T-22 Days

2 things. First, I got a confirmation email from the SFMATCH. It had my rank list on it. Everything was correct. They give you the opportunity to call them if it isn't correct. Second, I got an email from the fellows at Tulane. They sent a link to a survey about the application/interview process. Do them a favor and fill it out. It only takes a second.

T-24

Ahh yes. I am very well settled into night float now. You should have seen my wife's reaction the first time I slept past noon on a Saturday though. As the plastic surgery match gets closer I suspect the anxiety level will increase. I started to feel just a touch last night when I was talking to another resident about it.

T-26 Days

There are 26 days left until May 20th. That is the day the programs get results and have the option of calling their new residents. I have met people who matched but didn't get a call and were freaking out until the following Monday, when the applicants can call for results.

Two things that I hope:
1) I match. Anywhere would be fine.
2) The program calls me on May 20th.

If I match there will be partying that surpasses even that at the Chattanooga pre-interview dinner.

And Its Off!

I sent my rank list for the plastic surgery match today. I managed to get a person on the telephone at SFMATCH. Here are 2 pieces of information that you need to know.

First, in the upper right hand corner of the rank list form, there is a 5 digit box for Reference #. That number is contained in the email that you got from JMckee@sfmatch.org when you registered. The email will have this line in it:

Your Matching/Registration Number is: 90-XXX

They all start with a 9.

Second, there is a box for each program that you rank that says Program #. The program number is listed to the left of the program name in the directory on sfmatch.org. For instance, Louisville's is 635.36.

Third, the rank lists are due by noon PST on May 12th.

Time to send in the rank list.

I am going to send in my rank list soon. I have to call sfmatch. I have a couple of questions about which numbers to put where etc. I met with my advisor today. He pretty much agreed with my rank list but he thought I should move a couple up and a couple down for various reasons. When I get the answers to my questions from SFMATCH I will post them here because I am sure everyone has the same questions.

Wow >11,000 hits!

I never thought I would see the day. 11,000 hits. I'm not sure if I believe that number or not.

Night Float

I am on nightfloat right now. What that means is that I work 7AM Sunday until 7AM Monday. All other days I work from 6:00 PM until 6:30 AM. I have Friday and Saturday off.

I have to say I kind of like working at night. I have done a lot of trauma and I occasionally pick up a couple of elective cases. It is a big change to go from doing 30 to 35 cases a week to doing half a dozen though.

I think I have the secret to nightfloat. You absolutely have to stay up all night so that you can sleep during the day and make the transition. I usually stay up until 4:30 AM and then catch a couple winks until signout. If you stay up all night and plan on becoming a vampire, nightfloat is no problem.

The only thing that is a little wired is the weekends. This Friday I had to take my car to the shop because an EPC light kept coming on. It turns out my catalytic converter went bad. The good news is it is covered by my warranty. Anyway I only got about 5 hours during the day on Friday. I went to bed at 9:30 but I woke up at midnight and stayed up until 4. I slept Saturday until 11AM, which was a little weird for my wife. I absolutely NEVER sleep past 7 under normal circumstances. I have to get up and get some coffee. I hate wasting the morning.

Night float is becoming a reality for most surgery programs now. If you are a level 1 trauma center you have to have a chief in house. The problem is that the attendings don't want any chiefs post-call during the week (meaning they would have to go home.) The perfect solution to the 80 hour workweek is having a night float team. I am a believer now. Our institution has had very good luck with it. The night float team gets to know every patient after a while. We have had great luck with continuity of care.

Anyway sorry for the random rambling. I don't really have any plastic surgery fellowship news at the moment. The only thing I have to report is that I am going to turn in my rank list some time this week. I still have to meet with our chairman of plastic surgery. I have met with everyone else.

May 20th is D-Day for us. Its time for us to storm the beach and see which ones of us will make the wall. I fully anticipate being machine gunned as soon as the ramp drops. I have been looking into hand fellowships.

Email list

A couple of the applicants put together an email list of applicants this year and sent it out today. It has 97 people on it. If you didn't get a copy of that list and would like it or if you would like to have your name added to it, email me and I will send it your way.

Hand Surgery

I was looking into hand surgery fellowships tonight. I found THE website for hand surgery. Check it out at:

Hand Surgery Site

Chattanooga Photos

Chattanooga reminded me a lot of Charlottesville, VA. It is a town in a valley surrounded by a rim of mountains. This isn't a very good photo because I took it from my car window but it shows the mountains overlooking the city.



The downtown is a lot like a college town. There are a lot of little bistros. The night before the interview we met the residents at the Big River Grille. It was a microbrewery with good food. They even rented us two pool tables. We were like rockstars!



Here is a photo of lookout mountain from the medical center. From the top of this mountain you can see 7 states. I didn't get to go up there because my flight out was immediately after the interview.



Here is another view from the top of the medical center. Again these aren't the best photos because they were shot through windows.



Here is the medical center from the front.



And here is another shot of the medical center. I think this is what they call the 'Medical Mall'. It is exactly what it sounds like.

No regrets.

I just got back from my last interview. I interviewed at Chattanooga. I took a bunch of pictures and I will upload them soon.

The grand total of interviews attended is 17. I couldn't possibly have done any more. I did my best and I have no regrets.

A few secrets for traveling:

1) If someone puts SSSS anywhere on your boarding pass, look out. You will be maximally probed by security and your luggage will be maximally rummaged.
2) If you are renting a car, always get the economy model. If you arrive late in the day, the chances are all of the economy models will be gone and they will have to give you a free upgrade. They will ask you if you want to upgrade at the counter. Just say no, you are happy with the economy car. Next thing you know they will be handing you the keys to a sweet ride at no extra cost, just because all of the economy cars are already gone. In all of my travels I always rented an economy car and I never ended up in one. They always upgraded me for free.
3) If you finish your interview early, call the airline to see if you can get an earlier flight out. I always scheduled flights that were several hours after the end of the interview sessions. Often times I would finish early and be able to get on an earlier flight. A few times the earlier flight was like $100 more expensive if you bought it like that up front. I was able to switch to the earlier flight at no extra cost.
4) Stay at flophouses whenever possible. The recommended hotels that programs will send you are usually 2-3 times as expensive as what you can find.

A few things to do

This weekend is my last interview. I am going to sit down and go over every program in detail and try to come up with a rank list. I have a few favorites just based on my impressions of each program and the experience that I had during the interviews. It is hard to say whether those impressions were 100% accurate just based on a 1 or 2 day interview. After I put together my list it is time for me to sit down with some advisors to make sure that I am not crazy and that I am making good choices.

In other news, I think I have found a way to pick up some extra scratch to help pay my interview tabs. We have a NASCAR track in my town and our hospital has an arrangement with the track. I got an email today soliciting me to go out there and work as a trauma resident on weekends. I am definitely looking into that. I have some serious bills to pay now and I might have to do this all over again next year.

I can't wait to see everyone again this weekend.

Nassau

I got back from Nassau at like 1:00 in the morning last night. I had a great time at the interview. The night before they took us all to this amazing restaurant. They gave a presentation on the program and also presented a couple interesting cases. There were only 2 or 3 applicants that I hadn't met at other interviews. I think everyone had a great time.

The next day for the interviews several of the attendings asked me about this website. Apparently word has gotten out. I suppose I should say something about why I am doing this website.

The main purpose of this website is so that the next few classes of applicants will have a little bit of guidance through the process. The specifics will change but I don't anticipate the process changing that much. There are a few people in my general surgery program who are going to be applying next year and I am hoping that many of their questions about the process can be answered by reading this site.

The other reason I keep this site is so that I will remember each of the programs when it is time for me to make a rank list. I don't say anything on this site about programs other than that I went there and what I did. I keep track of specifics that interest me in a black book and I don't make the contents of the black book public.

I had to leave after desert at the dinner because I was dead tired. I am trying to recover from the flu and pneumonia at the same time. I am also on night float and I am trying to get adjusted to the new schedule. It won't be long and I will be translucent like one of those sea creatures that lives on the bottom of the ocean, miles away from sunlight.

I liked Long Island a lot, especially the places around the medical center. I have been to NYC quite a bit. I have to say that LI is a lot more like the Midwest than NYC.

After the interview I got a cab back to the airport. I was trying to share a cab with my friend from Mobile Alabama but he wasn't done interviewing. Because of the rain my flight was delayed like 3 hours. I flew into Charlotte and found that my next plane was delayed by an hour. Who should I spy waiting for the very same plane but one of my buddies from residency. We headed over to the bar and knocked back a couple brewskies.

When I finally got on the plane it was every travelers worst nightmare. I was in the middle seat sandwiched by two 500 pounders. They both spilled over into my seat and practically smothered me. One of them had long dreadlocks and the grease from the dreadlocks got all over my interview shirt. I will have to send it out for a deep cleaning.

It was OK though because I did a little escapist reading. I am reading the Asian Saga by James Clavell. Do you remember that mini-series in the early 80's with Richard chamberlain called Shogun? Anyway Clavell is the guy who wrote Shogun and that is one of the books in the Asian Saga. I finished Shogun and I am about to finish Tai-Pan (the second book). Those are 2 of the most interesting fiction books I have ever read and I would very highly recommend them for pleasure reading aboard aircraft, especially when you want to be miles away in your head. Serenity now. SERENITY NOW!!

The other books I have been reading on the flights are the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. The first book in that series is the Clan of the Cave Bear. I am about to start the 4th book in that series. I would also give those books my highest recommendation. They are extremely entertaining.

Next week is my last interview - Chattanooga. I am looking forward to being done with the interview process and moving on the the ranking process. I have some meetings set up with my chairman of surgery, the program director and the chairman of plastic surgery. Hopefully I will get some good advice and make a rank list that is the best for me.