first

It was freezing in the morning, and I managed to rip a tiny hole in my stockings that morning. Luckily the ripped hole disappeared into the heel of my black formal pumps. I did not have an extra pair with me then (I do now!).

I made it to the hospital about a half hour early. Walked in with my (heavy) bag, up to the lady at the front desk. Asked for directions. Wandered around the cafeteria and the restrooms for a while before coming BACK to ask for directions again, and then finally made it upstairs to the Dept of Medicine conference hall.

9 other applicants trickled in one by one, all of them preliminary applicants. Breakfast was laid out on a table at the back: Bagels, croissants, coffee, tea, juice, tea, fruit. All of us were dressed in dark power suits. The girls in heels and power jewelry, with coiffed hair. For about 80% of us it was the first interview, our introduction to the interview trail.

We attended the morning conference with the residents and the faculty. The interaction between the residents seemed friendly and supportive. There was no evidence of bullying, no undue pressure. Everyone seemed relaxed and tried to 'learn' and contribute.

After this session, the PD introduced herself and the program to us through a short slide show. Everything they mentioned on their website seemed true.

I was interviewed by the chairman. He seemed relaxed, and opened with a few of the regular questions: Tell me about yourself, strengths and weaknesses, tell me about a memorable patient. Tell me what your future plans are. How do you relax, what do you do outside of medicine. I feel like I could have answered his questions better and I am going to spend a lot of time working on this before my next interview. I felt I didn't make the most of this encounter, that my answers weren't personal enough, they didn't show him enough about me as a person. Another thing to work on.

After my one-on-one interview we plunged right into a group session with the PD and a bunch of applicants. I was slightly apprehensive about this, I felt like I was expected to dominate the room and to make sure I performed better than the others in the room.

When the session started, the PD told us that she'd ask us some questions and that whoever was ready first could answer and that everyone would be given the opportunity to speak. I felt a little more prepared and confident by this time, and I felt my group session went much better than my one on one. We were asked interesting questions: If you could have dinner with someone, anyone. dead or alive, who would you pick and why. Tell me about a patient you went out of your way for. Biggest fear about starting residency training.

A few questions that I asked to the faculty were regarding resident autonomy and supervision, opportunities for teaching and opportunities for resident feedback.
We received a tour of the hospital and we also had time to spend with the residents to ask them questions. They were welcoming and coincidentally both were Indian.

PROS:
-2 months ICU (8 weeks)
-CREATURE COMFORTS: pleasant working environment, great camaraderie, residents seemed nice, resident rooms nice, cafeteria was good
-Glidescope training for first year residents too!
-great research opportunities for anesthesia, working with EMTs and JH faculty/researchers
- Running codes: residents are allowed to lead codes if they take interest
-lots of geriatrics exposure: the nearby retirement communities usually come here for care. Lots of premorbid illnesses to optimize!
-Anesthesia elective available, so that I'm not completely at sea once I leave to start CA-1 at another location
-DIVERSITY
-Always have an attending available at night
-Cardio experience: EKG training. No fellows!
-Flexible electives, PD willing to design one based on my preferences
-ADMIN TRAINING: HUGE PLUS. Didactics, Cases discussed with their budgeting, Accountable care org information, nitty gritties of insurance.
-287 beds, full service hospital
-ED divided into chestpain/stroke/pediatric/urgent care
-long tradition of teaching: I really feel like this place is committed to teaching. Everyone I spoke to (Chairman, PD, residents) stressed over and over that they enjoy the teaching aspect.
-H1B offered
-PGY1 $48,000
-Renting nearby 1B range per month  $1815-$850
-Research is not mandatory
-Opportunities to teach during residency
-Baltimore seems like an OK place to live

CONS:
-Resident said: busy busy program, 'I wish we had 28 hours in a day'
-No transplants/open heart cases
-No away electives at JH for first year residents :(
-Will need a car!
-Lots of crime in the area (hearsay)