- Witamy!! Forum ruszyło na nowo. Przy rejestracji proszę o wysłanie wiadomosci email (usmle.fora@gmail.com) z krótkim opisem siebie/ planów związanych z USMLE. Jest to niezbędne do weryfikacji i aktywowania konta :)

desdinova

Napisałem moje wrażenia po angielskiemu Wink

bo później będę je chciał wrzucić na prep4usmle i scutwork, ale myślę że nie jest to problem na naszym forum Wink

A więc tak...

Hi guys , I want to share my interview season experience.

First of all , the outline of my application:

Graduated in 2007 in top 3% of my med school
USMLE Step1 245/99
USMLE Step2CK 252/99
USMLE Step2CS pass
Step3 - taken in Nov, scores pending

1xLOR from Poland
1xLOR from Germany
2xLOR from US observerships in office

1 Minor research - case-control during med school
1 Publication in national medical journal

Average german language speaking skills
Basic spanish language speaking skills

...............................................................................

I applied to 30 programs , mostly on East Coast (tri-state) and to several exotic places (Texas, Duke.. Wink

Response and invitations came from 7 programs. No replies on any kind from others so far.

Norwalk Hospital, CT
Hospital of St.Raphael in New Haven,CT
Danbury Hospital,CT
Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia,PA
Lincoln Hospital,Bronx, NYC
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital,NYC
Jacobi Medical Center,Bronx,NYC

During my interview season I was limited to four weeks of November due to residency in my home country I am supposed to start in December. In consequence my schedule was really tight at times - including 3 interviews in 3 consecutive days, each in different city and state.

1.I started with Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, NYC

I went on this IV with certain opinion (based on forums/scutwork.com) , especially being aware of the ammount of scut inherent to that program. To my surprise it turned out that there had been a major shift in policy over the last couple of years and residents are no longer swamped with scut. There are IV teams and transportation personnel, which allows residents to focus on the clinical and medical aspects of patient care. The PD , dr. Gutwein is energetic and full of ideas, what matches rate of his speech Wink

. He presented program's features and ambitions with enthusiasm that I found almost infective. Smile

Great guy and I thought he would be one of the reasons to do residency in Jacobi. The interview itself is conducted by various members of faculty and only few applicants get the opportunity to talk to dr. Gutwein. I wasn't so lucky Wink

I was interviewed by quite young (and attractive Wink

female attending. It was very casual, the only serious question was about my LORs and how I did manage to obtain observership.
The hospital itself is really big, located in rather peaceful area of Bronx (i.e. The immediate proximity of hospital is nice and safe) but if you wander any further you will experience what the Bronx is famous for. At this point I have to mention one of the major assets and advantages of Jacobi - Bronx population. There aren't many (any?) other places that will offer you such a fantastic (from educational point of view) population and pathology diversity. People coming virtually straight from the airplane, originating in most exotic parts of the world will eventually show up in the Jacobi ED and on medicine floors. The faculty, even though somewhat ageing, seems really dedicated and residents look satisfied, although not glowing with happiness as it was later seen in Philadelphia . Salary is another advantage (58K for PGY1) , but there is no housing provided. Bronx is not the most expensive area though and finding suitable apartment is aided by Program's administration. Research is (allegedly) encouraged and possible due to strong Albert Eisteing Medical College affilation.
The dowsides are: no inhouse fellowships (they boast quite impressive fellowship placement though - it seems that Jacobi graduation is seen as something desired by many fellowship PDs), Cath-Lab has no certification for emergent PTCA and all STEMIs/NSTEMIs. are transported to Weiler Hospital (they're closely affilated); subway to Manhattan requires a transfer and it takes approx 1 hour to get to Penn Station (lower Manhattan) which is a lot. Taxi from Jacobi to middle Manhattan costs around 25$.
To sum up it seems to be really good place for training (mainly due to Bronx itself) and IMHO , the best of Bronx hospitals available for IMGs and in general.

2. Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philly

Right after the Jacobi interview I got on an Amtrak train to Philadelphia to make it to the evening diner with Albert Einstein Medical Center residents (two of them). We spend almost 3 hours chatting and they were REALLY , genuinely happy about their program. It was so blatantly obvious that they were literally glowing with satisfaction and joy. Smile

The interview day was very well organized and structured. The hospital is beautiful , trauma level I, highest reference facility (ca. 600 beds in main building) and they do almost everything , including tranplants.
The hospital and whole Albert Einstein Health is well managed ,they really have money and they make a good use of it.
The area around the hospital is somewhat rough (northern Philly) and you can feel it as soon as you leave the hospital's premises. It is like Bronx at it's (almost) worst. But again, that kind of environment means great educational and training opportunities .
The PD (Dr. Glenn Eiger) and rest of the faculty are absolutely top-notch. Enough to be said that the chief of GI (and GI fellowship PD) is Dr. Katz , who, as we were told is a current American College of Gastroenterology president elect. No further comments needed I guess. Dr. Katz gave us (and housstaff) an excellent lecture during grand rounds (PPI vs clopidogrel/pneumonia/osteoporosis etc..) and I loved every bit of it. Even though this is not university hospital you get a feeling that it is. Well , actually in terms of research they beat all university hospitals in Philly. There were quite a lot of AMG among housstaff and applicants which says a lot about this program. The quality of applicants was evidently higher than those I met in Bronx, at least basing on my short interaction with them.
Interview with Dr. Eiger was really great. He is a very concise , down-to-earth person with sense of humour and reasonable approach to life. He told me I was the first applicant from my country to be ever invited and asked me why should he hire me. Wink

What's more , when two days after the IV I send him thank you mail (quite long and thoughtful) he responded personally 2 hours later with more than a dry template-like mail. I really liked this guy.
Albert Einstein Med. Center is a fantastic place to train and work and if they would offer prematches there I would take it in no time. GREAT, GREAT hospital.

3.The following day I had an interview scheduled in Danbury,CT.

There is not much to write about it. 2h by train from NYC ,in the middle of nowhere, deeper into the land than most of other CT progams. The town (ca 80K inhabitans) is not very enticing place to live and is one of the downsides of this programe. Besides that (and cardiology fellowship,which is the only one they have) nothing really stands out about this program. The atmosfere seems ok , although after my previous two days (Bronx and Philly) is seems sleepy and low tempo , but not laid back. I was interviewed by two people: associate director (Dr.Schiffmann) and by the chairman (Dr. Tietjen). It was quite pleasant , standard questions (with Dr.Schiffmann) and curious inquiries about healthcare in my home country (Dr. Tietjen).
I was informed by Dr.Schiffmann that they fill their positions 50% with prematches and 50% through the match. I was asked whether I was interested in being considered for prematch (they discuss it and select applicants before they actually they offer it some time after the IV). There were quite a lot of Canadians among houstaff and applicants and I really liked them. Good , cheerful people, it must be a joy to work with them. Smile

4.My fourth interview was in Norwalk, CT.

It is a strong community program, with excellent critical care , with 3 inhouse fellowships (GI, critical care, sleep medicine) and absolutely wonderful faculty from Yale (Norwalk has strong affiliation with Yale) and Dartmouth. The PD, Dr. Kulaga (graduate from Dartmouth) is extremely supportive and will literally stand on his head to get you into a fellowship you want (my conclusions from conversations with PGY2/3s). They prepare you for fellowship application as early as during internship. The hospital is really nice, around 300 beds, but they don't have cardiac surgery. They provide housing (free which is great if you consider property prices in CT - single-bed ap. Would cost > 1100$) 200m from the hospital (nice,spacious apartments and parking) , PDAs , OVID/uptodate etc.. Access from any PC in hospital and remote access from home(!). You can also access your patient's documentation sitting at home. Great stuff. Smile

There is a lot of IMG ,mostly from Europe, Asia, South America. Camaraderie is really awesome (aided by the fact that most of them live in those free apartments which creates dormitory-like atmosphere) , one of the chief residents seemed like a guy who likes to party. Smile

Norwalk is similar in size to Danbury , but so much different.. It's a beatutiful town, 15min to Ocean, 2h drive to snowy slopes, 1h by train do Grand Central. Smile

You can actually feel that the property prices are among highest (or are highest) in the US. Lovely. The hospital is situated on the hill-top and is visible from any point in Norwalk. East windows give you outlook over Long Island and the Atlantic.
The only dowsides I can point to are: no cardiology and other fellowships inhouse and questionable population diversity (it is only my personal observation). However there certainly are un/underinsured patients , as we have seen during a tour (they got us into a van Smile

and in ambulatory clinic (1 or 2 miles from the hospital). Faculty and housestaff also claim that the diversity is sufficient , but undoubtedly it is nowhere near what you are going to see in the Bronx.
Finally , PGY-1 salary is 49K which combined with free housing is extremely attractive from economical point of view.
The major and oustanding features about Norwalk is the faculty, atmosphere and the support you receive from PD and other members of faculty when fellowship application is considered. Besides ,everyone in Norwalk (starting with Ms Janet Johnson - program coordinator) is warm-heared, cordial and make you feel at home. You really want to stay once you get there....
At the end of the very long (8.30-4pm) interview day I was offered a prematch, which I accepted. Smile

before the 14days deadline (extendable if you wish Very Happy

) I can't wait to start. Smile

5.Despite the prematch I decided to attend another IV - Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven.

The IV itself was preceded by a diner with chief resident and couple of residents. Chief resident (William) was absolutely fantastic, laid back guy with well balanced approach to life when it comes to work:fun ratio. Wink

Chief and many other members of housstaff come from South America Very Happy

and it influences the ambience in the program... Fiesta! Wink

But more seriously, they work hard but the atmosphere really helps , at work and when hanging out. Besides South Americans there are people from many different places in the world and very few AMGs. It is a really friendly environment and one of the best I have ever seen.
New Haven=Yale Wink

and it is hard to say whether Yale is located in the city or the city is build around Yale. Wink

You can feel the presence of that prestigious school at every step you take around the city. Besides student-related atmosfere Smile

and opportunies for pastime activities , there is also a lot of crime and you really have to be careful when wandering afterdark, especially around the Hospital of St. Raphael. The hospital is beautiful, bigger than Norwalk (ca.500 beds) and the only thing missing is the transplant unit and more fellowships. They currently are acredited to provide fellowship training in cardiology, nephrology and geriatrics. The interview day was long and entertaining with plenty of food Wink

. There is strong emphasis on bedside teaching and they have strong faculty to do that.
When it comes to doubts, there are couple. Fellowship placement is not so great and the program is not as research-oriented as proximity and affiliation with Yale would suggest. One o the interns told me that they are primary care-oriented but it does not preclude fellowship, especially that they have preference for their own residents when it comes to fellowship application. This is also true for cards.
Other thing that bothered me was the fact that many (if not all) residents have previous experience in medicine (e.g. A guy who was cardiac electrophysiologist back home!) which is great opportunity to learn (camaraderie!) but also raises a question of competition for fellowship places and the baseline level of expectations when evaluations are considered. I shared my doubts with the PGY2 who was giving us a tour but he dismissed them. He assured me that everyone is treated equally (evaluations) and that those experience collegues would get into fellowship anyway and anywhere.
Also , despite nice salary (52K for PGY1) no housing is provided and property prices (and rents) in New Haven (and CT in general) are very high (>1300). There are electives at Yale but it does not mean that you will automatically get research opportunities and LORs , especially if Yale Medical School graduates training in New Haven Yale Hospital are taken into consideration.
In general it is a really good program with excellent working environment and atmosphere and preference for own residents in fellowship application. I would rank it highly if I were to go the match.

Remaining interviews were: Bronx-Lebanon and Lincoln Hospital in Bronx. I cancelled them.

And now some subjective general advice for interviews:

1. Be familiar with common questions PD and faculty may ask (they are available on the web)
2. Be familiar with some qs you should/could ask , but go beyond simply replicating statements/qs from forums/blogs , modify them, add personal tint , THINK! , be original and remember that other applicants also know those standard phrases.
3. Observe and analyse what you see and hear during the interview day - thats where your qs should come from (those from the web should only serve as a backup)
4. Be interactive with other applicants and housestaff! Talk , smile , be natural and relaxed. They look for likeable people who will get along well with their team and will be an interesting addition to the housestaff, whose current members will give faculty their feedback after the interview day.
5. Enjoy the experience! I know it's difficult at your first IV ,but later on your confidence level will grow exponentially and as should your courage and charm.
6. Relax! Relax! Relax! I am far from being chauvinistic but guys from India and Pakistan often behave like they don't enjoy human interaction at all. That kind of attitude won't do them any favors and certainly won't win any friends or PD's enthusiasm. Smile, relax and have fun! Interview day is fantastic opportunity to learn about other people, most of whom have entirely different cultural background. It is an exciting and enriching experience , not scut.
7. Dress nicely and comfortably , your looks is supposed to be your advantage. Even your name is not Brangelina Wink

, you should be full of confidence which should stem from your own acceptance of your looks.
...So much for now. Smile

Good luck to all and I hope that you find my observations useful. If I will find time and patience I will put them on scutwork.com... But now .. Time to party! Very Happy

WHO DARES , WINS!

Koniec użerania się ze Stepami i oczekiwaniem na finał tego maratonu zwanego USMLE który już dla mnie nadszedł. Smile

Od lipca mówcie mi PGY1 Wink

))

Powodzenia dla wszystkich. Mam nadzieje ze to info przyda się kolejnym pokoleniom polskich lekarzy chcących podjac wyzwanie i przeżyć niezwykłą przygodę Smile

Difficult is worth doing. Smile

Jeśli są pytania to chętnie odpowiem jeśli tylko będę potrafił.

Elizka

Nice post, dude Wink

Jeszcze raz serdecznie gratuluję!!! It's time to celebrate! Kilka miesięcy wolności i od czerwca/lipca zacznie się roller coaster!

Calliope

Gratuluje, z calego serca Very Happy

I jeszcze raz dziekuje za kazdego Twojego, jakze pomocnego, posta Smile

desdinova

Elizka - oj tak Smile

Jak się zacznie to na maxa Wink

Teraz mam parę dni swobody a od grudnia do pracy w PL... Tylko na 6mcy całe szczęście.

Calliope - cała przyjemność po mojej stronie. Trzeba się wspierać jak tylko się da , a informacja to najmniej co można zrobić. Smile

BTW , jeśli można wyciągnąć jakąś lekcję z sukcesu Żydów, Hindusów i South Americans (wnioski po wyznaniach poalkoholowych paru Kolumbijczyków podczas IV w New Haven Wink

w US to właśnie taką że należy się wspierać na każdym kroku. Smile

Pozdrawiam i powodzenia Smile

katinka9

hej Desdinova!
Gratulacje!!! Mysle, ze bedziesz zadowolony. A obecni PGY1s z niecierpliwoscia czekaja na nowych PGY1s! Smile

pozdrawiam

hanta

Serdeczne gratulacje!!!!
Ale Tobie zazdroszcze... Smile

ja dopiero po 1 iv., reszta przede mna...

desdinova

Ooopss... Nagle okoliczności uległy dość ciekawej zmianie... Dostałem zaproszenie z University of Texas Southwestern... Poprosiłem PD z Norwalk o parę dni na rozważenie tej sytuacji..Zgodził się. Dr. Kulaga jest jedną z tych wspaniałych osób które robią wrażenie jakie pozostaje na całe życie...
A teraz mam kilka dni na analizę...pros, cons and risks... Ehh..A miało być tak pięknie... i spokojnie. Damn.

Calliope

Czyli tak jak napisala Elizka- roller coaster Cool

Zycie byloby zbyt nudne, gdyby nie tak zmiany okolicznosci Wink

desdinova

Rozważyłem. I zdecydowałem. Norwalk it will be. Smile

Miło otrzymać zaproszenie z UT Southwestern (Parkland Hospital, miejsce gdzie pisze się interne Harrisona, 3 aktywynych noblistów na uczelni medycznej i 340mln na research co rok etc..) ale realnie patrząc szanse na match są mierne. Żadnego europejczyka na wszystkich 3 latach interny, praktycznie sami AMG. Trzeba podejść do takich faktów na chłodno.

Koniec. Definitywnie. Wycofałem aplikację z NRMP i ERAS. Smile

Uff...

tyrol

Sluszna, dobrze wykalkulowana decyzja.
Gratuluje. Milo bylo Cie spotkac podczas IV day i choc razem nie bedziemy pracowac, to ciesze sie, ze beda Polacy w programie.