Why so many PM&R programs went unmatched?

[latinman]

Are the programs being more picking with the candidates they choose? Or the other way around? Most of the programs in the list are pretty descent. I am kind of surprised that 10 programs went without filling up their spots...

U Arkansas-Little Rock
Loma Linda University-CA
Schwab Rehab Hosp-IL
Indiana Univ Sch Of Med
Johns Hopkins Hosp-MD
Wayne State University SOM-MI
Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO
University Hosps-Columbia-MO
U North Carolina Hospitals
Ohio State Univ Med Ctr-OH

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[dc2md]

WOW!! OSU is the biggest surprise to me.

 

[tmh84]

I am not surprised that Schwab did not match 2 spots this year and last year. The program is extremely malignant. The PGY2 work harder than any place I know. The attendings might all be from RIC but the enviroment and location is not friendly at all. They have managed to graduate some good residents over the years but they would have been good any where they went.

 

[SSdoc33]

there are lots of reasons programs dont fill. they may not have ranked enough applicants, or interviewed enough. it is not directly related to the quality of the program. that being said, most of the programs you listed are middle of the road at best

 

[padresp]

I received an interview offer at Schwab this year. When I called back about a week later, the interview slots were full. The lady I spoke with said they didn't have a waitlist, and was by far the rudest (most rude?) of the people I've dealt with on the interview trail. I try not to let a single person ruin my view of a place, but it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

If they had a full interview schedule, there must have been something pretty unpleasant if they didn't fill their slots. I'd honestly heard good things about the place but wasn't too disappointed in not interviewing there, especially with so many other excellent programs in the area.

I am not surprised that Schwab did not match 2 spots this year and last year. The program is extremely malignant. The PGY2 work harder than any place I know. The attendings might all be from RIC but the enviroment and location is not friendly at all. They have managed to graduate some good residents over the years but they would have been good any where they went.

 

[RehabFit]

Some of the programs have both categorical and advanced slots, including I know Indiana and Ohio State at least. The OP from the general residency forum used a computer program to pull this together, but for the programs with both tracks the "other" line-item at the same program is filled (I assume the "filled" line is for the advanced slots). When I interviewed at places with both options, they always emphasized ranking both tracks and some even noted that if the categorical slots didn't fill they would shift those slots to the advanced list. My question is: would the unfilled list reflect this? For example, Ohio state had 6 slots total, 3 in each track. I wonder if in fact they matched 6 residents, all in the advanced track, but since their original ERAS # corresponding to the advanced track matched no-one, it says 0/3. I apologize if this makes no sense! (as if the NRMP ever does ) A trivial point maybe, but at the same time programs that don't fill often get stigmatized, especially on these forums, and I would hate for that to happen for a place that actually filled just because people might not have liked the packaged prelim medicine year.

All that said, i also interviewed at Schwab (and they have only advanced positions - so them not filling is real i think). Sort of an awkward day (lots of travel time between sites, wait time between interviews, etc.) but seemed decent overall, REALLY liked the PD Dr. Gittler and certainly no evidence of major malignancy. However, i must share that in the morning while we were waiting for the resident tour-guides in the work room a mouse literally jumped out from behind a radiator and ran across the room Would hate to incriminate a whole program due to something like this, but still - hard to not have a bad impression, especially after interviewing at RIC the day before

 

[ml2001]

Barnes-Jewish hospital matched its 2 Categorical slots, but filled only 1 advanced slot. Last I heard, the PD is in no hurry to fill the advanced position as the PD has one full year to fill it....

-ML

 

[lifeaseyeknowit]

I am not surprised that Schwab did not match 2 spots this year and last year. The program is extremely malignant. The PGY2 work harder than any place I know. The attendings might all be from RIC but the enviroment and location is not friendly at all. They have managed to graduate some good residents over the years but they would have been good any where they went.

I interviewed at Schwab. I thought the program was great! The residents did not indicate that the program was malignant at all and I know graduates of the program (current attendings) who swear it is the best thing that ever happened to them. The PD Dr. Gittler is awesome and everyone was super friendly when I interviewed. I will agree that the Residency Coordinator did not appear to be very friendly on the phone or via email, but in person she was very professional and very kind. (I think she just has one of those personalities that is mistaken for being unkind when in fact, she's just not "bubbly.") The only reason I can understand that Schwab may not have filled is because the location is not great. In fact, if Schwab was slightly further North, I think it would be in much higher demand and would have definitely been in my top 3 for sure. One thing that is great about them is that they really know their basic internal medicine a lot better than many other PM&R programs. I even talked to a resident at RIC who indicated she had a very, very tough time deciding ranking RIC vs. Schwab for her #1.

I just want to say for anyone reading this and trying to decide if Schwab is worth applying to, going to, interviewing at, etc., you cannot depend on assumptions from other people. Interview there and see how you feel about it. I personally think it is a great program (barring location).

 

[tmh84]

It very unlikely that residents will openly tell you that there program is malignant during the interview day. I rotated there as a student and I know exactly why they have failed to match half there spots not just this year but last year. I know multiple attendings(former residents) from the program who warned me not to go there. Dr. Gittler is with out a doubt one of the leaders of the field and she appears very friends during the interview. Schwab is literally 5-10 mins from downtown Chicago so location is not the only reason they failed to fill there spots. Residents have to do a lot of scut work and I noticed residents working from 7am-8pm on a regular bases. Anyway I have my opinion about the program and I am very happy i did not rank them.

 

[olafa]

It very unlikely that residents will openly tell you that there program is malignant during the interview day. I rotated there as a student and I know exactly why they have failed to match half there spots not just this year but last year. I know multiple attendings(former residents) from the program who warned me not to go there. Dr. Gittler is with out a doubt one of the leaders of the field and she appears very friends during the interview. Schwab is literally 5-10 mins from downtown Chicago so location is not the only reason they failed to fill there spots. Residents have to do a lot of scut work and I noticed residents working from 7am-8pm on a regular bases. Anyway I have my opinion about the program and I am very happy i did not rank them.[/QUOTE

Pronouns rule

 

[Jumpu]

I even talked to a resident at RIC who indicated she had a very, very tough time deciding ranking RIC vs. Schwab for her #1.

This sounds like something I would say, we might have met when you interviewed at RIC.

But I do stand by that statement. As a medical student, I absolutely loved my rotation at Schwab and compared to the current schedule at RIC, I didn't think it was all that different. I would venture to say, most inpatient rotations no matter where you go will be *challenging*. I am absolutely shocked that Schwab did not fill, it is a great program and you will be a well trained physiatrist coming from there.

 

[jofutti]

As a current Schwab resident, I can state for a fact that Schwab is not a malignant program. PGY-2 year was a busy year, but like others have said, it would be busy at any program. I don't feel like the attendings "scut" me out. When I was a PGY-2 and felt overwhelmed, the attendings were very helpful and would lighten my workload. (The friendliness of the attendings was actually a big reason why I wanted to come to Schwab initially). The hours are longer in your PGY-2, because it is all in-patient. We do get the 4:30pm admission occasionally, but that is not particular to Schwab. I was definitely not staying until 8pm every night. The patient load is not abnormal for rehab residents, average is about 15. What is also important to remember is that the program also has 2 other years filled with outpatient rotations where the schedule is significantly lighter. I feel like we are at an advantage with how our program is set up. We learn our basics PGY-2 year doing in-patient, then we can apply we have learned to our PGY-3 year when we do consults. We get to do EMGs in our PGY-3 and PGY-4 year which gives us a significant amount of exposure. We rotate in an anesthesia pain clinic where we get to perform interventional spine procedures. We also have an added bonus of Spasticity clinic, where we get to learn and actually inject Botox during our Musculoskeletal rotation. Having been through the PGY-2 experience, if given the opportunity to change programs, I would honestly still choose to train at Schwab. Residency is about working hard and learning, and Schwab offers a diversity of patients as well as rotations that I believe will make me a great physiatrist.

I rotated there as a student and I know exactly why they have failed to match half there spots not just this year but last year.

And just to clarify, we matched very well last year.

 

[avatar]

We get to do EMGs in our PGY-3 and PGY-4 year which gives us a significant amount of exposure. We rotate in an anesthesia pain clinic where we get to perform interventional spine procedures. We also have an added bonus of Spasticity clinic, where we get to learn and actually inject Botox during our Musculoskeletal rotation.

I'm not sure whether to be scared that you list these as bonuses. One would think that these are minimal requirments for a PM&R residency.

 

[jofutti]

I'm not sure whether to be scared that you list these as bonuses. One would think that these are minimal requirments for a PM&R residency.

There's nothing to be scared about. You are right that these are requirements for a PM&R residency. I just felt it was important to mention these rotations, because this thread seemed to be more focused on our PGY-2 year. I do feel that Spasticity clinic is a bonus, though, because not all programs offer the experience of learning how to inject Botox.