based initially on geography (I am from the midwest), which later was thrown out the door (as you can see) as programs (along with gut feelings) eventually won me over.

1. CWRU/Metrohealth
2. UMKC
3. Orlando Regional
4. Georgetown
5. Louisville
6. Hopkins
7. Tulsa
8. MUSC
9. El Paso
 
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Thanks for all of these lists! They are really helpful as an MS3 trying to decide where to apply!
 
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1. Highland: what can I say? Such a fun group of people. Amazing community to work with. Program director is the nicest guy on the planet.
2. UCSF: great academic opportunities. huge potential for growth. San Francisco!
3. USC-LAC: I fit in with the distinct personality here. Service-oriented institution/faculty. Definite pressure to move patients. (note: I only ranked the categorical program)
4. Boston Medical Center: the only downside is the winter. Supportive faculty and fun residents. Program director is exactly who I would want as my boss for 4 years.
5. UCLA-Olive View: Awesome opportunities for the research-inclined. Great reputation. Fun group of young residents.
6. MGH/Brigham: More money than God so your opportunities are unlimited. Downsides: again, boston winters, competitive environment, general surgeon sitting in the ED (get out!).
7. Stanford: nice location, fun and friendly residents and faculty. On the defensive in terms of their move from SFGH. This was lower for me because it's a 3 year program.
8. NYU: hands down still the best program in New York. Anyone who disagrees is solely looking at the subsidized housing at umm, other programs.
9. New York Presbyterian: residents didn't seem particularly happy. Long commute between the two campuses. Upside: many get hired as faculty after graduation although I imagine they're reaching the saturation point.
10. Jacobi/Montefiore: Best program director I met on the trail. Service-oriented institution and faculty. Why this was lower for me: Monte ED seemed like a nightmare work environment.
11. SUNY Downstate: Just didn't fit with my personality.
12. Georgetown: DR. LOVE!!! DC just moved down my list as things progressed. This is a program to watch out for.
13. Harbor-UCLA: Everybody seemed happy, I just didn't fit in with the crowd here and couldn't imagine myself living in this part of LA.
14. GW: This is based in the private world (GW is a university hospital but owned by a for-profit group). Just not what I was looking for.
15. Hopkins: I've just heard too many horror stories in terms of relationship with the community. Dr. Regan would make an excellent program director at any of the top programs around the country... I hope that this happens soon.
16. Yale: I feel bad for interviewing at this place. New Haven was never a realistic place for me so I would have been better off just letting someone else have the spot. However, I discovered it would be a great place to be faculty.
 
So, I don't usually post to SDN, but I have been reading other people's lists compulsively so I figured it was only fair if I shared mine. "For future generations" as well 🙂
My list came down to geography mostly, I went on a lot of interviews because I didn't know where I was going to need to go until later on in the season.
1) University of Maryland - This could have been top regardless of geography. One of the few three year programs to show a strong track record of graduates in academics. Plus, half of the New York programs wanted to send me to Shock Trauma anyways, so I figured I'd go directly to the source. Faculty is great and residents seemed happy.
2) Georgetown- I had great vibes at this interview, but was hesitant for a long time because of its newness. This was definitely a gut feel, but the faculty seem really committed to residents and I think the opportunities are definitely there.
3) Hopkins - This would have been much lower on my list if it weren't for sig. other geography situation. Ultimately, the conflicts between other services makes me nervous and I don't really want to be on TV. But in the long run location won out. Hopkins can never be that much of a sacrifice.
4) Jacobi - loved this program. Great autonomy, and all of the residents seemed super strong. would have been my top choice vying with maryland if location weren't an issue.
5 ) NYU - Really great academic feel to this program. I was worried that maybe the acuity isn't as high as Jacobi, but I did a second look and they work hard and see a lot. Definitely a strong program.
6) UPenn- Nice academics and system. People are great, Nice ED, but thought their trauma was weak and they have the same big university hospital syndrome of being a little fish in a big pond.
7) Temple - Probably best all around clinical training in Philly. Just lacked the academic side.
8) Christiana - Great, cushy program. Couldn't get over the inconvenience of Delaware, and thought the residents I met seemed a little soft compared to other local programs.
9) NY Methodist - Park Slope would be great to live in. Down to earth faculty. Just lacked the clinical experience of other programs.
10) SUNY Downstate - You would come out of here prepared for anything, I just didn't fit in with the residents.
11) Drexel - Best aspect is that they run their own ICU at a different hospital.
12) UMDNJ-Camden - ED is too crowded and I didn't connect with the residents, enthusiastic young faculty.
13) Albert Einstein Philly - The people at this program were great, I just couldn't justify all of the off service rotations. This would be a great hospital to work in post-graduation.
14) LIJ - Did not connect with residents
15) North Shore - not the population I wanted, but good acuity.
16) Maimonides - not a good experience for me personally.

Hope this helps someone! Good luck in the match!
 
Same reason as Jenny83, read so many lists from last year and interview feedback submissions to help me formulate where to interview that it would only be fair to post my own if it could help someone else. I interviewed bi-coastally and wanted to be at a strong academic hospital with resources in health admin/policy. Wasn't sure initially if I wanted 3 vs 4 yr, but as interview season went on, I realized that I prefer the 3 yr (+ optional junior attending/fellowship option) over a 4 yr program.

My list:
1) BWH/MGH--has everything I want, very strong academics, Harvard resources, diverse clinical training in two major academic centers, good peds. They have hands-down the best international opportunities. Loved the very dynamic and interesting residents and faculty. "Gut" feel was right, even if it is 4 yeras.
2) BIDMC--very close second. Academic + community, diverse practice settings, connections to Harvard resources (HSPH, HKS, HBS, etc), 3 yr (+1 option of junior attending), laid-back and very friendly residents, focus on education, disaster/EMS focus.
3) Stanford--the other long-standing 3+1. Also 1/3 academic/community/county really appealed to me. Love the weather, but worried that Palo Alto is not the right atmosphere. Seems like pretty intense program in terms of hours, but there is real focus on resident well-being. SO against Cali weighed against family in Cali made me rank it third, but also would be very happy if I match here.
4) Georgetown--surprisingly strong program. Really liked the people, the energy, and commitment to care. PD and Chair are fantastic, seem like they would really go to bat for you for anything you want. Have concerns about MedStar's ownership, though, and I don't want to return to DC yet.
5) U Maryland--also didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Very strong program, Dr. Mattu is amazing and really emphasizes leadership and teaching. If it weren't in Baltimore, would be much higher on the list.
6) UCSF--would have liked it more if it weren't 4 years and in Cali. The focus on innovation is great. It'll be a strong program very soon.
7) NY Presbyterian--I initially thought I wanted to be in NYC for residency, and this was what I thought was my top choice before interviews, so it was disappointing to not like it. Other than the 4 year thing, I didn't like the hours, long commute, and the residents did not seem happy. I also did not like that the program deliberately did not try to sell their program.
8) NYU/Bellevue--I like NYU much better between the programs in theory, but the county setting (as I realized during my interview) doesn't have resources for what I want to do.
9) Hopkins--on paper I liked it a lot more than in person. Hard to articulate why, because I do think it's a strong program with excellent leadership, but just not the right fit for me.
 
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As others have said - since I'm reading, I should be posting. Hopefully this will also help some future applicants...My bias is that I'm couples matching, so we only looked at 3 cities, and I like 4 year programs....

1. BWH/MGH: Rotated here, loved it, the quality of faculty and residents is amazing, plus in the Harvard system if you can dream it, you can do it...
2. BMC: Actually had alot of angst about putting this second - I loved the residents and the feel of the ED, and I think the clinical training is superb. I still go back and forth over which I should have put first...
3.UCSF: My personal favorite, but didn't work as well with the SO. Honestly though - big time academics, plus a county hospital, plus the West Coast niceness, how can you go wrong??!!! (yikes I'm still crossing my fingers we end up here 🙂
4. Highland: Hands down the happiest program in the country, with the coolest residents, but I'm not that cool, so maybe I wouldn't fit in too well :laugh: If you're cool though - you should go here!
5. Cook County: Ugh I wanted this to be U of Chicago, but couldn't deal with all the changes in the U of C ED. Cook county - hmmm, terrible curriculum (4 months of wards and only 1 month of elective in a 4 year program, no ICU till third year!!!) BUT I think you get great clinical training, and you will end up an excellent clinician, which is the most important thing about residency
6. University of Chicago: oooooh, breaks my heart, SUCH a cool residency, but all that turmoil is too much for me. In a three year program, I don't want to waste my first year dealing with institutional drama. You can PM me if you want to hear more thoughts on this.
7.UIC: Super nice and friendly, I know I would be happy there, but I wanted somewhere a little more academic
8. Stanford: Good weather, works well for my SO, I'm not wild about the program (the Stanford ED is tiny!)
9. BIDMC: Great program, definitely not the right fit for me
10. Northwestern: I had alot of off-putting experiences during the pre-interview event and the interview day. Also, lots of Gold-Coasters plus lots of homeless does NOT equal patient diversity, just a bi-modal curve.

Anyway, it's all up in the air right now - the couples match is a crazy thing!😱
 
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jenny83 said:
3) Hopkins - This would have been much lower on my list if it weren't for sig. other geography situation. Ultimately, the conflicts between other services makes me nervous and I don't really want to be on TV. But in the long run location won out. Hopkins can never be that much of a sacrifice.
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I ranked hopkins first. The innovative new four-year curriculum is what piqued my interest and it being Hopkins is what sealed the deal.

I was somewhat worried about the relationship within the hospital between services, but the residents seemed to be okay with things. Have you heard differently? More whispers among students or from the residents themselves? There have been a couple people mention it on here and it's starting to worry me a little that I may have missed an obvious negative about the program. Not that worrying is beneficial or that I could do anything about it anyway.......
 
EMbound08 said:
13. Harbor-UCLA: Everybody seemed happy, I just didn't fit in with the crowd here and couldn't imagine myself living in this part of LA.
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Hmm, that's interesting. What type of crowd do you think we are? Just because we were saying that we didn't think we had a distinct personality, and now you say you didn't fit in.

Nice list!
 
energy_girl said:
1) BIDMC--has everything I want: academic + community, diverse practice settings, connections to Harvard resources (HSPH, HKS, HBS, etc) without the attitude, 3 yr (+1 option of junior attending), laid-back and very friendly residents, focus on education, disaster/EMS focus. Plus SO likes Boston.... Really hope I match here! 🙂
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This is a great program, things might have been different if I could survive those temperatures!
 
Difficult decision. It took me till well into interview season to even identify what I was looking for in a program, and even then it took second looks and considerable shuffling of the ROL. But here it is, and I love it.

1) Highland--This was the only no-brainer in the list. I really liked the people, the clinical setting, the educational style, and the geographic location.

2) UCLA--Olive View--Really strong clinically and academically. Know a few grads of this program who are great docs/people. Very friendly place, liked the PD. LA was a stretch but there was a lot to like.

3) LAC+USC--This place surprised me. Kind of discounted it at first because of the 2-4 thing and a late season interview, but loved it when I was there, and intrigued by the volume/variety of pathology. Think I would learn a ton here.

4) HAEMR (BWH/MGH)--Great program. Rotated at MGH and loved it. Residents are very smart and fun. Diverse, collegial attendings. Fantastic off-service rotations and elective opportunities. I wanted to rank 2, 3, and 4 on my list second, they are all great in different ways.

5) NYU-Bellevue--Great faculty and clinical mix, as well as being strong academically. Didn't feel like quite as good of a fit as the others, probably largely due to geography (love NYC, but not sure I want to live there).

6) BMC--Great program and clinical mix. Thought the residents were really cool. 5 and 6 mostly came down to choosing NYC over Boston.

7) Hopkins--Had great interviews and thought that the faculty and residents were awesome. I bought into the new 4th year, which was sold as being very flexible. Didn't mind Baltimore per se, but this was the biggest downside for me. Otherwise a great fit.

8) NYP--An early interview, and thought I liked it a lot at the time. Once I had had a few more interviews, I realized that I had gotten a weird vibe. Some interviews had a confrontational feel to them. Solid training.

9) Denver--No doubt in my mind that this program would be great training. Liked the PD a lot, cool residents. Appreciated the up-front approach to saying that it is a work-hard program, but that was not a plus for me. In the end, the location just didn't make sense for me.

10) Yale--Sold the clinical training and elective/international opportunities well. Came across as a little arrogant about the institution and quality of faculty. I don't like New Haven much, but COL is low and it's close to NYC, so not terrible.

11) Duke--Looking at my list, stands out as the only 3 yr program and only Southern program. Actually liked it a lot when I visited. The PD, faculty, and residents were really nice, and have the right vision of where to take this program. Compared to 8, 9 and 10, I have more positive feelings for this program, but not enough to overcome the format and geography.
 
It seems most people are explaining their rankings a bit. I think it will be helpful for next year's applicants, so I'll repost my list and add comments in.

1. Hopkins - I really loved the four-year program they offer. It's essentially a 3-year residency plus a 1-year fellowship in one of 12 areas of focus. The ED is small now, but once the new ED opens I don't know if there will be any better facilities in the country. I was worried about Baltimore as a city (crime) but after interviewing and going on a second look I think it would be a great city to live in. Training at Hopkins would be an incredible opportunity, although I'm sure there are egos that come along with the history that will be a negative.

2. Univ of Kentucky - The main draw for me was geographic. Close to family and friends, and the Lexington area is beautiful. Lexington is fairly small, but because of the role Lexington plays in the state there are tremendous entertainment options. Plus housing is super cheap and residents can live like kings and queens. The ED is fairly low-volume, but they get almost ALL critical care, trauma, and peds transfers from the eastern half of the state so acuity is high. The current ED leaves a lot to be desired, but the new ED and hospital will open soon and will be incredible.

3. Washington University - I got a really good feeling here from the residents, faculty, and PD. St Louis is a nice city with affordable housing. There are tremendous oppotunities in research and collaboration between departments because of the WashU name. The facilities are nice and acuity is high. The main downside for me was that the four-year curriculum didn't offer anything special that last year. I would have preferred a formal opportunity to focus in an area that last year.

4. University of North Carolina - Great, great program. A little far from the geographic area I wanted, so it knocked it down a bit. If it were closer to where I wanted to be it would have been first or second. The two-hospital setting with UNC and WakeMed is a tremendous strength. It is evident EM is respected at UNC. Chapel Hill would be a great place to live and work.

5. UAB - Solid program. Nothing jumped out at me and said "this is why we're great!" but is seemed like a very solid program all around. UAB hospital is great and there would be exposure to a lot of really sick patients transferred from all over the state. Birmingham isn't my favorite city, but it's not bad either.

6. Indiana University - This is a tremendous program in regards to curriculum and support, but I didn't seem to hit if off like I thought I would with the program. Hard to explain, but it just didn't quite feel right to me.

7. Louisville - If you want autonomy this is THE place to go in the country. The downside is that there is very little resident-attending interaction, which I wanted more of. Also, the residents are very busy, and I think that sometimes may be a detriment. Louisville is a very livable and fun city for its size.

8. EVMS - Another very solid program, but a little far from where I wanted to be. Norfolk was surprisingly a great city. Leadership here is very stable.

9. Emory - I didn't really want the county only population and the county funded hospital. There are tremendous training opportunities here, but you have to be willing to deal with the Grady system and inefficiencies. Quite a bit of research is a strength. Atlanta would be a great city to live in. There seem to be unending entertainment and cultural options.

10. UT-Southwestern - If you want research this should make the short list of places. They have $18 million of research funding and 60+ faculty with varied interests. In a lot of ways UTSW and Emory are mirror images of each other. I can't speak spanish which worried me. It's far from the geographic area I wanted.
 
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