Program help

I rotated at UNC so I still only have limited insight to the program and did not interview at any of the other programs you mentioned. Their model is somewhat unique in that its 100% preceptor based. The upside of this is you do whatever cases the attending does and there is no one more senior to take them from you. I saw pgy2 residents doing hip scopes and pelvis fractures...which im guessing doesnt happen everywhere. The downside is you are still doing floor work as a chief. Overall you probably get a little bit better continuity of care than other places. If your attending has an academic day you are relatively free to do what you want. The didactics were good...and happen every day. Call was relatively light, even over the summer. While they see everything, the trauma volume there is not that high compared to other places I saw...this may be good or bad depending on what you are looking for. They do do a rotation at a hospital in raleigh (20 mins away) where they see more trauma. The residents were a good group and all very easy to be around. I dont think they have any major deficiencies. Dirschl is awesome. Overall I think it is a solid program with good operative experience that is relatively light in trauma.

I always have to plug my home program Wisconsin. I feel that I had excellent training there. It's also the type of a program where you can have a life outside of medicine (well, except the trauma service). Madison is also a great town to spend five years in.

As for the review section, it requires students like yourself to take the time to fill out a review for every program you have rotated at. So please take the time to help the students who go through the process behind you.

The review section is a great thing, more students just need to fill it out!

Just wondering if anyone who rotated at UCLA could share some insight. Seems like a well balanced program from interview day, though could not get a strong sense of how much supervised autonomy residents were given during cases at the UCLA main hospital. Any honest opinion would be helpful. Thanks

I am a current intern at Wisconsin and have nothing but great things to say about the program. Last year on the interview trail, I thought it was one of the most well-balanced programs I saw and stand by that after spending 7+ months here. You get great exposure to all subspecialties without getting too much of any of them. You get a life outside of residency (except on the Trauma service, as OrthoDoc already pointed out) and you're living in a fun town to enjoy that time. I think the operative experience here is excellent. We don't log as many cases as some community programs, but we have enough operative experience that 2 of our chiefs this year are going straight into private practice. What really separates this program is the group of residents. There's not a single resident in the program I wouldn't enjoy going to have a beer with right now. I'm clearly biased because I am here, but I interviewed at a lot of great programs and this remained one of the best programs I saw last year. If you have more specific questions about the program, I'd be happy to answer them. I know a couple of us interns posted our lists and thoughts on programs last year in the ROL thread.

I did not interview at Michigan or UNC, but did at Vermont. I thought Vermont was also a great program with a fun group of residents. Burlington is a pretty cool town, but one of the only places colder than Madison. The only thing they lack is a tumor surgeon. Other than that, if you would like living in Burlington it's a hidden gem of a program.

Anybody out there with experience at U-Mich? How much trauma do they see? Is there much double-scrubbing as a junior, or are rotations more one-on-one with an attending? Major Strengths/weaknesses?

Come on people, help me out!