University of Alabama at Birmingham Residency Reviews

[DoctorRock]

Now that UAB will be a 1-3 program, there was concern that they wouldn't be able to take a full class of residents this year, and not participate in ERAS, but they found out that they will be able to take 8 this year.

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[EM_Rebuilder]

Just Curious..

Say there is someone advanced match to start with UAB next year as a PGY2; and they are currently doing their 'prelim' year somewhere.


Why should they stay in the prelim year? Shouldn't they just 'quit' and relax or kick it the rest of the year? I am just wondering how a program handles that?

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Hey guys - i'm an R2 at UAB. First of all, when the next class of R2s matched, the format was 2-4, and this is how they matched and their funding is set up. Second, if they were to quit, they wouldn't have a job for the year, and would not be paid, not to mention leaving their fellow interns holding the bag for the work. Third, they would have to re-enter ERAS in order to fill one of the new intern spots. They are counted in our resident complement for 08-09 as an R2, not as an R1. To start next year as an R2, the intern year is required per the RRC-EM.

I hope everyone takes a look at our program. We have an amazing facility, the curriculum is going to continue to be great. We do plenty of trauma as part of our trauma rotations and during our community rotation in Montgomery, a level 2 trauma center. Our peds experience is a strong point, as you do a dedicated month as an intern and then shifts are mixed in with ED shifts during the other 2 years. We also do a PICU (3 wks) rotation and a NICU rotation (2 wks). The Children's Hospital of Alabama is staffed with Peds EM boarded faculty, and has a volume of about 65K. LOTS of kids! If you're into research, our program is one of the top EM departments in the nation as far as NIH funding. Strong points are ultrasound, disaster, toxicology, peds, stroke, cards. We are planning a new chest pain center in the next year, as our assistant program director is fellowship-trained in cardiovascular emergencies (UVa). We have a terrific faculty, great schedules (8s on weekdays, 12s on weekends, 2 weekends off per block), and because UAB is a national leader in medicine, peds, OB/Gyn, neuro, ortho trauma, your off service rotations are taught by the best. Our new program director is amazing (insists we call him Andy and plays foosball with us in the call room); he is a Birmingham native and plans to retire here. Birmingham is a great city. Buy a house here for what your friends are spending on a 1,000 sqft apartment in Manhattan. Plenty to do, from outdoor activities to great restaurants, shopping and nightlife. We are a million population metro, so lots of volume and pathology. We are a friendly group (it's the South) and are extremely excited to have new interns and are looking forward to working with our new R2s next year. So - come check us out!!

 

[bcsmith]

Here is another review of UAB that I recently placed on scutwork.com (it is currently being reviewed for posting). It reiterates a lot of the points made by my fellow residents. I'd be happy to entertain any questions also. PM me.
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham's emergency medicine residency program has been around since 2000. It has undergone many changes since its inception, but it is now starting to settle in as a premiere southern location to train in emergency medicine. We have just been APPROVED to convert from a PGY2-4 program to a PGY1-3 program. We will be interviewing our first class of 8 interns this November through ERAS.

Residents work an average of 55 hours a week, once you include our 4 weekly hours of lecture. Shifts are 8 hours M-F, 12 hours on weekends. Because we work weekend 12s, every resident gets 2 weekends off / month. Also, the PGY3s and 4s typically will get one 3-day weekend off / month. In a typical ED month, 28-day block:

PGY2s work 19 shifts:
- 16 UED eights
- 3 UED twelves

PGY3s work 19 (easier) shifts:
- 11 UED eights
- 3 UED twelves
- 2 EMS ride-along eights
- 3 Peds ED eights

PGY4s work 17 shifts:
- 11 eights
- 3 twelves
- 3 Peds ED eights

*After the format change the number of shifts for interns will be roughly the same as those listed here for PGY2s.

A typical day begins in the "rounds room," where all oncoming and offgoing residents meet to discuss an interesting patient or two. The offgoing senior resident and attending usually give a "pearl," then everyone breaks to their respective work assignments. The emergency department at UAB is divided into varying pods according to patient acuity; each pod is between 9-12 beds. There are separate pods for urgent care (covered by one attending - we never have to work here) and trauma (covered by trauma team: 2 EM residents on team / month). There is usually one EM resident / pod, with rotating residents helping out in the lower level's pod as well. PGY2s starting out are expected to carry at least half a pod, slowly graduating to a full pod by themselves as a mid-year PGY-2. Attendings will see patients on their own to facilitate ED flow.

Workload includes taking checkout from the offgoing resident ASAP after rounds to get them home. Each patient encounter is dictated by the resident. PGY-3s begin to take checkout from medical students and rotating interns. PGY-3s and 4s carry an airway pager that receives trauma alerts (shock trauma). They respond to the trauma bay to cover the airway. Every resident carries a wireless phone for consult calls.

There is little to no scutwork here. All IVs started by nurses, techs to transport, RTs manage vents. After having worked at The Med in Memphis, Grady in Atlanta, and Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga - I can confidently say that the ancillary staff at UAB is second to none. This ED has the feel of a community hospital, with the patient mix of both a well respected tertiary care transplant and trauma center as well as your typical county indigent population.

Off service rotations for the PGY2s include: Anesthesia, OB/GYN, Trauma, PedsED, Ortho, MICU, and Cardiology. PGY3s have Toxicology, Ophthalmology/NICU, PICU, community ED rotation in Montgomery, and an Elective. PGY4s have the same Montgomery rotation, a Research/Administration month, a senior Trauma rotation, and 2 Elective months. UAB's other residencies are nationally known and well respected - our off service education is fantastic.

Teaching

We have an ever growing core faculty at UAB. Over the past few years we have added an average of 3 faculty / year. The eldest faculty is a well seasoned IM trained doc who was practicing EM before it was its own specialty. We are getting some young energetic attendings just out of residency – several from Charity, Emory, and UVA. All faculty are interested in resident education, teaching on the fly at the bedside. There are a growing number of faculty who will sit down in the middle of a busy shift to give you a “mini-lecture” on a pertinent EM topic. Didactic education occurs during our weekly lecture series, on Wednesday mornings. Lasting 4 hours, this lecture time is 100% protected. Lectures are very high quality, and typically interactive. Of course, core EM topics are covered in detail with a slant toward current evidenced based medicine. Literature-based lectures occur monthly, including a two-hour journal club hosted by a different attending each month. We frequently have collaborative lectures with the MICU, trauma, pediatrics, radiology, neurology, and cardiology. Each month we cover a topic in Tintinalli and go over board questions. We also do oral review cases for the upper level residents in front of an audience (to simulate the stress of oral boards). Just recently UAB has converted and old MICU into a simulation lab, with $100k patient simulators on which residents can perform procedures (intubate, central lines, pericardiocentesis, cricothyrotomy, etc) and run codes (EKGs / chest compressions etc). Our goal is for our residents to run simulation codes once every 2 months.

Atmosphere

Residents have a close sense of camaraderie. After meeting for weekly lectures we all have lunch together (typically sponsored). Monthly planned outings at local restaurants and pubs and monthly nighttime journal clubs bring us together. Many attending will come to these events as well, some will ask you out for a beer after your evening shift. Last year we had our first-ever resident retreat. Everyone was given 36 hours free from all clinical duties, and we all spent the day at a lakehouse. This really brought a sense of cohesiveness to the residents. We are in the mist of planning this year’s retreat, which the faculty wholeheartedly support. About half the residency is married, some with children. I have developed lifelong friendships with a few of my fellow residents. Our residents come from all around the states including many from the southeast, California, Michigan, and West Virginia to name a few. While UAB does accept IMG applications, we currently only have US graduated residents. UAB’s physical plant is fantastic. A new state of the art emergency department was built a few years ago, and officially opened in November 2004. The setup for each pod is a central desk: one side has 4 computers for the nurses and desk clerks, and one side has 4 computers for the physicians. There are consult nooks with computers for admitting residents. The central desk is surrounded by 9-12 rooms. There is a psych room, ortho room with a C-arm, a medical resuscitation bay, an OB delivery room with warmer, and 6 trauma bays. Many people think of the old south when they think of Birmingham, but what they do not realize is that it is really quite progressive. There is affordable housing on a resident’s salary, some great nightlife in 5-Points, and some incredible eateries. There are great family neighborhoods in Hoover and Homewood, with several neighborhoods for young artsy intellectuals in the Highlands area. Atlanta is just 2 hours to the east, Chattanooga 2 hours to the north, and San Destin beach Florida is a short 4 hour hop away. With 2 weekends off per month and many light off-service rotations, many residents have time to do some moonlighting. There are several single and double covered EDs within easy driving distance of Birmingham where residents can moonlight to make some extra money – easily doubling their monthly income. Also at UAB is a unique in-house moonlighting opportunity called critical care transport. The service includes 3 EMS trucks and 2 fixed wing jets that serve to transport critically ill patients between hospitals. Residents can moonlight on this service, providing critical procedures and medical care to one patient per trip.

Conclusion

Past residents who have graduated have taken faculty positions, joined lucrative community EM practices across the US, and one recently completed a prestigious EM cardiology fellowship at UVA. There is ample opportunity to do research and publish papers, and also to write review articles or book chapters. For those interested in a fellowship after residency, UAB currently offers a critical care fellowship and a research fellowship. Overall, I feel my EM education at UAB has struck the perfect balance between book smarts and clinical relevance. After seeing many southern EM residencies including CMC and Emory, UAB was my #1 choice in the match. If I had to do it all over again, I would, without a doubt, select UAB. This is a program that really is going places. One major advantage to UAB is that it is young enough that residents still have a major say in the shape of things to come, and old enough that all the major kinks have been ironed out. I would certainly welcome any questions about what we have to offer at UAB.
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[ancientmariner]

Hey, I heard there was some discussion about UAB EM so I thought I'd check it out. I'm a PGY4 at UAB EM. I saw some questions so I thought I might as well answer some i saw.

1. The peds shifts at Children's Hospital (one of the busiest in the country, also staffed by awesome peds EM fellows) are incorporated amongst your shifts in the Univ ED, not in separate blocks. We also do neonatal resusc rotation in the NICU, and peds ICU.

2. The new curriculum is in the works as we speak. Come interview and we'll tell you all about it!

3. Someobody asked about trauma - plenty of trauma. I'm sick of trauma and I haven't even done my senior trauma month. We get trauma in three arenas. First in the main ED we see all non-"shock" trauma (i.e. low to moderate MVCs, GSW to extremities, etc.). Then on our dedicated trauma months we do all shock trauma (we call them trauma "alerts"). Finally, our "community" rotation happens to be at a level II facility were all the traumas are just us, no surgery residents etc. The one trauma surgeon only comes down for the real clusters and then stands at the back of the room while you and sometimes the EM attending do everything. Several of our people have done thoracotomies at our "community rotation." I just left there and one day my five-foot nothing sixty-something year old attending who's been doing it for forty years said "Hey, we got a trauma coming in, it sounds like he's dying, you got it?" I said "Sure," and he smiled and walked off. No problem, right? ABCs. Of course, he was right outside if I needed him. Good times, good times. Oh, also we do all the trauma airways.


This is going to be a really fun year next year and i'm sad to miss it. To clarify, we'll be starting 16 new residents 8 PGY1s and 8 PGY2s. I don't forsee this to be problematic at all, but rather really fun. It's going to be crazy and we're all really really excited. Those cats are going to have a kickass resident retreat! We need more residents - we are BUSY! BTW, we're also hiring several additional attendings. I think one of them is a wilderness med type. Also we're starting a chest pain center led by one of our grads who did an emergency cardiology fellowship and came back. Awesome guy. Everything is growing here.

Also of note, almost all of us are moonlighting in our last two years. This is controversial in the field of EM, so i'll say it here unofficially. There are a LOT of places to do it around here. It's an invaluable experience to be on your own as the only doctor in a little ED (or in the entire hospital) in the middle of the night out in Nowhere AL. when the grits hit the fan. Some hair raising stories there. Remember, future employers consider this a VERY important experience!! It builds both confidence and humility at the same time. But this is TOTALLY unconnected to the program. You do it only if you want to and on your own. Oh incidentally, you can nearly double your salary with 2 shifts a month

Just apply, come, eat BBQ, interview. See our awesome new ED. It's a good time.

A.M.

 

[trisomy55]

Does any of the current EM residents at UAB consider the change to a 1-3 format a bit disrespectful to them, who have worked hard for a year during internship under the pretext that it was useful to their training? As someone who matched into a 2-4, and is now suffering my dues during internship, I know I'd find it tough to swallow if my program suddenly switched to a 1-3, and I was to work alongside interns next year. A change to 1-4 is understandable, at least the overall length is the same.

 

[Hercules]

Does any of the current EM residents at UAB consider the change to a 1-3 format a bit disrespectful to them, who have worked hard for a year during internship under the pretext that it was useful to their training? As someone who matched into a 2-4, and is now suffering my dues during internship, I know I'd find it tough to swallow if my program suddenly switched to a 1-3, and I was to work alongside interns next year. A change to 1-4 is understandable, at least the overall length is the same.

That's a great question and while I can't speak for every resident here, I think most if not all of us are pretty excited about the change and feel like it is a step forward for the program. I don't find it disrespectful. I wanted us to go to a 1-3 format the year I was applying, and now as an R3 I still want us to be a 1-3 format. I don't really believe in the 2-4 format. I believed in UAB's program so I ranked it numebr one despite the 2-4 format. Do I think I gained experiences and knowledge during my intern year? Absolutely. But do I think that year was neccessary to complete before starting my EM training? Absolutely not.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

I'm an R2 who did a year of EM at a 1-3 program last year and transferred back for family reasons. I am really excited about the new R2s AND having interns next year. As an R2, they will still have a leg up on the interns, but I know it's frustrating that you were only a year or two ahead of the change. But we knew what we were getting into, and I think this will only make our program better. We've been trying to make a change for a while now, and it's finally happened!

 

[PCG]

Hey guys, I'm one of the interns doing my preliminary year before starting at UAB EM next year as an R2. I just wanted to weigh in on this discussion. First of all, I'll be honest, it was tough to swallow the news about the format change, but I got over it in about 24 hours. I was not a proponent of the 4 year format then, nor am i now, but I ranked UAB #1 because I rotated there during my 4th year and thought it was an awesome program and, at that time, in my opinion the best kept secret in emergency medicine. I have no regrets whatsoever. Now, with the format change, the secret is out!!

I could write a long review about the residents, faculty, facilities and city, but let my plug for UAB be summed up by saying: I liked this program so much after my away rotation and interview that it was well worth the extra year to me.

As for people feeling sorry for my class and asking "what are they going to do?". Well, for starters, I'm gonna keep going to work everyday and continue to try to master EKGs, ACS, intubation, plain film reading skills, etc., etc. It would be a waste of time to sit around and feel sorry for myself, agreed?

So, come check out the program, you won't regret it. I recommend eating at Broadway Barbeque in Homewood and getting a bbq spud. Later taters.

 

[Pure Anergy]

Posted anonymously on behalf of a student who interviewed there.

UAB:
Faculty/PD/Chair: I absolutely love the PD here- he is amazing. He is so cool (he tells everyone to call him “Andy”) but also unbelievably dedicated to the program and the residents. He is incredibly motivated and also so much fun. The Chair is also great- she is a bit older than the PD but equally devoted to the program. The faculty are, per the PD, “young” but they didn’t really seem that way to me. They seemed very experienced and confident but also nice.

Residents: 10/class. Plan to increase to 12 spots during our tenure as residents.Extremely Southern. Very male heavy (only 1-2 females in each class) but they report that they want more females. Some of the residents are older and a BUNCH have kids- the program appears to be extremely family-friendly. All of the residents talked about how supportive the program is. There were tons and tons of people at the dinner the night before, and they brought their kids out too.

Curriculum: All interns spend July in the ED. 2 months trauma total (1 in PGY-1 and 1 in PGY-3). Interestingly, trauma months are done in the ED, not on a trauma ward. As such, they aren’t responsible for progress notes, rounding, or any of that fun stuff. Also, they have a lot of down time in between traumas to get reading done. They reportedly get a good mix of blunt and penetrating trauma. Half the month EM gets trauma airways; half the month Anesthesia does (but residents say it is more than enough airway experience- they get sick of it). Very clearly graduated autonomy in the ED. ED attending has admitting privileges. Reportedly strong off-service rotations (cards, IM, MICU, OB as a PGY-1) but you are expected to perform as an intern in that specialty. OB is NOT a call month.

Didactics sound like a great mix of lectures, case-based, simlabs, and EBM. They have research foci in resuscitation, shock, medical education, bioterrorism, and WMD (and dept pays for travel if presenting research- even to international places.) They work 172 hours/month (national average is 190 hours). All peds faculty are board-certified in PEM. PEM time is integrated. The SIM lab is amazing- it’s an old converted ICU and even has a simlady that delivers a baby. Just starting a cadaver lab this year.

Moonlighting is really a very notable highlight of the program- there are TONS of moonlighting opportunities, and it is not just allowed but strongly encouraged. Some of the residents I spoke to double their monthly incoming moonlighting, and they are actually paid by UAB (so no need to fill out different forms). Moonlighting opportunities range from critical care flight transport to community ED (double coverage, then single coverage as a PGY-3). This is apparently an invaluable experience in terms of job-seeking. 20% of grads go into academics; 80% go into private practice. 3 months total of (very flexible) electives.

Lifestyle: Literally one of the best resident lifestyles I have ever heard of, while still seeming to provide a very solid training and education. They work 12s on the weekend so that they get two weekends off per month (and usually one of them is a 3 day weekend) during their EM months. They have plenty of time to do a LOT of moonlighting (see above). All of the residents seemed really happy and had a lot of time with their families. 3 weeks + 5 days(over the holidays) off per year.

Facilities: Much nicer and bigger than I had expected. The ED set-up was very impressive: there were separate pods, but instead of being divided based on acuity or complaint, they were just random so you see all types of CCs and acuity in all of the pods. (The one exception is the trauma pod, but that’s run completely separately). All of the ED patient rooms have wooden doors on them, so patients are less likely to wander out. The ED seemed steady but not particularly busy while we were there, but it was pretty early in the AM. They have all the cool toys in the ED you would expect, and have 2 CT scanners in the ED. They are building a new “addition” (that is actually way bigger than the present facility) of the peds hospital that will be completed during our time there.

City: Birmingham was gorgeous. The city itself wasn’t that exciting but the outskirts (including where we went to dinner the night before) was incredibly nice. The mountains are very pretty and there are apparently a lot of cool cultural activities and parks in the area. Apparently, cost of living is very good and the traffic is not too bad, even for those who live 15-20 miles outside of the city. Apparently there is a decent amount of violence in Birmingham but not near the hospital or where the residents live. Everyone in the city was so nice and friendly- I guess that’s the South for you. There were lots of pretty streets with bars and shops.

Interview Day: Very easy and laid-back. Start early with a light breakfast and slideshow with the PD. He emphasized finding the residency that is the right fit for you, even if it’s not UAB, which I thought was nice. After the slideshow, a tour with a resident and the PD. Then, back to the EM office for 4 interviews- 1 with PD, 1 with Chair, 1 with Chief Resident, and 1 with another faculty member. There was a lot of waiting between interviews, but we were hanging out in the residents’ lounge with the residents so it was fine. After that, they walk you across the hospital for a lunch in the cafeteria, which was pretty good. Then, the day is over plenty early for catching flights.

Cons: Very new program (2001). Very Southern, male, and parent residents (could be + or -, depending on your perspective). Grads seem to mainly stay in the south- whether this is by choice or necessity I don’t know. Some boring off-service months (cards, OB, IM, MICU) but the PD said they are very flexible in terms of getting rid of rotations that are not useful (they axed the SICU because it sucked).

Summary: Very pleasantly surprised by this program- it was really great. They had amazing lifestyles but also seemed extremely competent (both due to the extensive moonlighting and the residency training proper). Was initially concerned by the newness of the program, but it seems to be a non-issue. Residency leadership is top-notch. Definitely a certain demographic of residents- I need to decide if I want to go to a very southern, male-heavy, child-filled program. But I think this would be an amazing (and very happy) place to train and plan to rank it highly.

 

[SuziQ]

This is a couples' match list...if it were just me, my list would likely look pretty different. Some programs would have been higher on the list (especially Cinci), but Vandy definitely would still have been my #1.

I interviewed at 18 programs, and ranked all 18. This ROL is obviously just my (and my fiance's) opinion- no offense to anyone is intended. It was really helpful for me to look through ROLs from past years, so I thought I should reciprocate by posting mine.

I felt so fortunate to get to interview at these programs and honestly thought each of them had notable strengths. The couples match certainly complicates things (and requires LOTS of negotiation) but luckily I feel like I would be happy at a lot of these places.

Let me know if you have any questions about my list or the programs I visited. I'm happy to give my advice/thoughts to next year's applicants too- just message me!

1) Vandy: I am absolutely in love with this program. Love the faculty, love the Chair and PD, love the residents. It's one of the most resident-centric programs I have seen, with the best teaching in the country. Very busy ED with so many critical care patients. Tons of trauma because of huge cachement area; great relationship with trauma surg. Curriculum extremely well thought-out, including no floor months. Residents are very close and are amazing people. Very diverse patient population (tertiary care, uninsured/underinsured, bread and butter EM, peds, immigrants). Nashville is a really fun city, great COL, easy to live right by the hospital. Grads go anywhere in the country they want. This program has everything I want.

2) UCLA-Olive View: Truly amazing PD who has the residents over to his incredible house (and he was the medical director for the show ER- I thought that was pretty cool), and distinguished faculty. Well thought-out integration of county and tertiary care experience. Ronald Reagan is an incredible facility, and Olive View is a nice little hospital that has a new ED opening this April. Program curriculum is "front-heavy" (easier 3rd and 4th years), which I liked. Intern year is getting much better every year- there will be 6 months of EM during intern year 2011-2012 and fewer medicine/surgery ward months. PD described the program as a "liberal arts EM program," which I thought was an apt description and a pretty neat concept. Amazing international opportunities and a lot of elective time. My Spanish is mediocre at best, and that seems pretty essential (especially at Olive View). Trauma not as extensive as at other LA area programs. COL high and lots of commuting in nasty LA traffic.

3) UNC: Residents were very happy and welcoming. I really liked the dual hospital system. I went back to do a second look and shadowed at both hospitals, which only served to increase my enthusiasm about their way of training. Of course, it does result in a lot of commuting but the traffic isn't bad so that didn't bother me. Amazing PD who is an outstanding teacher and very supportive of the residents. Program produces very well-trained EPs who also have satisfying personal lives. I love the location and the COL. Great moonlighting opportunities. Medicine and surgery ward months intern year (but at WakeMed so relatively laid-back). Not as much trauma as some other programs. Duke is obviously nearby so there is some division of patient populations, but I felt that was made up for by the WakeMed experience.

4) Highland: This is a well-known program that I felt lived up to its strong reputation. Faculty and residents are all very laid-back and fun. Strong family feel. A lot of the faculty trained at Highland (which may be a negative), but of course they stayed on faculty because they love it so much there. GI rounds TID seem like a great idea. Not an "official" Level 1 trauma center but there is none in the county, so serves as the de facto trauma center and see a lot of trauma. Not a stroke center, so do a month of neuro at UCSF. Amazing U/S experience. Peds is not integrated (no peds beds in HGH). Highest salary I saw on the trail (because they are unionized). Tahoe ski cabin sounds like fun. Sounds like they have everything worked out in regard to UCSF's EM program, but still made me a tiny tiny bit nervous.

5) BIDMC: The 3+1 (Junior attending year) is an amazing opportunity that I was very excited about. The curriculum is very well thought-out with a clear graduated responsibility. Rotate through 5 "affiliate" hospitals (community sites), which seems like a good experience to see how different systems work. Amazing EMR. Peds not integrated. Trauma pretty good but obviously there are a lot of hospitals (including four Level 1 trauma centers) in Boston. Relatively new program (10ish years) but has established itself extremely well. Had a great feeling about this program on the interview day and it was initially higher on my list; in the end, I decided that Boston is not at all ideal for me and that's what pushed it down the list a bit.

6) LA County: Another program that was initially much higher on my list. I was in awe of this program during the entire interview day. Very sick patients and a lot of trauma, in which EM has a huge role (they do essentially all procedures). EM also manages airways during codes on the floors (which at most other places is done by anesthesia or MICU)- I thought that was cool. Residents were really fun people and amazingly impressive. Work 12s all four years (except on peds). Facilities are amazing but very much divided up into pods. Not as many academic opportunities as a lot of other programs I looked at. This place, in my opinion, provides the best clinical training in the county but wasn't the best fit for my career aspirations and personal life once I got over the "sexiness" of the amazing clinical experience. Location also not ideal for me personally.

7) Wake Forest: I love this place. PD and Chair were both very enthusiastic. Very well-established (30 years old) program with a long history of producing great EPs. Residents were very family-oriented. Very busy ED, which pleasantly surprised me. Loved the city (can get an amazing house for very little money) but it did feel a bit isolated.

8) Emory: So many faculty, and a lot of them are really well known in EM. Increasing focus on research- get a lot of NIH funding. Grady is Grady- tons of trauma (only Level 1 in Atlanta). Hugely busy, exciting ED. Patient population at Grady not very diverse- primarily African American. ED divided into red (surgery/trauma) and blue (medical) pods. Residents were very diverse and most were single. Atlanta is amazing but of course the traffic sucks and it's relatively expensive. I expected to like the program more than I did, but I got a weird vibe on interview day. It was probably just me, though!

9) Indianapolis: LOVED this program but in the end the location just wasn't going to work well. Residents were incredible- really sociable, welcoming, and proud of their program. Outstanding clinical experience, with time split between Wishard (county) and Methodist (tertiary care). Residents have a huge role in their program (49% ownership) which I thought was amazing. Very much a team attitude. In ICUs, work one-on-one with CC-trained EM faculty- so a great experience. Residents were more regional than I had expected for a nationally well-known program.

10) BWH/MGH: Strong academic program. Well-known faculty and lots of research opportunities. Felt like this was a great place to jump-start a career in academics. Lots of elective time. Program grads are highly recruited and go wherever they want after training. From talking to the residents, seems like they do fewer procedures than most other programs I looked at. Also, medicine and surgery ward months. Residents said they felt a bit "looked down on" by other residency programs at the hospitals, for what that's worth. I'm not a fan of Boston.

11) UAB: Their PD is awesome. Very responsive program leadership. The residents are pretty Southern and a lot of them have kids. Great lifestyle. Do LOTS of moonlighting. 10-year old program but feels like it's been around longer (that's a good thing). Birmingham was a very pleasant surprise. Great physical set-up of the ED. Very impressed by the program but realized as interview season progressed that I wanted a place that produces more academicians.

12) Wash U: Very busy ED. Great elective opportunities. Strong off-service rotations, but lots of ward stuff 1st year. Division status (I asked about this and the program leadership said it's not an issue). Didn't really care for St. Louis.

13) Cincinnati: LOVED this program- would have been among my top few programs, but my fiancé really disliked it for his specialty. Oh well.

14) UVA: Very nice program leadership, good reputation. Relatively low volume (although also smaller class so it works out.) Not much trauma. I didn't really click with the residents. City was too small and isolated for me. Great program but not a good fit for me.

15) Michigan: Awesome program. Love the PD. Survival Flight sounds great, as does the trauma experience in Flint. I didn't really click with the residents. The main problem for me was the location. I just don't think I could tolerate those winters- I almost crashed my car about 5 times just while I was up there interviewing.

16) Duke: I thought the PD was incredible and the faculty were very impressive. Residents were nice but seemed pretty guy-dominated. The program seems to be still fighting some battles. Wasn't a good fit for me.

17) Louisville: Had a really weird interview day, in my opinion. I found the group interviews to be awkward. Relatively low volume ED but lots of trauma. Not what I was looking for, but it had a lot to offer.

18) Harbor: This one was a surprise. Very well known program with great pathology and amazing faculty, but not a good fit for me. I personally don't want to have to deal with the transition from 3 to 4 years and the move to a new physical ED. I greatly preferred USC-LAC, but that's obviously just me and it's good that not everyone loves the same program!

 

[Pure Anergy]

Posted anonymously on behalf of a student who interviewed there:

*****

I applied in the south east area. Top quarter of my class, 254 step 2, Honors in EM x3, 2 away 1 home, Couple of publications. Sent out like30 apps. Only interviewed at 3 year programs.

My top 4 programs (in alphabetical order):

UAB
Pros: Outstanding program, outstanding reputation. The guys that write harrison's internal medicine txt are from UAB. Great research support. Used to be a 4 year program, only been a 3 year program for a few years. The program director is a huge highlight. Resident advocate. My favorite interview on the trail. Resident centered program. Best moonlighting opportunities I encountered. They have internal moonlight at an urgent care type facility for so-so pay. Also have external moonlighting where you are paired up with more experienced physician and cover 2 physician EDs. A majority of the residents moonlight at least some. ED is brand new and state of the art. New children's hospital/ED opening this year. 10 residents.
Pros/Cons: Birmingham.

Carolinas-
Pros: Outstanding program. Long history and great reputation in the field. Top of the top researchers in EM. Jeff Klein for instance is THE pulmonary embolism guy. Program directory is absolutely awesome. One of my favorite interviews of the trail. I just read one of her chapters in Rosen's actually. They treat their residents amazingly. Great benefits. One of the best cities to live in period. Cool patient population, you get both underserved and the private type patients in the same ED. 12 residents per year.
Cons: No external moonlighting, although they do have internal moonlighting that pays so-so. No medical school affiliation (although I think they are working on this). I wasn't a big fan of the ER, Kind of seemed cramped and older.

Emory
Pros: Again, outstanding program, great reputation in the field. Tons of top people have trained at emory. New trauma area is super nice. Lots of freedom as a resident. High patient volume. High acuity. Clinically, arguably the #1 program in the southeast. The research here is on another level. The CDC is located there in Atl and has large ties with the EM department.
Pro/con: Giant program 21 residents. Grady. I think it would be awesome to work there. Tons of action. Lower socioeconomic patient population. Atlanta is a pro/con, either you like it or you don't .
Cons: No one moonlights there. Apparently it is allowed, but just no one does it for some reason. I asked about it and they had maybe 1-2 third years that do any moonlighting at all. They don't do integrated Peds shifts, this is the only program on the list that does full Peds months exclusively with no year round type of experience. I felt that the program was less resident centered and more research/attending centered.

Vanderbilt
Pros: Outstanding program, outstanding reputation. Best resident education I encountered on the trail. Wrenn and Slovis are on a plane of their own. World renowned lecturers/educators. Resident centered program. Great moonlighting opportunities (external only I believe), most of the residents did some moonlighting. Ed and Childrens ED both have excellent layout and look nice. Great reputation in the area, with wide patient diversity and high acuity. Good relationship with trauma dept. Nashville is an awesome city with tons to do. 12 residents.
Pro/con: Medical record isn't one of the big professional ones, it is one that was created in house. Seems good, with all the features you would expect/need.
Con: no real cons to the program.

 

[OBCD is fat]

Now that the program is 3 years, how many shifts do the residents work per month?

 

[Iride]

Thought I would post my thoughts on a few of these places as I have a little time now being done with rotations and they really helped me last year to try and pick aways to apply to.

Positives: PD- This guy seemed outstanding in almost every way. Not only do we share many of the same hobbies and interests, he also just seems like a very confident guy that I would like to be in charge of my training. Residents- Easily the best interview dinner I had on the trail. I can't explain how happy everyone here seemed to be. They seemed to really enjoy there time in the hospital but also enjoy there free time and really get along great together and also were super happy with the training they are receiving. Birmingham- There is a lot that I really like about this city with lots to do, great people, very pretty surrounding neighborhoods and decent cost of living. Curriculum: Love the curriculum…. Mostly 8s with a few 12s to ensure every other weekend off and other days off in between. Great moonlighting opportunities starting second year and heavily encouraged. Peds- seemed fine to me
Negative: Major negative here seems to be the trauma- They split airways with anesthesia and don't seem to get along very well at all with trauma surgery. I think I would get adequate trauma experience here despite this and it didn't really affect my decision to be honest.

 

[DO3]

I'll echo the above post...talked with someone who is very familiar with the program, and trauma experience/exposure as a UAB EM resident is very limited. Surgery runs all trauma...period. This is fine is you plan to work in a big, academic medical center, but if you plan to work in a semi-rural or rural area, good luck...

 

[Hercules]

I'll echo the above post...talked with someone who is very familiar with the program, and trauma experience/exposure as a UAB EM resident is very limited. Surgery runs all trauma...period. This is fine is you plan to work in a big, academic medical center, but if you plan to work in a semi-rural or rural area, good luck...

As a graduate from the program I can tell you that I felt completely comfortable managing traumas when I finished. I've worked in several rural EDs and now work at a 30-35k community shop. I had more than enough trauma exposure while at UAB. Airways were alternated with anesthesia to help them get enough difficult airways. Each day the UAB trauma team consisted of an upper level surgery resident, an upper level EM resident, several surgery interns, and an EM intern. Maybe that has changed since I left.

As almost every single attending on this forum has stated, trauma from an EM standpoint simply isn't that complicated and virtually every EM residency should train you adequately in its management.

 

[KarlPilkington]

EM now runs all but the Level 1 Traumas (penetrating, GCS <13...) This is a fairly new change for the program. EM residents (1st and 3rd) years on trauma on the trauma team are involved with all traumas, EM attendings staff the non Level 1's.
Residents get plenty of trauma experience, as above the previous issues are essentially fixed. Lots of grads go into the community from UAB, many to high volume, high acuity shops, and I've never heard of anyone having trouble with traumas.

 

[DO3]

EM now runs all but the Level 1 Traumas (penetrating, GCS <13...) This is a fairly new change for the program. EM residents (1st and 3rd) years on trauma on the trauma team are involved with all traumas, EM attendings staff the non Level 1's.
Residents get plenty of trauma experience, as above the previous issues are essentially fixed. Lots of grads go into the community from UAB, many to high volume, high acuity shops, and I've never heard of anyone having trouble with traumas.

I'm glad to hear that has changed! Must have been very recent. Someone had suggested that I look elsewhere for a residency program because of how the traumas were done there. Thanks for the information! I recant my previous post

 

[FSU2013]

EM now runs all but the Level 1 Traumas (penetrating, GCS <13...) This is a fairly new change for the program. EM residents (1st and 3rd) years on trauma on the trauma team are involved with all traumas, EM attendings staff the non Level 1's.
Residents get plenty of trauma experience, as above the previous issues are essentially fixed. Lots of grads go into the community from UAB, many to high volume, high acuity shops, and I've never heard of anyone having trouble with traumas.

When I interviewed there, they said they also get a lot of trauma experience on their 2 months of community EM.

 

[Hercules]

When I interviewed there, they said they also get a lot of trauma experience on their 2 months of community EM.

This is true as well. Our community months are awesome and you're in a high volume ED that serves as the Level 2 trauma center for the middle of the state with no Level 1 trauma center near there. That community ED is also a great example of an extremely efficient ED that I've borrowed a lot of ideas from and taken to my current job to streamline things here.

 

[hwayzata11]

I'm a current R1 at UAB. Used to check this forum as a med student... Recently replied to an email from an interviewee about why I chose to come to UAB. Wanted to share my reply since I am happy with my choice and think our program is fantastic!

"Thanks for the email. I am glad you enjoyed your interview here! I am from MN, my wife is from here in AL. I didn't know much about UAB prior to interviews, and it really took me by surprise. I thought we would go to Vanderbilt or Carolinas (since we knew we liked the south). And I really feel like I could have gone wherever I wanted. But when I came and did my interview here I was extremely impressed and surprised. The three big standouts to me were one: the perfect balance of autonomy and education. There are no other places in the country (as far as I know) where you are running a 9 bed pod as an intern. It is a fricken awesome and challenging experience. Steepest growth curve but it really builds your confidence as a doctor. Second: perfect balance of academic, county, and community patients. Not too many places where you will be taking of a GSW patient, an LVAD patient, and your bread and butter community patient all in the same shift. UAB is THE academic/community/county shop for Birmingham and Alabama and the patient diversity is fantastic as a result. Third: high acuity. I've seen people with blood pressure of 310 systolic, sugars > 1500 and an abundance of other pathology I never saw in MN. People in AL are sick and as a result there are a ton of sick patients... We admit approx 33% of our patients and about that same percent of our patients are ESI level 1 or 2. I've done tons of intubations, central lines, art lines, even chest tubes as an intern. It has lived up to all of my high expectations. Coming to work is fun and challenging. And the attendings/other residents are fantastic, hard working, smart, and well rounded people. Great place to train and I am super happy!"

 

[EMhopeful2017]

I thought we would go to Vanderbilt or Carolinas (since we knew we liked the south). And I really feel like I could have gone wherever I wanted.

You're pretty into yourself, huh.

 

[tacos4life]

Anyone have an update on this program? Especially regarding hours per shift, patient population, and traumas?

 

[KarlPilkington]

Anyone have an update on this program? Especially regarding hours per shift, patient population, and traumas?

Yep:
Residents work 8's on the weekdays and by choice do 12's on the weekend.

ED is super busy and sees ~85K/year. Acuity is really high, patients are amazingly sick. Good mix of county style patients and complex referral center cases.

Trauma has changed significantly in the past year. Previously ED responded to Level 2 (lower acuity) trauma alerts and co-responded to Level 1's. Starting in a few months there is going to be some version of an alternating response (odd/even days, AM/PM...) that should have the ED seeing/running many more sick trauma alerts. Exact details are being finalized but it is going to be a MAJOR upgrade in terms of trauma experience.

 

[RadiologyMan87]

Any recent updates ?

 

[KarlPilkington]

Trauma is now split on alternating days with surgery. ED either runs the trauma room or does the procedures depending on the day of the week. Residents have dedicated trauma shifts throughout the month. It has been a fairly seamless transition and has really given everyone a big bump in terms of their trauma experience.