How Y'all doin'?
Though I'm only a newly transplanted southerner, with my NY accent the only time I can express that phrase and make it work is in writing.. so forgive my indulgence.
I am a Osteopathic physician that graduated from NYCOM and did a traditional Osteopathic rotating internship in NY. I've lived in NY for all my life and when it was time to apply for my PM&R residency I was open to change. What greater opportunity to live in a place you've only heard about or maybe visited once or twice.
I interviewed at all of the NY programs, most of the programs on the eastern seaboard, Texas, and LSU. I should also mention that my fianc?e was also interviewing for a PM&R position.
Well, its obvious from my post title that we both landed PGY-2 positions in New Orleans. Let me tell you now why we came here and what we've experienced thus far.
In short we were drawn to LSU initially by the fantastic informational packet that was delivered to us, the friendly approach of the residency coordinator, and the prospect of living in fun and exciting New Orleans! During our interview our attraction grew stronger as we learned more about the program, residents, faculty, and city.
It is a very organized program that exposes you to a very wide range of demographics, pathology, approaches to practice, and postgraduate opportunity. The faculty are outstanding and they are actively expanding. We are taught by leaders of each of the major subspecialties.
The chairman of the dept. is a nationally well known and respected leader in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, not to mention, a very successful and wise businessmen. He is a wealth of knowledge, as a chairman should be, but what's different is that he sits down with the residents at least 2-3x per week and talks business or pleasure- our choice. He is a great person to work with and very willing to share his secrets of success with his residents.
The residency director is a very well known and highly respected EMG specialist. He was a key note speaker at the 25yr anniversary of the International EMG meeting the past year. He also has a wide base of PM&R knowledge which he is truly enthusiastic in sharing. Lately, he has given us lectures which entail literature reviews of various topics over the course of the last 20 years - excellent notes for research based learning.
Dr. Charles Aprill is also on staff. If you know about spinal injections than you must have heard of him. He's one of the founders of many interventional techniques and has written countless papers! 2-3 very lucky fellows each year are selected for a chance to learn from the interventional guru himself! He has accepted residents from outside programs in the past, but that seems to be ending. All of the slots have been filled by LSU residents for the up-coming year. This trend is expected to stay.
They have also recently hired two experienced attendings for inpatient services, one new attending for the consultation service (whom you work 1:1 - a very sharp, fun, and enthusiastic teacher)
They are also hiring an additional Interventionalist to teach.
The pathology is extraordinary. For a lot of you time you work at Charity hospital. It is the third busiest ER in the U.S. The hospital serves a very large indigent population. Patients lacking health insurance with serious medical issues (from as far away as LA, FL, AL, TX, MS) are accepted by Charity. Their misfortune gives us great opportunity in training and the chance to provide care to the most desperate of patients. It is fantastic to help these people. Unlike many patient experiences I encountered in NYC urban areas, most of these patients are truly grateful and provide their thanks and respect to the doctors.
The other major facilities we rotate though are the VA, Ochsner, and Touro hospitals. Touro is a well recognized private facility that has an extensive inpatient rehab unit. The staff is very professional. When I came on the unit each day I would be greeted, "Good morning Doctor, here is the patient list for today." The patient population is quite diffferent in Touro. These patients typically are either wealthy, well connected, have great insurance, or all three. The facility provides top-notch care with its extensive recources. In all, the facilities and various patient populations provide a well balanced experience. A LSU PM&R resident is required to complete 12-14 months of inpatient rotations, and the rest is outpatient. Also, there is no major traveling involved, the most you have to go between facilities is 15-20 min.
Didactics- Every Tuesday from 5-6 pm, we alternate each month with lectures on physical exam, journal club, EMG, and gross anatomy disection. Fridays 12-1 lunch is provided; 1-5 pm we have lectures, usually guest lecturers come. The lectures are scheduled months in advance and the residents have a lot of input into this process as they belong to the PM&R education committee.
Call is from home if you have it. So far this year, one person has had to go into the hospital at night once-that's it...you'll see no bags under my eyes unless its the weekend and I'm partying down in the French quarter! New Orleans is a very interesting city that is rich in culture that's quite unique. I won't kid you, there are some rough spots, but they are well localized. There is just so much to do...and that's coming from a jaded New Yorker!
Well I'm proud to be in New Orleans doing a PM&R residency at LSU. We are a very happy bunch (about 25) of residents. I hope this was helpful to those who are interested.
Though I'm only a newly transplanted southerner, with my NY accent the only time I can express that phrase and make it work is in writing.. so forgive my indulgence.
I am a Osteopathic physician that graduated from NYCOM and did a traditional Osteopathic rotating internship in NY. I've lived in NY for all my life and when it was time to apply for my PM&R residency I was open to change. What greater opportunity to live in a place you've only heard about or maybe visited once or twice.
I interviewed at all of the NY programs, most of the programs on the eastern seaboard, Texas, and LSU. I should also mention that my fianc?e was also interviewing for a PM&R position.
Well, its obvious from my post title that we both landed PGY-2 positions in New Orleans. Let me tell you now why we came here and what we've experienced thus far.
In short we were drawn to LSU initially by the fantastic informational packet that was delivered to us, the friendly approach of the residency coordinator, and the prospect of living in fun and exciting New Orleans! During our interview our attraction grew stronger as we learned more about the program, residents, faculty, and city.
It is a very organized program that exposes you to a very wide range of demographics, pathology, approaches to practice, and postgraduate opportunity. The faculty are outstanding and they are actively expanding. We are taught by leaders of each of the major subspecialties.
The chairman of the dept. is a nationally well known and respected leader in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, not to mention, a very successful and wise businessmen. He is a wealth of knowledge, as a chairman should be, but what's different is that he sits down with the residents at least 2-3x per week and talks business or pleasure- our choice. He is a great person to work with and very willing to share his secrets of success with his residents.
The residency director is a very well known and highly respected EMG specialist. He was a key note speaker at the 25yr anniversary of the International EMG meeting the past year. He also has a wide base of PM&R knowledge which he is truly enthusiastic in sharing. Lately, he has given us lectures which entail literature reviews of various topics over the course of the last 20 years - excellent notes for research based learning.
Dr. Charles Aprill is also on staff. If you know about spinal injections than you must have heard of him. He's one of the founders of many interventional techniques and has written countless papers! 2-3 very lucky fellows each year are selected for a chance to learn from the interventional guru himself! He has accepted residents from outside programs in the past, but that seems to be ending. All of the slots have been filled by LSU residents for the up-coming year. This trend is expected to stay.
They have also recently hired two experienced attendings for inpatient services, one new attending for the consultation service (whom you work 1:1 - a very sharp, fun, and enthusiastic teacher)
They are also hiring an additional Interventionalist to teach.
The pathology is extraordinary. For a lot of you time you work at Charity hospital. It is the third busiest ER in the U.S. The hospital serves a very large indigent population. Patients lacking health insurance with serious medical issues (from as far away as LA, FL, AL, TX, MS) are accepted by Charity. Their misfortune gives us great opportunity in training and the chance to provide care to the most desperate of patients. It is fantastic to help these people. Unlike many patient experiences I encountered in NYC urban areas, most of these patients are truly grateful and provide their thanks and respect to the doctors.
The other major facilities we rotate though are the VA, Ochsner, and Touro hospitals. Touro is a well recognized private facility that has an extensive inpatient rehab unit. The staff is very professional. When I came on the unit each day I would be greeted, "Good morning Doctor, here is the patient list for today." The patient population is quite diffferent in Touro. These patients typically are either wealthy, well connected, have great insurance, or all three. The facility provides top-notch care with its extensive recources. In all, the facilities and various patient populations provide a well balanced experience. A LSU PM&R resident is required to complete 12-14 months of inpatient rotations, and the rest is outpatient. Also, there is no major traveling involved, the most you have to go between facilities is 15-20 min.
Didactics- Every Tuesday from 5-6 pm, we alternate each month with lectures on physical exam, journal club, EMG, and gross anatomy disection. Fridays 12-1 lunch is provided; 1-5 pm we have lectures, usually guest lecturers come. The lectures are scheduled months in advance and the residents have a lot of input into this process as they belong to the PM&R education committee.
Call is from home if you have it. So far this year, one person has had to go into the hospital at night once-that's it...you'll see no bags under my eyes unless its the weekend and I'm partying down in the French quarter! New Orleans is a very interesting city that is rich in culture that's quite unique. I won't kid you, there are some rough spots, but they are well localized. There is just so much to do...and that's coming from a jaded New Yorker!
Well I'm proud to be in New Orleans doing a PM&R residency at LSU. We are a very happy bunch (about 25) of residents. I hope this was helpful to those who are interested.
