UCSF quality of life

[tmudphud]

Hello all. I was just trying to find out a little bit about quality of life for the neurology program at UCSF. I know it has a top-notch repuation from both a clinical and research perspective...but I know little about the call schedule, whether the program is considered relatively malignant/benign/average, if the residents generally happy, etc.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

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[mrravioli]

Hey tmudphud,

I think it's fair to say that in the past the call schedule and general workload during the inpatient months at UCSF have been pretty tough (particularly at SFGH and Parnassus). However, the residency has rapidly expanded in the past 3 years from 6-7 residents/year to 10 this year which will serve to distribute the workload/call months better. For details of the call schedule, I would check out their website. In general though, while tired, even the research-oriented residents are pretty psyched about the intense clinical experience they get. Another benefit of the expanded number of residents is that now they can offer residents a consecutive 6 month block of time without any clinical responsibilities during the R3 or R4 year to start a research project in order to expedite getting one's first junior researcher grant coming out of residency.

Hope that helps.

 

[GopherBrain]

tmudphud-

I think that mrravioli summarized things pretty well. "Malignant" is a funny word, and means different things to different people. If you use malignancy as a proxy for work-load, it is true that UCSF was perhaps a bit over-the-top in the past. However, this is changing quickly, and the current program structure would be a shock to the residents of only a few years ago. For example, the Moffitt senior used to supervise the junior on the inpatient service AND handle consults. This job is now done by three separate people - and they all keep busy! Likewise, the duties I did as neurovascular resident last year are divided between two R2 residents this year. Finally, the Moffitt call used to be a fairly terrifying solo experience, but now there are two residents in house until at least 10 PM 6 nights a week. I'm taking call this month, and it is hard to overstate what a dramatic improvement this is for both residents and patients.

In terms of the other use of malignancy - just a general state of unhappiness and dysfunction - I don't think anyone would accuse UCSF of falling into that category. The residents get along very well, the faculty treat residents with respect, and the program administration is always willing hear and act on our suggestions for improvement.

I don't want to paint a picture so rosy that you think it can't be true. Every residency program has annoyances. The UC medical record system is currently a sort of unstable transitional species between paper and electronic, allowing us to deal with the down-sides of both systems. This will hopefully resolve itself before too much more time passes. There are other similar examples, but overall I think UCSF is an excellent program, and I would rank it just as highly if I was matching again this year.

 

[tmudphud]

I guess I use "mailgnant" loosely and leave it up to interpretation...whether it's excessive work-hours, condescending attendings, general malaise, etc. it always has a negative connotation. Was just probing for general satisfaction at UCSF from active residents.

Your responses were very helpful--sounds like a great program. Thanks so much for the information.

-tmudphud