Pitt County Memorial/East Carolina University (ECU)/Brody SOM Residency Reviews

Pretty much in agreement with the assessments of Duke and UNC. I believe there is a rotation at the VA hospital in durham that gives you the experience of being pretty much the lead person making decisions so that is a plus. The biggest problem seems to be the issue of the unknown PD replacement as that does affect decision making and impacts the class for this year the most. Wish they knew something. Duke is still in transition and probably will be a really good program in a few years. Less resident friendly than some but a great sim lab and a couple of really good teachers. It will take some time to get everything on track with the new PD and faculty changes. Good and bad like most programs. The academically strong, independent and motivated applicant would be happier here.

UNC actually seems to be fairly family oriented but you need to look around to see it and you can actually live in a small area on the bus line called Carrboro which is pretty close and affordable. I would say you could afford a place within 15 minutes if you look around. PD is great, nice guy and good advocate for residents. Great program, resident friendly and a great place to work and live. Parking is unfortunately not free.

ECU-hidden gem indeed. Great facilities, laid back residents, lots of pathology, plenty of perks. 10 hour shifts all around and residents have a say in how things are done. Very affordable living conditions and great recreational facilities nearby with a discount for residents. Good biking area and a couple of hours from the beach. Teaching is really good and I would say this place is on the way up. If you don't like small towns you may not like greenville but it really seems to be a nice place to live for 3 years and lets face it you will be working hard during your residency anyway. Staff is great and not much scut. Good sim lab as well. The new PD is well liked by everyone so no problems there. Gets a bad rap because of location but a great education is the tradeoff. Worth a really hard look IMO.

Below are my biased short reviews:

Maine Med: +good residents, lots of camaraderie, cushy number of shifts, do lots of stuff in the ED (do not consult as much), lots of ED time as opposed to offservice, lots of outdoor opportunities in area
-not too much pen trauma, fair blunt, cold winters, small program, homogeneous population

U Mass: +good residents, very nice ED, well respected residents, good research, Hawaii elective, awesome helicopter experience, good reputation in area, great ultrasound
-hard to switch shifts, some unhappiness with residents, seemed like residents stay 1-3 hours after shifts for cleanup

Baystate: +work less than allmost anywhere else, good blunt trauma, good patient mix, very little offservice
-residents did not seem strong, faculty I interviewed with seemed disinterested, cramped department, city sucks and lots of residents live far away in nice town, bad ultrasound

OHSU: +very nice hospital, good research, cool city, residents were friendly
-small program, go to lots of different hospitals because primary does not see enough variety, residents did not seem strong

Carolinas: +great teaching, great research, awesome facilities, strong off service, good ICU experience, great reputation, strong residents
-lots of off service months, city not exactly what I expected

ECU:+strong residents, good teaching, nice department, great patient population, good reputation
-electronic records seem poorly implemented, city is very undesirable for some people

Wake Forest: +good teaching, good facilities, strong residents, good US
-Winston-Salem shuts down on Sundays

Christiana: +good residents, huge department, good records, good patient population, great benefits, nice facility, good teaching, very little off service, great ICU experience, great ultrasound
-area may not suit some

U Conn: +nice PD, nice facilities, good relationships with trauma
-area,

Duke: +New PD seems awesome, nice hospital, would be a good area to live in,good teaching
-not enough electives

In No particular Order

1. Scott and White - Excellent overall, best fit if you're married, wonderful people. Well-established program in a small town with a huge catchment area. Hospital is a "Texas Mayo Clinic" and very well respected both in the community and the state. The ED is new (finished <2 years ago IIRC) with all private rooms, excellent nursing staff, and lots of space. You don't feel crowded like many EDs that I've seen. The place sees a lot of different things on each shift (peds/adult/trauma, etc). Don't send a ton of people to fellowship though there is talk that this is changing - one recent grad is going to Peds-EM. Faculty are pretty well published, which surprised me, especially in sepsis. My vote for best overall program in the state.

2. Duke - Newish program (I would be in their sixth intern class) but it seems to have most of the kinks worked out. LOVED the PD Sarah Stahmer. Top-notch facilities, smart and personable faculty, and residents that I would most definitely enjoy being friends with. Very livable city. Curriculum suits me: they try and launch their grads into the world with awesome CVs. In short, I *heart* Duke. Currently my personal #1 but will have to convince the wife that it's okay to move there.

3. U Cincinnati - My other EM crush. Take what Duke has in terms of academics and square it. Highest quality EM program, possibly the funniest PD in the business (imagine Kevin Spacey doing standup), and the fact that I know the folks more than from an interview and they rock. However, Cincinnati is, well, Cincinnati. Which means that it isn't a bad school, per se, but it's in the middle of the Midwest. There's no family in the area, it's a four year program (not necessarily a deal breaker for me), and it would be hard for the wife to find a job there as Ohio is pretty much shedding jobs left and right. Would be a hard sell.

4. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH - solid, friendly, and comfortable PGY1-3 program. Has just about anything that you'd want in a program but lacks a bit in the academic grooming department that other programs put front and center on interview day. Faculty were nice as were the residents. ED is good looking if not flashy (contrast to UCSF's Moffett-Long which was one of the prettiest out there). Program is on/near the campus of the undergrad campus and there is a lot to be said for having a University's resources available. Columbus seems like a really neat city to live in and the people that I met out and about were really nice. The airport is one of the more convenient, easy to maneuver, and nicest airports that I've ever experienced (free wi-fi too). The town is growing and adding jobs which is no mean feat in Ohio these days. Encouraged moonlighting, and you can do it in one of several OSU-affiliated hospitals (you won't have to get your OH license). Would be a tough sell for the wife but vastly easier than Cincinnati would be.

2. Eastern Carolina University, Greenville, NC - man, where to start about this program? I had a bad vibe from the beginning: the coordinator didn't provide the physical address of the hospital so it was hard to find the place as I'd never been to G'Vegas before and was driving in the morning of the interview. It was a painful, awkward day.

It was a foggy day outside and the grayness seemed to be unrelieved by the program offices (in stark contrast to Duke, which was all light, smiles, and holiday cheer). The presentation from the PD seemed a bit half-hearted compared to others that I've seen (for example, Cincinnati put some effort into spicing up the program overview, doing a "morning report" bit that was far more instructive in obvious and subtle ways than anything else). The faculty didn't really seem to do more than ask a few pro-forma questions and then ask if we had any questions. Now, I'm not saying that everyone has to ask me things, certainly not. But I've had really thoughtful questions and discussions at other places that made it clear that the interviewer had thoroughly reviewed my application....or at least followed up on things I had mentioned which indicated that they were interested. Maybe it was just me....

So anyway, the resident's didn't really impress me all that much. The pgy3 was aggressive in a weird way, and the two interns were a disaster. One was saying how happy she was that no one cared if they asked stupid questions and then told us what the dumb question was....The old saying "Better to to be suspected of stupidity than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" was definitely applicable. The other intern barely spoke and appeared catatonic, and when asked why he chose ECU, gave me the weirdest look that I've ever seen. And didn't answer the question. To be fair, we ran across another intern from CA who was working in the ED who seemed really excited and enthused about the program. Perhaps he should have been the one to come to lunch, eh?

Anyway, the ED is gorgeous, no doubt, and they have possibly one of the best designed layouts that I've yet seen. Very nice. The rescucitation bays are the best yet. I think that they are a solid clinical program that for some reason didn't put their best foot forward that day. It was kind of sad.

Info from EM Sub-intership rotation
Overview
Program began in 1982. ED is well respected by other specialties within the hospital

Residents: 12 per class. Well diverse bunch of people. All had different personalities from the quiet type to the outspoken banterer. All were extremely nice and went to great lengths to make me feel welcome. ANY time an interesting patient showed up, the would grab me so I could do the interview. They would also grab me for any procedure. They always had teaching on their minds and did an excellent job. From what I saw, EM run the traumas. Trauma surg was there but EM residents & attendings were running the show. EM residents were managing the airway, doing the FAST and chest tubes. I believe the resident I saw doing the chest tube was on the trauma surg rotation so it could be that surg handles everything except the airway.

Faculty: Like the residents, there is a mix. Everyone seemed to be excited about the program and excited to have me there. It was a mix of very interested in teaching to "please go away." To their defense, since this is a subI, I presented directly to the attending. My pt basicly becomes the attendings pt. I could type the note and put in orders but they had to cosign everything. Me being there did add extra work. I found the chairman (Delbridge) to be on the cynical side (big turn off). Everything that is lacked by the chairman is made up for 10 fold in the program director (Patterson). She is a genuine person who is great with the patients and seems to work well with the residents. She is also a great teacher. The former PD is still with the program and is absolutely wonderful to work around.

Ancillary staff: There is not enough kind words to say about this bunch. These people work their butt off and do it with a smile. I may have ran into one nurse who I didn't like but she did her job. In addition to RN's they have ANA's who are on the ball and will do splinting etc. This was the most impressive aspect of the rotation.

Benefits: PGY I 44,394; PGYII 45,542, PGY III 47,108. 3wk vacation. $100 mo for food (really nice cafeteria); free parking. $1000 for moving expenses or relocation fund. $2000 edu fund for 3 years. Discount to assoc health club.

Hours: EM-1s work 19-20 shifts; EM-2s work 18ish shifts; EM-3s work 16-17shifts; All are 10 hour shifts. Moonlighting allowed


Facilities: Nicest I've seen so far. Hospital is located in the safe part of town and close to the medical school. There is a side walk that surrounds the hospital and campus. Many use this as a jogging track. I think they have around 60 beds (could be more with wall space). ED is divided into purpe (medical side) & Gold. ED is very new and sparkiling nice. Trauma bay is very nice. No paper charting (EPIC).

Area: Small town, county seat, pop 76,000. Shopping includes Mall, Walmart, Target & more (All the basics are covered). Beautiful area. College town that is growing quickly. If you are into fitness there is a great gym and most of the apartments have 24hr gyms. There is a great 8.5 mi biking trail that can challenge advanced bikers and is very well maintained. For being so close to the ocean, the cost of living is very affordable. 1 1/2 hours drive to the sailing capitol, 2 1/2 hrs to the beautiful Cape Fear, 4 1/2 Washington DC.
Former posts: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=340723&highlight=ecu;+brody;+north+carolina (2008) ; http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=7510529&highlight=my+impressions#post7510529 (2008); http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=4493090&postcount=189

ECU

Residents: 12 residents/yr. The residents get along well and are extremely laid-back. ED residents are felt to be the strongest in the hospital, but there are also much fewer residencies here than the average medical center. Two residents recently got jobs in Austin and most third year residents already had jobs lined up. Evaluations monthly with 360 evals yearly.

Faculty: Faculty were all nice and laid back. They give you as much slack as you have earned, so if you earn their respect then they will let you be less supervised. ED teaching good but not much time to teach. PD is really nice. She and the chair will make calls on your behalf to try and get you jobs, but honestly chair has a lot more contacts than she does. Program also will help you review contracts and figure out what you want. Only recent faculty turnover was loosing one of toxicologists who took a promotion at another school. Alumni mainly end up in southeast but are scattered across country as well. Annual MD vs RN sporting events.

Ancillary Staff: Nursing staff is your standard ED nurses. Per one resident, 40% are good, 40% are OK, and 20% get on your nerves. Used to be short staffed, but now fixing problem.

Curriculum: Three year program with standard stuff. Light on critical care and one ward medicine month. They cover a large area, most of eastern NC, so they see a ton of pathology. Lots of trauma (gunshots from drugies in outside county), poor people who don’t have access to care anywhere else and thus very sick, standard local stuff, and referred stuff from outside hospital (we can cath you – if you don’t get this youtube “outside hospital”). Surprisingly there is a lot of scooter crashes because you don’t need a license to drive one… so all the idiots who lost their license 2/2 DWI go get scooters. There is no ortho or anesthesia programs, so you get all the airways and fractures. Very rarely is something shipped out – usually interventional neurosurgery and burns. International not too big here. 20% go on to academics, with PD trying to increase this more – she says rate limiting step is people who come to the program don’t even think about academics, not that they can’t get in. Granted from what I gather, their goal is to produce great community physicians so this makes sense. One US machine in the dept with residents saying they learn everything they need to know. One resident, as an aside, mentioned that no one really does US fellowships anymore because you learn it all in residency. I call BS. Anyway… US machine has device to record scan if you want to that way you can get feedback if US attending isn’t around, but it didn’t sound as if this is standard procedure. EMS big here with extremely active flight program (encouraged but non-mandatory flying) including a fellowship in helicopter. EMS arrivals are broadcasts over intercom in ED and is said to be annoying by one resident. Up and coming simulation center run by ED with a high-fidelity and a OB manikin; plans to buy pedi manikin. Unsure of how much simulation time you actually get. Residents can moonlight in third year outside of hospital. In Traumas EM1 gets line, EM2 gets airway, and EM3 directs. Interns do 18-19x 10 hr shifts/mo (9a-7p, 7p-5a) and are encouraged to start off taking one patient at a time, but if feel up to it can take more. Upper levels do 17x10’s (EM2 7a-5p,12p-10p,4p-2a,10p-8a) with seniors getting more of the shifts that only have single coverage (plus attending). No restrictions on elective time and off service months seem to be good and goal-directed.

Peds: Residents see peds every day in regular ED, but have separate months at WakeMed in Raleigh during 2nd and 3rd years (are given an apt to stay in). Per PD, this will probably be done away with soon b/c peds ED is being built now. PICU rotation just added.

Didactics: Weekly; protected time. 5 hours every Tuesday. Each class chooses its own book. Curriculum is a 2 year curriculum, so I guess they only get through it 1.5 times? Up until 2 years ago, there was a problem with first time board passage rates so PD started making residents take practice in-service exams, practice orals, etc. This has been resolved and past two years has been in the 90’s.

Research: Scholarly project mandatory.

Facilities: Trauma bay and rest of ED is nice and newly renovated. There is an acute side with nice clear glass doors and a non-acute side with solid wooden doors. A new cardiac hospital was just built which has freed up room for ED to expand. A cardiac obs/psych hold unit has been built and a new peds ED is in the works.

Charting: Charts, orders, labs, and rads all on computer.

Location: Greenville. This could be the deal breaker for lots of people. Nice cost of living with any resident who wants to buy, having bought. Very family oriented. City has “one of almost everything, but probably only one”. Lots of outdoor sports to do and amazing beaches within driving distance (a few hours). Tar river runs through city. It is a college city so there is some nightlife and lots of performing arts. Apparently, there is also pretty good sushi. With all of this being said, I got the feeling this isn’t the most happening city. College and medical center dominate town and jobs.

Extras: Vacation can be taken in any combination, but max 1 wk at a time. Vacation gets shift reductions basically. Chiefs make the schedule 3 months at a time and in past 5 years no request for a schedule has been denied. Very flexible and easy to change days if need to. Accreditation status is fine and the residents who have left program in past left for legitimate reasons (e.g. wife had to move 2/2 family issues, switched to anesthesia). Administrative training as senior. Claimed to be 4th oldest program. Access to Rosetta Stone through GME center! Color coded scrubs in ED (residents wear monogrammed black scrubs).

Interview: Quick and to the point. Brief intro by PD. Four quick interviews all very conversational. Tour and lunch. Done by 1pm.

I originally posted this in the Unofficial 2009 ROL thread but I'm posting here so that folks down the line can get more hits when they search for various programs.

1. Texas A&M-Scott & White - Loved the facilities, great reputation in Texas and surrounding regions, LOVED the residents and faculty. Feels like home. Brought my wife back for a second look and it was a giant love-fest. Training is extremely good, great location, and extremely family friendly.

2. Duke Univ Med Ctr-NC - I loved the PD (Sarah Stahmer), the faculty, and the residents. I definitely felt as if I could spend three years with these guys. The feel-goodness started at the resident social and continued on. I was also impressed by the group of applicants who were there with me (one of my hidden indicators). Excellent training, though a bit too university hospital biased. Duke name and reputation, facilities, and Raleigh-Durham is gorgeous. Family in the area. Would be excited to end up here.

3. UC San Francisco-CA - One of those programs with that "X-factor" that's hard to describe; yet you know it when you see it. Really liked the PD and Assistant PD. Fantastic facilities, really top-notch faculty, residents were nice and very welcoming. New program and that brings with it problems; however, I've made something of a habit of helping to establish new organizations and I love a challenge. Though SF is hideously expensive, we think that we can make it happen. Plus it's SF! Gorgeous city and TONS to do when we're not working. Family (a well-traveled bunch) would be thrilled too and have already promised to visit all the time if we end up there.

4. University Hosp-Cincinnati-OH - My favorite program by far when considered in and of itself. However, when those "other factors" get thrown in, it was hard to rank them higher. Spent a month there, absolutely LOVED the program. Seriously. This is truly one of those X-factor places and watching their fourth years was insanely impressive. Wish that I could have ranked them higher. But if by some ridiculous longshot we end up there, then I will probably be their most enthusiastic resident EVER.

5. U Texas Med Sch-Houston - solid program in a city that I love, close to family and friends, good research available, extremely familiar with the medical center and area.

6. University of Virginia - Very good program that a friend rotated with, so I know it's dirt to a degree. Gorgeous town, decently close to family. Kind of isolated and would be harder for my wife to find a job since it's primarily a college town.

7. Ohio State Univ Med Ctr-OH - Heard great things about the program, really enjoyed my interview, residents at my med school rave about the city. Would be very happy to end up there.

8. Christiana Care-DE - One of those programs that I wish that I'd been able to rotate with because I hear so many great things. Really clicked with the faculty, kind so-so with the residents. Newark didn't really impress me much as it reminded me of the concrete suburbia that I wouldn't mind leaving behind. Nonetheless, would be happy to match there.

9. U Michigan Hosps-Ann Arbor - Fantastic program, not really thrilled about the amount of snow/winter/winter schmutz we'd have to deal with. Not looking forward to buying a light box and possibly dealing with SAD.

10. U Arkansas-Little Rock - One of the most relaxed and enjoyable interview days I had on the trail. Brand-spanking new ED which is gorgeous and well thought out. A little concerned about the volume and pathology that they see there. Good faculty and the residents seem like people I'd want to be friends with outside of work. Little Rock seems like a very pleasant place to live, and quite affordable.

11. Christus Spohn Mem Hosp-TX - I think that this program is going to be really outstanding in a couple of years. I had a great interview and with the relative lack of other residencies, you get treated like royalty by the hospital - Close, free parking, free food in the Dr.'s Lounge, relatively few low-yield rotations. However, the wife and I weren't too thrilled at the prospect of living in Corpus for three years, and their are still some rough edges to the program. Nonetheless, I believe that you'd come out of this program a very well trained EP.

12. Pitt County Mem Hosp/Brody SOM-NC - Solid program, had a so-so interview day. Location was a bit of a negative for me as Greenville is so small. On the other hand, it is only about forty minutes from family and it's insanely cheap to live in. I've known some folks from the school and they had very good things to say about the program. Would be okay with matching here.

Bottom line is that I didn't interview at a single place that I wouldn't mind training at. I do think that there is a nearly intangible but real difference (for me) between the top-tier and other programs. Having said that though, the one thing that I've learned from this interview season is that the saying "You get a solid education at any of these places because of the RRC," is probably pretty close to the mark.

Any reviews from this season? After 10ish interviews, I've learned didactics/curriculum are pretty standardized 2/2 RRC. So mainly looking for people's thoughts on Greenville (for a single guy...things to do, etc.), EM residents (single vs married, age, etc.), and any stand-out benefits/perks at ECU. Thanks!

Hey guys. I've been on the site but made a new profile for anonymity. I'm a 4th year going into EM and I found these threads so incredibly helpful that I want to help contribute to keeping them up to date.

I interviewed at ECU/Vidant so these were my take-away points:

Pros:

1. The hospital seems ~135K patients per year. They have a huge catchment area (29 counties or something like that) so you're bound to see a ton of stuff.
2. Practicing in a more rural environment also prepares you with pathologies you wouldn't find elsewhere. People on farms can get themselves in all kinds of trouble.
3. PD was really cool. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea because he doesn't sugar coat anything and tells you like it is but that's exactly what I like to see in people so I was a big fan.

Cons:

1. GREENVILLE. To some, small towns are comforting and feel like home. But I felt like I was stuck in the middle of nothing but pasture and would have to stay there for three years. Not my thing. Population is 86K. Need clothes? Hope you like JCPenney and Belk. Need something from the store? Thankfully there's a Target. There's not many options for much of anything it seems. And I think that would drive me nuts. But again, some people love this sort of thing so this is more of a personal note.
2. Little to no role in trauma. They get airway just like every EM in the world but that's about it. If you want to have a hand in trauma, you may find this frustrating like I did

Oveall: I thought the program was very impressive. i could probably put it up against any of the fancy places I've been this season. But I just don't know if it can make up for living in endless corn fields. I'll rank it...but very low.