Vanderbilt University Program Individual Response

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Basic Info

What is your in-state status?:

Out of state

On what date did the interview take place?:

2/1/2008

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

8 out of 10

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

7 out of 10

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

8 out of 10

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

5 out of 10

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

4 out of 10

What was the stress level of the interview?:

10 out of 10

How do you think you did?:

5 out of 10

How did the interview impress you?:

Positively

Questions

How long was the interview?:

25 minutes

How many people interviewed you?:

What was the style of the interview?:

One-on-one

How was your interview day? Please summarize.:

The Bottom Line/Impression: The Mt. Sinai of the South – good-to-excellent program in a more private-practice oriented environment and lots of perks. Lodging/Dinner: Program provides nice Hampton close to campus. Dinner the night before at a nice restaurant near campus also, though the fixed “sit across from one person at a long table” setup is not my favorite. Chief made an attempt to sit down with everyone and make their sales pitch – which is a good one. Spouses/children welcome also if that matters to you. Schedule: Shuttle over to medical center at 0730, intro session with assistant PD Dr. Easdown and few words from PD Dr. Algren. Only 2 interviews – which heavily rely on the “Vanderbilt behavioral interview” which is easy to prep for or read about if you Google it. If one of your “core” interviews isn’t with Algren you have an informal one-on-one with him that is more chatty. Your actual interviews can be very stilted and interrogatory in nature (very likely given the interview “agenda”) or casual/conversational. None of the questions are ones I hadn’t gotten before (“Tell me about a time you had a conflict and had to speak up for a good outcome” or “Tell me about a time you made a serious mistake and what happened”) but the fact that it’s basically the ENTIRE interview makes it unique/annoying. Tour, lunch with the residents who seemed to vary from weird/awkward to fun back-slapping good ol’ boys. Wrap-ups with chair Dr. Higgins who is very young and very down-to-earth and Dr. Algren. Shuttle back to hotel at 1430. Program Info: 16 a year, 1 of which is advanced. Intern year is probably the worst categorical intern year I’ve seen – a lot of ICU and one month of peds surg (!) which reportedly had major hours compliance issues in the past but that was fixed with nightfloat system. Rotations entirely at Vandy medical center including VA for vascular/cardiac and there are plenty of cases to go around. About 40 OR’s total and lots of CRNAs. Pros: Environment – a blend of academic and private practice with lots of tech to support it. This is a place with a ton of money (it’s not named after an industrial magnate for nothing) and an emphasis on throughput and money-making procedures. So, lots of perks including relocation, high book allowance, ?free? computer, EXCELLENT in-house moonlighting, etc. ICU is very strong with 12+ anesthesia intensivists covering SICU, Neuro ICU, CV ICU, occasionally burn and trauma ICUs. They do all transplants (though 200 livers/yr was VASTLY overstated from the actual 70-80/yr) especially peds and hearts and peds-hearts. Level 1 trauma center. Enough OB to go around but not a huge strength. Good at Peds, Regional, cardiac as well. Cons: Location could be an issue or a plus for you. Seems like a “good ol’ boys club” a bit so if you’re more withdrawn and/or female that could be a consideration. Hours quoted at 60-65/wk “most of the time.” Otherwise, few weaknesses. Report as inappropriate