Top 10 Reasons to Come to Utah

Omar Rachdi, MD PGY 4

1. Excellent training in a great learning environment with truly phenomenal resources in abundance - I sometimes feel like a kid in a candy store
2. There are more opportunities to do research here than anywhere else I have ever been and you also don't have to do research if you don't want to.
3. My program paid for a "Rage Room" where all the residents went and broke stuff, had amazing food catered by a locally owned Black business, and this was considered part of our didactic time for the week - what better built-in wellness could one ask for?
4. Great exposure from everyday 'bread & butter' medical/rehabilitation presentations to Zebras that make you scratch your head and think, "why would anyone name this disease state THAT?" haha
5. The residents.  My cohort consists of some of the best people I have ever met and I am grateful to be among them.  We all here the "right fit" analogies for applicants & programs, but I think each one of us in my cohort BELONG here rather than 'fitting in' per se.
6. The outdoors here are wonderful (all of the mountains, hiking trails, ski season, etc.) and I have also come to love the movie scene.  Some of the best movie theaters I have been to are in Salt Lake City, my wife and I are so close to earning our Platinum membership for Cinemark this year, and the Sundance Film Festival is just a couple miles down the road.
7. I am able to rent a house in SLC with a large enough backyard for my garden and a run for my chickens.  I have four chickens (Stevie, Twyla, Moira & Jocylen) - I really don't know of many places in the country where a resident could train AND have room/affordability for chickens (eggs in this economy are worth their weight in gold)
8. The music scene is pretty great in SLC, from bands like Gorillaz, the Milk Carton Kids, Metric, Cake, and much more.
9. My career plans have changed throughout my time in residency multiple times and I have felt nothing but support from admin/leadership.
10. One of my general philosophies I share with medical students is that "One should never want to go to a program because of any one individual, should be several people/reasons why. " Knowing that, I would say that Dr. Hansen (our PD) is possibly the one person who made me consider breaking my own rule - she is incredible and I am a better person because I am training here.