As a resident here in Utah, I can say that the Program director's are definitely more geared towards picking the best personalities for the program over impressive numbers or institutions. They have also been very careful to avoid taking too many of its own graduates...which really makes for a diverse bunch, with quite a few folk heading here from the East Coast. It certainly is not considered an academic powerhouse by any means, but then again, the folks that come here really could care less. It does have most of the perks of an academic medicine residency though. For the most part, all of the departments are networked fairly well with other institutions, which is valuable when considering fellowship positions and I have yet to meet any upper levels who have failed to get a fellowship they desired. The training is good, although a bit more rigorous than conveyed on the interview trail. The critical care training is also excellent and a big selling point. We have a fair number of residents enter hospitalist positions because they are well versed in dealing with very ill patients. We see a large population of patients given that we have the largest geographical catchment area (UT, NV, ID, CO, WY, MT). Cost of living is really reasonable and the proximity to the mountains is really unrivaled by any program. Most of us are outdoors buffs...preferring to ski, hike, moutainbike, etc. The California Style La-La Meaningless of Life social scene can be found in Park City but you'd be silly to come to Utah looking for that. Of course the convenience of SLC also gives way to the disadvantage that this is the center of the Mormon Empire, which, the religious aspect aside, has all ten of its fat little conservative fingers in every media outlet, major corporation or political organization in the area. The crime of the century really (their assassins have probably tapped this computer...JK). The hospital administration is much the same and there is quite a bit of inbreeding and nepotism to go around. You can ignore it for a while, but eventually...it can get to you here and there....but I just stare at the mountains and forget about it. Overall, however, this is a good, safe place to live with a good balance of quality medical training and an abundance of recreational opportunities.
