i interviewed there this year and was more impressed than i expected to be. the chairman seems to have solid direction and interest in seeing maricopa climb the ranks. unfortunately, a couple of years ago, they had a complete exodus of attendings and this translated to residents leaving the program. to fill these empty slots, some less than exciting candidates (upper level rejects from other programs) came to maricopa. when asked their about their weaknesses, one attending told me that the biggest weakness was the quality of their residents!!!!!

now, the program is coming off probation this fall and is looking better. from the crew that they were interviewing, they definitely wanted to get some good people. i saw the same people there that were interviewing at some real powerhouses.

bottom line: a definite up and comer. having phoenix to offer doesn't hurt their rebuilding process. however, you have to work with some less than great upper level residents. their biggest strength is a resident friendly, responsive chairman that wants to see the program do great things.