Snowed IN Rank list

I have been blog slacking…mostly because I have been living in my car for the last 3 weeks interviewing all over for my peds residency. Its been quite the ride. I loved some programs, hated some programs, had a fender bender, driven over 2500+ miles on my car and been in 10 states.I listened to 2/3rds of my Lord of the Rings on Audiobook unabridged that should indicate how much of my life has been in the car.  sigh. On top of that craziness in the middle I got a call from a top program that I had not heard from saying there was a computer glitch….I canceled an interview to fit them in.  I also bought a plane ticket so I could go from Texas to NC to VA to Ohio in less than 36 hours.

Now I am on Day 3 of being snowed in under two feet of snow at my Parents’ house in the Blue Ridge Mts. The valley roads are ok but for some gosh awful reason no snow plow has come up the mountain.  I missed Hopkins because of the snow.

I can honestly say I am ready to leave Wake Forest after interviewing all over. Its been a great, great home for college and medical school but I am ready for a change. And their peds program is just not global health minded.  Thats the main conclusion I have at this point. I have some favorite programs but not for the same reasons and its hard to shake out a rank list.  But here is my opinions….if you are curious….

I interviewed at the following: Wake, Emory, UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt in TN, Cincinnati Children’s (the late addition), Baylor in TX, Pittsburgh.And yes there are now to be LORD OF THE RINGS analogies mostly because I feel odd publishing my rank list on the internet…but if you try you can figure it out.

The Shire-beautiful facilities, familiar, nice people who mostly want to live in the shire forever.  q 4 call for 5 months. Good electronic medical records (EMR).  home  for me yet not home forever.

Helm’s Deep-Rural, mountains,  horses, close to parents, surprisingly nice global health program, not nice facilities, q4 call for 6 months. Close to wheelchair skiing. Would actually have to eat my ACC liver and be hated by my family to go (just kidding!).  crappy EMR (no notes). nice people.

Isengard-has hospital symbol that looks like Isengard. would seriously have to wear my black/gold tie-dye shirt every day of basketball season to not feel like a traitor and will be hated by all my friends from college (Not actually kidding)..  nice people, close to Rohan (parents’ home), close to the Shire. q3-4,no golden weekends (UGH!!). not nice facilities, hard to navigate on pony (or wheelchair).  Very controlled and structured global health program.  Did I mention I would have to sell my soul?

Minas Morgul: Cold, dark. Not terribly far from Rohan (6hrs) but have to go through the Morgul Vale roads (state just West of Rohan) to get there. People are super nice. Beautiful facilities, best advocacy program of anywhere.  Global health is not really set up but very open and int med program is set up. But would have to live in cold, dark city that I almost died in (fender bender).

Minas Tirth: FUN, FUN, warm city. although all the issues of a city, lots of traffic, expensive, occasional flying monster, etc.  nice people, amazing global health, HQ of the CDC, flexible first year elective, shift work (no call except in community hospital), incredibly diverse patient population.  Direct flight to parents’ city in Rohan. EMR!!!!!!! Big downside: two hospitals 15 mins away in city traffic regularly. Good friends live there!!!

Rivenedale: Close to mountains but fun city.  Cheaper than Minas Tirth.  A couple of friends live here too.  Q4 call for 8 mons BUT early check out system, go home by 2PM. AMAZING EMR!!!!!!!!!! (maybe better than the Shire in some ways).  Was interviewed by health commissioner of the state who is a pediatrician, a christian and really cool lady who told me about all the amazing advoacy opps in the area. Could have a second clinic that focused on refugees and international adoption as a second year.  Flexible not hugely structured but active global health program. CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!! (unlike Edoras)

Edoras: The Golden Hall, ridiculously highly ranked pediatrics program (always in the top 3 in everything) but sort in the middle of no where. Would also require crossing the Morgul Vale (hard in the winter from the Rohan village my parents live in) and NO CHRISTMAS or NEW YEARS time off.  Global health program is FANTASTIC including 2-3 months of PAID TIME OVERSEAS!!, journal club, really active group. The head of the GH program interviewed me, super nice, worked with people I am working with in Kenya, and told me I could do my contunity clinic in a faith based clinic among the poor in the city.  Plus among the best pediatric training in the country and I think they liked me. Downside: In the airport they sell shirts that say Edoras: our cows are made for tipping and no Christmas/New Years with my family for 3 years.  No direct flights to Rohan.

Far, far, far away:  HUGE, SCARY, MASSIVE medical center that is bigger than the city the SHIRE is in.  But is home to the pediatric AIDS corp and have a global health residency that allows you to take an extra paid year to work with pediatric AIDS corp. Got to meet the guy who founded the AIDS corp and really enjoyed talking global health. Have dear, dear friends there and family a couple hours a way. But far, far, far from Rohan and the program is a little overwhelming by pony (wheelchair).  Super nice people though wish it was somewhere closer.

SO Current Rank list:

Fighting for 1 and 2-Edoras and Rivendale

3-Minas Tirth

4-6 Shire? Far, Far Away?  Helm’s Deep?

7-8 Isengard,  Minas Morgul

Thoughts?  (other than the fact that I am big nerd with this LOR stuff)