MICHAEL 966
OSRR Newbie
Posts: 2
(1/5/02 8:55:30 pm)
Reply Oregon
Please share the information about interview day at OHSU on 01-04 if you would. I am interested in that Program, especially its trauma aspect and I will be thankful for any info.
Thank you.
kluverbucy
OSRR Intern
Posts: 7
(1/8/02 6:19:09 pm)
Reply oregon input
I also would love to hear about OR, especially if you interviewed on Jan 4th. Thank you .
SoCalOrtho
OSRR Intern
Posts: 15
(1/8/02 7:31:56 pm)
Reply here's my opinion
since you asked. . .i'll write until i get too lazy gain.
Portland: very beautiful city, a bit wet. Dowtown was actually impressive! lots of big buildings, which means jobs if you have a significant other. About 1/2 of the interview was focused on how much the people there love to hunt/fish/snowboard/ski/hike. Mt. Hood 1 hr away (year round skiing). They were very into selling the surrounding things to do, as well as the view, which brings us to
Facitilies: Impressive. On the top of a hill, which has an incredible view. The VA, Children's Hospital, and OHSU all are on this hill, called the Medical Hill. Has changed a lot in the last 10 years, apparently. . .seems very convenient, lots of huge covered bridges (and i mean huge). But actually wasn't as modern as I would have expected for being built so recently. Anyway, still pretty impressive. As for bench research facilities, they were poor.
Faculty: all very nice. But, they do lack some representation! No dedicated Tumor guy. No sports as of now, but one (now in fellowship at UCSF), has already signed to come by the time we match. His girlfriend is in g-surg residency at OHSU, so he'll be here for at least a few more years. NO foot/ankle guy, but one is supposed to come (was more sketchy on this one. Seemed the sports guy was definitely coming, though).
Rotations: because of the weakness of some fields, ALL rotations are GENERAL. There is not dedicated sports rotation, no dedicated foot/ankle. basically you go to the hospital and see what comes in. Most of it is Level 1 trauma. In fact, morning conference has always been trauma, although Dr. Dirschl is thinking about changing that. Incidentally, Dr. Dirschl is great, but more on that later. The ONLY level 1 trauma centers in OR are part of OHSU's residency. . .and they're across the river from one another. So, I get the impression that they learn a lot about trauma. Because it's a small program (3 residents per year), it is generally 1 on 1 in the OR, with 1 resident and 1 attending. So you get to do a lot. Rotations are 4 months long (which is good for getting to know the attending and them letting you to do stuff), followed by 1 week off
The Residents: mix of married/single. Seemed like a good group. Nice people (a couple women), seemed pretty happy there, said it's much better than a few years ago. Call now is around q5, although may go to q6 (which was a concern with only 3 residents!) It's called "Hill call" where you get to cover all the hospitals, which is a plus.
Dirschl: the new chairman (been there 6 months) is by far the strongest part of program. All of us intervieweing that day agreed. He is a STRONG resident advocate, DEDICATED to resident education and making it a strong residency. He came over from Chapel Hill ( i think). He made morning conference extremely educational and fun, while never being malignant in his teaching. He was constantly asking for feedback, even to the US! He wanted to know how he could make his presentation better, etc. He has heavy research interests, as well, which will manifested soon (but not now). Because of him, most of us thougth OHSU is going to be a great program in a few years. . .but now it's still trying to get its footing.
so, overall: i'm personally not so excited about portland (but doesn't snow much), and the program is a bit too much trauma at the expense of the others, although he is working on improving the specialty representation. Of course, we won't be in the program itself for another year, so by then it might be strong. Reputation not as strong as you'd like if you want to launch an academic career, but now 2/3 or 3/3 of the recent grads do fellowships and many do academics. Traditionally, however, OHSU has trained Oregon community physicians. . .although this is changing. Will be a fantastic place in a few years, but i'm not willing to take the risk. I'll probably rank it lower 1/2. . .
if you have specific questions, just ask. good luck.
MICHAEL 966
OSRR Newbie
Posts: 3
(1/20/02 1:02:09 am)
Reply Re: here's my opinion
Thank you So Cal Ortho very much for your response. I interviewed there and liked it -good Trauma representation; chairman,faculty and residents are very nice, good place to be. I appreciate your input.
Michael.
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