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- Aug 13, 2013
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I apologize in advance but I should have posted this back in January before VSLO (formerly VSAS) applications opened but I was busy with interviews and nervous about the match. Most everyone should avoid doing an away rotation here unless they want a horrible Standard Letter of Evaluation (SLOE)... ESPECIALLY if this is your first EM away rotation.
I auditioned at UT Austin Dell Medical School’s EM program last year and it turned out to be a huge mistake. There are a list of reasons why. I will number them.
1. AUDITIONING AT THIS EM PROGRAM DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN INTERVIEW... This is both good and bad. Its good that they don’t waste your time by offering you a complimentary interview if they don’t even want you BUT why even accept the student for the audition rotation? I understand it is hard to screen students out prior to them taking step 2 and seeing their MSPE Deans letter but if these are important factors then Dr Todd Berger (UT Austins program director) should be more specific about what he wants. He could obtain an unofficial transcript and get an idea of a students class rank and ask that students complete their step 2 early and start auditions in August or September so he could obtain that data. Looking good on paper is more important to this program than doing an audition. You’re more likely to match at this program by not auditioning.
2. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT TRANSPARENT or HONEST ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE... Your mid-evaluation feedback is a complete and utter joke... You have a preceptor you are designated during each of your shifts fill in your eval and by the time you get to the mid eval feedback part of your rotation the preceptors either haven’t filled out the forms or will finish them towards the end of the rotation. Basically, the feedback you get is garbage and does nothing to help you improve because they have nothing substantial in terms of evals to work with. They told me that I was doing well and that my differentials were clear, concise and that everyone enjoyed working with me. That I should continue doing what I am doing. I GOT A BOTTOM 1/3 SLOE IN THE END... I went on a few interviews who unofficially told me about my UT Austin SLOE and that I would have a lot of problems during ERAS reviews.
3. You don’t get your UT Austin SLOE until mid to late September. Some got it earlier but I got mine later... If you don’t have at least 2 SLOE’s in before programs do ERAS review then you will be represented by ONLY one SLOE. Its risky because it could be a bad SLOE and you wouldn’t even know. You’ll be caught wondering why you have less interviews than your peers. Having a bad SLOE is detrimental so you should have at least 2 and then a 3rd one in by mid to late October or early November. AGAIN, I got a very bad SLOE at this place.
4. The evals are based on a point system and those points are all added up from at least 10 of your 14 shifts to compare to other students. This is why you get a late SLOE because they use that total score in September to finish the SLOE. You are rated on a scale of 1-5 on 5-6 different categories. Theres a total score you get per shift and all if it is added up in the end. This makes things even more subjective in the end. I think many programs have a similar system but ill add this in as a reason to be careful when rotating here.
5. This program acts and thinks it’s ELITE when it’s actually not. Ill say this again... This program wants people who are top in their class and who have top board scores. They have a beautiful new hospital and emergency department. They reside in the highly desirable city of Austin. BUT other than location and newness of their hospital this program isn’t an impressive training site.
Nobody gave me attitude or had any issues with me. The attendings, residents and staff were all very nice during my month there. BUT you never really know what people actually think. For all I know they could have disliked me and I just wasn’t able to read it for one reason or another. If you want to do this rotation for fun because its in Austin Texas then by all means do it! If you’re trying to get a SLOE, learn procedures, or to increase your chances of matching at the program then you should turn back and find another program to do those things! I would cancel my rotation and go somewhere else if I could go back in time to last year. Or just not use their SLOE...
I auditioned at UT Austin Dell Medical School’s EM program last year and it turned out to be a huge mistake. There are a list of reasons why. I will number them.
1. AUDITIONING AT THIS EM PROGRAM DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN INTERVIEW... This is both good and bad. Its good that they don’t waste your time by offering you a complimentary interview if they don’t even want you BUT why even accept the student for the audition rotation? I understand it is hard to screen students out prior to them taking step 2 and seeing their MSPE Deans letter but if these are important factors then Dr Todd Berger (UT Austins program director) should be more specific about what he wants. He could obtain an unofficial transcript and get an idea of a students class rank and ask that students complete their step 2 early and start auditions in August or September so he could obtain that data. Looking good on paper is more important to this program than doing an audition. You’re more likely to match at this program by not auditioning.
2. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT TRANSPARENT or HONEST ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE... Your mid-evaluation feedback is a complete and utter joke... You have a preceptor you are designated during each of your shifts fill in your eval and by the time you get to the mid eval feedback part of your rotation the preceptors either haven’t filled out the forms or will finish them towards the end of the rotation. Basically, the feedback you get is garbage and does nothing to help you improve because they have nothing substantial in terms of evals to work with. They told me that I was doing well and that my differentials were clear, concise and that everyone enjoyed working with me. That I should continue doing what I am doing. I GOT A BOTTOM 1/3 SLOE IN THE END... I went on a few interviews who unofficially told me about my UT Austin SLOE and that I would have a lot of problems during ERAS reviews.
3. You don’t get your UT Austin SLOE until mid to late September. Some got it earlier but I got mine later... If you don’t have at least 2 SLOE’s in before programs do ERAS review then you will be represented by ONLY one SLOE. Its risky because it could be a bad SLOE and you wouldn’t even know. You’ll be caught wondering why you have less interviews than your peers. Having a bad SLOE is detrimental so you should have at least 2 and then a 3rd one in by mid to late October or early November. AGAIN, I got a very bad SLOE at this place.
4. The evals are based on a point system and those points are all added up from at least 10 of your 14 shifts to compare to other students. This is why you get a late SLOE because they use that total score in September to finish the SLOE. You are rated on a scale of 1-5 on 5-6 different categories. Theres a total score you get per shift and all if it is added up in the end. This makes things even more subjective in the end. I think many programs have a similar system but ill add this in as a reason to be careful when rotating here.
5. This program acts and thinks it’s ELITE when it’s actually not. Ill say this again... This program wants people who are top in their class and who have top board scores. They have a beautiful new hospital and emergency department. They reside in the highly desirable city of Austin. BUT other than location and newness of their hospital this program isn’t an impressive training site.
Nobody gave me attitude or had any issues with me. The attendings, residents and staff were all very nice during my month there. BUT you never really know what people actually think. For all I know they could have disliked me and I just wasn’t able to read it for one reason or another. If you want to do this rotation for fun because its in Austin Texas then by all means do it! If you’re trying to get a SLOE, learn procedures, or to increase your chances of matching at the program then you should turn back and find another program to do those things! I would cancel my rotation and go somewhere else if I could go back in time to last year. Or just not use their SLOE...
