Emory EM residency program

[Panama Red]

I am interested in Emory's EM program. Could anyone, preferably a resident at this program or someone who has interviewed there, offer any info (pros/cons) and constructive criticism/critique of the program? Thanx

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[southerndoc]

Pros: Large patient population, large number of diverse faculty members, autonomy in doing a lot of procedures, training at a very busy Level I trauma center (Atlanta's only Level I), lots of research, lots of involvement in national affairs

Cons: Grady nurses (you'll be starting a lot of your IV's), you'll be transporting a lot of your patients, public hospital with funding troubles (although I doubt it will be shut down since it's the only public hospital for Dekalb and Fulton counties)

(From a former metro Atlanta paramedic who transported patients to Emory hospitals as well as interviewed there)

 

[Panama Red]

does anymore know the base salaries for EM residents ( each year) at Emory? i can't find it on their website.

 

[Squad51]

Met one of last year's graduates in a social situation. She literally BRAGGED about going to work still buzzed/hung-over from the previous night. Seemed to wear the "county" mentality ("we see so much and our patients are so poor / such scumbags, that it doesn't matter if I'm impaired. Even buzzed I'm better than anyone who trained at some ***community*** program") a bit heavy. She also all but stated that her behavior was not unusual within the program.

All of which is hilarious given the difficulties she had finding a job (according to her friends) and my personal knowledge of the deperation of the place she ended up...

 

[mikecwru]

Met one of last year's graduates in a social situation. She literally BRAGGED about going to work still buzzed/hung-over from the previous night. Seemed to wear the "county" mentality ("we see so much and our patient's are so poor / such scumbags, that it doesn't matter if I'm impaired. Even buzzed I'm better than anyone who trained at some ***community*** program") a bit heavy. She also all but stated that her behavior was not unusual within the program.

All of which is hilarious given the difficulties she had finding a job (according to her friends) and my personal knowledge of the deperation of the place she ended up...

I don't think that's condoned at the program at Emory or any other county program.

mike

 

[EctopicFetus]

I was a little bitter I didnt get an interview there but im guessing something worse happened to squad51 to be so bitter. I worked at 2 county programs (not emory) and no one EVER showed up +EtOH (at least not that I could tell). Could be that she was just a bad apple, but if they knew she was +EtOH Im guessing they would have nipped that problem in the bud.

 

[Koko]

One of our attendings trained there recently and always talks about how intense the atmosphere was and how overworked they were. But she also talks about how great the training was. She finished about 6 years ago. BTW, she's one of my favorite attendings: bright, friendly, humane, sense of humor, teaches, and goes out of her way to get students procedures.

 

[Squad51]

Look, I was very clear that this was my impression from meeting ONE person in a social (not professional) setting. I do not believe any of her behavior as described would be condoned. The haughty attitude - well I could see that being a little more representative. BUT, this person was the single most unprofessional physician I have ever met. She actually made me embarrassed to be a medical student and even more embarrassed to be heading for EM. People in the room were left with the impression (despite my protests) that the world she described was, in fact, EM (several pointed to that wonderful weekly documentary "ER" as further proof). I can't believe any program graduated such a horse's a$$, so I, for one, will not apply to Emory.

For those of you who think I have some axe to grind, I can only give you my assurances that meeting this woman is the only contact I have had with the Emory program in any fashion. But I seriously can not describe to you how disturbingly unprofessional she was.

And I have worked as an urban paramedic. I know county hospitals. But much as I have asserted that I could "handle anything" in rural EMS, I have always found that EPs wear time spent at county facilities as a badge on their sleeve. It seems to be an attitude that if you have spent time at a county hospital, you are "more than qualified" to work in ANY ED (more so than those who have "only" worked in community facilities). This was the attitude she had.

 

[monkeyarms]

no personal experience with emory, but secondhand knowledge imparted to me by two very knowledgeable and senior EM docs indicates that emory is one of the best places to train in the southeast for persons interested in trauma, peds, and a variety of fellowships they offer. there is lots of volume and lukewarm ancillary staff, so it is to be expected that those residents bust their humps. atlanta is a cool city. traffic is truly brutal at the wrong time of day, though.

 

[limabean]

I am a current PGY2 and absolutely love the program.
Pros-
The most diverse group of attendings and residents you'll find anywhere(in terms of race, sexuality, married vs. single, kids vs no kids, age and anything else you can think of)

-The ED experience is intense but you'll come out confident that you can handle anything.
-18 residents a year, this gives you alot of flexibilty. Because there are so many of us you can usually trade shifts very easily to get off for weddings,etc. Also we have had residents take maternity/medical leave without it being a huge deal because there are so many of us to spread out the extra work.
-We work hard and play hard. Our residents are know to go out and light up the town We do have a lot of fun in the city, but at least in my experience I 've never worked with anyone who came to work drunk,stoned-not sure who the other poster was referring too, but that type of behavior is not tolerated here just as it wouldn't be anywhere else.
-Our attendings our great teachers even in the busy environment of a county ED
-We get lots of unpublished time off. Although technically we get 3 weeks vacation during the year, they usually try and give us the weekends before and after(making 11 days) and you have "light" selectives(US, radiology) where you can make your own schedule
Cons
-We work very hard. It is a busy county hospital so shifts can be physically exhausting.
-Its a county hospital, things are not always as efficient as they could be(radiology, labs)
-We consistantly stay over shifts about 1 hours(or more on a bad day)
Misconceptions
-Although it is a county hospital, a lot of things have changed and we don't do as much scut as you would think. In the past year the only time I have drawn labs or started IVs was when the nurses couldn't get it(EJs, central lines). We have phlebotomy and nurses now which is a change from the past. Also the only time I have transported pts to radiology is if there are patients I'm concerned about(CVA, traumas,etc) or if its at the end of a shift and I'm trying to speed things up to avoid having to sign out results.
-The ED nurses are great. Of course there are a few bad apples or people just having a bad day, but in general they are very good(some even bring you food).

I could go on but let me know if you have specific questions. I have one more year to go and would definitely rank it first again if I could do it over.
Good luck.

 

[bigmonk]

I was very impressed by the program and would have ranked it top 3 if my fiance' didn't hate Atlanta. For me, pros.cons were...

PROS: great pt population for learning, seemed to emphasize hands on training, strong off-service rotations, Chair was extremely personable and has a great repuations in EM and public health, strength of EM dept in hospital (my friend interviewed at Emory for Ortho, and even the Ortho docs were talking highly of the EM Dept.), repulation as a program, emphasis on public health as part of program's mission (but not really sure how much a resident can do in a very tightly packed 3 yrs to study/improve public health in the community).

CONS: too many faculty...I thought it'd be hard to really get to know them well, not enough elective time, Atlanta as a city (need a car to navigate it), rumors of residents being run down (and not meeting enough residents during interview day to dispell this rumor).

I was only there for an interview so obviously take these impressions w/many grains of salt. Feel free to PM me w/any Qs.