| Interview Information / Experience: | No: of Positions: 6 categorical, 8 Preliminary.
Stay: Down town hotels are very expensive.And Taxicabs even more expensive. Hotels near the Hospital are good, but weather is too harsh in December.
No: of interviewers: 11 in total. Each candidate is interviewed by 3 of them in rotation. One person of associate professor status, one attending and one of programme director/site director status.
No: of applicants: Each session has 20 candidates. There are 4 such sessions between November and February, totalling to a 100 candidates every match season.
Level of Stress: 5(on a 0-10 scale). The interview was supposed to be stressful because there were a couple of clinical scenarios to be tackled at one station. The interview at the other two stations were quite relaxing and kind of friendly chat.
Tour of Facility: None (the program has 4 hospitals where the resident rotate. The interview is held in the main hospital)
Current Residents : All were happy and enjoying the camaraderie. Everyone stressed OR experience as the greatest advantage.
Special attributes of the program: Great exposure at the OR. Regular didactics, Mock Orals and Daily Morning reports keep the residents on tip toes and help tackiling boards. Trauma care, Transplant center, Robotic surgery, Surgical Simulation lab are superb. Opportunity to rotate among 4 community hospitals as well as access to University of Illinois' facilities are added advantages.
Research : Not required but very much encouraged. Most residents publish 3-5 papers in reputed journals. One PGY2 gets the opportunity to do one full year of research in a place of her/his choice and is fully funded by the department.
Fellowship options: one fellowship offered in Critical Care.Univ of Illinois and Univ of Chicago have plenty of fellowship options.Most residents obtain fellowship positions in and around Chicago. Some FMGs even in Harvard.
Comments on the downside : Prelim residents cannot apply for categorical positions in the same program in the common match because repetition of a year isn't allowed. He/She can get into Categorical positions only if a spot opens up in PG Y1 or PGY2. Every year one spot opens up in PGY2. So the ratio is8:1 (!)
Locality/Lodging : The places around the main hospital are safe and the residents get to live in studio apartments opposite the main Hospital. Chicago is great in summer and spring, but a bit dull in winter. Resident apartments are provided at discount prices. |
