Does anyone have any thoughts on or personal experience with UTSW's IM program in regards to comraderie, mentoring, happiness, flexibility of schedule, involvement of residents in research, living in Dallas, diversity, work hours etc?
As a med student there, here was my take...
Comraderie- Very good. It's a big program, so there will probably be little clicks in each class. But, residents always seemed to really get along well. Potpourri (the lunch time thing they had at interview day) is always a lot of fun and I think having liver rounds (drinking at the Faculty Club at least once a month) helps things.
Mentoring- Upper level residents are some of the sharpest I have seen throughout all IM programs, so you learn a ton from them. Faculty as a whole loves to teach, but more through each case rather than having lectures during rounds. With such a big place there will always be on or two bad apples, but that will probably happen anywhere in programs of comprable size.
Happiness- I think residents are generally happy. They work hard and work a lot, but they are all such confident and competent physicians when it is all said and done. If you don't see yourself putting in the hours and working your butt off, then you might not be happy here. But, if you know what you are getting in to, a place where you are the DOCTOR, then you will love it.
Flexibility of Schedule- They're making the schedule more flexible than it used to be. There is an elective month during intern year now so you can do research. Also, they've added some consult and specialty months during intern year, which means less wards than there used to be.
Research- During med school, faculty made a real effort to involve med students in research, so they definitely like having residents/students work on projects. Much easier to do now with the elective time during intern year and during other years. I think pretty much everyone now does some type of research to help with fellowship.
Dallas- It's no NYC, Chicago or San Fran. It's a really big city, though, with anything you would want. It can be a bit of a pompous city at times. Nightlife is good. Lots of young 20 somethings live in uptown. It's a really spread out city with a gagillion suburbs. Cost of living is great. Good food. A bit of a concrete and highway jungle at times. Public transportation is a big work in progress.
Diversity- Patient population is fantastic at Parkland. Probably 1/3 African-American, 1/3 Hispanic, 1/3 White.
Work Hours- They work hard. Probably right at 80 hours on all ICU months & close to that on wards. Sometimes more. I've met some residents who have never broken the hour rule and others who do all the time, so I'm convinced it's all about your efficiency. That said, the volume is high. Your team will cap every night on call. Cross-cover is busy and ICU months are absolutely crazy. But, when it's all said and done, there will not be a better trained resident in the U.S. Parkland=Autonomy. As a med student, I probably worked like an intern, and interns like residents. Faculty is there to help, but ultimately the residents run the show. It can be daunting at first, but once you get used to it, you wouldn't be able to imagine it any other way. The cases are phenomenal. If you've read about it, you will see it. Not much in the way of complex transplant stuff, but that's what fellowships are for. You do get some exposure at St. Paul, but not a ton.
Fellowships- Placement is really really good. A lot of the faculty were housestaff who went somewhere else for fellowship and then came back. This helps a lot when you need people to make calls, etc. for you.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
