What makes a good program?

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malsaint

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Aside from "fitting in with the probram" and being in a good location. What objective measures do you consider the most important and what factors do you consider irrelevant. ie. taruma, ob, peds, xplant, hearts. ICU experience, CRNA, school "name",

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In no particular order:
Number of hearts (cases, not transplants)

OB volume (=epidurals)

PEDS volume (Need numbers to graduate residency, even little itsy bitsy ones)

Didactics (should be there and be good)

Transplants (esp. LIVER)

Size and/or use of CRNA's, size of residency that is...Basically you need time to read/have a life. CRNA's will give you this at smaller places. Larger places may have enough residents not to kill you. Basically if you are 4-5 per class without CRNA's, you're screwed if the surgeons operate much.

ICU - This will be more important in the future when all programs go 4 years and extra ICU months will be required.

Other NICE stuff:

Regional - probably every programs weakness except for a select few!

Simulator - Not that many in the country actually.

Name - This will get you that great fellowship or job. Realize though that as the competition grows, some competitive people will end up going to some 'crap' programs. These programs will in turn get better as better people go through and they attract better residents, then faculty. Just remember that name does not equal volume and numbers do equal graduation from residency. You need numbers. Follow the numbers.
 
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Originally posted by 2ndyear
ICU - This will be more important in the future when all programs go 4 years and extra ICU months will be required.

When is this supposed to happen? I haven't heard one PD mention this. Does that mean that residents in the midst of their training at a 3-year program (i.e. PGY-1, CA-1, CA-2, CA-3) would have to add another year to the end of their training? That doesn't seem fair.
 
Current residents will not be affected. Incoming classes in 2007 or 2008 will be the first under the new guidelines if all goes according to plan and that may yet have some roadblocks to overcome.
 
Originally posted by UTSouthwestern
Current residents will not be affected. Incoming classes in 2007 or 2008 will be the first under the new guidelines if all goes according to plan and that may yet have some roadblocks to overcome.

By 2007, do you mean students that match into anesthesia in the 2007 match or students that begin their CA-1 year in 2007?

Also, is there a website with the proposed changes?
 
Are the programs going to incorporate the PGY-1 year into something akin to a categorical 4 year Anes residency? If so that 's great. Or do you mean that they are going to add another year on top of the training (PGY1, CA1-CA4) for a total of five years?? If so, ugh.

Is this going to be program specific or are they changing national guidelines?
 
The plan is to make all anesthesiology programs categorical and thus have more control over the internship. Unfortunately, many programs may not have the financial wherewithal to do so. Those programs would be responsible for parceling out ICU rotations throughout the CA 1-3 years and/or coordinating with prelim and transitional programs, the amount of ICU rotations that would be done by PGY-1's. The problem with the latter option is that the ABA will have specific guidelines for ICU education and not all ICU's are equal or close to it.

Currently, there are no plans to add an additional year of training.
 
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