- Staff / Faculty / Chairman
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One of the highlights of the program...the faculty are an excellent mix of older surgeons who have been perfecting their trade for many years and younger guys who bring a sense of excitement to the program. The program is stable and has been for quite some time. Dr. Gearen, the former chairman stepped down this summer and Dr. Scarborough has taken over as interim chair. Personally, I hope he this will be permanent, as he is a great person and really cares about the program (he has been the PD for years).
- Didactics / Teaching
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If I had to pick a weakness it would be didactics. However, for me personally (and most others I've talked to), it is not a real weakness because I learn best on my own. Conference is daily (6:30-7:30). It is resident-led and most of the residents take it seriously and do a good job. When I rotated, they were reviewing for OITE and an attending was present to answer questions. Bottom line: these guys do well on OITE and boards, so why would you want to spend any more than an hour in a dark classroom at 6:30 in the morning?
- Operating Experience
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One of the most pleasant surprises about the program. I was shocked at how much these guys operate. Most of all, I am amazed at what a well-balanced operative experience they get. Shands has just become a Level 1 Trauma Center so trauma exposure has greatly increased. Residents spend a month on trauma as a 1, six total months as a 2, and 3 months as a 5. They are busy the whole time and see every type of trauma imaginable (and some you can't imagine). Three of the remaining six months of their PGY-2 year is spent at the VA where they do tons of joints. I stayed with a 2 while I rotated and he came in daily talking about getting to do total knees with only minimal assistance from the attending. In addition - it's UF...their sports experience is second to none. Most of the chiefs seemed competent with shoulder and knee scopes and doing bread and butter sports (like ACLs). Again, I don't think you can find a better overall operative experience anywhere in the country.
- Clinic Experience
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As good as a clinic experience could be. All of the clinics are housed at the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute (the brand new, unbelievably nice building a few minutes from the hospital). On most services clinic is 1-2 days a week and how busy you are mirrors how busy you are in the OR for that service (i.e. trauma clinic may last until 9pm while sports clinic often finishes at noon).
- Research Opportunities
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Again, it's UF...lots of money if research is your thing. They have an entire department in place to assist those who wish to research. The only requirement is for one project which is presented during the 5th year. However, the resources are their and a whole team of people is standing by to help if you want to be more involved.
- Residents
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Overall one of the greatest group of residents I have come across. These guys are intelligent, they come from all over, and they all love being at UF. They work hard but love what they do and do it with a good attitude. Often, they will help each other out if someone has a conflict with call or another responsibility. These guys hang out with each other and some get closer than others but they all seem to have a lot of respect for one another. That being said, one thing I really liked about them is the lack of a fraternity feel. At some programs you get the impression within about 2 minutes that you would not fit in their "club". At UF, the residents come from all backgrounds and interests which was a huge plus.
- Lifestyle
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Probably the best I've ever seen anywhere. I was always skeptical of night-float...until I rotated at UF. Night float occurs during the second year. There are two PGY-2s on trauma and one takes call from 7am-7pm while the other takes call from 7pm-7am...this occurs Sunday night through Friday. The residents trade off every two weeks. While on trauma these two residents have no weekend call. The other two PGY-2s who are not on trauma have no call during the week but take some weekend call. PGY-3s only take call on weekends (about 15 weekends throughout the year) but it is primary call. PGY-4 and 5s take back-up call from home which ends up being about Q8. One other note about lifestyle: 100% of health care is covered by Shands for both you and your family. You don't even pay a copay.
- Location / Housing
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Gainesville is everything you'd expect from a college town. Cheap, safe housing with reliable, albeit slow, public transportation. Gainesville is far from a big city which can be good or bad. There is really no airport to speak of. However, Orlando is only two hours away and Tampa isn't much further. The town comes alive in the fall due to college football. Paradoxically, the slackest time of year on trauma is summer (all the UF kids leave)...it picks up during the fall and winter. Housing close to the hospital is very expensive and utilities are pretty high.
- Limitations
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PARKING!!! Shands is on the UF campus and parking is already limited. It's truly a nightmare. You have to pay to park and its not like it buys you a place close by. Most of the parking is in garages which are a 5-10 minutes walk from the hospital. Another limitation is the lack of any kind of meal allowance. Call is in-house as PGY-1,2,3 and all the residents expressed how nice it would be if they were given some type of allowance.
- Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
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Greatest program I have experienced. Attendings, operative experience, lifestyle, resources, facilities, etc were all second to none. This will certainly be my number 1 choice!
