Orthogate arrow Residency Reviews
Reviews written by birdman

St Louis University School of Medicine
 SLU,  Monday, 07 April 2008

Overall rating
8.4
Staff Surgeons
8.0
Didactics/Teaching
7.0
Operating Experience
8.0
Clinical Experience
9.0
Research
10.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
8.0
Location
8.0
Overall Experience
8.0
Program Information
Staff/Faculty/Chairman: I think there are several staff at SLU that are truly exceptional (Puryear and Watson for example) and most of the others are at least above average. Like all programs, there are some staff that are more difficult to work with, but all in all I think they are a positive for the program. The are best known for their trauma staff (Moed, Watson, Karges, Boudreau) and several are considered top in their respective niches. I think Dr. Moed can be a little intimidating, but in the end he is nice and definitely pro-resident.
Didactics/Teaching: Contrary to the other review, I found their scheduled didactics at least solid. There were several that were resident delivered, but this is common at many programs. They are taught well while in the OR and clinic as well.
Operating Experience: SLU Hospital is definitely a county hospital in everything but name; this has its ups and downs. They get considerable autonomy and get their hands "wet" early. This also has the down side of slow OR turn over (not as bad as VA's, but getting there.)
Clinic Experience: The residents are given appropriate autonomy in patient managment and care. It is similiar to the other programs I have seen.
Research Opportunities: They have an additional year (between the R-1 and R-2 years.) They have many opportunities including a biomechanical lab.
Residents: I really like the residents at SLU. They were a great bunch that really looked out for each other and got along well.
Lifestyle: Trauma call can be crazy and with NSGY's lose of their spine guys, ortho now takes ALL spine call (great experience, lots of calls to ER!) While on other services it is not too bad, so you just have to put in the time while on trauma.
Location/Housing: The STL area is underrated and overexaggerated (when it comes to crime and ghettos.) I think the longer you spend time in St. Louis, the more it grows on you and as long as you don't run through East or North St. Louis, you shouldn't have any trouble with crime. The suburbs and, increasingly so, the downtown are great places. Has all the pluses of a big city as well, sports, art, music, clubs, etc...
Limitations: I don't feel like there are any major flaws at SLU, I do think they would be better served if they protect the research year, but this maybe already happening due to the increase of the program to 4 per year. I also think they could spend a couple fewer months on trauma and more on the other subspecialties.
Overall Rotation Experience/Conclusion: Solid program, I would recommend people take a look at it if they want a great trauma experience, good research and are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
Qualification
I am a medical student at this school.
Date of Rotation: Summer of 2007


University of Wisconsin
 University of Wisconsin,  Wednesday, 27 February 2008

Overall rating
9.4
Staff Surgeons
9.0
Didactics/Teaching
9.0
Operating Experience
9.0
Clinical Experience
10.0
Research
8.0
Residents
10.0
Lifestyle
10.0
Location
10.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Information
Staff/Faculty/Chairman: With a great blend of staff, some having spent many years there and some fresh out of a fellowship, they are one of the program's greatest strengths. They have every subspecialty covered and the program is looking to add more faculty. Dr. Zdeblick, the chairman, is very responsive to the residents and definitely has the programs headed in the right direction. The staff go to bat for the residents when it comes to fellowships and they place them in very strong ones (eg. Birmingham, Al for sports.)
Didactics/Teaching: There are morning didactics several days each week. I would guess that half are faculty and half are resident presented. I thought they spend a very balanced amount of time in the "lecture hall."
Operating Experience: The residents spent roughly 2.5 to 3 days a week in the OR. In the service I worked on, it ended up as the junior residents operating and the senior residents walking them through the cases. For more complex or unusual cases the senior operated more, but I though it was very appropriate.
Clinic Experience: The residents spent roughly 2 to 2.5 days a week in clinic. They were given autonomy in the majority of patient decisions. I dislike clinic as much as the next guy, but you have to learn indications for operation and they definitely do that at UW.
Research Opportunities: There seemed to be plenty of opportunities for residents to work on either clinical or biomechanical/bench research. I know several presented at large meetings, so they are doing good work.
Residents: After my month in Madison, I have to say that the residents were the strong suit of the program. They seemed to bend over backwards to help each other prepare for a case, learn in the OR, or in clinic. I think this aspect of programs is often overlooked; these are the people you spend the majority of the next 5 years of your life with! They would be a great group to work with.
Lifestyle: Their intern year is much of the usual, but I liked the fact they don't do CTS, neurosurgery, or transplant. They have a nightfloat system, so it can be tough for your turn as the R-2, but it is more than worth it in the R-3 through R-5 years. Trauma call can be heavy in the summer, but like many places, is very reasonable in the "off-season."
Location/Housing: Madison is a beautiful city that has much more to offer than its population would lead you to believe. Housing is very affordable, with many residents owning homes close to the hospital. I know that anyone that has spent time in Madison, loves it.
Limitations: I tried to be very critical of programs while rotating and interviewing, but I did not see any glaring problems in this program.
Overall Rotation Experience/Conclusion: The program is one of the, if not the strongest program that I encountered while rotating or interviewing. I am ranking this my number one program and would strongly recommend everyone to look at UW when considering applying for, interviewing with, or ranking programs.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program
Date of Rotation: 2007


Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education
 Mayo Clinic is top tier,  Saturday, 08 September 2007

Overall rating
9.2
Staff Surgeons
10.0
Didactics/Teaching
10.0
Operating Experience
10.0
Clinical Experience
10.0
Research
10.0
Residents
8.0
Lifestyle
9.0
Location
6.0
Overall Experience
10.0
Program Information
Staff/Faculty/Chairman: There is no question that the staff at the Mayo clinic are outstanding, with many being recognized at top names in their respective fields. Dr. Berry, the chair, was very personable when I met him and he came across as a guy who really cares about his residents education.
Didactics/Teaching: While on service, I felt that the residents were given outstanding didactics. As PGY-2s they spend six months on a basic science curriculum, where they are still on services but their afternoons are protected for various lectures, skill labs, anatomy labs and studying. I thought that this was a great way to make the transition from an intern to a more prepared orthopaedic resident.
Operating Experience: Their strengths are joints, hand, and spine. Their "weakness" is trauma. While their weakness really is trauma, I think it is only a relative weakness (because their other areas are so strong). While on service my trauma team had more than enough OR time, in fact we had a call day that we spent 20 straight hours operating. Not only this, but the PGY-2s were getting to perform some of the key parts of various operations (which discredits some of the rumors out there that you don't operate until late in residency.) I also spent time on a joints service and had a similar experience, with the junior residents being very hands on. Lastly, the rumor that fellows steal cases is 100% not true. The fellows are generally not on service with residents at all, but if they are they are with junior residents so there isn't much overlap on the things they would and could be doing anyway.
Clinic Experience: Well it is called the Mayo CLINIC. In all seriousness, in my opinion clinic is clinic, it is the same nearly everywhere.
Research Opportunities: Everyone knows that there is plenty of opportunity to do projects that find their way into JBJS and the likes. The staff there are very open to resident help in their projects. On the flip side (and just at important in my opinion), some of the residents I talked to told me they were not planning on doing any research and they were not being pressure to doing it either.
Residents: They were a good group of people that seemed to go out of their way to make sure I knew what was going on. Even residents from other services would give me a hand when I was a little lost. That being said, you do get a little feeling that the group is more the studying type than the wild partying type, not to say they don't have a good time (I went to several parties with residents while I was there and had a great time) but that is just the feeling I got.
Lifestyle: They certainly adhere to the 80 hour work work week and I though their call schedule was very resonable.
Location/Housing: It is Rochester, MN. That being said, I think it is a great town to raise a family if you are a married resident. Housing is affordable and the education system is great. But there is no question that if you are a single resident looking for a great night life, this is not your ideal program.
Overall Rotation Experience/Conclusion: I definately had a great time while at the Mayo Clinic and plan on ranking it very high, if not number 1. I though many of the myths about the program (don't operate until PGY-3s or 4s, no trauma, too many fellows) were just not true at all. I think that there is little question that this is an elite top-tier program.
Qualification
I rotated as a medical student at this program


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