Where are you applying for residency?

[DoctorWannaBe]

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today i was talking with my attending about my application, and he warned me against specific programs (including where he did fellowship) for residency because, though they have outstanding reputations, they are not good for residents because the focus is either too much on the fellow or on research. has anyone else received this type of feedback?

I have heard this from several people... mainly residents who did NOT go to one of those 'big name' programs, but interviewed there and decided against. It seems like big name places are great for fellowship and if you are really into the academic pathway, but you may not get the 'independent decision making experience' there that you get in 'resident-run' programs.

One of my attendings told me the same thing and gave me some advice on specific programs I was thinking of applying to. University of Chicago, Vanderbilt, and University of Washington are all very basic science research oriented and this takes away from the clinical teaching. Stanford is pretty fellow-run. Northwestern has tons of fellows but supposedly you still have independence. It would be nice to hear from some current residents though to verify this information.

 

[LSUtigers]

I've heard some of the same stuff also. I was wondering if anyone knows much about the program at the new Dell Children's Hospital in Austin. The facilities look amazing. They have no fellowship positions either, so I've heard the residents get all sort of great experience. They get to see all of the subspecialty cases instead of the fellows who have priority at most big name programs, plus it's in Austin which is great too.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Whether going to a large program with fellows enhances or diminishes a resident's learning experience is discussed periodically here. Certainly faculty at any given institution will be fairly certain that there method is best. I discourage accepting any such generalizations and considering each program individually.

Also, consider your personal goals. If interested in a particular specialty, the learning experience may be enhanced at a program that is large enough to support fellows and thus likely has research and a large clinical base in that area. Of course it could be diminished if in that situation residents are only used in a limited supporting role.

On the whole, coming from a place that has fellows in most specialties, I think that residents can work directly with fellows and get an enhanced experience, but I recognize that is not always the case. In fact, it may be very different between specialties within any given institution.

Bottom line - when getting advice, listen to generalizations then make your own decisions and forget most of the generalizations!

 

[doc02]

I was just lurking on here because I know someone who is trying for Peds this year. She's applying for Children's National in DC. Are you guys saying that's a good program? Tough to get into? (Feel free to ignore me, since I'm not in any way connected with Peds, lol.)

 

[doc02]

You guys aren't that nice; I bet you if I was six years old, you'd help me out. 😀 Seriously, anyone want to answer my question?

 

[TexasRose]

You guys aren't that nice; I bet you if I was six years old, you'd help me out. 😀 Seriously, anyone want to answer my question?

awww. Just wait 'til someone who knows the program finds this post. It's in the middle of a longish thread. If you really want a faster answer, ask in the interview thread. (lots of attention there right now. 😉 )

 

[m1234d]

I was just lurking on here because I know someone who is trying for Peds this year. She's applying for Children's National in DC. Are you guys saying that's a good program? Tough to get into? (Feel free to ignore me, since I'm not in any way connected with Peds, lol.)

hi, i am not that familiar with the program except for that it has a good reputation (both my advisers said to definitely apply to it), and in their invite email they said:

Choosing among our applicants is an extremely difficult task for us. There
are many well-qualified applicants who remain on our waiting list. As of
October 1 of this year, we have received over 1400 applications. This is well
ahead of our totals for this time last year. We hope all of you will choose
to interview here. Please contact us as soon as possible if you do not wish
to interview with us, so we may offer your slot to another applicant.

hope that helps. i saw your post and didn't reply because i figured someone with more familiarity would... hopefully someone will be able to shed more light on the subject.