Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, January 31, 2008

The city: The city of Portland, Maine has about 60,000 people, with about 200,000 in the Greater Portland area. I had some free time to walk around the city prior to our pre-interview dinner, and my conclusion was this: Portland is a small, liberal, quirky, hippy, coastal city. It just has kind of a weird feel. It's about 2 hours from Boston, and many people fly out of Boston because it's too difficult and too expensive to fly out of Portland (the airport has a total of 8 gates). According to the residents, there are a lot of other things to do in the area, including skiing and water sports, arts, looking at lighthouses, etc. It is a moderately affordable city to live in, and has this weird rule about no alcohol in the streets (see above sign).

The residents: The Maine Med program takes 4 categorical residents per year, and they seemed pretty happy. Most are from the east coast, although there was a decent number from the midwest, actually, including one from OSU. About two-thirds are married, and 3 of the residents have kids. The residents either live in downtown Portland, South Portland, or in the suburbs. They also like seafood quite a bit.

Sidenote: When we went out to dinner the night before, the other applicant that was there (yes, there were only 2 of us at the dinner, and 3 total at the interview), got the lobster...perhaps I should have gotten the lobster since I was in freaking Maine, but it just kind of creeps me out. When it was served, I just felt like it was staring at me from across the table with those beady little eyes. Freaky. I opted for the lamb, which, in all honesty, was probably the worst lamb I have ever eaten (and I would consider myself pretty much a lamb connoisseur). Atleast I didn't have to pay for it, and the chocolate tort was amazing.

The program: So, the Maine Med program is 5 years straight through, with the option for some research along the way if the residents want it. It is a Level I trauma center (Kimberly I knew you would like this), and because of the area, they tend to get some weird traumas, including moose accidents, people getting wrapped up in lobster and fish nets, and snowmobile accidents. Interesting. It seems like Maine Med tends to train mostly general surgeons, and about 50% go on to group or private practice, and the chiefs that are going on to fellowships this year are heading into breast, endocrine, and MIS.