University of North Carolina Residency Reviews

[drakken]

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Just a brief message on UNC. Very nice mix of community/academics, residents are happy, good PD and a strong PEDs flavor. The living conditions are very nice in NC and although housing in chapel hill can be a little steep there are reasonable surrounding areas. Teaching is excellent and very little scutwork. Overall a great program so take a close look. More later if you want to know.
Drakken

 

[ElZorro]

Pros: Great PD. Dr. Trocinski is really a caring guy that you can tell wants to have great residents. They really stress that life not only can, but must go on during residency, and expect their residents to be well rounded and leaders in "something." Chapel Hill is a gorgeous area, and nearby Raleigh and Durham offer many of the more "metropolitan" things that Chapel Hill might lack, although with UNC in the area there is plenty of stuff happening. The faculty at UNC ranges from the world renowned (Tintinalli) to the regular Joe ER doc. For the most part they enjoy teaching, and the shifts are not too busy so you have some time to teach. 1/2 your shifts are at Wake Med in Raleigh and the other 1/2 are in Chapel Hill at UNC. This is a pretty great experience because Wake Med is more private hospital than academic, but still with some great medicine being practiced. Basically, it gives you a practical education in EM. Facilities are very nice at Wake Med, and about average at UNC. Interns work 12s, PGY2 10s, and PGY1 8s, the schedule is not too bad in all.

CONS: Not really too many in my opinion. Perhaps the faculty is not the most aggressive at bedside teaching, but their are some amazing educators in the mix as well. Chapel Hill can actually be kinda hard to adjust to if you have wife / kid because it is really a college town, but if you look you can find family friendly stuff. Also, real estate in Chapel Hill is very high, so you can forget about buying a house in town. Most residents live in Durham, about 20 min from UNC, and about 35 min from Raleigh. That is one big downside, is you have to drive a lot at this program.

Summary: Very nice program, not the most incredible facilities, and not completely consistent teachers throughout. But, some of the best educators around are here, and the PD is always trying to make things better. I will rank this program very highly.

 

[drakken]

Pretty much in agreement with the assessments of Duke and UNC. I believe there is a rotation at the VA hospital in durham that gives you the experience of being pretty much the lead person making decisions so that is a plus. The biggest problem seems to be the issue of the unknown PD replacement as that does affect decision making and impacts the class for this year the most. Wish they knew something. Duke is still in transition and probably will be a really good program in a few years. Less resident friendly than some but a great sim lab and a couple of really good teachers. It will take some time to get everything on track with the new PD and faculty changes. Good and bad like most programs. The academically strong, independent and motivated applicant would be happier here.

UNC actually seems to be fairly family oriented but you need to look around to see it and you can actually live in a small area on the bus line called Carrboro which is pretty close and affordable. I would say you could afford a place within 15 minutes if you look around. PD is great, nice guy and good advocate for residents. Great program, resident friendly and a great place to work and live. Parking is unfortunately not free.

ECU-hidden gem indeed. Great facilities, laid back residents, lots of pathology, plenty of perks. 10 hour shifts all around and residents have a say in how things are done. Very affordable living conditions and great recreational facilities nearby with a discount for residents. Good biking area and a couple of hours from the beach. Teaching is really good and I would say this place is on the way up. If you don't like small towns you may not like greenville but it really seems to be a nice place to live for 3 years and lets face it you will be working hard during your residency anyway. Staff is great and not much scut. Good sim lab as well. The new PD is well liked by everyone so no problems there. Gets a bad rap because of location but a great education is the tradeoff. Worth a really hard look IMO.

 

[SolidGold]

Three hour layover in Chicago before heading home so I figured I'd finish this one. I've now posted reviews for all the places I've been to so far. (Where is everyone elses?!) Carolinas is up next....


University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Residents: Approved for 10 residents, funding for 9 right now, with funding for the 10th very likely for this incoming class. All seemed very happy with their choice and the ones I spoke with had this program ranked #1. Residents got along well and seemed to know each other well. Happiness factor was very high.

Faculty: Dr. Trocinski, the PD, was an energetic guy who seems to be very resident friendly and open to opinions. He also seems to have put together a program that trains very well. The famous Dr. Tintinalli will be stepping down as the chair of the department but will continue to be on the faculty working shifts, working on projects, doing research, and continuing to get published. She would obviously be a pleasure to work with, and she's had such a large influence over the development of the program, the other faculty probably has been recruited for the purposes of resident education first and foremost. Residents had nothing but good things to say about them.

Facilities: Only got to see UNC's ED and it's fairly new and above average. The entire medical complex was very nice and much larger than I expected since it's right on the University campus. UNC is the major referral center for that region of NC, including being the regional burn center. (I didn't expect that with Duke just down the street). Did not get to see Wake Med, but it sounds like a good place as well, based on resident opinions and pictures shown to us from the slide show.

Curriculum: Standard 3 year program. Great experience at Wake Med where about half of the clinical time is and where the majority of trauma is experienced. Not much more to say, check the website.

Patient population: They treat sick patients at UNC where 44% get admitted, mainly because they are the major referral center in the area. UNC gets the tertiary care patients (transplants, sickle cell, etc.) while Wake gets the county type patients.

Location: Chapel Hill and Raleigh is beautiful and would be a great place to live. It is rather inexpensive to live there (except Chapel Hill) and most of the residents owned their homes. Most of them lived in southwest Durham. This was my first time in NC and I like it a lot.

Overall: I was fairly impressed by UNC. Residents were happy and the training seems to be good. It's in a nice location, the faculty seems to be good, and I just feel like I probably be happy here. One big negative (among a few minor ones) is that a lot of people seem to stay in NC after they finish which is always hard to read into because who knows if its really because people love the area or because they couldn't get positions nationally. I will be ranking this place kind of high. (Seems like I have 8 other places i will be ranking highly, this list is going to be tough to decide...*sigh*)

 

[em1234]

I'm down to UNC and a program that has already been discussed in this forum ad nauseam. I thought UNC was a killer program when I visited and was hoping that there were some UNC residents on this site that could weigh in with the insider pro's and con's. And answer the age old question of...can/do you guys moonlight?
thanks

 

[mar8d]

ha...I was just there too...and last night we asked about that, and yes they are allowed do (although not all residents want or feel the need to moonlight). It was definitely nice meeting everyone ... so I guess it was nice meeting you 🙂

 

[UNCEMRes]

Mar8d and em1234,

EM resident from UNC here. Glad you are interested in the program and would encourage you to strongly consider us in your final decision. I would be happy to answer any/all of your questions. As we try to convey during our interviews, the best things about UNC are the people that we work with. As many of you who visited can tell, we are a pretty tight group and are very happy here; I think that is one of the best measures of the program - not to mention we also get great training at a major academic center, additional experience at one of the busiest private hospital EDs in the southeast, and have the PD of the year directing our program. Good luck with your decision and be sure to give us a look. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to answer (and yes, we can moonlight with PD approval).

 

[medivac]

I'm another UNC EM'er, and love love love my program. Great people, great rotations, very responsive staff (how often do you see your shift hours adjusted after one group discussion with the PD). We work hard and play hard, and the area is such that there are lots of opportunities to play. I plan to moonlight when I am able. PM me if you have other questions.

And if you were at the interview lunch yesterday, I apologize for being the post call cracked out girl who was babbling a whole lot. It happens.

 

[vacoug]

UNC/Wake Med


Residents: I didn’t get to go to the party the night after the interview, so my only experience with the residents was during lunch and the tour. However what I saw of them, they were very enthusiastic and happy. They do kind of live all around with most living in Durham between the two hospitals.

Faculty: The faculty I met with was awesome. Dr Trocinski, the PD is insanely likable and down to earth (I actually had another PD tell me that he thought Dr Trocinski was the smartest PD in the country). He did a great job on laying out his plan for the residency and selling his program. Of course, Tintinalli is there as well but we didn’t get the chance to meet with her. The other faculty I met with were very easy to talk to and Dr Snyder of Wake Med was also very outgoing and eloquent. Overall they seem to have very good faculty and the residents rave about their teaching especially the one on one time they have with faculty at Wake Med.

Ancillary staff: According to the residents it appears that nursing and technicians are very good at both UNC and Wake Med.

Curriculum: Of note I think the strong point to this program is the experience of working in the two hospitals. You get the opportunity to work in a large academic center and get to see the transplant patients and weird stuff as well as work in a large private hospital with a cencus of around 100K. The private hospital (Wake Med) is also touted as a county type experience. You work at Wake Med about half the time, when there you are in the pod that accepts the most acute patients and you and the doc on duty take care of everything. So as Dr Snyder said, when they call the trauma team, they call you and the attending. I believe they have 11 beds in the pod and by the time you finish your training you should be able to run the pod by yourself with the attending supervising. Another nice thing at UNC is the time spent in the ED seems to be maximized with fewer off service rotations than many other programs. You also get your schedule a year in advance and according to an old school mate who is a resident there he said he has been able to switch a few shifts here and there and ended up with about 3 weeks without any shifts to go along with his vacation time. Dr Trocinski is also very proud of their peds experience, which is gained by doing peds rotations at Wake Med all during your training.

Facilities: I was only able to see UNC but it was very nice and the campus seemed to have construction happening everywhere. The pictures of Wake Med looked very nice and I assume it would be similar to Christiana or Carolinas.

Location: Chapel Hill seemed very nice, but very expensive and the traffic was kind of rough getting in and out of the hospital. I didn’t go to Raleigh, but have heard great things about it including it being ranked somewhere as the number 1 city for young professionals. But like I said most residents live in between the two hospitals since they are about 45 minutes apart.

Negatives: The only one I can currently think of is the distance between the two hospitals. But as I said most residents live in between the two.

Other Points: Their mission statement is to train leaders in EM and they appear to be capable to do this. Many of the residents stated that with a letter from Tintinalli many doors open up to you.

Overall: Extremely impressed, of course, I had been sold the first time I met Dr Trocinski while at SAEM in Chicago. I think the clinical training is very strong with a very well rounded experience. Opportunity for academic or private tracks is easy to take. Lastly, Chapel Hill and Raleigh both seem like great places to live. I liked UNC immensely and will be ranking them highly and I would be extremely excited to match there.

 

[in1Q84]

1. NYU - County + Academic. Patient population was major determining factor. Great didactics. I guess only drawbacks would include the extra year (only 4 year program on my list) and the poor ancillary staff at Bellevue. But, training here would be worth the extra work.
2. Emory - Again County + Academic. And, again liked the patient population at Grady - uninsured, underserved. Also, great didactics. Location was also a plus. It's a superb program overall. But, it's not the sort of program that is right for everybody. Some people would be very miserable here. Residents in general are outgoing and enthusiastic. I would recommend rotating or doing a second look before deciding.
3. UNC - Loved the program director and the residents. Community + Academic. Was not as thrilled about living in NC. This program is really well-rounded. Almost anyone would be happy here.
4. NYHQ/Cornell - Community. Very diverse, immigrant population (which is a plus for me). Great schedule and benefits (includes subsidized housing). Dr. Ryan is very friendly and active in resident education. A great group of fun residents. Would be very happy to match here. I guess it ended up not being in top 3 just because it isn't as academic as the ones above.
5. North Shore - Was really impressed with North Shore. Community hospital and population but an academic program. The best benefits ever (really high salary + great housing). I liked the critical care emphasis. Lots of high acuity stuff in the ED. So many fellowships available. The residents are super-friendly, laid-back. This one moved up and down my list alot. But, at the end, what didn't really do it for me is the patient population. Though most people would enjoy working with patients who are neatly dressed and have insurance, not exactly my cup of tea. (Just personal preference.) Like UNC, well-rounded program that almost anyone would be very happy with.
6. Thomas Jefferson - Overall, I liked this program and would be happy if I matched here. New global health fellowship with public health focus is a major plus. They also have a whole building dedicated to simulation, special course on intubation, and other unique opportunities that makes the program stand out from others. I was also impressed that some of the residents volunteered at local, nonprofit clinics (more impressed that they didn't think it was a big deal). Moreover, pretty diverse and some underserved patient population across its many sites (which is a plus for me). BUT, the drawback to this program is having too many sites. Though I prefer more than one site in general, having multiple sites gives diminishing returns after a certain number (I would say 3). Not only that, these many sites are not all that close to one another (one was in Delaware). I think the residents only have to go to Delaware like one month out of the year or less. But, still...
7. Metropolitan/NYMC- New PD at this program is very energetic, enthusiastic. I get the feeling he is the sort of person who would really advocate for his residents and try to get them far as he can. Considering how small the program is (8 per class), many (at least from this year's graduating class) seem to go onto do fellowships - impressive ones at that too. (This was a plus for me... not necessary a plus for everyone.) That said, the interview day in itself seemed very disorganized, which made me concerned. The Metropolitan ED needs to be bigger and better-equipped. Housing is cheap and available but dorm-style. And, again, number of sites is so that cost outweighs the benefits (at least for me).

Did not rank one program that I interviewed at. PM me if you have questions about the above programs.

 

[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!

 

[pagemmapants]

If anyone has specific questions regarding our program here at UNC, please PM me. Be happy to answer.

 

[quickfeet]

Have some questions about this program... if there is anyone I can PM please let me know

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Have some questions about this program... if there is anyone I can PM please let me know

Shoot me a PM with questions.

 

[em26862]

Update from resident perspective:

Clinical experience: Time 60/40 UNC/WakeMed

• WakeMed is awesome; busy, well run community hospital which used to be county hospital for Wake. Acuity is great, 120+k/yr, one resident per bay (one trauma, one in the sick medical bays, one in peds) with a 1:1 or 1:2 resident:attending ratio. Small knife/gun club with multiple penetrating traumas/week, good scene trauma.
• Wake Peds ED is busy (busiest in state). 20+ beds, which flexes to patients also being seen in triage and hallway beds. Inconsistent fellow coverage ==> dibs on procedures.
• UNC ED is good. As others noted, not stellar acuity, but still solid; it's better than I expected showing up, and better than other primary ED's I've experienced for residencies. Exposures to zebras, cancer, transplant, psych. 70+k/yr. Trauma mainly blunt and transfers. Penetrating happens, but not frequently (it's Chapel Hill). Don't do peds ED here which works well (slow and other residents go here so we have Wake to ourselves).
• Freestanding ED experience is what you would expect and most feel beneficial.
• Moonlighting starts latter portion of second year with internal moonlighting and Wakebook. More places as third year (external), with a few staying where they moonlight. Most residents moonlight.

Faculty:
Well retained senior staff blended with some fresher out grads. Shifts with Tintinalli are awesome, and she manages to stay up-to-date. Chair Brice is strong and involved. Waller cares, is approachable, funny, and fights for us. Shenvi APD is a boss (does conference & GEMCast). Stahmer is amazing and continues to ramp up U/S (prior PD at Cooper/Duke). Manning is still around. Weppa APDs and group (staff WakeMed) are fun, smart, and provide different perspectives.

Curriculum:
Conference is strong and entertaining with good food/coffee like breakfast burritos or Panera (errbody likes food). Time well protected on off-service. Good blend of resident talks, attendings, specialists, great guest speakers like Jeff Kline, small group sessions, ultrasound and procedure sessions. First of each month at Wakemed where sim is done, discuss latest EM:RAP topics, have peds EM lectures. Given reading suggestions out of Tintinalli which isn't strictly enforced. Research opportunities numerous, not pushed on us. Journal club is fun, and often occurs at attendings' houses.

Academic Resources:
We have AccessEM. We get EM:RAP. We all get a full Tintinalli textbook, and Judy writes a personal message in each. We also received Levitan’s airway book and Mattu’s ECG book. There are more textbooks available at the physician office buildings of both hospitals. We get access to UNC’s online library associated with the medical school. For ultrasound resources, we get EMSono by Robert Jones out of Metro. Each year we get a board review resource, which has been rotating… last two years have been HippoEM and Rosh Review.

Benefits:
Salary for upcoming academic year will be ~51,800 53,600 55,400 for PGY-1 PGY2 PGY3, respectively. Health and dental not free, provided basic life/disability insurance. Pretty much unlimited free food/coffee at WakeMed by getting tickets for cafeteria with spares always available in office. Get FreedomPay for UNC which works at Starbucks and all cafeterias in UNC except the one by med school; provides a fair amount, with deposits monthly. Pay for parking only @ UNC, which sucks but happens elsewhere. On the weaker side of benefits relative to other places nearby like CMC.

Residents/Life:
The Triangle is fun; pick your flavor. ~3 hrs to beach/mountains. Lots of trails, parks, climbing gyms, and lakes locally. Many breweries and food places/trucks. Rent/mortgage from $900-1300. People buy and make out well in 3 years if done right. Blend of single/married/family with resulting mix of activities. A bunch of white dudes if you look at the classes at this time; trying to change that.

Overall Pros:
-Good autonomy with good diversity in experiences. Strong peds exposure, faculty, and off-service months (ICUs and OB)
-Dual hospital system spreads 10 residents and all of the residency programs thinner so there are more patients/procedures to be had.
-Good res life balance in a good location. Leadership listens and changes based on feedback.
-No issues getting jobs across country

Overall Cons:
-No huge knife/gun club so no guarantees on graduating with a thoracotomy if that matters to you or walking away with 20+ chest tubes. Not being trauma captain at UNC at this time, which is being worked on (currently always manage head/airway)
-Yes, you commute more than peeps elsewhere. Thankfully, most shifts are scheduled to dodge traffic. Podcasts...
-Peeps on here seem to care about being senior in an ICU setting. Will never experience such, but don't think we miss out on anything? Still get to be independent on second year ICU months
-Just lost our pig lab due to animal rights groups. Working on obtaining cadaveric experiences.

Is the program perfect? Nope
Am I happy? Overall, very happy and confident I will leave well trained
Would I be happy if I matched here again? Yes
Feel free to PM