What would jesus do? (selecting a residency)

[bGMx]

I'm heavily relying on my christian upbringing by recruiting Jesus into the title but he really has nothing to do with my question. The question is as old as time, and I know I will have to come to this conclusion on my own, and I've already scoured the heavens of SDN to read up on old opinions.

During this interview season I've interviewed at many programs that fit my goals very well, I have no bad options. And I am an adaptable guy; I can live in any setting. But I don't really want to. I want to live in Maine. The programs that are juxtaposed to Maine Med's residency that are at the top of my rank list right now are Cambridge Health Alliance, Beth Israel Deaconess, Columbia, UW Seattle, University of Maryland, Duke, and Dartmouth.

Columbia I'm having the hardest time with. I don't like NYC. I actually despise it. As an east-coaster who has been living in the shadow of NYC for years, I understand that this is somewhat the vibe of being a New Yorker. I could live here, but do I really need to? Is Columbia that great? Same question for the other programs. The Boston programs as well. The dilemma for me is: will me prioritizing my lifestyle preferences be a disservice to my patients? I could get "the best" training, so if I don't try to get the "best" training, I'm essentially putting my "needs" before people who don't even get to choose.

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[mistafab]

I'm heavily relying on my christian upbringing by recruiting Jesus into the title but he really has nothing to do with my question. The question is as old as time, and I know I will have to come to this conclusion on my own, and I've already scoured the heavens of SDN to read up on old opinions.

During this interview season I've interviewed at many programs that fit my goals very well, I have no bad options. And I am an adaptable guy; I can live in any setting. But I don't really want to. I want to live in Maine. The programs that are juxtaposed to Maine Med's residency that are at the top of my rank list right now are Cambridge Health Alliance, Beth Israel Deaconess, Columbia, UW Seattle, University of Maryland, Duke, and Dartmouth.

Columbia I'm having the hardest time with. I don't like NYC. I actually despise it. As an east-coaster who has been living in the shadow of NYC for years, I understand that this is somewhat the vibe of being a New Yorker. I could live here, but do I really need to? Is Columbia that great? Same question for the other programs. The Boston programs as well. The dilemma for me is: will me prioritizing my lifestyle preferences be a disservice to my patients? I could get "the best" training, so if I don't try to get the "best" training, I'm essentially putting my "needs" before people who don't even get to choose.

If you don’t want to live there, don’t go there. That simple.

4 years is a long time to dislike where you live.

 

[untapped]

If you despise NYC why would you go there? There's good programs everywhere. Is it big cities you don't like in general, or specifically NYC/Boston?

 

[Merovinge]

If you are choosing between all mid and upper tier programs, just go where you fit best. I wouldn't turn down Harvard to go to some new community program with zero US MDs, but in almost any reasonable case going where you fit best is prioritizing your patients. When you fit in well, you learn better, you are more balanced as a doctor and you will provide better care for your patients.

I was flip flopping between a program I thought was better than the program I went to, but in a city I had far less interest in, and choosing to rank higher the program I ended up at is among a top 3-5 decision in my life. Goes to show you how much chance there is in life, as obviously I would never have the job I have now or met my spouse or many of my best friends had I just checked 1 box in a different order.

 

[comp1]

You are, more likely than not, going to stay where you do residency. Choose based on location.