Welcome,

The way I look at it, 3 year residency is a short time to learn a huge quantity of knowledge, but long enough that you have to be happy where you are as well.  There are many things that go into making a rank list, but fundamentally we all want to graduate as competent doctors and enjoy our lives as residents along the way. That’s really it. Find the place that meets these two needs and your done.  Here is why Baystate does it for me.

1. The training: Plainly put, you are not going to find an ED that has such a spectrum of pathology, from the very old, to the neonate, from the simple to the multi-trauma. It all comes to Baystate, and a lot of it. It’s busy, it’s fast, and you learn.  Even with the fast pace, there is a dedication and respect for teaching within the department.  Attendings take the time to explain, they get you involved, and hands on learning happens every shift.  As an intern you are given the freedom to take on very sick patients and manage them, you do the procedures and come up with the plan, and the Attendings help you and teach you when you are stuck. It is a healthy balance of autonomy and oversight that provides for excellent learning and patient care. No matter where you go after residency, you will be prepared with the knowledge and skills to do your job with confidence. 
2. 2. Having fun along the way:  I live in Northampton, I enjoy an easy life, in funky college town with shops, restaurants, farmers market, live music and nightlife all of which I access with a bike. Within a short distance I hike, swim, canoe, and ski. You could live anywhere from the city of Springfield,  to a one room log cabin up in the mountains if you wanted. 
3. Lastly, it is a good group of folks that make this program come together.  We have fun hanging out together residents and attendings alike. The directors of the program have respect for your time outside of work and have focused the curriculum to both maximize learning and free time to get exercise or spend time with family. Bottom line, it’s a chill group of people that are welcoming and enthusiastic about training and Emergency Medicine.

A few things about me, I grew up in rural Maine, graduated from University of Maine with a degree in marine biology, did a lot of random jobs to support myself for a few years then went to University of Vermont for med school. I like to snowboard, surf (Maine or RI) hike, camp, and generally explore in the woods.