University of Arizona

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any thoughts y'all?
 
They're doing Skype interviews this year. Instead of completely canceling due to bad dates and a long trip out west, I went ahead and rescheduled for one of those. If I can do an interview in 30 minutes from my house, I thought, why not?

As far as program specifics, I know next to nothing. Any help?
 
This is another program that was one of my favorites that not many people know about. Here is the review that I wrote for myself last year:

Teaching:
The faculty were great. All seemed very nice and approachable and like they really know their stuff. All of the residents said they were getting excellent training and expect to feel well prepared for their careers or fellowships after they graduate. They called the teaching "top notch." It seemed like a very laid back non-malignant atmosphere. The only complaint they could come up with when specifically asked if there was anything they didn't like was that there are too many lectures. It seemed like the lectures are really well done and beneficial, but there are a lot of them. There are no fellows which I've heard argued as either a plus or a minus, but it definitely seemed like a plus at this program. The residents felt like they got to do much more in the OR than they would at other programs since there are no fellows to steal their cases.

Atmosphere:
All the residents and faculty were approachable, friendly, and seemed very happy to be there. They have a really tight knit community. Tucson is an amazing city. The mountains are beautiful. There are a ton of outdoor activities available like hiking in the Catalina foothills or Sabinho canyon and Mt. Lemon is right there too. The city was very clean and has all kinds of things to do. U of A is extremely nice and considered to be part of the "public ivy league." There is a community college with 25,000 students, air force base, observatory, lots of museums, and phoenix is 1.5 hours away. I loved this city. Everyone I met was incredibly nice and said they loved living in Tucson. It's not at all what I thought it would be. The cost of living is very low and the salary is relatively high with pretty good benefits.

Overall, I was really surprised at how great this program is and what a nice city Tucson is. It's a great program for people who value quality clinical training in a pleasant environment over national reputation or research opportunities.
 
Interviewed there last year. I'm looking at what notes I took to write this and hopefully I'm correct.

Pluses: Residents seemed very nice and easy to get along with. Good clinical training. Nice VA. Tucson would be nice to live in (maybe not during the summer heat) but very beautiful. Good cataract number (I was told about 120 or more). Pretty good benefits (a little more vacation than most programs, moving stipend). More hand holding until 3rd year where you are pretty autonomous at the VA. Seems to have good opportunities for research.

Minuses: So-so facilities. A couple faculty members did appear malignant during the interviews. Do not appear to be very competitive for fellowships (in my opinion at least; most do cornea and glaucoma and most go on to private practice. Of course there are exceptions as well). Their interview style was all behavioral questions and confrontational - it was offputting. Faculty number is small. Probably too much didactics. Many Spanish speaking patients which may be tough if you aren't Spanish speaker (but this can be a plus if you are Spanish speaking or want to be).

Overall, I think this is a very good program for someone who wants to do private practice general or anterior segment ophthalmology and for someone who fits in Tucson (i.e., may not be great if your family all lives on the east coast). May not be the best to ones wanting a more competitive fellowship or ones wanting to do more academic ophthalmology. Just my opinions, take them as you will.
 
My notes from interview:
Pros:
- Liked Tucson. Very beautiful landscape, amazing Mexican food.
- Laid back program, residents seemed very happy and comfortable.
- Only show in town, should have great pathology

Cons:
- Unsure about potential for research
- Small faculty, not sure if all specialties are there
 
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