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.
