Compare Boston programs
MGH, BWH, BU, Lahey -- what's the scoop. Who gets the better operative experience? Where is the most important research being done? What were your impressions?
BWH is the best because they are the primary residency service for BWH, BIDMC, Childrens' Hospital, Faulkner Hospital, and also share VA with BU. Great research, 5 year program, graduates do what they want, highest case load of all programs, nice residents.
BWH is the best because they are the primary residency service for BWH, BIDMC, Childrens' Hospital, Faulkner Hospital, and also share VA with BU. Great research, 5 year program, graduates do what they want, highest case load of all programs, nice residents.
Where did you get that info about BWH having the highest case loads? Source? It does seem nice that they get to rotate at so many places and get a diverse experience. By comparison, MGH has just MGH and Children's, right? And is Lahey just Lahey and Children's?
Also, what's your impetus for reviving an old thread not with a question but with an answer? Don't get it.
Lahey has ridiculously good volume. They do more reconstruction than essentially any other program in the country. They have something like 20 staff, including 3 attendings who specialize in female urology. They have an ED guy. They have 2 fellowship trained minimally-invasive surgeons and 3 robots. They do 120+ cystectomies a year and 5-10 partial nephrectomies a week. They have a huge experience with IVC thrombectomy. Strong research year. No fellows to take the cases. Seems like their residents get great fellowships or private practice jobs. Plus they all get along and seem genuinely happy. Seems like the best program in Boston to me . . .
http://neaua.org/abstracts/2010-Program.cgi
visibility at the New England Section meeting
I'm a resident in one of the Boston programs, I will keep it anonymous because frankly I think the Boston programs are all great, each with a different strength, and think when people try to convince you one is the place you have to go, either they have some agenda, or are just very closeminded about their approach. Residency is what you make of it, and coming from any of these programs you can do well, or you can do poorly, through your own efforts...
So as for the programs, they all have something different, BU is dominant in infertility although MGH has a fellowship trained infertility staff who has significant volume and does a lot of microscopic cases and Lahey also has an infertility person. BWH doesn't do as much infertility, but has a decent volume in prosthetics. Lahey absolutely dominates in the area of reconstructive work, BWH has the most in the way of young faculty focussed on robotic work and has great volume in that realm, they also have some quality research. In onc it's hard to differentiate the programs, MGH has the two busiest prostate surgeons in the NE region according to medicare billing (look it up for anywhere you want to go, all public data, nice objective way to compare programs...) followed by BWH, but you will see more RPLND at BWH than anywhere else, and Libertino at Lahey has a nice mix of big wacks and also some robotic surgeons pushing to try new things. BWH is doing fun work with robotic trainers that the residents are plugged into, and probably has the greatest variety of hospitals the residents rotate through in terms of breadth of experience. All rotate through childrens so the peds experience balances out. In stones MGH by far has the largest volume. Lahey gets great operative experience, but late because they have 2 years gen surg and then 1 year research, then they start to operate urologic cases as a pgy4. BU is forging the way in HoLEP and also is very supportive in a career development way. MGH and BWH chairmen have announced they are retiring, the Lahey chairman can't be far from doing the same.
I've seen people recently from every one of these programs land steller fellowships and private jobs. At the NE AUA, people from all 4 programs are well represented, some years some programs more than others.
The way to differentiate the Boston programs is to interview at them all and find one that fits your personality. Realize that Lahey is not really in Boston, but rather 30 mins outside of Boston. BU is in a rougher part of town but it doesn't end up mattering much. There is no clear universal best, just best fit for you, the rest is what you make of it. You'll get a great operative experience at all these places, just different in character at each, and the prospect of doing research I think depends more on the drive of the resident than the institution. I think all of these places are doing more research than any one resident can achieve, so there is room to grow at every one of these places.
Most recent data on number of prostatectomies by hospital and surgeon. Some things have changed over the past 5 yrs, Dr Teurk moving to St Elizabeth's, Jim Hu joining BWH/Faulkner, Aria Olumi joining MGH, but this provides a good idea of the volume at the respective institutions.
How do you look up Medicare billing like you mention?
BWH chairman stepping down
young robotics faculty member who does research is rumored to be leaving
This is not Medicare data, and it is pre-robot.
MGH volumes are down, and the top robotic programs are BWH, St Elizabeth's (no residency), and Lahey.
Robot is used infrequently at other programs
BU uses the robot very frequently and has been using it since around 2005. Additionally, BU residents are rotating at St. Elizabeth's Hospital
If at all possible, avoid urology programs that are DIVISIONS
Having recently interviewed at all of these places except for BU, I can say that I was very impressed with all of the Boston programs, in particular with MGH and Lahey. I think the Lahey has overall the most all-around enriching experience for all of areas of Urology. However, I felt that the operative experience, especially early on in the program, is quite limited, with the General Surgery time (which I felt was quite weak when compared to MGH and BWH) and then the research year.
MGH and Lahey residents only rotate at their home institution and at Children's hospital, wihc can be a plus or a minus depending on what your preference is. It looks like Dr. Hu from the Brigham is mostly operating at Faulkner, and he seems to be their highest volume robotics guy currently.
MGH is in the process of appointing a new chairman. They have one of the best laparoscpic surgeons in the country on faculty, and their chief resident spends 4-6 months of dedicated time with the head of robotics/laparoscopy during their final months of residency. Prior to that, they learn the basics of robotics with 3 other faculty operating on the DaVinci. They also do a lot of open surgery (Dr. McGovern is technically one of the best open surgeons in the country, and it is a pleasure to watch him operate), alhtough if you are looking for big whacks like RPLND and IVC thrombectomies, then Lahey may have more volume in that respect. The stone volume at MGH is unmatched.
The BWH has the best location and the residents rotate at different hospitals. They also spend the most time at Children's hospital, which can be a plus or a minus depending on your interests. The Children's time (btwn 4 and 8 months, depending on the program) is really a benefit for all of the programs. No other hospital offers the case volume offered here for pediatrics.
In terms of research, the MGH residents are by far the most productive academically (during residency). However, all programs send graduates into top-ranking fellowship and private practice positions.
Boston is a great city to live in, and most residents I interacted with seemed very happy with their living situation and the working environment at their home institution.
Hope this is helpful!!
If at all possible, avoid urology programs that are DIVISIONS
this post is absolutely useless and the lack of an explanation reflects just how much insight you have in searching for urologic jobs after graduating, whether it is from a division or department.
Is this a trainee or attending reviving a post more than a year old? Which programs are divisions?
Boston University (BU) is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States[6] and one of Boston's largest employers.[7] The university is nonsectarian, but has been historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church.
BU is categorized as an RU/VH Research University (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.[10] In 2009–2010, BU had research expenditures of $407.8 million, or $553 million if the research led by the Medical School faculty at Boston Medical Center is included.[11] BU is a member of the Boston Consortium for Higher Education.
Among its faculty and alumni, BU counts 6 Nobel Prize winners, including Martin Luther King, Jr. (PhD '55); 22 Pulitzer Prize winners, and numerous[quantify] Guggenheim and MacArthur fellows.
The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees, and medical and dental degrees through 18 schools and colleges on two urban campuses. The main campus is situated along the Charles River in Boston's Fenway-Kenmore and Allston neighborhoods, while the Boston University Medical Campus is in Boston's South End neighborhood. BU also operates 75 study abroad programs in over 33 cities in over 20 countries and has internship opportunities in 10 different countries (including the United States and abroad).
The Boston University Terriers compete in the NCAA's Division I. BU athletic teams compete in the America East, Hockey East, and Colonial Athletic Association conferences, and their mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. Boston University is well known for men's hockey, in which it has won five national championships, most recently in 2009.
Thank you for the lengthy advertisement of Boston University. You gave us the 30 second commercial that each school is allowed during a football game. An interesting observation is that has nothing to do with Urology by only the university as a whole.
saw that there was a vacancy at the BWH/Longwood program. anyone have any insight as to what happened?
anyone know anything about the malignancy reputation of BWH?
vacancy is due to a resident becoming sick that most people would rather not discuss on the internet. as for malignancy, there's none. the residents are awesome
This year (2011) Brigham has two open spots (Uro-1/Uro-2) and Lahey has an open spot at (PGY2) http://urologymatch.com/node/2621. I think all the other programs have retained their residents.
I am a resident in Boston. You can get good training at any of the four programs; honestly, you'll be fine at any of them, but they are different. I'll be as even-handed as I can in distinguishing them. Alphabetically :
Boston University – 5 years. Good classic training structure with an academic center, a rougher urban hospital, a satellite hospital (St E’s) and a VA experience. Smallest of the programs with 2 residents a year. Oates is clearly the referral center in Boston for infertility, with the highest volume of vaso-vasostomies. Good general urology experience, and probably the highest experience with HoLEP (a form of laser TURP). The hospital abuts Chinatown, but for those who say you can’t live in a nice area, that’s not true; you can live in quite a nice part of the Back Bay and be 5-10 minutes from work. Classically the hospital has the most trauma (which is not true anymore) but it definitely has the most penetrating trauma.
BWH + BI (Longwood Area) – 5 years. Cover a LOT of patients with 3 residents a year. Hu is probably the busiest robotic surgeon in the city at Faulkner, but may be leaving (a constant question). New chair, trained at Brigham. Great research experience at BIDMC and good OR teaching; physically across the street from Harvard School of Public Health. Residents benefit from some robotic teaching modules. Highest volume of RPLNDs as it’s attached to the Dana Farber cancer center. Residents are stretched somewhat thin in coverage with all of the hospitals. Notes above are correct - the Uro-2 resident vacancy is due to private issue, not a program-related thing.
Lahey Clinic – 6 years. Small hospital dominated by urology. Definitely the reconstructive center for the whole region (urethroplasties); even with the loss of Stoffel to Michigan, a great reconstructive experience. Good stone volume, open renal surgery. One year or research with minimal clinical responsibility during that time; lab experience and clinical research. ~30 minutes outside of Boston which can be a plus; lower cost of housing. 2 full years of general surgery at the start of the program - good basic training.
MGH – 6 years. Highest volume of oncology and stones; prostates are mostly open and lap, some robotics. Very busy academic hospital, all subspecialties represented (female, lap/endo, infertility). Last 4 months purely lap/minimally invasive, then their residents do 4-6 months of time as "chief resident"/ junior faculty staffing resident cases / trauma. Residents seem to like the extra time as chief, but does extend residency. Most academic productivity by residents, great operative autonomy. Chair stepping down this year.
Size of hospital does affect your experience, but keep in mind that Lahey has a disproportionately large urology program for the size of its hospital. The experience at Children’s Hospital Boston is great, but nearly identical between the programs as all residents rotate there together, so you won’t be able to decide between them based on that.
If any residents want to add their input, please do. I don't think this "x is best, period" helps the applicants decide, so let's be fair.
A nice PC summary above. As a boston trainee who interviewed at all programs and Sub-I's at 2, I would handicap the field as follows with the following reasons
1) MGH - Department with rich tradition. Reputedly Michael Blute is like the front runner for the chair job. The pre-eminent hospital in Boston, Man's Greatest Hospital, and the only one with a SUO fellowship. Great location in terms of green and red line access right next to Beacon Hill.
2) Lahey - Institute of urology with the largest number of faculty, expansion into New Hampshire, and charismatic chair (who may be retiring soon). All aspects of urology well covered. Absence of mid-level and predominance of junior attendings.
3) BU - Strong robotics, and nice facilities. Chairman is well connected at the regional and national AUA level. Rotating through St. Elizabeth's to gain more robotics experience.
4) BWH/BI/Longwood - BWH losing its main robotics and research person. Young, former resident chair known for basic science research from Wash U. Coverage at numerous hospitals and a lot of politics with resident coverage as a result. Clinical space is the most meager of the programs, but its still Hahvaad, for what that's worth
what is the validity of the talk about Hu leaving? anyone know where he is going?
Heard Dr.Michael Blute is all set to move to MGH from UMass.Is it true????
Lahey is the strongest program in Boston area by far