Attendings/Residents/Students (lifestyle, criticism, aura):
Program is okay…. lots of clinic and minimal surgery however it looks like they are picking up. Just got a new attending Dr. Wilt who seems to be looking to change things around. Dr. Lee is great at wound care and does a lot of research. Dr. Shearer is a good instructor. Dr. Schopf does all the rearfoot and is the most fun to work with but does not take many back from surgeries (so low RF) however he is relatively new to the team (first year) and was trained at carilion so has good experience. Dr. Bonk is retired now.
Didactics: Mostly led by students rotating through at about once a week. Super laid back.
OR Experience: None while I was there. May be different if you extern here.
Clinic Experience: Good clinic exp. All great instructors however not as busy as most VA clinics that I have seen. You get hands on experience and get to type the notes up as well. Overall it was okay but lots of chip and clips. Seem to lack volume/good cases as it is close in proximity to corilion clinic in Roanoke.
Research Opportunities: Lee is big into research so oppurtunities are present.
City Life: Small town vibes. If given the opportunity and are religious the Saint Andrews is beautiful and is historic. Lots of good hiking and micro breweries. Check out AFOG (great beers)
Favorite Part: Free housing was nice and I did enjoy the local hikes. Food in the area was also quite good.
Constructive Criticism: The program itself is okay, needs more expectations on the current residents as they seemed to just go with the flow… would like to see more accountability from them in clinic? possibly resident run clinic days and maybe more responsibility during academics. Needs a bit more volume of patients and cases but I am unsure if that is in the control of the program. Overall not terrible and seems to be improving with new addition of attendings.
