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- Feb 28, 2002
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Program: Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA
Residents: There are 10 per year in a PGY 1-4 format. This is a very self-selecting program. The residents let you know it from the start. They are all happy to be there and really love and believe in the program. There is a mix of married and single people, and high camaraderie amongst them. I wasn't able to make it to the mixer the night before, but I heard there was great turn out, which is the usual for the group currently there. There were a few gripes, mainly being how difficult the patient population is to take care of, and the basic county issues. Otherwise, they were very happy.
Faculty: The PD, Dr. Snowey was awesome. He was very laid back and praised highly by the residents. The rest of the faculty I met/interviewed with were very young and energetic. Most had trained at Highland and absolutely love the place. The interviews were blinded, so it was nothing more than conversation about experiences, etc. A great group to work with, in my opinion. There is a large amount of teaching that goes on...I'll discuss some of it in the curriculum section.
Facilities/Ancillary services: The ED is about 2 years old. It has a strange layout, but what ED doesn't? I think there were around 50 or so beds, I can't remember the exact number. The hospital itself, is somewhat small, but they are constantly expanding it. As for ancillary services, I was told by a senior resident that you would be doing most of your lines/blood draws as an intern. Thereafter, the nurses do most of them for you. If anyone has heard differently, please speak up, but this is what I was told. Currently, everything is still paper. A digital chart should be up and running within the next few months, from what we were told.
Curriculum: From what I gathered, the EM department is the strongest department in the hospital. As such, when you do off-service rotations at Highland, you are running the show. Consults are very hard to come by, and you end up managing many things down in the ED. I see this as both a positive and a negative. But that's me. I think shifts are 8 hours in length, but I can't remember how many are worked per month. The associated hospitals, UCSF, SFGH, Oakland's children, are all awesome places to be, where you are really taught.
Speaking of Peds, you get 5-6 months of experience, including 4 months of peds at Oakland Childrens, a month of PICU, and another over at UCSF. Occasionally, peds gets thrown in at Highland. There is a fellowship available as well. So the peds exposure is strong.
The trauma team runs all traumas, with the ED taking care of airway. There are plenty of procedures as it was hinted that surgery isn't very strong at Highland. Take this with a grain of salt. Either way, there were plenty of procedures and trauma experience to be had...3 months in total.
US is particularly strong at Highland, as it also houses a fellowship. You will be certified upon leaving.
There is plenty of elective time (4.5 months) with plenty to choose from, including up to 6 weeks of international time.
Didactics are really strong here. On top of their weekly conferences, which include small group discussions (I liked that idea), there is a dedicated teaching attending during weekdays who is solely there to do bedside teaching. There are also daily morning, noon, and night conferences while eating. Plenty of teaching going on here!
There are a lot of medicine/MICU months, 4 to be exact, and as I said, you are running those.
Patient Pop: This is a county/indigent population with lots of diversity. It is a difficult patient population, as we were told by pretty much every resident. If you don't want to deal with a pop like this, do not rank the program. We've heard of patients spitting, yelling, etc. The census is about 75,000 per year, with 1/4 going through the urgent care area. There is high acuity. UCSF has your tertiary care population.
Location: Oakland, CA. Not the best place to live as a resident, but it's doable. SF is just across the Bay Bridge, so there is plenty to do. I grew up in the East Bay, so it's home to me. High COL, although not as much as LA.
Perks: There are A LOT of perks to this program thanks to the housestaff being unionized. There is a moving stipend, yearly educational expenses stipend, you get a bonus when working holidays (whether Christmas or Columbus day), and best of all, an extra 5 weeks off at the end of your intern year for everyone. It's not extra time, just rearranged time. You work that time up at the end of your 4th year.
Overall: I really enjoyed my day at Highland. It is a solid program and the faculty/didactics are a huge bonus. I do have some concerns about the program, and I really have to think about whether or not all the perks (and there are a lot), minimize these in my eyes. Having said that, I'm still trying to figure out where this will land on my list, but it will likely be in the top half. Regardless, I think it's an awesome program and I would feel lucky to train here. Plus, I grew up 20 minutes south of there, so it's home.
Residents: There are 10 per year in a PGY 1-4 format. This is a very self-selecting program. The residents let you know it from the start. They are all happy to be there and really love and believe in the program. There is a mix of married and single people, and high camaraderie amongst them. I wasn't able to make it to the mixer the night before, but I heard there was great turn out, which is the usual for the group currently there. There were a few gripes, mainly being how difficult the patient population is to take care of, and the basic county issues. Otherwise, they were very happy.
Faculty: The PD, Dr. Snowey was awesome. He was very laid back and praised highly by the residents. The rest of the faculty I met/interviewed with were very young and energetic. Most had trained at Highland and absolutely love the place. The interviews were blinded, so it was nothing more than conversation about experiences, etc. A great group to work with, in my opinion. There is a large amount of teaching that goes on...I'll discuss some of it in the curriculum section.
Facilities/Ancillary services: The ED is about 2 years old. It has a strange layout, but what ED doesn't? I think there were around 50 or so beds, I can't remember the exact number. The hospital itself, is somewhat small, but they are constantly expanding it. As for ancillary services, I was told by a senior resident that you would be doing most of your lines/blood draws as an intern. Thereafter, the nurses do most of them for you. If anyone has heard differently, please speak up, but this is what I was told. Currently, everything is still paper. A digital chart should be up and running within the next few months, from what we were told.
Curriculum: From what I gathered, the EM department is the strongest department in the hospital. As such, when you do off-service rotations at Highland, you are running the show. Consults are very hard to come by, and you end up managing many things down in the ED. I see this as both a positive and a negative. But that's me. I think shifts are 8 hours in length, but I can't remember how many are worked per month. The associated hospitals, UCSF, SFGH, Oakland's children, are all awesome places to be, where you are really taught.
Speaking of Peds, you get 5-6 months of experience, including 4 months of peds at Oakland Childrens, a month of PICU, and another over at UCSF. Occasionally, peds gets thrown in at Highland. There is a fellowship available as well. So the peds exposure is strong.
The trauma team runs all traumas, with the ED taking care of airway. There are plenty of procedures as it was hinted that surgery isn't very strong at Highland. Take this with a grain of salt. Either way, there were plenty of procedures and trauma experience to be had...3 months in total.
US is particularly strong at Highland, as it also houses a fellowship. You will be certified upon leaving.
There is plenty of elective time (4.5 months) with plenty to choose from, including up to 6 weeks of international time.
Didactics are really strong here. On top of their weekly conferences, which include small group discussions (I liked that idea), there is a dedicated teaching attending during weekdays who is solely there to do bedside teaching. There are also daily morning, noon, and night conferences while eating. Plenty of teaching going on here!
There are a lot of medicine/MICU months, 4 to be exact, and as I said, you are running those.
Patient Pop: This is a county/indigent population with lots of diversity. It is a difficult patient population, as we were told by pretty much every resident. If you don't want to deal with a pop like this, do not rank the program. We've heard of patients spitting, yelling, etc. The census is about 75,000 per year, with 1/4 going through the urgent care area. There is high acuity. UCSF has your tertiary care population.
Location: Oakland, CA. Not the best place to live as a resident, but it's doable. SF is just across the Bay Bridge, so there is plenty to do. I grew up in the East Bay, so it's home to me. High COL, although not as much as LA.
Perks: There are A LOT of perks to this program thanks to the housestaff being unionized. There is a moving stipend, yearly educational expenses stipend, you get a bonus when working holidays (whether Christmas or Columbus day), and best of all, an extra 5 weeks off at the end of your intern year for everyone. It's not extra time, just rearranged time. You work that time up at the end of your 4th year.
Overall: I really enjoyed my day at Highland. It is a solid program and the faculty/didactics are a huge bonus. I do have some concerns about the program, and I really have to think about whether or not all the perks (and there are a lot), minimize these in my eyes. Having said that, I'm still trying to figure out where this will land on my list, but it will likely be in the top half. Regardless, I think it's an awesome program and I would feel lucky to train here. Plus, I grew up 20 minutes south of there, so it's home.
