Everything you wanted to know about Denver . . .

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BillNye

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I?m starting a new topic on the Denver program because I feel that this post deserves a new thread (not arrogant, just took me a really long time to write it!)


As a Denver EM resident, I feel that I can give an honest opinion of my residency program. First, the facts (with some opinions):

Denver is technically a 2-4 program but you are required to do your intern year at the University of Colorado/Denver Health Medical Center. This is new to our program. The PGY-2 class was the first to do this new ?required? intern year and, since that time, sweeping changes have occurred to balance medicine/surgery rotations (and add electives). This required intern year was set up to make our residency more intimate?we see and work with our interns every day. In addition, this improves the relationship between our residents and the other services as they work together for an entire year before permanently moving into the ED. No need to worry about having to ?suffer? here all four years due to the world class mountain biking, skiing (10 major resorts within 90 minutes of the hospital), snowshoeing, CC skiing, kayaking, hiking ,and camping (and the >300 sunny days per year).
We rotate through 4 hospitals: Denver Health Medical Center (the ?famous? knife and gun club), University of Colorado Hospital (large tertiary care hospital?i.e. CP s/p heart-lung transplant and ?Oh yeah, I have lupus?), St. Joe?s Hospital (nice private hospital), and Denver Children?s Hospital (major peds hospital). In the future we will probably rotate through the ?new? Univ. of Colorado Hospital that they are building. As you can see, we get a broad range of experience at different types of hospitals with little hassle (the hospitals are ~15 minutes from each other).
Program is setup in increasing responsibility each year. As a PGY-2, you are a junior resident everywhere (less serious trauma, lots of EM CP, abdominal pain at DHMC and everything at the University). As a PGY-3, you are the senior resident at the University (you run the department) and take the severe trauma, medial arrests, etc. at DHMC and cover the Children?s ED. As a senior, the schedule is very nice?senior resident at DHMC (answer the paramedic phone, run the department, responsible for all of the medical student?s patients, help the junior residents), no University time, electives, toxicology, research, and a bunch of other stuff. Even with all of this responsibility, you have a faculty members in the ED as backup at all times. The highlight of the program is that you have AMAZING autonomy?patients are discharged from the ED by residents regularly (even as a PGY-2). That being said, the attendings are always happy to help, consult, teach, etc whenever they are asked by the residents.
Conferences are Wednesday mornings 8-12. Excellent conferences (I actually want to attend). The number of residents/year has recently been expanded (took a few outside of the match last year
to make up the difference, mostly who have already wholly completed peds, medicine, and OB/Gyn residencies or switched from surgery, etc.). This makes for some interesting phone calls when a medicine ?attending? (one of our residents who has finished an entire medicine residency) calls a junior medicine resident for an admission. Relationships between all of the departments is good to excellent. Nurses/techs are great. You do not have to do your own IVs, transport to rads, EKGs, etc. Schedule is typically 6 eight hour shifts then two days off.

My opinions:

You can probably tell that I think very highly of this program. I can?t believe that you will be better prepared at any other place. You have group of exceptionally bright, responsible, active, hardworking people running EDs with tons of pathology. The key words are ?hardworking? and responsible. We work hard (although our shifts are only 8 hours long). In addition to clinical duties, we have to run the weekly M &M, lecture to med students, teach splint/suture labs, got to ?mock? malpractice trials for practice, give resident lectures at conference, teach at ?your? firehouse, and do weekly homework on relavent topics. This is all accomplished with the ~39 residents we have. I have friends at other EM programs and, by and large, their shifts and extracurriculars are easier (i.e. less patients per hour, less beds they are responsible for, etc) although there are notable exceptions. The responsibility aspect can be overwhelming at first?your patients as early as your PGY-2 are really your patients. You can ask questions, review cases, etc with the attendings whenever you want but those patients are truly yours! I don?t have room to mention other stuff like ultrasound (you will do a couple hundred even as a PGY-2), international electives, alumni opportunities, regional conferences, attendings, etc. When you finish here you will be prepared to work anywhere in the country under any conditions (we say that when you finish at Denver Health you are ?bulletproof?). At Denver we work hard and play very hard. Send me a PM if you have any questions about the program.

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