Why Not...???

Because it's in memphis I suspect. I went to several of the "top" programs to interview and thought campbell was as good as any of them. I think some are turned off by the fact that it is pretty much 100% white southern men (of which I am one). I happened to like that about it, but that is just my guess as to why it doesn't get its due here.

Probably one reason is that it isn't known for having a huge fellowship program. That's the impression that I got on my interview. They have a fellow for the areas that they have more than just the residents can handle, but don't have more than one in any given area, and don't have and have never had any joint or sports fellows as far as I know. They seemed to try to keep the case competition between fellows and PGY-5s at a minimum.

Not having a huge fellowship program is something that would make a program more desirable for me. I might be in the minority, but I would much rather operate than watch a 6th year work.

Do others feel that not having a ton of fellows makes a program lower caliber?

I specifically looked for places with as few fellows as possible. Fellows take cases away and do none of the crap work in the hospital. The presence of fellows does not in any way make a program more desirable to me. There are some places where there is so much volume that having fellows doesn't detract much from resident's cases, but they always have a way of finding out where the "good" cases are and getting in to do them.

When I said that they aren't considered by many as one of the top programs cause they don't have fellows, I didn't mean that you have to have a bunch of fellows to have a good program, just that most "top" programs that everyone seems to talk about happen to be known for their fellowships, including places like Harvard, Mayo, HSS, etc.
I agree that the best places to train probably don't have a bunch of fellows, none of my top five places have more than a couple of fellows each. I think that UTCC fully deserves to be considered as one of the best programs in the nation, I mean heck, they wrote the book that many consider the authority in orthopaedics and they have some of the top staff in the world of academic ortho. They didn't seem to have the research world by the horns, but that is also somewhat of a bonus in my book.
They also are certainly, as podtobe noted, not a well rounded program as far as their residents go. All male, all caucasian or mostly caucasian, most are really laid back, almost all from the South or Midwest, kinda a southern fraternity feel to the whole thing, which makes it very attractive to many.

My take with interview:

High racial tension in area, trauma heavy, the med sucks with poor ancillary staff, you have to cover something like 7-8? hospitals which equates to a ton of driving, 2nd year sucks with 24 hours on 24 hours off for 6 months of the year. :sick:

Good points were sweet attendings and residents and quite a bit of operating. A plus or minus was at night you would be flying solo when it was busy. I was told an attending would be available if need be but didn't seem to be in the patients best interest or mine in my opinion.

I did talk with several people who rotated there and loved it and the residents seemed pretty happy. A good place but in looking back I had a lot more cons for Campbell than other programs. Also talked to a med student from there who said it would be low on his list simply because of the patient population (mistrust, racial tension). My $.02 I guess different strokes for different folks.
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A little clarification,

Good to see a little discussion going on about the Campbell Clinic.

Yes, it is undoubtedly one of the top 5 programs in the county (my opinion) not to mention the oldest. As OldSouthernBones wrote, these guys wrote and continue to write the "Text" many consider the standard. Additionally, fellow load is low. This means the Attendings invest their energy and expertise in you, not someone else. You operate a ton. I think Campbell's doesn't "blow their own horn" a lot. They know they are good and don't feel they have to try and convince others in order to feel justified.

Let me clarify a few things BigPiece mentioned. Racial tension exists if you want to find it. I suspect that goes for most places, however. The Med is indeed trauma heavy (2nd busiest in the country, I've heard) but you only spend 3 months a year there. You are never left flying solo. There is always someone there if you need them, but yet you have some autonomy to make decisions.... As a 2nd year, you do spend 6 months there, but only half of that time is 24 on / 24 off.

The rest of the time you spend on rotations 1:1 with staff at outlying hospitals (mostly private). I don't think med-students see this side of the program (which accounts for a majority of your training). All call outside of the time you spend at the Med is "home call". Conferences are held just 2x a week (in the evening) and are taught by staff. This means you aren't waking up a 3:00 am every morning so you can round and get to morning conference by 6:00.

Yeh, most of the guys are from the South. There are some of us from other areas and we got in. The residents are closely knit and get along (easy-going group of guys).

There is plenty of research to get lost in. In fact, you have an entire 3 months during your 3rd year devoted to starting, working on, or finishing your project. The staff support that is available for helping you is unparalleled, not to mention the facilities. The Campbell Clinic takes care of you (ie, providing you with an entire library of ortho texts your intern year to keep at not cost).

It is by no means the "perfect program". I don't think any program is perfect, but this one comes pretty good in all aspects. Hope this helps give everyone out there a better idea of things in Memphis. Best of luck to everybody in the Match.

-scottydogs.
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Just want to say thanks to scottydogs!

As a multiple year reader who will be going through the application process next year, that is if I can still function after the pain of my Psych rotation, I want to say, that although the info and opinions of 4th yrs, especially after aways or at your home program is appreciated and valuable, nothing stops a thread and becomes the final word like a post from residents of the program being discussed. (no, I wasn't an english major) So good luck to all who are applying this yr but remember to come back and post when you get an extra minute as an intern. The insight into the different programs really is helpful!