U of Chicago: Flight program?

[quideam]

I keep trying to find out more about this, but no one seems to know... just how involved are U of Chicago's residents in flight? Is it just second year? Second year and third year? How many shifts a month can you do? What's the maximum? How is their general EMS involvement? Also, does anyone know of any international EM going on there?

I'm just very curious because they seem to have a very strong flight program from looking at their website, but they don't come up much in discussions on SDN. Any info about flight plus the residency itself would be greatly appreciated!!

Quid

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[rxfudd]

From what I've gotten on my interview and with lots of discussion with applicants and a few of their residents:

1) Very involved. You are the flight doc, the only person with you is a flight nurse (who has years and years of experience and will back you up when you need it). Not too many scene flights as EMS in Chicago pretty much takes all of that. Lots of transfers, lots of procedures. Sounds like a solid experience.

2) It's not a shifts per month type of experience. In your second year, every shift at U of C is a flight shift. You wear the flight suit while you see patients and must be ready to quickly sign out whatever number of pts you have in a very short time and take off. While at the outset this sounds like a great deal, think about what it might be like to be focused on a handful of patients and have to drop it all immediately to go fly. Also think of what it would be like to be the senior who is already balancing a ton of patients and suddenly getting signed out 2-4 new ones while the second year goes flying. I also think that coming back after a long and exciting flight and having to go back to a shift alreay in progress may be a momentum killer. That said, this system guarantees that you will do a LOT of flying. Personally, I'd rather do it how U of Michigan does (2-3 shifts per month, every month, separate from the ED shifts) or Grand Rapids (moonlighting only).

3) They do a general EMS rotation, not sure of the details.

4) No official international fellowship there, but I got the impression that you can do something in terms of an elective if you want it. Also, you can do fixed wing moonlighting (international flights with patients who are going back to their countries, just making sure they are stable on the way). My understanding is that you can stay overnight in the country and come back the next day. Paid for the flight/moonlighting, plus you keep the miles.

 

[waterski232002]

I keep trying to find out more about this, but no one seems to know... just how involved are U of Chicago's residents in flight?

Rxfudd hit this on the nose... It is a flight nurse/flight doc team. The nurses are highly trained and excellent. We do 2 months of Trauma surgery and all our ICU's during 1st year so that by the time we are flight doc, we are comfortable will all serious emergencies from management of subarachnoid hemorrhages to tension pneumothorax. Some of your most sick patients in residency will be transport patients.

Is it just second year? Second year and third year? How many shifts a month can you do? What's the maximum? How is their general EMS involvement?

The 2nd year resident in the ER is the flight doc, so as Rxfudd stated, all your shifts are flight shifts. People are always concerned about the fact that the 2nd year has to be ready to go at any second when a flight takes off, but it's not really a problem at all. In fact, we used to run the flight program like Umich where you have independently "assigned" flight shifts, but this was terminated BY THE RESIDENTS. It was considered way too low yield, boring, and not educational. Residents ended up sitting around in a call room wasting all day at the hospital to get paged, and if weather was bad and there were no flights, you still had to sit there. They realized that as a resident, you need to see lots of patients, and if you're at the hospital, you mind as well be seeing patients and learning. Who wants extra shifts at the hospital where you sit around and do nothing?

Also, in response to it being a downer to come back from a flight and have to work, it's actually viewed as a high to get paged for a flight and get to take a break from the ER. Then when you get back, half your patients will be tucked and dispo'ed, so it's not like you have to play catch-up, its rather quite the opposite.

Furthermore, by the time you are a senior resident at UofC, you are expected to be responsible for the entire ER (main side) and know about all the patients to some degree. So when the 2nd year gets paged for a flight, he/she signs out quickly and leaves... the senior will cover, but they already are familiar with most the patients to some degree. It's more or less a nuts and bolts type sign out (check Mr. X's Troponin, touch base with Radiology about Mrs Y's CT chest). Trust me, as a 3rd year you're an EM monster.

Also, does anyone know of any international EM going on there?

We do not have a specific international EM rotation or fellowship, but there is time to go overseas if you are interested during 3rd year. We have research fellowship positions, an Emergency Resuscitation fellowship (very active in ACLS guidelines, hypothermia after cardiac arrest, and basic science), EMS fellowship, and Administration fellowship.

I'm just very curious because they seem to have a very strong flight program from looking at their website, but they don't come up much in discussions on SDN. Any info about flight plus the residency itself would be greatly appreciated!!

I posted more general information about the program under the UIC vs University of Chicago thread... as always, if you have any more questions feel free to post or PM me...