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Pitt
#1
Rotation consists of two primary services for students, cranial and trauma for two weeks each. You have the option to take a few days to a week at Childrens. I highly recommend it, it is a major gem. Tons of operations, 2 to 3 rooms a day.

You dont have any clinic responsibilities during the rotation (though I elected to spend a couple days to get some more face time with a couple attendings that I had research interests in). Basically you just operate every day and attend teaching conferences (highly recommend the 3D skull base conference). No overnight call, but they want you to do a few nights with the moonlighter, who is a senior resident that they pay 500 bucks to take consults from 5 to 10. Awesome experience and chance to get to know your future chief. Basically you see the consults, present, write the notes, learn any procedures that pop up. Since the moonlighter has no service responsibilities, down time is chock full of teaching and socializing. Weekends they let you kind of work out your own schedule. My co subis and I alternated days. 

In terms of ORs theres tons to choose from, usually 9 to 10 rooms going with a few less on Fridays. You arent expected to operate on the service you are on, and I highly recommend doing at least one scoli correction because its such a big case and the chief resident let me dissect as much of my side as I could before he finished his, the helped me through the rest. Great practice for closing too. Definitely see an aneurysm or two with the vascular guys as well as some cases with Friedlander (AVMs, Aneurysms) and Lunsford (tumors and GK). Take a day with Lunsford in clinic, he is a human encyclopedia of teaching goodness. Skull base cases are a sight to see, but you wont get to do much since they are endoscopic. 

Morning responsibilities include collecting labs on trauma and presenting icu patients on cranial service. 

Ask the coordinator about housing, a couple of the residents had spare rooms that they will rent you on the cheap near the hospital. A car isnt an absolute must since there is only one hospital and you can always bus it to Childrens or hitch a ride with a resident. That being said, you have substantial down time to explore Pittsburgh, and the areas of interest are scattered enough to make it convenient to drive.
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#2
Best sub-I experience I've had

You can expect to have real responsibilities here, including prerounding, helping out juniors with floorwork, calling in consults to other services, seeing patients in clinic and presenting to friedlander and lunsford, seeing consults/presenting/and writing notes. This is more than I can say for other rotations, where at times I felt like I was just there to shadow. No staying post-call and working 36-hour shifts like I've heard other sub-I's talk about. You take 24-hour saturday call once or twice over the whole month and leave at the end of your shift. Instead of call, you'll take moonlighting shifts from 5-10 pm and see consults. Moonlighting is a great learning experience - you will see tons of trauma, and see lots of patients go back for emergency procedures (DHCs, SDH/IPH evac, unstable c-spine fractures, etc.).

Tons of operating for med students as residents here have a lot of autonomy, taking cases skin-to-skin, and are hardly ever double-scrubbed on cases. Sub-I's can often be first assist even on complex cases, and can help with closing but also putting in screws, dissecting out your side of spine case, burr holes, etc. Lots of LPs and EVDs to go around as well.

There is a reputation here for being malignant and this has been said to me on multiple sub-I's by students, residents, and attendings. There are definitely a few attendings who are tough with the residents, but I don't think this trickles down to the residents as they were all very friendly, fun to be around, and were good friends with each other outside of work. This is not a program where residents get fired or leave often. They certainly are the hardest working residents I've seen, and as a result are among the most competent and efficient. The residents are overworked, yet seemingly not miserable and very proud of their program. You can expect to work very hard and lots of hours as a sub-I here, and you'll probably be exhausted, but its a positive experience overall.
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#3
sounds like similar experience to UCSF
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#4
Why are a bunch of faculty leaving?
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#5
(08-23-2018, 05:05 PM)Guest Wrote: Best sub-I experience I've had

You can expect to have real responsibilities here, including prerounding, helping out juniors with floorwork, calling in consults to other services, seeing patients in clinic and presenting to friedlander and lunsford, seeing consults/presenting/and writing notes. This is more than I can say for other rotations, where at times I felt like I was just there to shadow. No staying post-call and working 36-hour shifts like I've heard other sub-I's talk about. You take 24-hour saturday call once or twice over the whole month and leave at the end of your shift. Instead of call, you'll take moonlighting shifts from 5-10 pm and see consults. Moonlighting is a great learning experience - you will see tons of trauma, and see lots of patients go back for emergency procedures (DHCs, SDH/IPH evac, unstable c-spine fractures, etc.).

Tons of operating for med students as residents here have a lot of autonomy, taking cases skin-to-skin, and are hardly ever double-scrubbed on cases. Sub-I's can often be first assist even on complex cases, and can help with closing but also putting in screws, dissecting out your side of spine case, burr holes, etc. Lots of LPs and EVDs to go around as well.

There is a reputation here for being malignant and this has been said to me on multiple sub-I's by students, residents, and attendings. There are definitely a few attendings who are tough with the residents, but I don't think this trickles down to the residents as they were all very friendly, fun to be around, and were good friends with each other outside of work. This is not a program where residents get fired or leave often. They certainly are the hardest working residents I've seen, and as a result are among the most competent and efficient. The residents are overworked, yet seemingly not miserable and very proud of their program. You can expect to work very hard and lots of hours as a sub-I here, and you'll probably be exhausted, but its a positive experience overall.

Ok Pitt resident
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#6
Bump
(01-17-2019, 07:21 PM)Guest Wrote: Why are a bunch of faculty leaving?
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#7
Heard Okonkwo is leaving is that true?
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#8
He's been interviewing for years but have not heard of him giving notice.
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#9
Heard Sheehan from UVA may be joining Pitt.  If so, would be a major addition.
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#10
This would be a substantial addition for Pitt’s GK and neuro-onc programs
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