Difference between "Program Director" and "Ch

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the program director oversees the academics and training of residents, whereas the chairman is in charge of the service as a whole. Some programs may have both positions while in others the chairman has program director responsibilities.

and in some programs,t he PD is just a title..and nothing more.

It really depends on the program.. sometimes both rolls (from the residents) are the same... ie the relationship between the residents w/ chair and PD are just a close...

it really depends on the program.

speaking from the other side now, i can tell you that it's not really the PD or the chairman who has the most say in whether or not you will match at a particular program. it's your interviewers, and the residents you interact with.

interviewers all get sheets to grade applicants, and they mark "rank" or "do not rank" as their final eval. some break it down into tiers...top 10, top 25, etc. this goes for senior as well as junior attendings.

residents all get together and talk extensively about rotators, and about anyone who stood out for particularly good or bad reasons at the interview. these meetings make a lot of difference, as i helped get a guy into my program who i knew in college (not a friend, but a good guy who i knew would be solid), to the point where everyone came up to me after the match and said "we got your guy...hope he's good."

as far as the PD and the chair are concerned, you need to impress them mostly AFTER you match at that program. you might see one or the other on interview day for a few quick seconds, but that's mostly for your benefit, not theirs.

hope this was helpful. it shouldn't really matter, since you need to impress everyone you meet on interview day...you just never know...