U Chicago= strong name, hard core academic program, research research research. little exposure to trauma, i've been told by many people " if u do not want to be department chair somewhere, don't go there".
at the risk of losing anonymity, i just wanted to clarify a few things about my home program. i am fairly certain i do not want to be a department chair, but many residents like myself seem to share an interest in pursuing a career in academic surgery (involving teaching and/or research). most pursue further fellowship training, though not all. about 75% do 2 years of research, but it is not required. in fact, one our best chiefs last year finished in 5 years straight and took a lucrative private practice job in chicago (a competitive market).
some residents are not heavily invested in research and do 2 years with no plans for future lab work. others conduct md-phd level work with the goal of maintaining a busy clinical practice and directing a lab eventually. the research opportunities at U of C are abundant and available if you want it. if you stay at U of C for your lab years, you are automatically funded by the department -- no need to apply for a grant.
it is true, we are not trauma heavy. however, i see this as a plus. trauma operative experience can be hit-or-miss depending on where you are, and may involve a lot of non-operative conservative management ("babysitting"). i think we get adequate adult trauma exposure with several months as a PGY-2 and PGY-4 at Cook county, same rotation as the Rush residents. we also get more than our share of peds traumas as we are the only Level I peds trauma center for the south side of chicago since Christ Hospital stopped admitting peds traumas. my last month on the peds service, we had 80 traumas in one month -- keep in mind, this is not a trauma service, but a peds service where we do anything from hernias, appys, bowel resections for NEC, pullthroughs for hirschsprungs, ECMO, decortications, lung resections, lap Nissens, to port placements (you get the idea)
we have a particularly strong exposure to surgical oncology, transplant, and vascular. already mentioned the great peds cases we get. we also have solid experience on burn (accredited Burn Center), thoracic, and of course various general surgery services. i think our critical care experience is good as well. as the PGY-2, you are the one managing the cardiac surgery ICU and burn ICU -- no seniors. at night, you are there alone but with attendings available by phone if needed.
the patient population ranges from indigent, to bread-and-butter middle class (we rotate at 2 community hospitals), to tertiary referrals from neighboring states (michigan, indiana).
the best selling point of the program is my fellow residents -- everybody works hard and we pick each other up. my colleagues are extremely dedicated individuals. having finished my pgy-3 year, many of the interns and juniors are a true pleasure to work with. (no secret, i would like this to continue!) many of my chiefs and former chiefs, i admire not only as physicians, but also their character as human beings.
bottom line, take home message -- it is a versatile program that you can tailor to your own needs, be it an academic career, further fellowship training, or straight into private practice. it is common for your goals and interests to evolve during training so i think it is valuable to be able to keep your doors open. i am happy to answer any questions.
