Guest - 28 May 2007 08:00 AM

I am not surprised about the Columbia program. When I was there, the residents were miserable, and the program all around seemed toxic. Little training, mostly scut, and residents hardly do any operating. Add to that the fact that trauma is diverted away from Columbia and the attendings are too busy/high profile to devote much effort to teaching and you get poorly trained, overworked, miserable residents. Those who left had good reason to do so - it is just a shame that the experience had to sour them on the field in general, of which the program at Columbia is not representative.

Columbia would be well-served to take a critical look at the true quality of their program instead of relying on its prestige to attract applicants.

Holding nothing back here with this post and sadly, it hits the nail on the head.  If Columbia doesn’t do more to encourage academics and new and creative research, they will fall out of the academic ring like the other great nyc program of the past - nyu.

Guest - 30 May 2007 02:53 AM

Guest - 28 May 2007 08:00 AM

I am not surprised about the Columbia program. When I was there, the residents were miserable, and the program all around seemed toxic. Little training, mostly scut, and residents hardly do any operating. Add to that the fact that trauma is diverted away from Columbia and the attendings are too busy/high profile to devote much effort to teaching and you get poorly trained, overworked, miserable residents. Those who left had good reason to do so - it is just a shame that the experience had to sour them on the field in general, of which the program at Columbia is not representative.

Columbia would be well-served to take a critical look at the true quality of their program instead of relying on its prestige to attract applicants.

Holding nothing back here with this post and sadly, it hits the nail on the head.  If Columbia doesn’t do more to encourage academics and new and creative research, they will fall out of the academic ring like the other great nyc program of the past - nyu.

I noticed the same when i was at Columbia. But it does attract a high quality of resident and most of the attendings are well-known but the program is very overrated but because it is politically powerful, everyone keeps their mouths shut. No teaching, tons scut, highly malignant, no operating until pgy 6 and 7, residents routinely laugh at their patients. The only pluses are it is NYC and the Columbia name. Not for me though.

Just curious, are the 3 previous posters the same person, or were they 3 separate people having similar opinions of Columbia?

I posted the message before your’s ABCD and I did not post the previous 2. The thing that scared me away was the fact that residents didn’t show respect for their patients. I can stand malignance but not respecting our patients is just beyond me.

fair enough. thanks for responding.

when you said “when I was at Columbia”, were you doing a Sub I there or what?

Speaking of neurosurgery residents quitting....theres word that Indiana may be loosing a PGY2 this month ...anyone heard about this???

i heard the same thing, but i also heard that his position is already filled.