- Joined
- Nov 12, 2007
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- 440
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Univers of WASH? still malignant?
- Thread starter europeman
- Start date
After reading the reviews on Scutwork I would have to say the environment has changed quite a bit since 2004.
As an outgoing CA-3, the environment has gotten better each year as the department has made changes and new residents come in. Couple that with us finally getting a new chair this past May and there is actually a moderate amount of excitement in the department.
When I started as a CA-1(July 2005) some of the CA-3 residents were very bitter for the same reasons that must have resulted in those Scutwork reviews. From what I can tell they must have had a less resident friendly work environment than we currently have.
I don't find the work hours to be extreme, in the general OR we average around 60-65 hours/week which is like the same a most large university programs It would be nice to get out every day at 14:30 every day but getting done around 5pm is fine by me. I still have time to enjoy the multitude of activities that the pacific northwest offers and when I feel like it, read some anesthesia.
I would say that our most challenging shift is our weekend call which is a full 24hrs. Most residents work a single 24hr call a month. 5 week months and holidays are the exception.
At UW, Harborview and Childrens our weekday overnight call consistently comes in at 16:00 and works until 0700 the next morning which is fantastic. That's only about 16hrs of work out of 48 which is great for getting errands/doctor visits/post office trips done during the week.
The only weekday shift that isn't absolutely protected is OR2 at the UW which has been about 50/50 for having to come in at the regular time(0630)
the chiefs are elected by the residents, not the faculty(this changed before I arrived) and they are responsible for making the schedules. In general they do a good job of keeping everything fair and lobby for the residents at academic affairs meetings.
I would say that the most difficult year is our CA-2 year when we do the majority of our sub-specialty rotations. I went from the ICU, to Cardiac, to Peds to OB to Pain to neuro. At the start of each rotation I was always a bit anxious doing little people, pregnant people, really sick heads and hearts for the first time. So far the CA-3 year is great b/c I finally feel comfortable taking care of the full spectrum of patients i could see in private practice.
I do find that the department has a great varied faculty who are approachable. Each year some of the graduating CA-3's stay on and work as per diem so there is a good mix between the "academic for life" faculty and the private practice to be folks. There are also a few of the ex-residents in the area who come back and work a few shifts a month to kind of give back to the program and are a great resource when looking for a job.
I found a couple of the academic type faculty to be very "professional" when you first work with them as a CA-1. They are less likely to want to discuss the results of last nights game and would prefer to focus anesthesia and see what your knowledge base is.
Even these faculty are easily approachable as a CA-3 when a level of trust and competence has been established. I have found that the program does a good job in giving you more leash as you progress so by the time you graduate you are comfortable with the independence you will have in private practice.
Our international faculty have been great resources esp during our CA-3 year when we get a month of independent study. So far this year we have residents going to Australia New Zealand, South Africa and Tanzania to do anesthesia rotations.
All this being said, the best way to get an idea of what a program is like is to do an away rotation. I trusted my eyes more that what someone I didn't know posted on the internet.
Its not a county club and over the course of 4 years I have had some really good weeks and some really bad ones but I can honestly say that I have no regrets about my decision to cross the country to come to UW.
just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt.
As an outgoing CA-3, the environment has gotten better each year as the department has made changes and new residents come in. Couple that with us finally getting a new chair this past May and there is actually a moderate amount of excitement in the department.
When I started as a CA-1(July 2005) some of the CA-3 residents were very bitter for the same reasons that must have resulted in those Scutwork reviews. From what I can tell they must have had a less resident friendly work environment than we currently have.
I don't find the work hours to be extreme, in the general OR we average around 60-65 hours/week which is like the same a most large university programs It would be nice to get out every day at 14:30 every day but getting done around 5pm is fine by me. I still have time to enjoy the multitude of activities that the pacific northwest offers and when I feel like it, read some anesthesia.
I would say that our most challenging shift is our weekend call which is a full 24hrs. Most residents work a single 24hr call a month. 5 week months and holidays are the exception.
At UW, Harborview and Childrens our weekday overnight call consistently comes in at 16:00 and works until 0700 the next morning which is fantastic. That's only about 16hrs of work out of 48 which is great for getting errands/doctor visits/post office trips done during the week.
The only weekday shift that isn't absolutely protected is OR2 at the UW which has been about 50/50 for having to come in at the regular time(0630)
the chiefs are elected by the residents, not the faculty(this changed before I arrived) and they are responsible for making the schedules. In general they do a good job of keeping everything fair and lobby for the residents at academic affairs meetings.
I would say that the most difficult year is our CA-2 year when we do the majority of our sub-specialty rotations. I went from the ICU, to Cardiac, to Peds to OB to Pain to neuro. At the start of each rotation I was always a bit anxious doing little people, pregnant people, really sick heads and hearts for the first time. So far the CA-3 year is great b/c I finally feel comfortable taking care of the full spectrum of patients i could see in private practice.
I do find that the department has a great varied faculty who are approachable. Each year some of the graduating CA-3's stay on and work as per diem so there is a good mix between the "academic for life" faculty and the private practice to be folks. There are also a few of the ex-residents in the area who come back and work a few shifts a month to kind of give back to the program and are a great resource when looking for a job.
I found a couple of the academic type faculty to be very "professional" when you first work with them as a CA-1. They are less likely to want to discuss the results of last nights game and would prefer to focus anesthesia and see what your knowledge base is.
Even these faculty are easily approachable as a CA-3 when a level of trust and competence has been established. I have found that the program does a good job in giving you more leash as you progress so by the time you graduate you are comfortable with the independence you will have in private practice.
Our international faculty have been great resources esp during our CA-3 year when we get a month of independent study. So far this year we have residents going to Australia New Zealand, South Africa and Tanzania to do anesthesia rotations.
All this being said, the best way to get an idea of what a program is like is to do an away rotation. I trusted my eyes more that what someone I didn't know posted on the internet.
Its not a county club and over the course of 4 years I have had some really good weeks and some really bad ones but I can honestly say that I have no regrets about my decision to cross the country to come to UW.
just my opinion, take it with a grain of salt.
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2008
- Messages
- 329
- Reaction score
- 31
I agree with pretty much everything that has been said... I too am a CA-3 and feel that this program is poorly reflected on Scutwork.. however I am too lazy to fill in an entire Scutwoork form...
My thoughts:
Not a country club... the work is good, but hard. By the time I was a Ca-3 I was very comfortable with mostly everything. Of course neonates will always scare me but that is because they are so small... You come out of here able to do pretty much everything and anything...
4 Hospitals
UW: though some people call it the Mothership or the Death Star. This is zebra land. You may just be doing a cysto but the dude has someone else's heart, someone else's liver, etc... ASA I? I've read about them in a book... Good mix of cases- most of the gen surgeons are specialized and do special things... Onc is big; we are the operating theater for the Seattle Cancer Care alliance. Lots of big cases; intraop hyperthermic chemo, big spines, big ex laps, liver resections (we have two very busy, very good liver guys). Transplants (liver, kidney, pancreas for general OR) On general OR days here tend to be manageable. If not a late call I expect to be relieved between 1530-1700... some days earlier, some days later... there have been occasions where I have had to stay till sixish but those days are fewer... Hours go up ads the years go by- CA-1 50-55, CA-2 55-60, CA-3 60. Call is reasonable. 1-2 overnights per months, 6 late calls per month. One weekend call usually. OR-1 call comes in at 1600; unfortunately Or-2 comes in in the AM right now (was at 1600 but there were some problems). Lot of CRNAs here; the working environment with them can be tenuous... SRNA students rotate up here for neuro so the neuro caseload is split about 60%/40% with them.. Some people mind that the CRNAs are doing a lot of the neuro; I myself dont... we get way enough neuro for my taste. Other cases: some regional-90% US guided. Lot of interscalene blocks for shoulders; other blocks are hit or miss. Regional is getting stronger over the years but still lags a bit from our cross-town colleagues.
Cardiac is done here- our numbers arent super great but I think it reflects the nature of cardiac surgery around the country. We do get sick hearts though- lots of re-do sternotomies, transplants (heart and lung), lots of adult congenitals. pretty busy thoracic service- Dr. Wood does some complicationg tracheal tumor resections (stuff nobody else would touch). Hours on hearts is probably longer (65 hrs/wk) but teaching can be good.
OB is here as well... no bread and butter OB. TEaching is quite good, work is excellent. relationship with OBs is ok. Lots of ASA III, IV complex patients. No slam dunks. You get good quickly at managing an OB floor and making your own decisions. I view this rotation as a coming of age rotation.
HARBORVIEW: level 1 trauma center. Bat**** insane. Hours here can vary, depending on the season. Summers are quite busy. Call is reasonable but you do work when you are there. OR1/2 comes in at 1600 on weekday. OR3-4 comes in AM, leaves about 1100 PM, next day off. Weekend call is 24 hour and brutal. Lots of trauma (mainly blunt). Lots of ortho here. Lots of crani's, both elective and emergent. Busy inracranial vascular service.
CHILDRENS: aka Darwin's Garden. I hate it but that's because I hate kids. Lots of not normal kids. Not too much bread and butter. Attendings very hands on. Call is come in a t1600 during week again. Call is usually not too busy. Summers here are busy.
VA: chill. No overnight in house call. Great teaching. Lots of early days. Great cases CA-1s do mainly ortho and uro there (get to do spinals and more regional), Ca-2s do hearts, Ca-3s do whatever they want. Downside- lots of pre-op clinic for Ca-1s
ICU- hardwork. either trauma side or neurosurg side at harborview (plus a VA month that is new) Trauma is a better working relationship than nsurg... for some reason nsur isnt great at communicating (surprise surprise)
PAIN- ick.. I'm not going there but ACute pain pager is painful.....
Summary: I have loved my experience. Sure we work hard, but we learn a lot by doing. Do I wish I had more time to read- yeah... I also wish for a lot of things. Our PD is awesome; she is always on us to be mindful about our hours (10 hr rule is usually enforced quite well; a couple of attendings need to be reminded and late arrival for call is awesome!) and we have a diverse mix of faculty.. 70+ attendings means a lot of ways to skin a cat and after your time you figure out what works for you. As a Ca-3 they let you do it your way (most of them) which is great.
My thoughts:
Not a country club... the work is good, but hard. By the time I was a Ca-3 I was very comfortable with mostly everything. Of course neonates will always scare me but that is because they are so small... You come out of here able to do pretty much everything and anything...
4 Hospitals
UW: though some people call it the Mothership or the Death Star. This is zebra land. You may just be doing a cysto but the dude has someone else's heart, someone else's liver, etc... ASA I? I've read about them in a book... Good mix of cases- most of the gen surgeons are specialized and do special things... Onc is big; we are the operating theater for the Seattle Cancer Care alliance. Lots of big cases; intraop hyperthermic chemo, big spines, big ex laps, liver resections (we have two very busy, very good liver guys). Transplants (liver, kidney, pancreas for general OR) On general OR days here tend to be manageable. If not a late call I expect to be relieved between 1530-1700... some days earlier, some days later... there have been occasions where I have had to stay till sixish but those days are fewer... Hours go up ads the years go by- CA-1 50-55, CA-2 55-60, CA-3 60. Call is reasonable. 1-2 overnights per months, 6 late calls per month. One weekend call usually. OR-1 call comes in at 1600; unfortunately Or-2 comes in in the AM right now (was at 1600 but there were some problems). Lot of CRNAs here; the working environment with them can be tenuous... SRNA students rotate up here for neuro so the neuro caseload is split about 60%/40% with them.. Some people mind that the CRNAs are doing a lot of the neuro; I myself dont... we get way enough neuro for my taste. Other cases: some regional-90% US guided. Lot of interscalene blocks for shoulders; other blocks are hit or miss. Regional is getting stronger over the years but still lags a bit from our cross-town colleagues.
Cardiac is done here- our numbers arent super great but I think it reflects the nature of cardiac surgery around the country. We do get sick hearts though- lots of re-do sternotomies, transplants (heart and lung), lots of adult congenitals. pretty busy thoracic service- Dr. Wood does some complicationg tracheal tumor resections (stuff nobody else would touch). Hours on hearts is probably longer (65 hrs/wk) but teaching can be good.
OB is here as well... no bread and butter OB. TEaching is quite good, work is excellent. relationship with OBs is ok. Lots of ASA III, IV complex patients. No slam dunks. You get good quickly at managing an OB floor and making your own decisions. I view this rotation as a coming of age rotation.
HARBORVIEW: level 1 trauma center. Bat**** insane. Hours here can vary, depending on the season. Summers are quite busy. Call is reasonable but you do work when you are there. OR1/2 comes in at 1600 on weekday. OR3-4 comes in AM, leaves about 1100 PM, next day off. Weekend call is 24 hour and brutal. Lots of trauma (mainly blunt). Lots of ortho here. Lots of crani's, both elective and emergent. Busy inracranial vascular service.
CHILDRENS: aka Darwin's Garden. I hate it but that's because I hate kids. Lots of not normal kids. Not too much bread and butter. Attendings very hands on. Call is come in a t1600 during week again. Call is usually not too busy. Summers here are busy.
VA: chill. No overnight in house call. Great teaching. Lots of early days. Great cases CA-1s do mainly ortho and uro there (get to do spinals and more regional), Ca-2s do hearts, Ca-3s do whatever they want. Downside- lots of pre-op clinic for Ca-1s
ICU- hardwork. either trauma side or neurosurg side at harborview (plus a VA month that is new) Trauma is a better working relationship than nsurg... for some reason nsur isnt great at communicating (surprise surprise)
PAIN- ick.. I'm not going there but ACute pain pager is painful.....
Summary: I have loved my experience. Sure we work hard, but we learn a lot by doing. Do I wish I had more time to read- yeah... I also wish for a lot of things. Our PD is awesome; she is always on us to be mindful about our hours (10 hr rule is usually enforced quite well; a couple of attendings need to be reminded and late arrival for call is awesome!) and we have a diverse mix of faculty.. 70+ attendings means a lot of ways to skin a cat and after your time you figure out what works for you. As a Ca-3 they let you do it your way (most of them) which is great.
