How long till you're golden?

[DireWolf]

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This question is for anesthesia residents and attendings. About how many years does it take before you feel confident about every case you do? In other words, how long before you can go to work everyday without any reading or studying and feel comfortable with almost every case you're going to encounter? (not including the very rare cases where no amount of preparation can adequately prepare you)

I've heard the first year of residency is a killer- but the second and third years are much better. And that by the second year of private practice, you can pretty much put it on cruise control. (again not including the occasional trainwreck case)

Any other thoughts?

 

[UTSouthwestern]

Depends on the program. I felt confident by my 4th month because at Parkland, you see everything early and often except for liver transplants. Some of my friends at smaller programs still don't feel comfortable with many types of cases and they all have jobs awaiting them at the end of the year.

 

[Heathcliff]

I just read the comments about your program on FREIDA:

"Diverse clinical experience at associated hospitals with one of the nation's largest trauma centers and in excess of 15,000 deliveries per year. Also, Dallas is the largest city in the country with only one anesthesiology training program."

Geez Louise!!! Do you have time to read as much as you want? Do you NEED to read as much as you want?!! I had no idea UT-Southwestern had it going on like that!

Under Major Medical Benefits, everything said "Resident shares cost." How much of an impact does this have on your salary? I'm curious, since some programs have everything "Paid by institution."

 

[UTSouthwestern]

That info needs updating. It is now 19,000 deliveries per year by our own census. We have plenty of time to read because we have plenty of residents. We have enough CRNA's to cover the eye rooms, basic ortho stuff, etc, so that the residents get their pick of the more challenging cases.

By the end of your first year here, you will have done almost all types of major cases except liver transplants. The next two years allow you to focus on each discipline in a more organized fashion, but at Parkland in the first year, you will see everything and it will put hair on your chest for the next two years. I would also add that our pain service just added another respected professor from Emory to pair along with Leland Lou from the world renowned pain center at Texas Tech.

The impact on your salary in terms of the benefits stuff is minimal. I have a family and I don't have to moonlight to make ends meet and our health insurance, life insurance, etc. are exceptional. My son was hospitalized last year and the $25,000 bill was completely covered and we live in a high rise apartment with a downtown view. When they say that we share in the benefits stuff, its little stuff like $30 for parking and others expenses. If the salary isn't enough, you can moonlight where most of the time you are expected to just be available for emergency airway calls or to do spinals for weekend tubal ligations that take less than 30 minutes per case.

 

[Apollyon]

Originally posted by UTSouthwestern
That info needs updating. It is now 19,000 deliveries per year by our own census.

The 15000 was also in Williams Obstetrics; 19K deliveries per year is 52/day, every day - if even only 1/4 are C-sections, that's one every 2 hours. That's more than enough to keep the wheels turning for gas residents.

Gotta tell my buddies here on the east coast about that (one at Tufts, one at Yale)!