Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
The staff is extremely impressive. There are a lot of big name faculty that all take an active role in the program. They come to Friday didactic sessions and are vocal teachers, participating in sessions. On my rotation, I was with the trauma faculty and oncology faculty(which have the program director and chairmen). All of the faculty were welcoming, fun to work with, and consistently taught in a great way.
The most impressive aspect of the program is the culture. There is a commitment that each resident and faculty take in each other and the direction of the program. It is impossible to overlook. They continual invest in improving and challenging each other. The direction of the program through the leadership of faculty and residents is only going up. They all lack complacency and strive to develop the program.
Didactics / Teaching
Didactics happen on Friday mornings. During my rotation, I felt that these were extremely helpful. Lectures come from both the chief residents and faculty. Faculty are present every week to contribute and one faculty member teaches every Friday along with a few residents.
Operating Experience
The operative experience is outstanding with more autonomy in the OR than other programs I witnessed. The chief residents run their own rooms on trauma with attending help when needed. Attendings check in and are easily accessible, they tend to not scrub in with chiefs unless a very complex surgery. No one is left to figure anything out, but if residents know what they are doing, the residents perform entire surgeries.
University Hospital in San Antonio is the main trauma one center for most of south Texas and the valley. The volume is impressive with residents having excess in training and trauma operative experience.
Clinic Experience
Clinic is run efficiently and teaching occurs between patients. We would review radiographs of patients and teaching about specific fractures or oncological diseases, since I rotated on trauma and oncology.
Research Opportunities
As a medical student, I witnessed the vast amount of research projects the program is doing. It was easy to find something to be a part of as a medical student since many residents were performing research. I am unsure if it is a requirement, but if you want to do research the program has increased its opportunities greatly since I first began medical school there in 2013.
Residents
The residents are another stronghold of the program. They are down to earth hardworking residents that get along extremely well. They are genuine good hearted group that looks out for each other and the rotators. They loved to teach us and make us feel a part of their community.
The two residents I worked with, one being a chief and the other a 4th year, were two of the best residents I had worked with. They are extremely well trained and perform most of the operations on their own with attending guidance when needed.
Lifestyle
The residents seem to have a very good balance. While on trauma, they work extremely hard as University Hospital volume is huge, which is great. However, off trauma, they still work hard but have time to balance things outside of work, e.g. workout, family, maintain hobbies. So trauma is very busy, but outside of that, residents seemed to have a great lifestyle.
San Antonio is a great place to live. After living here for four years, I’ve noticed it has a good pace of life for a medical student and most likely a resident as well. There is plenty to do and can get anywhere in the city under 20 minutes. In the past 3 years, the city has focused on recruiting young people to the city, so many great new bars, restaurants, and parks have been built. It has started to have a flow over from Austin and there are continually new areas to check out. The city has become much younger. It is a perfect place to raise a family, as life is extremely affordable and everything accessible.
Location / Housing
Health science center is placed between downtown and the RIM which is a pocket of great shops, restaurants, top golf, and solid golf courses. Houses around the area are extremely affordable, and living throughout the city is very affordable as well.
Limitations
Noted before was the chair and program director position being unsolidified. This is not the case. The chair and program director both have a great direction for the program. They are incredibly invested in the program and committed to improving training and resident experience each year.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Overall, I was extremely impressed with the program. The strengths of the program are culture, faculty, and residents. The culture is a blue collar, hardworking, down to earth, group of people continually wanting to improve themselves and each other. The faculty taught extremely well while also giving autonomy in the operating room. Residents were talented, well trained, and fun to work with. And San Antonio is a great city to live in.
