My Schedule

Teams are split between 3 main Hospitals: UMN, VA, Regions (St Paul level 1 trauma)& two tiny private hospitals. If at UMN it is split b/t GenSurg/Vas(PGY 5,2&1), Surg Onc (PGY 5 & 3), Colo-rectal(PGY-1), SICU(PGY2), CV(PGY3), Thoracic(PGY3&1), Transplant(PGY-1), Min Invasive {MIS}(PGY5,2,&1). At Regions St Paul residents are split b/t Trauma (PGY 5,3,2& 3-4 interns), Gen Surg (PGY5,4,1), Vas(PGY4), Burn(PGY3&1). Then at the VA (PGY5,4,2,1). My rotations have been diverse with tons of teaching from faculty, fellows and upper residents. The most difficult of rotations usually is the typical Trauma service. The day would begin at 6:30 for formal sign-out rounds with the post call team. We would do sit-down rounds and discuss all new admits overnight and any significant floor/SICU issues that came up overnight. The post call team would then hand off the pager, finish scut and then leave usually around 10am -noon. Then everyone would then pre-round and then subsequently walk rounds as a team with the chief and/or attending between 9:30 and 10:30 depending on cases and incoming trauma. Most cases started at 7:30. If on Day call, then the trauma pager would be on throughout the day for emergencies with the PGY1 & midlevel responding to trauma team activations. Interns/Med students not in cases or on Day call took care of floor work. The team worked together to get each other out and would actually go home at decent hours, i.e. as early as 3pm if not on call and no cases.

My Learning Experience

The faculty here is by and large very good. Obviously, there are varying personalities, but I can honestly say my learning experience here was impeccable for a variety of reasons, one namely being no malignant personalities. Staff is a mix of young and some who are UMN-lifers. Teaching is variable depending on staff and fellow, but my experience included quite a bit of bed-side teaching. The Fellows are never paired with an upper level so there is not competition for cases. There is also a dedicated Tuesday Grand Rounds /M&M / Core Curriculum with a general surgery topic teaching by attending each week. Plus there is an additional lecture series for students which were quite informative. Med Students also have two dedicated surgical skills lab which include porcine laparotomy, splenectomy, cholecystecomy, bowel resections and much more. Med Students are encouraged to sign up for competitive surgical research spots and get faculty letters of recommendations. M&M was truly used as a learning tool and not an opportunity to air personal malignancies. Having been exposed to a community programs, I can honestly it is like night and day comparatively.

My Life and Environment

UMN has much strength, and one of the leading ones is camaraderie. As a larger program (6 categoricals /yr) you will be able to find your niche. I have noticed that surgery residents not only have great esprit de corps with each other, but also of note, great repoire with other staff and residents from different disciplines. I have not felt an air of undue cockiness or arrogance, only a strong desire and common goal of working hard and well for underserved patients. As a university hospital, UMN's physical environment is actually very well funded (though the politics of state and county are changing and it gets to be a struggle more every year). FMG's for the surgery program are very low if they exist at all. Other UMN residencies have some higher percentages. My life outside of work is very reasonable. Average Q4-6 is not bad. I averaged between 70 and 100 hours a week. The residency director has made it a point to get out post call. I still maintain outside relationships and am largely happy. Work hard play hard. Minneapolis is a great city. As this is the land of 10,000 lakes there is much opportunity to fish, do water-sports, run around beautiful lakes, and enjoy the weather. Do not fear the cold! You do get used to it. Plus, it is 72 and sunny in a hospital. The summer's are also fantastic, but the months to be here are May and September. All four seasons well represented. Currently I am a lab resident. This means that I have a life. 90% of residents go to the lab for two fully funded years. I have not spent one minute looking for lab funding or salary. I am working in a lab with a project that was ready for me July 1 after finishing up on trauma on my last PGY3 day June 30. I will now spend two years in the lab with a 9-5 lab job and plenty of moonlighting opportunities. I am also involved in the surgical ID fellowship while in the lab. Ahhhhh. Now this is the life.

– Posted 07/30/07

My Schedule

There is a great deal of variability in the typical day, depending on rotation, site, and level of training. The number of hours worked can vary from 80-90 per week on some rotations to over 100 hours per week on others. The call has changed from 1 in 2.5 on average to 1 in 4 throughout the program. Lab draws, EKGs, etc are minimal, but the paperwork burden is high (decreases as you progress). They have begun to institute a confounded thing called "physician order entry" in some of the hospitals, which basically teaches you how to be a ward clerk (but I am told that these systems are going in around the country). The oppressive weight of socialism presses heavily in the general atmosphere in Minnesota, and the paternalistic attitudes eminate from our hospital administrators as much as from our politicians.

My Learning Experience

The faculty are very good, highly skilled, and pleasant. Many younger, fellowship-trained faculty have been recruited in the past few years, and this makes for a good atmosphere with cutting edge clinical activity. Teaching is very good, and conferences are useful. The core curriculum conference is periodically revised, depending on the needs of the residents. Certain more abusive faculty members have left in the past three years, leaving no malignant faculty behind.

My Life and Environment

The camaraderie is very good here. Single residents occasionally complain that the married residents do not like to go out enough. The lab time allows for one to have "a life," but it can be difficult during the clinical years (this may improve with the 1 in 4 call.

– Posted 03/29/02