Info on colorado and utah programs?

Colrado - has seen its share of problems in the past few years. Reports were mixed from people interviewing there this year - some said nice place with Dr. Ambrosia turning the place around. Others have said it is fairly malignant and overly-cocky for a mediocre program. People will continue to apply there b/c it is in a fairly nice city, that is within driving distance to Mountains. Interview there is one of the fun skills tests.

Utah - in my opinion, among the best residencies in the West. Strong dedication to residents, excellent facilities (with new ortho hospital), outstanding attendings with mix of big names and young ambitious fun guys. Has a fair number of fellows, but unlike some other programs in the West, Utah is a more resident focused training program. Difficult to get an interview here, with only about 25 interviews offered/year. Many go to rotators/home students. If you dont do a rotation there, you have a chance at an interview. If you do rotate, you are not garaunteed an interview (many more rotators than interivews given).

If you are asking about these two programs specifically, its likely you are a ski bum or outdoor enthusiast. Utah is at the base of the mountains, and 20mins to Park City, 30mins to Snowbird/Alta. Pretty outstaning outdoor recreation. Especially considering Colorado/Denver is about 1 - 1.5 hrs to the mountains.

I couldn't agree w/ Docuw more. I rotated at Utah and interviewed at Colorado so I obviously know more about the former than the later. A lot of people will tell you Utah's program is not only one of the best in the west but in the country and only on the way up w/ the new ortho complex. On the other hand, I was not all that excited w/ Colorado's program based on the interview. In fact, it was the only program that I interviewed at and did NOT rank. They may not have a good tumor rotation but the residents seemed to know a lot about "malignancy" none- the-less if you know what I mean. I like trauma, just not 130-140 hours of it a week. Call me a pussy, but no thanks. Also, I met a total of 4 residents during a long and poorly organized interview day, where were the rest of them? Overall, they didn't seem to feel the need to impress during the interview. In the end, it may be a great (alright mediocre) program but I certainly didn't get that impression during my visit. (Can you tell I've been wanting to vent on this subject for about 4 mo.)

I spent a month at Colorado and disagree with both the tone and facts of the previous posts. (On a side note - revealing that a review is made simply to "vent" is not only poor form, but loses credibility). It is true that the program has been on shaky ground over the last decade -- however this slide was promptly halted with the arrival of the new chairman, a person with tremendous influence in Ortho. There is a new influx of young staff, a new medical complex (VA, Childrens, and University in one campus) under construction, and a solid core of residents. Living in Colorado speaks for itself -- what surprised me is the amount of time that residents are able to utilize the mountains.

As for being trauma heavy: find an ortho program that doesn't have a lot of trauma and you might find residents wanting for hands-on experience. The current trauma center is Denver Health (formerly Denver General), which is no more or less trauma heavy than many of the programs I visited/rotated. Residents spend blocks of time there -- b/t rotations with home call at other local hospitals, and a much lighter schedule. As a plus, the trauma attendings at Denver Health were by far the most dedicated (if not challenging) "teachers" that I worked with. Of course, with the 80 hour regulations, that is the most you are going to get -- and if that is not manageable one might be inclined to call you names.

As for malignancy: I didn't see it, or hear the residents talk about it. The one point I will agree on is interview day -- it was disappointing. This seems to be a problem at a number of programs... good programs. Which is why honest and fair reporting on this board helps everyone.

Bottom line: Excellent program very much on the rise, great attendings and residents. Hands on experience across the board comparable to anywhere. This is a program that cares about its residents, from top to bottom. And, it's in the Rockies.

Chip, I wasn't trying to be credible or of good form...hence the disclosure. If I am not being objective why would you fault me for saying so?

Now, back to venting:
I doubt the "proposed" additions to Denver's campus (VA, childrens, University) will be completed during the time I will be a resident, or even during my lifetime. On the other hand, Utah's new complex is up and running and not half way across the city w/ the worst traffic in the country.

I have a friend of a freind who is a resident at Colorado and I rotated there last year. Unfortunately, I did not match there but I still have nothing but good things to say. Dr. D'Ambrosia has filled all of the wholes in the program and it is now strong program in an outstanding place to live.

Malignant? Not from my personal observations. Dr. D'Ambrosia took the residents out for dinner/ drinks twice durning my month. The trauma rotation is busy but the residents still had time to go boating/ fishing/ hiking. They also went out together often. The other rotations are home call and the call schedule borders on easy (once per week).

As far as the facilities, the new University Hospital is a already built and running. The new Children's Hospital is scheduled to open late 2006. I don't know about the VA. Denver Health has recently built a new addition and the Ortho Dept. has the entire 1st floor.

I agree that the interview was poorly structured and that they did not make an effort to impress the candidates. I can see why the people that did not rotate whould have negative things to say.