Only right that I be the first one to start this off.
Med School: Top 30
Boards: Step 1: 250s Step 2: 250s - taken and released after interviews
Rank: probably somewhere in the 50th percentile
AOA: (Junior/Senior) Nope
Preclinicals: (Honors, HP, E, P, what ever your school uses.) Meh who cares?
Clinicals: Mix of H and HP, H in surgery
Ortho: (grades you received.) all H in home and away rotations
Aways: 3 aways all over the country at all reach places that I could see myself
Research: 5 publications, a couple of additional abstracts
Extracurriculars: Ortho interest group in school, etc
What I was looking for in a Program: Wanted a more academic program, didn't care that much about the community feel, wanted a large program in a hopefully urban setting, but willing to sacrifice the city life for quality of training. Emphasis on joints/hand/upper extremity/sports because that is what I see myself doing.
How many Programs:
Applied to: 70
Offered Interviews: 30
Attended: 15 - conflicts etc
Tier 1:
(Please describe programs here in detail)
HSS: What an honor. Ideal program for someone who wants academics, wants an urban life, and wants to enjoy it because the hours don't seem bad at all. Too bad you have to give a hand and a leg to get the email that says you're ranked to match. Not an ideal program for those who want trauma/community type operating experience in NYC, but for those who want an academic program with unlimited opportunities for research and a fellowship anywhere in anything, this is the program. People are somewhat weird; residents dont seem as close as other places and attendings are definitely a bit high strung and don't treat residents as family, but the perks are probably worth it when you get $900 housing in the upper east side along with the HSS name.
Washington University: HSS of the Mid-West. Maybe? Great academic name but the residents seem closer. St. Louis is meh for someone who wants an urban life, but the quality of training is up there with HSS, Mayo, etc. Have research for days and most residents seem to get a grant (OREF etc). Great for sports, joints, hand/upper ex so it was a special treat to get an interview here. Seems like there is some NP/mid-level support so the interns aren't getting killed with floor work all the time and the education (didactics, etc) might be the best in the country based on the session they had during interview day. The only con might be st. louis which isn't for everyone. Dr. Wright has stepped down from PD duties but still on staff so pretty sure the program isn't going to take a hit.
Harvard: What is there to say. Amazing, world-famous attendings in everything. Unlimited research resources. But there might be a down side: residents were a little quirky for me. After talking to one of the seniors, got the impression that the operating experience isn't what it's made out to be which is a downer because that is what a surgical residency is for. It seems most attendings are fairly hands on because they are so famous and don't let the residents do much. Still, the fellowship list is amazing and if you were going to go for the name alone, it would be hard to blame you.
Mayo: Would be a #1 if it wasn't for Rochester, Minnesota. Tundra on interview days with temperatures in the -10 to -20 range. The interview day is amazing and shows they care. The mentorship model is absolutely amazing with research infrastructure that is maybe only matched by HSS/Rush in the whole country. The 6 months of potential elective time during PGY5 sounds like a dream come true, but you have to survive Minnesota weather. Not as urban as I wouldve liked (obviously), but their fellowship match in Joints and Hand is probably only matched by Wash U/Rush/HSS. Trauma is likely their most weak point followed by Peds, but those aren't my interests. The residents were also absolutely amazing and seemed like they hung out more than any of the others in my Tier 1 places.
Tier 2:
Utah: Likely a Tier 1 program. Maybe the best interview day on the trail because everyone knows your applciation forwards and backwards and there is no time limit to the interviews. Aoki is a true mentor and cares about everyone. The new research infrastructure is absolutely amazing and they are really ramping things up. My two main concerns were operating autonomy and Salt Lake. Heard from some residents that most attendings are a bit hands on, even in sports and joints, so that was a little concerning. As someone who wants to be in a city, Salt Lake wasn't appealing. If you want to be at a place where you want amazing mentorship and amazing didactics with 24/7 access to world class skiiing/snowboarding, this is the place to be.
Case: Cleveland wasn't too bad. Operating experience is apparently amazing and they now have two Level 1 trauma centers. This is actually a negative in my opinion because before the chiefs could do a mini fellowship by picking cases of their interests but now there is more trauma which takes away from that. Also, the Allen Fellowship (research year) is picked after you start so you can get stuck doing that even if you don't want. This is not a negative in itself but it appears the infrastructure isnt there to take advantage of it and that basic science is pushed on you during this year - which I don't care much about. The autonomy in the operating room and the residents are a big sell because they were all amazing and some of the closes I saw on the trail.
UCSF: Probably a tier 1 program by reputation but tier 2 in terms of training. SF is an amazing city, but I don't believe the hype around SFGH's trauma training after talking to some rotators. Also, sports experience is only decent though their joints fellowship match is exceptional due to Dr. Vail. Also sounds like interns and PGY2s have a lot of scut work and don't get to go to the OR a lot and that the residents are uncomfortable even as PGY5s, which is definitely a minus. Could probably get a decent fellowship here and during the interview day, all the attendings introduced themselves which showed how much they truly care. The interviews themselves were nerve wrecking because of their seriousness and knowledge rooms, etc. Would be in Tier 1 for others, just not for me.
Tier 3:
Colorado - Too much trauma and not enough academics for my liking. Training seems exceptional.
Miami - same as above.
Maryland - same as above. actually heard from rotators that don't really get to do much in the trauma ORs until PGY5 because of how many fellows there are.
Allegheny - same as above.
Mt. Sinai - just heard too many bad things that were confirmed by rotators on interview day. Merger with St. Luke is too much uncertainty.
UW - just not for me.
NOT RANKED: Two programs that I couldn't see myself at.
Matched at: (did away there, where on ROL, etc) TBD
Advice for future applicants:
Make the list how you want. Your list will not be the same as anyone else's and your tiers won't be either. YOUR HAPPINESS IS WHAT MATTERS IN THE LONG TERM.
(Please include other comments on aways, connections, someone made a phone call, etc. I am curious about this and I'm sure others are as well)
Topic Author
