Forum Members PMSR/RRA Residency Reviews

[FootAndAnkle]

Would anybody be able to comment on the training/quality at the Minnesota residencies (Mercy Hospital, Hennepin County, or HealthPartners Institute)?

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[PeaJay]

Would anybody be able to comment on the training/quality at the Minnesota residencies (Mercy Hospital, Hennepin County, or HealthPartners Institute)?

I have been to the programs you listed and all are great programs.

I am refraining from submitting full reviews until I am safely matched, but I will give you a short synopsis.

Mercy Hospital (Coon Rapids, MN): Great program with very knowledgable attending physicians. It is a 1/1/1 program so you must be able to function independently. The program provides training in all aspects of the profession including wound care, forefoot, and rear-foot. Rear-foot exposure includes total ankle replacement, ankle fractures, calc fractures, Charcot recons, and just about any other type of case you could imagine. The first year is almost exclusively off service, but you will come close to meeting required numbers within first year. Numbers are not an issue at this program, you can make your numbers as high as your heart desires.

Hennepin County (Minneapolis, MN): Solid program. Not as flashy as the other two with aging amenities and very few bells and whistles. You will be training at a county hospital as well as a private hospital system. There will be a solid number of trauma, amputations, and I&Ds via county. Most elective surgeries are done via an rotation with an ortho group and at the private hospitals. The program was solid and is getting better with the addition of several rearfoot trained physicians. The addition of staff will allow for greater number of rearfoot/complex cases. The key thing about this program is that your clinical skills will flourish due to the heavy clinic responsibilities. There is a lack of inpt management skill due to podiatry being a consult service.

Regions/Health Partners (St Paul, MN): Well rounded program. You will be treated well and have the best of the best for facilities. The podiatry department (exclusively called foot and ankle service) is fully integrated into the ortho department. The director has done great things earning the respect of other departments. Things are done a very particular way to help advance the service and maintain the status of the program. There is very little negative comments to be made about this program. You will get solid numbers and an excellent education at this program. The director and attending physicians make special efforts to ensure you are ready to practice with a solid education, training, and CV (via involvement with the profession and publications).

 

[FootAndAnkle]

I have been to the programs you listed and all are great programs.

I am refraining from submitting full reviews until I am safely matched, but I will give you a short synopsis.

Mercy Hospital (Coon Rapids, MN): Great program with very knowledgable attending physicians. It is a 1/1/1 program so you must be able to function independently. The program provides training in all aspects of the profession including wound care, forefoot, and rear-foot. Rear-foot exposure includes total ankle replacement, ankle fractures, calc fractures, Charcot recons, and just about any other type of case you could imagine. The first year is almost exclusively off service, but you will come close to meeting required numbers within first year. Numbers are not an issue at this program, you can make your numbers as high as your heart desires.

Hennepin County (Minneapolis, MN): Solid program. Not as flashy as the other two with aging amenities and very few bells and whistles. You will be training at a county hospital as well as a private hospital system. There will be a solid number of trauma, amputations, and I&Ds via county. Most elective surgeries are done via an rotation with an ortho group and at the private hospitals. The program was solid and is getting better with the addition of several rearfoot trained physicians. The addition of staff will allow for greater number of rearfoot/complex cases. The key thing about this program is that your clinical skills will flourish due to the heavy clinic responsibilities. There is a lack of inpt management skill due to podiatry being a consult service.

Regions/Health Partners (St Paul, MN): Well rounded program. You will be treated well and have the best of the best for facilities. The podiatry department (exclusively called foot and ankle service) is fully integrated into the ortho department. The director has done great things earning the respect of other departments. Things are done a very particular way to help advance the service and maintain the status of the program. There is very little negative comments to be made about this program. You will get solid numbers and an excellent education at this program. The director and attending physicians make special efforts to ensure you are ready to practice with a solid education, training, and CV (via involvement with the profession and publications).

Excellent - I was hoping at least one would be a good opportunity, so all three being solid is nice to hear. Thank you for the comments!

 

[PeaJay]

Excellent - I was hoping at least one would be a good opportunity, so all three being solid is nice to hear. Thank you for the comments!

Yeah all three are hidden gems. They are relatively unknown to students outside of DMU and some Schollies. If you have any specific questions PM me. I will be posting reviews after match.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Yeah all three are hidden gems. They are relatively unknown to students outside of DMU and some Schollies. If you have any specific questions PM me. I will be posting reviews after match.

Cool, I will certainly PM you if any specific questions come up - thanks again!

 

[peds14]

For those who have rotated through any Michigan programs (or even if you haven't, maybe you've heard from or know residents/attendings at different hospitals), what programs would you say are the best to rotate through? I am currently wanting to do:

Michigan Surgical Hospital
Botsford (heard they're having a hard time getting their numbers)
Henry Ford-Wyandotte
Providence
St. John Macomb

And does anyone know anything about the Oakwood programs (in Michigan)?

 

[ldsrmdude]

Michigan Surgical Hospital
Botsford (heard they're having a hard time getting their numbers)
Henry Ford-Wyandotte
Providence
St. John Macomb

I never rotated at any of the programs that you listed, but word on the street is that, of those programs you listed, only Providence would be among the top 1/2 of Michigan programs.

And does anyone know anything about the Oakwood programs (in Michigan)?

I did visit Oakwood Annapolis. Oakwood Southshore wasn't around when I rotated through. Oakwood is a good program. They come out well-trained. I know several of the residents there and they're stand-up guys. They publish good research. Definitely a good program to check out. I can't remember if there is a review in this thread about Oakwood, but if there isn't I'll try to write one soon.

 

[Toro5050]

Has anyone rotated at the Tucson, AZ VA? What did you think of the program? Thanks.

 

[dyk343]

Has anyone rotated at the Tucson, AZ VA? What did you think of the program? Thanks.

Do you want your residency experience to be that of trimming toe nails?

 

[Pronation]

Do you want your residency experience to be that of trimming toe nails?

"debriding"

 

[deleted682934]

Okay kids. Match is over let's get this flowing again.

 

[PeaJay]

Program Name: Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Milwaukee, Wisconsin

General Program/Hospital Info: Cover many hospitals and several surgery centers throughout the Milwaukee area.

Attendings: Many active attendings with the drictor being Sean Wilson DPM.

Residents: Must rotate to be considered. The groups of residents were really close knit when I visited. Very down to earth type individuals.

Didactics: Include x-ray rounds, book club, journal club, and industry academics.

OR Experience: The program has some of the highest surgical numbers in the country. The residents are extremely busy covering cases. Residents learn via hands on experience in the operating room. Attendings give the residents great latitude in the surgical arena.

Clinic Experience: Secondary to the high surgical numbers and the vast number of surgeries there is limited clinic time. Residents are welcomed in many of the attendings private offices. Additional clinic time can be sought, but does not seem like a priority.

Research Opportunities: There is support from the hospital for research. A resident who is motivated can do research, but research has not been a large portion of the programs past or immediate future.

Lifestyle: The residency is located in Milwaukee, which has a small town feel with all the amenities of a large city. Cost of living in the area is reasonable with several residents opting to purchase homes over renting. There is significant on call responsibility with a very active pager. Call responsibilities lessen as you progress through training.

Pros: Very large surgical case load in a very hands on environment. Ideal for someone who is a self motivated academic that thrives in an environment where one learns by doing.

Cons: There is limited clinic time during the course of the program. This can be a problem because you need to be able to work up a patient and master handling post-operative complications. The residents had limited post-operative followup with patients. Limited research.

Overall Conclusion: Great program for the right person. High surgical numbers and a very hands on environment. Must rotate to be considered. The program does not go to CRIPS.

 

[PeaJay]

Program Name: Columbia St Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

General Program/Hospital Info: Base out of two hospitals and several surgical centers. Great facilities. The hospitals are new and well maintained. Patient population is mostly private insurance. Main hospital is located in heart of Milwaukee on the lakefront.

Attendings: Small groups of core attending physicians.

Residents: 1/1/1 program with very friendly and personable residents.

Didactics: Journal club, book club, and industry events. A lot of self learning.

OR Experience: Only surgical residency in the hospital. Attending on all services are happy to have residents scrub. Residents scrub mostly elective cases and are extremely hands on with no double scrubbing. Residents scrub with ortho at main hospital, but not at affiliated orthopedic hospital. Residents have ability to scrub with attending physicians at the regions only burn center gaining significant surgical experience. Surgical numbers are in the top 15-20% nationally with a slight bias toward forefoot.

Clinic Experience: Cover clinics when not scrubbed. Attendings clinics are in professional building across the street.

Research Opportunities: Limited opportunities secondary to the hospital system not being set up as an academic medical center. Opportunities can be found for highly motivated individuals.

Lifestyle: The residency is located in Milwaukee, which has a small town feel with all the amenities of a large city. Cost of living in the area is reasonable. Call is manageable.

Pros: Great for resident looking to go into private clinic setting. High elective case volume with residents highly proficient at patient care.

Cons: Significant, but not overwhelming rearfoot numbers. Not able to scrub with ortho at CSM affiliated orthopedic hospital.

Overall Conclusion: Great program. Residents are well practiced in clinic and well trained surgeons. Mostly elective surgeries.

 

[PeaJay]

Program Name: Regions Hospital/Health Partners, St Paul, Minnesota

General Program/Hospital Info: Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center. Associated with fairview clinics.

Attendings: Small core group of attending physicians, most notably Dr. Boffeli.

Residents: 2/2/2 program with very motivated and down to earth residents.

Didactics: Board reviews, case reviews, radiology reviews, and lectures

OR Experience: Well rounded and steady case load. Copious flap closures and scopes. Significant limb salvage exposure. Excellent balance of resident involvement in OR and attending teaching. Residents do not always do the entire surgery and this is not a bad thing. The attending takes the scalpel to impart knowledge. The surgeons are dedicated to teaching and when they are doing part of a surgery they make sure that they are giving tips and pearls passing on knowledge that may have taken them years to accumulate. Surgical volume is a good mix of elective, trauma, and infection.

Clinic Experience: Significant time is spent in clinic. The residents see patients and function like an independent physician under the supervision of the attending. Clinics are strictly surgical with one podiatrist on staff seeing non-surgical patients.

Research Opportunities: There is significant amounts of research done at this program. They do posters, papers, oral presentations, book chapters, ect. The hospital system provides significant financial support for these activities.

Lifestyle: The area is a great midwestern town. If you are not from Minnesota or Wisconsin you may literally be killed by the kindness of the locals. The area is big city with all the rural charm.

Pros:
-Great surgical numbers
-Great surgical diversity
-All the trauma that comes with a level 1 trauma center
-RESEARCH, if you are interested in research
-Great standard of living
-Residents learn from surgeons, instead of practicing on patients till they get it right.

Cons:
-Little exposure to charcot reconstruction
-No TAR exposure

Overall Conclusion: This is one of the top programs in the nation. There is an excellent balance of different surgeries and in adequate volume. Attendings are committed to teaching and promote learning through research.

 

[kseri]

.

 

[PeaJay]

Program Name: Hennepin County Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info: Based out of Hennepin County Medical Center a 455 bed level 1 trauma center for Minneapolis Minnesota. Hennepin is an historic (Think Gastilo and Andersen) and celebrated teaching institution recognized internationally as a center of excellence. Campus is located right next to the Vikings stadiums, literally across the street. Also associated with abbott Northwestern Hospitals, United Hospitals, and Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital.

Attendings: Small core group of attending physicians.

Residents: 2/2/2 program with residents representing many of the schools.

Didactics: Cadaver labs, journal club, book club, and lectures. Attending physicians are truly dedicated to education and willing to teach or cater education to the interests or deficits of residents.

OR Experience: Varied case load with mostly infection and salvage procedures performed at hennepin. Significant numbers of elective cases are covered in outside hospitals. Residents also rotate with orthopedics at hennepin as well as with an private orthopedic group. Residents also scrub cases in other specialties and are expected to function as an all around surgeon.

Clinic Experience: Clinic is held in mainly at Hennepin County Hospital. Varied pathology is seen with limited diabetic foot care. Clinics are mainly surgical clinics. There are opportunities to assist in outside clinics and rotate through wound care. There are on site dive chambers for experience with hyperbaric medicine.

Research Opportunities: Hennepin County is a large academic medical center with significant research opportunities available. There is an entire research department to assist in research endeavors. Research is not a priority of the program at the moment, but there are significant avenues for interested individuals.

Lifestyle: hospital is located in downtown Minneapolis and like any major county medical center is not flush with resources or located in the best of areas. The area is safe, but residents tend to live a commute away from the main medical center. Minneapolis is the bigger of the twin cities and has a more metropolitan feel. Just as with St Paul, the population is extremely nice.

Pros:
-Extremely varied pathology. Many immigrants from eastern Africa which bring rare presentations.
-Very busy with in house consults.
-Busy clinic with significant responsibility.
-Well rounded
-Excellent off service rotations

Cons:
-All the charm that comes with a county hospital

Overall Conclusion: Well rounded and busy program. Not as sexy as other programs, but the training is great. Residents are confident in their abilities and prepared to take on any case that comes into their clinic.

 

[CoffeeMonster]

Could anyone review some programs in the Southern California region like Long Beach or any LA residencies?

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

Bump

 

[babyelephant]

Someone give us info on some info on Cali residencies please!



Top quality thread here! Thanks op

 

[oceanside45]

Any new info from the class of 2016? Currently a 2nd year student who is looking at programs in the northeast!

 

[PodasaurusRex]

Anybody come through Truman Medical Center Lakewood?

 

[dpmgrad]

Anything on MGH in Boston, MA?

This program will be closing and has withdrawn from the CASPR/CRIP starting last year.

 

[SLCpod]

Now that interviews are over and rankings have been submitted I am hoping to see some more participation from the class of 2016.

This thread has been great.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[HeySister]

Program Name: JFK Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info: Mid-sized hospital with residents from other specialties such as general surgery and IM. Located close to the beach, about 20 minutes from West Palm Beach.

Attendings: Primarily Dr. Levin and Dr. Clancy. Dr. Levin trained at PSL, and therefore is the driving force behind their awesome academics. Both attendings are in a local ortho group. Plenty of other attendings as well that are very involved in the program. This program has significant participation from all attendings.

Residents: 2/2/2 - Different personalities but all very intelligent. Definitely the least consistent group of the programs I have been to in terms of program personality. This did not seem to be a problem, but they didn't seem as close as other residents I saw during clerkships.

Didactics: Intense but excellent. These residents know a lot. The residents give a presentation to a large group of attendings every other week. This can be somewhat of a burden for them, as they spend a lot of time preparing presentations that are scrutinized by the attendings. They also have a weekly journal club that is highly attended by the attendings. This was the most didactic program I went to - it can be annoying but overall I thought this was the strength of their program. They even scrub out of surgery to make it to academics on time.

OR Experience: Hot and cold. They see much more trauma than the average podiatry residency, with full scope up to Pilons. Dr. Clancy does all types of surgery, and he does it well, but I never once saw him give the resident the knife. With Clancy the residents close and thats it. He probably brings 25% of the cases to the program, so this can be very frustrating. In the OR with Dr. Levin is quite the experience. He is incredibly particular, and has expectations for the residents above any attending I have seen. He gives up the knife about half the time, and depending on the resident. I saw residents shaking because he is so critical of even the most minor details. You need to have a strong personality to handle him. I liked it, and I think I would be fine, but if you are not a confident resident he will tear you apart. It is his method of teaching - it probably works wonders for some people and probably cripples others.

The other attendings allowed the residents to do the case most of the time. I saw residents doing skin-to-skin calcs and ankles, so even though Dr. Levin and Dr. Clancy provide limited cut time, I think they get enough to be well-trained. They double scrub every case, but they are in the OR every day.

Clinic Experience: The residents go to attending's clinic one half day a week. They do a pretty good job keeping up with patients they operated on throughout their care.

Research Opportunities: They did not seem to stress research. I am sure the attendings would help if someone wanted to put something together.

Lifestyle: First year the hours are very long. The residents typically get to the hospital between 4 and 5 am. It seems to cool down for the second and third year residents. However first year seems to be more work than most other programs. They also spend a lot of time preparing for their academics, so that takes away free time away from the hospital. Overall the lifestyle is not terrible, but definitely not a country club program.

Pros:
-Plenty of trauma and exposure to serious recon - the program is very well-rounded with exposure to all aspects of podiatry.
-Smart residents
-Excellent academics

Cons:
-Probably only about 60% skin-to-skin. Maybe even less if you are subpar. If the residents got the knife more from Dr. Clancy or Dr. Levin this would be an elite program.
-Very, very intense OR environment with some attendings. Many people would struggle here.
-Academics comes first. This is not necessarily a con, but some people will hate the amount of academics here.

Overall Conclusion: This is a very good program for the right person. That person needs to be academic with thick skin. If the residents got more cut time, rather than retracting time, this program would be elite. However, as that is not the case you need to be mindful of the fact that even as a third year you will do a lot of retracting and watching. If you want to be in Florida this program should definitely be on your list. If not, I would probably consider other options, but if you fit the profile I listed above you could do well here. It seems the attendings pick the residents with little input from the current residents, and I think they seriously consider people who did not extern or maybe even visit, so keep that in mind. Overall very good, but not elite.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Now that interviews are over and rankings have been submitted I am hoping to see some more participation from the class of 2016.

This thread has been great.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

Aside from the above post by someone with a username similar to another frequent poster, it'll probably be after the Match occurs that the majority are going to share their thoughts.

 

[ldsrmdude]

If any student/resident wants to post on this thread and remain anonymous, feel free to PM and I will post it anonymously for you. The OP hasn't been on this site for at least 8 months, so I wouldn't send it to them or use the email that is posted in the first thread as I don't know if there will be any response. I have no affiliation with any residency and I'm already in practice, in case anyone is worried about that.

 

[HeySister]

Aside from the above post by someone with a username similar to another frequent poster, it'll probably be after the Match occurs that the majority are going to share their thoughts.

I am not that person, I just didn't want to spend time thinking of a name. When I have time I will post my other 5 reviews. Go Panthers!

 

[heybrother]

I'm not offended. Have a few reviews in mind myself, but I want my diploma in hand.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

I'm not offended. Have a few reviews in mind myself, but I want my diploma in hand.

Levity rather than offense was the intent of my previous post - my apologies for any appearance otherwise.

 

[FeeltheBern]

Program Name: John Peter Smith Hospital

General Program/Hospital Info: Level 1 trauma center in Fort Worth, TX. Many other residency programs within the hospital - associated with University of North Texas. There is an ortho program, but it does not hinder the podiatry program at all - perfect symbiotic relationship between ortho and podiatry.

Attendings: 5 main attendings that the residents work with on a regular day-to-day basis. Dr. Carpenter is the program director, and I believe the rest of the attendings trained at the program. One attending oversees clinic, and another oversees the OR each day.

Residents: 2/2/2 - The residents are all exceptionally confident. They are all really nice guys who are fun to be around. You must be confident, and you must have a good personality to come to this program. Because of the nature of their training, it is necessary that you exhibit a confident and social personality to fit in here. This program gets their pick of their residents each year, therefore they are all excellent.

Didactics: I think some would consider didactics the weakness of the program. Didactics are not much of a priority for the program. The residents are all well-read, but didactics are mostly self-directed. Nobody gets their hand held at this program - if you want to be exceptionally well-read, the resources are available to you.

OR Experience: Awesome. From day 1, the residents are running the OR and performing every procedure skin-to-skin. This is a sink-or-swim type program, but because they get their choice of a pool of great students, everyone swims. The attendings rarely scrub, and often are not even in the room for the majority of the procedure. I think the only time I saw an attending scrub was a B/L TMA, and once he finished his side he scrubbed out and had me close. As a student you will get to do a ton in the OR, so this is a great externship experience to work on your skills. The residents are very willing to teach, and there is so much cut time available to the residents that they often let the students do a lot.

The case-load is pretty unique. Heavy trauma, heavy amputations, heavy I&D. They probably do 8-12 ankles a week. At some point the first years start doing isolated fibular fractures, and then by second year they are doing bimals. All the residents have great skills in handling trauma. The second years do isolated fibula fractures in about 30-35 minutes. If you want to do trauma, I cannot imagine a better program for fracture training.

They do most of their elective cases during 6 months at a surgery center as a third year, but I saw several flatfoot recons, a few medial mal osteotomies, and rearfoot fusions my month. Despite not being a "recon" program, I saw more recon here than many other programs. Most of these recon cases were brought by Dr. Garrett.

Clinic Experience: Very busy clinic. They see a ton of patients each day. The residents function as attendings in the clinic. They see the patient, develop the treatment plan, and book the procedure. This clinic is primarily post-ops and diabetic foot wounds/infections. As a student you get to perform any procedure done in clinic, so again its a great place to get hands-on training. It can get pretty tiring, but everyone works hard and I really enjoyed the clinic.

Research Opportunities: I don't know, maybe.

Lifestyle: The residents are very busy, but they are definitely the happiest residents I came across. The first year residents were very tired, but they have more responsibility than most first year residents, and it makes them better. Most of the residents are married, so I think most of the time outside of the hospital is spent with families. I think because the program is so strong and enjoyable, despite how busy they are the lifestyle is great.

Pros:
-True autonomy - residents function as attendings, with the attendings always there if they need guidance or to discuss treatment options
-Great trauma caseload
-The dream OR experience. Pretty much 100% skin-to-skin with residents capable of thinking critically in the OR.
-Great relationship with Ortho


Cons:
-It is really hot outside.

Overall Conclusion: When people ask me about this program, I usually tell them "if every podiatry residency was like JPS, podiatry would be an insanely popular profession." For the right person, this is a great program. For the wrong person, there is no chance of matching here. I think it is important that students know they take up to 6 students a month for 2 spots. This means that when they interview, they have a very large (and smart) applicant pool for only 2 spots. It is something to consider if you are a student at a school that has a low number of externships. If you have confidence, good grades, and an enjoyable personality, with interest in this type of caseload and training, this is a great program.

 

[SLCpod]

Program Name: John Peter Smith Hospital

General Program/Hospital Info: Level 1 trauma center in Fort Worth, TX. Many other residency programs within the hospital - associated with University of North Texas. There is an ortho program, but it does not hinder the podiatry program at all - perfect symbiotic relationship between ortho and podiatry.

Attendings: 5 main attendings that the residents work with on a regular day-to-day basis. Dr. Carpenter is the program director, and I believe the rest of the attendings trained at the program. One attending oversees clinic, and another oversees the OR each day.

Residents: 2/2/2 - The residents are all exceptionally confident. They are all really nice guys who are fun to be around. You must be confident, and you must have a good personality to come to this program. Because of the nature of their training, it is necessary that you exhibit a confident and social personality to fit in here. This program gets their pick of their residents each year, therefore they are all excellent.

Didactics: I think some would consider didactics the weakness of the program. Didactics are not much of a priority for the program. The residents are all well-read, but didactics are mostly self-directed. Nobody gets their hand held at this program - if you want to be exceptionally well-read, the resources are available to you.

OR Experience: Awesome. From day 1, the residents are running the OR and performing every procedure skin-to-skin. This is a sink-or-swim type program, but because they get their choice of a pool of great students, everyone swims. The attendings rarely scrub, and often are not even in the room for the majority of the procedure. I think the only time I saw an attending scrub was a B/L TMA, and once he finished his side he scrubbed out and had me close. As a student you will get to do a ton in the OR, so this is a great externship experience to work on your skills. The residents are very willing to teach, and there is so much cut time available to the residents that they often let the students do a lot.

The case-load is pretty unique. Heavy trauma, heavy amputations, heavy I&D. They probably do 8-12 ankles a week. At some point the first years start doing isolated fibular fractures, and then by second year they are doing bimals. All the residents have great skills in handling trauma. The second years do isolated fibula fractures in about 30-35 minutes. If you want to do trauma, I cannot imagine a better program for fracture training.

They do most of their elective cases during 6 months at a surgery center as a third year, but I saw several flatfoot recons, a few medial mal osteotomies, and rearfoot fusions my month. Despite not being a "recon" program, I saw more recon here than many other programs. Most of these recon cases were brought by Dr. Garrett.

Clinic Experience: Very busy clinic. They see a ton of patients each day. The residents function as attendings in the clinic. They see the patient, develop the treatment plan, and book the procedure. This clinic is primarily post-ops and diabetic foot wounds/infections. As a student you get to perform any procedure done in clinic, so again its a great place to get hands-on training. It can get pretty tiring, but everyone works hard and I really enjoyed the clinic.

Research Opportunities: I don't know, maybe.

Lifestyle: The residents are very busy, but they are definitely the happiest residents I came across. The first year residents were very tired, but they have more responsibility than most first year residents, and it makes them better. Most of the residents are married, so I think most of the time outside of the hospital is spent with families. I think because the program is so strong and enjoyable, despite how busy they are the lifestyle is great.

Pros:
-True autonomy - residents function as attendings, with the attendings always there if they need guidance or to discuss treatment options
-Great trauma caseload
-The dream OR experience. Pretty much 100% skin-to-skin with residents capable of thinking critically in the OR.
-Great relationship with Ortho


Cons:
-It is really hot outside.

Overall Conclusion: When people ask me about this program, I usually tell them "if every podiatry residency was like JPS, podiatry would be an insanely popular profession." For the right person, this is a great program. For the wrong person, there is no chance of matching here. I think it is important that students know they take up to 6 students a month for 2 spots. This means that when they interview, they have a very large (and smart) applicant pool for only 2 spots. It is something to consider if you are a student at a school that has a low number of externships. If you have confidence, good grades, and an enjoyable personality, with interest in this type of caseload and training, this is a great program.

Thank you!!

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
Highlands/Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA loosely centralized at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Most experiences occur at outside hospitals and surgery centers.

Attendings:
Dr. Stone (Director) and Drs. Farrett, Ng, Saks, Kruse, Jacobson, Christensen, Naftulin, Morgan, Saeed, Herzog, et al.

Residents:
2 residents per year. Very capable and bright residents who all have different personalities. Overall very enjoyable group to be around.

Didactics:
Extensive weekly journal club on Monday evenings. Thursday evening conference with rotating format.

OR Experience:
The highest surgical volume of any program I saw, with residents completing well over 2,000 cases before graduation. There’s not really any area that is lacking regarding their surgical training and elective and (post-)trauma procedures predominate. Surgeries include extensive and complex procedures and the quality is exceptional. Residents do have TAA exposure.

Clinic Experience:
Residents handle inpatient management for attendings’ consults at various hospitals. Consistent clinical experience is obtained at the resident-run clinic at PSL and a separate clinic once per week in Commerce City. Residents are also welcome ad libitum to attendings’ practices for clinic.

Research Opportunities:
Residents are required to complete a research project during their tenure.

Lifestyle:
Residents are very busy due to high surgical volume, rigorous academics, and managing attendings’ inpatients, but lifestyle is overall fairly good at this program. There is a LOT of driving at this program (further complicated seasonally by snow), but I think most would agree the travel is well worth the effort. Cost of living is high, but somewhat mitigated by the relatively high resident salary.

Pros:
Denver
Excellent surgical quality
High surgical volume
Exposure to complex cases and procedures
Comprehensive academics
Attending-mentored research opportunities

Cons:
High cost of living
Lots of driving to different locations

Overall Conclusion:
Probably one of the best residency programs, in my opinion, with complete and comprehensive podiatric training.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
DVA Phoenix (Carl T. Hayden)

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA centralized at the Carl T. Hayden VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

Attendings:
Primary attendings include Drs. Frykberg (Director), Tierney, and Marino. Numerous outside attendings also present in clinic include Marshall, Tallis, Abraham, Crezee, et al.

Residents:
4 residents per year. Normal group, many with families. Appeared to get along fine together.

Didactics:
Journal club, surgical case preview, resident academic presentations.

OR Experience:
Moderate surgical case load with adequate variety of procedures. Residents do have TAA exposure.

Clinic Experience:
Clinic is run with latitude given for residents’ decision making and students are also permitted a liberal role in patient care.

Research Opportunities:
Did not assess much, though there are opportunities in-hospital with Frykberg in particular and likely with the outside attendings, as well. There is a dedicated podiatric research fellow.

Lifestyle:
Not particularly long hours, but certainly busy when at work without much delegated to paraprofessionals.

Pros:
Phoenix
Wound care and DFIs galore
Consistent inpatient management experience
Federal regulation, so Arizona limitations don’t apply at the hospital
Few financial limitations in regards to patient care
Dr. Frykberg is obviously especially knowledgeable about wounds and DM

Cons:
DVA
Academics are not overly rigorous
Parking and food
Lower on the spectrum of resident salaries

Overall Conclusion:
This program appeared to be excellent preparation for wound care and management of diabetic patients with adequate preparation for other areas of podiatric practice.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS)

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA centralized at Maricopa Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Attendings:
MIHS attendings are Dr. Bryan Roth (director) and Dr. Marisse Lardizabal, a recent graduate of the program. Dr. Roth runs the program, interviews, and rankings by-the-book with regard to rules and regulations (plus he is super cool as an attending).

Residents:
2 residents per year. A great group of residents. Professional, get along well with each other, and treat patients and others (including students) well. This program is truly unique in that residents’ first year is a General Surgery PGY-I with all the accompanying responsibilities and duties (and they are awarded a General Surgery Internship certificate after successfully completing the year).

Didactics:
Weekly didactics consisting of journal club, resident presentations, or attending presentations. Bimonthly limb salvage conference with IR and vascular surgery. Extensive weekly conference with all surgical services including M&M, journal club, basic science academic presentation, junior/senior resident conference, and skills lab.

OR Experience:
Fewer elective cases than trauma- or wound-/infection-related procedures while at MMC. Being the county hospital, the cases tend toward worse cases, particularly with regard to infections, which is great for resident training. Experience with other surgical services is valuable, as well. It is difficult to gauge residents’ outside podiatric surgical experience, however, though they were very capable with the types of cases addressed at MMC. Residents do have TAA exposure.

Clinic Experience:
One of my favorite clinic experiences. Well run with good layout and MAs, variety of patient presentations, and cool pathology. EMR system is Epic, which is efficient. High proportion of Hispanic patients, so it’s advantageous if you know Spanish.

Research Opportunities:
Not a focus of this program, though opportunities are available.

Lifestyle:
For the first year, hours are long (10-16 hour days) and the schedule usually runs 12 days on, 2 days off for the year with two weeks of mandatory vacation during that year. The schedule is much more chill for PGY-II and PGY-III, consisting of clinic, hospital consults, and procedures at outside hospitals and surgery centers.

Pros:
Phoenix
Level I Trauma Center
Environment of professionalism and accountability
Excellent inpatient management experience
General surgery PGY-I, including SICU, burn, and vascular surgery
Nothing is intimidating for residents since they’ve seen it all
Excellent resident salary and benefits

Cons:
Comparatively longer hours for first year
Lower surgical numbers than some other programs

Overall Conclusion:
The general surgery internship certainly advances residents’ capabilities in a manner unparalleled by other programs. As mentioned before, it is difficult to assess what the podiatric training outside of Maricopa Medical Center is like. It seems like a really great place for residency, and those who I’ve met that trained at MIHS are very competent.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
St. Rita’s Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA centralized at St. Rita’s Medical Center, a Level II Trauma Center, in Lima, Ohio. The town looks too small to support one, let alone two, Level II Trauma Centers, but it’s apparently because the surrounding areas all send their patients to Lima.

Attendings:
Dr. Ward (Director) and Drs. Miller, Haycock, Little, Gray, et al.

Residents:
2 residents per year, but previously 1 resident per year. Varied resident personalities – they appeared to work well together.

Didactics:
Journal club, McGlamry review, and surgery preview meetings.

OR Experience:
A higher volume program for surgeries, although there is frequent double scrubbing by residents. Particular emphasis on flatfoot reconstruction and DFI-related procedures. Otherwise, primarily elective forefoot cases with additional exposure to external fixation and frequent pediatric cases (lots of arthroereises). Residents are liberally handed the scalpel. Residents do not have TAA exposure.

Clinic Experience:
Normal podiatric clinic when not in surgery or managing inpatients. Inpatient management could probably be accomplished a bit more efficiently. Wound care clinic is nice since it’s very hands-off with delegation of most care beyond debridement to nurses.

Research Opportunities:
Not a focus of this program.

Lifestyle:
Hours are not particularly demanding, but lifestyle will likely improve further given the addition of another resident. Housing options appeared limited given the small town, though salary seems adequate given the local cost of living.

Pros:
Higher surgical numbers (though many double-scrubbed)
Good volume of flatfoot reconstruction

Cons:
Location
Few trauma cases
No TAA exposure

Overall Conclusion:
This program is a unique opportunity for exposure to podiatric practice in a more rural-type setting.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
Grant Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA centralized at Grant Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, in Columbus, Ohio.

Attendings:
Dr. Hyer (Director) and Drs. Logan, Thomas, VanCourt, Weiner, Griffith, Bechtol, Szames, Gurwin, Hlad, Holmes, Hewitt, et al.

Residents:
4 residents per year. Capable, hard-working group of residents.

Didactics:
Weekly procedure-oriented cadaver lab with attendings on Monday evenings. Weekly Wednesday academic meetings with monthly attending lecture. Monthly Thursday evening journal club.

OR Experience:
Very high surgical volume. More traditional surgical training style with first year instruction on sound surgical principles both by attendings themselves and by second/third year attendings. Significant escalation in residents’ autonomy with progression from first through third years. Scope of surgical procedures is very comprehensive, including fresh trauma. Residents not only scrub with podiatrists, but also with foot & ankle orthopedists which gives a somewhat different perspective, as well. Residents do have a lot of TAA exposure.

Clinic Experience:
Wednesday morning resident-run clinic. Clinic experience is otherwise obtained at attendings’ private practices. Significant inpatient management experience.

Research Opportunities:
Good attending-mentored research opportunities and requirements. Obviously, Dr. Hyer is very experienced with conducting research protocols.

Lifestyle:
Between hospital consults, academics, inpatient management, and high surgical volume, residents are very busy. Salary and benefits are excellent, however, particularly considering that the cost of living for Columbus is fairly low.

Pros:
Columbus
High surgical volume
Excellent surgical quality
Exposure to complex cases and procedures
Comprehensive academics, including cadaver lab
Attending-mentored research opportunities
Excellent residency salary and benefits
Centralized location
Low cost of living

Cons:
Busy lifestyle

Overall Conclusion:
This is a great residency program with excellent, comprehensive training in pretty much all areas.

 

[FootAndAnkle]

Program Name:
Mercy Health Regional Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info:
PMSR/RRA with multiple affiliated hospital systems and institutions, including Mercy Health, HealthSpan, Akron General Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio and its surrounding cities.

Attendings:
Dr. Hardy (Director) and Drs. Schmieder, Matalavage, Prezioso, Grossman, White, Salamone, Demou, McCarty, et al. Dr. Hardy invests a lot into taking care of his residents’ education and is an excellent practitioner, which pays dividends in the quality of residents’ preparation.

Residents:
6 residents per year. Residents are very capable, produce good-quality work, and have a great sense of camaraderie.

Didactics:
Weekly Monday morning conference with academic topics and surgery previews. Regular journal club. Generous educational allocation for residents, which increases for each year of residency (facilitates conference and workshop attendance).

OR Experience:
The surgical volume is not as high as might be expected from this calibre of program, but procedures are all good quality and thoroughly run the gamut of podiatric scope of practice. Residents are given the scalpel, but with the appropriate accompanying guidance to ensure quality procedural execution.

Clinic Experience:
Thorough clinical preparation assisting physicians’ at their practices. The residents’ clinical acumen and proficiency was distinct among some of the more heavily surgery-weighted programs, which is invaluable with regard to preparation for future practice. Inpatient management is not as comprehensive as some places, but there is exposure via Mercy Health facilities.

Research Opportunities:
Research opportunities are available and encouraged with dedicated weekly academic time.

Lifestyle:
Residents seemed to have a fairly good lifestyle which, although busy, was not filled with superfluously invested time. This is not really a centralized program and there is a lot of driving. The salary is very good, especially given the relatively low cost of living in the Cleveland area.

Pros:
Excellent surgical quality
Exposure to complex cases and procedures
Comprehensive academics, including cadaver lab
Attending-mentored research opportunities
Excellent residency salary and benefits
Low cost of living

Cons:
Lots of driving to different locations
Lower surgical numbers than some programs of similar quality

Overall Conclusion:
This is a well balanced program with comprehensive, quality surgical training, thorough academics, a healthy proportion of dedicated clinic, and a reasonable lifestyle.

 

[FeeltheBern]

Program Name: Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island

General Program/Hospital Info: Small community hospital in Pawtucket, RI. The hospital has a loose association with Brown, therefore they have Brown IM residents and some Brown med students, but thats the extent of the affiliation. The hospital is old.


Attendings: Dr. Glod is the director and he serves as somewhat of a father figure over the program. He is the type of director every resident should want. Most of the other attendings trained at the program. Another attending trained under Dr. Schoenhaus, and he does a lot of good cases.

Residents: 2/2/2 - The residents were a ton of fun to be around. They are very social, and they hang out outside of the hospital all the time. They take the externs out regularly, and I really enjoyed spending my time with them.

Didactics: Resident-directed. More than some places, but less than most.


OR Experience: This is the strength of the program. Almost all the attendings allow the residents to do the case skin-to-skin. They do everything, from TAR to ankle fractures to rearfoot fusions to bunions. Lots of cut time for the residents from what I saw. They operate at another hospital, but students do not go there so I cannot comment on that experience. With that being said, the technique in the OR was sometimes lacking. The residents at this program are somewhat fearless, but sometimes the end result was a pretty pedestrian. They place a lot less emphasis on the "art" of surgery than most programs.

Clinic Experience: There was not clinic in my month. The residents occasionally go to Dr. Glod's office to work-up cases. I think they were hoping to start a resident-run clinic at some point.

Research Opportunities: Doubtful, but I am not sure.

Lifestyle: Easily the most relaxed lifestyle of anywhere I have seen. They show up, round on 1 or 2 inpatients, operate, and go home. Lots of free time. Country club.


Pros:
Exposure to all aspects of podiatric surgery from TAR to amps. Primarily skin-to-skin. No problem achieving numbers.
Incredibly relaxed lifestyle.
Friendly/Fun residents
Very confident residents/attendings

Cons:
Awful hospital.
Average surgical technique.

Overall Conclusion: This is a great program for someone who just wants to operate. Anyone who externs will see the pros and cons of the program. They definitely get more surgical experience than most programs, but I saw better surgery at other places. If you are an average student and you get this program, its probably a home run. However most great students would probably have better opportunities at other places. The quality of the hospital scares me, but if you want a country club, this is probably one of the best.

 

[Ludoime]

Amazing thread! I'm only starting pod school this fall, but does anyone have any info on DVA NM - Albuquerque? From what I hear, it's a relatively recent program? I would love to go there in 4 years (optimal for me geographically - SO is in ABQ).

 

[SLCpod]

Amazing thread! I'm only starting pod school this fall, but does anyone have any info on DVA NM - Albuquerque? From what I hear, it's a relatively recent program? I would love to go there in 4 years (optimal for me geographically - SO is in ABQ).

I will be there for my fourth year. I have heard some great things about it. I will try and get one of the upperclassmen that went there to respond to the thread.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

 

[South West Guy]

Does anyone know anything about Catholic Health Sisters of Charity in Buffalo, NY?

 

[ldsrmdude]

An anonymous review that was submitted to me. Again, if anyone wants to submit a review anonymously, just PM me.

Program Name: Kaiser Vallejo

General Program/Hospital Info: The Northern California Kaisers are all set up similarly in that all foot/ankle pathology goes straight to the Podiatry departments. This leads to pretty high surgical numbers in general. Among the 3 Kaiser programs, Kaiser Vallejo is probably the most understated one since it doesn't have the plethora of famous attendings like Kaiser Bay Area, and it's not based right next to Silicone Valley like Kaiser Santa Clara. As an extern at the Kaiser Vallejo program, you will spend 2 weeks at Kaiser Vallejo & Kaiser Vacaville, and 2 weeks at Kaiser Santa Rosa. The residents also rotate through Kaiser San Rafael as well.

Attendings: Williams, Kernbach, Paterno, Peace, Lee, Jordan, Lopez, Omlin. Quite a few of them are alumni from Kaiser Vallejo or Kaiser Bay Area.

Residents: Residents are very friendly and smart in general. The majority are from the bay area school but a few are from east coast schools. They seem to really value a good attitude in addition to clinical aptitude. Did not encounter any cocky attitudes from residents. Which you’ll find is pretty rare at high volume programs.

Didactics: Journal club once a month, Monday radiology conference (go over case xrays). They don’t have externs do any presentations. Instead you will do your presentation at their residency interview. I cannot emphasize enough that you have to know your trauma and be good at reading x-rays. The large portion of their pimping/academic assessment of you as an extern will revolve around showing you an xray and seeing what you make of it.

OR Experience: They’re pretty good about sending you to whatever cool cases are going on. Sometimes they sent me to Vacaville instead of Vallejo if there was a case going on over there. One key warning is that at the chief attending at Kaiser Santa Rosa will expect you to have read up on any of his cases that you scrub into, whether it be an article, or a blurb from McGlamery’s. Exposed to a high volume of trauma and elective cases. During my month I saw ankle fractures, flatfoot recon, bunion, tibiotalocalcaneal IM rod, and of course diabetic foot stuff. Supposedly when you’re at Kaiser San Rafael in 2nd/3rd years of residency you’ll rotate with a guy who does a lot of TAR’s, but I was not sent over there as an extern.

Clinic Experience: Externs aren’t allowed to see patients on their own at any of the Kaisers. Instead you’re there to observe/assist. At Vallejo and Vacaville you follow the residents in clinic. You will get pimped randomly by Dr Williams & Dr Kernbach on trauma in front of the residents. At Santa Rosa you follow the attendings in clinic. For postop patients Dr Jordan will pull up the pertinent xrays for you to read (hint hint).

Research Opportunities: Unlike its more southern sister program Kaiser Bay Area, this program doesn’t seem to prioritize research that much. There are attendings that published here and there, but overall did not seem a priority. Depending on how important research is to you, could be a pro or a con.

Lifestyle: Busy. Residents work hard and work long hours. When you’re on podiatry you only take call for podiatry (and not also ortho). Residents seem pretty content with their training. Saw varying levels of confidence in the OR from residents. Third years seemed very confident in general. Quite a few of the residents were married with families and did not seem to have time to hang out with each other too much outside of work sadly. They all seemed to have good camaraderie with each other at work though.

Pros: Lots of surgical diversity and volume. Get to see a lot of different attendings’ styles. This is a great example of a busy surgical program without much fuss/drama. Kaiser model is very progressive with all lower extremity pathology going to podiatry.

Cons: If you want to train under famous attendings who publish lots of research and lecture at conferences, this is not that program. Likewise if you want to do lots of research as a resident, this is not really that program either. Can be lots of travel/driving since the Kaisers are fairly spread out across the north bay, although there was not really much traffic involved. Can be argued that the Kaiser HMO model of residency training does not really prepare you that well for private practice.

Overall Conclusion: I thought it was a fantastic program. All 3 of the Kaiser programs are great training in general. But if you just want to be involved with lots of surgical diversity and volume without dealing with egos/drama and the lack of research and fame doesn't bother you, then this program should be high on your list.

 

[PeaJay]

Seems that I missed a program in my earlier reviews. I will just round out my contribution to the thread with another review.

Program Name: Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, Wisconsin

General Program/Hospital Info: Based in an physician run integrated hospital system. Hospital is a level two trauma center that serves as a tertiary care center for surrounding community based hospitals. Podiatry is separate, but under the department of Orthopedics. The program is designed to be balanced in academics, clinical exposure, and surgery. Exposure to the full practice of a modern podiatrist is at the forefront with adequate exposure to complex procedures/cases.

Attendings: Program has a core of 6/7 attendings with the most notable name being Thomas Roukis DPM, PhD.

Residents: Residents are very approachable. There are a total of 6 residents (two per year) and function as an rather cohesive group.

Didactics: Education includes formal radiology rounds on Monday mornings and cadaver workshops on Wednesday afternoons. Additionally there are journal clubs and book reviews that meet on a scheduled basis. Additionally, there is an integrated surgical training center that residents are expected to utilize on free time. Self directed academics are expected to meet general expectations and for research endeavors.

OR Experience: Varied cases from toes to TARs. As student you are welcomed to scrub. Students function in a more observational role.

Clinic Experience: Students are able to see patient based on attending preference and comfort. Externs will function with a resident for most clinic experiences. Residents spend ample time in clinic mastering examination skills and developing comfort in working up a patient during the entirety of their treatment. Continuity of care is stressed with residents involved with workup, testing, surgical intervention, and follow-up of individual patients.

Research Opportunities: One publishable project is required. Residents are not required to do research, but often graduate with several presentations and publications under their belt.

Lifestyle: As with any solid residency, the residents dedicate significant portions of time at the hospital, pursuing research endeavors, or studying. Most of the residents are married and seem to manage a balanced life. There is almost no travel time. Most residents live in hospital owned condos which are less than a 5 minute walk to the hospital. The short commute seems to make call more tolerable.

Pros: Very balanced. They do not struggle for numbers, yet do not perform exorbitant numbers of procedures. The program is special because it stresses knowing why things are done instead of only how things are done. Residents receive a balanced education that is focused on solid surgical skills and more importantly a vast and varied knowledge base with the clinical skills to correspond. Additionally the service functions as an admitting service, which allows residents the experience of truly managing inpatients.

Cons: There is a huge expectation for self study. Residents need to be self motivated. This is not a program for huge trauma numbers or excessive numbers in general. Additionally, while not required research seems to have an priority among residents.

Overall Conclusion: Well rounded program that produces clinicians that know why, not technicians that only know how.

 

[dorsiflexor]

Does anyone know anything about the North Colorado Medical Center program?

 

[pilonfxguy2008]

Program Name: Westside Regional Medical Center

General Program/Hospital Info: High volume elective cases & trauma

Attending’s: Dr. Spinner, Ramil, Chussid, Dookie, Rogers + 30 other DPMS (many attending are graduates of the program). No cases are scrubbed with F/A trained orthos.

Residents: Top notch residents. All ranked very high in their respective graduating classes but surprisingly laid back & relatively easy going outside the OR. All have completely different personalities that seem to “mesh” well together (Very similar to residents at PSL/Wheaton Franciscan in my opinion). Although in South FL- the program doesn't seem to favor barry students over students from other schools.

Didactics: Didactics twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One day is an actual journal club and the other day can vary (resident presentations, student presentations, x-ray conference, etc). Journal club is straightforward with “big picture” discussions. Presentation days were incredibly informative and the input from attending’s/residents beneficial. The residents are more than willing to help you with your presentation and answer any questions you can think of but you can’t be afraid to ask.

OR Experience: As a student you spend essentially a month in the operating room scrubbing cases with the occasional visit to an office for clinic. Great diversity of cases here (elective and trauma) and the residents do practically every case skin to skin with attending’s talking them through it if they need it (with the exception of a single attending). The residents are very confident and their comfort in the OR was impressive. As a student, you will absolutely be pimped throughout the case so study and be prepared. Depending on how competent you are will determine how much you suture, hand tie, etc.

Clinic Experience: If you want a program with a lot of clinic experience then this definitely isn’t the program for you. Residents spend only 1 day in clinic per week with an option their 3rd year to pick up more time as an elective.

Research Opportunities: The program is very academic and the research opportunity’s abundant. Some residents are definitely more involved than others and I got the impression that no one is really going to push you if you don’t have interest in research (strength or weakness- depending on how you look at it).

Lifestyle: Vary’s between laid back & long hours. On-call the residents are responsible for all trauma from the tibial tuberosity down and are at the mercy of their pager. While off-call the residents all seem to enjoy the perks of living in South FL.

Pros:
Tons of cases (from TARS to toes)
Autonomy as a resident (more cases skin to skin than many other programs)
6k CME money per year
Free food everywhere
Health, Dental, Optical are highly discounted (basically free)
Beautiful South FL

Cons:
Starting salary is LOW!- $41-42k (especially compared to other South FL programs)
South FL is expensive to live in
Some of the facilities are dated

Overall Conclusion:
If your looking at FL programs in general then the “Big 3” (East Orlando, Westside Regional, JFK) have got to be at the top of your list. You can make a solid argument for this being the best program in Florida although others will argue for Orlando/JFK . It really comes down to personal preference in discussing the 3 and the job offers afterwards are ample with them all. Regardless of your preference, Westside Regional is def. a solid program.

 

[pilonfxguy2008]

Program Name: Florida Hospital East Orlando

General Program/Hospital Info: High volume elective cases & trauma

Attending’s: Dr. Bornstein, Reeves, Shane, Conti, Wagner + 11 other DPMS (many attending are graduates of the program). No cases are scrubbed with F/A trained orthos.

Residents: Top notch residents, all very smart and highly ranked in their respective graduating classes. All have very strong type A personalities. Similar to Westside and JFK- East Orlando does not favor barry students over students from other schools.

Didactics: Journal club is held once a month with topics assigned to the residents/externs and is lead by Dr. Shane. Each resident/extern presents 2-3 articles each with a brief discussion to follow. Didactics is def. not an emphasis of the program and the extern presentations at the end of the month are presented only to the residents briefly before surgeries start in the morning.

OR Experience: As a student you spend the majority of your month in the operating room scrubbing cases either at East Orlando hospital or one of many surgery centers. The facilities at this program are incredible and new ones are constantly being added to this hospital system. Some of the surgery centers do not allow students, so on those days you will be sent home early. The residents essentially show up for their surgeries and go home whenever they are finished which can be as early as 1pm or 5pm depending on the day. The shear volume of the cases here is insane and on Dr. Reeves days (w/the 3rd year residents) your bound to see TAR’s, tough reconstructions and salvage procedures. The only knock here is that 1st/2nd years spend an excessive amount of time just retracting for the attending’s unless it’s an I&D or amputation. Having said that, the 3rd year resident’s surgical skills were impressive and not lacking in anyway regardless of the case. For pimp questions- read the Crozer manual.

Clinic Experience: If you want a program with a lot of clinic experience then this definitely isn’t the program for you. Residents spend only half a day a week in clinic with an option to pick up additional time during their third year. As an extern you spend 1 day a week in clinic with Dr. Reeves, Dr. Shane, etc.

Research Opportunities: Just like with didactics, research is not a big emphasis of the program. The director openly states he doesn't think it’s important. However, self-motivated residents have no problem’s producing good quality research/publications , especially during their 2nd/3rd years.

Lifestyle: As a 1st year resident your life will be absolutely miserable and the current residents are never shy about being honest/upfront about that. Being in the large hospital system that they are & covering all pathology from the tibial tuberosity down means 80-100+ hr weeks while on-call (hard to believe until you see it for yourself). The residents take pride in grinding through the long hours as a 1st year and acknowledge it’s just something they all had to go through. 2nd/3rd year residents have a much healthier schedule with plenty of time for the family, friends, city, etc.

Pros:
Tons of cases (from TARS to toes)
Incredible facilities
Free food everywhere
Beautiful Orlando living

Cons:
Didactics/Research are not strong points of this program.
Lots of time retracting for attending’s as a 1st/2nd year resident.
Arguably one the worst on-call schedules you will encounter as a 1st year resident (100+ hr a week)

Overall Conclusion:
In discussing the “Big 3” (East Orlando, Westside Regional, JFK), Orlando is unique in fact that either you absolutely love it or absolutely hate it. The general consensus among people I’ve talked to is that until the current director leaves, little or nothing will change. With Dr. Shane or Dr. Reeves at the helm on the other hand- the weaknesses of the program (Didactics/Research) would most certainly improve. It will be interesting to see if Orlando follows Westside’s lead this year in adding a 3rd residency position to ease the on-call burden. Regardless East Orlando is a top-notch program and when choosing between it and the other 2 powerhouse programs in the “Big 3”, you simply can’t go wrong.

 

[that1guyfromFL]

Submitted review:


Program Name: Heritage Valley Health System


General Program/Hospital Info: Residents cover one hospital, and spend time in multiple clinics around the area. Really an awesome, up and coming residency. Two residents per year.


Attendings: The ne director, Dr. Hobizal, is as good as they come. She is fellowship trained and works in a busy orthopedic group right next to the hospital. Her practice sees diverse pathology and she does plenty of elective orthopedic cases. The structure in her clinic seems to allow the residents and students great opportunity to learn from experience and observation. Rumor has it that her practice will be adding another fellowship-trained podiatrist. The other attendings allow good hands on experience. Dr Shaeffer wants the residents and students in his office to be proactive and treat the patients as your own.


Residents: Awesome group of residents. They all get along well, go to happy hour together, and just seem to have fun together. They are really laid back and are very willing to help and teach. Not a ton of rounding, maybe 2-5 patients at a time.


Didactics: Weekly, usually a presentation by residents or students. nothing crazy, but well directed.


OR Experience: Good cases, good doctors, the attending are very good at teaching to the level of everybody in the room. Very patient, and you can really see the care that goes into teaching.


Clinic Experience: Dr. Hobizals office has a dictation service which makes note writing much easier. Residents will usually see a patient on their own, present to the attending and then then compare their plan to the attendings. Dr Hobizals office sees everything from coalitions, to fractures, to PTTD. Its no clip and chip office. The hospital has a designated wound care center that the residents spend time at. This place has HBOT and a wound care specialist.


Research Opportunities: Director is big on research, and allows ample opportunity to help you publish during residency.


Lifestyle: Beaver is a small, small town. It is very close to Pittsburg, about 20-25 minutes. But it has a great outdoor feel.


Pros: Director, attendings, orthopedic clinic exposure is fantastic, residents. Students get free housing and food, residents get about $2000 a year for food. Easy to get along with staff and co-workers, nice area. Good hours. Residents are as nice as they come.


Cons: Seems to be a fair amount of double scrubbing. Surgery rotations could be busier, but director is working hard to fix that.


Overall Conclusion: Great under the radar program. Seems to have made huge strides with Dr. Hobizal as director. Highly recommended.

 

[jmarshall20]

As always, this thread is amazing, and it's great to see some more recent reviews coming out in the past few months. As I periodically come back and double check these reviews I was wondering if anyone had some info on a few programs in the Chicago area.

Rush
Loyola
KSB
OSF St. Anthony
Jesse Brown

I've heard good things about these programs, but haven't seen any solid in depth details from anyone that's done a clerkship. Cheers!

 

[painquencher]

any reviews on St.John hospital and medical center in MI?

 

[kawi609]

anything on any other texas programs?