Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The faculty here are great. Dirshl is a good chairman and is very engaging and friendly. Although I didn't work with Campion, I've heard he's a very accessible program director. Dr. Dahners is a trauma wizard and the over-all experience I had with the staff was excellent.
Didactics / Teaching
This is a particular strength of the program. They have outstanding lectures each day - and having been to many places, I can say that these are probably the most well organized I've seen. They do a bit of pimping during the talks, but I think that kept people engaged.
Operating Experience
The trauma experience is very good. Sports is another particular strength. I think they could probably use another joints guy (although Olcott is an outstanding teacher) and a foot/ankle guy.
Clinic Experience
Pretty typical - clinic everywhere is pretty much the same. The cool part about clinics here is that you get to see the high level UNC athletes. In the month I was there, I saw a bunch of the basketball and football players, and that definitely keeps you interested in the clinic environment.
Research Opportunities
They have a 6 year research option that 1 resident gets each year (separate match spot) - but there are many other opportunities there. The trauma staff and the program director all have their names on several papers - and Dirshl even devised a ranking system for the match that has been published. There are definitely plenty of opportunities for research here.
Residents
The residents are a good group that get along well. They like to ride bikes, drink beer, and talk sports. They are a tight knit group and have each other's backs. Definitely the kind of people I would hang out with outside of the hospital.
Lifestyle
Chapel Hill is a really cool area. There's a ton of stuff to do around town, and there's biking/hiking/camping nearby. Charlotte isn't that far away either. Beautiful scenery around the college campus too..
Location / Housing
See above. Although I heard that it's a little pricey to live real close to campus, it's still better than most places in the country.
Limitations
They do send residents over to WakeMed, a private hospital in Raleigh for (3 months I think) a bit during their 3rd or 4th year. So you have to hang out in Raleigh for a bit (but every resident I talked to about this said it was awesome). They are also sort of light on foot and ankle.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
I really enjoyed my time there. A great group of residents with attendings that are good teachers and care about the residents. I would definitely be happy matching there.
