A: USACS has excellent benefits. In addition to health, dental, vision, short and long term disability, USACS also offers an excellent 401K program with 10% matching.

I am currently working as an ER physician at Albany Memorial Hospital.

THE FACILITY
The emergency department itself is new, I believe rebuilt within the last 10 years or so. All of the rooms are hard-walled with sliding door and computers in every room. The hospital itself, however, does have an older feel and doesn't look the best from the outside. There is a run-down looking strip mall across the street from the hospital.

THE AREA
Albany is an ok city. It is a little small and a little cloudy, but it depends on what you are looking for in a city. It does have a decent range of restaurants covering a wide range of cuisines. There are places to go out, several malls, and lots of outdoor activities nearby (hiking, fishing, kayaking, skiing/snowboarding, climbing). It is also a 2-3 hours from NYC and Boston.

THE PATHOLOGY
There is mild-to-moderate pathology seen at this facility. Intubations and central lines are rare.

COWORKERS
Friendly and enjoyable to work with.

ADMISSIONS
Very smooth. All medical admissions go through the hospitalist. I have never once had an argument about whether a patient needed to be admitted. In fact, several of the hospitalist will watch the ER tracking board and ask to admit patients before I even call them!

DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS
There are scribes, many of whom have been working here for quite some time and are well trained. ER volumes can spike during business hours and having a scribe is amazingly helpful to seeing large number of patients and also getting out on time. Another thing that helps get out on time, is a scheduled two hour overlap between on-coming physician and out-going physician which allows the out-going physician to wrap-up on time.

One of the biggest perks is there are several dedicated night physicians. I haven't worked a night shift in over a year.

CONS
This is not a good place to work if you are looking for sick patients with lots of pathology.