Anyone know if they have golden weekends at UCSF? I totally missed this at my interview and a search of these forums plus their website turned up nothing.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Another issue:
UCSF pays crap.
clarifications from a resident at ucsf:
1) interns have 10 call months
2) interns have 3 weeks of vacation PLUS 10 days off between 2nd and third year plus 6 days off for xmas or new years (works out to be more than 5 weeks)
3) residents have four weeks of vacation plus 6 days off for xmas Or new years
4) there are no "golden weekends" in the traditional sense at ucsf. You do arrange your days off for the month with your team at the beginning of the month. We still have the same number of days off per month (4) as everyone else. If you really want a golden weekend, it is certainly possible to arrange that with your team prior to the month's start (i have done that a few times). Coming from an institution where golden weekends were the norm, I didn't think I would like UCSF's system initially. however, it has been great. You never know when you need a weekday to a)go to the doctor/dentist, b) take care of some personal stuff that can only happen on a weekday, or c) go for a bike ride across the golden gate bridge into marin when there aren't that many tourists. it's fantastic.
5) salaries - as the previous poster said, we get a $500/month housing stipend in addition to our base salary. So, all told, intern's salaries are around $46,000, resident's salaries are around $48,000, and R3's salaries approach $50,000.
6) this is a great place to be! if you like SF, I hope you come!
A couple of questions about UCSF that I was wondering about that maybe someone could answer:
-How has the EIP affected if at all the clinic schedule for interns+residents. Is there clinic on call days at UCSF?
-I have heard wildly varying stories about whether UCSF is a malignant medicine program. Many students from UCSF that I met on the interview trail seemed to think that UCSF was a tough place to train based on the personal interactions in the hospital and how the residents are treated. I didn't get this sense on the interview day. thoughts?
- How is the PD (Dr. Hollander). Again I've heard very different stories about how involved/supportive he is especially in regards to career development (making calls, using connections, etc).
thanks
1) They are trying to abolish on call clinics (already abolished post-call clinics). Instead we will do clinic 2x week on elective and outpt months
2) THis program is difficult but not malignant. They try hard to make it reasonable, and everyone is very nice to us. Nobody makes you feel bad for mistakes, and the culture is super supportive. Sure we work really hard, but no matter how difficult it is, we rarely work past 80 hours per week, and the float system gets you out post-call by 1pm. Many of our inpatient months are q6, which is really not bad at all. So it's reasonable. There is time for fun and social life, and most residents are happy people. We get 5 weeks of vacation, and they also set asside ski trips, retreats, dinners. The interns organize "intern happy hour" weekly. It's actually been alot of fun.
The "tough" factor may come from the variety and complexity of cases we see in the three hospitals, the difficulty of transition through the different hospitals and their unique hassles and scut load, and the expectation to do 110% for your patients. Of course this all will likely make you a more competent doctor. Our hospitals are set up like this: 1) one university based hospital w/ an open-icu...very complicated and sick pateints; 2) a superb- county hospital known for its dedication to the underserved; plus 20% of its patients have HIV, again very complicated; and 3) a VA that in addition to bread and butter serves as a tertiary care center for VA referrals from other VA's, again complicated patients.
The attendings tend to be outstanding teachers and many are graduates of our program. There is alot of autonomy in all hospitals, event the university hospital. This residency is tough but the doctors that come out of here are excellent. The teaching is outstanding, and every one is very very committed. Our residents as a whole are a dedicated and compassionate group to learn from, and that only makes you a stronger doctor. You also are learning from some of the brightest people in medicine in the country...residents include. The people matching here are "Derm caliber," but acutally are dedicated enough to endure this hellish residency because they want to be a great doctor and maybe make a difference. My co-residents are genuine good people and I'm proud to work with them. In my opinion, the most important factor in your training will be working w/ great residents as these people will be your number one influence and they will spend the most time teaching you.
3) Can't say much about Dr. Hollander's involvement in getting us fellowship since I haven't applied yet, but undoubtedly everyone gets whatever fellowship they want, and most end up where they want to go. Most everyone matches at top academic programs even in the most competetive fields (Cards/GI). We also have quite a few people turn out to choose general internal medicine or to be teaching hospitalists because our program takes pride in core internal medicine.
The program has undergone many innovations in improving education including things like "intern half day" where we turn in our pagers and get dedicated intern level and practical teaching one half-day per month. We have "Areas of distinction" which is essential a major in residency, so you can get specialized training things like medical education, international health, clincial research, and underserved medicine. Noon conference is well attended and the food is excellent (and no drug companies cator our meals either). Morning report is always well attended and our chiefs are all amazing teachers.
Sure, day to day, I gripe about my workload. It's super stressful. But when I look up at the R3's and see that nearly all of them are amazing physicians and amazing people, I know it will be worth it, coming from this place there is no doubt I will be a great doctor.
thanks, that was really helpful. couple of more questions?
how accessible are the faculty in terms of taking on residents for research (and supporting them from their grants)?
apart from getting residents fellowships, how is Dr. Hollander as a PD? Does he support and go to bat for residents in other aspects? He seemed nice, but I didn't get a chance to ask more about him.
i was really impressed with the UCSF residents. Morning report there blew away all institutions I saw on the trail, including east coast counterparts...
Is the open ICU a big deal when you're an intern or does it not have much of an effect. It's just different from everywhere else I've looked and to be honest after doing two unit months in my fourth year of medical school I can't imagine having a bunch of patients in the unit AND a whole bunch of floor patients?
My second question which my be a little bit hard to answer, but do any BWH or UCSF interns/residents or applicants have any insight on why someone might rank one over the other and whether residents are generally happier at one vs. another. I really like both programs it just seems like Brigham is a little more friendly and supportive and UCSF is a little bit more hardcore, harder call, maybe more autonomy. also, it seems like the financial constraints of being a UC might have a negative impact on resident quality of life and education. not trying to knock either program as they are obviously both amazing just looking for some insight.
Do the residents seem happy at UCSF?
You mentioned that the attendings at Brigham are unparalleled, how are the attendings at UCSF?
Also, I heard that with the open ICU, you don't get to put the lines in the patients you follow in the ICU. I think I remember hearing there is a separate service that does that. Do you feel you get good procedural experience?
Diversity is also really important to me, so I think I am going to rank them #1 regardless, but just wanted to check.
Thanks!
A question either for UCSF people or applicants. what's the deal with electronic medical record for the three hospitals? electronic order entry?