Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Schwab and the upper echelons of the administration are great people. They are interested in developing competent surgeons, as they will tell you if you interview. In many respects, this allows you to direct your education--if you want to do lots of research, that is available. If you want to learn how to do spine injections or do an away rotation, that is available. In fact, there are two elective rotations in the fourth and fifth years. There is not a lot of pressure to fit a certain mold.
There aren't really any malignant staff.. which is nice.
Similarly, the residents have a lot of input on how rotations are run. The administration (Schwab, Vetter, Schmeling, Van Valin) are all very interested in resident concerns. That's not something you will see everywhere.
Didactics / Teaching
The didactics currently are done every Wednesday and Friday. There are also service specific teaching sessions. This may be changing in the future. Overall, they are well done and educational.
Operating Experience
There are few if any fellows to steal cases. There are more staff then there are residents on any particular service. It is graduated responsibility; you may assist as a PGY-2 and do a couple simple hardware removals or washouts. By PGY-5 year, you will be doing complete cases by yourself. The VA rotations (where you spend over 6 months) has a lot of autonomy. If you feel deficient in any one area, elective rotations can help balance your goals. In the end, most residents exceed national averages for cases. More than a few go into private practice from residency--ie, the skill set is there to do whatever you want when you finish.
MCW is very strong with peds, trauma and oncology. It is not as strong in hand or spine, though getting enough of these is never a problem.
Clinic Experience
Tends to be pretty good. I'm not sure anyone anywhere at anytime would say clinic is awesome; clinic is clinic. The VA is nice for this however; you see a general ortho population, the residents make most if not all of the decisions.
Research Opportunities
The requirements are an absolute minimum. However, there are a number of full time research staff and there is an affiliation with Marquette bioengineering. If you are interested in research, there is plenty of opportunity.
Residents
Pretty laid back group. People get along, are nice, hardworking and look out for each other. Residents hang out together after work and are happy Most are married, about half or less have kids.
Lifestyle
Good to very good. The program does follow the ACGME guidelines closely. Pooled weekend rounding allows you at least two weekends off per month. Your expectation should be to be busy PGY-2 year (70-90 hours per week) with this improving each year. BY PGY-5, you don't round on the weekends and you will be on call every 6th weekend--hours will vary by service but probably average out to 50-60 per week.
Taking time off is not a problem--vacation, interviews, education. This is a big perk.
Having a relatively easy PGY-5 year is very nice to prepare for boards and fellowship. Some places get killed--you might think all that work would translate into a beter experience, but thats not necessarily true. Plus, by the time you get to be 30 or so and you've worked your butt off for the the last ten years, its nice to have a little time before fellowship and starting practice.
Location / Housing
Milwaukee is very nice, definitely undersold since some bad press in the 1990's (not everyone here is a serial killer). The main hospitals are in an middle-upper class suburb. The schools and neighborhoods are great. MCW pays very well--about $60K plus benefits and the cost of living is lower than most urban areas. The city is also very accessible, has plenty to do, and has a pretty convenient airport if you ever want to get away.
Limitations
If you want to be a top doc at some big name academic institution, then this probably isnt the best place for you. But if you want to do academics, thats not a problem. More than a handful have over the past few years.
Really, there aren't many limitations. Everything you need to do what you want is within arms reach at this program.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
I received a lot of invites and interviewed at 12 places. MCW was my number one choice. I never had any regrets.
There's no program that will prepare you 100% in 5 or 6 years. But at the time of graduation from here, I felt like I was able to handle most things just fine and am confident and pleased with my experience.
