Pir8DeacDoc said:
UF has been known to have some PACU issues that can be a real pain in the rear when your case is over and you get to sit on the patient in the OR. They have too much volume and not enough space, IMHO.
I know the original thread here were commentson a choice between UF and UM, but did want to make one more comment after seeing some of these posts. Having graduated from UM I have many friends who went to the states four programs, even though I ended up on the west coast. One of my best friends is at USF. At first he thought he was going to die during the begining stages of the CA1 year adn wanted out, but is now changing his mind. The reason was the case load was so huge and they ran in general at a very high level of intensity. He felt as many CA1's did, over his head.
Right now I think there is a window of opportunity at that program. Two years ago there was a great deal of negitive things going around about the program- even now it seems. However, USF did something which took a great deal of balls. They had two sources of anesthesia services at Tampa GH. One was the hospital hired teaching attendings and one was a private group. The private group was doing ALL the major cases- heart transplants, livers, everything. The residents got what was left over - this is why two years ago they did most of their cardiac training at another hospital - even though TGH is number 12 in the nation for heart transplants. During this time CA3's would often have nothing to do - even with major cases going on a stones throw away.
The Dean of Med. made a gutsy choice along with the head of the group. They gave the TGH teaching portion to the group. (The residents also train at a large cancer institute, the local VA, and a childrens hospital considered the best in the region.) This angered many doctors at the hospital, including other specialties, and some quit. It was a major battle. This is what you are reading about when you google the program.
As a result most CA1s this year have already done several Kidney transplants and most have assisted attendings on or watched liver, heart and heart+lung transplants and are working most anything else you can think of.
Because of the serous nature and sheer quantity of cases being done at this hospital, what most med students don't know when searching for info is that the majority of these attendings are fellowship trained anesthesiologists from major programs like MGH, SCSF and Cleveland, including what appear to be one the best neuro and critical care docs (two seperate people) in the nation and several outstanding cardio and pain attendings.
Tampa General is the only level 1 trauma center for the Gulf Coast of Florida and gets all major cases for the region. I am a CA2 at UCLA, yet my friend there has already done far more cases as a CA1 in both quantity and complexity than I had done at the same time. Although I am happy where I am at, I do regret my choice to just blow them off because of the information I received at the time.
If you want a big academic career then you need to get into one of the bigs. However, if want to stay in Florida for your residency and your resume won't get you into the Mayo, USF might be a good choice. I belive this will only be for a year or two more because if things keep improving at the current rate and they start firing on all four they will have better match choices in the future and become more competitive.
Sorry for the long post, but it seems to make sense to me. For three years you work along side some of the best private practice attendings in Florida who work for a living, not ones who are consumed with publishing research findings. The PD and new Chair are working with all the attendings to improve teaching skills, but you still may have to hit the books a bit more and take Jensen's course to really seal the deal on the boards, but you won't have to fight for or double up for great cases at any stage of your training. Compared to MANY programs, this is a major plus.
