Sacramento and UC Davis-- Interview #3

So on Tuesday, after my UCSF interview, I drove the 90 or so miles northeast of San Francisco to Sacramento. Even though I left the city around 3:30, traffic was quite horrendous and it took me about two and a half hours. Very pretty country, though, with rolling hills, etc.

I showed up at the apartment of Kyla, the FP/OB intern here (who went to U of M for med school) and Kate (also a U of M grad who is now on peds staff here) and got settled. Then, which my Dad will be thrilled and happy to hear, I was taken to a wine-tasting class! As most of you know, I'm not really that into drinking alcohol, nor was I really into wine until this past year or so. But, when in Rome.... I figured that, since I was in wine country (I think, if you are to move to California, you WILL love wine if you don't already), I'd better try to get all that I could out of this class!

We tasted about 6-8 different wines-- some white, some red. They were all good. And perhaps I was better about "sniffing" the aromas at the evening's conclusion. But I was a little worried about the quantity we were trying because 1) I am a total lightweight and 2) I had an interview today that I was really excited for! But it was all good-- luckily, I didn't get drunk. I don't know that I can tell you the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling or whatever, but we all had a good time. Then we drove a bit to "Midtown" Sacramento and had some sushi (mmmm) before heading home.

Today, I had my interview at UC Davis for the combined FP/OB Track (a four-year program which integrates both OB, gyn, and all the goodness of Family Med. I feel it was made for me!). I LOVED IT!!!!! It was a long day, as I had two interviews with FP people in the morning and then, in the afternoon, we interviewed with the OB department and toured the L & D facilities as well. High points:

• Wonderful residents who are thrilled to be here. 13 per year (1 of whom is FP/OB, 2 of whom are FP/psych). Great social support (one FP/OB resident had a baby first year without problem).
• Excellent teaching-- alongside residents (400 of them!) in departments of ER, Peds, Medicine, Surgery, OB, etc... Faculty are extremely dedicated to education.
• Obviously, awesome OB training. You actually are considered part of both departments. Most graduates will have between 300 and 400 vaginal deliveries and 250-300 C-sections upon graduation from this program.
• Very high respect for Family Medicine as a specialty. In fact, 3 of the deans of the overall medical center are FP physicians. Everyone loves FP here :) This is perhaps the most FM-friendly "opposed" residency one could find.
• Beautiful facilities-- clinic and hospital, including wonderful Shriners Children's Hospital for peds.
• Completely integrated EMR (electronic medical record system), with all facets under the same computer program (radiology/clinic notes/labs/orders/med lists with tracking), perhaps the "best in the country" for any community or academic setting, per the residency director. All records, including Up to Date, are accessible from home.
• Diversity-- the hospital is both an academic and county hospital (the ER is CRAZY! And there is a Level 1 Trauma Center) and so gets the best of both worlds as far as diversity of patients. Tons of languages, particularly Spanish, spoken.
• Lots of elective time to pursue other interests-- international or otherwise-- and the ability to completely individualize one's curriculum.
• Dynamic and receptive faculty and residency director who take all residents' suggestions and input seriously to bring about change.
• Varied training to prepare graduates for practice in a variety of clinical settings-- private practice, HMO, rural practice, suburban, etc...
• Community outreach programs in smoking cessation and underserved clinics
• Yearly educational stipend and provided PDA
• Wonderful "small city," which has the most (or close to the most) trees per capita of perhaps any city and tons of great ethnic restaurants. It has neighborhooods within walking distance of campus and is a great place to both be single or to start/raise a family (a seeming contradiction but, for people like me, really isn't!). People told me that it feels like a "small town" in terms of people's friendliness.
• Tahoe and San Fran 1.5 hours away (opposite directions) with lots of outdoors opportunities
• Wonderful weather with over 300 days of sun per year (they were complaining about it being "cold" here when the weather was sunny and up to the 60's in the afternoon!)

This evening, I went to this place in Midtown called Jack's Urban Eats for dinner with the FP/OB residents. It was a really neat place, with delicious blue cheese fries and yummy salads. I really enjoyed talking with the others in the track that perfectly matches my interests. I'm only concerned about there only being one FP/OB spot for next year and whether I could match into it. I definitely felt at home here. As Lesley (and Siskel and Ebert) would say, "Two thumbs up." :)

Tomorrow, it's more exploring of northern California for me and then back to hang out with EVB and TJ.