Nationwide Children's Interview Recap

The recently opened new patient tower

Hospital: Nationwide Children's Hospital
Number of Beds: 451
Number of Peds Residents (per year): 30
Affiliated University: The Ohio State University
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Interview Date: 12/21 (rescheduled from 1/9)

The interview day schedule was the shortest of any interview I've had.  We didn't start until 8:00am and were finished by 1:00pm, which was nice!  We ate breakfast, watched some brief videos, then headed out for our tour.  After the tour, we had our interviews.  Following the interviews, we ate lunch with the residents and attended the residents' noon conference. When the conference was over, we chatted with some interns for a few minutes and were done.

The new hospital includes 6 acres of green space with an underground parking lot

I had four interviews: one with the program director (15 minutes), one with an assistant program director (15 minutes), and two with faculty (30 minutes each).  All of my interviews went very well and we had great conversations.  I had previously met with the program director to express my interest in the program, so it was a very comfortable conversation with someone who already knew me.  I really connected with one of my faculty interviewers as well.  We had a great conversation about life and discovered we had a lot in common.

The two-story "Magic Forest" in the lobby

Things I liked about the program:

• NCH is home for me.  The familiarity is an undeniable bonus.  I know the buildings, some of the faculty, some of the residents - and I like everything I've seen.  I've spent 5 months of rotations working full time at NCH and still really enjoy being there.
• NCH is ranked as the 7th best children's hospital in the country, but there is not a culture of elitism.
• The emergency department is the second busiest in the country, and is also brand new.
• The brand new patient tower just opened this year and all of the facilities are state of the art.
• The electronic medical record system is the best out there, and I already have several shortcuts and customizations set up from my time there.
• The residency class size is big enough to have many residents to share the work, but not so large that you can't know everyone.
• The board pass rate is nearly 100%.  It was 100% last year and over the last six years has averaged 95%.  
• Every sub-specialty is represented at NCH, and some of the nation's top physicians in their respective fields call NCH home.
• The hours for a typical work day at NCH (7am-6pm) are better than many other programs.
• Most of the patient teams are specific to one specialty (Infectious disease team, GI team, etc).  Focusing on one field and being taught by one physician allows for more in depth study of each topic.
• NCH has a culture of "family-first".  The patient rooms were designed with patient and family comfort in mind.  Patient rounds always include families (if they desire) in the discussion.

One of the new patient rooms overlooking the city.  Above the bed is an LED light where the patient can control the color and brightness.

Things I didn't like about the program:

• Because the hospital is so large, there are a lot of patient floors that need resident coverage.  This translates into many months of the year being spent working on inpatient wards, which equates to long hours and hard work.  I'll spend 8 months of my first year on the wards, 3-4 during second year, and 4-5 during third year.  This is considerably more than some other programs.
• The primary care exposure is not as diverse as some programs.  There aren't as many months in the schedule for outpatient rotations or as many choices for clinic locations.  I should be able to use many of my elective months for this if I choose however.

A 1400 gallon fish tank in the lobby of the Emergency Department

Things I liked about the location:

• Columbus is home for us.  We know and love the area, we have connections here, and we are settled.
• We're close to family in Columbus.  Within two hours we can be with any family.
• Columbus can offer everything you could ever want to do - and we enjoy those options frequently.  There are many sports, parks, shopping centers, and outdoor activities.

Highbanks Metro Park is our favorite park in the Columbus area

Things I didn't like about the location:

• Two hours is close, but there are certainly closer residency options for being near family.
• It could be fun to try a new city and not just stay where it's familiar.

My very favorite place in Columbus

Overall Thoughts:
Columbus and Nationwide Children's Hospital are home for me.  It's hard to imagine myself being anywhere else.  I've loved NCH since I first entered two years ago, and it certainly feels like the best fit for me.