Match is over, but for next year's class:
I went there for school, so I know extensively about the place.
It's got the Hopkins' malignancy but without the Hopkins reputation.
Now as a resident, I find my training somewhat lacking vs my colleagues. There really is a lot of time devoted to the basic sciences as this is a powerhouse research institution, but light on the clinical skills. It's nothing you can't make up quickly, but I still found it surprising.
The IM residency IS good, no doubt. And if that's all you care about, then that's really the end of discussion. I do feel that it is a top 10 IM program, as US News consistently ranks it, training-wise. Reputation-wise, I think it's somewhere in the top 30. Why? Because outside of the south, people haven't really heard of the school other than program directors. Interviewing outside the south, I had about 50% of my interviewers not know about this school, seriously, let alone know that IM is its core strength.
If you don't expect the WOW reputation to follow you when you say you went to UTSW for IM, and can rest assured that your actual training and qualifications are top-notch, then UTSW is the place for you.
The program director is retiring. While a smart guy, he is overly proud of his accomplishments and not a great teacher. But his name looks good if you actually get to know him well enough to write a letter for fellowship.
The program does not attract name-brand residents, even though the program is top-notch. What I mean is, most of the residents are UTSW and Texas school grads, and very few of the big name schools are represented. I'm not saying that Texas residents are poor, but I'm just saying that for a top 10 IM program as ranked by US News year in and year out, they aren't able to attract people from name-brand schools on the two coasts, probably b/c the med school is young and it's in Dallas. Fellowships that are obtained, though, are at namebrand schools more than one would guess--i.e, MGH, Duke, UW, UCSF, UCLA, Columbia, to name a few. I thought the list of fellowships obtained was considerably more impressive than the list that shows which med schools residents came from.
Last, the place in general is pretty malignant with residents being grossly overworked. That, though, is likely par for the course at a county hospital, although this one inspires comparisons to the infamous LA County Hospital. The faculty there seem to exude an arrogance that their program is right there with the very best. It pervaded the atmosphere to my ear, and I didn't care for that. It was as if the more you say it to justify your own ego, the more apparent it is that the program's reputation is not what the faculty thinks.
Bottom line: good training, ok reputation. If you are looking for a reputation that will follow you outside the South, you're kidding yourself. Probably about 30 years too early still.
