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Does anyone have any first hand info/comments to make about the Univ of Maryland's program? I was wondering in particular about the call schedule and the general quality of the training offered there.
University of Maryland
- Thread starter GOLFBALLS
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I have heard this is one of, if not the most malignant program in the US. We had a senior last year who transferred from there. Someone else I was talking to said they had a friend there, but they REALLY wanted to match and not scramble.
I would avoid this place like the plague.
If there are any Maryland residents on this site please correct me if I'm wrong
I would avoid this place like the plague.
If there are any Maryland residents on this site please correct me if I'm wrong
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I'm doing a rotation at their trauma hospital and talked to a fellow whose roommate just finished the program last year- he said that he was worked very hard as a chief resident (hard to tell if that is a person or program variable) and otherwise did not have problems with the program. I have actively been trying to assess it given the negative stuff on scutwork from a few years back- unable to substantiate so far.
I hear that Maryland has just recruited a new chair, Dr. Peter Rock. I worked with Dr. Rock when I was a resident at UNC, and he is a great guy. He is someone who consistently had resident education at the top of his list of priorities. I don't know a thing about the current state of the program at Maryland, but I have no doubt that Dr. Rock will be a positive influence.
If I were a current medical student looking for a place to apply, I would apply there if only for the opportunity to work in a department headed by Dr. Rock. He's that good.
If I were a current medical student looking for a place to apply, I would apply there if only for the opportunity to work in a department headed by Dr. Rock. He's that good.
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I thought I might respond however slanted it may be seeing as how I matched at Maryland as a CA-1 next year (I'm doing my prelim medicine year elsewhere).
Maryland's anesthesia program "street-cred" is based on shock/trauma and critical care. On that basis, there is no doubt that the residents as a whole work extremely HARD. The residents I met were extremely well versed in ICU management. When I asked about general work hours at my interview I got the generic "when the cases are finished" answer. You can take that however you want.
I ranked my programs with the mindset that I was going to "work my ass off" during residency then tailor my practice afterwards accordingly especially since I leaning towards pain mgt right now which isn't near as time-consuming as critical care. Most of the residents seem to go into general practice right afterwards. The consensus I got was that those who wanted to do fellowships didn't have any difficulty getting one because Maryland's reputation speaks for itself for better or for worse.
PM me if anyone has any specific questions I can answer...
Maryland's anesthesia program "street-cred" is based on shock/trauma and critical care. On that basis, there is no doubt that the residents as a whole work extremely HARD. The residents I met were extremely well versed in ICU management. When I asked about general work hours at my interview I got the generic "when the cases are finished" answer. You can take that however you want.
I ranked my programs with the mindset that I was going to "work my ass off" during residency then tailor my practice afterwards accordingly especially since I leaning towards pain mgt right now which isn't near as time-consuming as critical care. Most of the residents seem to go into general practice right afterwards. The consensus I got was that those who wanted to do fellowships didn't have any difficulty getting one because Maryland's reputation speaks for itself for better or for worse.
PM me if anyone has any specific questions I can answer...
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Thanks for offering the info/comments on U of Maryland. I was hoping to find out more specifically what the call schedule and work hours were in general O.R. for example.
I was really hoping that one of the current residents would be surfing around on here and offer their opinion as the most recent offering on scutwork was over a year ago. I hope this was more "sour grapes" for some reason or another rather than an accurate portrayal of the program.
I hope it is no reflection that the U Maryland gas resident's lack of time spent on this website is because they are so busy that they cannot even surf the internet. Or it could just be that they are not nerdy enough to spend all of their time outside of the hospital to worry residency related issues. I will assume it is the later.
But please people keep posting.... thanks
I was really hoping that one of the current residents would be surfing around on here and offer their opinion as the most recent offering on scutwork was over a year ago. I hope this was more "sour grapes" for some reason or another rather than an accurate portrayal of the program.
I hope it is no reflection that the U Maryland gas resident's lack of time spent on this website is because they are so busy that they cannot even surf the internet. Or it could just be that they are not nerdy enough to spend all of their time outside of the hospital to worry residency related issues. I will assume it is the later.
But please people keep posting.... thanks
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Had my interview there today. One nice thing was getting to talk to a CA-2 who went to my current med school, so I feel like I got some pretty honest advice from someone who had similar background/experience/possibly expectations. (She was happy with it)
They emphasized the variety and number of cases that you'd get to do, and I heard from multiple people that they felt very comfortable managing anything that was thrown at them. They acknowledged that in the past they had some too-often-the-workhorse issues but everyone seemed very positive about the recent (within the last year) addition of CRNAs to the department, and there are plans to increase their involvement in sharing the work while making "good" cases like hearts, peds, etc reserved for residents. The CA-3s seemed to think it is/will be a very positive change. Have heard good things about the new chair, and the program director seemed very down-to-earth and helpful. I'll rank it. They addressed my concerns adequately, and I'm in that kind of learn-by-doing environment now.
They emphasized the variety and number of cases that you'd get to do, and I heard from multiple people that they felt very comfortable managing anything that was thrown at them. They acknowledged that in the past they had some too-often-the-workhorse issues but everyone seemed very positive about the recent (within the last year) addition of CRNAs to the department, and there are plans to increase their involvement in sharing the work while making "good" cases like hearts, peds, etc reserved for residents. The CA-3s seemed to think it is/will be a very positive change. Have heard good things about the new chair, and the program director seemed very down-to-earth and helpful. I'll rank it. They addressed my concerns adequately, and I'm in that kind of learn-by-doing environment now.
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CA-2
I'm currently a CA-2 @ U of MD's program. Hope some of this info helps.
1) Call Schedule: CA-1: ~7/month - divided among: Late Call (regular day + stay till 8pm), Overnight (regular day + overnight till 7am, remainder of day off), and 3rd call which occurs only on Sat or Sun (show up @ 7am, stay till pre-ops are done, usually by 1pm); CA-2: ~5-6/month - pretty much just overnight call (off @ 7am, remainder of day off); CA-3: ~4-5/month: mostly OB call which is a regular day + overnight + AM rounds (~10-11am, remainder of day off). SICU call is a different story - Q3 or Q4.
2) Yes - a new Chairman will be starting in December 2006, so this will be a transition period. All transitions carry a bit of turmoil, but good things are anticipated. Dr. Rock appears to be very resident oriented and has responded positively to resident input and feedback about the program thus far.
3) Workload - We are a busy program with exposure to cases across the spectrum from heart/lung/liver/kidney transplants to outpatient optholmology procedures. The program recently began integrating CRNAs into the workday to help residents get home earlier at the end of the day. It's a step in the right direction. The plan is to bring on another half dozen CRNAs over the next few months. Of note - to function as an efficient cost-effective OR, cases continually move throughout the day and operating rooms are filled until staffing (nurses, attending's, ect) diminish at the end of the day. This is the reality of an academic tertiary care center in the city. We are not a tiny private practice at a community hospital that shuts down everything at 3pm. There ARE programs like that out there... you can find them if that's what you desire, but your clinical competence will not come anywhere close to what you graduate with here.
4) HOWEVER - at an ideal residency there would be a balance between workload and academics. Academics, in my mind, should include teaching (intraoperative and formal didactics), AND the simple consideration for residents in regards to personal study/reading time. It's the latter that has been lacking. We do not have early reading days, or resident-to-resident review time, etc. Our formal didactics are Mondays (3-5pm), and Thursday morning Grand Rounds (7-8am).
Hope this was insightful.
~~~
I'm currently a CA-2 @ U of MD's program. Hope some of this info helps.
1) Call Schedule: CA-1: ~7/month - divided among: Late Call (regular day + stay till 8pm), Overnight (regular day + overnight till 7am, remainder of day off), and 3rd call which occurs only on Sat or Sun (show up @ 7am, stay till pre-ops are done, usually by 1pm); CA-2: ~5-6/month - pretty much just overnight call (off @ 7am, remainder of day off); CA-3: ~4-5/month: mostly OB call which is a regular day + overnight + AM rounds (~10-11am, remainder of day off). SICU call is a different story - Q3 or Q4.
2) Yes - a new Chairman will be starting in December 2006, so this will be a transition period. All transitions carry a bit of turmoil, but good things are anticipated. Dr. Rock appears to be very resident oriented and has responded positively to resident input and feedback about the program thus far.
3) Workload - We are a busy program with exposure to cases across the spectrum from heart/lung/liver/kidney transplants to outpatient optholmology procedures. The program recently began integrating CRNAs into the workday to help residents get home earlier at the end of the day. It's a step in the right direction. The plan is to bring on another half dozen CRNAs over the next few months. Of note - to function as an efficient cost-effective OR, cases continually move throughout the day and operating rooms are filled until staffing (nurses, attending's, ect) diminish at the end of the day. This is the reality of an academic tertiary care center in the city. We are not a tiny private practice at a community hospital that shuts down everything at 3pm. There ARE programs like that out there... you can find them if that's what you desire, but your clinical competence will not come anywhere close to what you graduate with here.
4) HOWEVER - at an ideal residency there would be a balance between workload and academics. Academics, in my mind, should include teaching (intraoperative and formal didactics), AND the simple consideration for residents in regards to personal study/reading time. It's the latter that has been lacking. We do not have early reading days, or resident-to-resident review time, etc. Our formal didactics are Mondays (3-5pm), and Thursday morning Grand Rounds (7-8am).
Hope this was insightful.
~~~
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Just a few quick questions...
1.) How do the weekends work as far as call goes?
2.) How many months of "elective time" do you get in the CA-3 year?
3.) Have you noticed that the CRNAs have been making a difference in residents being able to study more on their own?
4.) How many hours do you work in a given week?
5.) Do the faculty seem interested in what the residents think might be improvements to the program?
6.) Would you/other residents you know re-apply if given the chance?
Actually this turned out to be WAY more than just a few quick questions. Sorry about that.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated as I like the program and am thinking of rakning it highly.
1.) How do the weekends work as far as call goes?
2.) How many months of "elective time" do you get in the CA-3 year?
3.) Have you noticed that the CRNAs have been making a difference in residents being able to study more on their own?
4.) How many hours do you work in a given week?
5.) Do the faculty seem interested in what the residents think might be improvements to the program?
6.) Would you/other residents you know re-apply if given the chance?
Actually this turned out to be WAY more than just a few quick questions. Sorry about that.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated as I like the program and am thinking of rakning it highly.
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1) Weekend calls - Two residents (CA1+CA2) take overnight call, which is 7am-7am; they take on whatever emergent cases are scheduled for the day; a third resident (CA1) takes 3rd call - this person generally helps out with pre-ops and then is allowed to leave, typically by 1pm, often earlier
2) 3 months of 3rd year elective time; the rest of the year we are finishing core rotations in either cardiac, OB, neuro, or peds
3) Yes, the addition of CRNAs have been a definite improvement in helping with earlier relief at the end of the day ==> more personal time
4) Average work week is 65 hours for the general OR
5) This is a difficult question to gauge and answer, but I think as a whole the attendings have made efforts to address concerns residents have raised over the last year; particularly intra-op teaching has improved and we now consistently get morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks -- this seems odd when I read this back, but 2 years ago we often went without morning and afternoon breaks
6) If I were applying right now knowing what I know - then YES, I would apply no question - because at this point the program has changed positively from where we were 2 years ago
2) 3 months of 3rd year elective time; the rest of the year we are finishing core rotations in either cardiac, OB, neuro, or peds
3) Yes, the addition of CRNAs have been a definite improvement in helping with earlier relief at the end of the day ==> more personal time
4) Average work week is 65 hours for the general OR
5) This is a difficult question to gauge and answer, but I think as a whole the attendings have made efforts to address concerns residents have raised over the last year; particularly intra-op teaching has improved and we now consistently get morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks -- this seems odd when I read this back, but 2 years ago we often went without morning and afternoon breaks
6) If I were applying right now knowing what I know - then YES, I would apply no question - because at this point the program has changed positively from where we were 2 years ago
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This is all great info.....thank you for your input. Perhaps you or someone can tell us how many weekends off do you get a month on average?
I hear nothing but great things about the program since all of the changes that have been made. Dr. Rock seems like an asset to the program as is the program director Dr. Njoku. The addition of the CRNAs sounds like just what the residents needed to be able to read on their own or needed to enjoy life.
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I'm also a CA-2. I have to agree w/ Intub8r. Things are definitely on the up and up. I'm finding there's more reading time this year. That extra half hour to an hour I'm getting off earlier makes a big difference in being able eat, relax some AND read something. CA-1 is a very tiring year because of the late calls (staying till 8pm) on top of doing pre-ops/post-ops and just the stress of all the stuff you have to learn when you're just starting.
The overnight calls are hit or miss. I've had calls where I never left the OR w/ having to do 4 or 5 respiratory cdoes and I've had calls where I slept all night; usually they're inbetween those extremes.
In the general OR months, there's usually 2 weekends off a month although sometimes as a CA-1 you might have to come in on a weekend day for half a day so those months they would have 1 weekend.
The overnight calls are hit or miss. I've had calls where I never left the OR w/ having to do 4 or 5 respiratory cdoes and I've had calls where I slept all night; usually they're inbetween those extremes.
In the general OR months, there's usually 2 weekends off a month although sometimes as a CA-1 you might have to come in on a weekend day for half a day so those months they would have 1 weekend.
