clexter said:
I just interviewed at UF in Gainesville. I thought that the program directors and students were very laid back and friendly. Anybody have opinions about the program? Is Gainesville a nice place to live????
Aside from the bugs, alligators, nothing to do etc...
I went to med school and did my prelim med year there. The friendliness is not an act; the medicine housestaff is very cool, as are virtually all of the faculty. You get excellent clinical training, and despite it's location, inpatient services tend to stay pretty full as it is THE major tertiary care referral center for the surrounding region. It is a benign an intern year as I can imagine in IM; long call is q4 on inpatient (days go long call-post-short call-post, etc.). You admit from 7a-7p on long, 7a-3p on short. You will typically cover night float 2 weeks per year. 4-6 weeks ICU as an intern, 4 weeks elective, 4 weeks vacation. With night float in place, you spend most nights in your own bed (or whoever's bed you want, I won't judge). You learn solid bread and butter medicine, and also see your fair share of zebras. To my recollection, every PGY-3 who applied for a fellowship last year matched.
W/r/t lifestyle questions, I thought Gainesville was a very nice place to live, and would certainly consider going back to practice (me being married with a family). Some concerns I heard from my single (especially female) colleagues were that the dating scene left much to be desired unless you did so in-house or were into 19-20 year olds. If you're coming from a big city, Gainesville WILL be a culture shock for you. But there are lots of great outdoor recreational activities, a decent cultural calendar which revolves around the university, and a reasonable amount of decent places to eat or grab a beer. College athletics is huge there, and even as a dedicated Gator-hater (FSU alum), I still appreciated a nice SEC tailgate Saturday.
If you have more specific questions, PM me and I'll be happy to address them.
