12-26-2016, 08:12 PM
From a resident:
I've been meaning to post on here for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. I'm a PGY-3 at Wake Forest and I just wanted to provide some info for those interested. Personally, I'm very happy here (I think that all of our residents are). I think we're underrated because we don't put out a ton of research (we focus on operating more than research).
-We operate A LOT. We run 9 rooms at least once a week. We're 50/50 cranial/spine. We do a lot of big deformity correction. We average 1,300 cases logged at the end of residency (as a 6-year program). We have a ton of autonomy in the OR.
-850 bed hospital - the largest in North Carolina. Also the #1 comprehensive cancer center in North Carolina. We cover a huge geographic area, from Asheville in the West to Burlington in the East and Galax, VA in the North.
-Winston Salem is AWESOME. Honestly, I thought it was a negative when I was making my rank list, but this is arguably the best city in the country to do residency. (I've lived in Miami, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and San Fran, so I've been around a bit). We have an insanely low cost of living (I have an awesome 3BR house in a safe area half a mile from the hospital and I pay $1100/month in mortgage), great restaurants, no traffic, great weather, clean air, and everyone is super friendly. Maybe it's not as entertaining as a big city, but this is Neurosurgery, so it's not like we'd have time to go to a lot of things anyway. We have an IMAX theater, which is something that none of you probably care about but I love. We have the Greensboro airport like 20 mins away (and RDU and CLT are about an hour away as well) so travel is really easy.
-We have the lowest stroke and craniotomy mortality in the UHC (University HealthSystem Consortium), and it's not because of lack of volume (comprehensive stroke center).
-We're all on one campus, at one hospital. No driving back and forth when on call or splitting our service in half.
-Calls aren't bad. Approx 4/month for your first 4 years. We have a dedicated critical care team that absorbs a lot of nighttime pages.
-We're a level 1 adult and peds trauma center. We see all kinds of weird accidents (falls from deer stands, ATV accidents).
-We have a great Innovation Center. They'll take your ideas and patent them. I have one patent pending right now. Also we have one of the best inventor/institution splits out there - I think it's like 55/45 or something. Some other places are like 5/95.
-There's a bunch of cool research stuff going on here that another resident can tell you about, but it's not really my forte. We do have a great Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
-We have a resident clinic where we have our own patients that we do everything from initial visit to surgery to follow-up. It's great having this kind of continuity.
-We have a great cadaver lab that we have organized sessions in once/month. We also get to do procedures on live animals occasionally (just did a pig lab a few weeks ago).
-We're getting a brand new 22 bed NeuroICU (opening in a few months). We'll have new call rooms and a new workroom in it. We actually had a ton of input in its design.
-We have an amazing faculty.
-Dr. Branch (Chairman) is one of the pioneers of MIS spine. I believe he invented the MAST system and he holds something like 29 patents for spinal instrumentation. He's great to work with.
-Dr. Wolfe (Program Director) just took over about a year ago. She's phenomenal. She re-engineered our entire academic program and we learn a ton in conferences. She's on the CNS Executive Committee and AANS Board of Directors. She really, really cares about our education.
-Dr. Wilson - Chair of the Washington Committee, former CNS Secretary - great skull base surgeon
-Dr. Tatter and Dr. Laxton are both amazing tumor/functional faculty. At one point Dr. Tatter did something like 4% of all the DBS in the world (we do these as junior level cases here since they're so routine for us). They both run our Gamma Knife (which we have a dedicated rotation on) - and we're the fourth largest gamma knife center in the country.
-Dr. Powers does a ton of big spine deformity correction. Depuy actually designed new rods for his camptocormia cases (usually C2-pelvis fusion).
-Drs. Couture and Powers both did Peds fellowships at Utah and St. Louis, respectively. We do have a pediatric hospital here, so we do about 20% peds cases.
-Dr. Hart just came from Case Western and will be doing mostly spine.
-Dr. Hsu does a bunch of spine and is one of my favorite to operate with - he's a really great teacher. He trained at Hopkins. He's our director of spinal oncology.
-Anesthesia - We have one of the best neuroanesthesiology programs in the country with 5 dedicated neuroanesthesiologists and 2 or 3 fellowship spots. I think it's the largest program in the country. Our patients wake up really nicely.
-Radiology - we have a great Neuroradiology program here as well. Dr. Geer, one of the attendings, actually did a Neurosurgery residency at UMich before switching into radiology. We have 8 or 9 MRI scanners ON CAMPUS - the most of any center anywhere.
-We have amazing ancillary services - everything from transport to phlebotomy. They'll all save you time as a junior.
-Our cafeteria is pretty good, just remodeled. We're getting a Chic-fil-a, Au Bon Pan, and a Starbucks in a few months. We also have a Subway.
-We basically park 5 feet from a heated walkway in the morning. This is excellent in the winter.
Sorry this ended up being so long - there are a lot of things I really like about this place.
tl;dr - Wake is a great program. We operate a ton. We get great training from a great faculty and we're all very happy here.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, please keep them civil.
I've been meaning to post on here for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. I'm a PGY-3 at Wake Forest and I just wanted to provide some info for those interested. Personally, I'm very happy here (I think that all of our residents are). I think we're underrated because we don't put out a ton of research (we focus on operating more than research).
-We operate A LOT. We run 9 rooms at least once a week. We're 50/50 cranial/spine. We do a lot of big deformity correction. We average 1,300 cases logged at the end of residency (as a 6-year program). We have a ton of autonomy in the OR.
-850 bed hospital - the largest in North Carolina. Also the #1 comprehensive cancer center in North Carolina. We cover a huge geographic area, from Asheville in the West to Burlington in the East and Galax, VA in the North.
-Winston Salem is AWESOME. Honestly, I thought it was a negative when I was making my rank list, but this is arguably the best city in the country to do residency. (I've lived in Miami, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and San Fran, so I've been around a bit). We have an insanely low cost of living (I have an awesome 3BR house in a safe area half a mile from the hospital and I pay $1100/month in mortgage), great restaurants, no traffic, great weather, clean air, and everyone is super friendly. Maybe it's not as entertaining as a big city, but this is Neurosurgery, so it's not like we'd have time to go to a lot of things anyway. We have an IMAX theater, which is something that none of you probably care about but I love. We have the Greensboro airport like 20 mins away (and RDU and CLT are about an hour away as well) so travel is really easy.
-We have the lowest stroke and craniotomy mortality in the UHC (University HealthSystem Consortium), and it's not because of lack of volume (comprehensive stroke center).
-We're all on one campus, at one hospital. No driving back and forth when on call or splitting our service in half.
-Calls aren't bad. Approx 4/month for your first 4 years. We have a dedicated critical care team that absorbs a lot of nighttime pages.
-We're a level 1 adult and peds trauma center. We see all kinds of weird accidents (falls from deer stands, ATV accidents).
-We have a great Innovation Center. They'll take your ideas and patent them. I have one patent pending right now. Also we have one of the best inventor/institution splits out there - I think it's like 55/45 or something. Some other places are like 5/95.
-There's a bunch of cool research stuff going on here that another resident can tell you about, but it's not really my forte. We do have a great Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
-We have a resident clinic where we have our own patients that we do everything from initial visit to surgery to follow-up. It's great having this kind of continuity.
-We have a great cadaver lab that we have organized sessions in once/month. We also get to do procedures on live animals occasionally (just did a pig lab a few weeks ago).
-We're getting a brand new 22 bed NeuroICU (opening in a few months). We'll have new call rooms and a new workroom in it. We actually had a ton of input in its design.
-We have an amazing faculty.
-Dr. Branch (Chairman) is one of the pioneers of MIS spine. I believe he invented the MAST system and he holds something like 29 patents for spinal instrumentation. He's great to work with.
-Dr. Wolfe (Program Director) just took over about a year ago. She's phenomenal. She re-engineered our entire academic program and we learn a ton in conferences. She's on the CNS Executive Committee and AANS Board of Directors. She really, really cares about our education.
-Dr. Wilson - Chair of the Washington Committee, former CNS Secretary - great skull base surgeon
-Dr. Tatter and Dr. Laxton are both amazing tumor/functional faculty. At one point Dr. Tatter did something like 4% of all the DBS in the world (we do these as junior level cases here since they're so routine for us). They both run our Gamma Knife (which we have a dedicated rotation on) - and we're the fourth largest gamma knife center in the country.
-Dr. Powers does a ton of big spine deformity correction. Depuy actually designed new rods for his camptocormia cases (usually C2-pelvis fusion).
-Drs. Couture and Powers both did Peds fellowships at Utah and St. Louis, respectively. We do have a pediatric hospital here, so we do about 20% peds cases.
-Dr. Hart just came from Case Western and will be doing mostly spine.
-Dr. Hsu does a bunch of spine and is one of my favorite to operate with - he's a really great teacher. He trained at Hopkins. He's our director of spinal oncology.
-Anesthesia - We have one of the best neuroanesthesiology programs in the country with 5 dedicated neuroanesthesiologists and 2 or 3 fellowship spots. I think it's the largest program in the country. Our patients wake up really nicely.
-Radiology - we have a great Neuroradiology program here as well. Dr. Geer, one of the attendings, actually did a Neurosurgery residency at UMich before switching into radiology. We have 8 or 9 MRI scanners ON CAMPUS - the most of any center anywhere.
-We have amazing ancillary services - everything from transport to phlebotomy. They'll all save you time as a junior.
-Our cafeteria is pretty good, just remodeled. We're getting a Chic-fil-a, Au Bon Pan, and a Starbucks in a few months. We also have a Subway.
-We basically park 5 feet from a heated walkway in the morning. This is excellent in the winter.
Sorry this ended up being so long - there are a lot of things I really like about this place.
tl;dr - Wake is a great program. We operate a ton. We get great training from a great faculty and we're all very happy here.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, please keep them civil.
