Ophthalmology Residency Program Compendium Table of Contents (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=5868016)

University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics
John A. Moran Eye Center
65 Medical Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah 84132

http://moraneyecenter.org

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Utah - great location; surgical volume is the best in the country with lots of autonomy; they just got approval for a third spot which makes it even better; you have to do your internship there where you do 4 months of ophtho (q3); you work hard all three years; they're building a new eye center in 2 yrs; another program that I think will be top-ten status within the next few years; overall - clinical powerhouse with growing academic status (and another personal favorite).

Utah has a fantastic new facility, impressive surgical numbers, happy residents, some great faculty, affordable, clean city - half an hour to some of the best skiing in the world, lots of new developments in the city related to the 2002 Olympics. The only drawback to the location is the high LDS population, which may or may not be a problem to you. Only three residents a year, so you take primary call for two years q6. Apparently a lot of nights, particularly in the winter, you get a full-night's sleep and don't have to come in. You do your internship in Utah's IM program with four months of VA clinic doing pre-op evaluations in the middle of it; the residents seemed to think it was an okay arrangement. No research time built-in to your schedule until PGY-4. If they had four residents a year, with primary call for only one year, and more independent time, it would be awesome - though lose some of their uniqueness with huge surgical numbers.


~60% of Utah's population is LDS. This may or may not restrict or impact your social and living experience, depending on your own personal religious, political, and social views. All your other examples of concentrated homogenous populations may be assessed in a similar fashion.

I suppose I editorialized a little too much by calling it a "drawback," but it is to me. Others are welcome to disagree. We are all beautiful and unique flowers.

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.Salt Lake itself is more 50-50.
I grew up in Salt Lake, and both of my parents live there (one of them is on faculty at the Moran Center); so I'm relatively comfortable answering questions people have about that here or by PM.

.If any of those things are a drawback for you, then yes. While you're in residency to train primarily, that doesn't mean you have to be miserable in the place you live. If you're the kind of person who likes to go out to the bar or club on the weekend when you're not on call, Salt Lake will be a tougher place to live for you.

That aside, there is some legitimacy to the concern concern from a training perspective also, since the population is also predominantly white.

Let's say you want to go into glaucoma. You get great surgical experience, and you see a ton (and I mean A TON) of PXF. The downside is you see a very small fraction of african-americans, especially when compared to inner-city populations. Each set of patients will present their own set of challenges, and you want to learn to deal with as many of them as possible. It wouldn't be a deciding factor for me (and it wasn't when I was applying), but that doesn't mean it's something you shouldn't keep in mind.

Utah is an unbelievable program.

Pros:
1. Surgical numbers that are unbelievable, generally tops in the US
2. New $54 million dollar Moran Eye Center (which replaced the other Moran Eye Center, built just 14 years ago, because they outgrew it!) stocked with its own research facilities along with clinical facilities.
3. Integrated PGY-1 experience where you spend 4 months doing ophthalmology. This leads to your PGY-4 when you have FOUR MONTHS of elective time.
4. International medicine- Dr. Tabin is world-renowned, and most residents do a 3-weeker abroad during their PGY-4. Very, very well-connected if you want to do work abroad in the future.
5. Happy happy residents, super nice PD and super nice Chair set the tone for the whole department.
6. More than your fair share of heavy hitters.
7. Location- white snow-capped mountains visible from Moran Eye Center, tons of skiiing within an hour of the Center. Unbeatable outdoor life. Beautiful.

Cons:
1. As some have noted above, perhaps the perceived dominance of the LDS population in the area...not much to add to that, but Salt Lake City and Utah in general are both growing, lots of people from out of town moving in due to the great quality of life, friendly atmosphere, great outdoor activities. There are bars in town, beer available everywhere from what I hear. Is it a more conservative area than others in the US? I'm not sure. There's definitely at least partially a hippie spirit and definitely an outdoorsy spirit that infuses the area, and that impacts the society there as well as the presence of the LDS community. The medical center is, like most, a very diverse place to work.

Awesome program combining great resident training with a very friendly atmosphere, tons of surgeries and great clinical training. Unique international perspective as well. A top-notch residency program.