Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
There is a mix of unbelievable faculty and faculty that are not pleasant to work with. The interim chairman used to be the chair and doesn't seem to be involved at all in the program. He is not pleasant to be around and the residents don't seem to think he cares much about education. The PD is a retired spine surgeon from the community. The shoulder/elbow faculty are amazing to work with and love to teach. There is a younger trauma attending who is an awesome guy and is loved by the residents. He used to be a resident at the program. The senior trauma attending has a reputation of being very difficult to work with and is extremely unpleasant to be around. The residents universally do not like him. The joints rotations get mixed reviews. Dr. M Morrey is a new joints faculty who residents claim is awesome to work with. No one seems to be too happy with their junior joints experience. Apparently for F/A, sports, and spine you go out in the community where the operative experience gets mixed reviews based on talking with different residents.<br />
<br />
There are some "big name" faculty: DeLee, Rockwood, Green, B. Morrey... but note, they just started chiefs working with DeLee. You never work with David Green and Dr. Morrey mainly works with the fellows and is not there the entire year.
Didactics / Teaching
Didactics usually on Monday AM and afternoon. Pretty average-below average in comparison to other didactic sessions. Fracture rounds are resident-led and seem to be helpful.
Operating Experience
Pretty good. I think that you will definitely learn how to do trauma at this program. The senior attending does not let the residents do as much as they would like to do. Usually the chiefs will do the case with a PGY3 scrubbed with them. Expect to operate on trauma as a PGY3 b/c the PGY2 on trauma is in the ER. I think most residents agree that the joint rotation is still better, but not great. Residents seem mixed on whether or not they scope enough to feel comfortable. I think the feeling is that over the years the amount of resident autonomy has decreased.
Clinic Experience
Pretty usual clinic experience. This place is a county care program unless the residents are with private guys in the community.
Research Opportunities
You interview with 3 research PhD's, but research does not seem to be a priority at all. This isn't a place for you if research is a priority.
Residents
Overall a good group. There are currently 4 IMG's in the program. There are some really great residents that stand out, but others make you scratch your head. The admin chief was really difficult to work with, but overall most of the residents were pleasant. There is more of a "married feeling" then a "playboy" feel.
Lifestyle
When you're on trauma it's miserable. Everyone is terrified an on edge wrt cal nights with the senior trauma attending. When you are not on trauma, life is great. Pretty standard 6am-5pm weekday with decent call schedule.
Location / Housing
San Antonio is a great city. The weather is amazing and stays warm in the winter. The housing is really cheap and near the hospital. There is some driving involved when doing the private practice rotations. It seems more like a married town than a single young/professional crowd.
Limitations
The chair position is not solidified. I interviewed on the first day, and up to that point, there was no consensus as to what should be done regarding the chair position. The current interim chair is apparently looking to stay on as chair again. He pretty much acts like everyone should just thank him for the chance to even be considered for residency there. There also is not much money to go around to the residents for glasses, food, etc.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Overall, you will get trained there. I mainly applied throughout Texas and the Midwest and thought that it was a pretty average program. I think they need some new blood in the program after talking with the residents.
