ROL: VCU vs MCW

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rolhelp

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7+ Year Member
Aside from the location differences, this is how I see them:

MCW:

+Case variety
+Didactics

-Hours?


VCU:

+Better Hours/Moonlighting
+Residents were super happy

-#1 CRNA school in country


It's so late in the season everything is a blur.
 
I interviewed at both. Ranked MCW higher, and matched here. Overall I'm pretty happy with the program. Hours are not that different than any other program in the country, 60-65 for general ORs.

I think it depends on where you want to end up after residency- most of our grads stay in the midwest.
 
At VCU, the CRNA school does not affect the residents really whatsoever. A senior resident is the one who makes the schedule every day, and residents always get preference. CRNA's more often than not relieve residents, and not the other way around. The CRNA presence at VCU helps keep the work hours reasonable, leaving more time to study / moonlight / enjoy life.

Autonomy is great and really increases job satisfaction. Residents are happy and attendings / surgeons are not malignant. Didactics are not strong, which many residents (who do well on boards anyways) do not mind. Lecture every day after a long day in the OR is a drag. Chairman is well connected for fellowships. Overall highly recommend VCU for anesthesia.
 
anesdv said:
At VCU, the CRNA school does not affect the residents really whatsoever. A senior resident is the one who makes the schedule every day, and residents always get preference. CRNA's more often than not relieve residents, and not the other way around. The CRNA presence at VCU helps keep the work hours reasonable, leaving more time to study / moonlight / enjoy life.

Autonomy is great and really increases job satisfaction. Residents are happy and attendings / surgeons are not malignant. Didactics are not strong, which many residents (who do well on boards anyways) do not mind. Lecture every day after a long day in the OR is a drag. Chairman is well connected for fellowships. Overall highly recommend VCU for anesthesia.
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This is completely false. The CRNA school takes much higher precedence than the residency. One of the deans is married to a CRNA and residents do not get all the good cases as they should. Autonomy, yes. But autonomy at VCU means no one will help you learn anything. The program director has no interest in providing residents with structured didactics and farms them out to the chief residents who are picked based on the whims of the faculty. You will often find one or two of them sleeping in the call room during the day as well. I would avoid this program unless you want to take a back seat to your future replacements.
 
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