UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Program Individual Response

What is your in-state status?:

In state

On what date did the interview take place?:

2/1/2008

How do you rank this residency among ALL other residencies?:

5 out of 10

How do you rank this residency among other residencies to which you've applied?:

6 out of 10

What is your ranking of this program's facilities?:

5 out of 10

What is your ranking of this program's location?:

3 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?:

5 out of 10

What was the stress level of the interview?:

2 out of 10

How do you think you did?:

9 out of 10

How did the interview impress you?:

Positively

How long was the interview?:

15 minutes

How many people interviewed you?:

2

What was the style of the interview?:

One-on-one

What impressed you positively?:

- Emphasis on research as all of their residents do at least a poster presentation and quite a few of their residents to go national meetings to present. <br> - The residents rotate between the main University Hospital (public) and Hackensack Hospital (private) giving experience of both. You spend about 60-70% of your time at Newark. <br> - University Hospital is a Level I trauma hospital with an indigent population (sick sick patients) and great OB experience. <br> - They do lots of liver, renal, heart transplants between the two sites. <br> - Didactics were very impressive as Tuesday is blocked off from 12-5pm for lectures. During this time they do board review, lectures, journal club, and TEE (every week at 4pm) which not a lot of programs seem to offer. <br> - They have oral board review by one of the attendings. The chair and program director were very nice individuals and I had a great time on my interview with them. Both are very supportive of their residents from what I heard from other students (their home institution) and residents. The chair used to work at columbia and has great connections which makes getting fellowships easier (obviously who you know is very important) Report as inappropriate

What impressed you negatively?:

- Newark itself is not a great place to live as its usually in the top 25 of the most violent cities in the US but according to the residents, this has begun to change as the areas around the hospital have become cleaner. When I compare the last time I was there to currently, I can see how it is nicer now (not sure about how safe though). <br> - Peds experience seems a bit shotty. They get their rare cases but not having a dedicated childrens hospital (though hackensack hospital is trying to become one) hampers this. <br> - The tour of the hackensack hospital didn't seem necessary as it was a 30 minute drive out of the way. I understand they wanted to show off the "nice hospital" but most of us don't really care all that much. I suppose it offsets the facilities at the newark hospital as they aren't the best. <br> - The institution itself has had some financial problems and I don't know how much that affects the anesthesiology department but from what I hear, no EMR is planned. Report as inappropriate

How was your interview day? Please summarize.:

Pre-interview dinner the night before: 2 residents were present to field questions by the 4-6 candidates that were present. It was at a Portugese restaurant (lots of seafood but no alcohol) in the nicer part of Newark (Ironbound). It was a fairly relaxing environment and residents seemed honest about their opinions. <P> No DOs or FMG presence on the day of the interview. They offer a total of 8 positions<p> You start the day with a continental breakfast and sign in after receiving your folder with basic program information. The program director gives about an hour or so talk about the residency program via powerpoint. She was one of the most energetic individuals I have encountered on the interview trail and actually kind of "fun" from what I saw. You have interviews from about 10:30ish-12:30 followed by a tour of the hospital and then a trip to Hackensack hospital (1/2hr away). After getting there around 1:30pm, you get lunch with residents followed by a tour and then another 1/2 trip back. They DO validate parking which is always a plus. Report as inappropriate

What was your primary mode of travel?:

Automobile

What was your total time spent traveling?:

0-1 hour

What airport did you use?:

LaGuardia

Where did you stay?:

Friends or family

How would you rate the hotel?:

5 out of 10