Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Dr. Yoo the chairman is absolutely great. An extremely down-to-earth and compassionate guy who has great vision and is working to make this a top program. He is also the most visible chairman you can imagine -- often the first one at x-ray rounds in the morning. Dr. Hart the program director is also a nice guy, and a great surgeon and resident advocate. The other faculty are for the most part very strong, although there seem to be a few who continue to rock the boat a little bit. Overall a great group to work with from what I could tell during my month there.
Didactics / Teaching
Didactics were a bit of a weakness in my eyes. Daily x-ray rounds from the ER which were good, and strong weekly spine conference with neurosurgery. Other than that the conferences seemed a bit sporadic...occasional sports or hand scattered amongst OITE review. I believe they are working on this.
Operating Experience
Residents get operative experience early, starting in the 2nd year. Rarely double scrubbed except for some spine cases (with a fellow). How much they got to do was variable and attending dependent, but seemed a reasonable amount of responsibility early.
Clinic Experience
I didn't get a lot of exposure to the clinics, but from what I saw residents seemed to shadow more than have independent responsibility (in trauma and spine at least). Teaching varied with how hectic the day was.
Research Opportunities
Dedicated research time during year 4, but up to you how much you make of it. Some basic science research available, but in general research didn't seem to be a focus of the current residents.
Residents
A good group of residents -- all very friendly, generally seemed very happy, and it was a pretty cohesive group for the most part.
Lifestyle
Definitely a huge plus of the program. Residents and faculty alike both seem to realize there is more to life than being in the OR or clinic 18 hours a day. Several times I saw non-critical cases deferred to the next day rather than starting to operate at 7 pm. (provided there was OR time the next day of course)
Location / Housing
Portland is an amazing city with tons going on both city-wise and for the outdoor enthusiast. Mt. Hood is 1 hr away, the coast an hour and a half, and tons of hiking, fishing, biking, etc. within and just outside the city. Housing is relatively affordable, and it seemed most residents owned or were looking to buy.
Limitations
Research is not a focus right now, so may not be the best place if that's your thing. Also, as mentioned above I felt the didactics could use a little more structure.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Overall seemed like a good program to train at in a great city. The spine experience with Dr. Yoo and Hart is definitely a focus/strong point of the program. Good group of faculty and residents, all of whom seemed happy. And strong leadership that makes me think this place will only be even better in the coming years.
