Stellar Program in Phoenix

Mr Sparkle,
Out of curiosity, are you and others in the program from the Southwest? Just asking b/c I've been interested in Maricopa for a while but I'm from a smaller med school in the Southeast. Thanks.
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Meathead,

I went to school in southern Cal, but I am originally from the area. Many of the residents are from the southwest or Arizona. However, we have residents who went to school in the south and the southeast as well as the northeast and Texas.

Mr. Sparkle,

I have a few standard questions for you. How many positions are there? What kind of numbers would make one competitive? Is an away rotation implicitly required? And just to confirm, there's not regional preference for Maricopa because I'm from a small school in the northeast. Thanks.

OrthoForMe,

Maricopa takes 3 a year. This might be increasing in the near future but it won't effect this years match. Rotating here is definitely helpful but not an absolute requirement. I rotated here last year as did another of the interns. Typically, one spot goes to a rotator and possibly 2 in some years. If you are well-liked on a rotation here, you are virtually assured to be very high on the rank list. As far as numbers go, a good board score (230+) range would probably make you very competitive here if you were a rotator. I did well on Step I but wasn't AOA. My strength was probably being well-liked on my rotation here. Again, there is no implicit regional preference. Rotators, no matter where they're from are highly considered. Good luck. :smokin:

Mr. Sparkle - heard some negative things about Maricopa along the lines of program instability. Talked to an orthopod practicing in Phoenix and he didn't dispell this. So I didn't appy...yet. What's your take? And what are the strengths/weaknesses of your program.

thanks

bbmfo3,

Maricopa certainly had problems in the recent past. The program damn near shut down about 3-4 years ago. There were serious questions about staffing and resident curriculum. These issues have been resolved and the new chairman is very energetic and very much pro-resident education. The strengths of the program are numerous: a great chairman, happy residents, early operative experience, and living in Phoenix. Weaknesses include the County hospital which tends to be slower and more inefficient than outside hospitals. To rectify this, however, we have numerous rotations outside of the County. Rotations are done at Mayo Scottsdale, the VA, Phoenix St. Luke's, St. Joseph's and a private surgicenter. The good thing about the County is the great variety of trauma that's seen here. Another potential weakness of the program is the probationary status. This should be rectified by the time interviews are conducted and stems from some of the problems that were apparent several years ago. The final weakness is for those who are interested in heavy research. Maricopa, as yet, does not have some of the facilities to accomodate basic research. If research or academic medicine is your gig, you'll probably be better off elsewhere. All and all, I'd say Maricopa is an up and coming program that will be very strong within the next couple of years. Good luck and keep us in mind.