It's OVER!!!! OHSU (Interview #10) and Oregon (visit #2)

I arrived in Portland on Tuesday night, after my Olympia interview. It was really weird coming back into town, after having spent a month (Sept-Oct. of 2006) "living" here doing my ER rotation at OHSU. I thought I'd get lost getting of the highway or something, but found Sarah and Phil's house (Sarah's an OHSU med student who, back in September, trusted me with house and dog sitting without having met me!) with no problem.

Tuesday, I hung out with Rob and Katrina (Katrina graduated a year ahead of me at Mayo, got married the day after graduation, and moved out here with her brand-new and awesome hubby to start FM residency last year). She's been on ICU with a grueling q3 call schedule, but had the day off! We went out to eat at Jopa, a "Northwest Grill" that Katrina brought me to for my first meal in OR back in Sept., after picking me up at the airport. The food is great, as was the dessert (we shared a Cup o' Lava, not to make you jealous or anything, Wendi :)). Wednesday was a day of relaxation, with some laundry-doing, running, reading, and research paper-editing. Still trying to finish that up. In the evening, I went with Rob (Katrina was on call) to a bible study at the house of a OHSU couple (Heidi in FM, Travis in EM) that I'd met during my stay here in the fall.
I had my OHSU interview today. It was interesting to see it from a "formal interview day" perspective, because I've learned a great deal about the program and institution from both rotating and spending a month here and also from talking a bunch to Katrina and Tom (another Mayo grad here for FM), as well as to other residents I've met in the process. I wasn't at all nervous, as I'd been through "this all" before (and 9 times before, at that!). I had the option of interviewing back here in Oct., but I wasn't ready then and do feel that it was nice to come back after having seen a bunch of other places to see how OHSU compares. It was a great finish to the season. I am SO GLAD to be done!

Here's the LAST bullet list (well, with regard to programs' strengths) that you will see from me:)

• This is an amazingly strong FM program. OHSU has an excellent reputation for not only medicine in general, but primary care in particular. While an "academic center" and thus officially "opposed," family medicine is really well established and well respected here and there are no "turf wars."
• The residents (12 per year) are extraordinary. Many people have said that they tend to "outshine" the residents in other fields while rotating on their services and are "freakishly smart"! Many of them have done a ton of international work as well as varied other interesting things before coming here. Interestingly, as an R2, you actually run the inpatient medicine service, supervising medicine interns and working under an internal medicine attending!
• The hospital and facilities are beautiful. All are up on Marquam Hill and the complex is actually quite sprawling! I feel very little walking around everything and everyone. But there are incredible views of Mt. Hood (see the sunset pic below that I took; Lesley may make fun of me b/c I took my camera on another interview, but when you go places as beautiful as these, I like to have one around just in case...) and Mt. St. Helens, which were out today, from the call room, roof of the FM building, and the skybridge connecting the OHSU hospital and the VA hospital. Doernbecher Children's Hospital is also really nice and where residents do their peds inpatient months.


• Good OB training, esp. for an academic institution. There is a total of about 5 months of OB, some on a Family Medicine Inpatient D (D for delivery!) service, months on L and D, and more high-risk OB at another hospital in town (Emanuel). There are opportunities to also be primary on C-sections, and several graduates have gone onto have C-section privileges without having to do a fellowship.
• Rotating on a Family-Medicine inpatient service, which is longitudinal and gets you inpatient experience in both adults, kids, and the occasional antepartum patients/deliveries that happen overnight, so these experiences are not really compartmentalized but rather sprinkled throughout your time.
• As it's an academic center, teaching is excellent. There is a real emphasis on evidence-based medicine and I've heard that all of the attendings are great about stressing education in every field. There are also lots of other fun residents to meet, without any sense of opposition or competition, which I think is a real plus!
• Interesting away/rural rotations in surgery (R1; Ontario, OR, a small town on the eastern border) and in rural FM (R2 for 2 months) which are great learning experiences
• Elective time 2nd or 3rd year to do international work, if desired (about 1/3 of residents do go abroad). There is a longstanding relationship with a university in Japan, where, if you go, you are housed for free! Japan is one of my top 3 places in the world I'd like to visit! You can also set up something anywhere else of your choosing.
• Brand new South Waterfront clinic area at the bottom of the hill which you can access from a lovely, brand-new tram (a pill-shaped gondola) that runs up and down all day. We didn't get to ride it since it's currently only open to employees, but I hear it's really neat!
• Gabriel Park and Richmond clinics are the other two outpatient sites-- you allocate "points" to try to express your preference of where you'd want to be. Gabriel Park is very heavy in procedural opportunities and has a more geriatric population/good amt. of prenatal care. Richmond has more underserved patients and lots of prenatal care for Clackamas Co. and there is ample opportunity to use Spanish (this is where Katrina is and where I think I'd like to be if I were to match here)!
• Unique tracks here such as Preventative Medicine (Katrina's doing this) as well as Integrative Medicine, which is an interest of many faculty.
• Electronic medical record system in place for the clinics so that you can enter your notes while speaking with the patients! The hospital is getting there, but labs and xrays, etc. are already all on the computer.
• Unique "Orientation" block in October or so of intern year, where people are needing a bit break and time to "reconnect" with classmates. There's also a resident retreat where residents go to really nice places nearby to bond!
• Planned state-of-the-art Simulation Lab
• There is night float!
• You get a meal stipend

Portland, as I figured out several months ago, is an awesome city. It supposedly has the most restaurants per capita or something, is great for biking (I was in great shape after my rotation here!), is so green and progressive, and has lots of opportunities to pursue outside interests. I t has one of the most amazing bookstores I've ever visited, Powell's, right downtown. Plus it is really close to all kinds of beautiful scenery and outdoorsy things. Below are some other pics of Oregon from the past. The first is one of Mt. Hood by Trillium Lake (doesn't it look like a postcard?!) that Rachel sent me after her and Hans's weekend in October (Rachel, I hope it was okay to use it! It was drizzly and cold the weekend I went out there and I got no good pics!). Oregon has GLORIOUS weather in the summer and fall.

This one, which my Mom loves for some reason, is one I took of the Oregon coast when I drove out there one day. Many people are surprised that Portland isn't actually on the coast (it's about an hour and a half inland), but the coast is really beautiful.

This evening, I went to a dinner at Heidi's house for applicants (and many current residents were also there). I feel very comfortable around the people here and in Oregon. It has been great connecting again with Katrina and Rob, Tom and Anne, as well as a number of other really special residents-- it would be great to live somewhere where I felt so welcomed and with so many familiar faces. It's so sad to have to leave (again), although I am looking forward to going home and having a "normal" life for the next couple of months:) I may visit Mt. St. Helens tomorrow if I can swing it before I have to fly out of Seattle Saturday night.