Alright, here is my review of the program in Reno (for some reason the old thread doesn't show up):
Pre-interview dinner: Chief resident and intern picked up the applicants from the hotel and a resident joined us at the restaurant later. Had a pretty good discussion about the program and it was very informative.
Facilities Tour: The residents work at both the VA and Renown Medical Center (RMC). RMC is a pretty new hospital and the facilities were very good. VA facilities were pretty standard and had nice new call rooms for residents, but apparently there is no assigned parking for residents at the VA. RMC had designated parking for physicians/residents. This VA does not have advanced cardiac unit so they refer their transplant and CABG patients to other VA facilities (mainly to Cali). The big advantage that the residents have is the ICU at this VA. They do not have fellows and therefore residents can do all the procedures...central lines, intubations, etc on their own so the autonomy is excellent. I really liked this part🙂
Morning Report: Outstanding, that's all I have to say! The attending, Dr. G (not sure if I can mention the name on SDN), is an excellent teacher. Applicants were then split into groups and assigned to different ward teams. This was great because I got to see how things work at this place. I was assigned to Dr. G's team, it was obvious that he loved to teach, he is brilliant. Great pathology from what I saw during wards and heard from the residents, night float, decent call schedule, good work hours, good faculty to resident ratio, very supportive staff and faculty.
Noon Conference: Not on the day of my interview but apparently they do have them.
Residents: Very friendly residents, great camaraderie and they all seem very happy. I think they are able to balance professional and personal lives really well in this program because they have good hours. Mix of married and single residents, diverse group....AMG, DO, IMG. Many residents have families in bay area and NorCal. Reno is a small town but lots of outdoor stuff to do if you are into that sort of thing. Minimal traffic....a Big plus!!😀
Interviews: Some got to interview with the Associate PD while others with the Chairman and one faculty. Personally, I would have liked to meet the PD or Associate PD but the PD was on vacation and never got the opportunity to talk to the associate PD. Very relaxed interviews, the faculty member asked some medical questions based on my experience and was very friendly. Chairman is relatively new and was also very nice, is keen to improve the program (they were on probation in the past but got full accreditation now). The faculty seemed very approachable and I got a really good feeling about this program.
Electives: One of the residents told me that they do not get paid for away electives and international electives. I am not sure if this is the case with all programs, never actually occurred to me that programs do not pay for away electives. So I never asked at other programs and neither did anyone specifically mentioned it. I guess it makes sense though because technically you are not working for them during the time you are away!
Fellowships: They have Hospice & Palliative and IM Geriatrics fellowships. But the chairman wants to bring Endo and Cards although funding seems to be an issue right now for those fellowships, so not sure if they will get them. They do not have cards or GI matches but if you are a Pulm/CC person like me, this place has AWESOME Pulm/CC match rate into some pretty competitive places like Duke. They have some Hem/Onc match success too.
Overall, I liked this program very much. The people were very nice, really friendly residents and great training and autonomy. I want to go into Pulm/CC eventually and their awesome match rate is a bonus! I got a great positive vibe about this place, I loved it!🙂 This place might not be for everyone though, especially if you are a big city person.
Pre-interview dinner: Chief resident and intern picked up the applicants from the hotel and a resident joined us at the restaurant later. Had a pretty good discussion about the program and it was very informative.
Facilities Tour: The residents work at both the VA and Renown Medical Center (RMC). RMC is a pretty new hospital and the facilities were very good. VA facilities were pretty standard and had nice new call rooms for residents, but apparently there is no assigned parking for residents at the VA. RMC had designated parking for physicians/residents. This VA does not have advanced cardiac unit so they refer their transplant and CABG patients to other VA facilities (mainly to Cali). The big advantage that the residents have is the ICU at this VA. They do not have fellows and therefore residents can do all the procedures...central lines, intubations, etc on their own so the autonomy is excellent. I really liked this part🙂
Morning Report: Outstanding, that's all I have to say! The attending, Dr. G (not sure if I can mention the name on SDN), is an excellent teacher. Applicants were then split into groups and assigned to different ward teams. This was great because I got to see how things work at this place. I was assigned to Dr. G's team, it was obvious that he loved to teach, he is brilliant. Great pathology from what I saw during wards and heard from the residents, night float, decent call schedule, good work hours, good faculty to resident ratio, very supportive staff and faculty.
Noon Conference: Not on the day of my interview but apparently they do have them.
Residents: Very friendly residents, great camaraderie and they all seem very happy. I think they are able to balance professional and personal lives really well in this program because they have good hours. Mix of married and single residents, diverse group....AMG, DO, IMG. Many residents have families in bay area and NorCal. Reno is a small town but lots of outdoor stuff to do if you are into that sort of thing. Minimal traffic....a Big plus!!😀
Interviews: Some got to interview with the Associate PD while others with the Chairman and one faculty. Personally, I would have liked to meet the PD or Associate PD but the PD was on vacation and never got the opportunity to talk to the associate PD. Very relaxed interviews, the faculty member asked some medical questions based on my experience and was very friendly. Chairman is relatively new and was also very nice, is keen to improve the program (they were on probation in the past but got full accreditation now). The faculty seemed very approachable and I got a really good feeling about this program.
Electives: One of the residents told me that they do not get paid for away electives and international electives. I am not sure if this is the case with all programs, never actually occurred to me that programs do not pay for away electives. So I never asked at other programs and neither did anyone specifically mentioned it. I guess it makes sense though because technically you are not working for them during the time you are away!
Fellowships: They have Hospice & Palliative and IM Geriatrics fellowships. But the chairman wants to bring Endo and Cards although funding seems to be an issue right now for those fellowships, so not sure if they will get them. They do not have cards or GI matches but if you are a Pulm/CC person like me, this place has AWESOME Pulm/CC match rate into some pretty competitive places like Duke. They have some Hem/Onc match success too.
Overall, I liked this program very much. The people were very nice, really friendly residents and great training and autonomy. I want to go into Pulm/CC eventually and their awesome match rate is a bonus! I got a great positive vibe about this place, I loved it!🙂 This place might not be for everyone though, especially if you are a big city person.
