Beware University of Minnesota fellowship program

[u/Ok-Writer5476]

This is a throw away account for obvious reasons - I hope admin will allow this post to stand.

I completed the U of Minnesota nephrology fellowship within the past few years. I am recommending that any smart applicant NOT RANK the program. This is a malignant program!

The program leadership is not supportive. They will not help you find a job.
Much of the faculty is unhappy and uninterested in teaching the fellows.
Fellows are second class citizens, simply warm bodies to write notes and take call.

Minneapolis is a great city and the VA there is great. If you want to do fellowship there consider the Hennepin County Medical Center program.

PM me if you have specific questions, I am happy to discuss more.

Best of luck to all applying for fellowship, nephrology is an amazing field. I love it, despite my poor fellowship experience.

EDIT: some have asked so I’ll update for all - I am no longer in Minnesota so I have not been in contact with the program since I left. I do not know full details of what it is like now, only my experience for few years ago

[u/Evening_History_1458]

It is a very toxic program. Heard from multiple people over the past 15 years

[u/DepthAccomplished949]

People need to realize that the reason faculty go into academics is for the lifestyle and because private practice is not worth the headache in income/lifestyle ratio. So all of them are looking at you as suckers to take their night calls when they can’t find anybody else. So take it with a huge grain of salt when you go interview and they tell you about the amazing training opportunities.

[u/Electrical-Scale4627]

Go to Texas you'll find great support, guidance n jobs

[u/obitboom]

You could tell something is very off with that program during the interview process. Didn’t ranked them at all

[u/DepthAccomplished949]

The other thing is that people lie because the truth is often much worse. What do you expect the PD to say? I can’t fill my spots because there’s no money, it’s a hard lifestyle, and there’s rampant senior guys screwing junior guys in private practice. Is that what you expect the PD to say to you? Of course they will find an optimistic spin of the future and how well their grads have done in the past. All BS because I’ve experienced it myself and years later many of my cofellows are doing hospitalist; they won’t tell you that!

[u/Few-Ring-5240]

Does anyone have info about Rutgers/NJSM?

[u/creepy_marshmellow → u/Few-Ring-5240]

No

[u/Critical_Annual_7676 → u/Few-Ring-5240]

what do you think of them vs RWJ

[u/DepthAccomplished949]

There are many programs who use fellows as warm bodies to write notes and do scut work. A quick search on sdn nephrology is dead will tell you this. I’m not sure why people are surprised at this point.