Interview Trail 2005

Grizz -

Thanks for gettting this topic going...have you heard anything about Rush?..goodluck and hope to see you all on the trail.

J

The only thing I heard about the Rush interview is that there is supposed to be some sort of film (xr, mri, ct) that we are supposed to interpret. It is supposedly basic (what view, what dx?, etc).

that's all I "know"

Can't imagine it's helpful, but I couldn't hold out on y'all when I have such primo, first-class, killer, insider information like that. (In case self-deprecating sarcasm is lost in this medium, that was a joke)

-Grizzle-

p.s. J, check your pm

Grizz -

Apreciate the help brother - I am sure everyone does as well.

Let us know how it works out for you.

P.S. Check your PM

J

last year i was aksed to interpret a hip film for the chairman, and the spine guy threw me a vertebra and asked my which one it was, within 1 or two

that was it for pimping at rush

So, just had my Rochester interview and thought folks who are interviewing on the other 2 dates might like some heads up. I hope other folks who were there will correct me if they feel I'm wrong on anything.

1) As you know they put interviewers up in a hotel in town which is strong work on their part (other programs take notice). They ferried all of us to a restaurant and fed us a pretty good meal w/ drinks and we got to meet each other and some of the residents (mostly chiefs, b/c many were at an AO course this wknd).

2) the next AM, we all packed the short bus again and went to their outpatient place. Very nice set-up. Continental breakfast, breathmints, etc. Welcome speech from Their PD and from the Department chair. Very friendly and balanced sales pitch.

3) each of us had 3 interviews w/ attendings and 1 chief res all selected randomly. If you apply for the research slot, they make sure one of the people is a researcher. All interviews were mild to medium intensity getting-to-know-you affairs. Typical questions: strengths/weaknesses; tell me about yourself; why Rochester (i.e.--are you actually seriously considering moving to the tundra, or are we a safety?)

4) this was then followed by lunch at the nursing school and a hospital tour.

TAke home points: Very strong and well-rounded program with depth in all subspecialties (except joints, though this will be changing soon). Great facilities (Rochester has more money than God and ortho dominates the hospital). Strong research. FAmily-friendly program, with understanding dept chair, good schools, low cost of living.

These folks present a very fair and compelling case. They are justifiably proud of their program and are appreciative of your time and effort in coming out to see them. Other programs could learn a lot from the respect and courtesy they show to us lowly med students.

Comments? Questions?
-Grizzle-

Very helpful info. I am heading out there for 12/11 interview and you've got me excited (good excited, not dirty excited). Any thoughts about interviews at the OTHER Rochester in the OTHER tundra (Mayo)? I think they already had one interview day.

I went to Mayo on 11/19-11/20 for their interview, here's my info from the Rochester WAY up north.

As expected, very impressive program and facilities - surprising to me was the modesty and genuineness of all the residents and faculty.

Formal reception on Friday night (everyone wore suits). Chairman (Cofield), Program Director (Hanssen), several faculty, and many residents (including interns) were there and were very helpful. I think Dr. Cofield went around and introduced himself to everyone at some point. After about 1.5 hours of the formal reception, the residents (and some spouses) took us (without faculty) to a bar/grill for appetizers and drinks. Residents seemed to have very good camaraderie amongst themselves and were welcoming to applicants as well, they seemed happy and were eager to talk about the program.

Interview day on Sat. 11/20 started with breakfast, opening comments about the history of Mayo (makes you respect the tradition of greatness there) by Dr. Cofield, a tour of the facilities by residents, 2 half-hour interviews by faculty (mine were Dr. Shaughnessy and Dr. Berger and were very friendly with no pimping), and one information session with Dr. Hanssen. The interview day finished with a nice lunch with residents at the Marriott connected to Mayo.

Overall, the faculty just kept telling us how qualified we were and how glad they were to have us - good confidence booster for the rookie interviewees.
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Here is what I remember:
-1 faculty consultant (make that 1 TOP-NOTCH faculty consultant) to 1 resident on every specialty (residents say this does not deter them from having strong camaraderie amongst residents)
-residents PGY2-5 are considered "the same" in the OR - and depending on your abilities and your faculty person, PGY2's often operate skin to skin
-contrary to rumors many have heard, plenty of early operative experience and plenty of trauma (though no "knife and gun club" like urban trauma centers)
-good pay, most residents own homes, excellent benefits/health insurance
-1/2 married, 1/2 single coming into residency (there are also 5 women out of the 50 residents - Mayo is proud of this)
-case numbers about 1200 cases over the course of residency (and as previously mentioned, these are usually just the resident and the faculty only)
-Patient Care is stressed as their number 1 priority (then research and education are their other 2 tenets)
-6 months of protected basic science/didactic time in 2nd year
-amazing biomechanics lab with endless opportunities and resources for learning procedures
-well balanced among specialties - anticipated changes: new trauma faculty member in next year or so, new integrated clinics (with neuro, rheum, PM&R) in next few years
-Rochester, MN is TINY, so Mayo knows this and tells people they know they are one of, if not THE, best ortho training program, but they want you to make sure you can handle living in Rochester for 5 years - they say they may rarely contact their "top dogs" some time before match lists are due, but will never PRESSURE anyone out of respect for the match.

Let me know if I forgot anything you are curious about. Overall, I was very impressed with the program and dedication of the faculty. There does not seem to be a single weakness or a mean person that I met. Good luck!!

SkeletonCrew

Mayo on 11/20

I agree with everything SkeletonCrew had to say.
Overall, very happy residents with few if any complaints even when you get them away from the staff. Very strong program. The only weakness seems to be sports and the staff are very up front about it.

Of interest, the Chairman, Dr. Cofield, will be stepping down sometime in the next year. Not to worry though, they say that they rotate chairmen about every 8-10 years to keep new blood in the office. Dr. Cofield has been there 9 years.

I did have a different set of interviewers, but both were very friendly with "get to know you" type questions.

Great experience, would recommend this program to anyone.

Just wanted to move this post back into the frey to see if anyone wanted to share info from their recent interviews.

University of Mississippi:
Interview was very laid back. Multiple one on one with attendings and a couple 2-3 on one interviews as well. Mostly get to know you type of questions. I think the program is fantastic, very under rated. They get plenty of OR experience, and residents are getting fellowships at U Washington and HSS. They seem to have a very personal relationship with attendings as well.

MCV/VCU:
Breakfast in a.m. w/ intro by chair/pd. Then a tour & 3 interviews (one w/ either chair or pd, one w/ an attending, one w/ an attg plus a sr resident), in various orders. Numerous residents pop in to chat in the waiting area throughout the morning. Casual lunch to follow at a wing place, done by 2pm. Laid back, unless you interview with the 2 chiefs (filling in for an attg that couldn't be there) - they fire a list of about 15 questions & it's slight higher-stress than the other interviews.

U of Colorado
They are done interviewing so this won't help anyone out but is interesting anyway. One station w/ PD and chief resident they give you a nut and bolt in non-dominant hand and tell you to assemble it one handed as they fire rapid questions. Guess what, the nut didn't fit the bolt. Then they had you assemble a drill as fast as possible and drill obliquely through a piece of PVC, again w/ rapid questions. Actually kind of fun.
The most interesting part of the day though was when the resident giving the tour bragged about averaging 132 hrs/wk on trauma rotating and stating ortho will NEVER be a 80hr/wk job. Is this supposed to turn me on? If they would have just sent this quote out to us b/f the interview I could have saved myself a trip to CO.

YALE

Dunno if they are done for this year or not, but should at least be useful for kids next year.

This place was incredibly laid-back (rare for a NE program, especially one with a name) and the interviews reflected this. The night before, there was a reception/dinner at the Grad Club with an open beer/wine bar and an impressive food display (roast beef, salmon, chicken, etc.). The set-up was nice and the atmosphere was very Ivy League. Many people wore coat and tie (residents and applicants), though a collared shirt and sweater or jacket are quite appropriate (i.e.--don't stress it, or try to re-wear your interview suit, b/c it's no big deal. Just whatever you're comfortable in). The chair, Dr. Friedlander gave a really warm set of remarks that put everyone at ease, including general interviewing tips (know what you want to say to them before you even walk in the door and steer all their q's to fit your prepared spiel). After talking for a couple of minutes, he left us and the residents alone.

After dinner, most of us walked to a nearby bar and had a drink or two. The residents were really fun folks and I got the impression they would head to the bar even if none of us decided to join.

The next morning began with a slideshow of resident life given by one of the chiefs. Not NEARLY as lame as it sounds. Actually, it was pretty funny and more helpful than the pics of the hospital on the one sunny day a year and a shot of the beach no one has ever visited. Then Grand Rounds. Then we walked to their main department offices and were interviewed in exam rooms.

There were 5 half-hour blocks and 4 interviews/ applicant. YOu carry your file around w/ you, so only the 1st interviewer has actually read anything other than your name before you walk in. Some people had a resident interview as one of theirs, some didn't. some had private attendings, some had all academic folks. All interviews were pretty standard and pretty low-stress. The hardest q I got--"Who would you most like to have dinner with and why?"

After the interviews, we had lunch and then a brief walking tour, with everything ending by about 1:30p.

Overall, I must say I was stunned by how much I liked this program. Not that I expected it to be bad, but there are a lot of rumors buzzing around the trail that seemed pretty insubstantial after this visit. They kept reiterating that their strength was their residents, and they took great pains to make sure that their folks were as friendly and caring as they are hardworking. I suppose talking about the program details is more in the purview of another thread, but I think folks should know to take another look at a school they might not have for whatever reason. A great experience all around.


-Grizzle-

P.S.--for future applicants, Dr. Renshaw, the PD, made it known to all of us that the most important thing to him when reviewing apps is letters of rec. Not sure if you can apply that across the board, but at least at Yale, you know where they place emphasis.