Stanford

[polkadotcap]

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Before anyone says anything, yes i have done a search...

I am curious about people's impressions of Stanford. My concern is that resident after resident during my interview day mentioned the same "con", which is that there is little to no predictability in their schedule....they may be out by 5 one day, then out by 7 or 8 the next, and then be on late call the next, etc., etc. This is primarily due to lack of CRNA's. This seemed to wear on the ones that mentioned it and I left without a clear feeling as to how this is really impacting most of them and their day-to-day. Trust me, I'm not looking for a "cush" residency. I want great training and I know that it will come, to some extent, at a price. That's fine. I would, however, like to have some tiny little shred of predictability to my week that will allow me to take perhaps an hour to myself to workout, read a book, etc each evening, that's all. For me this is something that is very important as I want to continue to be a well-rounded, motivated (read: not burned out) person, especially since my husband will be doing a surgical residency. I don't think it's too tall of an order given what I have seen at other top programs. Did anyone else get this impression? Any current Stanford med students/residents that have anything to add? Thanks in advance.

 

[cchoukal]

It sounds like the residents you talked to already answered your question. That is, they made it pretty clear that their end-times were unpredictable (or, rather, late). I did an away rotation there in peds anesthesia, and that was the sense I got then (2004) as well. They worked long hours. As a student, when I stayed as long as the resident, I'd be in at 0600 or so and out usually around 1900. On interview day, many of the residents remarked that there "isn't a lot of time to read," which I took as a similar complaint: they worked long hours.

As you wisely point out, great training, to some degree, requires this. I chose not to rank Stanford highly for a variety of reasons, but the program I picked and matched at has different work/service balance and has allowed me time to do some research, keep up on the textbooks and the journals, and get involved politically. This has been nice, but sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't be "better," whatever that means, if I humped more cases. Our attendings that have spent a lot of time in private practice insist the answer is "no," but I won't know 'til I'm out there. Anyway, programs will vary in this regard (the work hours and work/service/reading balance) and you'll just have to decide where a program is on that spectrum and how that fits YOUR paradigm for how you learn and what you think education/training is or should be.

 

[militarymd]

I'm biting my tongue.....or in this case....my hands.

 

[cchoukal]

I'm biting my tongue.....or in this case....my hands.

oh, come on; let's hear it!

 

[polkadotcap]

I'm biting my tongue.....or in this case....my hands.

agreed, come on, out with it 😀

 

[cchoukal]

we could take bets... my money is on:

the only way to be a great anesthesiologist is to do as many cases as possible and never read anything because you wouldn't want to know enough to know when you should ask the surgeon to work the patient up for something in order to lower their perioperative risks, as that would weaken the business relationship between the surgeon, the hospital, and your group.

BTW, that was supposed to be funny and tongue-in-cheek, not malignant or bitchy.

 

[toughlife]

oh, come on; let's hear it!

"Damn lifestylers". Am I right?

 

[toughlife]

It sounds like the residents you talked to already answered your question. That is, they made it pretty clear that their end-times were unpredictable (or, rather, late). I did an away rotation there in peds anesthesia, and that was the sense I got then (2004) as well. They worked long hours. As a student, when I stayed as long as the resident, I'd be in at 0600 or so and out usually around 1900. On interview day, many of the residents remarked that there "isn't a lot of time to read," which I took as a similar complaint: they worked long hours.

As you wisely point out, great training, to some degree, requires this. I chose not to rank Stanford highly for a variety of reasons, but the program I picked and matched at has different work/service balance and has allowed me time to do some research, keep up on the textbooks and the journals, and get involved politically. This has been nice, but sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't be "better," whatever that means, if I humped more cases. Our attendings that have spent a lot of time in private practice insist the answer is "no," but I won't know 'til I'm out there. Anyway, programs will vary in this regard (the work hours and work/service/reading balance) and you'll just have to decide where a program is on that spectrum and how that fits YOUR paradigm for how you learn and what you think education/training is or should be.

Any of the senior members have an input on this? Do more cases make you a better gas passer?

 

[militarymd]

I'm biting so hard , my fingers hurt🙂

 

[militarymd]

Any of the senior members have an input on this? Do more cases make you a better gas passer?

I'm 10 years out from residency and fellowship...and I feel that I'm still incrementally getting better at the art.....maybe I'm just a slow learner???

 

[cchoukal]

So does that mean, then, that it doesn't really matter how many cases you do in residency, beyond a certain minimum (the minimums set by the RRC and ACGME are pretty modest), since you have to keep learning/improving once you're out?

 

[DrDre']

You can argue it either way. Personally, I learn more when i have time to ponder, decompress, energy and time to study and such. my perfect day is 2 "big" cases.

I think u learn x amount from each case, but at what cost? IF you are just scutted out, u will not do the above

So does that mean, then, that it doesn't really matter how many cases you do in residency, beyond a certain minimum (the minimums set by the RRC and ACGME are pretty modest), since you have to keep learning/improving once you're out?

 

[militarymd]

So does that mean, then, that it doesn't really matter how many cases you do in residency, beyond a certain minimum (the minimums set by the RRC and ACGME are pretty modest), since you have to keep learning/improving once you're out?

depends on the kind of person you are.......see drdre's post