1. What makes your program different from
other programs, or what made you choose your program?
Our program is different from
most other programs in that our hospital does not have many
other residencies, only family medicine. That is actually a
plus for Emergency Medicine residents because we get experience
doing many of our own procedures/intubations/etc. This kind of
experience is often often "fought" over at larger teaching
centers with surgery/ortho/anesthesiology residents who come to
the ER for codes and traumas. That's probably one of the main
reasons I chose our program.
We also have a very good working environment,
especially for the military. We get along very well with our
attendings and staff.
We also have an interesting patient population. Fort
Hood is a large Army base with many young soldiers and their spouses and
families. Because of this we get a lot of exposure to
pediatrics and OB emergency presentations, both areas of emergency medicine that are
important to have expertise. Some other programs don't get as
much experience with these populations but few things in ER are
more intense than a very sick child of pregnant woman. Our
training excels there.
We are also a
very busy ER, the busiest in the Army, which means that we have
to get very good at being fast. Having to learn to juggle sick
patients and the multiple smaller complaints that come to an ED
at the same time is VERY important for our training, and very
valuable after graduation.
2.
Are there any major upcoming changes to your program?
We are moving into a brand new ER in October of
2006 that will have more beds and be more up to date. Looking
forward to it.
3. Is
there anything you would change about your program if you could?
As stated above, we have a relatively young
population, so there are times when we would like to see a few
more older patients that are sick. We do see a fair number of
them from the surrounding community, but probably not at the
percentage that most community hospitals do. However, we have
some very, very good out-rotations that make up for this.
4.
How much are you responsible for blood draws, putting in IVs,
etc.?
Very little. Occasionally I
will put in a quick IV if we are busy and a patient needs it
while the techs/nurses are getting an EKG or drawing up meds,
but that is rare.
5. Do you learn mostly from attendings, other residents, or
textbooks?
I would say mostly by seeing
patients ourselves and then discussing them with attendings or
the upper level residents. Our academic schedule allows for
plenty of time to read up also.
6. Does this vary when you do off-service rotations?
No, that is the norm. We
have pretty good off-service rotations, especially our ICU and
Trauma months.
7. How does EMed rank in your hospital's hierarchy?
We hold our own. Of course we
have the usual squabbles with other departments but overall
things run well. I feel that we are well-represented by our
department heads and treated fairly overall.
8. What are the perks that your school provides (PDAs,
textbooks,
conference fees, meal tickets, etc.)?
Our program supplies us with
PDAs and laptops for our use while in residency (must be
returned on graduating). Our conferences are usually paid
for. While in residency military residents are also paid above
average.
9. How do you rate your rotations outside of the emergency
department?
Our emergency medicine
specific rotations (Ped ICU, Medical ICU, Cardio ICU, Trauma,
and Toxicology) are excellent, some of our favorite months. Our
first year rotations like IM, surgery, and ortho are very nice
too, the hours are not bone crushing like at some programs. Not
too much scut.
10. What's the best elective you've done?
Trauma at the nearby trauma
center in Austin, Texas.
11. How much does your program focus on research?
A fair amount. We have been
pretty productive over the last several years, more than in the
past. We put a lot of emphasis on evidence based medicine in
our program. Most importantly, any resident who wants to do
research is very well supported.
12. What do you love and hate most about the city you're in?
Love: Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston with in a
days driving range. Also the climate is warm, if you like
that. We have easy access to malls/movies etc. but can be in
rural areas within a few minutes, including state parks and
lakes.
Hate: Lots of young people acting foolishly. Makes
for more trauma cases though.
13. Please describe your typical month in terms of work hours
and days off.
In our ER our typical schedule is 160-200 hours a
month, usually 9-12 days off. We usually work 8-10 hours
shifts.
14.
How much time do you spend off-duty with the other residents?
Depends.
I have a large family and tend to spend more time at home, but
there is plenty of time for people to get together who want to,
and many of the other residents do.
15.
Do you have any international experience?
None scheduled but we can as an elective if well
planned.
16.
What are your plans after residency?
I have four years of
service as an Army physician, then I have the option of staying
in the military or getting out and becoming a civilian. I have
not made up my mind yet as to whether I will stay or leave.
17.
How prepared do you feel?
I don't think you ever
feel prepared enough in the ER, but I am very confident. Our
program graduates very good physicians as a rule, and I am
surprised at how much more confident I am becoming as the months
continue.
18. Is there anything you'd like to tell us that we haven't
asked?
A very real thing that
must be taken into account for any physician in the military is
the possibility of deployment to a combat setting. The risk of
injury to us while deployed is low, but it still means 6 months
to a year of time away from home and family, which is not easy.
Many of my colleagues and staff doctors have served in Iraq or
Afghanistan. It is something to be thought through well before
joining the military. I would not change but I cannot speak for
everyone.
19. Do you have any advice for current applicants, or is
there anything you wish you'd known when you were applying?
Even though residency
hours and the atmospheres at medical training programs in
general have gotten better, we still need to expect and want
hard work. I wish I had known the importance of reading, even
while still in medical school.
