I'm a virgin please be gentle and help

[ms.beth]

Okay- so hopefully I got your attention. This is my first post.

Please help me out now.....opinions (good and bad) and ranking of .....Emory, UF, Duke, USF, Yale, Allegheny, EVMS, UCONN.

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[waterski232002]

You should give more information about what you are looking for in a program...

 

[ms.beth]

You should give more information about what you are looking for in a program...

thanks for the advice:

I know I will get good training anywhere. But specifically I have heard ?
??things about Duke and Yale. Not sure if they are valid. (under umbrella of powerful programs in hospital limiting EM growth);

I want to come out prepared for anything but not at the sacrifice of quasi-academics which has seemed an issue at emory, uf. BUT at the same time I dont want to be in a complete think tank.

I want to have a life outside of residency (is balanced shifts, off service rotations)

I want a non-threatening learning environment where faculty isn't domineering but there to help you out in a cooperative manner.

I want a PD who is truly an advocate for residents..not just on interview day.

Social issues are of concern as well. I dont need a huge city just a fun one with normal people around. (young professionals). Fun outdoor things to do is a must.

It is tough to assess programs b/c we know they are on their best behavior. I was wondering if people had thoughts be them good or bad about any of the places mentioned.

 

[jonahhelix]

Hi Beth,

Thank you for your great answer to my post. I really appreciate the input and your advice helps a lot.

Unfortunately, I did not apply to any of your programs. Strange. It's probably that I was looking to head out of the SE.

That being said, I would worry about Duke for the type of learning environment you are seeking. While the PD is cool and your department months may be pleasant, my friends training in Med, Peds, Surg at Duke are generally treated poorly. Maybe my info is limited to a small cross-section, but that's the only input I can offer. I think for me it would depend on how many and what off service rotations there are...

Sorry I can't be more helpful!

 

[roja]

Wow, sorry, I didn't apply to any of these programs. I have only heard 3rd hand informationa bout yale, also that your concern of weak program under strong medicine has some validity.

I have also heard that New Haven isn't hte most pleasant of places to live. But that's about it. I really have no context. I ended up cancelling myinterview there.

Best of luck.

 

[placebo_B12]

Here's my 2 cents

1. Emory
2. UF
3. USF
After that.. I'm not sure... Yale is a tad malignant, and faculty are hard-core (at least that was my impression from my interview there). I think Emory is a great program with very sick patients. Atlanta is also a fun city. U Florida would be my next choice based on city and solid training.

I think Duke is too young of a program, and the hospital is definitely not as "open-minded" about things, particularly EM. Don't know anything about the other programs.

 

[ms.beth]

B12....
Thanks so much! Those are exactly the type of personal opinions I am looking for....everyone else please follow if you have a few minutes....just a one liner on some of these places. THANKS A TON!!

If you don't want to offend anyone in the forum who may be affiliated with these programs....PM me please. I really am torn here.

 

[Doczilla]

Allegheny is discussed in another thread in an excellent post by one of their residents.

As far as EVMS is concerned, it has what you seem to be looking for.
8 hour shifts
4 different hospitals to work. While this is a drawback for some, you get a good mix private attendings and academic services. You will have practice at dealing with a range of environments from the academic level I to the small community hospital. I don't know if that would be a plus or a minus for you.
Top 10 program in terms of number of papers published- academics are important, but it's not "publish or perish"
Mock board exams, weekly practice questions from Tintinalli. Close academic attention from the PD. Teaching rounds at the beginning of each shift (3x/day).
Off service rotations quite good. Medicine is a very good teaching service. Many speak well of trauma despite the usual gruelling hours. PICU is very well-received. Overall non-malignant rotations.
PD is very supportive of residents, knows them well, stands up for them whenever needed
AWESOME faculty... supportive, take the time to teach. Many go by first names with the residents. This is probably the best aspect of the program
GREAT residents- very cool, laid back but enthusiastic about being at the program. Good mix of married and single.

Outdoor stuff- Hey, you're at the beach. Downtown Norfolk is getting better every day in terms of new restaurants opening and stuff to do. Colonial Williamsburg (1 hr), Yorktown (1 hr), and the Outer Banks (1.5 hrs) are an easy drive from downtown. 4 hours from the mountains, 4 hours from DC if you're itching for more.

I am very conflicted right now about my top program, but this one is definitely top 3.


'zilla

 

[spyderdoc]

I am a grad from Yale's program. I can't speak about how it is doing at this time since there have been some big changes there.... A new PD, Dept Chair have taken over and it seems that it is a good move for the program. There is strong EMS and U/S training, as well as trauma/surg, medicine and peds....
The medicine dept at YNHH is top notch and you will get great training on your month of ward medicine, and during your unit roations....Noon lectures and bedside teaching are very educational.
Graduates from my class went on to teach in big name programs, such as Duke and Harvard...As far as preparedness, we all passed boards and got good jobs. I chose to stay in commumity practice, and I was very well prepared for the real world. I have no major complaints about how the program has progressed...
New Haven is a great little town with amazing food within walking distance to the hospital. I lived in downtown on Chapel St and walked to work everyday. As long as you stay in the little "corridor" between the hospital and the University, you are pretty safe.
As far as social stuff, there are tons of new clubs sprouting up in New Haven and there are several colleges and universities in the area, so there is plenty of night life....
Did I mention the food? BAR Pizza is hand down the best pizza on this planet. Pepe's and Sally's Pizza are world famous and always featured on the food network...The little roach coaches (esp the burrito cart and the "no greasy, no oily" cart) are mainstays of your residency diet....
Well, hope this helps a little.
Remember, more than anything, pick the program in the area that you want to live in for a few years. Otherwise, you will be miserable, no matter how stellar the program itself is!
Mark

 

[beanbean]

I can't give you a resident's perspective, but I am an MSII at UCONN and have spent about 160 hours in the ED during two EM electives. I am currently doing some EM research as well.

The residents and attendings I have worked with have been excellent - really a fun bunch of people! There seems to be very good relationships between residents and attendings. UCONN and Hartford Hospital EDs are quite different from each other - different demographics, Hartford is Level I and urban, Uconn is suburban and smaller. No peds at Hartford except for activated traumas, but you rotate through CCMC for all peds and nothing but peds!

I have lived in the Hartford area most of my life, so PM me if you have any questions about the area. Hartford is not really a bustling mecca of social activities, but things are looking up a bit. The suburbs are great (esp. if you are married and/or have kids) and the traffic isn't too bad. Being 2 hrs from Boston or NYC is nice and the beach or ski slopes are less than an hour.

 

[Creamfly]

Did I mention the food? BAR Pizza is hand down the best pizza on this planet.
Mark

I have no idea about any of the residencies (alas I'm only an MSI) but I agree with the above 100%. Best pizza I've ever had.

 

[thierryh]

I interviewed at a few of these places (albeit 2 years ago) so here's my take....
EVMS - Went to medical school there. Loved the program. Loved the environment (surfed days with waves before class) and the city really is improving by the week (need to go back and see what they've done in the last year). PD is great. Residents have fun and go out a lot. It is a Navy town so not the best for single guys. Traumas, at least when I was there, were run by the surgery department. That would be the big weakness in my opinion but you do rotate through the trauma service.
UF - Rotated there as a student. Didn't rank the program. That was probably just me though. The big negatives I saw were the lack of attending presence, the endless rounds at chift change, and just didn't love the city. They were aware of all these things and were looking to change them (except for the city part but hey, they just hosted the Superbowl so maybe some things have been done in the meantime). Just shows how important spending a month somewhere can be because I'm not sure if I would have noticed some of the things that didn't fit with me during an interview visit.
Duke - Interviewed there the year they didn't match anyone and could see why. I hear it has gotten MUCH better though so definitely take a look. Not sure if they've expanded the ED or not but it was super-cramped. You could tell the place was just getting on its feet (they only had one class, I think brought in outside the match). Plus I've always harbored a hatred for their basketball team.
Emory - I really liked. Super-county style (and I'm at a county-style program now). Their chairman is a big name who sits on the IOM or something. Liked all the attending and residents I met. Shifts definitely seemed like battlefield triage (they had this huge room near the ambulance bay filled with stretchers, ready for hallway action). They also had a room with barbershop style chairs for COPD/RAD patients that was kind of interesting. Atlanta is getting too spread out with the traffic that comes with long commutes but it is still the Manhattan of the South.
Hope this helps. Check them all out if you haven't already (especially florida and duke because I'm sure they've changed a lot).
-T

 

[ms.beth]

Everyone....thanks a ton you are helping a great deal!!!!!!!

PLEASE keep your ideas rolling in.....I appreciate it.....and love banannas!

 

[Sessamoid]

Did I mention the food? BAR Pizza is hand down the best pizza on this planet.
Mark

Mind you, I haven't yet taken him to Bravo Pizzeria on Main St. in Santa Monica, so that opinion may be subject to change.

 

[anonymousEM]

I'm a resident at UF now and I can say that I am really happy. Not only did some of our residents get to be inside the staduim at the SuperBowl but the learning environment is pretty good for the self motivated. Now, no one's gonna tell you to read pages 1-100 of tintinalli for the test this week etc, but the bedside is where most of our teaching occurs. I'll give you that some days rounds can feel endless but it's only 3 times a day at signover in the "icu" area of the ED. Most of the attendings review relevant boardtype questions as we sign out the patients, the teaching is usually highyield. Procedures, i've stopped counting. Interns are THE first for all ED airways. ED shares running the traumas with Surg, but of the 4 days of the week trauma is running it about 35% of those are an ER senior rotating on TICU. Attendings are always in the dept now with double the coverage from when I started. Residents still supervise each other but with the attendings involved as well. Our patients are SICK and it provides opportunities for lots of procedures and critical care. The hospital's not fancy but the ancillary staff is remarkable and we have plenty of toys like ultrasounds and difficult airway supplies. Even our own fiberoptic scopes...Plus there's the beach. I'd make this choice again.

 

[southerndoc]

I am a grad from Yale's program. I can't speak about how it is doing at this time since there have been some big changes there.... A new PD, Dept Chair have taken over and it seems that it is a good move for the program. There is strong EMS and U/S training, as well as trauma/surg, medicine and peds....

Gail D'onofrio (the new chair) has big visions for the program... achieving department status, building a new ED, and most important of all, making the residency one of the premier residencies in the country. She's very serious about the residency, which is more than what I had heard about the previous chair. The new program director is AWESOME. Laura Bontempo from the Brigham. The former PD (Scott Jolin) is heading up a new simulation medicine lab, where residents will spend time on simulated cases, codes, etc.

I agree that ultrasound and EMS are very strong aspects of the program, as are critical care and international health opportunities. I disagree about peds being a strong part of the program. Our peds inpatient month is done at Bridgeport and is so-so. Pediatric ED isn't set up to my liking (we do dedicated months instead of rotating a couple shifts each ED month). I would rather have exposures throughout the year as opposed to dedicated peds ED months. I hear the pediatric ED experience is awesome, but as interns we do not spend time there.

Trauma is o'kay. What is considered trauma here is nothing like what is considered trauma where I went to medical school. Many patients are made modified traumas or full traumas based on a very, very conservative mechanism system instead of based on physiologic variables. Too many patients are CT'd, but of course I'm tainted in my vision of this since the trauma service has an ongoing study evaluating CT's in trauma patients.

The medicine dept at YNHH is top notch and you will get great training on your month of ward medicine, and during your unit roations....Noon lectures and bedside teaching are very educational.

Medicine is even better now... it's a day admit service under hospitalist attendings... meaning... NO CALL!