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Radiology01 said:
I strongly advise, DO NOT apply to the UT San Antonio (UTHSCSA) radiology residency program. The program has absolutely deteriorated over the last 2 years. Our program director just resigned, and in typical fashion, the faculty felt no need to address this with residents. We found out from a Facebook post of the incoming program director. The new PD, by the way, does not believe in formal teaching or resident education. He expects us to just “figure it out.” Over one half of our residents scored below the 30th percentile on our in-service training exam this year, the lowest of any program at UTHSCSA. The department responded to residents with threats and scare tactics, rather than addressing the real issue of faculty taking no interest in teaching, terrible lectures, and no formal guidance on how to study. A lot of this deterioration stems from an unstable program chair, who is unfortunately never going to cede her position due to the great salary and minimal work it involves.

We fully expect to not fill in the match this year. In case you are planning on applying, keep in mind that our dinner budget for interviewees is literally $15, explaining the fixed menu at a burger joint in a strip mall. Our department could shell out more, but has decided first impressions are not a priority. Morale is at an all time low. Our program is screwing up so badly that the ACGME is now involved. I don’t mean for this to sound like a hate manifesto. I simply feel robbed of the most basic principles of a residency education, and as a current resident, I want prospective applicants to know this.
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Honestly bruh, how is this post helping the situation in shape or form? Its a ****-show in most residency programs; make the most out of the 4yrs...pass the boards and go on to make a killing in private practice.

In all honesty though, some of your complains may be valid w.r.t teahcing and overall faculty attitude.... but you cheapened it by whining about how you found out about PD being replaced. Radiology is back on the rise and even with your grieviences, your program won't have issues filling the class. There is always someine out there that wants that spot.
 
Jamiu22 said:
Honestly bruh, how is this post helping the situation in shape or form? Its a ****-show in most residency programs;
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I don't know man. I agree that most residency programs have rough edges here and there, but if what OP is describing is accurate, that does not sound normal.
 
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Two sides to every truth.

I wouldn't say "not enough face to face staff out" is an unreasonable complaint, let alone a BS complaint. And I don't get why people are so hung up on their PD going out with them to happy hour - who the **** cares if your program is in the toilet?
 
Gigem2636 said:
Disgruntled resident posts are annoying, but this does hit home as I am one of the other residents (R2) at San Antonio.

I totally disagree with everything my colleague is saying. Our new PD is one of my favorite faculty and is a resident advocate. He has even gone to happy hours/ bars with residents after hours and is a pleasure to work with. He is experienced, as he has been PD at puerto rico as well as UAB before. And yes, he is invested in teaching. He has a facebook page called "MSK radiology genie" and posts education content often.

Yes, many residents did do poorly on the "inservice exams" and yes the program chair and PD were upset. It would be concerning if they didn't.

The ACGME only got involved because a handful of residents like yourself went psycho on the program evaluation with BS complaints like " not enough feedback " or " not enough face to face staff-out". I honestly don't know who wants sit down style formal feedback regularly. I think this particular point brought on by the OP is rooted in getting bad feedback on new innovations on the last day of the rotation. I don't know this feeling, as I have only had very positive feedback from faculty. The staff-out thing is funny also, as i feel like I get plenty of face to face staff-out (my good friend at comparable TX program gets much less btw). I also don't need to have someone set next to me and tell me what a normal chest x ray looks like.

I hope everyone takes this angry residents word with a grain of salt and knows this is just an opinion. I have a positive one on this program, and anyone is free to message me with questions.

Id like to point out positive OBJECTIVE aspects of the program
-level 1 trauma
-level 1 stroke
-enormous volume
- transplant center (kidney, lung, liver)
-top 10 population city in Texas which is a desirable place for housing prices and not being sued

the clincher to this being a "hate manifesto" is the comments about the pre-interview dinner. This is the nicest mall in SA and a restaurant I actually like, maybe the OP can order off of the whiskey menu next time. Whiskey cake at La Cantera mall if anyone wants to check.
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Damn. Don't know who to believe anymore.
 
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Damn it must be bad for a current resident to muster the courage to speak up! I went to a malignant medical school and there was always that one person that wanted to stand in front of the powers that be and say “this place is awesome,” when everyone in the room looks around the room at each other and says what are they talking about?!. My guess is the person defending this program knows the program sucks and just wants to ingratiate himself with probably every faculty member of the program that will eventually read this thread from his program when he knows full well the program sucks!
 
when i was interviewing there several years ago the program director came off as a total d!ck but overall the residents were pleasant. If you need to be spoon fed information and can't figure something out on your own then radiology may not be a good fit... even so, better than a crap IM program where you're told over the phone to "figure it out" on a crashing ICU patient.
 
Gigem2636 said:
I think this particular point brought on by the OP is rooted in getting bad feedback on new innovations on the last day of the rotation. I don't know this feeling, as I have only had very positive feedback from faculty.

I also don't need to have someone set next to me and tell me what a normal chest x ray looks like.
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#humblebrag

Yes you do.
 
Gigem2636 said:
Disgruntled resident posts are annoying, but this does hit home as I am one of the other residents (R2) at San Antonio.

I totally disagree with everything my colleague is saying. Our new PD is one of my favorite faculty and is a resident advocate. He has even gone to happy hours/ bars with residents after hours and is a pleasure to work with. He is experienced, as he has been PD at puerto rico as well as UAB before. And yes, he is invested in teaching. He has a facebook page called "MSK radiology genie" and posts education content often.

Yes, many residents did do poorly on the "inservice exams" and yes the program chair and PD were upset. It would be concerning if they didn't.

The ACGME only got involved because a handful of residents like yourself went psycho on the program evaluation with BS complaints like " not enough feedback " or " not enough face to face staff-out". I honestly don't know who wants sit down style formal feedback regularly. I think this particular point brought on by the OP is rooted in getting bad feedback on new innovations on the last day of the rotation. I don't know this feeling, as I have only had very positive feedback from faculty. The staff-out thing is funny also, as i feel like I get plenty of face to face staff-out (my good friend at comparable TX program gets much less btw). I also don't need to have someone set next to me and tell me what a normal chest x ray looks like.

I hope everyone takes this angry residents word with a grain of salt and knows this is just an opinion. I have a positive one on this program, and anyone is free to message me with questions.

Id like to point out positive OBJECTIVE aspects of the program
-level 1 trauma
-level 1 stroke
-enormous volume
- transplant center (kidney, lung, liver)
-top 10 population city in Texas which is a desirable place for housing prices and not being sued

the clincher to this being a "hate manifesto" is the comments about the pre-interview dinner. This is the nicest mall in SA and a restaurant I actually like, maybe the OP can order off of the whiskey menu next time. Whiskey cake at La Cantera mall if anyone wants to check.
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We can bicker about all the details that we want and never come to agreement about anything. But the fact of the matter is someone who works at this program felt strongly enough that he went to the most well known professional medical board in the US and posted about how bad it is to potential applicants. That alone says something. If this were one guy who was personally wronged that’s one thing, but the ACGME does not involve itself where you have one disgruntled resident making noise. More than two people feel the same way at this program, which is at least three more than the number of disgruntled residents at my program. You honestly should be concerned at this point, as this is no longer just a fluke.
 
SeisK said:
We can bicker about all the details that we want and never come to agreement about anything. But the fact of the matter is someone who works at this program felt strongly enough that he went to the most well known professional medical board in the US and posted about how bad it is to potential applicants. That alone says something. If this were one guy who was personally wronged that’s one thing, but the ACGME does not involve itself where you have one disgruntled resident making noise. More than two people feel the same way at this program, which is at least three more than the number of disgruntled residents at my program. You honestly should be concerned at this point, as this is no longer just a fluke.
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Agree. I wouldn't apply there anymore.
 
I interviewed for the VIR fellowship there a few years back. Seemed like a solid interventional program.
 
Ok, so to preface, I'm currently an upper level at the program, and for reasons am in a good position to know more about what is 'going on' than most. So take what I say with this in mind, I understand I'm not a neutral party.

That being said, about 50% of what was described is just not true, and the majority of everything else overly dramatic.
The not true:
1. And probably most importantly the ACGME is not involved in any way outside of the norm. The OP puts this out there as what I assume is an indictment about the program, but its simply not true. We're not on probation, under investigation, or 'involved' outside the norm.

2. The PD didn't suddenly step down, and it wasn't a surprise. The PD had been PD for 4.5 years (which is about average for PDs) and had been planning for at least 6 months to step down. I'm not sure what they expect when one PD changes for another, but there really wasn't anything untoward here.

3. The new PD is one of the best educators in the program, and cares more about resident education than just about anyone else. This one really bothers me, as I have yet spoken to another resident that has any negative feelings towards the new PD.

4. Not filling the match, I have not heard this from a single faculty or anyone else who might know. I honestly don't know where this one came from, bitterness maybe? Certainly not from any objective reality.

The overly dramatic:
Dinners for applicants - its true the budget is limited for applicant dinners, it is a county hospital, after all. But we have always gone to middle of the road restaurants for applicant dinner, never 'strip mall burger joints'. And personally, I don't see much correlation between program quality and applicant dinner site.

Education - While the program is undoubtedly an experience heavy program, I truly believe my educational experience has been great. With few exceptions, the staff have been very interested in education. And come on, you made through med school and still need someone to tell you how to study?

Robbed of a residency - your experience is what you make of it, and apparently you aren't making it very much. This isn't to say my residency is easy, but I have had a wonderful experience in my multiple years here. More importantly, I feel I am getting a good education, and am confident in my career options moving forward.

The point is, I don't regret coming to UTHSCSA, and and comfortably recommend it to others. The OP, for reasons of their own, is misrepresenting the residency. That may make them feel better, but it certainly doesn't represent reality, nor does it help fix any of the perceived problems.
 
It’s obvious that the OP is struggling in residency and projecting his/her frustration in a negative way. I am a resident in this program and I don’t have a similar experience as the OP described. Get some help/counseling my friend, it is free for the residents and I can buy you a nice dinner if you don’t like Whiskey Cake’s menu. Just chill
 
Another resident from UTHSCSA Rads here.

I also do not share the same experience/disagree with the OP. Things arent always perfect, but their post is way off. The comments about the ACGME are very misleading (our GME office always tries to stay involved in all programs), the interview dinners at Whiskey Cake were great last year, our recent change in PDs has been met with very positive resident sentiment and certainly no animosity, and our chair has propelled our residency forward like a rocket over the years and continues to make huge financial and logistical improvements. Sure things can always be better, Id love more free lunch, but this program is fantastic and our fellowship matches and quality graduates are evidence of that.

I'm overall bummed you feel this way, and I hope things look more positive for you. Reach out to an upper level or one of the Chiefs, were all a family here.
 
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