new york residencies

I'm replying to get this up front. I was wondering about the "2nd tier" NYC programs. (Not HSS,HJD), specifically mount sinai, lenox hill, columbia, st. lukes, etc. Anyone have any thoughts about strengths, weaknesses, etc. :pimp:

:smokin: I'm currently chief resident at Columbia and will tell you that it is not a "2nd Tier" program. Contrary to what you have heard, it is one of the best, if not the best program in NYC. The program has no weaknesses and is well-balanced in every regard. We have the best Shoulder Service Around, we also have every branch of Orthopaedics covered-- we have: Peds (The only Babies Hospital in Manhattan), Spine, Hand, Sports, Foot/Ankle, Joints, Tumor and Trauma with Roy Sanders in Tampa (all NYC residents have to go to other hospitals for their trauma because trauma in NYC is down overall). The caseload and mixture of cases is competetive. Our out-pt experience is exceptional. We recently went to a night float system, so we may comply with resident work-hour limitation laws. Now most residents are on-call on average q4 to q14 ( I wish I had that when I was a junior resident). We take 6 residents a year (unlike 8-12 residents taken at "other" top NYC programs), so every resident gets personalized attention, is known by the chairman and DOES NOT get lost in the system. Dr. Bigliani is our chairman and one of the world's best known names in orthopaedic surgery. He has improved the program such that we can now compete with any program in the country. Year after year, we send residents to the best fellowships in the country. Just this year, we are sending one to LA Children's for Peds, one to HSS for Sports, one to Pittsburgh for Sports and one to Harvard for Joints. So I would be careful on how you categorize programs before you see them for yourself. If you are fortunate enough to come interview here, you will see what I mean. I am very fortunate to have been a resident here at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

mfh15,

I didn't mean to offend you by suggesting Columbia was a "2nd tier" program. Everyone here seems to only talk about those other two programs in NYC. So I just wanted to here what people thought about other progams. Columbia sounds excellent. I like that it's only 6 residents/year, but it's fewer spots for all of us to go for. I've just started third year and haven't decided where I wanted to do my aways (definetely one in NYC), but Columbia is right up there now. But I've heard you take a lot from your own school, and I'm not at a big name school myself.

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers with my first post.

BoneSaw

:smokin:

Don't kid yourself. There are no "2nd tier" programs in NYC, at least not in the sense that you mean. Most people looking for 2nd tier programs are doing so because they don't think they have the CV to match at a top tier program. Don't try this in a big city like NYC or chicago. Every student wants to live in these cities that are fun to live in, so even a weaker program educationally in a huge city will be tougher to match than a better program in a smaller town. Many students have geographic constraints on their match, so a super stud may match at a lesser program just because he/she simply had to live in NYC. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but in my opinion if you don't feel you have a shot at HSS, HJD then you probably only have a minisculely better shot at any other NYC program simply because so many great applicants will apply to all of the programs there and rank them just because of location.

Thanks for the feedback. Are there any weak programs in NYC?