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Did anybody who got an interview at UofChicago actually get a hold of somebody at the program to schedule the interview. Nobody seems to answer the phone
UofChicago,
- Thread starter andrew_still200
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nikki - FYI, I'm graduating from UIC and my advisor is the head of anesthesiology at UIC (and the program director), so my views are probably a little biased.
U of C definitely has the name and is the most well-known outside of Chicago. They have strong research (lots of NIH funding in the department) and, from my impression of U of C as a whole, tend to be more academic. I've worked with a CRNA who used to work at U of C and said that the clinical experience there is great.
Northwestern is also pretty well-known and I think they have good connections in the private sector. A little less research-oriented with not as much NIH funding in the department (my advisor is big on using NIH funding to gauge the research strength). Overall, I hear it's a good program with strong clinical experience.
UIC is my home program and the only one I've had first-person experience with. The residents are almost uniformly happy and the attendings for the most part are great and very resident-friendly. Not many residents participate in research though there is definitely NIH funding (around the same as NU or maybe a little more). There are board review questions every Friday morning and morning conference every day while rotating at the university. I personally think it's a strong program with good clinical experience.
Rush is the busiest program out of the university programs, based on the number of surgeries they list on their website (50,000 annual, most of the of the others are around 20,000+). Not very research-oriented or so scuttlebutt says, though they have a strong alumni network and very strong connections in the private sector. I've heard secondhand that the residents aren't as happy there though.
Loyola is outside of the city proper. I don't know too much about the program myself, but I've heard secondhand that the residents aren't very happy there either.
I didn't apply to any non-university programs becuase I'm looking at possible fellowship afterwards.
U of C definitely has the name and is the most well-known outside of Chicago. They have strong research (lots of NIH funding in the department) and, from my impression of U of C as a whole, tend to be more academic. I've worked with a CRNA who used to work at U of C and said that the clinical experience there is great.
Northwestern is also pretty well-known and I think they have good connections in the private sector. A little less research-oriented with not as much NIH funding in the department (my advisor is big on using NIH funding to gauge the research strength). Overall, I hear it's a good program with strong clinical experience.
UIC is my home program and the only one I've had first-person experience with. The residents are almost uniformly happy and the attendings for the most part are great and very resident-friendly. Not many residents participate in research though there is definitely NIH funding (around the same as NU or maybe a little more). There are board review questions every Friday morning and morning conference every day while rotating at the university. I personally think it's a strong program with good clinical experience.
Rush is the busiest program out of the university programs, based on the number of surgeries they list on their website (50,000 annual, most of the of the others are around 20,000+). Not very research-oriented or so scuttlebutt says, though they have a strong alumni network and very strong connections in the private sector. I've heard secondhand that the residents aren't as happy there though.
Loyola is outside of the city proper. I don't know too much about the program myself, but I've heard secondhand that the residents aren't very happy there either.
I didn't apply to any non-university programs becuase I'm looking at possible fellowship afterwards.
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Thanks for your input, Gas Man . Are you in private practice or academics? If you're in private, I was reading through Rush's site and it mentions a dedicated rotation to ambulatory surgery and I was wondering how you felt that rotation (and the residency in general) prepared you, as I've heard that the pace of private practice anesthesia is much faster than that of academics.
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hey skrubz:
can u give me a little more info on the UIC program in terms of what time the residents get there,,what the tyipical day is like,,what is the residents weekend call nowadays?
thanks
can u give me a little more info on the UIC program in terms of what time the residents get there,,what the tyipical day is like,,what is the residents weekend call nowadays?
thanks
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apma77 - here's what i know. i rotated at the west side VA so i know it the best.
600a to 630a - arrive and prep room for first case
700a to 730a - AM "conference", sometimes a lecture, sometimes oral boards type stuff over breakfast
730a to 800a - start first case
basically run cases as assigned for the day, with people finishing early going over to PAT (pre-anesthesia testing) to pre-op future outpatients. attendings and other residents will give breaks and lunches. there are 5 main ORs (1 of which used to be the cardiac OR and is really spacious, the other 4 are a little cramped), 1 "minor" room for ophtho and I&Ds and the like, and 1 cysto room.
VA policy is to be out of the OR by 4p unless it's an "emergency" (usually followed pretty closely by the nurses), so the residents usually leave by 500p at the latest. PAT closes at 400p.
the VA used to be really cush with very few surgeries but now that northwestern is also operating, it's gotten busier. call (weekday and weekend) is home call and if you're called in overnight you typically get to leave early afternoon the following day.
over at UIH (usually referred to as "the U"), residents probably get there by 600a to prep their room, followed by conference every morning from 630a to 700a. then it's off to meet the first patient of the day in the surgicenter holding area. there's an IV tech who usually gets IVs started on the first cases; cases following are a crap shoot depending on how nice the nurses are feeling that day. attendings and fellow residents also give breaks and lunch throughout the day. i think most residents get out between 400p and 500p and if you have to stay late you're first in line to be relieved the next day. call (both weekday and weekend, as far as i know) is in-house, with 2 residents and 1 attending staying the night. i believe OB call is separate, with 1 resident, an M4 extern, and 1 attending.
i don't know what the schedules are like at michael reese or christ, though people at the VA (and possibly christ) sometimes have to take call at michael reese.
600a to 630a - arrive and prep room for first case
700a to 730a - AM "conference", sometimes a lecture, sometimes oral boards type stuff over breakfast
730a to 800a - start first case
basically run cases as assigned for the day, with people finishing early going over to PAT (pre-anesthesia testing) to pre-op future outpatients. attendings and other residents will give breaks and lunches. there are 5 main ORs (1 of which used to be the cardiac OR and is really spacious, the other 4 are a little cramped), 1 "minor" room for ophtho and I&Ds and the like, and 1 cysto room.
VA policy is to be out of the OR by 4p unless it's an "emergency" (usually followed pretty closely by the nurses), so the residents usually leave by 500p at the latest. PAT closes at 400p.
the VA used to be really cush with very few surgeries but now that northwestern is also operating, it's gotten busier. call (weekday and weekend) is home call and if you're called in overnight you typically get to leave early afternoon the following day.
over at UIH (usually referred to as "the U"), residents probably get there by 600a to prep their room, followed by conference every morning from 630a to 700a. then it's off to meet the first patient of the day in the surgicenter holding area. there's an IV tech who usually gets IVs started on the first cases; cases following are a crap shoot depending on how nice the nurses are feeling that day. attendings and fellow residents also give breaks and lunch throughout the day. i think most residents get out between 400p and 500p and if you have to stay late you're first in line to be relieved the next day. call (both weekday and weekend, as far as i know) is in-house, with 2 residents and 1 attending staying the night. i believe OB call is separate, with 1 resident, an M4 extern, and 1 attending.
i don't know what the schedules are like at michael reese or christ, though people at the VA (and possibly christ) sometimes have to take call at michael reese.
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the ones that i've talked to and interacted with are all happy with their lives both in and out of the hospital. there's a lot of camraderie that i've seen, between the residents themselves and with most of the attendings. i believe they get the day off after call while at UIC, and usually get relieved early if they had to come in for VA call.
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I'm trying to decide between Rush and UIC, but i cannot really find anything that makes one stand out over the other. I need to make a decision soon as both require me to make a decision sooner than later.
Rush
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pros
- busy = great clinical experience.
- rotate through childrens
cons
-during my interview, i was only able to talk to one resident since it was an informal interview. he didn't seem all that happy there and even called it a malignant program.
-i've read the boards above about how the residents aren't all that happy.
UIC
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pros
- the residents are pretty happy people as i know many of them
- the hours are good
- i know the hospital system
cons
- i've recently heard some disparaging comments of how the
clinical experience may not be as good
- the peds rotation is kind of poor
If anyone else can add anything that can help me, I'd be much obliged.
As an aside, if you had to choose, between baylor-houston, rush, and UIC, which would you choose? right now it's a toss up for me.
Rush
------
pros
- busy = great clinical experience.
- rotate through childrens
cons
-during my interview, i was only able to talk to one resident since it was an informal interview. he didn't seem all that happy there and even called it a malignant program.
-i've read the boards above about how the residents aren't all that happy.
UIC
-----
pros
- the residents are pretty happy people as i know many of them
- the hours are good
- i know the hospital system
cons
- i've recently heard some disparaging comments of how the
clinical experience may not be as good
- the peds rotation is kind of poor
If anyone else can add anything that can help me, I'd be much obliged.
As an aside, if you had to choose, between baylor-houston, rush, and UIC, which would you choose? right now it's a toss up for me.
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Hello "Pinky"
Just curious as to why the sudden disillusionment with neurology? Judging from your previous posts, you seemed quite enthusiastic about neuro at Baylor (describing great didactics, and good diversity of patients, etc.) as well as neuro as a whole.
Just curious as to why the sudden disillusionment with neurology? Judging from your previous posts, you seemed quite enthusiastic about neuro at Baylor (describing great didactics, and good diversity of patients, etc.) as well as neuro as a whole.
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If you are interested in neuro, Baylor is a great program. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in neurology. The diversity of patients is incredible. The variety of pathologies that you see especially at Ben Taub (County Hospital) is outstanding. The didactics are second to none. The residents are intelligent, hardworking, and generally a normal group of people [which for neuro is sometimes rare to find : ) ].
I decided to leave neuro because I'm more procedure oriented and realized that I was more interested in taking care of acute conditions/critical care. I also wanted training in establishing the airway.
