Duke University Hospital 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 was the stress level of the interview?:

2 out of 10

How do you think you did?:

6 out of 10

How did the interview impress you?:

Positively

How long was the interview?:

20 minutes

How many people interviewed you?:

5

What was the style of the interview?:

One-on-one

What impressed you positively?:

See below. This is one of the best anesthesiology residency programs in the country. Top 5 name, EXTRAORDINARY case load, regional that is quite possibly the best in the country (ave resident gets over 300 blocks in residency), small class size, everyone very happy, better weather than Northeast. Report as inappropriate

What impressed you negatively?:

See below. I would conjecture that there are single people at Duke, but I did not meet one of them. Ditto for minority physicians. Sabiston is gone, but the surgery domination still exists in small pockets - some residents have horror stories. Report as inappropriate

How was your interview day? Please summarize.:

ADMINISTRATION: 5 yr accredidation. PD (Dr. Kuhn) stable; has been there for almost 20 yrs, has pulse of program. Chair (Dr. Newman) was not present on my interview day...I actually know nothing about him. PROGRAM: 14 residents/yr (8 cat, 6 adv); they interview 140 to get this filled, but have reputation for not ranking everyone. Intern year is cyclical - brutalized during surgery, but up to two months can be done on hyperbaric chamber elective, but then medicine is a bit much again. Seems intern year was well thought out for anesthesia prep - ICU, pulm month, cardio month, etc. CA1 yr with mainly ORs to get you into the groove; CA 2 and 3 yrs you're dealing with monster cases and sick pts. They lead the country in lung transplants last yr, did like 1300 heart cases; they do every transplant you can name. They set up nerve block opportunities everywhere - they claim to get you over 300 blocks during residency. Neurosurgery is tops for tumors (Teddy Kennedy came here after MGH declared him "inoperable"), vascular, etc. You want it, they got it. Except burns. Peds volume is a reported weakness in the rumor mill, but one resident told me they run 5 peds rooms/day. OB is average, but still do 3K deliveries per year, so you get you numbers. Rotate thru 4 sites, all are within walking distance of one another. EDUCATION: 98% board pass rate. Not a didactic-dominant program. Lecture every Wed, followed by Grand Rounds. Thurs has a resident run series. Most divisions give a weekly conferences as well. Simulator experiences at least quarterly. Mock orals twice a yr for everyone; three staff are oral board examiners. PROS: same as I listed above; the residents were really happy...part of that is 'cause call is done in two two-week blocks. So every day, the CRNAs are sent to relieve residents as early as 3, but residents claim they're out at 5 at the absolute latest. So max hours in general ORs is 6 am - 5 pm. Rumor is only 8 or so weekends PER YEAR. Cardiac and OB have their own schedules. Big name, tons of research. Nice folks. Nice weather. THE college basketball scene, if that's your gig. VERY VERY affordable - Durham is not Miami or NYC. Everyone is married. CONS: as above. Being Black or Indian will remind you why it's called "minority", at least among the physician community there. Sabiston (the guy that did one of the big yellow surgery texts) was here, and some of that old Hopkins swagger/arrogance/entitlement is still around, especially from the "untouchables" - ask when you're there...some residents that were formerly Duke students have incredible stories of the inappropriateness. Everyone is married. Durham is, um, not Miami or NYC. OVERALL IMPRESSION: Is this place real? You want a managable size program? Check. Big name? Check. Sick as sh*t cases? Check. Decent lifestyle as a resident? Check? Research? Check. Great alumni network? Check. This is one of the two best programs I interviewed at, and I will go out to say one of the very best in the country. Report as inappropriate