Hi RZ, well as a disclaimer I do not know anything about Albert E but I am sure they are a wonderful program and would train you well.
In my opinion we have one of the best training programs in the country.
The staff here will teach while you are at work and then hang for a couple of drinks after work. It really is a great place to train. I am busting my ass here but it is worth it. I am learning so much and becoming a stronger resident every day. I have no doubt that I will be ready to tackle anything when I leave here. I have no desire to fool anyone into coming here. We want people who want to be here. We are hoping to match fun, smart, normal, and hard working individuals.
Just as an example of a typical day; tonight I worked a long Peds Em Shift. I saw over thirty patients along side one of the nicest attendings you will ever meet. I laughed, learned, and burned through patient after patient. Our Peds ED is a great learning environment and the pathology cant be beat. Of course I saw a ton of fever, cough, ear pain, but also a bunch of ortho, derm, trauma, neuro and other fun stuff. After my shift I drove to another attending's house and spent the night reviewing slides that she put together in review for out in-service exam. I was able to learn some material, spend time with other residents and have fun in the process. (A lot of Nintendo Wii going on in the backround) Just the other day on Thursday it was one of our 3rd year's birthday party's and 40 people showed up to help him celebrate. That's just the type of program we have here. A close group who actually like hanging out with one another.
This year at SAEM in New Orleans in May. We have 11 poster presentations, 2 moderated poster presentations, 1 oral presentation and 1 Innovations in EM presentation. Which will be at or near the top in comparison to other programs
Orlando is a great place to live and train. The weather is amazing (avg yearly temp of 72), world class wakeboarding, fishing lakes, and golf everywhere you turn. There is affordable housing and a vibrant nightlife. The Orlando metro area is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. We're 40min from the east coast beaches and 2 hours from the gulf beaches to the west. There are also a couple amusement parks here you may have heard of - and tons of cheap flights/hotel rooms for those who want to visit you.
Our adult and Peds EDs see around 110-120k a year combined, and are the only level 1 trauma center in central Fl (adult and Peds), very high acuity pt population (good payer mix, lots of old snowbirds, millions of visitors from around the world come to Orlando and quite a few get sick), we also have 5mo of ICU time.
EM's place in the hospital: The academic dean of the entire hospital system, the CFO of the hospital, the research director for the whole system, and the simulation director for the whole system are all ED attendings. You can't beat that. We are the most established residency here and are extremely well-received off service.
We have a Great mix of old an new, younger folks. Many are very well published, but most importantly every one is very approachable and eager to teach. None are necessarily famous though
quality of training: So far it's been great - very procedure heavy, great efficiency (we do almost no scut which lets you focus on seeing more pts and doing more complicated procedures).
You are taught entirely by our friendly experienced EM faculty, not residents who all love to teach. Once you get here you will see the opportunity to truly build you skill set. You will defiantly work hard in our department but you will never feel alone. I traveled to many places last year and ORMC had everything I was looking for; an outstanding reputation, academics in a community hospital with large indigent population (simulating real life). We have a supportive staff, funding for travel and research, and an unbelievable patient load because everything flows so well here. You will feel like part of the ORMC family. We hang out with our staff and they treat us like friends and colleagues Also, the great weather is a plus along with Orlando being a fairly cheap place to live.
