In any residency program, there will always be some residents who are married, some who have children, some who are single, some who have pets, etc. As such, there may be residents who are more introverted or prefer to spend their hours off at home with loved ones. With the structure of our program (especially our beloved “Lounge”), we do often attract a number of social personalities, and as such, there is no shortage of social activities for residents who would like to spend time with other resident friends outside of the hospital. These are also great opportunities for our more introverted friends to join when they are feeling up for it!

In addition to smaller group get-togethers, we will have a few residency-wide social events occur throughout the year. This includes a “Welcome Party” at the beginning of the year, to celebrate our new interns and new CA-1s. We also host an annual “Halloween Party”, with full costumes expected by attendees. There is also typically an “End-of-Year Party” to celebrate the year and send off our graduates! In addition to these, we will have a few “Boating Days” scheduled throughout the summer, in which interested residents will rent a pontoon and spend the day out on the Coralville Reservoir!

Department Events

Certain events are hosted by the Department of Anesthesia each year. In the late summer each year, the Department of Anesthesia hosts a “Day at the Kernels”—a minor league baseball game in which the department reserves an entire section for all faculty, fellows, residents, CRNAs, SRNAs, and Anesthesia Technicians to attend. In December each year, the Department also hosts a holiday party, complete with an open bar and an Ugly Holiday Sweater competition! At the end of the year, the department hosts a graduation ceremony for the graduating resident class, which is always a very fun celebration of the residents’ hard work over the past four years.

Personal Events

Residency training does not mean that life gets put on hold. Each year we have residents who get married, become pregnant, have children, etc. As such, we are always attending birthday parties, weddings, baby showers, and other personal events for our friends! At this program, having a life outside of the hospital is encouraged and celebrated, and we certainly know how to make it a good time!

Intramural Sports

Each year interested residents will participate in various intramural sports to keep active and have a fun excuse to hang out with each other outside of work. In recent years, we have played flag football, volleyball (sand and indoor), and kickball. All activity levels and talent levels are welcome; we mostly just want to be active and have fun with it!

Iowa City Area Events

The Iowa City area (which includes Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, and surrounding smaller communities such as Solon and Tiffin) is an extremely active, friendly, safe, and fun community to live in. Being a college town community, there are obviously plenty of sporting events associated with the University of Iowa. There are also plenty of events centered around other interests, such as food, drinks, music, and the arts! A non-exhaustive list of various events in the Iowa City area are listed below:

Recurring Events:

Friday Night Concert Series

Iowa City Farmers Market

Annual Festivals and Events:

Iowa City Pride Festival

Downtown Block Party

North Liberty Blues & BBQ

Solon Beef Days

Iowa City Jazz Festival

Taste of Iowa City

Iowa Arts Festival

Northside Oktoberfest