Anesthesia Residency Programs' vibes

[DrOtter]

Hey all. Current MS4 going through CaRMS interviews here.

Been really lucky to have quite a few interviews for anesthesia, but 4 programs have really stood out to me so far: UBC-Vancouver, Western-London, Ottawa, and Dalhousie-Halifax.

I did electives at Ottawa and Dal so got a lot of experience with those. Didn't get electives at UBC or Western so only learned from the socials/interviews.

If anyone who experienced these programs could share some of their thoughts/impressions, I would so appreciate it! TIA!

PS: edited to make it shorter and perhaps seek more general vibes advice 

Edited January 29 by DrOtter

[robclem21]

You will get strong clinical training at any program in the country, and no matter where you train you will get excellent exposure to core competencies of the specialty like "airway", "regional", "ECHO", etc. Not sure why you are very hung up on "transplant" or "prestige" because these will play no role in your future and should therefore play no role in your ranking. Even as a resident, your exposure to things like transplant are minimal and are not examined by the royal college. Furthermore, the only time you will do things like transplant in your career are if you do a fellowship in transplant and work at a specialized transplant centre (again residency exposure will play no role in this).

For the next 5 years at least, the job market for anesthesiology will be quite strong and majority of graduates will not require fellowships, especially anyone looking for a community job (or a large peripheral teaching hospital). Even some major academic sites are no longer requiring fellowships due to the anesthesiologist shortage. If you do wish to do a fellowship, you will be able to do electives during residency and find a spot anywhere you want no matter where you train.

The most important things that matter for ranking are support from co-residents (program size and culture/vibes) and family/friends (location). Everything else like cost of living or weather may matter more for some people but ultimately shouldn't affect your top 3-5 spots. Go where you think you will be happy.

[1D7]

Not anesthesia but generally rank lists should be mostly made based on:

1. Location (personal preference)

2. Any red flags (low resident morale, trend of multiple residents failing the RC, currently on probation, etc.).

3. Resident culture & program size

4. Resident education (difficult to gauge as a medical student)

If you plan on doing heavy academics then research productivity of key staff also matters. If you have already planned out on doing a fellowship then having it available at a home program can also make things easier.

When I did my rank list, most of my rank list was made up of just #1-#3. My top few ranking spots took into account #4 as well.

[DrOtter]

3 hours ago, robclem21 said:

You will get strong clinical training at any program in the country, and no matter where you train you will get excellent exposure to core competencies of the specialty like "airway", "regional", "ECHO", etc. Not sure why you are very hung up on "transplant" or "prestige" because these will play no role in your future and should therefore play no role in your ranking. Even as a resident, your exposure to things like transplant are minimal and are not examined by the royal college. Furthermore, the only time you will do things like transplant in your career are if you do a fellowship in transplant and work at a specialized transplant centre (again residency exposure will play no role in this).

For the next 5 years at least, the job market for anesthesiology will be quite strong and majority of graduates will not require fellowships, especially anyone looking for a community job (or a large peripheral teaching hospital). Even some major academic sites are no longer requiring fellowships due to the anesthesiologist shortage. If you do wish to do a fellowship, you will be able to do electives during residency and find a spot anywhere you want no matter where you train.

The most important things that matter for ranking are support from co-residents (program size and culture/vibes) and family/friends (location). Everything else like cost of living or weather may matter more for some people but ultimately shouldn't affect your top 3-5 spots. Go where you think you will be happy.

Thanks so much for your input! Tbh I personally don't want to fixate on the minute details like "prestige" and niche subspecialties either.

It just so happens that these 4 programs gave me the best vibes overall and I feel like I'd be really happy at any of these for residency. So these additional details are just ways for me to tease out any potential differences between them that might help me specifically rank them in my top 5-ish.

[hero147]

11 hours ago, robclem21 said:

You will get strong clinical training at any program in the country, and no matter where you train you will get excellent exposure to core competencies of the specialty like "airway", "regional", "ECHO", etc. Not sure why you are very hung up on "transplant" or "prestige" because these will play no role in your future and should therefore play no role in your ranking. Even as a resident, your exposure to things like transplant are minimal and are not examined by the royal college. Furthermore, the only time you will do things like transplant in your career are if you do a fellowship in transplant and work at a specialized transplant centre (again residency exposure will play no role in this).

For the next 5 years at least, the job market for anesthesiology will be quite strong and majority of graduates will not require fellowships, especially anyone looking for a community job (or a large peripheral teaching hospital). Even some major academic sites are no longer requiring fellowships due to the anesthesiologist shortage. If you do wish to do a fellowship, you will be able to do electives during residency and find a spot anywhere you want no matter where you train.

The most important things that matter for ranking are support from co-residents (program size and culture/vibes) and family/friends (location). Everything else like cost of living or weather may matter more for some people but ultimately shouldn't affect your top 3-5 spots. Go where you think you will be happy.

I dunno if I would say minimal exposure to transplant. Depends on the transplant and center. You may do a bunch of livers and kidneys throughout residency. Hearts will be a once in a blue moon experience as a resident. Lungs is highly dependent on the center. 

You will get strong training wherever you go. THough at least 2 out of those 4 sites wouldn't be high on my list. It's funny to see how different people perceive different programs. 

[MarsRover]

Not a resident at any of these programs, but I am a resident in anesthesia. I have done electives around the country as a medical student and then also as a resident. 

Every program produces good residents and eventual staff firstly, if you are a self-motivated and hard working person anyway. I have seen poor residents in various programs. 

Anecdotally I have heard that Western the ORs generally run later into the evening versus other programs. This would be a no for me. There is honestly not much added experience by being there until 6pm vs say your OR finishing up around 4. Only less time for yourself and to study. 

Staff I work with that did fellowships in UBC liked them, generally more chill. 

Dalhousie I have heard previous residents say good things. Some remarked they were maybe underexposed to things like thoracic epidurals. Can't verify that. 

Ottawa I hear generally good things from. They certainly regard themselves as one of the best programs. I have heard good things that you will be tested lots by staff but come out good. I have heard from others they felt like they enjoyed their residency, but by the end would never want to work there.

In general a bigger program will probably in general give you less exposure/independence/procedures earlier in residency - but have more academic teaching. The opposite is generally true of smaller programs. 

 

[DrOtter]

30 minutes ago, MarsRover said:

Not a resident at any of these programs, but I am a resident in anesthesia. I have done electives around the country as a medical student and then also as a resident. 

Every program produces good residents and eventual staff firstly, if you are a self-motivated and hard working person anyway. I have seen poor residents in various programs. 

Anecdotally I have heard that Western the ORs generally run later into the evening versus other programs. This would be a no for me. There is honestly not much added experience by being there until 6pm vs say your OR finishing up around 4. Only less time for yourself and to study. 

Staff I work with that did fellowships in UBC liked them, generally more chill. 

Dalhousie I have heard previous residents say good things. Some remarked they were maybe underexposed to things like thoracic epidurals. Can't verify that. 

Ottawa I hear generally good things from. They certainly regard themselves as one of the best programs. I have heard good things that you will be tested lots by staff but come out good. I have heard from others they felt like they enjoyed their residency, but by the end would never want to work there.

In general a bigger program will probably in general give you less exposure/independence/procedures earlier in residency - but have more academic teaching. The opposite is generally true of smaller programs. 

 

Thanks so much for your inputs. Defs ring true with a lot of my own impressions!

I guess the big thing here is to decide if I prefer a bigger or smaller program in the end.