UIC Anesthesia

[ILM5]

Hey everyone,

Does anyone have some insider info on the anesthesia residency at UIC? In terms of what the interview day is like and the quality of the program.
Please PM me if you like, thanks so much.

ILM5

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[shaz8901]

I haven't interviewed there yet, but I can tell you about the place since I did rotate there (pain and OR). Basically it is a moderately busy hospital located in west side of Chicago. Facilities are kinda old and hospital kinda small. Daily lectures at either 6:15 or 6:30, and not class specific. There are good attendings and some not so good attendings (panic easily and don't let residents do things). Workload is moderate and your out by 5. Workload used to be alot better which gave UIC the reputation of happy residents, not so much anymore but still better than other Chicago places. Residents are a mixed group of (in order of amount) UIC students, other md/do students, people switching from other specialties, and FMGs. In general I didn't find much camaraderie between residents. They tend to complain alot and talk bad about each other to us medical students. Overall training is decent but you don't see the volume that the other university programs in Chicago (rush, loyola, uofc, northwestern) see. Jobs and fellowships after residency are not as good as the other places either. UIC name doesn't carry nationally and the attendings are not so connected. The fellowships people do get are usually at UIC, and the attendings don't really go out on a limb in helping you look for jobs said one resident to me. However, in general residents said they liked their training. PM me if have any specific questions.

 

[ILM5]

Hey Thanks shaz for the info. I really appreciate it.

 

[gassman2011]

Does anyone else have anything to add regarding UIC? I really enjoyed the residents and faculty I met during my interview day, but the PD made a remark during my interview saying the program was on a "slippery slope" a few years ago, but the problems have been fixed. Does anyone know what he was referring to? Or why they are on a 3 year cycle? Also, some residents and faculty mentioned they were weaker in cardiac. Is it possible to make up for this with more CV during the CA3 year?

 

[nycitygas]

For what its worth, I've met a few UIC anesthesia alumni (my cousin went to med school and is a surg resident there) and all of them raved about the program.

 

[gassman2011]

Thanks for the response nycgas! Anyone else have input?

 

[maahyd]

one of our attendings and clinical coordinators trained at UIC in the mid 90s. He said he liked his training there but he felt that UIC took a huge hit after it lost its affiliate Michael Reese Hospital, which closed down. I don't know much about Michael Reese since it closed for buisness at the time when I started med school in 2007. However, I know that they did use to have their own anesthesia residency program on top of being affiliated with the UIC's anesthesia program. Some of our attendings trained at reese before it closed and they are some of our bigger guys in our dept; really intelligent attendings....... Anyway, I am guessing volume might have dropped after losing MRH but they might have got more affiliations to pick up that volume since then.

 

[flynnmd]

Went there during the nadir of anesthesia residents in the mid-90's so we and the attendings were worked to death. Almost no time to do Board work, but LOTS of clinical work - we were pushed out of the nest early. Practice is unrelated to the boards and many, many BC brainiacs I've met from other places are inept in the OR.
Morning report at 6:30a is great - lean from OTHER'S mistakes.
The former Chair may have created the "slippery slope" 3 years ago. The new Chair is great, support staff and techs are great, a greater number of attendings are great (expressing enthusiasm about their work) as compared to (let's say, Rush) which has more of a stiff ivory tower feel.