UPMC vs UT Southwestern

[Dr Doc McDoc]

Hi all....this ERAS has begun its second half and soon we will have to rank our preferred programs....I am having a hard time deciding between IM residency at UPMC and UT Southwestern

I am an IMG and visa is an important consideration & almost everyone I know says I should go for an H1-B....I am not worried about fellowship, I think I can risk going for fellowship even on H1-B

So UTSW is an excellent program, superb training, amazing fellowship matches and everyone who graduates from the program has excellent clinical acumen and skills and never (almost never) doubt themselves in clinical settings, training is intensive, but I don't mind working in a busy hospital......but it only offers J1...plus I love Dallas, TX

UPMC....excellent reputation and name, again, top notch clinical training (although not 'as busy as UTSW') and even protected research curriculum in their IST track...definitely equal to (if not above) UTSW....and it offers H1-B.......and Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, although I liked Dallas a little more

Could you someone give me advice as to which should be my preference? My gut feeling gives UTSW perhaps 1 more point above UPMC and I would love to be at either places, but I don't know what I should do keeping in mind the visa subject.


Plus, can someone clarify which one is above rank wise? I have gotten mixed answers from different people.

Thank you.

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[JLC]

Hi all....this ERAS has begun its second half and soon we will have to rank our preferred programs....I am having a hard time deciding between IM residency at UPMC and UT Southwestern

I am an IMG and visa is an important consideration & almost everyone I know says I should go for an H1-B....I am not worried about fellowship, I think I can risk going for fellowship even on H1-B

So UTSW is an excellent program, superb training, amazing fellowship matches and everyone who graduates from the program has excellent clinical acumen and skills and never (almost never) doubt themselves in clinical settings, training is intensive, but I don't mind working in a busy hospital......but it only offers J1...plus I love Dallas, TX

UPMC....excellent reputation and name, again, top notch clinical training (although not 'as busy as UTSW') and even protected research curriculum in their IST track...definitely equal to (if not above) UTSW....and it offers H1-B.......and Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, although I liked Dallas a little more

Could you someone give me advice as to which should be my preference? My gut feeling gives UTSW perhaps 1 more point above UPMC and I would love to be at either places, but I don't know what I should do keeping in mind the visa subject.


Plus, can someone clarify which one is above rank wise? I have gotten mixed answers from different people.

Thank you.

Both are good IM programs, I would consider just by reputation alone that UTSW may in fact be considered better than Upitt, but I htink that may be more due to the fact that Upitt has a lot more competition at arguably stronger IM programs in the MidWest (WashU, Northwestern, Uchicago, UMich) while UTSW has no close competitors in the southwest. That said UTSW fellowship is not as good at Upitt. This is likely due to people from UTSW wanting to stay in Texas, but at the same time for almost every specialty outside of cardiology, Upitt offers a stronger and more prestigious internal fellowship program. It seems like your heart is set on UTSW, and it won't hold you back from any fellowship, so if I were you I would rank UTSW over Upitt.

 

[ResidentMD]

A lot of it depends on what you want to do after IM, where you want to settle and what kind of work environment you prefer.

- if you want to settle in Pittsburgh/that area, would go there. Alternatively, in Dallas, go to UTSW.
- I do not know much about UTSW, but from what I have heard, if you have an interest in General Internal Medicine (both academic or private), UPMC is one of the top residencies for that. This also includes Women's Health, Geriatrics and Palliative Care. They have fantastic research opportunities and mentors in all these areas, and have a curriculum set up for that.
- As JLC alluded to, many of the fellowships at Pitt are top notch. Being an internal candidate allows you to do rotations in those subspecialties, do research with those mentors. Because many of them are competitive, a spot is not a guarantee for an internal candidate. But if do well there, you will match very well elsewhere also.

Talk to the current residents - can get an email/phone number to talk after your interview. Based on what I have understood of both programs, the environment is very different between the two. Both have their advantages and some downsides. You will need to figure out which works better for you - that is only a question you can answer for yourself after talking to them.

I would make my decision based on these three factors to begin with.