Interview: UTMB-Austin

First Impressions: No housing provided, but they did sent out a list with hotels with discounted prices. Dina had an interview the same day as me so we shared a hotel room at the Ramada Inn near Highland Mall.
Pre-Interview dinner: None, so I went to Mimi's Cafe with friends from undergrad. Dina didn't arrive until after 9 pm because ob-gyn had a dinner.
Interview Day: The morning started off with the PD telling us about the latest changes with the hospital, namely the negotiations between Seton, UTMB, and UTSouthwestern for UTSW to take over sponsorship of the hospital b/c UTMB is currently having a financial crisis with the hurricane and all. But even without the hurricane there were already plans for UTSW to assume control; I knew of this way back in August. The PD seemed confident that the residency itself shouldn't be affected, only the name.

I interviewed with the PD and another hospitalist, and I don't know if I was able to impress the PD or not. I asked several questions about fellowships and UTMB-Austin's attempts to get them started at the hospital, as well as the impact UTSW would have once it takes over, but not much more. I did get a few questions about my time here (the PD said she was sorry she didn't get a chance to meet me in August, as she was on vacation part of the time), and I told both of them about a case of disseminated gonorrhea I saw at Brackenridge. My 2nd interviewer asked me about research from undergrad, and I stupidly said I didn't remember much about the project. Afterwards, we went to morning report and then snagged a team to go on rounds with. Another applicant, Yessica, and I ended up joining the post-call Red team; one of the interns, Joe, was someone I'd worked with on my very last day of my AI, and he sort of remembered me. The attending was Dr. D, the ID doc who always dressed casually; today was no exception since she had on boots and a denim skirt. I did see Dr. C during morning report and was surprised to see him in a suit. My whole 3 weeks with him, he always wore slacks and a polo shirt, never a suit. I wondered what the occasion was.

I never saw Greg or Zach (probably a good thing in the case of Greg), but I spotted Yan in the elevator and we exchanged cheerful hellos. "You're back!" she said. "For interviews?" Yup. After she left the elevator I explained that I'd done my AI here, and Dr. D said, "No wonder you look a bit familiar." During rounds we saw a group of people in white coats with SETON on the pocket walking around, and we wondered if they were board members inspecting the hospital. "No wonder Dr. C's wearing a white coat," said one of the interns (yup, he changed his suit for a white coat by the times rounds started), and Dr. D grumbled why no one warned her, as she was dressed way too casually. I called Dr. C's name as he passed by (our teams were going in separate directions) and he waved back, calling out, "Good to see you!" We finished rounding early so Yessica and I went to the 4th floor workroom and chatted with Ulka, the resident, about the program. Then one of the future chiefs, Manpreet, took us back to the IM offices to wait for Jeff (one of the chiefs) to take us on a tour. Knowing that we'd rounded with the teams, he showed us the ER, the library, the dining room (with Odwallas) and the clinics (which look VERY nice) before turning us over to two residents to take us out for lunch.
Noon Conference and beyond: Two residents, a third year named Rachel and a prelim intern named Justin, took us to the Brick Oven for lunch. I ended up sitting closer to Justin than Rachel, so I heard more about him telling the other two prelim applicants about what prelim year is like rather than Rachel telling the others about what categorical IM is like. Food was definitely good though; too bad I didn't know about Brick Oven in undergrad.
Overall Impression:
Pros: Austin, laid-back atmosphere, free breakfasts and lunches (Odwalla fridge, hehe), friendly people, "easier" program due to a cap of 18-19 patients per service, decent pathology.
Cons: Variable fellowship placement (depends mostly on the applicant; IMGs have more difficulty getting fellowships), questionable research opportunities, not challenging enough.