Huron Valley
Program director: Bruce Wolf, D.O.
Dr. Wolf is fellowship trained in Interventional Radiology. He is great with students on rotation and doesnt mind you spending a good deal of time with him. He doesnt spend time teaching the residents, and is VERY busy when hes working. Isnt involved in the education of the residents very much. The residents told me that he is the key to getting a spot within the program, and he wants people that fit in and get along with the group of Attendings. So try to spend some time with him if you can.
Interviews:
It is not necessary to rotate at the program to get an interview, many of the students I saw interviewing hadnt been there before. The interviews are split up throughout the month, and about three students will be there during the day. You spend some time with each attending during the interview day, and they talk with you and ask you some questions. It is very laid back and almost feels like a rotation day in that you pretty much just sit with the attending and talk with them while they work. You then eat lunch and Dr. Wolf gives you a small talk, and then your free to go whenever youd like. Its really your call when to leave at this point, remember the annoyance factor though and its probably best to leave as long as youve spent time with all the attendings.
Volume/Call:
The Residents take call from home, and do not read very many cases during the night. Some of the residents said sometimes 10ish cases a night, sometimes lots more and sometimes less The volume is pretty low, Id say more than Garden City but less than the others I interviewed at. Residents had time to read and study during the day. They do rotations at DMC for interventional so they get pretty good exposure there. The Radiology department has a lot of nice, new equipment and very nice flouro/Interventional suites.
Didactics:
Were really non-existent at the hospital during the month I was there. Once in a while the residents would do cases with eachother, but Dr. Wolf or other Attendings were never present. This may have been because the residents had just finished boards and were burnt out, but just letting you know what I saw during my rotation. The Residents do the Tuesday in East Lansing and then also go to Wayne State University in Detroit for lectures on Wednesday afternoons. So I think they take this as the bulk of their didactics and then during the week dont do much else other than occasional lunch cases. The Residents say the Wayne State lectures are pretty good, and the PGY-2s have tests there as well on Brant and Helms so they are doubling up with the East Lansing exams.
Attendings:
The Attendings are all very nice and approachable but not involved in teaching the residents. Spend time with all the attending during your rotation, because the Attendings seemed to have more say here than at other programs. (according to the Residents)
Resident morale:
The residents here were all really happy and seemed to like their program a lot. Very laid back and personable, and seemed to get along very well. Kindof a Boys club feel within the program, competing in fantasy sports, playing cards out of program together, etc. Probably one of the least stressful programs because of the low volume and easy-going attitude of the Attendings and residents.
Rotation:
When you rotate it is a good idea to spend time with the Attendings. Dr. Wolf welcomes interested students to sit with him, so just approach him and show your interest. He runs all over the place, and is on the phone for a good amount of the day, so he wont get to chat much but just follow him around. The Residents will want you to do a presentation, but they are pretty laid back about it when compared to other programs. But as always, put time into it and make a solid presentation. It cant hurt. Most of the residents that are currently there did rotations through the program, so I think it helps to rotate through. Although, the other two students during my interview day hadnt rotated at the program. Dr. Wolf said he has started putting more emphasis on board scores because of the pressure hes getting from MSU and the Residents exam scores. So he told me hes started looking at the COMLEX I a little more heavily than he did in the past. No one really ever says specific numbers, but just know hes paying more attention to that now
Program director: Bruce Wolf, D.O.
Dr. Wolf is fellowship trained in Interventional Radiology. He is great with students on rotation and doesnt mind you spending a good deal of time with him. He doesnt spend time teaching the residents, and is VERY busy when hes working. Isnt involved in the education of the residents very much. The residents told me that he is the key to getting a spot within the program, and he wants people that fit in and get along with the group of Attendings. So try to spend some time with him if you can.
Interviews:
It is not necessary to rotate at the program to get an interview, many of the students I saw interviewing hadnt been there before. The interviews are split up throughout the month, and about three students will be there during the day. You spend some time with each attending during the interview day, and they talk with you and ask you some questions. It is very laid back and almost feels like a rotation day in that you pretty much just sit with the attending and talk with them while they work. You then eat lunch and Dr. Wolf gives you a small talk, and then your free to go whenever youd like. Its really your call when to leave at this point, remember the annoyance factor though and its probably best to leave as long as youve spent time with all the attendings.
Volume/Call:
The Residents take call from home, and do not read very many cases during the night. Some of the residents said sometimes 10ish cases a night, sometimes lots more and sometimes less The volume is pretty low, Id say more than Garden City but less than the others I interviewed at. Residents had time to read and study during the day. They do rotations at DMC for interventional so they get pretty good exposure there. The Radiology department has a lot of nice, new equipment and very nice flouro/Interventional suites.
Didactics:
Were really non-existent at the hospital during the month I was there. Once in a while the residents would do cases with eachother, but Dr. Wolf or other Attendings were never present. This may have been because the residents had just finished boards and were burnt out, but just letting you know what I saw during my rotation. The Residents do the Tuesday in East Lansing and then also go to Wayne State University in Detroit for lectures on Wednesday afternoons. So I think they take this as the bulk of their didactics and then during the week dont do much else other than occasional lunch cases. The Residents say the Wayne State lectures are pretty good, and the PGY-2s have tests there as well on Brant and Helms so they are doubling up with the East Lansing exams.
Attendings:
The Attendings are all very nice and approachable but not involved in teaching the residents. Spend time with all the attending during your rotation, because the Attendings seemed to have more say here than at other programs. (according to the Residents)
Resident morale:
The residents here were all really happy and seemed to like their program a lot. Very laid back and personable, and seemed to get along very well. Kindof a Boys club feel within the program, competing in fantasy sports, playing cards out of program together, etc. Probably one of the least stressful programs because of the low volume and easy-going attitude of the Attendings and residents.
Rotation:
When you rotate it is a good idea to spend time with the Attendings. Dr. Wolf welcomes interested students to sit with him, so just approach him and show your interest. He runs all over the place, and is on the phone for a good amount of the day, so he wont get to chat much but just follow him around. The Residents will want you to do a presentation, but they are pretty laid back about it when compared to other programs. But as always, put time into it and make a solid presentation. It cant hurt. Most of the residents that are currently there did rotations through the program, so I think it helps to rotate through. Although, the other two students during my interview day hadnt rotated at the program. Dr. Wolf said he has started putting more emphasis on board scores because of the pressure hes getting from MSU and the Residents exam scores. So he told me hes started looking at the COMLEX I a little more heavily than he did in the past. No one really ever says specific numbers, but just know hes paying more attention to that now