Hey everybody
I've been searching through SDN for up to date info on both of these pediatric residency programs and have come up with very little. Anybody have any info on these residency programs? (general feel, pros, cons)
Thanks 👍
I can't comment on Georgetown because I didn't apply/interview there. I'm a resident at Pitt, so you can take my comments with a huge grain of salt.
General Feel:
I felt that this program was one of the most supportive programs that I interviewed at and the feeling still rings true today. The people are great and our program director, Dena, really ensures that the residents are looked after and responds to our issues. My co-residents are some of the smartest, hard-working and supportive people I've met and are really fun to hang out with inside and outside the hospital
Pros:
- Freestanding children's hospital that's awesome and has a large catchment area with all subspecialties represented, so we get to see the bread and butter as well as the zebras
- Graduates pretty much get their top choices in fellowship (about 60-70% end up doing a fellowship, but the program is very supportive of whatever people want to do)
- Plenty of research/advocacy opportunities
- Tight-knit residents and very supportive faculty/program leadership
- Even though there are fellows in every subspecialty, it's a very resident-run program, except for in the more critical care settings (ie PICU/NICU)
- Short call system: basically on each team, one intern gets to leave early (usually around 4pm, but I've gotten out as early as 2pm) and the other intern stays until signout. Same goes with the seniors.
- On weekends, attendings/fellows write progress notes, so residents are only responsible for H&Ps, discharge summaries and orders (this was implemented a few years ago when residents were complaining that they were staying late to finish up documentation)
- When winter hits and the volume picks up, there are moonlighting opportunities (for 2nd and 3rd yrs) to help with admissions
- Breakfast and lunch are provided
Cons:
- Intern year is very inpatient heavy (~9-10 mo inpatient), which can be a grind, but you get to be exposed to all the sub specialties except for cards. However, 2nd year is pretty chill
- In the PICU, the fellows get first dibs on the procedures unless you make it known that you're interested in critical care. You get to do more procedures in the NICU and ED
- Magee, the hospital that we do NICU and newborn at, has a different EMR than Children's, which is annoying.
Neutral:
- High patient volume, which can be a blessing and a curse. If you learn by doing, then it's great. If you need time to read about stuff, then intern year can be rough.
- Pittsburgh - solid mid-sized city with all the amenities that you would want for a city at a pretty affordable price. It's an interesting hybrid of midwest/east coast cities. The airport is a little annoying to get to though.
Overall, it's a great program and I ranked it #1 over some of the traditional top programs and am really glad that I did. If there are any questions about the program, feel free to PM me.
