Allegheny General Hospital - Pittsburgh

[Future EM?]

Received an invite from this program, but no nothing about it or the area. Heard anything? Interviewed or rotated there before? How is Pittsburgh to live in?

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[tonem]

I don't know much about Allegheny but I do know that Pittsburgh is a surprisingly nice place to live. That being said, I'd only stay if I did EM at Pitt. (only because family is in California)

 

[PimplePopperMD]

I've heard nice things about the hospital (it is involved in the training of MCP med students), but know precious little of it first-hand... but I'll find out on my interview as well for the combined IM/EM.

The brochure they sent out seems nice enough, right?

 

[scrubedin]

Ok this is a weird question: does anyone know the song on the AGH website?
...... don't ask just answer.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

With UPMC in town (and getting bigger from what I hear) it seems like being a AGH would be a little bit like dating the hot girl's ugly sister...

Seriously, when I interviewed at Pitt they pointed out Allegheny Gen and said "there's the other program." I think the dynamic is similar to Regions/Hennepin and St Johns/Henry Ford.

 

[plasticcigar]

I interviewed at AGH and Pitt. I did not rank AGH. Enough said.

 

[GCS:3]

AGH and Pitt are completely different programs. Sure if you want to go to the big name program Pitt's good. Academics aren't for everyone, though. Allegheny does a great job training community docs. After finishing my residency at AGH I'm working at a huge ED in Seattle, and slid right into the rhythm, no problem. Academics aren't unobtainable, though, as 2 grads from my year did go to fellowship though, both at Pitt.

The AGH program is smaller, less uptight, has flight and ground EMS exposure, great attendings, and just about all your rotations in-house. We do have a PICU rotation at Children's, which Pitt only offers as an elective. Local ED's (those unaffiliated with UPMC anyway) often "prefer AGH grads because they don't require 6 months to catch up to the pace of a real ED." (Quote from a local ED Director who was himself a pitt grad)

Honestly I'd say AGH is a solid program that doesn't get as much credit as it's due exactly because Pitt is so close. If Pittsburgh were a more desirable city AGH would be a very competitive program.

 

[VFTW]

Local ED's (those unaffiliated with UPMC anyway) often "prefer AGH grads because they don't require 6 months to catch up to the pace of a real ED." (Quote from a local ED Director who was himself a pitt grad)

Give me a break. I don't mean to be rude, but sheesh. I'm sure the AGH program is just great, but I SERIOUSLY doubt that any Pittsburgh-area ED director is truly going to say that Pitt EM grads need to "learn to catch up to the pace of a real ED." Pitt residents rotate through Presby, Children's, Mercy and West Penn - which are, in order, an adult Level 1 trauma center, a pediatric Level 1 trauma center, a community hospital with Level 1 trauma and a renowned burn unit, and a smaller community hospital. I do not see how you can possibly miss out on "real ED" experience with all of that going into the mix. Mercy and West Penn are community-type places, and the residents are not leaving the Pitt program incapable of running a community ED.

I'm all for people tooting their own horns, but don't spread misinformation about the Pitt program.

 

[WallowaWanderer]

Local ED's (those unaffiliated with UPMC anyway) often "prefer AGH grads because they don't require 6 months to catch up to the pace of a real ED." (Quote from a local ED Director who was himself a pitt grad)

Yeah, I hear UPMC has all fake ED's. The same ones used in the Truman show.

Come on. When you divide the number of patients by the number of residents, UPMC sees more patients. I'm sure AGH is awesome, but I find it hard to believe that UPMC grads are less equiped to handle volume. Plus, they work in 4 different EDs and as primary caregivers in the field so they really get a broad training.

 

[GCS:3]

First off, I want to apologize, as I meant no disrespect to Pitt, which nobody can deny is one of the best EM programs out there. The main point of my post was supposed to be that AGH shouldn't be overlooked by applicants because the "big house" is so close by. There are great programs out there that get overlooked based on rural location (Geisinger) or undesirable cities (Cincy). AGH has to deal with being in a ho-hum city AND having people rather go to Pitt. Tough sell. I liked my 3 years there, anyway.

As for the "misinformation", I guess to anyone who wasn't there for the full context of the conversation with the ED director, it's just hearsay. Just thought something should be said after the "enough said" and "ugly sister" posts, since I have more than a first impression of the program.

When you divide the number of patients by the number of residents, UPMC sees more patients.

UPMC does see more patients, but they also have "clinical" docs who see patients without residents, so the math is a bit more complex than that.

 

[VFTW]

UPMC does see more patients, but they also have "clinical" docs who see patients without residents, so the math is a bit more complex than that.

No they don't. All patients in all ERs are seen by a resident unless the attending designates that patient as not needing to be seen by a resident - usually either because the patient is there for no educational reason whatsoever and they don't want to waste everyone's time with precepting (suture removal, med refill, frequent flyer) or if another resident/med student/attending is there for tx (for privacy reasons.)

 

[AmoryBlaine]

First off, I want to apologize, as I meant no disrespect to Pitt, which nobody can deny is one of the best EM programs out there. The main point of my post was supposed to be that AGH shouldn't be overlooked by applicants because the "big house" is so close by. There are great programs out there that get overlooked based on rural location (Geisinger) or undesirable cities (Cincy). AGH has to deal with being in a ho-hum city AND having people rather go to Pitt. Tough sell. I liked my 3 years there, anyway.

As for the "misinformation", I guess to anyone who wasn't there for the full context of the conversation with the ED director, it's just hearsay. Just thought something should be said after the "enough said" and "ugly sister" posts, since I have more than a first impression of the program.

UPMC does see more patients, but they also have "clinical" docs who see patients without residents, so the math is a bit more complex than that.

Apparently aside from that whole issue of needing "6 months after graduation to learn how to work in a real ED."

 

[pseudoknot]

Apparently aside from that whole issue of needing "6 months after graduation to learn how to work in a real ED."

Well, one can understand the dude getting a little worked up about defending his program after it got crapped on so much in the beginning of the thread. I think we all get the idea now.

 

[plasticcigar]

Well, one can understand the dude getting a little worked up about defending his program after it got crapped on so much in the beginning of the thread. I think we all get the idea now.

And the appropriate response is to make unsubstantiated attacks on another program? People have their opinions about AGH. They weren't right or wrong, but they were opinions.

Personally, I found the possibility of not matching more appealing than spending 3 years stuck there. That was my opinion based on the 15 places I visited. I'm sure "the dude" received good training there and is a competent emergency physician, but that doesn't mean I have to like the program and that certainly doesn't give him the right to make unsubstantiated attacks on another program.

But, of course, that's just my opinion...