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Reading through the other threads, I have found no mention of UofR's EM program. I was hoping that somebody could shed some light on this program.
University of Rochester
- Thread starter turtle md
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I interviewed there a few years ago, so several things have probably changed. Their interesting population is a large deaf community. Their facilities are superb, their ortho rotation outstanding, their residents nice, and their location cold. I was disappointed with their trauma experience. Its not Davis/Arizona/LA etc. But things change so I'd find a current resident to get the real information. Try emailing one off their webpage or call their program coordinator to get some residents email addresses.
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Well, I's halfway through my PGY2 year at Rochester (yikes!) so I guess that qualifies me to answer this question.
Program Structure: This was by far my favorite program of any I visitied. Each year is divided into 13 four-week blocks. First year you do EM Orientation, Anesthesia, OB/GYN, MICU, EM Orthopedics, Neuro Consult (2 weeks), Ultrasound (3 weeks), ED Psych (1 week), NICU (2 weeks), CT Surgery (2 weeks), and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks). There are no floor months--no medicine, no peds, and no surgery. This is awesome! Orientation consists of about 8 ED shifts, ATLS, ACLS, and PALS as well as a variety of hopsital and ED general orientation stuff. It's a great month to settle in and get to know your classmates. Anesthesia was a great month--I did 60 tubes. OB/GYN was good as far as OB/GYN goes. I got 38 deliveries and know people who got more. The ortho month is exclusively in the ED. You do not go to the OR. You don't do anything on the floor. You see ED patients only. CT Surgery was also good. You are not the floor intern. You got to the OR when there are cases that need chest tubes or put tubes in patients admitted from clinic. NICU is 2 weeks of nights in the NICU attending deliveries and doing resuscitations. Second year is SICU (3 weeks), Burn/Trauma ICU (3 weeks), PICU, Cardiology Consult, Toxicology, Elective, and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks). All the unit months are very high yield. You can do anything you want for your elective month. Third year is Trauma (6 weeks), Teaching/Administration, Elective, and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks).
ED: Our facility is one of the nicest in the nation. Our department opened in 2001 and has more than 120 beds. It's a gorgeous facility and is a model for new departments across the country. We have a separate 7-bed Trauma/Critical Care area, a separate Peds ED (within the ED), and a 24-bed Observation Unit. We see more than 90,000 patients each year.
Trauma: I think our trauma experience is great. We don't work on the actual trauma team until third year, but this is a good thing. Rather than be the intern on the service and get relegated to all the floor scut and rectal exams, as third years, we run the service. We have an excellent relationship with surgery and I have never seen a problem between EM and surgery during a trauma. As a first and second year you will see plenty of trauma patients for whom the trauma team was not called and will have the opportunity to manage the airway on ALL trauma patients as the EM resident. Frankly, even as a second year having not yet done trauma, I feel very competent managing trauma patients, and, to be honest, find trauma to be somewhat boring. And, to anyone worried about the amount of trauma seen in Rochester--don't worry. We are located on a major interstate system (I-90) and see tons of blunt trauma. We also see a shocking amount of penetrating trauma. People in this town are awfully busy stabbing and shooting each other! One night I saw four GSWs in the trauma bay within the space of 2 hours (all were from isolated incidents). We're also north of a fair bit of farming land and therefore see some interesting (and gruesome) farm accidents.
ED Responsibilities: As a first-year resident you work in the acute care side of the ED. At the very end of the year you start working in the Trauma/Critical Care area ("Trauma Bay"). Second year is spent working almost exclusively in the Trauma Bay--your very own 7-bed ED. These patients are the sickest of the sick and the most critically injured. This is where you will do most of your procedures. It is the most fun place to work because people are very sick and often require a lot of thought and intervention just to stabilize them. Working here reminds us of why we went into EM--it's a lot of fun. As a third year you continue to work in the Trauma Bay but most of your time is spent managing the acute care side. You oversee all the patients on the board and help coordinate all the residents working at a given time. This is where you learn how to run the show in a full-sized ED. (As an EM resident you will always present your patients directly to the attending. Off-service residents often present to the R3 first.) You never work in the Urgent Care area.
Shifts: Currently we work 10-hour shifts as first and second years and 8-hour shifts as third years. R1s and R2s work about 18 shifts per block. R3s work about 40 hours per week and are guaranteed 2 weekends off a month. We work nights in 1 or 2 week blocks depending on your preference. You do 4-6 weeks of nights per year depending on what year you are.
Residents: The residency was expanded to 12 residents per year last year. Our residents are great people who like to have fun and have a life outside of work. About 40-50% of people are married. Kids varies by class. This is definitely a family-friendly program but singles will not feel left out at all.
Faculty: We have a very strong faculty and most are good at teaching when time allows (the reality in most busy departments is that it's very hard to have much on shift teaching). We have an awesome residency director who is very nurturing and supportive. Our chair is one of the most recognized names in EM and is a fabulous leader and mentor.
Conferences: We have 5 hours of conference on Thursdays. Shifts end by midnight on Wednesday and do not begin again until 8:30 pm on Thursday. That allows for "self-study" on Thursday afternoon but really allows us to socialize with each other. Conferences are pretty good and are generally very interactive.
Benefits: You get 4 weeks of vacation each year. Pay for next year is: $41,157 (PGY1), $42,698 (PGY2), and $45,069 (PGY3). Health and dental insurance are paid for as is basic life insurance. There is a Flexible Spending Account program. Second and third year you get $1,000 CME money which you can spend to go to a conference or for your elective. The department will pay for you to attend any conference at which you are presenting a paper or abstract. You also get $400 per year for books.
Rochester: Cost of living is cheap and it is very easy to buy a house here. Getting around is easy and most people live within 10 minutes of work. There are lots of cultural things to do here. There is nearby skiing and plenty of places to bike and hike. There are beautiful parks to enjoy. In the summer there is a festival almost every weekend. The winter is harsh (by tomorrow we're supposed to have 18 inches of snow and it's not been above 10 degrees all week--this is a little unusual), but the other seasons are beautiful. I was leary about coming to Rochester but have found it quite enjoyable. It's a very nice place to live and many people come here to train and never leave (though plenty do so it's not a problem to get a job elsewhere).
I love this program and am thrilled to have matched here. My experience thus far has been outstanding and the faculty have been very supportive of my personal interests and goals. This program is truly a hidden gem and people would do well to keep an open mind and take a look at what we have to offer. I sincerely believe that if you took this program and plopped it down in the middle of one of the nation's "hot spots" (North Carolina, Chicago, California, etc.) this would be one of the most popular programs in the country. I'm happy to answer any questions you have. If I can't answer them I'll find someone who can.
Program Structure: This was by far my favorite program of any I visitied. Each year is divided into 13 four-week blocks. First year you do EM Orientation, Anesthesia, OB/GYN, MICU, EM Orthopedics, Neuro Consult (2 weeks), Ultrasound (3 weeks), ED Psych (1 week), NICU (2 weeks), CT Surgery (2 weeks), and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks). There are no floor months--no medicine, no peds, and no surgery. This is awesome! Orientation consists of about 8 ED shifts, ATLS, ACLS, and PALS as well as a variety of hopsital and ED general orientation stuff. It's a great month to settle in and get to know your classmates. Anesthesia was a great month--I did 60 tubes. OB/GYN was good as far as OB/GYN goes. I got 38 deliveries and know people who got more. The ortho month is exclusively in the ED. You do not go to the OR. You don't do anything on the floor. You see ED patients only. CT Surgery was also good. You are not the floor intern. You got to the OR when there are cases that need chest tubes or put tubes in patients admitted from clinic. NICU is 2 weeks of nights in the NICU attending deliveries and doing resuscitations. Second year is SICU (3 weeks), Burn/Trauma ICU (3 weeks), PICU, Cardiology Consult, Toxicology, Elective, and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks). All the unit months are very high yield. You can do anything you want for your elective month. Third year is Trauma (6 weeks), Teaching/Administration, Elective, and the rest in the ED and Peds ED (6 weeks).
ED: Our facility is one of the nicest in the nation. Our department opened in 2001 and has more than 120 beds. It's a gorgeous facility and is a model for new departments across the country. We have a separate 7-bed Trauma/Critical Care area, a separate Peds ED (within the ED), and a 24-bed Observation Unit. We see more than 90,000 patients each year.
Trauma: I think our trauma experience is great. We don't work on the actual trauma team until third year, but this is a good thing. Rather than be the intern on the service and get relegated to all the floor scut and rectal exams, as third years, we run the service. We have an excellent relationship with surgery and I have never seen a problem between EM and surgery during a trauma. As a first and second year you will see plenty of trauma patients for whom the trauma team was not called and will have the opportunity to manage the airway on ALL trauma patients as the EM resident. Frankly, even as a second year having not yet done trauma, I feel very competent managing trauma patients, and, to be honest, find trauma to be somewhat boring. And, to anyone worried about the amount of trauma seen in Rochester--don't worry. We are located on a major interstate system (I-90) and see tons of blunt trauma. We also see a shocking amount of penetrating trauma. People in this town are awfully busy stabbing and shooting each other! One night I saw four GSWs in the trauma bay within the space of 2 hours (all were from isolated incidents). We're also north of a fair bit of farming land and therefore see some interesting (and gruesome) farm accidents.
ED Responsibilities: As a first-year resident you work in the acute care side of the ED. At the very end of the year you start working in the Trauma/Critical Care area ("Trauma Bay"). Second year is spent working almost exclusively in the Trauma Bay--your very own 7-bed ED. These patients are the sickest of the sick and the most critically injured. This is where you will do most of your procedures. It is the most fun place to work because people are very sick and often require a lot of thought and intervention just to stabilize them. Working here reminds us of why we went into EM--it's a lot of fun. As a third year you continue to work in the Trauma Bay but most of your time is spent managing the acute care side. You oversee all the patients on the board and help coordinate all the residents working at a given time. This is where you learn how to run the show in a full-sized ED. (As an EM resident you will always present your patients directly to the attending. Off-service residents often present to the R3 first.) You never work in the Urgent Care area.
Shifts: Currently we work 10-hour shifts as first and second years and 8-hour shifts as third years. R1s and R2s work about 18 shifts per block. R3s work about 40 hours per week and are guaranteed 2 weekends off a month. We work nights in 1 or 2 week blocks depending on your preference. You do 4-6 weeks of nights per year depending on what year you are.
Residents: The residency was expanded to 12 residents per year last year. Our residents are great people who like to have fun and have a life outside of work. About 40-50% of people are married. Kids varies by class. This is definitely a family-friendly program but singles will not feel left out at all.
Faculty: We have a very strong faculty and most are good at teaching when time allows (the reality in most busy departments is that it's very hard to have much on shift teaching). We have an awesome residency director who is very nurturing and supportive. Our chair is one of the most recognized names in EM and is a fabulous leader and mentor.
Conferences: We have 5 hours of conference on Thursdays. Shifts end by midnight on Wednesday and do not begin again until 8:30 pm on Thursday. That allows for "self-study" on Thursday afternoon but really allows us to socialize with each other. Conferences are pretty good and are generally very interactive.
Benefits: You get 4 weeks of vacation each year. Pay for next year is: $41,157 (PGY1), $42,698 (PGY2), and $45,069 (PGY3). Health and dental insurance are paid for as is basic life insurance. There is a Flexible Spending Account program. Second and third year you get $1,000 CME money which you can spend to go to a conference or for your elective. The department will pay for you to attend any conference at which you are presenting a paper or abstract. You also get $400 per year for books.
Rochester: Cost of living is cheap and it is very easy to buy a house here. Getting around is easy and most people live within 10 minutes of work. There are lots of cultural things to do here. There is nearby skiing and plenty of places to bike and hike. There are beautiful parks to enjoy. In the summer there is a festival almost every weekend. The winter is harsh (by tomorrow we're supposed to have 18 inches of snow and it's not been above 10 degrees all week--this is a little unusual), but the other seasons are beautiful. I was leary about coming to Rochester but have found it quite enjoyable. It's a very nice place to live and many people come here to train and never leave (though plenty do so it's not a problem to get a job elsewhere).
I love this program and am thrilled to have matched here. My experience thus far has been outstanding and the faculty have been very supportive of my personal interests and goals. This program is truly a hidden gem and people would do well to keep an open mind and take a look at what we have to offer. I sincerely believe that if you took this program and plopped it down in the middle of one of the nation's "hot spots" (North Carolina, Chicago, California, etc.) this would be one of the most popular programs in the country. I'm happy to answer any questions you have. If I can't answer them I'll find someone who can.
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That is a most informative piece of information. Thanks for the insight.
