Well, we neglected our fine med student bretheren…so, I have decided we need to have a residency interview thread. Come on & brag 'bout where you’re interviewing. Please don’t neglect to inform us of which specialty you will be interviewing for.
Well if someone invites us to brag, I guess I’ll bite. I’m interviewing for neurosurgery.
So far I’ve interviewed at U of Wisconsin, Iowa, Mayo Clinic, and Oregon.
Starting tomorrow I’m off to Cincinnati, Vermont, and then Dartmouth. After that I’ve got interviews scheduled at Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Utah, U of Washington.
I have had a few rejections as well…Yale, Michigan, and the Barrow Neurological institute. But I’m more than pleased with what I’ve got. I’m still waiting to hear from 7 programs.
It’s been a good time thus far on the trail, comparing programs, meeting my fellow future colleagues, and beginning to compile my rank list.
Just can’t wait for match day…January 26, 2006, (87 days from today).
When will you be at Dartmouth?
I just got back from Dartmouth. Nice place…
I also got invitation to interview at Ohio State and U of Colorado.
Let me know when you’re going to be at Ohio State, and if I can help you out with rides to/from the airport, place to stay, dinner, etc.
Amy
Hi there,
Tara Cook will be in town tomorrow, Sunday for interview at Cleveland Clinic. I am hoping to at least have a drink the hotel bar if nothing else as I will be post call. I just know she is rocking on the interviews.
If anyone else is heading for the Cleveland area: University Hospital and Cleveland Clinic, let me know and I will try to cross paths.
To MPP: Congratulations on the Colorado invite. That has to be a lovely place to do neurosurgery.
Natalie 
Natalie,
Thank you for the kind words
I have been waiting for my interviews to be over to write a long list of info about the programs I interviewed at. Interviewing for residency has been fun, and so different from the pressures of applying for med school. Programs are focused on selling their program to you.
So far I have interviewed at (in order) Univ of Minnesota, Penn State- Hershey, Univ of Iowa, Univ of Tennessee, Univ of Maryland, Univ of Pittsburgh, and Case Western/Univ Hospitals.
The interviews I have remaining are (in order) Cleveland Clinic, Univ of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Univ of Arizona, Oregon Health Sciences Univ, and Univ of Utah.
I received but declined interviews at St. Louis Univ, Georgetown, and Univ of Kentucky.
I applied to 18 programs and received interviews at 17 so far. The only program I have not heard from is Univ of Washington. However, I have absolutely loved some of the programs that I have interviewed at, so, though I am expecting a rejection from Univ of Washington, I am not in the least upset by it.
I applied to neurology programs throughout the country. I discovered that I liked the medium sized programs (4-8 residents per class) best as they provide the best balance of enough residence to do the work but enough to allow residents a good amount of elective time. These programs are also in a variety of geographic locations (all decided with my husband before I applied).
I’m looking forward to my remaining interviews On December 14, the military match results are posted and I will find out if I have matched to their program in San Antonio or if I have been deferred to a civilian program. I have assured all of the program directors I have met with that I will notify them personally of the military match results and if I am continuing in the civilian match.
More info will be coming after I complete my interview cycle.
Tara
I finally had my last interview!!! It is such a relief to be done! Now, if I could only decide who to rank where… I honestly don’t know.
I am applying in IM and interviewed at (in no particular order): Univ of Colorado, Univ of Michigan, Mayo-Rochester, Mayo-Scottsdale, Dartmouth, Univ of Minnesota, Univ of Iowa, OHSU, Univ of Utah, Univ of Wisconsin, Univ of Vermont, and several community programs. I ended up cancelling several as well, when reality, costs, and exhaustion sank in.
My ROL changes frequently. 
So I guess I’ll enter it, and then change it frequently until Feb 22, when mercifully it will be over. The good news is that I honestly believe I could be happy and get a good education at any of the places I interviewed.
Boy, it sure feels good to be done. On to the next step 
Epidoc
Well looking at that list I can see that you’ll need to keep your heavy coat, boots and 4-wheel-drive! Good for you that you have so many solid choices and feel good about a lot of these programs. I look forward to hearing good news in March!
Mary
Hey Epi-
Is there a specialization of IM you want to go into or just general IM?
Godd job on the interview places - they are all really nice!
Megboo,
I plan on subspecializing, but I have more than one area of interest and want to explore a bit further before deciding. I have some electives coming up this year that hopefully will give me some more exposure to the subspecialties. Academic medicine has a certain appeal as well. About the only thing I really can’t see myself doing is full-time outpatient medicine. I’m getting excited (as well as frightened) about starting internship. Wherever I end up!
Epidoc
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I finally had my last interview!!! It is such a relief to be done! Now, if I could only decide who to rank where… I honestly don’t know.
I am applying in IM and interviewed at (in no particular order): Univ of Colorado, Univ of Michigan, Mayo-Rochester, Mayo-Scottsdale, Dartmouth, Univ of Minnesota, Univ of Iowa, OHSU, Univ of Utah, Univ of Wisconsin, Univ of Vermont, and several community programs. I ended up cancelling several as well, when reality, costs, and exhaustion sank in.
My ROL changes frequently.
Boy, it sure feels good to be done. On to the next step
Epidoc
Your interview list was remarkably similar to mine. We old folks must have the same taste. I also struggled to rank and now that I’m matched (although it wasn’t number 1) I’m super excited about it and am happy I didn’t match at some those that were above where I matched. So I think the advice given before about being very careful about your ranklist and be sure you imagine yourself at each and everyone of these programs and each and every one of these cities to get the list as best as it can be is important. Don’t let reputation sway you from your gut insticts of where you’d be happiest. You’ll get great training at any of those places. Best of luck…I don’t know why the NRMP makes you suffer through those weeks of waiting for the fateful day…
I agree with Epidoc and mpp. I too am happy to be done with my interviews- 11 neurology and 4 prelim medicine.
I alsa agree with going with your gut about where you would be happy. I struggled with my rank list, especially the top three (of which where I matched was one of), because there were differences in the programs that I was contending with- when you did your inpatient time, quality of didactics and bedside teaching, breadth of subspecialty exposure, etc. In the end, I matched at the program I was the most excited about throughout the entire interview cycle because I felt like I fit in the most there (odd considering I am from an East Coast city and am heading to a much smaller city in the midwest). I actually was called by the program director at the program below the one I matched at on my rank list the night that they submitted their rank list so he could tell me that they had ranked me “very high” on their list. While this program has a fantastic reputation and training program, I just did not feel like I fit in while I was there. Taking that in addition to some other aspects of the program that didn’t sit right with me, I ranked them lower than the programs that had a better feel.
Now for my prelim medicine year. My husband doesn’t retire from the Army until next May, so I am trying to stay in Baltimore so that we do not have to spend what will already amount to a strenuous year apart. I only applied to 5 local programs and interviewed at 4 programs (one rejection from Hopkins Bayview) because I tried to limit myself to what I thought were the stronger teaching programs in my area. Now I am nervous that I won’t match. However, Iowa guarantees the prelim year to its neuro residents if they want it. After discussing it with my new program director, Iowa will rank me so that if I choose to rank them, even as my last choice, I will still match so that I don’t go unmatched.
Of the 4 local programs I am ranking, I am really inclined to rank Maryland, where I am now, at the top. Last year they had 4 prelim spots go unfilled and the program director told me at an unofficial meeting during the summer that I had a very high chance of matching there if I wanted to. I think that is because most prelims want a cushy year and Maryland’s prelim year is definitely not that. But as a future neurologist, I feel that it is really important to have a solid foundation in medicine, so I want to go to the program that will provide the best teaching and after doing my other prelim interviews, my gut is telling me to go for the rigorous training at Maryland. We’ll see if my opinion changes over the next couple of weeks.
Tara
I certified my ROL last week and am now in the nail-biting stage of wondering where the Match Gods will send me!!! Oiy, I wish it were March 16th already!!! Good luck to everyone else out there who is still waiting, and congrats to all of our early match folks!
Jane
Hi, all. Stumbled across this thread late, but figured I’d add to it anyway. It’s been a long time since I posted here, but I still check in from time to time because this site was one of my main sources of sustenance when I was first deciding to leave my comfortable career and try for med school.
So four years have passed and now I am applying for a residency in pediatrics. Unlike some of my classmates who interviewed at dozens of places, I only went to a few: CHOP, Hopkins, Yale, Mayo and my current program. Because I like the program, and because it is least disruptive for my wife and sons, I’m leaning toward sticking around where I am for the next three years. It’s sometimes hard to believe that I’m right around the corner from the Match and graduation, not to mention residency. I remember reading entries from “Old Man Dave,” as he counted down the final weeks and feeling like I’d never get there.
Good luck, everyone!
Well…I’ll be damned! Old Bill Fredette! Nice for you to drop in and say hello! I see you are closing in on the prize at the end of the rainbow…or actually about to close in on your intern year!!! Hold onto your shorts for WILD ride!
Seriously, I am glad to see you have returned to the “flock”. I & all of the rest of the old-timey gang would love to see you hang around more & pass along the pearls of wisdom you have gained by traversing this path. You are now a huge asset to those folks who have yet to get where you are now.
Again, welcome back & it is wonderful to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to start a thread & update all of us on where you are, what you’ve done & where you are going from here.
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I am glad to see you have returned to the “flock”. I & all of the rest of the old-timey gang would love to see you hang around more & pass along the pearls of wisdom you have gained by traversing this path.
Hi, Dave. Thanks for the warm welcome back! Though my course through med school has been fairly uneventful, I’d be happy to share whatever I can - or just be around to offer the kind of encouragement I received when I was just starting out and visiting this site.
Well, it’s finally here! Match Week. I am looking forward to this week, as we have several things planned. Fortunately they don’t really expect us to do anything on match day. I know several of us on this forum are waiting for Thursday, either to find out where we’ll spend 3+ years, and some waiting for prelim year results. I just wanted to wish everyone good luck!
Epi
Good luck to all the MS-IVs out there. I go into this week with some anticipation, too, as I’ll find out who my new colleagues will be - and I realize with some degree of trepidation that I’ll be a member of the “senior class” that will work with them and help them learn the ropes. Kind of amazing to acknowledge that I actually have something to impart! It’s an exciting week. Good luck, everybody!
Mary
My best wishes to all of you seniors out there awaiting Thursday noon-time. I can remember how excited I was…of course, I was a bit cheated on Match Day, as my #1 choice in anesthesiology programs signed me outside of the match a few weeks prior - totally legal for a DO going into an ACGME program, but my PD & Chair had to have approval from the Dartmouth Med School Deans to offer it. I was & still am totally honored that someone would go to that much trouble for me.
Mary R’s statement struck a cord with me. I will also enter my senior year this coming July. However, no one who matches this year will ever work under me as a resident because of the way anesth programs are structured, the first year is invested in ‘general medical’ training (gen transitional, IM, anesth or surg internship), which is them followed by your 3 years of clinical anesthesia (CA-1, CA-2 & CA-3) years.
So, with that info comes a WARNING: any of you who match into anesth on Thursday - the first time you work under me I WILL BE YOUR STAFF-LEVEL ATTENDING!!!
THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG TUNNEL & IT IS NOT A ON-COMING FREIGHT TRAIN…IT IS A JOB!