Here are some things the others had to say:
Beezar said------------
USC: I was very pleasantly surprised with the program. Heard it was in shambles a few years back. Their chair, Dr. Lumb, is by far the most down to earth, respectable chair I've met so far. Lots of positive changes were happening at that program. He is very upfront with the weaknesses in the program and has clear cut plans on changing those weaknesses. Great clinical experience. That being said, I still think the program has some ways to go... something like 68% board passing rate last year. And although the tour guides seem extremely happy with the program, I've heard from other students who did rotations there that most of the residents are in fact unhappy. Don't know what to make of it, considering that their call schedule is extremely light.
UCLA: very very very much like Stanford, except in LA. Maybe not as big a name as Stanford, but that is debatable. A fantastic program, but you work hard.
Harbor-UCLA: Got a bad vibe. Was told that they were not participating in the match by the chair--something I wish they had told me beforehand. And then they send an email months later that they are participating in the match.
Offshore said-------------
UC Davis seemed like a very nice place last year. The chairman is a resident advocate and is brilliant and very approachable. I don't think they take call per se, but instead work 12 hr night shifts instead. The program is heavily dependent on CRNAs to cover the work. I think they have adequate clinical exposure, lots of major blunt trauma from MVAs in the surrounding area. I think they serve a rather large area as the only Level 1 trauma center. I was told transplant is weak though. Another downside is that pain management is co-run by rehab medicine and anethesiology, so if your interested in pain that could be a potential negative. Nice pain clinic facility though. Overall, the residents seemed happy. Some of them said every year overworked residents from Stanford and UCSF try to switch to Davis for the better lifestyle but I don't know if that's true or not.
GasGuy said---------------------
About Stanford...I really liked it very much. I thought that both the residents and attendings were extremely nice and laid back. Actually, the attendings were probably the most laid back that I ran into. I also thought that the program chair and program director seemed very resident-friendly. All the residents I talked to were happy with no significant complaints. They worked hard, but all seemed to enjoy the work, and didn't complain that they were over-worked. To me, compared with UCSF, Stanford seemed friendlier and more relaxed.
I thought that the facilities were fantastic, especially the VA. The simulator also was impressive. I think that their Peds experience is probably the best that I saw. Cardiac is great with a dedicated TEE rotation. Didactics seemed strong, but not overwhelming. They also have some international opportunities with the Interplast program which I thought was pretty cool. I think that overall it is a well balanced program.
For me, the two main drawbacks for the program are Palo Alto and the lack of trauma experience. Palo Alto was beautiful and seemed like a pretty cool town, but small enough that it could feel cramped after three or four years. It didn't sound to me like the residents go to the big city very often. Also, I think it's expensive for what you get although Stanford pays relatively well. The lack of trauma experience was downplayed by the residents and attendings there, and maybe a huge trauma volume isn't necessary for training, but I still consider it a relative weakness.
Overall, I think that it is a fantastic place to train with great academics and nice people in a decent location. Also, the Stanford reputation offers you every opportunity when finished with residency.
Tenesma said-------------------
MGH:
strengths:
1) strong academic center
2) strong surgical center
3) strong research center
4) most of the attendings have written most the stuff in anesthesia and/or invented it
5) excellent relationship between surgery and anesthesia
6) unbelievable ICU - surgical ICU is run by anesthesia
7) great camraderie
8) nice lifestyle in great city (especially if you are single): salary will be about 46-47k by the time you are a CA-1, call is between 3 and 5 times a month (except for SICU where it is q3 except you never take call on fridays)
9) great networking
weakness:
1) expensive city
2) crappy winter weather (watch the weather channel)
I have to say that i have been surprised for the better when I came here - I was really under the impression that i was going to be working hard in a malignant program based on everything i heard from other program directors (who in retrospect were just a bit envious).
Regional anesthesia: you will be an epidural/spinal expert after your OB/Ortho rotations, and during your rotations in same day care you will be doing Bier Blocks, Infra-clavicular, axillary, intra-scalene, ankle, femoral, sciatic, etc.... your exposure won't be top-notch/super-duper, but you will be very competent.
BOTTOM line: go where you think you will be happy - go where your significant other will be happy - go where you think you will fit in (personality wise). You will get a good education at most programs, but your happiness should come first - then the learning becomes more enjoyable... In retrospect for myself (and considering that i have friends at other "top" anesthesia programs), I wouldn't change ONE thing about my choice...
Jubal said----------------
I do notknow much about Davis however a recent poster seemingly spoke highly of them. UCLA is quite a mixed crowd of faculty, all very knowledgeable and willing to teach. Now I think there is a common general drawback with California programs compared to the MIdwest, and that is the "TIME" for teaching. Many California Medical Centers have been loosing money and efficinecy is over-empahsised, so that it may come BEFORE ABSOULTE resident teaching. That doesn't mean htere is no practical teaching or so. Otherwise it's a top program(excelent lectures, dedicated faculty, residency director Dr. Wald is excellent, as well as many faculty. They do research a lot.) and I am considering it number 3 on the west coast after UCSF, UWashington.
Sechen said----------------
wake: friendly residents with approachable faculty, some of them are active in publication and are known in the anesthesia academia. the program has a very strong national reputation. the regional program is also strong, as well as its ob component. the anesthesia and surgery departments get along well. do kidney and pancreas transplants. the town is its major drawback depends on how you look at it. winston-salem is a small city that is self-contained. of course, you cant compare winston-salem with atlanta or other major cities in the southeast.
unc: chapel hill is a very college town, lots of young college students and young intellectuals. the town has more vibrance than winston-salem. i was surprised by the program, they really made an effort to know you. i have never seen a chair and program director showed up during our dinner. i was very touched by their personal touch as well as their effort to get to know you as well as helping you to know the program better. the hopsital is nice and new, with separate women and children's hospitals. the cases are adequate but i dont know about the complexity of the cases. they seem to do more transplant than wake but they have less ob volume. the program has an upcoming reputation. the chair, dr. boysen, had really turned the program around since his arrival many years ago. i didnt hear of any program changes during my interview.
CaliGirlDO said----------------------------------
For those of you who are planning to apply to anesthesia next year and are interested in the west coast programs for more than just the weather/location....here is my take on the CA programs as it applies to DO's (since I have found it very difficult to find objective data about this):
They are basically split into your big name programs and the strong programs. Namely, UCSF, Stanford, and UCLA are "big name" and tend to only interview extremely competitive candidates with the whole package. They are also pretty DO unfriendly, meaning you can try to apply, but they will rank you lower just for being a DO regardless of your scores. I don't know any DO's who got an interview at UCSD. UC Irvine sometimes interviews DO's, I don't know many that have been accepted, unless you are a very strong candidate. Harbor-UCLA is also know to be pretty DO-unfriendly.
In California, the programs that are DO friendly are UC Davis and USC. Both programs were very accepting of me during my rotation and have a history of taking many DO's into their programs. Martin Luther King will consider DO's too, but it appears to be a very weak program with a lot of internal problems. I'd never go there with its reputation.
These are all that I could accumulate. Hope they help.
