I rotated at UIC for 4 weeks and I also interviewed there. I am not a resident at UIC, so the info tha I am providing is as truthful as I can make it.
The residents at UIC are the program's strongpoint. They all get along and work very well together. The operative experience is better than that of other Chicago programs that I rotated at...yes, those programs with a "good reputation."
Some of the attendings at UIC are bipolar a$$holes...but what program doesn't have some attending with serious psychological pathology. Do you think all the attendings at RUSH and Northwestern are always nice to everyone. Get real. This is ortho, not derm.
That being said, most of the attendings treat the residents with respect. Abraham, the chairman is a great guy with a good sense of humor. Hutchinson and Goldberg are good resident advocates. They treat the residents very well and are excellent teachers.
About interveiw day. The interview is at the University campus. Only 8-10 residents are at that location, so if all 35 residents didn't show up to answer questions, it is because they were at other locations. It would be impossible to unite all residents for all the interview dates.
The interview itself was weird. 8 attendings asking you a bunch of stupid questions all at once. It is no longer than 10-15 minutes, and you have no idea if you performed well or not. It is not fun, I agree, but it does not mean that UIC has a bad program.
The bottom line is this, all of the senior residents are very comfortable in the OR and know their ortho quite well. They are placed at some of the top fellowship programs in the country. And best of all, they get to live in one of the best cities in the world for 5 years.
