Plastic Surgery Fellowship Match Blog

Board Certified

2007-09-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

This Monday I flew out to Baltimore to complete the last step of my General Surgery Boards. It is an oral exam and they can ask you about anything. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency on the Inner harbor. The accommodations were excellent. It was right across the road from the Inner Harbor - a big shopping and dining complex on the water. The USS Constellation is docked there as well as numerous other ships that you can tour.

Baltimore is famous for its crab so I ate nothing but crab for 48 hours. The test was very difficult but I got good news today:

"We are pleased to inform you that you successfully passed this examination."

I recommend the book Passing the General Surgery Oral Boards. I read that and filled in a few gaps with Cameron's.

2006-09-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

Busy Busy Busy! There is an incredible amount to read. No matter how much I read I still get completely blindsided by questions. I put together a page with what I consider really good plastic surgery books. I don't have all of them yet, but I am getting close. I bought the Nahai books last week. They are expensive but they are amazing, and they come with 5 DVD's. You can see the library page I put together here.

In other news, I met the author of Operative Plastic Surgery, Dr. Evans. He was amused that the cheapest copy of his book on the internet is >$1k. There are a couple copies floating around that are listed at $4500. He said that he is finishing up a 4 volume set to replace the original book. He didn't say when it would be finished.

Last Leg of the Journey

2006-07-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

I finally made it! I'm a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery resident at the University of Louisville.

Match is Friday

2006-05-15T11:01:00.000-05:00

Best of luck everyone. The match is Friday. Between now and then are the most agonizing 4 days ever.

CAS open!

2005-07-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

The central application service has updated their sight with the new application. It looks like they have extended the deadline for application to September 1st. There are 49 programs this year. No real shockers, pretty much the same ones as last year. There was a Cleveland Clinic - Florida on the application last year but they ended up not interviewing for one reason or another. It isn't on there this year. Also there were a few combined programs that were trying to fill spots through the fellowship match last year that aren't on there.

There are new questions on the application this year. Last year there were 8 totally different questions. This year there are 4. Anyway best of luck to everyone. Email me if I can help you.

Application process

2005-07-10T11:31:00.000-05:00

I am not sure why they don't have the new application up on the website. Its already the 10th of July. My hope is that they are trying to make it possible to fill the application out and submit it online. Someone emailed me that he had his logon for the SFMATCH site.

Wondering where the application is

2005-07-01T08:31:00.000-05:00

I am wondering when the CAS is going to post the new application on their website. I think it was available in early June last year. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are very anxious to get going with the process. I know I was. There are some things you can be doing in the meantime. You have to get your Evaluation of Training from the American Board of Plastic Surgery. If you check this post you will find a link to the ABPS website where you can start the process. If you have any questions about the process I would be happy to talk to you.

Yesssssssssss. Finished with nightfloat.

2005-06-24T05:36:00.000-05:00

This is my last hour of nightfloat. I have 24 total calls next year!

Where people matched.

2005-06-16T06:16:00.000-05:00

I have been getting questions about where people matched. So far I know 72 of the 101 spots....

2006 fellowship spots and where they were filled from:

USC took someone from Loma Linda and from Tulane.
Albert Einstein took someone from Rush, Cedars Sinai LA, St. Luke's (NYC) and UCLA.
Medical College of Wisconsin took someone from Rush and I'm not sure who they filled the second spot with.
UC Davis took someone from Oregon HSU and University of Kansas (Wichita branch).
Christus St. Joseph's (Houston) took someone from LSU and one from in house.
Indiana took someone from Wayne State and Virginia Mason.
Tulane took someone from U South Alabama and Wayne State.
U Mass took someone from Cedar Sinai (LA) and North Shore (Long Island).
Lahey Clinic took someone from Oregon HSU.
Vanderbilt took someone from Naval Medical Center, U maryland and University of Arizona.
Cleveland Clinic took someone from UT Memphis, USC and one from in house.
U Minnesota took someone from Drexler Philedelphia.
Emory took someone from East Carolina University, Naval Medical Center and Stanford.
LSU took someone from Orlando Regional and Keesler Medical Center.
Miami took someone from UMDNJ.
UNC took someone from Maine Medical Center and LSU.
U Mississippi filled completely from in house candidates.
Louisville got people from Pheonix integrated and Kansas University (Kansas City branch.)
UVA took someone from Mayo Scottsdale.
UAB took someone from UT southwestern and UT Memphis.
U South Florida took someone from Miami and I'm not sure where else.
UT Houston took someone from LSU.
Cincinnati took someone from Beth Isreal.
UIC Chicago took someone from Lankenau Hospital and SUNY downstate.
UC Irvine took someone from UNLV and Georgetown.
Wayne State took someone from Beaumont Hospital in Detroit and from Michigan State.
Mayo took someone from North Shore Long Island, Pheonix Integrated, UIC Chicago and Maricopa Integrated.
UCLA took someone from in house and someone from Mass General.
Harvard took someone from Brigham and Womens and NYU.
Nassau took someone from Mt. Sinai New York.
Oregon HSU took someone from U Washington and from in house.
U South Carolina took someone from University of Buffalo and U Mississippi.
Nebraska took someone from Methodist hospital in Dallas.
Loyola took someone from Akron.
Duke took someone from UCLA Harbor.
Penn State took someone from Oregon HSU.

If you know any of the other spots please email me.

Life is GOOOOOOD.

2005-06-06T04:17:00.000-05:00

I have three weeks of night float left. It will be nice to get back to the sunlit world. At this point I am completely transparent like one of those fishes that lives at the bottom of the ocean next to volcanos. If I go outside I have to wear dark sunglasses.

All of that being said, life is GOOOOOOOD. At Chairman's rounds last week our chairman handed out a paper describing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I remembered this pyramid from Anthropology class in college. I am feeling very self actualized right now. There is only one other time in my life when I have felt even close to this good. That was right after I started medical school at Northwestern.

I can't wait to start training at Louisville. It will be the farthest south and east I have ever lived. I can't wait to see a new part of the country. Every time I have moved it has been a great thing for me. Moving to Chicago was perhaps the biggest change. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and moving to Chicago was like being born to the world. I learned to love cuisines from all over the world, I was exposed to people from all over the world and I did all sorts of things that I never could have done in Iowa. I am sure Louisville will bring all sorts of new influences into my life. I will just have to be very careful to pronounce it like LOO-ah-vul. Definitely never say Lewis-ville. You might not survive it.

I think the central application service should be opening the application process in the next few days. I would click the link to the right of the page for the CAS every once in a while to see if the application has been updated to reflect the new year of applying. Also be sure to get your first 3 years certified by the ASPS. There is a link to the right of the page to them I think. Best of luck to this years applicants.

Statistics from the Match

2005-05-31T20:57:00.000-05:00

I got a letter from the SFMATCH today letting me know that I matched at Louisville. They also included statistics from the match. It was the most number of people for the fewest number of spots ever. There were 306 applicants for 101 spots. Most of the people who matched will match having completed 5 years of general surgery. With those kind of numbers I was incredibly fortunate to match.

Plans for this site

2005-05-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

I am planning on updating the links to the right of the page when the new application comes out in a few weeks. Hopefully there will be a few new programs to add. I noticed that some of my links were broken and I will get those fixed. I also am happy to answer any questions that arise about the process.

How to use this site

I will have links to all of the programs in the match for the coming year. If you need to do some quick research about a program the links will help a lot. If you are interested, I would suggest looking at the archives and starting from the beginning of the site and reading forward. Best of luck to next year's class.

MATCHED!!!!

2005-05-20T10:21:00.000-05:00

I Matched! Louisville I'm on my way!

Match tomorrow

2005-05-19T01:26:00.000-05:00

Well here we are. Tomorrow (Friday) is the big day. The programs find out who they got and then they are supposed to call the people. I heard from some fellows that the program didn't call them and they sat biting their nails all weekend until they could call sfmatch on Monday. If I am lucky enough to match I know the program won't call me. It would just be too awesome to match AND have the program call.

Just a few more days

2005-05-16T07:40:00.000-05:00

Its just a few more days until the match. I got a hard copy of my rank list in the regular mail on Saturday. Everything was as it should be.

A lot of people have been asking me if I am planning to post match information on the site. I don't really have any problem doing that, but I may be a little busy trying to find a hand spot for a while after the match. What I would recommend would be to post your match in a thread on plastics2002.com. There is already a thread open over there for that purpose. I would be happy to compile a list of the matches that I hear about and post it, but like I said, I am anticipating being otherwise occupied.

Its all over but the shouting.

2005-05-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

The rank lists were due today. Its all done now, just have to wait a week.

Rank Lists Due on the 12th!

2005-05-11T04:06:00.000-05:00

Get your rank lists in. Don't leave it until the last second. Nothing is going to change between today and tomorrow.

Ten days to go.

2005-05-10T04:39:00.000-05:00

Everyone is sure I am going to match but me. Its weird. I would hate to call it a premonition but I am worried based on a number of reasons. This is a totally different feeling than the one I had for the general surgery match. I was absolutely positive I would match exactly where I wanted for general surgery. I just don't know for plastic surgery. I've met so many extraordinary individuals that there simply can't be enough spots for everyone who deserves one. It is really going to be an aweful day for about 75% of us. I hope that I match but I wouldn't wish not matching on anyone else.

One thing is certain. I will keep trying if I don't make it this time. I have devoted my entire adult life to becoming a plastic surgeon and I am never giving up that goal. I may be the guy you see with like 13 fellowships but I am going to get there eventually.

T-11 days

2005-05-09T19:15:00.000-05:00

Rank lists are almost due. I hope everyone is getting their lists in. Only 11 days left.

T- 2 weeks

2005-05-06T03:23:00.000-05:00

Just 2 weeks until most people will find out where they matched. Oddly I'm not really that nervous. Its not that I am confident that I will match, but I am OK with it if I don't. It just means that I will have to do an extra fellowship before plastic surgery instead of after.

Tulane Fellow's Study

2005-05-03T15:47:00.000-05:00

The guys at Tulane have a survey study going on right now of the plastic surgery applicant pool. It only takes a second to fill out. If you didn't get an email from them I am sure they would appreciate your input but just didn't have your address. Here is an email address of one of the fellows. vsabeeh@tulane.edu
I am sure they would appreciate hearing from you. Take a few seconds and help your future colleagues out.

T-17 Days

2005-05-03T03:43:00.000-05:00

Nightfloat continues. I think I might be getting a little goofy. Please disregard this post and probably most of the rest of them until the match. It is 4 in the morning after all.

Traffic has picked up quite a bit on the site in the last few days. I am hoping that it is next year's class checking it out. After all the whole point of this site is to make a roadmap for future plastic surgeons.

If any of you still wants a free Ipod the offer is still good. This is the link to the site. You have to go through a little trouble to get one but it is a 20 gigabyte ipod, a 300+ dollar item. I thought it was worth the trouble. I just joined this lame book club. I needed to buy some children's books and it worked out perfectly.

Only 17 more days until the 20th. With my luck I either won't match or if I do match, the place I match at won't call me. Either way I am expecting to sweat it out until the 23rd.

T-19 Days

2005-05-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Happy May Day. I'm back at the hospital for night float. I had a nice day off. I played with the baby and dog. We're getting real close to being able to get her cochlear implant covered (the baby not the dog.) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2 things now - the match and the implant. Anyway try not to let the anxiety get too intense.

T-22 Days

2005-04-28T22:36:00.000-05:00

2 things. First, I got a confirmation email from the SFMATCH. It had my rank list on it. Everything was correct. They give you the opportunity to call them if it isn't correct. Second, I got an email from the fellows at Tulane. They sent a link to a survey about the application/interview process. Do them a favor and fill it out. It only takes a second.

T-24

2005-04-26T16:40:00.000-05:00

Ahh yes. I am very well settled into night float now. You should have seen my wife's reaction the first time I slept past noon on a Saturday though. As the plastic surgery match gets closer I suspect the anxiety level will increase. I started to feel just a touch last night when I was talking to another resident about it.

T-26 Days

2005-04-24T16:43:00.000-05:00

There are 26 days left until May 20th. That is the day the programs get results and have the option of calling their new residents. I have met people who matched but didn't get a call and were freaking out until the following Monday, when the applicants can call for results.

Two things that I hope:
1) I match. Anywhere would be fine.
2) The program calls me on May 20th.

If I match there will be partying that surpasses even that at the Chattanooga pre-interview dinner.

And Its Off!

2005-04-20T16:51:00.000-05:00

I sent my rank list for the plastic surgery match today. I managed to get a person on the telephone at SFMATCH. Here are 2 pieces of information that you need to know.

First, in the upper right hand corner of the rank list form, there is a 5 digit box for Reference #. That number is contained in the email that you got from JMckee@sfmatch.org when you registered. The email will have this line in it:

Your Matching/Registration Number is: 90-XXX

They all start with a 9.

Second, there is a box for each program that you rank that says Program #. The program number is listed to the left of the program name in the directory on sfmatch.org. For instance, Louisville's is 635.36.

Third, the rank lists are due by noon PST on May 12th.

Time to send in the rank list.

2005-04-19T21:27:00.000-05:00

I am going to send in my rank list soon. I have to call sfmatch. I have a couple of questions about which numbers to put where etc. I met with my advisor today. He pretty much agreed with my rank list but he thought I should move a couple up and a couple down for various reasons. When I get the answers to my questions from SFMATCH I will post them here because I am sure everyone has the same questions.

Wow >11,000 hits!

2005-04-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would see the day. 11,000 hits. I'm not sure if I believe that number or not.

Night Float

2005-04-18T03:13:00.000-05:00

I am on nightfloat right now. What that means is that I work 7AM Sunday until 7AM Monday. All other days I work from 6:00 PM until 6:30 AM. I have Friday and Saturday off.

I have to say I kind of like working at night. I have done a lot of trauma and I occasionally pick up a couple of elective cases. It is a big change to go from doing 30 to 35 cases a week to doing half a dozen though.

I think I have the secret to nightfloat. You absolutely have to stay up all night so that you can sleep during the day and make the transition. I usually stay up until 4:30 AM and then catch a couple winks until signout. If you stay up all night and plan on becoming a vampire, nightfloat is no problem.

The only thing that is a little wired is the weekends. This Friday I had to take my car to the shop because an EPC light kept coming on. It turns out my catalytic converter went bad. The good news is it is covered by my warranty. Anyway I only got about 5 hours during the day on Friday. I went to bed at 9:30 but I woke up at midnight and stayed up until 4. I slept Saturday until 11AM, which was a little weird for my wife. I absolutely NEVER sleep past 7 under normal circumstances. I have to get up and get some coffee. I hate wasting the morning.

Night float is becoming a reality for most surgery programs now. If you are a level 1 trauma center you have to have a chief in house. The problem is that the attendings don't want any chiefs post-call during the week (meaning they would have to go home.) The perfect solution to the 80 hour workweek is having a night float team. I am a believer now. Our institution has had very good luck with it. The night float team gets to know every patient after a while. We have had great luck with continuity of care.

Anyway sorry for the random rambling. I don't really have any plastic surgery fellowship news at the moment. The only thing I have to report is that I am going to turn in my rank list some time this week. I still have to meet with our chairman of plastic surgery. I have met with everyone else.

May 20th is D-Day for us. Its time for us to storm the beach and see which ones of us will make the wall. I fully anticipate being machine gunned as soon as the ramp drops. I have been looking into hand fellowships.

Email list

2005-04-13T23:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of the applicants put together an email list of applicants this year and sent it out today. It has 97 people on it. If you didn't get a copy of that list and would like it or if you would like to have your name added to it, email me and I will send it your way.

Hand Surgery

2005-04-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

I was looking into hand surgery fellowships tonight. I found THE website for hand surgery. Check it out at:

Hand Surgery Site

Chattanooga Photos

2005-04-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

Chattanooga reminded me a lot of Charlottesville, VA. It is a town in a valley surrounded by a rim of mountains. This isn't a very good photo because I took it from my car window but it shows the mountains overlooking the city.

The downtown is a lot like a college town. There are a lot of little bistros. The night before the interview we met the residents at the Big River Grille. It was a microbrewery with good food. They even rented us two pool tables. We were like rockstars!

Here is a photo of lookout mountain from the medical center. From the top of this mountain you can see 7 states. I didn't get to go up there because my flight out was immediately after the interview.

Here is another view from the top of the medical center. Again these aren't the best photos because they were shot through windows.

Here is the medical center from the front.

And here is another shot of the medical center. I think this is what they call the 'Medical Mall'. It is exactly what it sounds like.

No regrets.

2005-04-10T15:31:00.000-05:00

I just got back from my last interview. I interviewed at Chattanooga. I took a bunch of pictures and I will upload them soon.

The grand total of interviews attended is 17. I couldn't possibly have done any more. I did my best and I have no regrets.

A few secrets for traveling:

1) If someone puts SSSS anywhere on your boarding pass, look out. You will be maximally probed by security and your luggage will be maximally rummaged.
2) If you are renting a car, always get the economy model. If you arrive late in the day, the chances are all of the economy models will be gone and they will have to give you a free upgrade. They will ask you if you want to upgrade at the counter. Just say no, you are happy with the economy car. Next thing you know they will be handing you the keys to a sweet ride at no extra cost, just because all of the economy cars are already gone. In all of my travels I always rented an economy car and I never ended up in one. They always upgraded me for free.
3) If you finish your interview early, call the airline to see if you can get an earlier flight out. I always scheduled flights that were several hours after the end of the interview sessions. Often times I would finish early and be able to get on an earlier flight. A few times the earlier flight was like $100 more expensive if you bought it like that up front. I was able to switch to the earlier flight at no extra cost.
4) Stay at flophouses whenever possible. The recommended hotels that programs will send you are usually 2-3 times as expensive as what you can find.

A few things to do

2005-04-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend is my last interview. I am going to sit down and go over every program in detail and try to come up with a rank list. I have a few favorites just based on my impressions of each program and the experience that I had during the interviews. It is hard to say whether those impressions were 100% accurate just based on a 1 or 2 day interview. After I put together my list it is time for me to sit down with some advisors to make sure that I am not crazy and that I am making good choices.

In other news, I think I have found a way to pick up some extra scratch to help pay my interview tabs. We have a NASCAR track in my town and our hospital has an arrangement with the track. I got an email today soliciting me to go out there and work as a trauma resident on weekends. I am definitely looking into that. I have some serious bills to pay now and I might have to do this all over again next year.

I can't wait to see everyone again this weekend.

Nassau

2005-04-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

I got back from Nassau at like 1:00 in the morning last night. I had a great time at the interview. The night before they took us all to this amazing restaurant. They gave a presentation on the program and also presented a couple interesting cases. There were only 2 or 3 applicants that I hadn't met at other interviews. I think everyone had a great time.

The next day for the interviews several of the attendings asked me about this website. Apparently word has gotten out. I suppose I should say something about why I am doing this website.

The main purpose of this website is so that the next few classes of applicants will have a little bit of guidance through the process. The specifics will change but I don't anticipate the process changing that much. There are a few people in my general surgery program who are going to be applying next year and I am hoping that many of their questions about the process can be answered by reading this site.

The other reason I keep this site is so that I will remember each of the programs when it is time for me to make a rank list. I don't say anything on this site about programs other than that I went there and what I did. I keep track of specifics that interest me in a black book and I don't make the contents of the black book public.

I had to leave after desert at the dinner because I was dead tired. I am trying to recover from the flu and pneumonia at the same time. I am also on night float and I am trying to get adjusted to the new schedule. It won't be long and I will be translucent like one of those sea creatures that lives on the bottom of the ocean, miles away from sunlight.

I liked Long Island a lot, especially the places around the medical center. I have been to NYC quite a bit. I have to say that LI is a lot more like the Midwest than NYC.

After the interview I got a cab back to the airport. I was trying to share a cab with my friend from Mobile Alabama but he wasn't done interviewing. Because of the rain my flight was delayed like 3 hours. I flew into Charlotte and found that my next plane was delayed by an hour. Who should I spy waiting for the very same plane but one of my buddies from residency. We headed over to the bar and knocked back a couple brewskies.

When I finally got on the plane it was every travelers worst nightmare. I was in the middle seat sandwiched by two 500 pounders. They both spilled over into my seat and practically smothered me. One of them had long dreadlocks and the grease from the dreadlocks got all over my interview shirt. I will have to send it out for a deep cleaning.

It was OK though because I did a little escapist reading. I am reading the Asian Saga by James Clavell. Do you remember that mini-series in the early 80's with Richard chamberlain called Shogun? Anyway Clavell is the guy who wrote Shogun and that is one of the books in the Asian Saga. I finished Shogun and I am about to finish Tai-Pan (the second book). Those are 2 of the most interesting fiction books I have ever read and I would very highly recommend them for pleasure reading aboard aircraft, especially when you want to be miles away in your head. Serenity now. SERENITY NOW!!

The other books I have been reading on the flights are the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. The first book in that series is the Clan of the Cave Bear. I am about to start the 4th book in that series. I would also give those books my highest recommendation. They are extremely entertaining.

Next week is my last interview - Chattanooga. I am looking forward to being done with the interview process and moving on the the ranking process. I have some meetings set up with my chairman of surgery, the program director and the chairman of plastic surgery. Hopefully I will get some good advice and make a rank list that is the best for me.

Memphis Photos

2005-03-28T14:21:00.000-06:00

The interview was actually held at the plastic surgery offices, which are separate from the hospital.

They have very a very beautiful office at UT-Memphis.

After the interview I went to dinner at Corky's with my friend from USC.

Plastic Surgery Launch Pad

2005-03-28T14:17:00.000-06:00

Here is where I have been staying for most of my plastic surgery interviews. My program has me rotating out at a small hospital in BFE. They put me up in this vintage 70's era apartment.

Yes ladies, that is carpet on the wall.

Miami Photos

2005-03-28T13:56:00.000-06:00

The first thing I did when I got to Miami is go down to the beach.

There were all these crazy model shoots going on. It looked like they were shooting for summer clothing. One group was apparently for a big and tall store.

As you can see, this photo was actually taken standing in the Atlantic Ocean!

Did I mention how much I love the Ocean?

The next day I drove to the interview but the bridge to the hospital was up all day.

They have canals running around all through Miami to allow boats to go inland a ways. At certain times of the day they raise the bridges that go over the canals so the boats can go up and down them.

Most surgery residents work in a VA at some point during their training. How many will get to work at a VA with palm trees out front?

Another difference about Miami hospitals -

I have never seen a fruit stand outside a hospital before.

Here is the original hospital building. Today it is surrounded by a ring of modern hospital buildings.

Back to KC

2005-03-27T15:02:00.000-06:00

I just got back from Memphis. It was a good interview and I enjoyed my time there. After the interview I went with my friend from USC out to Corky's BBQ. It was delicious. We both chowed down on some ribs.

I don't know what my problem is but I have been sick as a dog for the last few days. I think I have the flu. I hope I get over it quickly. I am on night float now.

Next weekend I am off to Nassau. That should be an adventure. I've been to NYC several times but I've never been to Long Island. I have a camera full of pictures to put up on here and I will get to it in the next couple of days.

Only 2 interviews left and then its just waiting until the end of May.

Miami Food

2005-03-22T07:25:00.000-06:00

I almost forgot. I had some great food in Miami.

I went out in South Beach on Saturday night. Spring break was in full effect. It was like Girls Gone Wild down there. I was with a friend from NYC who is from Israel. We stopped to eat at a little Pita place which was amazing. I got a pita with stuff in it. They take a pita and stuff it with grilled meat (lamb or chicken). Then they put a few sauces in there and load it up with what they call salads. They put like 4 different toppings or salads in there. Mine had grilled eggplant, tabouleh, cucumber and tomato salad, and the Israeli version of cole slaw. It was absolutely delicious. My friend said that it is the real deal, exactly what he eats in Israel, but of course he says it is better there. Needless to say I was hugely impressed.

I also went out for Cuban food in Miami. Of course I got a Cuban sandwich, black beans and yellow rice. It was delicious.

Miami

2005-03-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

I had a great time in Miami. All of the faculty and residents seemed very nice and were very candid. At this point I pretty much know all of the other applicants at every interview. It was good to see everyone and exchange stories from the road. I took some awesome pictures of the facilities and Miami in general, and I will post those later on in the week. Once again I am out in BFE about 400 miles away from my computer.

After the interview I went out in South Beach with a couple of applicant friends. One is from NYC and the other is from Detroit. It was a major outing. We went all over the place and finally ended up at the Clevelander. It was totally sweet except that I had to get to the airport at 4:30 AM. It was not pretty.

This coming weekend I am off to Memphis. I can't wait to see everyone.

UT-San Antonio

2005-03-17T09:18:00.000-06:00

This is the last update I will be able to do for a while. During my Texas trip I also interviewed at UT-San Antonio. I have so many memories from this part of the country. We used to live in Temple Texas and I used to go down to San Antonio all the time. One place we used to stop at and visit was Salado. It is on I-35 just a little south of Temple. It is a little artist's community. There are all kinds of art galleries and pottery shops downtown. When I was a kid I used to swim in Salado creek.

I wanted to buy some pottery from this one shop that I have gotten other pieces, but it was closed.

I arrived a little early in San Antonio so I stopped downtown. The first place I went was the Mercado - or Mexican Market. I used to go there all the time when I was a kid. They have all kinds of neat shops.

Once inside I got my daughter a marionette like the one my grandmother got me from the market 31 years ago. I also found a nice pottery shop and got a few pieces for presents.

In this area of the market they always have live bands.

There are all kinds of neat little restaurants down by the market. Most of them are tex-mex. If you want really good Mexican food, I would suggest just buying a fajita from a street vendor. Those are the best fajitas I have ever had and cheap!

If you go down to San Antonio, you absolutely MUST stop by the River Walk. It is truly a lovely place to take a walk, have a meal and stay for the night.

I stopped off at a bar that I have been to a couple of times called El Esquire. I met a few of the local characters. Everyone was very friendly.

It is an old fashioned bar with the tin ceiling, wood walls and everything. They have EXCELLENT margaritas.

They had a nice reception at the hotel the night before the interview. I met a lot of great people. The next day the interview lasted all day long. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of the actual facilities but they were nice. After the interview I drove up to Dallas to visit my mom. A bunch of the applicants went out to the River Walk but I couldn't go. I know I would have had an awesome time.

Parts of Kansas

2005-03-17T08:48:00.000-06:00

I thought I would take a few seconds to give you a geographic tour of Kansas. If you are ever driving through Kansas instead of just flying over, your trip will be more enjoyable if you know a little about it. To most people it looks the same as you go through the state but there are definitely distinct areas of the state. If you travel west on I-70 from Kansas City, the first area you will go through is the Flint Hills.

In the picture you can see what looks like a bunch of rocks sitting on top of hills. Those rocks are actually flint, hence the Flint Hills. Underneath the surface soil there are layers of rocks. Flint is very hard and a lot of time the other layers around flint are either chalk or limestone. What happens is over time the weather causes erosion and the other rocks erode away, leaving flint sitting on the surface.

The next area you will go through will be the Smokey Hills. It doesn't turn out very well in this photo, but even on bright sunny days, there is a haze over the hills.

The next area you go through will be Post Rock Country.

Back in Olden Times, they hadn't discovered trees yet in Kansas. By that time though, they had discovered cows. There were some problems though. Without fences, the cows would walk pretty much anywhere they wanted. Cows would be walking through your house if you let them. Also at that time, the China shop was invented and a bull got loose and tore the place up. A cowboy decided that the cows should be kept in one place so that they wouldn't poop in the house and tear up China shops. He decided to build a fence but there were no trees to get wood. He invented barbed wire but still, there weren't any trees to make posts to hang the barbed wire. So instead he went to a rock outcropping and made some posts out of rock. If you go through this area of the country you can still see those original fences made out of barbed wire and rock.

Also around this area, the cowboy did a lot of hunting. One day he was out hunting for food and shot at a rabbit. He missed but up from the ground came bubbling crude.

I didn't realize that they got oil out of Kansas but there are tons of oil wells.

As you move further west you will see the land start looking more Southwestern. There are a lot of sage brushes, tumbleweeds and yucca plants.

UT-Houston

2005-03-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I did a road trip to UT-San Antonio and UT Houston. While I was in Texas I got to stop and see my mom in Dallas. I also got to see both of my dog's parents.

The black one is Daisy's mom and the brown one is her dad.

I stayed at a $20 flop house on the outskirts of Houston. I drove in a little early and walked around the campus before the interview. Baylor is also on the campus, as well as MD Anderson.

I only got a couple pictures but here is another of the hospitals that you rotate through at UT-Houston.

For lunch, they catered in Goode Company BBQ. I was ecstatic because I was planning on going to Goode Company after the interview and they saved me the trip. Goode Company is what I would consider to be a perfect example of Texas Style BBQ. They brought brisket, sausage, chicken, sides and pies for desert. Texas style BBQ is mainly beef and the BBQ sauce is not like the Kansas City ketchup based sauces that most people think of when they think BBQ. Texas style BBQ sauce is more of a gravy.

Uggs ... Uggghhh.

2005-03-17T08:11:00.000-06:00

In my travels I think I have spotted the next mullet.

Yeah I know they are comfortable and warm etc, but so are Napoleon Dynamite's Moon boots!

By the way I loved that movie and highly recommend it. My wife doesn't get it because she has never been a dork. I was a huge dork and truth be told I still am. I could totally relate to that movie.

Now I know that it may be a stretch to say that Uggs are the mullet of the new millennium, but I have photographic evidence. Here we see a man in transition:

Indiana

2005-03-17T07:50:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I also went to Indiana. The night before we had a reception at Dr. Coleman's house. His wife made the food and I must say, as a cook, it was excellent. The crab cakes were remarkable. I always appreciate it when someone opens a home to me.

The interview was held in a building which also houses the Museum of Sports. The museum has the largest collection of sports art. One painting that I thought was neat was this one by Muhamad Ali:

The Indiana campus is absolutely huge. I went on a tour and got a lot of pictures.

This next one was part of the Children's Hospital. I thought it was a neat idea to have an enclosed courtyard.

At the end of the tour we passed by the medical library. There was a painting on the wall that some people thought looked just slightly like me -

Catching Up - Vanderbilt

2005-03-16T17:11:00.000-06:00

Before I get too deep into catching up, be sure to go to google to get your gmail accounts. They offer 1 gigabyte email accounts. Hotmail currently is 250 mb.

I have a lot of catching up to do. I will go in reverse chronological order. I will start with Vanderbilt.

I flew out of Indianapolis to Nashville. My first plane hit a goose when it was flying in and it wrecked the radar equipment. While I was waiting for the airline to repair the plane, my good friend from the LA area sat down next to me. We spent some time talking about various programs and some of the more humorous applicants. After a little bit guess who sat down right next to us -
TED NUGENT!!
He was wearing all this crazy hunting gear and had a goofy hat. I whispered to my friend - 'hey do you know who that guy in the goofy hat is?' He didn't. I said 'Ted Nugent.' My friend was like 'who is that?' Apparently no one else knew either, because no one approached him for an autograph or even talked to him, but there was absolutely no doubt who it was. He was flying to Detroit, dressed in militia inspired hunting gear, and he was reading a Guns and Ammo magazine.

I was supposed to leave at 9:00 AM. By 1:00 PM here was the scene -

I could see them out there smoking cigarettes and not fixing the plane. I went up to the counter and got switched to some different flights. I finally got into Nashville at like 6:00 PM.

I went down to the Vanderbilt area to find the parking garage and something to eat. Vanderbilt is in a nice college-town type neighborhood.

I couldn't get many pictures of the campus but I did get a few.

The next day I went to the interview and saw another of my good friends from Alabama. We got to sit on the famous blue couch!

I wonder how it will look in future years. I think it is starting to get a little age on it.

The Blue Couch

2005-03-14T10:52:00.000-06:00

I am in between interviews at Vanderbilt. I am on the famous blue couch. Pictures to follow.

Notes from the Road

2005-03-06T15:39:00.000-06:00

I'm posting from the computer in the lobby of the Radissen in Milwaukee. I was at Providence in Detroit yesterday. It turns out that there is a rather large Iraqi population in Detroit. Last night I ate at an Iraqi restaurant and loved it. I can't say that the food was any different from Persian food but that is probably because my palate is not educated enough. I'm going to interview at MCW tomorrow. Tonight it is beer and pizza at Dr. Larson's house.

The trail is starting to wear on me a bit. I enjoy traveling and all but this isn't really traveling. Its like being stuck in a state of suspended animation. I can't really go forward and I can't go backward. I can't move until this match is over. I'm completely stuck in the present and I can't bring myself to think about the future. I can't really enjoy any of the cities I am in because they are so out of context. I'm only in a city for a night or two and I am usually in a flophouse on the edge of town. Without anyone along to share the experience it is a very lukewarm affair. The best thing I can compare it to would be skiing alone. I love to ski but I learned early on that it is much better to share the air and the views with someone else.

One of the interviewee's that I know very well from Oregon just walked in. It is funny how you see the same people over and over again. I hope I am not the one that they talk about next year who they knew that didn't match. I hope they all match as well.

UT's San Antonio And Houston

2005-03-01T14:32:00.000-06:00

I just got back from UT Houston and UT San Antonio. Both places were filled with friendly people. I got a lot of pictures but they will have to wait until mid March when I have a day or two at my house. I went to the River Walk in San Antonio and the Mercado (Market Square). I got my wife a piece of pottery and my daughter a puppet. I am excited to see their reactions.

Virginia and Nebraska

2005-02-22T20:27:00.000-06:00

I had a brief stop off in my home town before heading back out to my away rotation. That gives me a quick chance to update the site.

My flight to Virginia took off at 5:00 AM. It is a small airport so the nice lady who checked me in was also in charge of de-icing the plane.

By the time I got to Charlottesville it was dark so the next few pictures I took during the day.

I had never been to UVA so I was in for a real treat. As soon as I got to town I headed down to campus to a place called the Lawn. I had no idea about the history of the University but I learned a lot while I was there.

The Lawn is Thomas Jefferson's design for the University. The idea was to have professors living in houses rimmed on either side by student housing. The housing would form a big U shaped structure with a lawn in the middle. At the lowpoint of the U is a large library.

Here you can see a professors house surrounded on either side by student housing.

When I got there I could smell the smoke rising from the chimneys. Every room has a fireplace and they have wood stacked outside each room.

Imagine the same scene only at night. It was so pretty it was almost like I was in a dream. There was a reception in one of the 'professors' houses. I am not sure they are used for that purpose anymore but the students still live in the student housing. In fact it is quite an honor to be chosen to live in one of the rooms.

Surrounding the Lawn is a large ring of gardens. I think I remember someone telling me that there are 18 gardens. Various gardening clubs keep them up and have contests to make each one unique. People come from all over the world to see them. Its the offseason but I took a picture of one anyway.

There is a University hospital that I didn't get any pictures of but there are also a lot of connected buildings that were very neat. Here are the outpatient clinics.

And here is the view down Hospital Drive -

I had 7 or 8 interviews, 20 minutes each and then I took a tour. The only internal pictures I got didn't turn out very well. I did manage to get a picture of the plaque outside of UVA's microvascular lab.

The medical campus is incorporated into the undergraduate campus, so there are a lot of college town type eateries etc around.

The afternoon after the interviews I went out to one of our country's treasures.

Do you recognize that building? I'll give you a hint. Look on the back of your nickle.

I am a History Channel junky so I was thrilled at the opportunity to tour Monticello. It was Thomas Jefferson's Home on the mountain. It is on top of a small mountain that he inherited from his wife's father. It is surrounded by woods.

I was afraid that it might not be the right time of year to tour but the weather was actually very pleasant and at least a few wildflowers think it is spring.

I walked around the grounds for a while before touring the house. I spotted Virginia's state bird - the cardinal.

The house was very neat on the inside but we weren't allowed to snap any pictures. I learned quite a bit about Jefferson, his times and his passions. As it turns out, back in olden times, they liked beer just as much as we do, and Jefferson had his own brewery right there on the property.

He also did a lot of research on the best way to garden and grow certain crops.

That night I ate BBQ at Wolfie's. I was going to go out and check out more of the town but I was exhausted so I just went to bed.

I also went to the University of Nebraska, but I forgot my camera in the car. I met a lot of great people and saw the facilities. I would say more but again, I am exhausted and I'm going to bed. Tomorrow its a 6 hour drive back to the boonies to my away rotation.

3 pieces of News

2005-02-17T17:36:00.000-06:00

1) I got a letter from the CAS announcing what we all knew - that 3 programs have dropped out of the match. UCSF, UMDNJ and CC-Florida. It also said that those programs are responsible for refunding the $25 and gave contact numbers. They can keep my $25.

2) I got an offer from U Tenn Memphis today. The other one I got earliers was UT Memphis Chat division. I'm not sure what to do.

3) Definately one of the most hilarious moments of the match so far:
I got a rejection letter from Pitt that was meant for someone else!!! It had his name on it and everything.
This reminds me of when I was applying for medical school. I got a rejection letter from University of Washington saying how they had carefully read my application and had considered its strongpoints blah blah blah. The funny thing is, I never applied there. Go figure.

Temple Revisited

2005-02-17T10:16:00.000-06:00

I got an email today that someone dropped the day that I requested for interview so there is an open spot now. I am headed to Miami the weekend of March 19th, and the flight is actually cheaper if I fly to Temple first and then to Miami. I can't figure it out but it looks like it was meant to be so I am going to Temple on the 18th.

Non-Specific Angst

2005-02-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

I'm sure everyone has the same worries that I do right now. I have interviews arranged and everything is set. The problem is that there are no givens in the match. No matter how many interviews you do it doesn't seem to make a difference. I have met people with 12, 14 and 17 interviews that did not match last year. All outstanding people and all ideal candidates.

I don't really know how to look at the prospect of not matching except to realize that it is a possibility. Think about it for a second, 3 out of 4 of us won't match. So the first step is to really believe that you probably won't match.

It would really be awesome if I was lucky and matched this year. Unfortunately my track record has not been like that. It always seems that I have to claw my way into whatever it is I want. As a result I have learned a certain amount of caution when discussing hopes and plans with people. My advice to everyone is to let your family and friends know exactly how unlikely it is that you will match. At least if you don't match they will know the odds you were facing.

Second, I would have a backup plan in place. For me there is nothing but plastic surgery, so my plan involves fighting on. I will try to get a hand fellowship and reapply.

The beauty of believing that it could happen to you is that you jump ahead in the whole grief process and hopefully just start with anger. Pissed-off power has helped me through some tough times and given me the energy to keep going. I suppose everyone is different though and it may not work for you.

Anyway I'm off to Virginia this weekend. I can't wait to see everyone and I hope to meet a lot of new people.

Apathy

2005-02-14T16:10:00.000-06:00

I don't know why but today I am having serious apathy towards checking the email/mailbox. I have spent just about all the energy I care to on calling programs, scheduling interviews etc. I have this overwhelming feeling that 15 is enough. I really do not want to cancel any of the plans I have already made, so if I schedule any more interviews it is going to have to be a perfect situation. As far as I am concerned, the offer season is over barring something earthshattering.

Temple

2005-02-14T07:50:00.000-06:00

I got the invite from Temple but I have already scheduled interviews at other places for all of the days they have open. Oh well.

Louisville and Loyola

2005-02-13T13:08:00.000-06:00

I just got back from Louisville and Chicago. My flight has a long layover in my home city, so I got a chance to stop at the house for a while and update my website.

The first thing I did when I got into Louisville was check in at my hotel. I didn't stay at the recommended cushy hospital because I had an immediate flight and I didn't want to leave getting to the airport to chance. So I rented a car but the extra cost forced me to stay in a flophouse north of the river in Indiana. All was well though because it allowed me to explore the north side of the river.

The river is dammed right at Louisville and the dam was massive. It was quite impressive to see such a massive river contained at one point.

The night before the interview I ate at a BBQ place called Mark's Feed Store. I highly recommend stopping in if you are in Louisville. It is a BBQ joint that was made out of an old feed store. The ambiance was unique to say the least and the food was excellent.

I could only get a few pictures of the campus and it was early in the morning. This building houses the hand care center. They have one of the world's only hand dedicated ER's.

The residents rotate through the University hospitals as well as this local hospital which is right there on campus.

I enjoyed my visit very much and learned a lot about the program. After the interview I flew up to Chicago. I arrived late so I didn't do a whole lot except stop off at Portillo's for an Italian Beef and Sausage Combo. If you're from Chicago you will know exactly what I am talking about, and if not, you should try one some day.

I stayed with a cousin up in Lincoln Park. Although public transportation doesn't take you to the doors of Loyola, it gets you close. I got up early and went to the Clark/Lake El station to catch the blue line.

The Blue line gets you out to Forest Park but then you have to take a short Bus Ride on the Pace 308 to the hospital. It took about an hour to get out there from Lincoln Park but it only cost $1.75 and a cab ride would have been ridiculously expensive ($40-50) and at least 1/2 hour. It is a little more trouble to take public transportation but if you are on a budget like me I would highly recommend looking into it.

One of my friends always rents a car and he rented one for $16. That is also a good idea if you are not planning on going or staying downtown, because parking down there is ridiculous if it exists at all.

The Loyola interview was great and to the point. I was done by noon and I had the rest of the day and evening to bum around Chicago.

Pitt is out

2005-02-09T07:50:00.000-06:00

Pitt sent out offers yesterday via email. I didn't hear anything so I am assuming no interest.

Lets get going

2005-02-08T15:20:00.000-06:00

I'm getting ready for Louisville/Loyola this weekend. Its been like a month since I interviewed anywhere. I can't wait. Every weekend from now until April is an interview weekend. A lot of those weekends I will do 2 interviews, and on a couple I added another one for Monday. Unfortunately I am out in BFE right now away from my computer so I won't be able to post the pictures from each place for a while. No word from any other programs but I haven't checked regular mail today.

Vanderbilt

2005-02-06T08:28:00.000-06:00

I got the offer from Vanderbilt today. It came through the mail. It was dated Jan 28th but my mail is being forwarded to me right now. Look on a map of the United States for the most isolated place in the continental US. That is where I am. I am literally 6 hours from anything. Oh well. Its only till the end of March then I am back to the home institution.

It sounds like they are very flexible on dates so hopefully I will be able to arrange something. 15. Thats a nice round number. Much better sounding than 14.

20 left

2005-02-04T13:37:00.000-06:00

I heard a bad-bad-bad rumor today, and it is probably true. CC-Florida might have stepped out of the match for reasons unknown. That is too bad because I really wanted to check that place out.

21 left

2005-02-03T17:42:00.000-06:00

Here are some programs that I know have offered interviews and I have not heard from them yet:

Mayo
Cincinnati
Temple
Vanderbilt
Christus St. Joseph's

I am going to assume that those are rejections or at best I am a second stringer there (in which case I am not going to interview there) so I will scratch those off the list.

I have 14 interviews arranged and I am not sure if I can do anymore, so unless something earthshattering comes in for an offer with no conflicts, I am done.

Absite done, MCW offer

2005-01-31T09:03:00.000-06:00

Well the absite is over. I am hearing from a lot of people around the country that it was very hard. I am a little comforted by that because I thought it was hard too. Of course I haven't gotten much sleep lately on account of the baby. I looked through the absite killer once more on the night before the test. As usual, a HUGE chunk of the test was right there on the Absite killer so hopefully that will kick me up a few percentile points.

I got an offer from MCW. It came by email this morning. As many of you may or may not know, that is the place that Gillman from plastics2002.com trained at for a while. I have heard awesome and amazing things about the place. The date is March 7th.

That makes 14 interviews set up (not counting Chicago). I don't think I am going to break any of the ones that I have arranged now. It is a very nice mix and I like each of the programs I am going to. So if that is the case I doubt I will be able to schedule too many more.

Absite Killer For The Palm

2005-01-27T08:56:00.000-06:00

The Absite killer is now available for your palm pilot. Head on over to Absitekiller.com and check it out. The test is in just a few days and this is the perfect last minute review. For the first three years I studied the Absite Killer and the Michigan State Review for the Absite. I read and did all of the things you are supposed to do, but very little of what you read will actually have payoff on the test. A huge chunk of the test is right there in the Absite Killer. It isn't very long and there are like 1 or 2 sentence high yield blurbs about topics that appear over and over again.

I can't stress to you enough how important your ABSITE scores will be if you wish to be a successful candidate. I haven't matched yet and I may not, but I am getting a lot of interviews. One of the first things they mention is that I did well on the ABSITE. I didn't get 99th percentile or anything freakish like that but I had respectable scores. It doesn't make me any better or smarter than anyone else but for some reason the program directors like decent ABSITE scores.

I don't know about the site absitekiller.com, but the authors of the palm pilot file have it for sale. It looks like you buy it through eBay. It looks like they email it to you with an unlock code. I think you have to have iSilo but I'm sure you either have it or know someone who does.

The guys who made the Palm Pilot file say that it has the full blessing of the original author. I would like to see the author's efforts rewarded, and I would like to see the people who took the time to make it available for the Palm be compensated, so I am not sending out any more of my Microsoft Word documents of the Absite Killer. I am going to put a link to the right of the page for people who wish to purchase it. $14.95 very well spent if you ask me.

Urology match botched.

2005-01-25T13:27:00.000-06:00

My medical student is sitting next to me in a daze. He was in the urology match and they messed it up. I don't know the particulars but somehow they ran the match wrong and the have to run it again. This is after notifying everyone that they had matched at X institution. My medical student had already talked to the program and was making arrangements etc. His wife had already found a job and everything. Now they have to wait until friday to find out where they matched.

UT-Houston

2005-01-25T08:13:00.000-06:00

Confirmed to interview at UT-Houston on 2/28/5.

Only 26 places left

2005-01-24T17:58:00.000-06:00

I just got an offer from UT-San Antonio and its perfect because it is like the only day left in Feb that I haven't scheduled something. I am super pumped!

1 offer, 1 rejection

2005-01-24T15:39:00.000-06:00

I got the expected rejection from UNC today. They sent out offers a long time ago so I was assuming they weren't interested. I got an offer from Summa today. Now I am starting to have a very hard time with conflicts. Every place wants to interview on March 12th. Its crazy. I am still waiting to hear from 27 programs. Most of them are big name places though so I suspect I will get at least 20 rejections out of the group remaining.

I've heard from 21 places and have 14 offers and 7 rejections. That is a little better ratio than I was expecting certainly.

2 more offers

2005-01-22T13:21:00.000-06:00

I got offers from U Miami and UT-Memphis today.

Louisiana down, Virginia Up

2005-01-21T10:20:00.000-06:00

The final Louisiana program rejected me yesterday - LSU. I got the thumbs up from UVA though and I scheduled to go 2/18/5.

3 rejections

2005-01-19T08:26:00.000-06:00

Got rejections from Duke, Emory and UC-Irvine yesterday as expected.

Providence (southfield)

2005-01-17T13:27:00.000-06:00

I got an offer from Providence in Southfield Michigan today. The interview date is 3/4/5 to 3/5/5. I am planning on going.

MCG Details

2005-01-16T13:44:00.000-06:00

I had an excellent trip to MCG. I flew into Atlanta and rented a car to drive to Augusta. The drive was very pretty at least to me. I am used to seeing corn and wheat fields.

I am glad I decided to fly to Atlanta instead of to Augusta. It would have cost me a ton more money to fly into Augusta and I would have had to stay an extra day. A lot of the applicants ended up staying overnight.

I got a room at the Partridge Inn, which I very highly recommend. I stayed there 4 years ago when I was interviewing for General Surgery. I hadn't planned on staying overnight. I was scheduled to fly up to Michigan for an interview but there was a little fog and they won't fly in fog in Augusta. The airport put me up at the PI overnight. I went to the bar and grill and they had the best version of the BLT I have ever had. It had homemade pimento cheese spread, smoked bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted bread. I got the sandwich, a coke and a piece of pecan pie for under 5 bucks.

As soon as I got checked in I went downstairs to the bar and grill to see if they still had the sandwich but they didn't. I found out that the pimento sandwich is a tradition at the Master's, much like the mint julep is at the Kentucky Derby.

My room was beautiful. It was on the 4th floor and I had my own balcony. I had a great view of the medical center and the rest of the city.

At 7 I went down to a conference room in the PI and met the other applicants, the fellows and the PA's from the program. Everyone was extremely nice and answered all of our questions. I talked to a lot of the other applicants and they all seemed like outstanding people. Oh boy is it going to be tough to match this year, at least for me.

The next morning we were taken to the hospital in the PI's A-Team van. We assembled in a conference room for breakfast and a presentation. Dr. Yu played the Louis Armstrong song 'What a Wonderful World' while we waited for everyone to get there.

I don't have any pictures of the actual facilities unfortunately. If you are interested in what the place looked like you can check out the photos on their web page.

I interviewed with 4 faculty and 2 residents. Everyone was very nice and answered all of my questions.

After the interview I drove around Augusta to check it out. The town is very pretty with tree lined streets and old houses.

Back from GA and more news

2005-01-15T19:45:00.000-06:00

MCG was a neat place. I will have a more detailed post tomorrow. I got 3 offers in the mail today - Indiana, UIC and Albert Einstein. More details later.

Louisville

2005-01-13T20:05:00.000-06:00

I got an offer from Louisville today. Interview dates are Feb 11th and March 4th if I remember right. In other news, my wife just had a 9 pound baby after an epic 18 hours of labor. All is well.

Mississippi Trip

2005-01-08T15:57:00.000-06:00

I just got back from Jackson Mississippi! Everyone down there was amazingly hospitable and I had a great time.

My flight down there was a bit complicated. Kansas City got destroyed by an ice storm.

It was like Godzilla attacked us or something.

My flights were canceled. I had to make other arrangements, and those flights were delayed and almost canceled. Anyway it was all worth it. When I finally arrived at the interview (several hours late) I was delighted to find some Mississippi-Style BBQ.

The hospital complex is absolutely huge.

They are building several new buildings right now that are scheduled to open next summer.

It was a great trip and I am really glad I went. I met a few more candidates. One of the candidates from Mississippi and I went to lunch on Friday and he was kind enough to let me use his house to change. It can be a little dangerous doing the Clark Kent changing routine sometimes.

One piece of unfortunate news

2004-12-29T08:36:00.000-06:00

Confirmed from the CAS:

UCSF will not be in the match.

Brace yourselves, the Storm is Coming!

2004-12-29T08:16:00.000-06:00

I got an offer from Loyola yesterday. Loyola is offering interviews Saturday, February 12, and Saturday, February 26, 2005. I also heard that UNC has sent out invitations for Feb 5th and March 12th. I didn't get an offer or a rejection from UNC at least via email so I am trying to figure out whether they went out by email or snail mail.

This is when the interviews start rolling in. I also got an email from Mayo requesting my USMLE step 3 scores, which I don't have. I hope they will overlook it. Anyway the next few weeks is going to be awesome. Get ready! Let the interviews come.

List of Programs with combined/integrated also

2004-12-24T06:38:00.000-06:00

Here is a list of programs in the fellowship match that also have combined spots. Someone was asking me for this list so here it is.

UC-Davis
UC-Irvine
UCSF
UCLA
USC-LA
U of Chicago
Harvard
Lahey +-?
Cincinnati
Pitt
UTSW
Utah
UVA
MCW
UTMB

Here is the list of programs in the match that ONLY HAVE fellowship spots.

UAB
UC-San Diego
U Miami
CC-Florida
MCG
Emory
Rush
Loyola
UIC-Chicago
Indiana
Louisville
LSU
Tulane
U Mass
Wayne State
Providence
Minnesota
Mayo
Nebraska
Mississippi
Albert Einstein
Nassau
UNC
Duke
CC
Summa
Oklahoma
Oregon
Penn State
Temple
South Carolina
UT-Chat
UT-Memphis
Vanderbilt
UT-Houston
UT-San Antonio
Christus-Houston
NY-Pres
UMDNJ?

Nebraska Confirmed

2004-12-23T11:07:00.000-06:00

I called Nebraska and got confirmed for the first interview date. I think it is the 2/22/05. I think the other date was March 4th. The February date is unfortunately on a Tuesday but I will just have to make it work. The March date was on a Friday. One thing about picking a Tuesday interview date is that there almost certainly won't be any conflicting interviews on that day.

In other news, the owner of plastics2002 has called for some donations. His goal is to be able to put up a more stable server. If he gets enough money he will be able to add other features as well. I have used the site so much and gotten so much enjoyment out of it that I decided to donate $10. I think it is a laudable goal to preserve plastics2002 as a resource for those who come after us. If nothing else the site is very entertaining. It gets better when match date gets closer. Everyone is at each other's throats over there and the posts just get hilarious. Anyway I would encourage everyone to check out plastics2002 if you haven't already. If you are a plastics2002 junky like me, I would encourage you to fork over a little coin to help keep it open. He has a paypal link set up and its really easy.

One more to add to the list

2004-12-22T19:17:00.000-06:00

I was just offered an interview at University of Nebraska today. No word from other programs though.

Everyone is getting antsy!

2004-12-22T15:24:00.000-06:00

I count myself among the vast number of people who are anxious for the interview season to truly get into swing. I have gotten 3 emails from friends in the match today wondering if I knew anything new etc. Our applications have been in for SO LONG. Sometimes you start to wonder why you applied so early if they were just going to sit on the applications. So far these are the only programs I know that have for sure offered interviews or sent out rejections:

U Chicago
MCG
U Mississippi
Tulane (rejected me)
Oregon (rejected me)

I know a lot of people who are going to be at the MCG interviews so hopefully they will have some news. Has anyone out there heard anything yet? Fire off an email to me. I would love to hear from you. I do have some rather disturbing news about the number of people in the match this year but I don't think I will post it just yet until I get confirmation from other sources.

Thin Envelope Day

2004-12-15T17:32:00.000-06:00

I got a very light envelope from University of Oregon today. Oh well. It might have been nice to live by the mountains for a while but it was not to be. Right now I am batting 3 for 5. If I keep going at this rate I will have twice the number of interviews that I could even dream of going to. It can't keep going this way though. I would expect to get maybe 1 out of 4 places offering at best. That would give me still probably more interviews than I could go to but I would sure do my best. Good job to those who got interview offers and good luck!

MCG Interview Details

2004-12-14T14:44:00.000-06:00

MCG was a little bit harder than U Miss to get set up. For one thing, MCG is in Augusta Georgia. There is no such thing as a direct flight into there unless you are Bill Gates. What most places do is fly you into Atlanta and your last leg is on board a Cessna or some other crazy small plane. Been there, done that, can't say I liked it. I flew into Augusta to interview for general surgery about 4 years ago, at about the same time of year. I couldn't get out of Augusta because the airport shut down. They don't fly in fog in Augusta. So I ended up having to stay overnight and I missed an interview at Michigan. Oh well, it was fate. But let me tell you it isn't going to happen again. The other thing about flying into Augusta is that it adds >$200 to the cost of your flight. What I decided to do was fly into Atlanta and rent a Yugo for $15. Its about a 2 hour drive from Atlanta to Augusta, so I just planned my flight times around a 3 hour drive allowing for a SNAFU. I also managed to get very cheap direct flights into Atlanta, so no messing around with layovers etc. Truly a choice travel plan and about $300 cheaper to boot.

We have a dinner at the Partridge Inn at 7:00PM on Friday January 15th. If it is in the main restaurant it will be extraordinary. The chef at the main restaurant was awarded the James Beard award. That is the American equivalent of the Cordon Bleu. The interviews will begin at 7:00AM and run until 1:00PM on Saturday.

U Mississippi Interview Details

2004-12-14T14:36:00.000-06:00

I got all of the arrangements made to interview at the University of Mississippi on Thursday January 6th and Friday January 7th. On the 6th, the interviews start at 4:30 PM. They will resume the next morning at 8:00AM and conclude by around 11:00AM. I decided to stay at a different hotel than the one they recommended. The recommended one was about twice the price of the place I ended up booking, and they don't have shuttle service from the airport. So I would have to pay twice the price and rent a car. I still have to rent a car but the total cost (car + room) will end up being less than just renting a room at the recommended place. Yeah I know I am a penny pincher. Its tough on a resident's salary.

Plastics2002 came back up

2004-12-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

Plastics 2002 is back online as of yesterday. I'm not sure how long it will be up but it is a great site for researching programs as long as you have an excellent BS detector.

University of Chicago Interview

2004-12-12T06:24:00.000-06:00

I had a great time in Chicago. Everyone at U Chicago was very nice and the facilities were beautiful. I flew in the night before to O'hare and took the train down to Lincoln Park.

It was so easy that I decided to take a train down the next morning to U of Chicago.

I arrived a little early to campus so I could get some coffee, walk around and check things out. The campus is just gorgeous.

When I got to the interview conference room I met all the other applicants. Everyone was very nice and they were all extremely accomplished. I felt very out of place with that group and I am honored that the University of Chicago invited me. They offered a buffet of interview food. As usual, the only people who ate the interview food were the residents from the host program. I was just too nervous to have an appetite.

At the end of the interview we were scheduled to go to a swanky Chicago restaurant but it was not to be. Someone had an emergency case. Instead we went to the Au Bon Pain in the hospital. After lunch I headed back up to my cousin's apartment in Lincoln Park to change.

From there I went down to the Gold Coast and visited my old stomping grounds. In the basement of this building (Morton) I learned anatomy.

I swung by Northwestern Memorial Hospital which was where I did most of my clerkships.

Within a stone throw of NMH is a famous Chicago landmark, one of the only things that didn't burn in the fire.

I rode the 151 back up to Lincoln park but I stopped along Lake Shore Drive.

In this area is a famous surgery landmark - The International Museum and College of Surgery.

For dinner I took my cousin to one of my favorite Chicago restaurants - The Frontera Grill.

The chef here is Rick Bayless. You may have heard of him. The Frontera Grill and its sister, Topolabompo are considered by many to be the premier Mexican restaurants in the US. The great thing is that its not very expensive if compared to other great restaurants.

From there we headed over to Michigan Ave to check out the lights. If you have never seen it, the lights during the Holiday season are beautiful.

My last stop during the Chicago interview was a great bar at State and Division called PJ Clark's.

The atmosphere inside was just electric. The music was great and it was totally packed on a Thursday night.

When I was in Chicago for medical school people dressed a lot more uniformly. The blue shirt black pants black vest look was huge. I called it the Amish look. Everyone was dressing like that Harrison Ford movie Witness. Inside PJ Clark's I finally found one piece of the Chicago dress code. Every woman in the bar, and I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE was wearing jeans and really pointy toed high heels.

Here is exhibit A your honor:

The next morning I got on the plane back home. It was a much more adventurous flight than the one to Chicago. Apparently someone sitting close to me in cattle class decided that it was prudent to eat several cans of refried beans the night before. After all, why not make it smell like a cattle car as well? I suppose the whole covering the nose thing worked out well though, because at least 6 people had SARS and were open mouth coughing all over the place.

The whole trip was awesome and no matter how everything turns out I am glad I went.

Another thick envelope.

2004-12-06T14:15:00.000-06:00

I got the word from U Mississippi today. They are offering interviews on Jan 6th and 7th. There is only 1 problem with this date - my wife is due to deliver on Jan 9th. That would be cutting it very very close. I am giving them a call today to try to figure something out. Maybe I could get a refundable plane ticket or something. Its scary to say the least.

Chicago details finalized

2004-12-01T13:58:00.000-06:00

I got an email from Uchicago today with final details about the interview next Thursday. There were 5 other people that the email was sent to. I know one of them but I don't recognize any of the other applicants. I can't wait to meet everyone.

I haven't heard anything from any other programs since MCG. I am hoping things will pick up a bit here in the next few weeks and in January. It will be interesting to see where the other applicants have gotten offers from.

Hard at work

2004-11-24T16:42:00.000-06:00

I've been hard at work, waiting for interviews to come in.

On a lighter note

2004-11-23T10:03:00.000-06:00

I ordered the new Sienfeld
DVD's today from Amazon. They have a special edition set with the first 3 seasons and some extra junk thrown in there like a script and salt and pepper shakers. They have it for $77 or so which is ridiculously cheap compared to the prices I have seen it at elsewhere.

MCG continued

2004-11-19T10:19:00.000-06:00

I called MCG today for further details. It turns out no rental car will be needed after all. There is a shuttle from the airport to the Partridge Inn and from there to MCG. The dinner on Friday night is at 7:00PM at the Partridge Inn. I think I may have stayed at this place before. It was a really neat historic hotel. I remember very specifically what I got to eat at the restaraunt and that it was extremely cheap and most delicious.

The other thing I learned is that they plan to have 20 applicants per session. The other is some time in March. If they get 40 people to interview it would be fairly long odds given that they only offer 2 spots.

The flight is going to be a little pricey at right around $300 and the hotel will be $55. Hopefully that will be one of the most expensive ones and everything else will be cheaper. I have $500 per interview budgeted so I suppose anything under that amount is a plus. Still the U of Chicago interview will be under $200 total. Oh well, we can't have it all.

Time to break out the magnifying glass

2004-11-19T08:23:00.000-06:00

Today I am going to do some advanced snooping on MCG. Now is when I do the search for where their graduates have ended up, who is doing what research etc. Its time to get serious and take a real hard look at them. In the next few days I will put together a list of questions about things that I could not answer on my own.

I still have no idea what is going on over at plastics2002. Hopefully it has been down for a site reorganization and it will reopen better than ever. In the meantime people seem to be posting over at the forums on scutwork.com. Its interesting to see other people go through the same ups and downs that I do. Some of them are getting interviews at the elite institutions and getting flat out rejections from not so desirable places. The criteria for interviewing must be bizarre at some of these places.

I got a look at some of the interviewees at our general surgery program the other day. I got to look at some of their applications and I must say I was seriously impressed. A much higher caliber of applicant is coming through than we have seen over the last 3 years. I suspect general surgery will be extremely competitive this year. Perhaps GS as a specialty is regaining some of its prestige. Its yet another thing that people can bash us gen-xers about. We were all too lazy and worthless to be up to the challenge and honor of general surgery. We're like Rodney Dangerfield when it comes to respect. :P

It was getting too quiet

2004-11-18T19:01:00.000-06:00

Looked in the mailbox today and there was an invite from Medical College of Georgia. They are offering interviews on Jan 14th and 15th (two day affair) or March 11th and 12th. I signed up for the 14th and 15th. If anyone is going let me know. Maybe we can share a car or something.

Interview confirmed.

2004-11-16T10:11:00.000-06:00

My first interview is all set. It is at the University of Chicago. The interview starts at 08:00 on Thursday December 9th. I am planning on flying in the night before and staying with a cousin in Lincoln Park. I'm also going to stick around the night of December 9th to revisit my old stomping grounds. If anyone wants to meet up let me know.

Set up message board!

2004-11-15T09:48:00.000-06:00

Alright I finally bit the bullet. Plastics2002 has been down for some time. I finally set up a plastic surgery fellowship discussion board. I have a free 30 day trial for the board. If there is enough interest I will consider making it a more permanent board. In order to post there you have to register with ezboard but its not a big deal and it is completely anonymous. You can check it out at:
The Plastic Surgery Fellowship Match Forum.

Plastics2002 where are you?

2004-11-12T11:45:00.000-06:00

Oooh this is painful. I wonder whats going on over at plastics2002? There has been this apache.org message on there for days now. This is longer than the usual drop. I'm glad I'm not in the combined/integrated match. They are in the thick of it right now and plastics2002 is much more relevant to them. All is quiet on my front. No more news one way or the other to report.

Grrrrrr.....Holiday = no mail

2004-11-11T18:39:00.000-06:00

I kept checking my mailbox and then I remembered. Its a holiday. Oh well I guess it can wait. Its too early anyway except for a few fluke interviews here and there.

Switched Browsers tonight.

2004-11-10T17:06:00.000-06:00

I switched browsers tonight. I am going to try out Firefox - Mozilla's new browzer. So far it seems to be working very nicely. It works almost exactly like internet explorer but it blocks pop-ups. Sometimes that can be a problem like if you are using a spell checker on some sites they pop up in new windows. You can click on a little button at the top of Firefox and it will bring up options to allow that particular pop-up. So far it has worked seemlessly for me. If you are interested head on over to
Mozilla's Website.