One weeeeek | Urology Match

4 posts / 0 new

Sat, 12/29/2012 - 18:30

actingdoc

One weeeeek

Anyone else starting to freak out about their rank lists?? It's terrifying to me that this list is basically what determines the next 5-6 years of our lives. I'm really struggling with what to prioritize (ie, the program in the city I love versus the program with more prestige). Anyone have advice or thoughts? Or just want to vent as well?

Edited by: nicky on 05/11/2015 - 19:51 Reason: Updated by FeedsNodeProcessor

Sat, 12/29/2012 - 20:37

Anonymous (not verified)

Thank you letters

I still have not sent any thank you letters as I got extremely busy with lots of stuff. I am wondering if it is still worth to send those and do you think my rank list will be affected because of it? I did a couple of second look at the top 5. I am pretty much set with the top 7 just playing around with the rest, have a total of 18 schools. I am pretty freaked out at this point:(

Sat, 12/29/2012 - 21:22

porktaco

Same here

So-so training in a happy location vs. Outstanding training in a small town with no family or friends nearby and none of my hobbies?Big time academic program with a militaristic neurosurgery lifestyle vs. pretty good academic program with a happier resident cohort?Ambition vs. settling?Any current residents want to weigh in?

Sun, 12/30/2012 - 01:55

some idiot

exactly

porktaco wrote:
So-so training in a happy location vs. Outstanding training in a small town with no family or friends nearby and none of my hobbies?Big time academic program with a militaristic neurosurgery lifestyle vs. pretty good academic program with a happier resident cohort?Ambition vs. settling?Any current residents want to weigh in?

had these exact same debates. I ended up ranking a program where I thought I'd be happiest first. I don't know if it was the right decision, but it felt right. there were other programs that I loved. I mean loved. One in particular (Iowa) is my dream residency. I could go on for days about how much I loved Iowa. But at the end of the day I'd be dragging my wife far from home in a place she told me she didn't want to live, and an unhappy home life doesn't make for a happy residency. Other programs had fantastic reputations nationally and I felt confident could train me to be a leader in the field, but I worried about the lifestyle. I get grouchy/mean/not fun to be around when I'm too stressed and too overworked, and I didn't think that was worth the tradeoff for the better reputation either.The program I ranked first I think offered me a group of residents and attendings that I felt completely comfortable with (did an away with them). The atmosphere I felt would help me stay as stress-free as possible. It had more than adequate clinical volume so I knew I'd leave well-trained, and if I wanted to go on to be a badass in the field there's always a fellowship. To me, it was worth going to a program with less prestige to maintain some sanity and happiness at home. I am not sure if I want to be a urologic big wig, so I didn't feel I needed to go to a powerhouse program.I spoke to a lot of attendings and residents and people tended to tell me that you should go for the best training possible, since these are your 5-6 years to learn as much as you possibly can. A few others told me to go where I'd be happiest.This all assumes we actually manage to match at our #1...