How much does residency 'prestige' matter for private practice?

[JinxADC&MD]

I am currently in the process of composing my rank list that is due on 1/25. I have a few programs where I would be happier at (location, culture) but they are significantly lower ranked. Would I be shooting myself in the foot by ranking the lower ranked program higher if I intend to comprehensive, private-practice out on the west coast?

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[Maimonides1]

Go for the best training you can get.., after residency you will get the luxury then to pick your most desirable geographical locations..!

 

[RetinaDude]

Zero!

Go somewhere that gives you great surgical training, and lots of pathology. Who cares what the name of the place is where you train

 

[LightBox]

Usually, I would say it "doesn't matter." But if you are looking at working in very competitive areas (e.g. metropolitan areas in California), and especially as a newbie employee, I would say that where you train definitely matters in distinguishing yourself. For example, I remember interviewing at the AAO for a Bay Area associate position. There must have been 30 people interviewing for the same job that same day. So I'm sure the employers have an innate bias toward "more prestigious" residency programs. If you are opening up your own shop, I don't think it matters at all.

But definitely do not go somewhere where you feel like you will not thrive. It is more important to be productive at an "average" residency than to be miserable (and thus less productive) at a better residency. Also, keep in mind that residency is only 3-4 years of your life. It is really such a short time in the grand scheme of things.

As for patients, ~95% of them could care less where I trained. Of course, there are a handful of patients that really research your credentials, but those people are in the minority... and typically are very crazy lol. Plus, the general population does not realize that "lowly" schools like the U of Miami or UCLA are actually some of the best places to train, compared to, say, going to an Ivy League institution.

 

[JinxADC&MD]

Usually, I would say it "doesn't matter." But if you are looking at working in very competitive areas (e.g. metropolitan areas in California), and especially as a newbie employee, I would say that where you train definitely matters in distinguishing yourself. For example, I remember interviewing at the AAO for a Bay Area associate position. There must have been 30 people interviewing for the same job that same day. So I'm sure the employers have an innate bias toward "more prestigious" residency programs. If you are opening up your own shop, I don't think it matters at all.

But definitely do not go somewhere where you feel like you will not thrive. It is more important to be productive at an "average" residency than to be miserable (and thus less productive) at a better residency. Also, keep in mind that residency is only 3-4 years of your life. It is really such a short time in the grand scheme of things.

As for patients, ~95% of them could care less where I trained. Of course, there are a handful of patients that really research your credentials, but those people are in the minority... and typically are very crazy lol. Plus, the general population does not realize that "lowly" schools like the U of Miami or UCLA are actually some of the best places to train, compared to, say, going to an Ivy League institution.

What do you mean by opening up your own shop? Like starting your own practice or being hired to work at a private practice?

Thanks for your response!

 

[mjohnsonets]

What LightBox said is spot on. It will depend on what you're going for. However, if you're planning to go to the west coast and practice in a large metro, I would encourage you to consider a fellowship. It would just be one more year and would expand your skillset. If you really like comp, you can still practice mostly comprehensive with a glaucoma or cornea fellowship.

Also, being the competitive market it is, if you don't do your residency where you want live thereafter, there are quite a few fellowships on the west coast. You could take your fellowship year to develop relationships in the market and likely have a better chance of landing a position there.

In answering your original question, I have only come across a couple practices in my experience who were wanting certain training programs but these were specific fellowships not residencies.

 

[Slide]

Are you planning on being in a saturated area? Or in a rural area? If the former, prestige matters. If the latter, it really doesn't matter. West coast is one of the most saturated areas in the US, so a fellowship is helpful.

Prestige matters in saturated areas with a more educated population because it's more about PR and marketing rather than your actual skillset. However, going to a prestigious residency doesn't necessarily make you a good ophthalmologist or surgeon. Most of these prestigious residencies will encourage you to do a fellowship anyways, partly to hone your surgical skills. I think many here on this forum can chime in that some of the best surgeons they know have come from non-prestigious places.

 

[JinxADC&MD]

Are you planning on being in a saturated area? Or in a rural area? If the former, prestige matters. If the latter, it really doesn't matter. West coast is one of the most saturated areas in the US, so a fellowship is helpful.

Prestige matters in saturated areas with a more educated population because it's more about PR and marketing rather than your actual skillset. However, going to a prestigious residency doesn't necessarily make you a good ophthalmologist or surgeon. Most of these prestigious residencies will encourage you to do a fellowship anyways, partly to hone your surgical skills. I think many here on this forum can chime in that some of the best surgeons they know have come from non-prestigious places.

I will certainly end up in a saturated location and wasn't planning to do fellowship so now I definitely have more to think about. I guess I may need to rank more prestigious programs higher than anticipated

 

[martianmonster]

You shouldn't have the mindset that you cannot get a job in areas like NY, SF, LA, Chicago without training at a prestigious institution. You absolutely can. Get the best training you can. Some of the more prestigious places offer subpar surgical training and the reason the majority of the residents do fellowships is evidence of such. If you don't plan on going to fellowship, don't go to a 'top tier' place unless it will allow you to accomplish your goal of being a competent comprehensive surgical ophthalmologist.