UW vs. OHSU

[Runner22]

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Hey all - I am struggling with this decision, any help would be much appreciated! On the one hand, I am a Seattle resident, and my gf and family are all in Seattle but I am also dying to leave the city for some new experiences and I am a fan of Portland. The schools seem fairly similar to me in terms of curriculum and style of teaching. Any thoughts? What would you do any why? Thanks for the help!

 

[funkydrmonkey]

UW for the win... cheaper, and it will likely help you get into any residency you want, so after 4 years you can go to any location you would like.

Congrats on the acceptances by the way!

 

[megamega]

I would go for UW. UW is #6, while OHSU is #35. I think the gap is pretty significant, but I am somewhat into numbers. I have also heard from a UW med student that UW is ranked in the top 10 in ten different ranking systems (I don't know which ones).

Plus, UW would probably be cheaper for you. Also, if you're interested in leaving the state, UW will allow you to go to school for MS1 at any of the WWAMI states, if you request it. You can also request to go do your MS3 and 4 rotations at WWAMI states. Also, you can do the IHOP or UROP thing during your first summer and still leave the state.

 

[202781]

I would go to UW over OHSU.

OHSU is having ton of budget problems in all areas and tuition is going through the roof (even for Oregon residents). IMO go to the cheaper/"better" school and if you want a new experience go somewhere else for residency.

 

[DrWookie]

I would go to UW over OHSU.

OHSU is having ton of budget problems in all areas and tuition is going through the roof (even for Oregon residents). IMO go to the cheaper/"better" school and if you want a new experience go somewhere else for residency.

Seconded.

OHSU has completely mismanaged their funds and aren't in a very good place right now to be honest. They have beautiful facilities and no money to put anyone in them...kind of sad.

 

[sacrament]

Seconded.

OHSU has completely mismanaged their funds and aren't in a very good place right now to be honest. They have beautiful facilities and no money to put anyone in them...kind of sad.

This is sort of an odd statement. The only vacant space at OHSU are the top two floors of Kohler which are still being built-out and will be occupied next month. At that point there will be no unused space on campus, and the hospital runs at or near capacity much of the time. Nobody directly involved in patient care (physicians, nurses, techs, etc) has been affected by job cuts.
Given the current economic climate, there are three kinds of academic medical center:
1) Those who are in economic crisis.
2) Those who are about to be in economic crisis.
3) Harvard.
I'm exaggerating, of course, but who knows by how much.
The answer remains: since you're sort of up-in-the-air, go to UW because it will be significantly cheaper.

 

[bstk]

I have an inside source at OHSU (faculty), who complains that the medical students there are ill prepared for residency because they are not rigorously trained in the clinic. For example, (at least in your Sub-I in Surgery) medical students are not required to take calls. Like ever. So they're in for a rude awakening when they go on to their residencies.

On the other hand, UW, for all its faults will train you to be an excellent resident.

So another vote for UW 🙂

 

[sacrament]

For example, (at least in your Sub-I in Surgery) medical students are not required to take calls. Like ever. So they're in for a rude awakening when they go on to their residencies.

Well, when I was a med student at OHSU I took overnight call on six rotations: sub-I medicine, sub-I surgery (trauma), 3rd year med and gen surg clerkships, ob/gyn and MICU. Of course that was several years ago, so maybe they're taking less call now.

I don't want to come off as a fanboy of OHSU, because I certainly had my own issues with how some things were done (and if I could do it all over again I might look more closely at less-expensive alternatives), but I think the one-sidedness of the thread thus far deserves somebody speaking up for the other side. I had a pretty good experience there. I didn't feel any limitation whatsoever in residency choice or location, and I felt well-prepared for residency when it came. Your own milage may vary, of course, but it's not as though I'm some kind of superstar who was an outlier in my class.

 

[Mistress S]

I second Sac on this...currently a 4th yr at OHSU. It has its flaws like any school, not the least of which is cost, but as far as med students not being well-trained clinically I have in fact heard the opposite at residency interviews I have attended (e.g., people commenting that past OHSU residents they had were particularly well prepared). As for the assertion that med students don't take overnight call, I wish someone had told me that during my peds clerkship, peds sub-I, NICU, surgery, and ob/gyn rotations so I could have gone home and slept. While UW is certainly a good school, I don't know where people are getting the idea that UW students get to write their own ticket for residency- the students I have met from there seem happy enough but I don't think the name carries any special prestige with it for PDs.

Anyway, if you're a washington resident you should probably go to UW unless money is not an issue and you really want to move, in which case Portland is an easy transition from Seattle.