Penn state residency program

[creek]

anyone work in Penn state or interviewed there before? any insights will be appreciated...interviewing in 2 weeks. Thanks!

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[Gern Blansten]

 

[michigangirl]

ah, GB. very nice ;-)

 

[loveumms]

I was a resident there and have stayed on as staff (just finished residency last year).

I think the program is great. Our program directors really care about the residents and are constantly trying to make it a better place. The chair values education and makes it a priority. There is emphasis on research and making the residents become consultant anesthesiologists. Most importantly, I was well trained and feel comfortable doing almost any cases. We take care of very sick patients. Central PA has a very obese population so airway training is top notch. In talking with all my fellow graduates, everyone feels very confident and capable and we had a mix of people going into PP/academics/fellowship.

On average, I worked 60 hours a week. On some rotations, I worked more, on others less. If you want to be relieved by CRNAs at 3pm every day, this is not your program! On average I worked 630-5pm three days a week. One day I would get out by 2 and another I would be there until 730-8. The call system is very fair. I feel like I was valued and respected by both the attendings and other services. The relationship with the surgery department is collegial and I learned a lot from my surgical colleagues.

The four year program is fantastic. It's well thought out and executed. When rotating off service you are still a member of the department of anesthesia and are treated as such.

I can't say enough great things about the program and I'm very glad I graduated from there. Residency is tough and there were certainly days that I would not sing the praises of the program. That is human nature and to be expected anywhere. Overall, I was a happy resident (well, for the most part). I felt like I had plenty of time to do outside activities and I made some life long friends.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me. I'm on the admissions committee and consider myself a very honest person. I want people to know what they are getting if they decide to rank our program high.

 

[imfrankie]

Can the faculty get protected academic time for those interested in developing into research academicians? Are you folks still recruiting? How's the program for faculty?

 

[CrazyJake]

Had some PSU experiences once upon a time and walked away not impressed.

Residents were not happy b/c they were working all the time. I think they have a good caseload and mix, but from my experiences after 2 or 3 pm you become the workhorse. Most residents left after 6pm...often much later. The guy who did my tour told me he couldn't remember the last weekend he had been off...looked beat. Residents didn't seem to hangout much or even know each other well. A med student from PSU that I got to know well also didn't have a lot of good to say about the program. They seemed to have an active med school anesthesia program...but as I remember few stayed for residency. A lot of DO's and FMG's. No issues with DO's, ours are great...but seemed odd that a 'top notch' program would need tons of DO's and especially international applicants. They all complained about the 4 yr program which spreads your internship over 2 yrs.

Hershey is a nice small town, but it's small, family oriented, safe, expensive....it's not a city. I love chocolate.

Routinely 'ranked' here as a mid tier program.

My experiences are from a few years back, maybe it's better now???

Cj

 

[loveumms]

Had some PSU experiences once upon a time and walked away not impressed.

Residents were not happy b/c they were working all the time. I think they have a good caseload and mix, but from my experiences after 2 or 3 pm you become the workhorse. Most residents left after 6pm...often much later. The guy who did my tour told me he couldn't remember the last weekend he had been off...looked beat. Residents didn't seem to hangout much or even know each other well. A med student from PSU that I got to know well also didn't have a lot of good to say about the program. They seemed to have an active med school anesthesia program...but as I remember few stayed for residency. A lot of DO's and FMG's. No issues with DO's, ours are great...but seemed odd that a 'top notch' program would need tons of DO's and especially international applicants. They all complained about the 4 yr program which spreads your internship over 2 yrs.

Hershey is a nice small town, but it's small, family oriented, safe, expensive....it's not a city. I love chocolate.

Routinely 'ranked' here as a mid tier program.

My experiences are from a few years back, maybe it's better now???

Cj

It's really sad that people look at DO and FMGs as not as good doctors. My co-chief (who is a brilliant anesthesiologist and person in general) was an FMG. I sure am glad I got to work with him than some "american" MD who thinks they are better than everyone else - thats for sure. I'm an american MD from a top 20 medical school and would never think that DOs or FMGs are any less doctors than myself. I just happened to be lucky enough to get into a US med school. It doesn't mean that my training was any better. In fact, I wish I would have went to a DO school. I think they are better trained clinicians.

There were certainly some residents who were unhappy with the program a few years ago. I'll be honest, there are some unhappy residents now. That is b/c any time you get 70+ people together, there are going to be some pessimists. Thats true of any program.

Yes, the residents are the "work horse" in terms of we outnumber the CRNAs. I'm cool with that b/c I got to do many amazing cases. I look at it like this - residency is a one time shot to learn what you need to know on someone elses dime. I would have felt jipped if I got out of the OR at 2 or 3pm every day. Like I said in my post, my average was 60 hours a week. Nothing I can complain about. I felt like I got plenty of time to study and do normal people things. I actually was pregnant during our hardest year (which happens to be the CA-2 year) and feel just fine.

Also true that we have not had any medical students stay last year. However, we did have three residents stay on as staff - something that I thinks more of a program.

 

[loveumms]

Can the faculty get protected academic time for those interested in developing into research academicians? Are you folks still recruiting? How's the program for faculty?

Yes, faculty get protected research time. Dr. Mets (our chair) is big into research and is very happy to help faculty in any way he can.

I believe we are still recruiting.

I think the program is fantastic for faculty. I'm very, very happy with the job. Of course, I've only been there for a few months but, I feel like I'm being developed into a great academic attending. PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[dragonark]

as one of the penn state med students who did not stay program, i must say:

1. penn state is a fantastic anesthesia program. residents are for the most part extremely nice and brilliant. quite a few fmgs, do's, yes, but these are the cream of the crop for fmgs and dos (as are most who match into anesthesia), and smarter than many allos i've met (possible sample bias). now at a 'big name' having done a couple of months of anesthesia during my intern year, i can fairly say that hershey is not wanting, and looks after its residents in terms of teaching and experience.

2. penn state is in hershey. none of us (class of 2011) stayed because we don't have ties to hershey. we universally agreed hershey was an awesome program, but lacking family or other ties to the area we opted to go for places close to home/family/adventure/big names. that being said, it is a great place if you have a family, not that expensive (it's all relative), and very safe. the nightlife is not something to write home about, but there are plenty of residents (of all specialties) i knew who went out on a regular basis and had fun.

3. it's been said before, but the patients are fat and sick. you will see lots of sick people. lots of random trauma. plus the children's hospital is opening up, which means shiny new kiddo ORs.

I guess you can PM me for more specific questions.

 

[Gern Blansten]

the patients are fat and sick.

Hershey chocolate poisoning? Where I practice has the same problem, but no chocolate factory to lay the blame on.

 

[IN2B8R]

Hershey chocolate poisoning? Where I practice has the same problem, but no chocolate factory to lay the blame on.

German-Dutch diet: everything is lard based....

 

[nycitygas]

German-Dutch diet: everything is lard based....

They had a two day interview process which is tough to fit in.

 

[IN2B8R]

They had a two day interview process which is tough to fit in.

That's actually a good thing, if you stop to think about it: if you are contemplating spending 4 years of your life in a particular place, it may be helpful to get to know the area a little....

 

[Gern Blansten]

German-Dutch diet: everything is lard based....

Credit to Dr Barker (Arizona) for this photo which I saw him include in a talk a few years ago. I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[creek]

I was a resident there and have stayed on as staff (just finished residency last year).

I think the program is great. Our program directors really care about the residents and are constantly trying to make it a better place. The chair values education and makes it a priority. There is emphasis on research and making the residents become consultant anesthesiologists. Most importantly, I was well trained and feel comfortable doing almost any cases. We take care of very sick patients. Central PA has a very obese population so airway training is top notch. In talking with all my fellow graduates, everyone feels very confident and capable and we had a mix of people going into PP/academics/fellowship.

On average, I worked 60 hours a week. On some rotations, I worked more, on others less. If you want to be relieved by CRNAs at 3pm every day, this is not your program! On average I worked 630-5pm three days a week. One day I would get out by 2 and another I would be there until 730-8. The call system is very fair. I feel like I was valued and respected by both the attendings and other services. The relationship with the surgery department is collegial and I learned a lot from my surgical colleagues.

The four year program is fantastic. It's well thought out and executed. When rotating off service you are still a member of the department of anesthesia and are treated as such.

I can't say enough great things about the program and I'm very glad I graduated from there. Residency is tough and there were certainly days that I would not sing the praises of the program. That is human nature and to be expected anywhere. Overall, I was a happy resident (well, for the most part). I felt like I had plenty of time to do outside activities and I made some life long friends.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me. I'm on the admissions committee and consider myself a very honest person. I want people to know what they are getting if they decide to rank our program high.

Thanks for the reply! I just look through the department website, the clip about simulation center is pretty awesome. Your 60hrs work time is very decent. the new Peds hospital is superb, will be good for future fellowship... I do see many graduates go private, not many go to fellowship compared to the other programs I interviewed so far, why is that?

 

[creek]

as one of the penn state med students who did not stay program, i must say:

" penn state is a fantastic anesthesia program. residents are for the most part extremely nice and brilliant. quite a few fmgs, do's, yes, but these are the cream of the crop for fmgs and dos (as are most who match into anesthesia), and smarter than many allos i've met (possible sample bias). now at a 'big name' having done a couple of months of anesthesia during my intern year, i can fairly say that hershey is not wanting, and looks after its residents in terms of teaching and experience."

I totally agree, any FMG get to the stage of matching in US is after rounds of selections, they are the best of their country, that means...