Wisconsin-Madison

[IgM]

Hey guys,
so I've done the appropriate thread-searching but haven't seen anything with the info I'm looking for. I'm interested in madison for IM and would love to know what kind of competitiveness I could expect from their applicant pool. In terms of steps, whether all the applicants are all-honors, AOA types or what. Basically I'm trying to gauge for myself whether or not madison is the kind of place I should try to avoid getting all worked up about and falling in love with, or if it's an attainable goal. Also interested in anyone's opinions about the "feel" of the program and what types of people they like.
Any PMs from current residents would be so very appreciated!!
IgM

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[Brachyury]

Hey guys,
so I've done the appropriate thread-searching but haven't seen anything with the info I'm looking for. I'm interested in madison for IM and would love to know what kind of competitiveness I could expect from their applicant pool. In terms of steps, whether all the applicants are all-honors, AOA types or what. Basically I'm trying to gauge for myself whether or not madison is the kind of place I should try to avoid getting all worked up about and falling in love with, or if it's an attainable goal. Also interested in anyone's opinions about the "feel" of the program and what types of people they like.
Any PMs from current residents would be so very appreciated!!
IgM

If you get info, could you please post the details, thanks!

 

[chitown82]

Hey guys,
so I've done the appropriate thread-searching but haven't seen anything with the info I'm looking for. I'm interested in madison for IM and would love to know what kind of competitiveness I could expect from their applicant pool. In terms of steps, whether all the applicants are all-honors, AOA types or what. Basically I'm trying to gauge for myself whether or not madison is the kind of place I should try to avoid getting all worked up about and falling in love with, or if it's an attainable goal. Also interested in anyone's opinions about the "feel" of the program and what types of people they like.
Any PMs from current residents would be so very appreciated!!
IgM

Solid program, great PD. I know multiple people there - solid applicants but not AOA - closer to middle half/upper third of the class.

 

[gutonc]

Hey guys,
so I've done the appropriate thread-searching but haven't seen anything with the info I'm looking for. I'm interested in madison for IM and would love to know what kind of competitiveness I could expect from their applicant pool. In terms of steps, whether all the applicants are all-honors, AOA types or what. Basically I'm trying to gauge for myself whether or not madison is the kind of place I should try to avoid getting all worked up about and falling in love with, or if it's an attainable goal. Also interested in anyone's opinions about the "feel" of the program and what types of people they like.
Any PMs from current residents would be so very appreciated!!
IgM

Great, solid middle-tier program with perhaps the best PD in the country (at least since ours stepped down and Babyatsky at MSSM moved up to the chairman's spot). Really great clinical opportunities with 3 hospitals (I assume IM still rotates at Meriter...don't know for sure) and the VA on campus. It attracts a lot of stellar candidates from the Midwest but location probably keeps it less competitive than the program deserves. You don't need AOA but you need to be a solid applicant. Looking at the current resident list, I only see one DO and a few IMGs (although they're from places like Aga Khan, Germany and Iceland...no Caribs or Polish diploma mills).

I loved the place but my wife hated Madison so it went lower on my list than the program itself deserved. It would have been Top 3 if it had been all up to me.

As far as trying to determine whether a program is "attainable" for you, one thing to be aware of is that applying to residency programs is dirt cheap compared to med school. Based on this years fees, you can apply to 30 programs for a little over $300. So no reason not to just throw a bunch of applications out there and see what sticks. Aim high, aim middle, aim low. You've got little to lose.

 

[kafkaontheshore]

I'm a bottom half student from a pretty well-thought of medical school with a board score in the 240s who got an interview, so take that for what it's worth. Definitely no where close to AOA 🙂

I didn't know anything about UW before I visited, but I really enjoyed the place.

I found the PD to be very thoughtful and experienced (great example of this is that he worked together with the residents to have their work hour rules plan finalized in November/December, waaay earlier than most others). He is awkward, though I felt it was more in an "absent minded professor" way than a rude or unfriendly way, if that makes any sense. I think he provides very caring leadership, though I think Tulane, Case Western, and some others would have some objection to him being called the best in the nation 🙂

Everyone comments that the residents are very cohesive and collegial with one another, though we didn't get the best turnout at our pre-interview dinner, so I didn't get the best feel for this. I don't know if that's a red flag. From the website, it seems like 90% of them are from the midwest.

I think the clinical experience would be solid with a 500 bed university hospital, small 100 bed VA, and yes, you do still do a couple rotations at Meriter Hospital. I do question the socioeconomic diversity of the patient population, as Madison is a wealthy, largely white town, but the university hospital is the public referral option for the state, which does improve this somewhat (I sometimes question the educational value of referral cases vs. primary diagnoses you make yourself, but not that many programs have true public hospitals, where you do a lot more of that, so meh).

Fellowship placement is very good, and for heme/onc, outstanding.

I also thought Madison was a neat little city, and the kind of place I would like to live (though I'm from the South, so maybe my comments are a little weather-naive 🙂 )

Anyway, hope that helped, PM with any additional questions.

 

[Diamond420]

The program is incredibly solid.

The most recent graduating class of 22 categoricals had over half the class match in the most competitive subspecialties (5 GI, 5 Heme/Onc, 4 Cards). The remainder of the class matched/placed where they wanted to (i.e. Critical Care, Geriatrics, Primary Care, Hospitalist, etc.). This past cycle for the fellowship match, there were 8 categoricals who applied for GI and all of them matched.

Otherwise, the program director has been around for 30+ years and demonstrates a sharply vested interest and genuine concern for all the residents, and his personality emanates throughout the residency program. Residents receive a lot of individualized and focused attention and do very well.

Yes, the city is small and neat but does leave something to be desired, however Chicago is only 2 hours away.

 

[ToxoplasmaG]

I think the clinical experience would be solid with a 500 bed university hospital, small 100 bed VA, and yes, you do still do a couple rotations at Meriter Hospital. I do question the socioeconomic diversity of the patient population, as Madison is a wealthy, largely white town, but the university hospital is the public referral option for the state, which does improve this somewhat (I sometimes question the educational value of referral cases vs. primary diagnoses you make yourself, but not that many programs have true public hospitals, where you do a lot more of that, so meh).

.

Sorry! I know this is somewhat delayed response, but I went to Wisconsin for a second look. Mostly because I was concerned about the patient population at their hospitals. It is definitely true that from a race standpoint, it is quite homogenous, but from a socioeconomic standpoint I would say that it is not true. On the gen med teams, they have prisoners, rural farmers, drug abusers, and computer programmers. I would use this as a factor to guide your decision 🙂