ortho thoughts
Registered User
Posts: 1
(5/29/01 1:44:38 pm)
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coloado or u of southern california
anybody have any information about either of these programs? i understand that usc has 50 residents
and some people claim that that is too big of a program. any thoughts would be appreciated...
scottydogs
Registered User
Posts: 3
(6/1/01 11:39:52 am)
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usc / colorado
I don't have any first hand knowledge, but I can tell you what people have told me. My Department Chair
worked for several years in Seattle and has some familiarity with west coast programs. He thinks that
USC is one of the top three programs in the west ( Stanford and UCSD being the other two). There was
a guy from my school who matched at USC this year and he really loved the place after spending a
month out there. I have heard from different people that it is a very trauma intensive program and with
10 residents a year, it is not uncommon for junior residents to be alone in the ER flippping through texts
as they try and figure out how to do a case (kind of like flipping through Netter in anatomy lab). Whether
that is true or not, who knows?
I talked to a ortho doc in Denver about 5 months ago who trained at Colorado some 25 years ago and
he had all good things to say. Of course that was then, and this is now. I suspect Colorado is no
different than Utah or other programs where they are the only show in town and in a location that is
highly sought after - probably a little cold, certainly not going to bend over bvackwards for you, pretty
tough, think they are a little better than they actually are, but overall good training.
Thats my two cents. Probably nothing you haven't heard, but hope it helps. Good luck
Allamerican97
Registered User
Posts: 1
(6/5/01 12:11:16 am)
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Re: coloado or u of southern california
I am a 4th year USC student, here is a little bit of what I can tell you about the program.
It is a VERY trauma intensive program, most residents graduate with training at/near the level of trauma
fellows. I have NEVER seen or heard of anyone using textbooks in the OR, but the residents do have an
INCREDIBLE amount of autonomy, esp on the trauma service. R2's do a lot of operating on the trauma
rotation (and ALL the consults), as do all of the other residents as well. The R5 generally functions as
the "attending" on most of the cases, especially at night. Wehn I did my trauma rotation, I did not sleep
15 minutes total during all of the call nights, as we spent nearly the entire day and night in the
OR.....doing so many cases I often (literally) forgot who we were operating on and how many cases we
actually did. The residents do a @#%$ load of operating, if you wanna operate and get hands-on
training, there is probably no better place on the west-coast, (or anywhere in the US if you talk to some
of the USC attendings.) If you are looking for a cushy, highly academic program, USC is NOT the place
for you.
It is a very intense program, partly due to the trauma rotation and due to the "COUNTY" atmosphere, (ie
lazy nurses, poor hospital support staff, etc. If you dont understand what I mean by the county
atmosphere, it is something you really need to experience......
Each of the classes has 10 residents, and the trend is to take approx 4-5 studnts from USC into the
program, granted they have the #'s, grades. etc. USC takes a lot of its own students simply b/c they
know us, and know that we can function at the county. In the past they have taken people with very
high #'s, Jr AOA and all that crap, and the residents turned out to be whining little babies when they saw
what it is really like at LA County.... The residents work HARD, and sometimes complain that they dont
have time to read and study. USC people generally have a tougher time on the OITE, than do other
programs, simply b/c it is a fairly "blue-collar" program.
Hope that helps....
