So after reading this post I felt like there was some information posted that I didn't necessarily agree with and I just wanted to add my experience to the list. So I'm currently a 4th year medical student who rotated at UTSW earlier this year. First off, yes, like any good program should, UTSW looks at step 1, grades, research, letters, etc... But more importantly, they want to know that you're a hard worker and that you're easy to get along with. You can have the greatest grades and step 1 from the greatest medical school in the world and if you're a dork, no one will want to spend the next 5 years with you. As stated earlier, I believe that residents here do have a strong input on the final rank list and it's definitely something they all take pride in. They are looking to recruit strong, hardworking applicants that they can get along with because the incoming class will be their junior residents and they want juniors that will work hard and make their senior years much easier.
With that said, I think that if you are considering UTSW as your top choice, I think it's important for you to do an away rotation there. As stated earlier, a known commodity is better than a shot in the dark and when you rotate, the program and, perhaps most importantly, the residents get the chance to know you and vice versa. Unfortunately, away rotations can act as a double-edged sword, and, if you don't get along well with the residents or don't work hard, it can absolutely hurt your chances.
But with that said, the residents at UTSW are an incredibly tight knit group of guys and girls and throughout my interviews and rotations, I never met a group that I thought were even close to these guys. Yes, they all work hard, however, they are a fun group and they hang out together frequently outside of work. Multiple times a week the residents get together for a happy hour, or a dinner, or a brunch, and often, faculty will join.
Additionally, a previous poster mentioned that they had heard that UTSW residents don't take any vacation, which I think is untrue. When I was rotating, there were multiple residents who were on vacation. I think what the previous poster may be referring to is that the PGY2 year is rough, but to be honest, the PGY 2 year is incredible. Yes, you work hard and yes, it can be exhausting, but the 2's at UTSW operate more than any other group of 2's I met on the trail by far. They are doing nearly every case skin to skin (with supervision of course). By the time the residents hit their chief year, they do nothing but operate and they're incredible surgeons.
The outstanding operative experience is a large reason they get the top fellowships every year (this year Carolinas, Harvard, Columbia, San Diego, Miami, etc...). In addition, the UTSW alumni association, which they talked about during the interview, is an outstanding network of physicians that can help make calls for residents and get them into just about any fellowship in any specialty. In addition, they assist with job hunting for residents when they finish fellowship.
Furthermore, I think some people assume UTSW is just a trauma heavy program that ignores other specialties, but I think that's completely false. They have an outstanding joints experience, an outstanding sports experience and a top-notch peds experience. In fact, with the amount of time spent at Texas Children's and Texas Scottish Rite, the residents leave with the experience of a mini peds fellowship. I think, for awhile, hand had been viewed as a weakness, but recently they've signed two new faculty that produce tons of RVUs and have actually made hand and shoulder/elbow a strong rotation. I think the big weakness amongst subspecialties is foot and ankle, however, I know they're currently looking to hire on a surgeon to fill the void and, with the way things are going, I believe they will relatively soon.
So I mentioned the subspecialties were fantastic, and I think a large reason why this is true is because of the outstanding faculty. Every faculty member here sincerely cares about resident education. They teach both techniques and concepts which I think is huge. Some programs don't have the volume to teach techniques while others don't have the faculty to teach concepts. I think UTSW is great because they have both. All the faculty want the residents to became the best surgeons they can and are willing to help the residents out with anything they can. I think it would be difficult to find a more intelligent, genuine group of teaching faculty anywhere. Additionally, the interim chair, Dr. Starr, and the program director, Dr. Gill, have done a fantastic job bringing in new faculty and the program certainly seems to be returning to the powerhouse it was in the past.
I think the biggest weakness of the program might be the research department. As stated earlier, there is no machine to help you crank out paper after paper, however, I have been told, the opportunities are there if you want them. There are several very well published faculty that would be happy to have residents jump on projects with, however, they will not be spoon fed to you and you will need to seek them out.
Completely unrelated, Dallas is an incredible city with so much to do. There are sporting events, bars, restaurants, parks, museums, bike trails, etc... Everything you could possibly want in a city. Yes, the traffic can be bad, however, you don't have to travel far for rotations and, when you work resident hours, traffic isn't bad at all. Housing is very affordable with many residents owning homes relatively close Parkland. I really can't think of a city where you get more bang for your buck AND, no state income tax.
So if I haven't made it abundantly clear, I loved my rotation at UTSW and would love to wind up there for residency. I feel there is not a better group of faculty and residents in the country and you won't find a better operative experience. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
