University of Chicago

I heard this program is losing faculty. People are apparently leaving the program to go into private practice.

i rotated there and i didn't here anything about that. if anything they are gaining faculty. when i was there they just added a sports guy.

If you guys were going to rank the five Chicago programs (Loyola, Rush, Northwestern, UIC and University of Chicago) what order would you put them in based on overall residency training?

I am assuming you are not from Chitown and not familiar w/ the programs.

First of all, congratulations on scoring interviews from all these programs and being in a position to rank 'em all.

By Name/Reputation/Fellowship placement -

Rush > NU > U of C = Loyola > UIC

By Operative Experience (I personally believe that all places give you adequate training, but everyone seems to talk about it)

Loyola = UIC = U of C > Rush/NU (Both places have private pts. I'll give NU an advantage because it operates at VA). Loyola also has private pts, but everyone insists that they get adequate operative experience.

I am sure you realize that some of this is hearsay as it is impossible for one person to have seen all 5 of these programs.

For what it's worth, I just interviewed at UC and really enjoyed the experience. Great faculty, great residents, close to a great location (downtown chicago).

As far as the positives, they seem to balance great operative experience with excellent didactics. Dr. Peabody seems very committed to protecting resident education time and is a strong presence with high aspirations. The only downside I could tell, which has been mentioned, is that it is level 2 trauma. However, one could see this as a positive, ie, tons of trauma could equal less learning time, more sleepless nights, less time in the OR...it just depends on what you are looking for. The residents definitely work extremely hard, are super knowledgeable, and get along extremely well.