Thoughts on Virginia Mason

[SallySux]

Just wondering if anyone else interviewed at VM and would like to share their thoughts. I really liked the "feeling" I got from the program/faculty/residents--they all seem happy. Good national recognition for such a small program, esp for the regional. Good cardio/TEE opportunities. Seattle is vibrant, progressive, fun. Case numbers seemed pretty good to me, however, lacking a bit in noncardio thoracic, peds <1yr, cranies, and trauma. Another bummer is only one elective month in CA-3 year. Comparing case numbers vs. RRC requirements VM beats out many big-namers, ie Hopkins and BWH. Fast, private surgeons make for "real-world" experience. Overall, I really like the program and may rank it in my top 3, but I worry about the case complexity and flexibility here.
Let me know what you thought or what you have heard. Thanks.

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[gas-x]

i was told by other program directors that VM spends more than 50% of the time performing regional on their cases. that sounds like fun to me, but how practical is it. in the private sector, you still really need to be a pro with general anesth. my opinion is that i would rather be at a large program with full exposure to all types of patients (trauma, transplant, peds cardio, etc..) and spend a few months doing regional.

besides, they rejected me. so i piss on them, anyways.

 

[H&P-Stat]

besides, they rejected me. so i piss on them, anyways.

LOL!

That's funny. I feel the same way about a few other programs on the west coast.

 

[Eli T]

I also had a good experience at the interview. What does it mean to spend 50% of the time performing regional anesthesia? Are you suggesting that of 11 hours at the hospital each day, that 5 and one half are spent doing regional? That does not sound right.

VM will have you believe that they do a great deal of regional AND general. Still, I am sure that everyone who interviews there wonders a little about the general experience.

My other concern is ICU experience. Strangely, on their PDF brochure there is someone writing a testimonial about VM who is now (or then) doing a fellowship in Critical Care at Johns Hopkins. The VM argument is that in their residency program one further develops the ability to think critically and act with composure in stressful situations. What do you guys think?

The other programs I am seriously considering are UCSD, and University of New Mexico. I attended medical school here in NM, my wife's family is here, and we have a baby boy. Not that the UNM program is bad, but it is not normally considered in the same category as the other two.

Aren't you from San Diego, Sally Sux? What do you think of that program?

 

[SallySux]

I think you get a lot of both regional and general at VM. This is because most cases will utilize both--they are big on post-op pain control with regional techniques. On top of that, they just do a ton of cases compared to the big academic places (last year's grads ave almost 600/yr x3=1800). Some of these are simple, as anywhere, but the heavy caseload stems from the fact that you are in a private setting with fast surgeons (my buddy did a sub-i in Gsurg there and said that in one OR, in one day, they would schedule 2 gastric bypasses and a whipple--don't see that kind of turnover in academic hospitals). I don't know, cases with general may be approx 50%, but is still probably very close to the number of general cases you would do anywhere else. The downfall of a private setting may be that you get less autonomy?? And they don't do liver/hearts/lung tx and offer minimal elective months in CA-3 year (this may also contribute to high case number). The ICU experience is at harborview and sounded like a good experience to me--sounds like they get a lot of autonomy over there.

UCSD is solid. Same type of small program feel as VM. Awesome, big-name faculty--airway month with Dr. Benumoff (he designed the difficult airway algo.) is supposed to be great. Drummond and Patel wrote chapters in Miller and they work with residents often. Excellent case load with diverse patients. Good job connections in the area (although SD pay is probably lowest anywhere)Downfalls are probably regional and ICU (it's an open unit). Location...sweet.