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*Recently posted in another thread*
I'm currently a prelim at LSU-Shreveport. The program is pretty benign and I would recommend it to others as long as they feel they'll fit with the town of Shreveport-Bossier.
Residents: A mix of local LSU-S grads and FMGs. Not many categorical American grads from outside facilities (I'm here as an ophtho prelim). A tight knit group of good people. Majority of the FMGs are Indian, but also some Carribean grad Americans and some from other countries (Pakistan, China). Very competent.
Hours: The program is very aware of the hours their residents work. Looking back at my hour log, I usually work high 60-low 70 hours/week. One outlier of 100 hours, and only 3 total weeks over 80 hours in 6m. The outlier came from a week when I had 2 calls in the same week and I had no day off while at the VA.
Call: We cover LSU-S and a VAMC. Call for ward months is q5d in LSU-S and q4d in VA. The teams are usually 1 attending, 1 resident, 2 interns, and a PA. Medical students rotate with us also, but are not always there. The teams are capped at 24 patients. On call we can admit a total of 10 before calling in the night float, although only 6 go to the primary team and then are allocated on a rotating basis to the other team. Daytime admits are usually handled by the resident, but this is not a hard rule. Interns will admit 3-4 patients on call and are responsible for all routine patient issues overnight.
Schedule: My schedule is 7 ward months (6 with call, 1 with 1w of night float). Prelims do not rotate in the MICU unless they wish, but I think categoricals do 1 month. The remainder of my schedule is 3m of electives (chosen by me), 1m of ER, and a month of PCC (outpatient primary care). We have a continuity clinic that we are scheduled for 4h/week.
Faculty: Faculty for the most part is friendly and approachable, but as with any program there are some characters that could never survive outside of academics. Most teams are staffed by subspecialists rotating through wards. Dr Slay (PD) actively works to make the program better. I believe a few years ago there were some ACGME violations, but no problems now and I'm not really sure what they were.
Didactics: 2 hours per day. Morning report weekdays from 8-9am. A team presents a case and the residents work though it with the assistance of staff. Interactive format with high yield info usually. Noon conference weekdays is more like the traditional lecture. Each month focuses on a subject (general, geriatrics, heme/onc, etc.). I have found these lectures to be mixed. Some are great, while others are a bit over my head and research heavy. We have journal club once a month at local restaurants. Grand rounds on Tuesdays in place of noon conference.
Area: Shreveport-Bossier are a pair of cities that split the Red River in NW Louisiana. I'm guessing the area has ~500K people. Located in a region known as the ArkLaTex, Shreveport seems more like Texas than the stereotypical Louisiana to me. Shreveport is a shipping crossroadsfor trucking and rail, where I-20 and I-49 meet. The largest industry in the town is gambling, with some riverboat casinos on the Red River. There is also a large GMC plant nearby, some oil refineries, and some telecomm companies. The casinos are a double-edged sword, as they bring in revenue and entertainment to the community, but also breed poverty and crime.
Shreveport is roughly 50/50 White/Black, Bossier is ~80/20 W/B. The majority of the population seen are poor black patients. Crime is somewhat high in Shreveport, but seems to occur in only a few areas which are easy to avoid. Housing seems very affordable after having lived in Florida. I bought a home built in 1999 in a gated community, 1600 sf 3/2 with fireplace on a 1/2 acre with a dock and bayou in the back for 168K.
Overall: I would recommend this program to anyone with ties to the area or those looking for a benign prelim year. Pay is in line with other programs (40.5K PGY-1). One perk I just remembered is that we receive $250/month for food on our hospital badges. There is a small rudimentary gym in the basement for med students and residents.
Feel free to PM me if more info wanted.
I'm currently a prelim at LSU-Shreveport. The program is pretty benign and I would recommend it to others as long as they feel they'll fit with the town of Shreveport-Bossier.
Residents: A mix of local LSU-S grads and FMGs. Not many categorical American grads from outside facilities (I'm here as an ophtho prelim). A tight knit group of good people. Majority of the FMGs are Indian, but also some Carribean grad Americans and some from other countries (Pakistan, China). Very competent.
Hours: The program is very aware of the hours their residents work. Looking back at my hour log, I usually work high 60-low 70 hours/week. One outlier of 100 hours, and only 3 total weeks over 80 hours in 6m. The outlier came from a week when I had 2 calls in the same week and I had no day off while at the VA.
Call: We cover LSU-S and a VAMC. Call for ward months is q5d in LSU-S and q4d in VA. The teams are usually 1 attending, 1 resident, 2 interns, and a PA. Medical students rotate with us also, but are not always there. The teams are capped at 24 patients. On call we can admit a total of 10 before calling in the night float, although only 6 go to the primary team and then are allocated on a rotating basis to the other team. Daytime admits are usually handled by the resident, but this is not a hard rule. Interns will admit 3-4 patients on call and are responsible for all routine patient issues overnight.
Schedule: My schedule is 7 ward months (6 with call, 1 with 1w of night float). Prelims do not rotate in the MICU unless they wish, but I think categoricals do 1 month. The remainder of my schedule is 3m of electives (chosen by me), 1m of ER, and a month of PCC (outpatient primary care). We have a continuity clinic that we are scheduled for 4h/week.
Faculty: Faculty for the most part is friendly and approachable, but as with any program there are some characters that could never survive outside of academics. Most teams are staffed by subspecialists rotating through wards. Dr Slay (PD) actively works to make the program better. I believe a few years ago there were some ACGME violations, but no problems now and I'm not really sure what they were.
Didactics: 2 hours per day. Morning report weekdays from 8-9am. A team presents a case and the residents work though it with the assistance of staff. Interactive format with high yield info usually. Noon conference weekdays is more like the traditional lecture. Each month focuses on a subject (general, geriatrics, heme/onc, etc.). I have found these lectures to be mixed. Some are great, while others are a bit over my head and research heavy. We have journal club once a month at local restaurants. Grand rounds on Tuesdays in place of noon conference.
Area: Shreveport-Bossier are a pair of cities that split the Red River in NW Louisiana. I'm guessing the area has ~500K people. Located in a region known as the ArkLaTex, Shreveport seems more like Texas than the stereotypical Louisiana to me. Shreveport is a shipping crossroadsfor trucking and rail, where I-20 and I-49 meet. The largest industry in the town is gambling, with some riverboat casinos on the Red River. There is also a large GMC plant nearby, some oil refineries, and some telecomm companies. The casinos are a double-edged sword, as they bring in revenue and entertainment to the community, but also breed poverty and crime.
Shreveport is roughly 50/50 White/Black, Bossier is ~80/20 W/B. The majority of the population seen are poor black patients. Crime is somewhat high in Shreveport, but seems to occur in only a few areas which are easy to avoid. Housing seems very affordable after having lived in Florida. I bought a home built in 1999 in a gated community, 1600 sf 3/2 with fireplace on a 1/2 acre with a dock and bayou in the back for 168K.
Overall: I would recommend this program to anyone with ties to the area or those looking for a benign prelim year. Pay is in line with other programs (40.5K PGY-1). One perk I just remembered is that we receive $250/month for food on our hospital badges. There is a small rudimentary gym in the basement for med students and residents.
Feel free to PM me if more info wanted.
