University of Washington

[ohboy]

Anyone apply to their new program? They aren't on ERAS but say they will be participating in NRMP.

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[mitchey4]

I'm a UW student going into EM. I understand UW offered interviews to everyone who rotated with them this year.

If you're really interested, I would contact the program coordinator then send in your application: http://depts.washington.edu/doemuw/education/residency/application

I had my med school office forward the MSPE, LORs, and transcript. Then, I sent them my ERAS, PS, photo, copy of USMLE scores, etc.

 

[EM2011]

I know for med school, UWashington has a heavy bias towards students from the NW (this is what i've heard, please correct me if i've been misled)- are they going to have the same bias towards residency applicants or will they be like most programs where all interviewees have a reasonable shot? I'm trying to decide if it'd be worth the hefty expense of flights/hotel.

 

[BF2BC EMT]

I know for med school, UWashington has a heavy bias towards students from the NW (this is what i've heard, please correct me if i've been misled)- are they going to have the same bias towards residency applicants or will they be like most programs where all interviewees have a reasonable shot? I'm trying to decide if it'd be worth the hefty expense of flights/hotel.

Nope, you've heard right, all schools in PNW favor locals, don't know about residency applicants!

 

[EM2011]

Have people not from the pacific NW heard anything from them recently about interviews?

 

[pseudoknot]

Have people not from the pacific NW heard anything from them recently about interviews?

I got an invite today. I grew up in CA and live in VA now. Have spent about three days of my life in Seattle.

 

[ohboy]

I got an invite from them too. I am purely southern californian.

 

[mitchey4]

I know for med school, UWashington has a heavy bias towards students from the NW (this is what i've heard, please correct me if i've been misled)- are they going to have the same bias towards residency applicants or will they be like most programs where all interviewees have a reasonable shot? I'm trying to decide if it'd be worth the hefty expense of flights/hotel.

Yeah, UW does favor students from the NW for med school but it's like any other public school. That'd be ridiculous if they created a residency full of inbreds! Yeah, a lot of brand new programs tend to first take students who rotated with them and from the home institution because you take the whole "becoming familiar with the system" variable out of the equation, but diversity is very important especially in the Emerald City.

Like any new program, there are a lot of pluses and minuses to think about. The HMC ED is a unique place and will possibly undergo some fairly significant transformation as the residency becomes established. But, it will easily become a top EM residency program very quickly because of the pathology, attendings/staff, off-service rotations, reputation, and simply geographic desirability.

 

[Hamhock]

But, it will easily become a top EM residency program very quickly because of the pathology, attendings/staff, off-service rotations, reputation, and simply geographic desirability.

Anyone who is considering this place as an attending have an opinion?

I am particularly concerned about the relationship between trauma and EM and, more importantly, EM and CCM.

Any EM attendings considering a switch to Seattle?

HH

 

[name?]

Anyone who is considering this place as an attending have an opinion?

I am particularly concerned about the relationship between trauma and EM and, more importantly, EM and CCM.

Any EM attendings considering a switch to Seattle?

HH

I had a brief phone interview with Sue Stern, the (relatively) new chair there. Seems like they have their ducks all in a row for a good transition. Ultimately, they were looking for academic spots, and it sounds like their academics are going to be pretty impressive based on their recent hires. Worth an email and a phone call if you're really interested. It may take a few years, but it's probably going to be a stellar program and a great place to be faculty. It sounded as though Dr. Stern was a very supportive department head and interested in her faculty's well-being and development.

 

[EM2011]

Is a class size of 6 concerning to anyone? Everyone says this will be a great program in a few years, but what does that mean for the inaugural class? I'm really excited, but I think most people would be a little nervous being the first class of a program.

 

[crewmaster1]

Anyone who is considering this place as an attending have an opinion?

I am particularly concerned about the relationship between trauma and EM and, more importantly, EM and CCM.

Any EM attendings considering a switch to Seattle?

HH

I interviewed there (for an attending position) and would be happy to answer any questions if you PM me. It just depends on what you want in your job. They are looking for new EM trained faculty and now is the time to get in if you want in. My understanding is that they want you to be from a 4 yr program or 3+ fellowship/experience, but this may not be a deal breaker..

 

[deleted65604]

It would be exeptional training to be in the first year of any residency program. EVERY intubation in the department is yours, EVERY procedure is yours. There isn't enough residents to see all the patients to the attendings are pitching in to move the meat and you can cherry-pick the interesting/sick patients. An entire year devoted to teaching the first year residents and getting them up to speed. I don't see a downside.

 

[crewmaster1]

It would be exeptional training to be in the first year of any residency program. EVERY intubation in the department is yours, EVERY procedure is yours. There isn't enough residents to see all the patients to the attendings are pitching in to move the meat and you can cherry-pick the interesting/sick patients. An entire year devoted to teaching the first year residents and getting them up to speed. I don't see a downside.

That makes the assumption that Emergency Medicine "has" all of the procedures to give away. For example trauma tubes from anesthesia or reductions from ortho. While the EM residents can do these when they are rotating on those services, as of this time EM doesn't own all of the procedures to give away! You must remember that they are not only introducing an EM residency, but they are introducing EM into the hospital! Big difference. That being said, I think this will be an excellent program, but it also has some challenges that many new EM residencies don't. They also have the volume, acuity, leadership, and location that many progroms don't have either.

 

[DrPhalange]

Just wanted to throw it out there that UW's EM program was officially approved and the first class will begin this year.

http://depts.washington.edu/doemuw/education/residency

sorry if this is old news to any of you

 

[turkeyjerky]

bump--anyone on SDN who's interviewed here or or is even starting their residency have any thoughts they'd care to share?

 

[MTwain]

Bump.

Anyone want to chime in on the program today? Strengths/weaknesses? Competitiveness for getting an away and/or interview?

 

[Alejandro]

From what I know, the issue with UW is that they aren't offering away rotators this year because all of their M4s need to rotate in the ED and there isn't much space.

 

[Angulimala]

From what I know, the issue with UW is that they aren't offering away rotators this year because all of their M4s need to rotate in the ED and there isn't much space.

Yup, this is true.

I interviewed here and liked it a lot; great facilities, faculty and opportunities. I don't know what else you could want. All the downsides of being a new program as well. You can PM me if you have specific questions.

It's very competitive for an interview here; many of my friends who I considered much stronger applicants than me didn't get an interview at UW. I think there is a strong regional bias as well.

 

[DrDrummer]

Bump.

Anyone want to chime in on the program today? Strengths/weaknesses? Competitiveness for getting an away and/or interview?

As said before, still a new program, but it's an excellent one. Their PD is a boss, and most of the "turf battles" that need to be fought have been taken care of. That said, I think there are still a few important ones remaining-- in the article "Anaesthesia considerations in penetrating trauma" (Br J Anaesth. 2014 Aug;113(2):276-85. doi: 10.1093/bja/aeu234. Epub 2014 Jun 30.) authored by the anesthesia group at Harborview, they talk about how in their institution, all trauma airways are managed by anesthesia. This was a problem for me. I can get behind some of the policies at the other new institutions (and am going to one) where airway management is sometimes shared in trauma with the anesthesia team-- this provides them with an opportunity to learn difficult airway management outside the OR, which is a realistic possible application of their skills, and there are plenty of intubations to go around. But this statement, with a historical background of UW's ex-Medic One leadership being very anti-EM as a specialty, made me wary to go there for training until the role of EM is a bit more well-established there. It may be that now they do things differently, but when I interviewed there this past cycle it seemed like anesthesia still came down for all traumas.

That said, I loved my interviewers, the residents were all bosses and were heading to great jobs/fellowships wherever they wanted. Seattle is an amazing city, albeit expensive, and if you're interested in either EMS or translational research (their PD does a lot of lab work on hemorrhagic shock) this would be an amazing place to train.

In terms of competitiveness, the away issue was already discussed. I saw many applicants that were either locals (or within the WAMI area), or who were out-of-area but also interviewing at many of the other "top" programs. I am fairly mediocore by grades/numbers, but have a strong research background in EM and did well in clinical rotations/SLoEs.