Ben Albertson, MD

Hometown: Williston, VT
Undergraduate: University of Vermont
Medical School: University of Vermont
Interests: Hockey, Rock Climbing, Hiking, Biking, Telemark Skiing

I chose to train at The University of New Mexico because of the people. The relationships among the residents and between residents and faculty are excellent. We see a large amount of trauma and have a great exposure to all the major sub-specialties without having to do any out of town rotations, all while maintaining an excellent work life balance. New Mexico is a beautiful state with endless outdoor opportunities to explore in your free time! My favorite experiences are walking Tim Choi through an ankle fx on trauma; every Wednesday night fracture conference; WOA conferences in Breckenridge, CO and Monterey, CA; camping, hot springs, and climbing weekend in Jemez with Chris Kurnik and Erika Garbrecht. The people in our program are our biggest asset, and the attitude and culture can't be beat! We get well trained, we have a ton of autonomy in the operating room, and we see all kinds of pathology. Albuquerque is a really cool and vastly under-rated city with unique culture and amazing outdoor activity access. The cost of living is very inexpensive, so you can live very well on a resident's salary. My hobbies and interests outside of medicine include backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hockey (there are ice rinks here!), rock climbing, hiking, camping, hot springs, crossfit (we have a resident class every mon/wed/fri AM before work), and my two awesome dogs!