Interview Impressions 2010-2011

[typhoonegator]

In the spirit of last year's successful thread on the same topic, please post your interview impressions here.

This should be used to give your opinions from your interview experiences, with the goal of HELPING your fellow SDN'ers to make decisions on programs.

Ground rules:
1. If you are concerned about posting as yourself, PM typhoonegator and he will post for you.

2. Flagrant program-bashing will not be tolerated. You don't have to like every program, but don't be disrespectful.

3. Specific examples of things that you liked or did not like are much more helpful than "Residency X is totally tubular, must see!!!111!!" or "Sucked, don't bother interviewing".

4. Please try to refrain from getting into disagreements in this thread. If you disagree and wish to start a discussion about a program, a new thread should be started. This was an issue last year. Don't retort here if you are an offended resident and someone didn't like your program. Make a new thread about it if you want to, but don't derail this one.

FYI: last year's thread is available here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=680140

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[Dermologue]

Well, I don't know if the norm is to wait until after the Match, but I guess I'll be the first to start...

Facilities: Really nice. Really really nice hospital.

Strengths: Lots of stroke, residents got a good variety of fellowships, small resident to faculty ratio, will train you well as a clinician. Intern year is suppose to be benign, Q6 call apparently (but read more below on intern year).

Cons: Fewer residents seemed also to be a disadvantage here as far as your load and sick days etc. I got the vibe hand-holding at the beginning of residency was not going to be too prominent in part due to program size, so I guess it all depends on your personality and whether you are comfy with handling the floor on your own from day one. Certainly you would learn a lot but again, if that is your style.

Overall: The impression I got is the program provides good training in good facilities...They offer few positions and will consider you for both categorical and advanced (even if you only mark categorical on ERAS)...

**One thing I was put off by, however, is that they did not tell us until the DAY of the interview that internal medicine makes its decision completely separately and that you will receive a letter weeks later after appearing at the interview as to whether you will be considered for the 2 categorical positions or not...Say what?! Essentially, they need to be more transparent in letting people know the interview is for an advanced position that COULD potentially become categorical depending on internal medicine...I spent a lot of money to be there and wish they had been open about that. Reading impression threads from other years, other neuro programs have done this, and I think it's wrong. UW's website specifically says, at least up until the moment of my posting here today,

"The decision to offer a candidate a PG1 year is made in conjunction with the Department of Internal Medicine." Not true according to what we were told at the interview.

We shouldn't bear the burdon if programs don't have this partnership with their IM dept. Interviews are very expensive and energy consuming. Make sure you ask all categorical programs how the decision making is made...Ideally, if a program is really categorical, IM should rank in the same order as Neuro (i.e. the program is not relying on IM's decision to consider you for a "categorical" position), or there should at minimum be collaboration between the two in the decision-making process. If it is two totally separate processes, as is the case at UW, then you are not applying to a categorical program by definition...Even if that's how they may call it. Ultimately, it all depends on how you look at it. Maybe I should applaud them for being honest whereas other programs maybe don't tell us, but if you are going to tell, do it before the interview. Not cool. Somehow I just couldn't look past that during my interview and it just cast a negative vibe over the interview day (I know others felt the same).

 

[Dermologue]

See the thread, "This Forum Not As Active As In Prior Years" for more of my own thoughts.

 

[Quigsta]

I've been on quite a few and don't really have the time to do them all. I'll put one up at a time as I can. They won't be in any particular order. I'm interviewing at a lot of programs so if anyone has any questions about somewhere specific they're thinking about keeping or cancelling or whatever, I'd be happy to post about it if I've interviewed there. You can PM me too.

Stanford

Facilities - very decent. When I heard they were building a brand new one (won't be ready before the end of residency) I assumed the current one would be real run down. It wasn't anything to brag about but certainly seemed very pleasant. 3 hospital system that you rotate through. At two of the three, the service is all outpatient and consults. Only Stanford hospital has a neuro inpatient team and they actually have two - general and stroke.

Strengths - seems like a very nice place to work. Residents are happy, faculty are happy. Really got the impression that the relationship between the two wasn't just played up for show but that they were genuinely supportive of residents.

Cons - Some kind of weird things about the program (in my opinion) - 1)Neuro ICU is run by medicine. Neuro intensivists just consult. 2) Neuro-interventionalists are all radiology or neurosurgery (I think maybe just all radiology actually...don't remember) You can rotate through if you want but don't plan on a fellowship - others have tried and failed. That being said, it seems like you can pretty much stay for anything else you want to do.

Other observations -
- The rumor about Stanford of course is that they don't get enough patient exposure. The residents and faculty will adamantly deny that rumor and insist they work very very hard while on service. Some residents almost came off borderline over-worked but I think that's only while on inpatient which doesn't seem to be as much as at other places.
- Don't shove research down your throat but like many programs, have a research track with 6 months that can be used for it.

I don't really know what else people want to do know but if you have any questions, you can just ask or PM me.

 

[typhoonegator]

Case Western/UH: I'll admit that many of the attendings and residents criticizing Cleveland Clinic cast a shadow over my day. Many of the residents acted like they were better and smarter than everyone else, and that they turned down offers at places like Mayo and Hopkins to come there...right...
Pros: Very strong epilepsy program. Research is encouraged at UH. They just hired a bunch of folks from Cleveland Clinic within the past few years. Their neurointensivist Dr. Degeorgia is AWESOME, and he gives a great presentation about Cleveland at interview day.
Cons: Several people made negative remarks about Cleveland Clinic, very offputting. No MS program or docs. I dunno how important that is to most, but it seems like every other program I'm interviewing at has MS people. Residents acted aloof. I can't see myself hanging out with them outside of work. Also, Cleveland isn't the most fun place in the world.

Ohio State:
No VA in town. That's either a pro or con depending who you are. Con for me.
Pros: Strong in Neuromuscular and MS. Chairman is great, and the residents seemed very happy and comfortable. A ton of money is being infused into the department. New EMR and new hospital on the way, as well as a Neuro ICU. Columbus has fun areas for young people to live in it sounds like.
Cons: There was only one stroke doc until very recently. A lot of strokes go to another hospital in town. Much of the new stuff on the way isn't there yet. Hard to find too many cons because every weakness they have they're actively fixing.

Vanderbilt:
Pros: Outstanding, well-rounded program. Strong in every area. Large faculty with diverse interests. Residents seemed very happy and were very friendly. Top notch EMR. Nashville sells itself. They even have a concierge service for you...awesome.
Cons: I couldn't really find any.

Michigan:
Pros: Kind of the Vanderbilt of the north. I think the chair at Vandy came from Michigan. Again, well-rounded program. Residents seemed happy and were very funny. I felt like I could hang out with them outside work. EMR is a home-made system although it sounds like they're switching to Epic soon. Ann Arbor is an elegant town.
Cons: If I had to nitpick, I guess I'd point out that Ann Arbor doesn't have the most diverse patient population, and most indigent folks in the region are going to go to nearby Detroit. They also mentioned that are trying to get some cognitive people but don't have any currently. Also, if you don't like cold weather...

To be fair I think I'd get a solid training at any of the programs above, and I will be ranking all of them because I'd much rather go to any of the programs I mentioned than not match.

 

[baylorfan05]

Just wanted to clear up one point in the last point regarding Michigan. Here is a link to 5 faculty that are devoted to cognitive disorders and have completed training in this.

http://www2.med.umich.edu/healthcen...ice_id=109&um_unit_id=&bannerimg=AATHC_banner

I wish everyone the best of luck ranking and hope you're enjoying the rest of your 4th year!

 

[Quigsta]

Duke - Hospital's undergoing a lot of new construction, including a brand new set of ICUs which I'm sure will be nice. Right now....just lots of construction. Enjoyed the residents. Has the reputation of being malignant and of course, having difficulty filling spots in the past. Definitely got the impression from talking to and interacting with the residents that the malignant classes are graduated (or graduating) and that those there now are a lot more collegial. Residents hang out a lot outside of the hospital, seem to really like each other. Dinner was a lot of fun. No one addressed their difficulty filling. Decent sized program, fairly strong representation of divisions.

UCLA - Hospital is gorgeous and brand new. I really enjoyed the residents. A bunch of PGY2s showed up which always seems like a good sign. They all said uniformly the work incredibly hard - probably the hardest working PGY2s in the country but it was well worth it. They said they pull around the 80/week. It's a huge faculty so it seems hard to get to know everyone - you rotate at a couple of different sites so there's a lot of traveling involved (but also a lot more patient diversity) The interview day itself is a little grueling but program seems top-notch.

 

[typhoonegator]

Washington University in St. Louis - A well oiled machine firing on all cylinders. Gorgeous hospital with amazing facilities. The PD preaches an open-door philosophy and proved it up with sincere friendliness from all faculty and residents. St. Louis is an inexpensive city to live in and the area around the hospital is quite nice. Residents seem intellectual, of diverse backgrounds, happy, friendly, and social. A win program.

University of Chicago - New facilities are in the pipeline, and they need it. Neurology will be moving, but a lot of other departments wont be. Association with such a fantastic university allows for considerable intellectual curiosity. Faculty preach exciting growth and change but I perceived it to be a luke-warm truth. No matter what way you cut it, there is considerable competition in the city for patients, research, faculty etc. so you have to wonder what you're missing with so many other programs nearby. Chicago's awesome, but UofC location is not. Overall a very strong program with friendly, personable, gregarious residents. This is not the maligned program of 5-10 years ago - dramatically improved and moving up.

UMiami - Huge program at a huge hospital that just seems to keep growing. Young PD is very enthusiastic about education. New chair is prominent in the field and brings lots of research and $ with him. The faculty was not only nice but charismatic. Residents were social and fun. The city of Miami is an acquired taste. You dont need to know spanish, but it'd definitely help.

Yale - PD and chair are impressive men from Harvard who have a vision and are quickly making it real. They're intense people who lead by example - they expect a lot of themselves and, thus, those around them. Faculty/expertise is growing, but currently loses patients to nyc and boston programs. Facilities are quite nice, but some advanced ICU functions are still in the pipeline. Residents are friendly and informative. Seem like most are married, but there are good opportunities for all comers. you're close to nyc, but really not that close (100 minutes by train). New Haven is a dump but less so than a decade ago. Yale as an institution is spectacular so interdisciplinary investigations are a real possibility. A very good program soon to be a great one.

 

[Dermologue]

Oooook...We'll see if the silence breaks now.

Here's my contribution/generalized overall vibes:

Temple: Clinically solid, medium-intensity, unique scope of pathology in an urban setting, strong IM department, dedicated neuro ICU, faculty seemed approachable, nice facilities including access to medical school resources (library etc)...The immediate surrounding neighborhood is not nice (read: ghetto), however, I did not see it as being "dangerous"-- as I had gathered from previous year's impressions. If you're from a big city, no biggie, if you're from cookie cutter suburbs, you might be more weary. You could get away with taking the subway (i.e. not buying a car) and living in the city or living in one of the nicer suburbs. They have a good security structure in place with escorts always available. They are also a smaller program and no nightfloat (correct me on this if I'm wrong) so they seem to work fairly hard however not malignant.

Cleveland Clinic: Nicest facility I've ever seen in my life, really friendly faculty that are renown but not at all arrogant, you can pretty much get ANY of their vast variety of fellowships you want, strongly supports opportunities for research, specialty trained neuro ancillary staff that will make your life much easier (not calling you for BS in the middle of the night), cohesive group of residents. I really didn't pick up on a single negative thing about this program itself except maybe geographic location/weather, but that's subjective. Cleveland is actually very diverse and has a number of charming neighborhoods. The drive from the airport to the hospital, however, is very industrial and uninspiring though. Like any big academic program, they do seem to work very hard but overall reasonable. I also thought their IM dept seemed humane. There is some hardcore trash talk/rivalry which seems to be perpetuated by Case Western folks that used to be at Cleveland Clinic. Not sure what they are saying though (just heard this from other applicants that interviewed with Case).

Baylor: The Texas Medical Center is like a little medical city/Disneyland of hospitals. Overall another good academically embellished program with plenty of exposure at numerous hospitals. I did get the vibe they are super busy and a few times one resident repeated, "you do work hard but you'll come out of here being able to handle ANYthing." Lots of academic resources, however, not sure how much time one has to access them given clinical obligations. I don't know if my interview session was very representative though, there were like 20 people being interviewed that day, things seemed really hurried and I don't know if my impression is as accurate as it could be. I will add that I did get the vibe not everyone is on equal footing once AT the interview, that they are clearly open to interviewing a lot of people, but one's place in the rank is perhaps somewhat predetermined depending on the institution that you come from...Someone from last year had the same vibe.

That's all for now.

 

[wildcat11]

I was asked to post this anonymously for someone else. Pretty helpful commentary here.

North Shore-LIJ (new Hofstra) - 7 residents/yr, mix of fmg/do, strong chairman, absent PD, ugly neuro floor, terrible nurses, tons of patients, DO neurosurgery residency shares floor, poor collaboration, lots of private attendings, teaching is a privilege/not the norm. 2 hospitals about 1 mile apart. Residents are exhausted from busy work.

NYMC Westchester - very ugly hospital, mostly FMG residents. The environment just kills it. Most expensive county in america?

Albany - Great residents & faculty, all of whom are in-house (no private docs). Hospital had major renovation and facilities are top notch, esp neuro areas. Area is an issue for many ppl. Mix of albany grads/american grads/do/fmg.

Virginia Commonwealth - The PD is 100% dedicated to teaching his residents, there is overwhelming amount of evaluation and opp to become the best and brightest resident. Richmond is a nice city to live in. 7 residents/year, mix of fmg/do/VCU grads

SUNY Stonybrook - Large hospital, strong on teaching, lots of research opportunities. Good support structure.

Penn State - Friendly environment from PD to residents to nurses, lots of fellowship opp, lots of investment in hospital/expansion/residency/fellowships/new faculty. The location is a big issue for most people I had met.

SUNY Downstate - very heavy on bench research, 2 hospitals across the street from each other, one is disgusting, one is gorgeous. Very strong on teaching. Many residents are MD/PhD, mostly FMG & downstate grads. Terrible location, vast majority of pts are from caribbean.

 

[neurolover2013]

Thomas Jefferson:

Wonderful location, loved Philly the most of almost any city, very nice residents who got along, excellent clinically oriented program, LOTS of time off and flexibility, prob the best in the nation for headache, excellent medical record, residents dont seem overworked

IMO not particularly strong subspecialty representation and research not up to par as compared to other programs but still quite good

USF:

Friendly residents, friendly setting, tampa is a beautiful, clean, peaceful city, moffit cancer center is IMPRESSIVE, excellent for private practice, supportive faculty, residents seemed pretty happy overall

subspecialty presentation/research not up to par with the biggies

Vanderbilt:

i mean for real? limo service all the way, 5 star dinner with live band, southern country lunch buffet, dinner reception....yeah i could get used to this

beautiful hospital in a good setting, the best EMR in the country, growing department with lots of money and growing faculty and divisions, on the rise, residents happy and congenial, lots of elective time and excellent ancillary services, friendly faculty, option to do research track

location great for some but less for others, im more of a big city person so nashville prob isnt for me

Cleveland clinic Florida: small, community based hospital in south florida so location is amazing, very small though, small library, small faculty, only 2 residents/yr, questionable volume load and research opportunities although you can conference with CCF. Excellent if you want private practice and learn best by didactics and small group settings

Duke: the most friendly, happy residents of any place i visited, very beautiful hospital, friendly faculty, excellent subspecialty representation, lots of clinic/elective time, option to do prelim yr at duke, less research than name

that said, not sure if much to do in durham and questionable pt. diversity, no required research

 

[neurolover2013]

Miami: large program with A LOT OF HYPE...if you were interviewing this season, you learned that miami is the hottest thing since sliced bread, lots of $, great case variety, lots of subspecialty representation, very cool residents but be prepared to work your butt off, jackson is a good learning hospital but is pretty ugly...prob the best benefits of any program with regards to travel exp, meals, call, vacation, option to do Clinician researcher program but is limited in capacity and highly competitive, overall clinically rigorous and research is encouraged but it would be hard to realistically do it unless highly motivated, miami is an awesome place to live, point blank

Emory: again, another clinically rigorous program with incredible depth and breadth of patient cases, excellnt research but questionable if realstic to do any while there unless highly motivated, superb subspecialty presentation, friendly residents who admitted to being worked hard but having fun at the same time

not a big fan of atlanta, seems like a cool place but also pretty dangerous, the commute b/w grady and emory hospital was a near deal breaker for me, option to do prelim yr at emory

Baylor: Like Miami, large program, 10/yr...rigorous clinical training, all hospitals in 1 location for your convenience, friendly faculty, def. seems to be on the upswing and no one commented on finanical problems, residents seemed pretty happy overall

excellent subpspecialty representation with required didactics daily with lunch provided along with research/career mentorship and a requirement of 3 research projects...seems like a lot of work but if you need to be told to do things in order to actually get something done, this place is for you

i was worried going into my interview but the combo of city/program was stellar here, def. close to top teir IMO

WashU

impressive as all heck in every possible way, great location in stl, no need for car, cheap housing, friendly residents who were on the older side, many with families, and had a def. research bent, excellent for md/phd....hardcore research institution with balanced clinical training, residents see bread and butter along with once in a lifetime cases, gorgeous hospital, all in one, good elective time (11 mos.), residents didnt seem overworked, friendly faculty, a gem of a program

 

[Jimmy B]

.

 

[truthbetold007]

Watch out for UCLA... like many things in L.A. may seem nice on the surface, but underneath is a different story altogether, and reflects a fairly malignant program at its core.

Program director had to step down recently. A good but somewhat distant department chairman. Administrators less than friendly to current residents. Faculty who largely don't care about resident education. A system that rewards faculty for research prowess rather than educational contribution. Residents treated like a number rather than as human beings with future career potential. Residents leaving program or put on suspension, and disgruntled residents as a result. Residents not getting into fellowship at UCLA. Lack of mentoring/career guidance. Frank and unbridled abuse of jeopardy system. Excessive driving requirements to different sites.

Caveat emptor...

Quote:
Originally Posted by landau
I'm not typically the rah-rah type but I wanted to address recent rumors that UCLA is a malignant program. I think I speak for all the current and past residents in saying that this notion couldn't be further from the truth. It is likely that these rumors originated because 3 residents left the program over the past few years. One left to be closer to her spouse in different city, and two returned to internal medicine residency after they realized late in their training that medicine was their passion.

Many of us came to UCLA because the program is easy going, the residents are happy, and the faculty are approachable. Our program is large enough to afford us a significant amount of elective time and well as limited in house call (only 6 months the entire residency). It's small enough that we are close and enjoy hanging out with each other.

Almost all of our primary call occurs during the PGY2 year. Despite being a current PGY2 I have had ample time to attend dinners, beach parties, and BBQs at the homes/apartments of residents and faculty as well as have numerous free dinners at spots around LA that I won't be able to afford even as an attending. Since I've moved to LA ~7 months ago I've been on weekend trips to Santa Barbara, the Channel Islands, and multiple trips to San Diego, not to mention vacationing in Scandinavia. My wife and I even found time to have our first child since we moved to LA. All in all it's been a productive and enjoyable 7 months, and will only get better as I become a PGY3 soon.

If anyone has any questions about the program and it's pros and cons feel free to email me or any of the residents.

 

[lady lion 11]

Anyone have more recent impressions from this interview season?

 

[pecmaj]

I don't mind starting this up...I will put on a couple and continue to add if others get involved

Cleveland Clinic-like above posters, beautiful facility, a lot of great faculty, top notch fellowships, residents very nice and happy, program is very supportive of research and provides ridiculous academic funding to residents...question is do fellows take much of the control over wards/icu so that senior residents don't have much autonomy (this is something I have heard), may be a better place for fellowship than residency, most of residents in the last couple yrs stayed there for fellowship

UPMC-large institution with tons of resources, neuro program recently recruited icu doc from cincinnati to start neurocritical care, not sure about teaching from faculty (if it is high quality or not) but they seem pretty nice, 3 or so new fellowships beginning in the near future, neuro IR fellowship which is preferential to its own residents from what I understand, PD is very nice, residents pretty cool, seems as though neuro may be one of the weaker programs in a top notch training hospital which basically means it is still above average if not a top program and will continue to improve as critical care grows there, pittsburgh is great city that is very affordable, clean, safe

Ohio St-faculty very friendly and collegial, very nice residents who seem happy, new building with beautiful facilities to be finished in the near future and will make a neuroscience building from the older building (I think), great neuromuscular group, chair is an MS guy and is very well respected and down to earth, planning to grow the program more and considering the resources of the institution should be considered up and coming and will continue to improve in the future, not very diverse or deep in some of the subspecialties but they are working on this

 

[lady lion 11]

Indiana University - A hidden gem, as far as I'm concerned. They just spent $100 million on a brand new Neuroscience center that houses Neurology, Neurosurgery, PM&R, Pysch (and maybe Optho?) plus they have their own scanners downstairs so a patient can just pop down from a clinic appt if they need a follow up CT or something. Residents cover Methodist hospital, consults at University, as well as the VA, Wishard (the county hospital) and call at Riley (the children's hospital) but all the hospitals are within walking distance except for Methodist and it is connected to the others by a really cool Monorail train (think Disneyworld!). The residents seem like an extremely happy bunch, faculty are all nice and approachable. IU has some big names as well (Pascuzzi in Neuromuscular (he's the chairman) and Roos in CNS Infections). They have a HUGE medical school, 300+, so expect to be teaching MSIII and MSIV.

Rush - For my purposes, the best program in Chicago, being that they are very clinically oriented. Those of you looking for a more research oriented program might look at Northwestern, or some of the others (I'm not really familiar with UIC or UC). Beautiful hospital, 8 residents per year, all seemed very nice and your classic hospitable midwestern people. You get some perks like free parking which make a difference in Chicago. I believe they do a night float system (if I remember correctly). All in all, a great program if you want to be in Chicago/big city

Vanderbilt - Just WOW. Was not expecting to be so enamored with them. Super nice faculty and residents. They do a wine and cheese party after the interview so even though I didn't interview with anyone with the same subspecialty interests, I got to meet 2 or 3 faculty afterwards that were. Vandy apparently has a huge International Office and the new program director (Dr. Koons) has spent tons on time in Africa, so if you interested in that sort of thing this program may be for you. Have questionably the best EMR in the country. Nashville may be a plus for some, minus for others. A fairly affordable city to live in if you're interested in buying.

 

[typhoonegator]

Posting for another anonymous user:

Penn-Awesome PD, facilities, residents, top notch education, every sub-speciality is strong for the most part. No downside noticed at all on my interview day. One of the best places I visited. Drawback...Philadelphia is not exactly the ideal place to live.

Partners-Very different from any place I interviewed. Split between Brigham and MGH. Brigham has a very different feel than MGH, and in all honesty, Brigham is awesome. The Chair at MGH is incredible. Obviously has great cases, resident autonomy, resources, research, etc. Has everything a resident could want. The biggest drawbacks for me were the size (17 residents), and it felt awkward having 2 separate chair's and felt divided between the two hospitals. Also, if I remember right they have different medical records and ordering systems but that may be wrong. Other big drawback was the video lunch conference. Clapping into the microphone when you're at the Brigham? Not what I pictured for learning. I think there is something to be said about face to face discussion. Overall, really cool program with some awesome faculty and resources that will appeal to some but not others based on the structure. Location is great, especially Beacon Hill.

Wash U-Strong is every area of neurology, massive hospital with great neuro floor, neuro step down, epilepsy monitoring unit, neuro ICU (pet/mri in there). PD and Chair are awesome and one of the best aspects of the program (after all the interviews, I remembered this most). Residents looked very happy and friendly. There are extensive resources, tons of research and opportunities for research, every fellowship,etc. If you're into neuroimaging, Mallinckrodt is second to none. Only top program I visited that was in a more suburban location and in/next to a very nice neighborhood (forest park/cwe/clayton). Cons-very basic science heavy and interview day tended to focus on research and not the clinical strengths.

Hopkins-Just the history of this place is amazing. Residents are friendly and the PD's are both awesome as is the chair. Tons of research, every fellowship, global health, new hospital (minus the white streaks that look like tape on the windows), education structure and discussions are superb. EMR. Drawback-one word, location.

Columbia-Residents appeared happy, one of the best interview dinners I went on. PD is very friendly and personable. The morning report they have is great and if you really get to chill on leather couches and talk about cases while looking at MRI on the drop down screen then I would go just for that. Tons of research, great cases, every fellowship, etc. Drawbacks-if you speak spanish that is a huge plus given the location in Manhattan, and the location itself as you will be broke and without car. Overall, was very impressed.

Cornell-Great residents that appeared happy, beautiful hospital, best area of Manhattan. Smaller faculty base, less research, less cases when comparing to the above programs. Tons of time at MSK which is a plus or minus depending on your interests. Morning conference was awkward with a feel of a formal faculty vs residents and not very open to discussion. Interviewers seemed disinterested. Drawback-depending on your interests, not in the same league as the above programs but probably a great place to train overall. Location for some, again you will be broke.

Mayo-The dedication to education was very obvious from the beginning. Lots of bedside teaching, case discussion, struck me as a very friendly place. Everyone on the teams when I went on rounds was asking questions, the attendings loved to discuss the interesting findings, etc. Extensive resources, research, fellowship training. Drawback-too much lecture? location is isolated.

Rochester-PD is famous and the best I met on the interview trail. Residents were very nice and happy as were the faculty. Extensive number of faculty and research. Strong in about every area of neurology, every fellowship available. I was very impressed with this program and thought it was absolutely on par with other top programs. Went there not expecting too much, left very impressed. Drawback-under-rated?

BIDMC-Very different from Partner's. The facilities are great, most of the faculty were very nice as were most residents. I can't remember if they had a full EMR. The noon-conference was great and the chair led it, with lots of med student interaction. Drawbacks were that it just didn't have the overall magnitude that I saw with other programs. When compared to other programs there were less fellowship opportunities and sub-speciality representation, and there was a feeling of trying to make up for something not there. Just my interview day impression. Overall, great program in a cool area, not exactly up to the level of other programs based on education, strength in neuro sub-specialities, fellowships, research, etc. Yes, they are part of the insane Harvard system but when you visit Partner's this will make more sense.

Vanderbilt-Great faculty and PD, great resources, residents looked happy. Lots of research, appeared to be a good case load. Particularly strong in movement disorders. Hospital is very nice and the location is superb if you haven't been to Nashville it is a very fun city. The hospital is situated basically on the undergrad campus. Drawback-overall not as strong as the top tier programs as measured by fellowships, going on to academic career, etc. Overall, very impressive program.

Yale-was told by my PD that it might not be what I was thinking based on the name but wanted to keep an open mind. Went very excited, there is some great history there and some great faculty as well. The chair was cold and not personable, and the PD was nice but just didn't stand-out. Residents were mixed, with some looking happy and others not. Morning report was a dud. The hospital itself is not in the same league as MGH/Brigham/Penn/Wash U/Hopkins and there were not nearly as many fellowship or research opportunities, and the sub-specialities of neuro were not as strong when you compare to other programs. Maybe it was just the interview day but disappointing overall. Drawback-as above, New Haven (except for the pizza)

Dartmouth-Beautiful hospital, friendly faculty, happy residents. Just not as much research, fellowship opportunity, etc. One of the best places I visited, and one of the friendliest environments to train in. Location is amazing if you can get used to groceries at the Co-op. Only 3 residents per year is a bit too small. Drawback-not as research heavy? isolated location for some

 

[pecmaj]

Penn: thought I would add my opinion
-new Chair since about 6 months ago who came from Partners (I think), wants to expand coverage of residents to Presby which will increase work for residents, told me she wants people who learn on their own and are "self-starters" as there will be a lot of change coming in the near future (can be seen as a positive or a negative)
-residents said they work very hard but overall seemed pretty happy
-new ICU in presby will allow for more experiences in ICU
-lost some faculty when last chair left and still replacing them according to chair, still represents subspecialties well
-will try to increase program by about 2 in near future
Overall you will get good training and good research opportunities, Philly is cheaper for a big city but definitely more expensive than the midwest/southeast, and if you want to live in the safer, more desirable areas you will definitely pay for it. They have some well known faculty but I did not love the PD.

BIDMC-agree with above poster as there is definitely contrast between here and Partners, wanted to add that the neuro ICU is very small as their neurosurgery residency had issues (lost a bunch of neurosurgeons a few yrs back and I believe they just restarted it after not taking residents for a few years but I could be wrong) and now they are just starting to bring in neurology-trained neurointensivists but they do okay with critical care fellowships and you can set up rotations at MGH/BWH if you want to, can also take advantage of resources in the neurosciences at Harvard with research opportunities, faculty seem very supportive and teaching/didactics are well structured, not in the same league as the top programs but will get a good education

Partners-the best neuro program around in my opinion...many of their graduates are chairs of depts across the country. only drawback is 2 different hospitals and going between them and boston is expensive

Yale-Agree with above poster in all aspects, especially about New Haven as a drawback!