Programs I interviewed at

I don't want to say which ones I ranked at the top, so I will just kind of mention the programs I interviewed at and some thoughts I had in geographical order.

Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington: This is a fairly famous program. It is the only non-military pediatrics program in Washington and covers 5 states: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. In fact, you spend a few months living in a rural area on one of these states during the residency. This is possibly the only program in the country that has this unique program. I had mixed feelings about it, but the residents all say it is one of the best experiences of the 3 years. It has a special global health and community health training. Many of the residents are older because they have done things outside of medical school to enrich themselves. My parents and possibly older sister's family live in the area.

University of California, San Francisco: This is a famous academic center. UCSF itself has a highly specialized center for sick kids on it's main campus. It is building an independent children's hospital, but won't be available soon. You also rotate through some community hospitals, including the main county hospital. It has a special program called PLUS, Pediatric Leadership for the UnderServed. You learn special leadership and management skills and have dedicated time for doing projects dedicated to the underserved. They also have a global health program. My interviewer was Japanese and gave me some connections of people to visit in Japan. They give the biggest living expense stipend and probably have the highest living expenses.

Oakland Children's Hospital: Not associated with any university. It has the main emergency room and is the only children's hospital for the bay area. Like other children's hospitals, it has a combination of rare and common diseases. Although I didn't know it at the time, one of the people who interviewed me was part of the same drum/dance group I did in college, Boomshaka. I can't believe it never came up.

Univ of California, Davis: This was one of the smaller programs I interviewed at, in size of residents. You rotate in hospitals in the area, but they are all very close. It is an academic center. It is probably the most afordable of all the places I looked at, living expense wise, located in Sacramento. It also has an EIS-trained attending who interviewed me.

Univ of California, Los Angeles (UCLA): An Academic center, fairly famous residency.. It is similar to UCSF in some ways. It has a very specialized center at the UCLA campus, but you rotate at several community hospitals in the area. It has subsidized housing which is easier to get if you have kids. It has a special community health program (CHAT). One of my friends from medical school is an intern there this year (since I took a year off for the CDC). One of the community hospitals is where movie stars from Hollywood would take their kids.

UCLA / Harbor County Hospital: This was also a small program. It is exclusively at the county hospital. Keiko is a little afraid of a county hospital because of watching ER, the old TV show. I was interviewed by a CDC-trained pediatrician here, too. At a county hospital, you generally treat uninsured patients, focusing on the needy. I would definitely learn a lot of Spanish. You probably get more independence than at other programs.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles: This is the children's hospital of the LA area, including the main pediatric emergency department. Fairly famous residency. It seemed very resident focused. It has a dormitory/apartment for the residents that is next to the hospital and very affordable. They are proactive with public policy. Residents were very nice and social. Heard that they work very hard, but the resident's at the program say they think that is a thing of the past.

University of California, Irvine and Children's Hospital Orange County: This is a combination of a children's hospital and academic center. Since it has a children's hospital, there are no need for community hospitals. However, next year will be the first year the 2 have been combined. They have been trialling it over the last year with good success. The children's hospital is very close to Disney Land and has many connections with it, including themes and visitors. You can see the fireworks from the hospital. They had an emphasis on a good balance of work and enjoying life and were very creative on how they treated us on interview day (we had an ice breaker including saying what is your favorite drink at a coffee shop, then the drinks appeared later in the day). Very enthusiastic residency director. Known a little for working hard and playing hard.

University of California, San Diego: This is a program that has a few hospitals, including an academic center at UCSD, the naval medical center, and the children's hospital in San Diego. Everyone I have ever mentioned San Diego to says what a wonderful place it is to live and they would love to go back. The residency director was extremely nice and seemed willing to go the extra mile for the residents. They mentioned they have connections with the local health department, the AAP (public policy group), and even biotech companies.

Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah. A Children's Hospital that is independent but associated with the University of Utah. You basically rotate at the hospital. The rent is fairly cheap in the area. They have good AAP/policy connections. The chief of the infectious disease service trained at the CDC and does great research. They allow 1/2 day a week for research. I have a lot of extended family in the area and it's the only place in the country with a Japanese LDS church or ward. I liked the residency director a lot.

Northwestern University, Children's Memorial Hospital: Famous residency in Chicago. I went to this medical school and know the hospital well. The program goes out of its way to make it pleasant and social. They have bbq's every Friday for the first while and make sure all first-year residents are free to attend, even if they are on-call. While having rare diseases, the residency has a focus on service to the community and education to the residents. I know I like the residents well, because I have worked with them. Will finish a new children's hospital during my first year of residency.

University of Chicago: They have a new children's hospital. Work with a largely underserved population in South Chicago. Have a focus on creating leaders in pediatrics, including research, public health, and public policy. The residency director is very enthusiastic and humorous. They also probably get the award for best gift, a 2gb flash drive. While the University of Chicago has a reputation for overserious hard workers, the pediatrics residents seemed extremely nice and pleasant.

National Children's Hospital in Washington DC. Being in Washington DC, it is close to capital hill and the center of policy. They have a fairly large program in community health that gives time to be involved in policy. It seems very resident-focused. They will have formal education for the residents working night shifts. Also, my brother and his family live nearby.

My final rankings were from this list. There were some programs I got interviews at but cancelled, and some programs I didn't get interviews at.