programs in the midwest, south??

[jocwyo]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me about anesthesiology programs in the midwest and south. Specifically, I'm interested in learning about the programs at Baylor, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Texas Southwestern, University of Texas - Houston, Vanderbilt, Texas A$M, and University of Kansas - Wichita. Does anyone have any info about these programs? I'm interested in learning about their reputation, competitiveness, and atmosphere. I've checked out Scutwork already, but still need some help. Thanks.

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[OldManDave]

I appled to very few program in the South/Southwest, but will gladly give you info on what I do know.

Univ of FL - AWESOME program, cool town (esp if your a single person). The Chair & Chair Emeritus are superb! The weakest part of the program, in my opinion, was the structure of the CBY. Prior to my app year, it had been a Dept of Anesth run internship that was heavy in options & critical care. However, due to some financial issues, that was dropped such that 1/2 of their interns did a surg internship & the other half did an IM one. Other than that, I have nothing but accolades for the program.

Vandy - ended up turning down their invitation. I met a couple of Vandy MS-4s on the interview trial. Neither one of them had applied to their own gas program. Both said the program had had problems in years past but was on the mend...but not to the point where they would have chosen to go there. I met these 2 on separate interviews.

Wash U - rejected me outright...nice, polite rejection letter - very similar to the rejection from them when I applied to their medical school. Oh well, no loss of sleep there. St. Louis is a pretty cool place though...very mid-western, sort of a mix of Southern & Northern cultures...be aware though, the food in the mid-west is way bland. Those folks are afraid of spices - they actually think salt & pepper are SPICEY!

Univ of Ark - largely, I applied there to keep the family happy...I grew up in Little Rock, but have not lived in 10 or so years. As I understand it (that means the following is hearsay from multiple sources), the UAMS program had several years of severe problems. They could not keep a stable Chair or Program Dir - and for anyone who ever played sports, you can't have a winning team w/o a solid infrastructure! Allegedly, an immediately past Chair even went to the pokey for embezzlement or something...again, this was something I heard from chatter while I was interviewing there. I have no idea as to the factual basis. Anyhow, they now have a real Chair...had been the interim Chair for a couple of years...& 2 guys are sharing the PD slot. If I correctly recall, one of them was from UFL & the other from Univ of Rochester. However, I found myself very underwhelmed by the newly appointed Chair. I think that this is a diamond in the rough...just a bit too rough to earnestly consider just yet.

 

[pasgasser]

The Southeast has several top notch programs.

University of Alabama Birmingham is where I did my training and I am very satisfied with the education I received there. They have a very large daily case load and will likely expand after the completion of the new hospital which is under construction. The clinical faculty is overall young and energetic but also has multiple nationally recognized anesthesiologist including 6 past or present ABA oral board examiners who give biannual mock orals to the residents. The department also has a private library with a librarian dedicated only to the anesthesia department. They take 16 residents per class (expanding to 18) and have only had one person in the last five years not pass the written boards on their first attempt. If you are interested in the south I would certainly visit UAB.

I know much less about the other programs in the south; however, Wake Forest, Duke, Florida, and The U. of Virginia all have good reputations.