Finished With My CA-1 Reading Week

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As CA-1s, we each get a dedicated “reading week” assigned randomly throughout the calendar year, and mine happens to end today. While I was required to attend all conferences and lectures, this was the first extended break I had as a PGY-2. 

I’ll be honest – some of the time was used for recreation. Okay, a lot of time. But I did manage to review quite a bit of this year’s lecture material and purchase Pocket Anesthesia (a book I should have bought months ago!) 😀

Hopefully I’ll get some actual “vacation time” in December as we’re allotted three weeks as CA-1s, and I really don’t want it to go to waste. Speaking of vacation… many anesthesia residents and medical students around the country are currently in New Orleans for the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Annual Meeting. Hope they’re having fun learning about the latest research, gadgets, and networking opportunities! Hopefully I’ll be able to attend next year’s meeting in San Francisco! :mrgreen:

Now that the rain has settled down, I’m getting ready to head to the trauma hospital to hold down the fort on call this Saturday night. What a way to end this reading week!

Houstonians, please make sound decisions tonight.

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3 responses to “Finished With My CA-1 Reading Week”

  1. pat Avatar
    pat

    Wow, is it normal for anesthesiology residencies to have a “reading week,” or is Baylor just awesome? 🙂

    Actually, if you don’t mind commenting, I was wondering if you had any opinions or thoughts about other Texas programs, especially in the Houston area (e.g., UT-Houston, UTMB)? I’m thinking of applying to these in approximately two years when I’m a 4th year. But I’m from the West coast, not Texas, so I might have a hard time being accepted? Thanks Rishi! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Rishi Avatar
      Rishi

      Haha, I’m not sure about other residencies, but we certainly get a designated reading week as CA-1s. Plus, sometimes our monthly schedules have 1-2 “reading days” (basically home call where you rarely get called in) depending on the number of residents, SRNAs, and CRNAs available that month.

      I never like commenting about other programs because, quite frankly, I’m not in a position to do so. Every program has pros and cons which are a mystery unless one trains there; however, I can give brief impressions of what I gathered from interview day.

      UTMB: Cool venue, but I feel like the intern year is a little *too* easy. The part I disliked the most was how you’ll physically be moving to do rotations in other cities (Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi).

      UT Southwestern: Great program (especially their “Vapor Camp” transition to being a CA-1)

      UT Houston: Apparently the new director is a former resident who has been making strides in the right direction. Being situated in the Texas Medical Center has immense perks in and of itself. Since I was a Baylor med student, I was rubbed the wrong way when my interview day leaders went out of there way to compare their program directly to Baylor’s instead of selling their program for what it is.

      My advice is to apply everywhere. It might seem expensive, but the true expense is incurred on travel/lodging costs for interviews. You can always narrow down your interviews after getting invites.

      Reply
      1. pat Avatar
        pat

        That’s really helpful, thanks very much for all this Rishi! 🙂 Really good advice and that’s a good point about applying everywhere. But I think I really like Baylor the best based mainly on the fact that you are wearing such a cool black jacket! 🙂

        Reply

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