SLU surgery

[Medicus2013]

Congrats to all the M4's who will be finding out their match destinies soon. With that said, would anyone who interviewed at St. Louis University care to share their thoughts on the program. From what I have gathered on this forum and other internet research the program hasn't been held in the greatest light in the past. I haven't heard anything on this program recently and searches haven't been productive. Anyone else with reasonably recent or important thoughts on the program would be more than welcome to chime in.

Thanks everyone for your time

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[Mr Cookie Pants]

I interviewed there. I liked the faculty I met. Andrus (the PD) is awesome and did our welcome (a saturday) post call and darted up from the OR. That got me props for him. I liked Jacobs the vascular surgeon, and a former resident turned junior attending (forget HER name) was awesome.

The residents I was less impressed by only because it was December and they didn't seem to know who each other were. I also thought it sounded like they worked really hard but didn't get a ton of cases (in the 900s). There seemed to be good sharing with WashU, since they don't take illinois medicaid, all the trauma from East St Louis goes there.

From what I gathered, the program was old and dusty before Andrus got there- there wasn't a MIS dept, and CT guys had ruled the roost for 40 years. (the bigwig was one of Blalock's first disciples). As is a pattern with CT, they can be slow to change. They've just pulled two big Transplant surgeons from Duke, so that's a good aspect.

Summary-

-nice non-academic university program
-tons of trauma
-needs some work- potential upswing
-St L is a nice town
-?resident interaction
-fanstastic simulators
-good transplant
-getting a new chair (might have since 12/11)
-needs work with MIS

 

[Apollyon]

They've just pulled two big Transplant surgeons from Duke, so that's a good aspect.

Wow - they snagged Betsy Tuttle. That is QUITE the coup. Who is the other transplant person?

 

[SLUser11]

I interviewed there. I liked the faculty I met. Andrus (the PD) is awesome and did our welcome (a saturday) post call and darted up from the OR. That got me props for him. I liked Jacobs the vascular surgeon, and a former resident turned junior attending (forget HER name) was awesome.

The residents I was less impressed by only because it was December and they didn't seem to know who each other were. I also thought it sounded like they worked really hard but didn't get a ton of cases (in the 900s). There seemed to be good sharing with WashU, since they don't take illinois medicaid, all the trauma from East St Louis goes there.

From what I gathered, the program was old and dusty before Andrus got there- there wasn't a MIS dept, and CT guys had ruled the roost for 40 years. (the bigwig was one of Blalock's first disciples). As is a pattern with CT, they can be slow to change. They've just pulled two big Transplant surgeons from Duke, so that's a good aspect.

Summary-

-nice non-academic university program
-tons of trauma
-needs some work- potential upswing
-St L is a nice town
-?resident interaction
-fanstastic simulators
-good transplant
-getting a new chair (might have since 12/11)
-needs work with MIS

I haven't been there since 2006, but I felt that SLU provided excellent training for medical students. Once I left the nest, I always felt that I compared well to my colleagues from different institutions.

I did a scutwork review on SLU surgery back then (22-aug-2005), and it represents how I felt about the program. It had many flaws overall, but I was confident in the skills of the chief residents.

I think St. Louis is a unique town with many ups and downs. I was there for 8 straight years (college and med school) and was definitely ready to leave.

Overall, I think SLU provides good training, but is not an ideal home for most competitive allopathic US grads. For IMGs/FMGs/DOs or average US grads it's definitely worth a look, after which you can decide for yourself. I remember Dr. Andrus, and I'm glad to hear he's providing good leadership and steering the program in the right direction.

 

[mimelim]

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[single]

It is a very racially prejudice place. There is night and day difference in the treatment you get if your skin is not white, doesn't matter how smart you are or if you have highest ABSITE score. The dumb ass white residents get praised for not doing anything and never get anything to hear in M&M even if they made a blunder and patient died. If you are not white, a simple sneeze will get you scolded to death, threatened every day of your life till you quit or done. A very few surgeon are absolute great, unbiased and loving, and most of the other ones should be hanged on a barbed tree in a desert.

 

[SLUser11]

It is a very racially prejudice place. There is night and day difference in the treatment you get if your skin is not white, doesn't matter how smart you are or if you have highest ABSITE score. The dumb ass white residents get praised for not doing anything and never get anything to hear in M&M even if they made a blunder and patient died. If you are not white, a simple sneeze will get you scolded to death, threatened every day of your life till you quit or done. A very few surgeon are absolute great, unbiased and loving, and most of the other ones should be hanged on a barbed tree in a desert.

Wow. I can see that you are quite biased and emotional on the topic, but then again it sounds like you trained at SLU, so you have the most insight. All I can say is that when I was a student there, it was a very racially diverse group of residents, and I never experienced anything that would be considered racist. Then again, I'm a white male, so I wouldn't have been affected.

 

[SocialistMD]

I interviewed there. I liked the faculty I met. Andrus (the PD) is awesome and did our welcome (a saturday) post call and darted up from the OR. That got me props for him. I liked Jacobs the vascular surgeon, and a former resident turned junior attending (forget HER name) was awesome.

Jacobs is fantastic. We work with him at the VA and he is absolutely wonderful. Andrus is a nice guy. The former resident is also very cool; we were junior residents at the VA together.

There seemed to be good sharing with WashU, since they don't take illinois medicaid, all the trauma from East St Louis goes there.

This is no longer true.

From what I gathered, the program was old and dusty before Andrus got there

Andrus has always been there, he just wasn't in charge until an exodus that occurred about 5 years ago. He has put it back together. They are now doing MIS at St. Alexis, another hospital in town. It sounds like they are on the up and up.