Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Limited interaction with Staff, but all interaction was positive. They seemed friendly, approachable and well-liked by residents.
Didactics / Teaching
Fairly standard from what I can remember. Informal radiology rounds, weekly academic day.
Operating Experience
My experience was fantastic. Plenty of ORs to choose from, a lot of Trauma.
Clinic Experience
Back then there was a resident run clinic supervised by an Ortho Staff
Research Opportunities
Every resident that I worked with was working on some type of research so it seems like there are plenty of opportunities. Many of the attendings, especially the trauma attendings, along with the help of fellows, have made significant research contributions.
Residents
At the time I was just a punk MS4 who wasn't gunning for Ortho and yet all of the residents were very cool. They took their time to teach and get me involved at every chance. The Junior I took call with taught me reduction maneuvers, casting/splinting, and what to read on a basic xray. All these years later, I still remember how well they treated me.
Lifestyle
Prior to 80hr/wk. They worked hard/played hard.
Location / Housing
GR is a nice place to live. Affordable. It's a nice fairly big midwestern city.
Limitations
As a student there really isn't a place for you to rotate there, as students don't come through very often, and sometimes they didn't know what to do with you. But, you learn where you can help out, and what you can do to help the resident out. In addition you get a lot of face time with the consultants so you can get a letter from them, and most are very accommodating in that regard.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
I rotated through as an MS4 back in 2003. I loved the rotation. Tons of OR time with plenty of ORs running; a great ER experience; and cool, happy residents. I can't say enough about the PGY2s who I would take call with -- they were great. All of the Staff seemed approachable too. Obviously things may have changed since then, but I had a great experience and would recommend the program to anyone. GR would be a pretty nice place to live too.
