University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, November 27, 2007

So, I didn't really have the opportunity to take any pictures of the medical center, mostly because it was too cold to stand outside with a camera, but also because I had to miss the tour due to my early flight home. So, you will have to imagine it. The report:

The city: I LOVE Minneapolis! Gosh, it is such a friendly, clean city. And when I say clean--I mean it! We (me and my dad's friend/my pseudouncle, Chip, who I stayed with) were driving around, and I seriously (no exaggerating here), saw no pieces of trash on the street or sidewalks or anything. It was amazing. There is also a ton of stuff to do in Minneapolis. I have two cousins and a bunch of family friends who live there as well, and because of this I have many a happy memory coming up there to visit. So, I made Chip take me to the same Byerly's (grocery store) that we went to when we visited my grandma, and even got the same peppermint stick ice cream. Tasty and memorable! Although, as we were getting out of the car for my interview, the radio said it was 5 degrees outside. I thought, "Five? Just five? No other numbers?" But this is made up by the fact that the city has Joe Mauer. Sigh.

The program: It seems like the University has a strong program in many areas. They have four major hospitals they rotate at, all within 15 minutes of each other, which is nice. There is a period of two or more years in between third and fourth year where they encourage the residents to pursue research. I've never done research, but I think if I had the right guidance, then I could handle it. They typically send about %80 of their residents on to fellowships--frequently in cardiothoracic or transplant. They have a strong history of cardiothoracic surgery, with the help of Dr. Lillehei, who performed the first heart-lung bypass procedure, with the patient's parent being the bypass machine! Awesome.

The residents: Maybe it's a midwest thing, but I definitely felt like I got along with the residents at Minnesota. I also had a blast hanging out with the other applicants--there were almost all the BigTen schools represented--and I even met a girl that threw at Minnesota, so we were chatting about BigTen athletics, and also the burden that is the sewn-in shoulder pads that come standard in all women's suits.

That's about all I can think of for right now. Off to Dallas on Friday for a major change in weather! :)

Up Next: Minnesota

Hello there. I will do an official Minnesota post after my interview on Tuesday, but I wanted to comment on a freaky dream I had last night. I flew into Minneapolis yesterday, and have basically been bumming around and doing nothing since then. But it has been nice. Except for this dream:

So in my dream I was interviewing at the University of Minnesota. Well, for some reason I didn't show up for the interview day. And then I decided to show up at approximately 3 pm, when the interview day was supposed to start at 7 am. So, I missed my interview, and was begging them to grant me another one. In the meantime, I witnessed the administrative people calling the residency applicants fat and ugly, and discriminating against them because of it! So I was finally given a chance to talk to someone, and I merely used this time to reprimand them for said discrimination. Then I missed my flight back to Columbus. Awesome.

I actually woke up really freaked out and convinced that I had ruined my chances of living in Minneapolis, which upset me quite a bit! Then I realized it was just a dream...phew!

The REAL interview doesn't start until Tuesday, with the reception with the residents tomorrow night. Hopefully things will go better than I dreamed!

Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2007

So, this week was my first interview at Temple University, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I will try to go about this in an organized fashion:

The town: Philadelphia has some really cute parts, including a lot of historical stuff and arts. I actually had a few free hours before my flight out, so I was able to see both the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (the location of the writing of the Constitution), the former Pennsylvania State House. However, a lot of Philadelphia is kind of crappy and dangerous. I've already heard some stories about people being mugged within their first week of moving there. There's a reason they have the highest rate of penetrating trauma in the state!

The program: I actually liked the Temple program quite a bit. They do a bunch of trauma and surgical oncology, which I liked. But they take q3 call, which I was not pumped about. One of the residents even told us that the nurses were not that great. The strengths of the program that were presented to me included the diversity of faculty, operative experience (~100 cases intern year), and the fact that the residents like each other. The one weakness that kept coming up was research.

The residents: Here's the kicker for me: I didn't really feel like I fit in with the residents. There were TONS of women (3 of out of 5 classes had 6 women out of 7 residents), which was a little bit of a turn-off for me, for some reason. All most of the girls were kind of prissy. I don't know--first impression: they weren't my kind of people.

But, all in all, I felt like it was a good first interview experience. Now I'll see if I can get some picures up here! :)

And here we go!

So tomorrow I leave for my first residency interview. This one's at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. I'm actually pretty pumped to go to Philadelphia (even though I've heard it's a sketchy town), but I'm getting really nervous for the actual interview. I'm just telling myself to be myself, and I'm not sure I would want to move there for the next 5+ years anyway.

There has already been a kerfuffle with the hotel reservations....the cheapest one they offered me was the Holiday Inn for what I was told would be $89. When I called them, however, they told me the Temple University "deal" was $176--yeah right! So, when the lady said, "do you want me to hold it for you?" I responded with, "um, no!" and hung up. Fortunately, I found another hotel for $99 (yeesh, this is going to get expensive--fast), which is close to the medical center and the hotel where tomorrow night's reception is.

I'm hoping to have some free time on Wednesday post-interview and pre-flight home to check out the historic sites of Philadelphia (aka: The Liberty Bell). Some of the dudes that I'm working with right now pointed out that they would rather see the "Rocky stairs," but since I've never seen the Rocky movies, nor did I even know they took place in Philly, I think I'll opt for that old cracked remnant of our patriotic American past. That is, if I can find my way there....

Stay tuned for an update and pictures...