University of Michigan Program Individual Response

What is your in-state status?:

Out of state

On what date did the interview take place?:

2/1/2009

How do you rank this residency among ALL other residencies?:

10 out of 10

How do you rank this residency among other residencies to which you've applied?:

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this program's facilities?:

8 out of 10

What is your ranking of this program's location?:

8 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?:

9 out of 10

What was the stress level of the interview?:

3 out of 10

How do you think you did?:

9 out of 10

How did the interview impress you?:

Positively

How many people interviewed you?:

5

What was the style of the interview?:

One-on-one

What impressed you positively?:

After interviewing at several so called powerhouses, I found Univ. of Michigan to be one the best out there. General: 24 positions, all Categorical. University of Michigan has a great reputation nationally especially within the world of anesthesia. Dr. Tremper (Chair) and Dr. Sanford (PD) both well known; both were one of the nicest chairs/PDs I had met throughout my interview trail. Call: Call schedule in the main ORs include 2-3 overnight calls per month generally with three weekends off per month. CA-1 and 2 call starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 7 a.m. CA-3 call starts at 3 p.m and CA-3s oversee/manage ORs during their call. You get the post call day off. And what impressed me most was that on your post-POST call day you only do procedures (ie lines, epidurals etc) in the holding area so no pre-ops etc to do on your post-call day and on your post-post call day you are guaranteed to be off by 3 p.m. Cases: Great caseload, ~70 ORs. Fellowships provided in every field except for Regional. Computerized OR charting and hospital documentation systems. I believe U. Mich’s OR charting system is one of the oldest in the country. Plenty of research opportunities for the residents. Faculty: Residents suggested that they had good relationship with all the faculty members and there is good amount of teaching in the ORs per the residents. Department has visiting professors from England rotate through. Sim Lab: Simulation lab not that great. This is probably one of the weaknesses of the program. Didactics: The best of all the places I interviewed at. Per the program chair you are provided with all the textbooks that you would need in your residency and beyond. Residents provided with well organized syllabus and directions on how to gear their studying. Five mock oral board exam sessions yearly, so plenty of opportunities to get used to sitting through oral exams. Residents: Seemed very happy, diverse resident population. Residents reputed to have excellent relationship with the CRNAs. Benefits: Salary on average or maybe high end of national average. No internal moonlighting, I believe. There is a house officers union for the hospital, which I didn’t know was possible. Great staff which was quite apparent during the interview day. 4 weeks of vacation throughout your residency including 4 wks of vacation during your intern year. Report as inappropriate

What impressed you negatively?:

Its cold in Ann Arbor. Report as inappropriate

How was your interview day? Please summarize.:

Interview and dinner with the residents on Saturday. Department pays for accommodations for two days at a nice hotel near the medical center. Interview day starts with presentation by Dr. Tremper the chair. In total five interviews with one of them being with a chief resident. All of my interviewers were nice and had great personalities. Interviews were quite conversational. Interview day run quite efficiently by the office staff. I remember one of the staff members was extremely nice and went out of his way to help me throughout the interview day. There is a dinner with the residents on Saturday night, so after your interviews, at Buffalo Wild Wings. Totally informal dinner, this was the only dinner where I wore jeans. You can order anything you like without being worried about what the residents may think. I remember I was stuffed after this dinner. Residents were open and honest. ---Bottom-line a great program with excellent reputation to train at. Report as inappropriate

What was your primary mode of travel?:

Airplane

What was your total time spent traveling?:

4-6 hours

What airport did you use?:

DTW

How would you rate the hotel?:

10 out of 10