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Does anyone have any info about this program in terms of reputation, strength of clinical training, and work hours? It is really hard to find much on U of L on the internet. Thanks.
University of Louisville residency program
- Thread starter AnesthesiaAC
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I'm currently a CA-3 here at UofL with a contract for next year at a great gig in my first choice location already signed. I feel that I have had very good training here, would come back here if given the opportunity, and would recommend it easily.
We have a strong regional program with an acute pain service that provides strong experience in a wide variety of blocks and management of perioperative pain issues. We also have some of the strongest cardiac experience in the country, as we have no fellows and rotate through one of the busiest VAD hospitals in the nation. AV conduits, AVR/MVR/TVR, thoracoabdominal aneurysms, DaVinci, transplants, VAD placement/explant/redo, etc are more common than straighforward CABGs. We have a TEE rotation that gave me plenty of numbers to take the BPTEE exam and get certification. We rotate through a magnet children's hospital, again with no fellows, so we get great experience in peds anesthesia. We get our hands dirty with difficult cases right out of the chute. We get experience at both academic and private hospitals, so we can see the difference in turnover time and overall pace between the two. We only do 24 hour calls on the ICU service, where you get 48 hours completely off between shifts.
We don't get bombarded with scheduled lectures, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your learning style. We have weekly grand rounds and one weekly lecture in the afternoon. Seniors have a lecture series on the business side of medicine, including negotiating contracts, billing and collections, group dynamics, etc. We have mock orals with immediate feedback twice a year. Certain rotations have specific lectures 1-2 times per week in addition to the regularly scheduled didactics. Our faculty put an emphasis on doing well on the ITE, so every year we get out by 5pm to study Jan/Feb/March, no questions asked. If you do well on the ITE (25 as a CA-1, 32 as a CA-2) your boards are paid for by the department. That's on top of the iPad you receive when you arrive and the $2000 CME money you get to attend meetings.
The rest of the year we typically get out at 5pm, but have the opportunity to moonlight in the main OR from 5-7pm for $50/hr. We can also moonlight on weekend shifts from 7am to 3pm for ~$50/hour, depending on your PGY level. Most of us don't have to moonlight often because our salary is VERY generous, especially for the cost of living in Louisville.
On average we work ~50-55 hours per week. Intern year is sweet. CA-1 year is the most tedious because of having to spend so many months in the main OR. CA-2 year is nice because of all the variety. CA-3 year is awesome because it's mostly electives, as we hit all of our numbers halfway through CA-2 year.
We may not carry the prestigious name like some bigger programs, but I am well prepared to pass my boards and be a damn good anesthesiologist. That's what matters to me, and that's what matters to employers (at least the ones with whom I interviewed).
Let me know if you have any questions
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I interviewed there this year and what Lane said mirrors the notes I took on the program. I remember meeting Lane during the day and he is a great guy. Stopped by and made sure to answer any questions we had about the program and seemed genuinely interested in meeting us. I was extremely impressed with the program.
The call in the main OR is night float (in groups of ~3 nights). Accreditation is a 5 year cycle. It's all paper charting (which could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it). They said they are making the transition to electronic charting but it didn't sound like it'd be anytime soon.
The call in the main OR is night float (in groups of ~3 nights). Accreditation is a 5 year cycle. It's all paper charting (which could be a pro or con depending on how you look at it). They said they are making the transition to electronic charting but it didn't sound like it'd be anytime soon.
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Thanks so much for your responses guys. They are very helpful! Lane, good to hear everything is working out really well for you
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I'm also a CA-3 here and echo Lane's sentiments. You'll get excellent exposure to regional with emphasis on U/S guided blocks, great cardiac experience (including the opportunity for transplant - both heart and lung - even liver if you want to), and great comraderie among residents. I'm also from out of state and had no ties to KY prior to residency, but I would definitely return here for training. Like anywhere else, it's not perfect and CA-1 year can be very demanding but I think the clinical training you get here is pretty much unparalleled in comparison to programs where my med school classmates went. Intern year is IM based and is pretty sweet outside of the unit months. Didactics are limited but that's a plus if you're a self-motivated learner - plus you really can't argue with a 100% written board pass rate since the new PD started in 2008. Also feel free to PM me any other questions you may have.
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A member sent me a PM with some questions, so I thought I could share the answers with everyone else. If that member has any objections to me posting his or her questions, I will remove this post and apologize profusely.
1) Do residents do their own pre-ops for the next day after being relieved at 5 pm? If so, what time do you usually end up leaving the hospital?
-- it usually depends on what you're doing the next day and how busy that day was. Most first cases are seen in the preop clinic, so their paperwork is all done and waiting for you to see. After that it's kinda up in the air. Most healthy outpatients won't have a preop to do. Most inpatients are seen throughout the day by CRNAs and have a preop waiting. In the uncommon event you have a patient in house you may need to see them before you go. Usually it has already been done though
2) How is the anesthesia tech support for room turnover?
-- we have techs at all if our hospitals, although you end up changing your circuits at Kosair. Aside from that they change everything except your drugs. They're also really helpful with bringing equipment like glidescopes or A line setups if you need them quickly
3) About how often do residents take call? What time do residents come into work when they are on call?
-- the only 24 hour calls we do right now are on ICU and at Kosair. ICU call starts at 8 and you usually get out around 10 the next morning after checkout. Kosair call starts with a regular day, arriving around 7am, and lasts until 7 the next morning. Word is they're gonna stop call at Kosair and make it 7-5 M-F. Jewish only has pager call on weekends. The VA has pager call every day, but it's rare that anyone gets called in. University has 12 hour night call shifts from 7pm to 7am.
4) How many weekends on average do residents work per month?
-- average 2 weekends per month
5) Can you access the OR schedule, pre-ops, and/or electronic medical record from home?
-- you can access past medical records and any info that gets scanned in immediately (vitals, echos, dictated reports, etc) but not necessarily the most recent preop. You can't see the schedule from home, but you can easily call the front desk and they'll tell you anything you want to know
6) Do the residents relieve CRNAs?
-- unfortunately we do relieve the CRNAs because they leave at 3, 5, and 7 in waves. Good luck finding CRNAs anywhere that are willing to stay past their assigned time to finish a case, though...
7) How do you feel about still using paper charting in the ORs? Not that big of a deal?
-- not that big of a deal, honestly. Some places, like Jewish, have a TON of paperwork but it becomes a part of the routine. They will make the transition to electronic charting, which may be a pain if you're a part of that change process, but that would be the only negative as far as I'm concerned.
1) Do residents do their own pre-ops for the next day after being relieved at 5 pm? If so, what time do you usually end up leaving the hospital?
-- it usually depends on what you're doing the next day and how busy that day was. Most first cases are seen in the preop clinic, so their paperwork is all done and waiting for you to see. After that it's kinda up in the air. Most healthy outpatients won't have a preop to do. Most inpatients are seen throughout the day by CRNAs and have a preop waiting. In the uncommon event you have a patient in house you may need to see them before you go. Usually it has already been done though
2) How is the anesthesia tech support for room turnover?
-- we have techs at all if our hospitals, although you end up changing your circuits at Kosair. Aside from that they change everything except your drugs. They're also really helpful with bringing equipment like glidescopes or A line setups if you need them quickly
3) About how often do residents take call? What time do residents come into work when they are on call?
-- the only 24 hour calls we do right now are on ICU and at Kosair. ICU call starts at 8 and you usually get out around 10 the next morning after checkout. Kosair call starts with a regular day, arriving around 7am, and lasts until 7 the next morning. Word is they're gonna stop call at Kosair and make it 7-5 M-F. Jewish only has pager call on weekends. The VA has pager call every day, but it's rare that anyone gets called in. University has 12 hour night call shifts from 7pm to 7am.
4) How many weekends on average do residents work per month?
-- average 2 weekends per month
5) Can you access the OR schedule, pre-ops, and/or electronic medical record from home?
-- you can access past medical records and any info that gets scanned in immediately (vitals, echos, dictated reports, etc) but not necessarily the most recent preop. You can't see the schedule from home, but you can easily call the front desk and they'll tell you anything you want to know
6) Do the residents relieve CRNAs?
-- unfortunately we do relieve the CRNAs because they leave at 3, 5, and 7 in waves. Good luck finding CRNAs anywhere that are willing to stay past their assigned time to finish a case, though...
7) How do you feel about still using paper charting in the ORs? Not that big of a deal?
-- not that big of a deal, honestly. Some places, like Jewish, have a TON of paperwork but it becomes a part of the routine. They will make the transition to electronic charting, which may be a pain if you're a part of that change process, but that would be the only negative as far as I'm concerned.
