Interview Impressions 2016-2017

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Please post your Neurology Residency interview impressions in this thread, in whatever format you would like.

Non-constructive bashing will not be tolerated, but thoughtful criticism is very appropriate.

No one actually cares, but if you have a fear of Big Brother, you can send your comments to me and I can cut and paste them into the thread anonymously.

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If nobody else has the 'nads for it, I'll start. If there's one thing that appears to be lacking in our generation of Asclepian acolytes it is courage!

General Advice for Neurology Interviews:

The bar for "bad interview" in neurology is so low that a faculty member who keeps a poker face and asks standard interview questions is considered "tough." Ask personal questions rather than facts about the program - the former build rapport, the latter are annoying. Learn to breathe with your diaphragm and improve vagal tone. The worst dinner I sat through (great food though) involved one guy grilling the residents non-stop on program characteristics. Don't be that guy.

My advice is DO NOT OVER-APPLY OR OVER-INTERVIEW! I know you're scared. We're all scared. It's the human condition. Why do you think I put on this tough guy facade? We've been conditioned through school and our immigrant upbringing to play it safe. I know everyone else is doing it and defecting in a Prisoner's Dilemma makes sense, but it's not the advantage you imagine, and it's onerous for programs and other applicants, especially those with lower scores (but they'd make terrible doctors anyway because answering MC questions is such a critical therapeutic skill). I applied to 13 programs, invited to 6, cancelled 1. You get mad respect when you tell the PD that you refuse to play the game.

So in no particular order, let's begin:

Medical University of South Carolina

MUSC Dinner and Locale: “Is it the cobblestone streets? The colorful, historic row homes? The fantastic food? Whatever it is, Charleston’s got everyone thoroughly charmed once again.” – Condé Nast Traveler
I really can't add anything about the city. Everything is as described in the tourist brochures. Downtown is ritzy; the beaches are close. Take time to explore the city before or after the interview. This looks good to the program and is easy to do if you didn't over-extend yourself (vide supra). Take a relaxing walk on the ocean-front promenade at least. They give you a discount rate for a boutique hotel on the main commercial thoroughfare; you can find something cheaper further away, but I don't recommend this.

Dinner was in a fabulous French restaurant. Nota bene - they keep refilling your wine glass so by the time you stand up to schlep back to the hotel, make sure someone is relatively sober in your group. Many of the residents came out to chat. Very diverse crowd with all kinds of academic and professional interests.

MUSC Program & Interview: The hospital is within schlepping-distance of downtown. It is a large, multi-block complex of buildings in various states of renovation and includes all the nursing, dentistry, and pharm schools as well. Some of the facilities are a bit worn and cramped while others are shiny and new (like the cards tower, of course!). The hospital is by far the biggest baddest dog in the state and beyond - the catchment area is vast. Being in the heart of the stroke belt means that stroke is king here (along with intensive care and interventional), but other sub-specialties are also well-represented including neurobehavioral (paralleling the strong psych program and one of the few extant neuro-psych residencies). Conversely, MS is weaker but residents interested in the area have had no trouble getting experience and support.

The PD is new, young and dynamic and very focused on education. The program just went through a huge hiring spree. The chairman has been there for 4 years and seems like a savvy guy with good PR skills; he's well known and well-published in the field of stroke. He also highlighted the international training opportunities for residents in the program. Interviews included faculty and residents. The PA is a lovely woman who makes you feel very welcome and seems to a have a great personal rapport and concern for all the residents. Lot's of cool research going on if that's your jam. The overall vibe is an odd but pleasant combination of international cosmopolitanism with the social and aesthetic qualities of American Southern culture (a la W. J. Cash's classic psychosocial treatise The Mind of the South).

Rumor Mill: One trusted source reports encountering a doctor (no lightweight apparently) who left neuro for IM because it was so overwhelming and had difficulty integrating with the neuro residents. Counter to this, another trusted source reports that claims of overwork are exaggerated and that some people are just whiny and that the program is well-run and being further improved. Interviewees are encouraged to perform their own due diligence, especially if they have no conception of how much OR specialties work in comparison.

That about sums up my experience of MUSC, and I'll add other impressions soon. Thank you for your consideration and good luck.
 
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Thanks for stepping up to the plate medreckoning. I'll be more than happy to add some of mine in a few days, although I doubt they will be as well written or organized as yours! I was also wondering if anyone who interviewed at any of the Chicago area programs would be willing to provide their thoughts on the program/their interview day. Thanks guys! We're almost to the end :)
 
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Cleveland Clinic:

Cleveland Dinner and Locale: The program puts you up in a brand new Holiday Inn Express right on the campus. Getting there is easy via light rail and a very short Uber ride. Don't be fooled though, the hotel is actually beautiful and spacious with a hip modern vibe and a bustling downstairs bar. In your room, instead of a Gideon Bible, you'll find a copy of a book outlining the Cleveland Clinic CEO's vision for better healthcare.

Dinner was at a great Italian restaurant. It was a large interview group so we were taken to and from dinner by party bus. The residents are a boisterous, straight-talking, Midwestern-acting bunch with a notably skewed male:female ratio - lot's of women. They are well-supported by the program which responds promptly to feedback. Very diverse patient pool, lots of interesting cases from all over the world, although one resident did complain forcefully and eloquently of cultural conflicts vis-à-vis le Proche-Orient - wouldn't affect me though.

Cleveland has really changed since I saw it last - it's not quite Pittsburgh yet, but (according to a fellow interviewee) evolving towards that within the next decade. Population has stabilized. Downtown is gentrifying and developing. Many famous chefs open high-risk passion projects in the city due to low start-up costs. Rent is cheap. Overall, except for the terrible winter weather, it was a pleasant surprise. Yeah, there's a heroin problem - better than crack though. The city is certainly no worse than Chicago or many of New England's lamer settlements.

Cleveland Clinic Program & Interview: Wow. THIS is a hospital - beautiful artwork on the walls, live music in the atrium, cosmopolitan patients and physicians milling about in the wide, shiny corridors. The whole complex takes up many blocks and is completely connected by spacious walkways. Construction doesn't stop - clearly they have lots of money. People talk about how you want to live in a place where you can enjoy the little time that you have off during residency, but why not go to a place where you can enjoy being at work? They have an experimental 7T MRI! That's almost half as many Teslas as are necessary to levitate a frog (and more than enough to give subjects gut-spilling vertigo)! Did they mention all their great insurance policies? How about interest-free down-payment on a home purchase? Strict electronic hour logging? Social events for family and spouses? Kosher/halal kitchen? You can take additional paid call instead of moonlighting - it's a sweet deal.

Maybe I'm just too much of a man's man, or an introvert, or I've lived in the South for too long, or was just having an off day, but I didn't like the vibe as much as at other places I interviewed. The program seems to have a strong esprit de corps, but the loudest residents seemed too defensive (don't even dare to mention Mayo) and hard-selling. Most of the residents are from the region, so this is either a program choice or perhaps they have trouble recruiting nationally, but I can't understand why given the scope and awesome opportunities of the program.

Faculty = awesome. The PD was a very nice, warm, maternal woman. Attendings seem brave, being open to exciting and unconventional clinical methods. They definitely wanted to know "Why Cleveland?" so have good stories and specific reasons and don't over-apply(!!). Great pioneering work in neurology and other specialties has come out of here, but it's a group practice, after all, and I had a great conversation with the assistant PD where she openly discussed the importance of taking initiative to seek out mentorship in larger programs such as this (implying that one can get lost in the shuffle). The chair seemed inscrutable and a bit quirky, but I'm told he's a brilliant clinician and bedside teacher, and I would expect nothing less. Journal club meets at the homes of faculty. The corporate environment and exclusive air makes for a collegial work environment across and within all departments, although cardiology seems to take a preeminent role. Everything is strong. There are no weaknesses. Fellowship offerings have grown substantially and almost everything is covered, and they recruit internally.

Rumor Mill: Something about Case Western muscling in on the Arab health-tourism business and having headhunted some stroke faculty in the last few years - let the big wigs worry about that one. Overall the relationship seems quite competitive between the two hospitals though. Cleveland Clinic Neurology is a big program in what is basically a ritzy community hospital that also does massive practical clinical research. They will test you for cotinine as part of your employment contract, so no more weekend hookah. Those 7 Teslas tho...:love::vomit:
 
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Tulane: The new community hospital is very pretty. The VA looks even better from outside (not open for business yet). Interviewed by both faculty and residents. A very friendly program, good camaraderie. There is no dedicated neuro-beds.
Allegheny general hospital: very cool to work in a historic building. The entrance looks like a huge church. Interviewed by 4 neurology faculty at the same time (but no pressure at all) and one IM faculty separately. I think this is a more efficient way to conduct interviews. It is a very busy program. Residents only rotate in the main hospital.
Loma Linda: The hospital is very pretty and same as the view. Great camaraderie in the program. PD very friendly. Residents look very happy. No dedicated neuro-beds?
SUNY: very busy program. If you graduate from there, you can flourish anywhere in the country. Very dedicated to education. Put more emphasis on research than other programs.
 
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Here are some brief thoughts I had about the programs at which I interviewed. Hopefully it helps some of you in your decision making. Of course, I suggest taking it all with a grain of salt since I am just a random woman from the internet to you... Let me preface this by saying that I enjoyed almost all of my interview trips, and I think these programs have mostly strengths and very few weaknesses. I think any of these programs could be the best for you and your life situation. In no particular order...

Cornell
Pros / general facts:
Upper east side in Manhattan. This creates a more affluent patient population, but it is an umbrella hospital that still pulls in very sick patients from a larger geographical location. The program leadership was very nice, particularly the program director, Dr. Isaacson, Dr. Safdieh, and Dr. Iadecola. I think a major strength of this program is its connection to Memorial Sloan Kettering. If you are interested in Neurooncology, this would be likely be a great program for you. They spend up to 25% of there time there.
Cons: smaller research infrastructure than some other programs. No R25 program. Upper east side, potentially.


Johns Hopkins
Pros / general facts:
Baltimore, BIG name in medicine. Dr. Llinas, Dr. Venkatesan, and the rest of the leadership are passionate about educating and patient care. This program is very academic. They expect you to become an academic neurologist and to do research. They have a HUGE neuromuscular division (~30 faculty). Very strong neuro-immunology. Child Neuro is really great here (Dr. Crawford, etc.). It had a really impressive grand rounds on my interview day.
Cons: Baltimore


Columbia
Pros / general facts:
It may be the top program for academic neurology in the country, depending on your tastes. It has the trifecta of excellent clinical experience, mega-funding for basic science research (Kavli institute, etc.), and premier location in a vibrant city. Located at NY Presbyterian in Washington Heights (168th street), which is a much cheaper than other places to live in NYC. Distinguished faculty all over the place, Nobel Prize winners, etc. The residents were very driven and intelligent, yet friendly. Excellent stroke and ICU programs. Excellent dementia center. Strong in all subspecialties (true breadth and depth). They have a dedicated 5th year chief resident that helps runs the residency, and this seems like a major bonus. Dr. Ford, the program director, won best program director in the country a few years ago. They recently hired a lot of young, energetic faculty that love to teach. Really, a very impressive institution that deserves its great reputation.
Cons: Very demanding.


UT Houston
Pros / general facts:
In the heart of the biggest medical center in the world. Diverse city with great food, cheap rent. I believe it has the highest number of stroke patients in the country. The Neuro ICU is spacious, high volume, with distinguished attendings. The real draw to this program is the new Chair Dr. McCullough. She seems like a fantastic mentor, stroke doctor, and researcher that will help you reach your goals. This program rose ~25 spots in recent US news rankings and will likely continue to rise. The facilities and resources are top-notch. Definitely a program on the rise.
Cons: Prestige is slower to rise.


UCLA
Pros / general facts:
Westwood, Los Angeles, but you also train at VA and UCLA Olive View up in the valley. A very strong reputation in Neurology. Great Stroke and ICU centers. A lot of funding for basic science research. The residents seemed more “easy-going” than in many top programs. The faculty also shared this trait. Work/life balance is important here. There is a new chair in Dr. Carmichael that has a very strong reputation in vascular neurology. The weather is always perfect!
Cons: Lower patient volume than at some other top programs.


UCSF
Pros / general facts:
San Francisco, 9 categorical and 1 advanced positions. San Francisco is a beautiful city in a small space. Training is at Moffitt, Benioff, SFGH, VA. Strong research and clinical training. Good stroke and ICU programs. Have some nice, supportive things like a Neuro bootcamp to help residents get up to speed. MD/PhD heavy.
Cons: Cost of living is… unreasonable.


Beth Israel
Pros / general facts:
Boston, Harvard name. It has a reputation as a “nice” and supportive program. It is much smaller than the massive Partners program nearby, but this seems to create a much more cohesive residency group. It is connected to Boston Children’s Hospital. You have all the research opportunities of BCH, Dana Farber and BIDMC at your fingertips. The chair and the rest of the faculty are VERY dedicated to teaching. BIDMC is known as the best teaching hospital for Harvard med students among the 3 hospitals in Boston.
Cons: Slight overshadow from Partner’s program.


Partners
Pros / general facts:
Boston, Harvard name. A huge program of 18 residents per year. Very strong research opportunities. You get the Brigham and MGH. Clinically demanding! A lot of driven residents from Harvard, Columbia, and the like. Very strong in many clinical areas. Cutting edge technology and resources.
Cons: Competitive personalities, seems hard to find mentorship that is invested in your success. Less cohesive resident group.


NYU
Pros / general facts:
Associated with Bellevue Hospital, Tisch, and the VA. This program used to be down and out 4-5 years ago, but it appears to be on the rise with a new chairman and young and energetic program leadership. Bellevue seems chaotic, but the history of this hospital is amazing. The residents were some of the most fun at interview dinner.
Cons: The research and clinical programs have notoriously been at odds with each other. Cost of living is high.
 
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I am from WV, so I naturally gravitated towards more medium-sized programs (with some exceptions):

Univ. of Kentucky
Pros/General Facts
: This program was such a pleasant surprise. All of the hospitals are connected together via underground tunnels, and the university is within close vicinity of the hospitals. The PD, Dr. Smith, is dedicated to cultivating well-rounded neurologists. UK offers one of the largest brain banks in the country, as well. The residents were amiable and seemed happy to be there. Cost of living is low, and Lexington offers a cultured environment without the big city hustle. This is indeed one of the strongest, well-rounded programs that I encountered along the interview trail. Research is promoted, but residents are not strong-armed into doing it.
Cons: There really are none, unless one prefers larger cities

West Virginia University
Pros/General Facts
: Ruby Memorial Hospital is the flagship hospital of the state. The residents are happy and attain good fellowships. There are no fellowships at the moment, but it is my understanding that headache, neurophysiology, and vascular will be available in the future. Many outdoor activities are available in and around the Morgantown area.
Cons: Not every subspecialty is represented here. Morgantown's infrastructure and cost of living are something to be desired.

Penn State
Pros/General Facts:
If you combine a small-town feel with a great residency program, this is the place for you. Dr. Lowden, the PD and Penn State alumnus, is enthusiastic and flexible in allowing residents to pursue their passions. There is neurology exposure as a PGY1, including a shadowing experience of the neurology residents at their continuity clinic to get a feel for how it runs. Penn State serves the majority of central PA, giving it a huge catchment area. It is also located near Harrisburg, the state capital, offering a more metropolitan atmosphere if desired. The hospital itself is beautiful. You also get exposure to the Amish population, which I found fascinating. All subspecialties represented to my knowledge.
Cons: Not located near Penn State University, but I am not sure if that is really a con or not. Research is still widely available within the Hershey campus.

Univ. of Louisville
Pros/General Facts
: To begin, Louisville is a gorgeous city and has many unique restaurants for gourmands. The faculty and staff are nice and deeply passionate about the residents. Residents are split between 2 major hospitals. There is at least 1 faculty member per subspecialty. Reasonable cost of living. The PD and Chair are beginning to make major changes to this program so that it can be on par with the other great residencies offered at U of L.
Cons: Only 3 residents per year made me rank this program lower: the residents appeared overworked because of this (i.e. having to be on call during elective time). They are planning to expand the residents to 5 within the next few years, however.

The Ohio State Univ.
Pros/General Facts
: Columbus is an amazing city with lots to do, including the best ice cream that has ever graced by taste receptors (i.e. Graeter's ice cream, although I take it that Graeter's originated in Indiana). Dr. Hoyle has become the new PD, and his love for education was palpable during the interview. The hospital at OSU was perhaps my favorite one along the interview trail. The view on the 21st floor was breath-taking. Many of the residents attended the pre-interview dinner, including the interns, so I got to meet many residents at various PGY levels. The hospital is right on the OSU campus, which makes it a busy place, but one also has access to the university's plethora of academic facilities in case you pursue a research project there. Good cost of living.
Cons: None that I could see.

I hope to add more later on.
 
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Northwestern
Program Director – charismatic, strong interest in research
Schedule – Front-loaded
Prelim-spot – For 6 out of 8 (usually a non-issue)
Research emphasis – Strong
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, excellent programs
Hospital ranking – 8
City – Amazing
Salary – $55-64
Vacation – 4 + 1 for educational conferences
Special attractions – Rehab Center of Chicago, supervised junior call, Medical Educator curriculum
Negatives - Expensive, COLD, no exposure to Cook County


Utah
Program Director – very enthusiastic
Schedule – Front-loaded
Pre-lim spot – Guaranteed
Research emphasis – Required
Fellowship %/placement – 75%, mostly regional, but a few top tier
Hospital ranking – top ranked for overall patient safety
City – average
Salary – $55-62
Vacation – 4 weeks
Special attractions - international elective w/ infectious tropical disease focus (Kenya/Ghana)
Negatives – SLC, Mormonism, isolated

Colorado
Program director – extremely nice and supportive. Gets things done on behalf of residents. But has a tic
Schedule – Front-loaded
Pre-lim spot – Guaranteed (7 total)
Research emphasis – Strong emphasis
Fellowship%/placement – mostly at U Colorado, but some elite programs every year
Hospital ranking – 20
City – superb, but out there
Salary - $52-61
Vacation – 3 + 1 for educational leave
Special attractions – neuro-ID fellowship, MSU, LeadR curriculum
Negatives – Far away, overall academic reputation

Miami
Program Director: President-elect of AAN. Ambitious and supportive.
Schedule – Front-loaded
Pre-lim spot - (8/11); 4 + 2 + 2 (ambulatory/research); 6-8 wks neuro in-pt + stroke, 6 wks ambulatory, 6 wks of night-float; can do research elective (also includes didactics – how to write grants, etc.
Research – unlimited potential, no requirement except an abstract
Fellowship/placement – Almost 100%, amazing placement
Hospital ranking – 42 for neurology
City – Amazing, language barrier
Salary – $52-58
Vacation – 4 weeks
Special attractions – Neuro-trauma, neuro-interventionalist training, Good Morning America elective, research track, NMDA/CBD trial for concussions, Brain endowment bank (1 of 6)
Negatives – expensive city, Spanish-speaking

Tulane

Program Director: Not very enthusiastic
Schedule – Front-loaded
Pre-lim spot – guaranteed
Research – Almost non-existent, some potential with Dr. Digs
Fellowship/placement – not bad, neuro-optho placement at Bascom-Palmer this past year
Hospital ranking – NR
City – NOLA, nuff said
Salary – $48-53
Special attractions – None
Negatives – small department, not as academically recognized as others

Emory
Program Director - On the way out, but says he is still heavily involved
Schedule – Front-loaded, but provides time for outpatient in PGY-2 year
Pre-lim spot – Guaranteed for all 8 (4 pre-lim, 4 transitional) – DO NOT HAVE TO DO
Research – Superior, clinical-researcher track if desired
Fellowship/placement – anywhere you want really
Hospital ranking – 15
City – ATL, nuff said
Salary - $55-62
Vacation – 4 weeks
Special attractions – Grady training, neuro-interventional suite, CDC
Negatives – Program director transitioning out

GWU

Program Director – Very supportive, emphasis on teaching
Schedule – Front-loaded – 1 resident for each stroke, epilepsy, and consult
Pre-lim spot – not guaranteed
Research – weak
Fellowship/placement – Very good considering ranking; chairmen willing to make calls
Hospital ranking – NR
City – DC – expensive, but close to home
Salary - $56-64
Vacation -
Special attractions – relationship to NIH, growing department
Negatives – no neuro ICU service/attending, small department (4 residents)

Pittsburgh

Program Director- very nice, elderly man (probably on his way out, replacement much more dynamic)
Schedule – NOT front-loaded, time for electives in PGY-2 year, inpatient rotations in 4th year
Pre-lim spot – guaranteed
Research – very strong
Fellowship/placement – a lot at UPitt but excellent overall
Hospital ranking – 19
City – Progressive, UPMC is head honcho, 4 hr from DC, 7 from NYC not that expensive
Salary - $56-62
Vacation -
Special attractions – VERY STRONG IN STROKE, direct path to neuro-interventional, medium-sized program (7 spots), established moonlighting system
Negatives – weak in cognitive, but getting stronger

Thomas Jefferson

Program Director – chillest guy on interview tour, huge resident advocate, not going anywhere
Schedule – Heavy PGY-2 year but with 9 elective months built into 2nd and 3rd years
Pre-lim spot – newly guaranteed
Research – dwarfed by Penn but required for residents, chairman is huge advocate
Fellowship/placement – Heavy at Jefferson, close to 100%, chair willing to make calls
Hospital ranking – 24
City – Philly – very accessible, not as expensive as NYC/BOS, City Center is fantastic
Salary –
Vacation – 4 weeks + 1 holiday week
Special attractions – Stand-alone hospital, 4+2 intern year
Negatives – not top ranked hospital, competing w/ Penn, not a lot of national placement, neuro-interventional is run by neurosurgery, residents not that impressive during morning report

Mayo Jacksonville

Program Director – frat bro-style, EMG specialist, relatively nice
Schedule – heavy PGY-2, but neuro electives last 2 months of intern year, neuro intro course in beginning of PGY-2 year, clinical neurophysiology course in 2 months of PGY-3 year; clinical load lightens heavily in PGY-3 year; outpatient elective time in PGY-2 year
Pre-lim spot – guaranteed
Research – up to residents, can do a lot if you want
Fellowship/placement – Lot at Mayo Jax, opportunities to go else where (UMIch – sleep, WashU – stroke, Rochester – epilepsy, MGH – stroke, etc.)
Hospital ranking –
City – Jacksonville has nice beaches, a bit isolated
Salary - $53-60
Vacation – 15 calendar days, cannot take during inpatient, wknds not counted as vacation days
Special attractions – place to live, neuropath course/brain bank, can do electives in Rochester, international electives, neurophys course where call minimal and can learn EMG/NCS, neuro-critical care elective, Mayo will pay for 1 research trip per year, 10 presentation days allotted, can participate in admin committees, can teach MCR 3rd years and Dartmouth 4th years, call is 3 PM – 7 AM with morning of and entire post-call day off
Negatives – no stroke fellowship, lots of IMGs/DOs, only 3 weeks of vacation, only 4 residents

Boston University

Program Director – 20-year veteran, can place you wherever you want to go, huge advocate
Schedule – Front-loaded
Prelim-spot – 6/6 guaranteed, but not required, can apply to it without neuro
Research emphasis – Strong, has own research symposium, access to Framingham Heart Study
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, excellent programs
Hospital ranking – NR
City – Amazing but expensive
Salary – $60-68
Vacation – 4 + 1 for educational conferences
Special attractions – BMC is safety-net hospital of city, can place into pharma, can go wherever you want after, has a stroke fellowship outside of the match, charismatic prelim director, lot of VA exposure, strong global health initiative, neuro-rehab fellowship
Negatives – Expensive, not top dog in city, didactics not spread out (every Tuesday all day), currently no chair

New York University

Program Director – Very young, but enthusiastic and committed to residents, chairman/vice-chair very supportive
Schedule – Front-loaded, but elective time on PGY-2 year; 12-14 24-hr call as N2; ½ of wknds off completely, has night float (~4 wks)
Prelim-spot – 11/11 guaranteed, but not required, 4+2
Research emphasis – Very strong
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, excellent programs
Hospital ranking – 7
City – Amazing but expensive
Salary – $62-71
Vacation – 4
Special attractions – top-ranked program, lots of money pouring in, growing department, neuro-IR fellowship, Parkinson’s disease home visits program
Negatives – Expensive, not top dog in city, Bellevue can be tough, limited NYU housing

Tufts Medical Center

Program Director – Did not meet, they didn’t set up interview; vice-chair Sabin is a boss
Schedule – Front-loaded with 8 wks Tufts in-patient, 12 weeks Lahey, not very flexible, 10 weeks night float w/ 24-hr call on Friday, outpatient 2 wks PGY-2 year, very little in-pt PGY-3 year, 20 weeks ward senior as PGY-4
Prelim-spot – 3 at St. Elizabeth’s (preferred) and 2 at Lahey so 5/5 guaranteed
Research emphasis – Very little, strong clinical emphasis
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, excellent programs (Mayo, MGH, UCSF, etc.)
Hospital ranking – NR
City – Amazing but expensive
Salary –
Vacation – 4
Special attractions – Spend lots of time at Lahey which is more community-based, does have INR fellowship, residents can join as co-investigators on clinical trials, week of boot camp before PGY-2 year, connection to Dr. Leung, Sabin rounds are fun
Negatives – Only 4-5 residents, lots of DOs/IMGs, did not meet program director

Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Program Director – very east to talk to, supportive, huge advocate
Schedule – Front-loaded
Prelim-spot – Guaranteed, can apply to it separately
Research emphasis – Not as strong as some on list, would need to access Mount Sinai uptown
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, excellent programs
Hospital ranking – NR, will be moving into new facility in 2020
City – Amazing but expensive
Salary –
Vacation – 4
Special attractions – Guaranteed subsidized housing, located in East Village
Negatives – Not main Mount Sinai, small group of residents per class

Rush

Program Director – one of nicest people on the trail, very supportive, editor-in-chief of Continuum
Schedule – Front-loaded, 2 week blocks, 6 weeks nightfloat during PGY-2 (none beyond that)
Prelim-spot – 8/8 guaranteed but not required
Research emphasis – more emphasis on clinical, requirement to do one project, weaker on basic science
Fellowship %/placement – almost 100%, many at Rush/NW/mid-west; can theoretically go anywhere
Hospital ranking – 13
City – Amazing, but located in somewhat of a shady neighborhood
Salary – $53-61
Vacation – 4
Special attractions – Zambia elective where you can help set up residency program, daily noon conferences w/ lunch provided, Cook County exposure for ~20% of residency, can teach medical students (M1 and M3), 2 vascular fellowships/year, 4 NCC fellowships/yr, telestroke/MSU
Negatives - Expensive, COLD, not in best part of Chicago, lots of local fellowship placement
 
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As promised, I'm going to toss a few into this list. One has already been talked about but never hurts to have more than one perspective. I want to preface this like many others did above and say not too take anything i say too seriously given that i'm just another one of you all and that most programs are remarkably similar with a ton of strengths and very few weaknesses. also going to copy the style someone used last year (?) so shout out to neurologyguy for being awesome.

Duke University: (6 advanced/guaranteed prelim spots)

City: Didn't get to spend a ton of time here unfortunately so can't comment a lot about this. for what it's worth, heard from other applicants on the trail in both neuro and other specialties that the RDU area is an awesome place to live.
Residents: see above. the residents that I did get the opportunity to interact with were clearly very happy with their choice and an outgoing/fun group of people. seems like an almost 50/50 split on staying versus going elsewhere for fellowship training but think that all of the current PGY4s were going onto fellowships (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).
Hospital: pretty close to the undergrad campus (if that appeals to you, like it does to me). the new critical care/medical pavilion where the neurocrit care unit is is pretty amazing. also able to rotate at Durham VAMC as well as a community hospital in the area so felt this allowed for great exposure to multiple settings/patient populations.
Faculty: liked the PD although maybe felt he was a little less "warm and fuzzy" than a few other I had met on the trail. not a bad thing in anyway. just a little more take responsibility for your goals kind of guy. felt the aPD was a great balance to the PD and that overall they created a great working environment for their residents. also a heads up to future applicants, this was one of the only places that i felt truly utilized more of a "behavioral interview" type approach with at least one of the interviewers. just be prepared to think on your feet and you'll be fine.
Program: clearly very strong with a ton of subspecialty representation. while research is clearly available everywhere and anywhere to residents, the focus clearly is on producing strong clinical neurologists -- which creates a nice well-rounded experience. also one of the few programs that focuses on provided elective opportunities early on to residents (ie PGY2s) -- up to 11.5 weeks PGY2 year. the result of this is having to work night float (very limitedly) and fewer elective time as a PGY4 however so depending on what your career goals are keep this in mind. also of note recently decided to implement "resident tracks" as a more formal option for people interest in education, research, administration, or specific subspecialties.


Northwestern University: (8 advanced/6 guaranteed prelim)

City:
Chicago is an awesome city to live in with a ton of great food and nightlife options. The campus is specifically located in a very expensive/nice part of downtown near luxury stores which makes for a beautiful setting; however does mean that living nearby is obviously going to potentially more expensive than at the other Chicago programs.
Residents: Clearly very nice group of people who seemed happy and not overworked. most of residents did their PGY1 year here with only exceptions those who really wanted to do intern training elsewhere for whatever personal reasons. majority of last years PGY4s chose to stay for fellowship training but that seemed to be more related to preference than anything else. (ie those that did leave went to UCSF and U of C).
Hospital: Very very nice facilities that are seemed pretty new/updated throughout the hospital. tons of food opportunities/restaurants in the hospital as opposed to just a cafeteria which is a random cool perk. rotate at main hospital mainly but can have continuity clinic at either main hospital or VA clinic -- randomly assigned.
Faculty: PD is combined sleep/movement disorder specialist which is pretty cool and unique. Very charismatic and younger guy who seems very in-tune with his residents and their preferences. seems to be a very good advocate for them and willing to have program structured however the residents prefer so long as its feasible.
Program: while clinical training is definitely a priority felt there was more of a research focus here/presence here than at other places I interviewed -- which makes sense given how much NIH funding they receive. multitude of fellowship opportunities available and probably the most diverse/well-rounded of the chicago programs. definitely still pretty front-loaded with really only 1 somewhat elective block at subspecialty elective clinics during PGY2. Given the flexibility of the program can opt to "trade" elective time from PGY4 year to PGY3 to get experience in specific areas prior to fellowship apps. notable changes include instituting a 2 person night float (wanted by residents) to make that shift more manageable which will obviously result in a little more night float time. additionally incorporating education training as a mandatory part of residency program to give residents more formal training in this area.
 
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The information above from rr89 and jellybee517 is excellent. I have a lot of the same schools so I will try not to repeat the same information.

Northwestern University:
(8 advanced/6 guaranteed prelim)

City:
Northwestern Memorial Hospital is in downtown Chicago close to Michigan ave and all of the shopping nearby. Even small apartments are expensive in the area, offsetting the slightly higher salary (55-64k).
Residents: I met a few residents that were very interested in research or education and some that were more interested in going into practice. Despite it's research heavy reputation, it seems like there was a good mix between research-oriented residents and those who are not as inclined. The new chair seems to be pushing it's research reputation.
Hospital: All in-patient rotations are at NMH or the nearby children's hospital. Continuity clinic may be at the Jesse Brown VA which is in in the Illinois Medical District and is reachable by public transit, although not a direct route. One of the criticisms of NW is the lack of socio-economic diversity in their hospital. I have heard from multiple people that NMH nearly lost their non-profit status a few years ago. However, the PD included a bar chart which showed NW as having the second most charity care in Chicago (although just a small fraction of Cook County Hospital, where Rush rotates).
Faculty: Very diverse and well-known within their fields. PD helps run the only circadian rhythm sleep disorder clinic in the country (world?). I had a really inspiring interview with the chair. Cognitive faculty are some of the best in the country. Many are recent transplants from one of the Harvard hospitals including the chair. Are currently bringing over a neuro-oncologist and neuro-opthalmologist from the Harvard hospital. Incredible research happening here in epilepsy and cognitive. During case conference in the morning I don't think I saw any group of faculty as engaged as I did at NW. They were clearly devoted to the academic mission.
Program: Front-loaded program with not as much elective time early as I would like. Recent curriculum changes were resident driven including partner night float (junior/senior). 12 weeks total of night float throughout residency. Each week of night float includes one 24 hour call. Lots of formal didactics built into the program including a 2 hour neuroscience/neuroanatomy session each friday. I was really impressed with professor rounds, which happen each Thursday. This includes bedside teaching on a difficult case. Bedside teaching seems to be a priority of the program (the chair and associate PD authored a paper in annals of neurology detailing their medical education strategy--including bedside teaching, senior to junior teaching, and adult learning theory). A strong, required medical education curriculum. Research career path available during PGY-4 which includes 6 months of dedicated research. They have center for rare neurological disorders led by the chair.
Overall: An incredible program. I felt I could take my career in any direction here. I wish there was more diversity in the patient population but it's still there, just not as much. Having only 6 guaranteed spots for 8 residents makes me a touch nervous so I interviewed at another prelim in Chicago for backup.

Rush University: (8 advanced/8 guaranteed prelim)

City:
Rush Medical Center is in the Illinois Medical District. Not a dangerous neighborhood, but not a great place to live. To the immediate West can be dangerous, to the east is the West loop which is a nice area. Rush is easily reachable from the West Suburbs or downtown by public transit.
Residents: Residents here as down-to-earth and happy as anywhere on the interview trail. Great camaraderie amongst residents and even extending to the faculty. Everyone seemed to be happy about where they matched for fellowship, although one PGY-4 didn't get his first choice. Everyone seemed very smart and fun.
Hospital: Rotations are at Rush and at Cook County. As a hospital, Rush isn't as prestigious as others in the city but is still very good. Neurology is highly respected within the hospital. A majority of the subarachnoid hemorrhages get shipped to Rush within Chicago. Cook County, which is on the medical campus, is a unique learning experience with exposure to rare infectious diseases and untreated chronic diseases.
Faculty: The PD is extremely kind, honest, and knowledgable. I had a very personable interview with him. The chair seemed a bit eccentric when I talked to him but the residents reassured me that he is a great educator and just has an odd sense of humor. There are several academic generalists including the PD which I thought was a plus. I interviewed with a couple recent graduates of the program who had become attendings. The movement disorder director was fascinating. He had an Oliver Sacks air to him.
Program: Night float is spread out with 6 weeks/year. During PGY-3, everyone takes neuropath together. During PGY-4 everyone teaches neuroanatomy to medical students together. Research is not emphasized although one poster presentation is required. There is strong research in movement, cognitive, and the chair's speciality, neuro-infectious disease. The core in-patient rotations include a general, stroke, NCC and a NEMS rotation. The NEMS rotation is neuromuscular, epilepsy, and MS. The division between NEMS/General I felt facilitated faculty teaching in their wheelhouse instead of trying to be two things at once. PD said that everyone in last 6 years had passed their boards on the first attempt. Only 9 programs in the country have done that in the past 5 years. Elective rotations include several small sub-specialities including neuro-optho, neuro-onc, PM&R, sleep, endovascular, neuro-pysch, aphasia (with S&LP) and others. Zambia elective available for 2 residents each year by application. Is paired with BIDMC residency who also contributes 2 residents.
Overall: Excellent program. Not as much flash as Northwestern but perhaps a more cohesive, personable residency. Rush still commands a lot of NIH funding so while they have a clinical reputation, there are still many research opportunities available.
 
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University of Virginia:

UVA Dinner and Locale:
Charlottesville is a idyllic little college town nestled in the bucolic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Getting there isn't super-convenient, but the program director and coordinator is amazingly accommodating. They put you up in an old Omni Hotel at one end of the local pedestrian mall. You get a packet showing local attractions - be sure to mention how much you love Thomas Jefferson. Local breweries, peaches, apples and cider-mills, vineyards and hiking trails abound. Absolutely fantastic place - if you like that sort of thing. Definitely take the opportunity to sight-see - it looks good for the program too. Dinner rotates through a number of local restaurants, a strategic mistake which I blame for the worst dinner of my interview trail. My recommendation to the program would be to stick to the same restaurant during a given interview season. This encourages better attention and service from both the kitchen and front-of-house staff.

UVA Program and Interview: The charming and energetic program director, Dr. Southerland, seems serious about optimizing the residents' education and work-environment. Although I'm a bit skeptical of the workplace and occupational psychology methods of the MBA types. He gives an engaging tour of the historic undergraduate campus - brush up on your UVA history and botany if you want to impress. The residents appear pretty happy and were playful and good-humored. One interviewer explicitly said the program is one of the more difficult and demanding neurology residencies - no doubt due to the heavy emphasis on stroke (with advanced telestroke networks etc) while simultaneously having an astonishingly comprehensive department for its size. Seems to be quite front-loaded, although intern year follows the famous 4+1 system. Seems to be plenty of opportunity for research as the faculty are busy, but definitely appears to be a more clinically-oriented program with some opportunity to mold your own curriculum and find good mentors.

Interviews are all with faculty, which seem like a tight-knit and collegial group along with the residents. There is an interim dept chair as the regular is on a research sabbatical for a year or two. Unclear what this means, practically speaking. One big selling point is the Neuro-Onc experience the program provides (also strong in epilepsy, NICU, neuromuscular, MS). Overall, it bears repeating that the department is well-rounded - movement disorders may be a little weaker. Hospital is nice and newly renovated (with construction ongoing). The neuro outpt clinics are in a shiny new facility with spacious offices and exam rooms. The catchment area is huge - VA, WA, and even parts of surrounding states - basically between Hopkins, Vandy, Duke, and Pitt. Charlottesville is also one of those refugee resettlement regions so the patient population is oddly diverse.

Rumor Mill: Nothing to report here. Fellowship options are expanding. There was a whiff of academic jabbing and slight aristocratic haughtiness with a Southern flavor distinct from the more overtly malignant kind found in the Northeast and conspicuously absent in the Midwest. Not really a problem; definitely much worse in other places.
 
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Indiana University (7 categorical):

City:
Really cute city that has gotten nice over the past several years while still maintaining a low cost of living. Not generally a very walkable city if you live outside of the downtown area but there are a few areas that are more walkable than others. Most residents seemed to live downtown however.
Residents: Seemed very happy and not overworked. Had a lot of opportunities to do outdoor activities, sports, etc together. Seemed like a fun active group.
Hospital: Brand neuroscience center that is pretty incredible. Rotate through Eskanazi (county hospital) which is also new and pretty nice. Methodist and UH are pretty standard fare for hospitals but unfortunately didn't tour these facilities so can't comment more on them.
Faculty: Very conversational/relaxed interviews here. PD and Department Chair are married so certainly strong relationship there. Both seemed very dedicated to resident education and like people who care strongly about their residents.
Program: Very solid, clinically oriented program. One of the only places I visited that was truly "consult only" at all hospitals which in hindsight could be a real strength -- allows for more time to focus on neurology issues/see more neurology problems. Residents seemed to genuinely be very happy about being consult only and didn't feel that they were missing out on anything by not managing social work/dispositions. Regarding intern year, can do up to 2 months of neuro rotations (including a psych month) and finish the year off with a boot camp during the last month with the neurology program. PGY2 is pretty front-loaded however will get some subspecialty elective time supposedly (was unclear how much). PGY3 has a lot of perks including 2 month neuroanatomy course with afternoons off for independent study and 7 months of elective time. PGY4 year here seemed to obviously have less elective time available given that you have so much during PGY3 year but makes sense to me in terms of being able to get elective time in prior to applying for fellowships. Regarding call, residents do still take traditional 24+4 here however given that services are consult only these calls are relatively light and very do-able (per the Residents). Another notable/unique feature of the program includes potentially only neurotoxicology fellowship and elective in the country. Other fellowships available include neurophysiology, sleep, EEG, neuromuscular, and potentially movement and behavioral? unclear if all of those are set in place or are in the process of being approved.
 
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Lowly third year here. Thank you so much M4s for taking the time to write these. They're always extremely helpful.
 
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Lowly third year here. Thank you so much M4s for taking the time to write these. They're always extremely helpful.
Agree. Its been very helpful to see which programs are categorical. FREIDA and even program website are not completely up to date. It is lengthening my list of programs to apply to.
 
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If you guys have any questions about the programs/their advanced status I would consider emailing the program coordinator to ask if they have guaranteed/preference with any prelim program. I've noticed that a majority of programs are switching over to truly categorical or advanced with a guaranteed prelim or have in the past year or two. Also for most programs that have guaranteed prelims you won't be required to come on a separate day and/or most likely won't have to interview with the prelim anymore.
 
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Anyone willing to toss out thoughts on UTSW? Having a hard time deciding on where I'm going to put it on my list.


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The following is my top 3. The pros and cons are relative and relevant to me, and are not meant to be exhaustive.

1) Case Western
Pros:
-awesome PD. Won PD of the year a couple years ago or something. He has really made education a focus during the residency with great didactics that the residents think highly of. Wears a bow tie. He wrote the book most widely used for EMGs--how is this relevant? Because I've read much of this book and the writing/teaching style clicks well with me. The residents (and med students) rave about him. I think most places have PDs that the residents respect and appreciate a lot, but no where did I get this vibe more than at Case Western
-excellent and unique PGY-3 educational experiences. There is a 2 month EMG/Neuromuscular course and 2 month EEG/Epilepsy course. Course is the key work here--there is actually a syllabus with weekly topics to be covered in the morning with your co- residents and instructor. This seems to be supplemented by good volume in the afternoons. While I understand that ultimately great clinicians are pattern recognizers, I am someone who wants to know the details of the pattern to have a scientific appreciation of it. For me, the best way to learn EMG and EEG is by both knowing the theory behind it and then using it daily in a clinical setting. This is what Case Western offers. The residents love it and I expect I will too. There is also a 6 week Neuroanatomy course where residents review Neuroanatomy with the Case Western medical students and are involved in leading problem-based learning sessions. I don't really know all that much about it but, neuroanatomy is something you probably can't know too much about if you're a neurologist and it's nice to see a program put this sort of educational focus into it.
-busy but not back-breaking service. With 12 residents/class there is ample work force to deal with stroke and general neurology services when the ebb and flow peaks. The PGY-2s seem to be in a good spot of having a steady supply on new admits but not overwhelmed with too many patients. Enough to keep you busy but not so much that you are doing crappy exams and morning pre-rounding with too many patients.
-apparently an excellent Internal Medicine program-->great intern year. Idk if I am in the minority or not but I loved my medicine rotations and consider my intern year to be an important part of my training as a neurologist. The residents really liked their intern year and maintain friendships from that period. There's a fun weekly newsletter from the IM program that includes events in Cleveland in the near future, what's happening at University Hospital, and a meet-the-intern sort of blurb where they focus on getting to know one intern with some funny questions and answers and the like. I just really like the culture as a whole at University Hospitals, even beyond Neurology. This is backed up by some Case Western med students I spoke to, who really appreciate the atmosphere at University Hospital.
-1 week of "Neuro Boot Camp" leading into 2nd year to wind down from intern year while winding up for the next phase of your career. Focus on ironing out bad habits and getting the neuro exam down proper. Some other educational aspects too that I haven't dived into as much.
-Night float and short call system. Most places have this now and I understand there are pros and cons to this vs a traditional call schedule. I've never operated on a traditional call schedule, whereas I have done night float and survived without too much jet lag symptoms. So I'll give the edge to night float. Also it should be noted that you only do a total of 8 weeks of night float at Case Western, 4 in each of your PGY2 and PGY 4 years, and you apparently you only do 2 weeks at a time, never back to back for a whole month of night float.
-Cleveland! I can see that parts of the area are broken down, unsafe, etc. But I found 3 or 4 places that I personally think would be fun to live in, one of them being University Circle which would make for a short walk to work! I also really liked the Ohio City area around the West Side Market. The two things I like to do most in my free time is play soccer and play board games, and there is plenty of opportunity for both. I'm not a huge partier or anything but I do enjoy going out to a bar with friends, and there were certainly enough interesting ones around for me. It is also on Lake Eerie which I think is fun in the summer (though not so much in the winter...). I can see why it might not be for everyone, so to each their own.
Cons:
-although they have a research track (6 month block and the only clinical responsibilities are short call), they don't talk about it much and I have the impression it is more up to the individual resident to get everything going than in some places where it is a little more formalized and well-oiled. There is a good infrastructure though with Case Western's Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering right next door. I think if you are focused and persistent enough it would not be a problem.
-Cleveland is farther away from my family than almost all places I interviewed. It's a testament to how much I liked the program to rank them #1 given this consideration, was not easy for me to do.

2) Wash U
Pros:
-fun and impressive residents. This program felt more resident-run than the other places I interviewed, which has its own pros and cons. But the residents have done a great job at organizing the service and running a well-oiled machine. A couple weekly didactics seem to have been borne out of resident interest and they really do a good job at organizing them. They also seem to enjoy themselves outside of the hospital, particularly during PGY3-4.
-tons of autonomy. Residents are really driving management decisions with guidance from attendings. It seems like the PGY4s are like the attendings and the PGY2s are discussing plans with them, and the true attendings pitch in with valuable experience and guidance when needed.
-loads of research opportunities. They have great mentorship if this is your interest and a great track record at setting residents up for research careers, PhD or not. The Neurosciences at Wash U have plenty of funding and great facilities with cutting edge technique and research. Very involved with the Human Connectome Project.
-big referral center, plenty of diversity
-11 months of elective time with pretty much every specialty available so it has a sort of create your own residency vibe--very cool!
-St Louis! Again I read a lot of negative thoughts on St Louis, and I think much of it is misguided. If you don't live in the bad neighborhoods, you're going to be safe! The Central West End around Barnes-Jewish is awesome, very fun place to live with lots of ethnic restaurants. Festivals around the area in the summer. Again, soccer and board game opportunities for me abound.
-close to home
Cons:
-the big one for me was overnight q4 call. I have come to appreciation of what a full night's sleep can do. I can lock in when I'm taking a patient's history, stay focused during rounds and participate and be helpful, etc etc. Seriously, the difference between 6 and 7.5 hrs of sleep/night has been a game changer, try it out for a couple weeks! I'm worried a q4 overnight might wreak havoc. Apart from the whole sleep issues, there are downstream effects to this q4 call. They have organized the 4 day cycle into your call day, post-call, short-call, and pre-call days. Post-call day is mercifully off after your 24-28 hr call day is complete. Pre-call day is rounding in morning and afternoon in clinic, or it may be your day off (so you're still at about one day off/week during PGY2). The knock-on effect of this is that different days have different specializations. The call person will round with the attending, chief, and med students on all the patients, while the short call and pre-call deal more with the logistics, discharging, etc. This means that you will really only bedside round with the attending 1 out of every 4 days. That may be a positive for you, but for me it's a big negative. I LOVE bedside rounding with old-school docs and having them work through the case, learning pearls of the physical exam, history taking, etc. It's the closest thing to a doctoring apprenticeship which is obviously not feasible anymore. With this system, you may have the best bedside attending in the world but only work with them 1 out of every 4 days. I asked some residents about this, but it didn't really seem like anyone minded this, so unfortunately it's a rather large con for me.
-occasionally there will be a very research focused attending that is not great for educational purposes. I think this is not a common event but will occur from time to time. Some of the med students told me there could be a wide variety or educational quality from the attending based on the week. Why go off the med student opinion in this case? Because they are the ones rounding with that attending every day.
-to the best of my knowledge there is no actually EMG or EEG course. Plenty of elective time to get volume, pattern recognize, etc, but like I mentioned above I prefer the scaffolding of a course for learning these trades.

3) Mayo at Rochester
Pros:
-huge referral center with TONS of variety. One of the residents showed a slide of what he had seen like in October and I don't even think I'd heard of about 1/3 of the diseases on the slide.
-excellent teachers, they have apparently really focused on only having good teachers be involved with resident rounding.
-PD seems like a genuine great person--he asked what my wife's name was and what she did and talked about how they could try to find a job in the community if we matched there, then at the end he referred to her by name. Very classy guy. I thought Mayo would be kinda snobby or something, but I didn't get that impression and in particular with him had the exact opposite impression
-there is a research pathway and residents engage in a ton of research (possibly too much? but seemed like that was up to the individual resident so that is good).
-lots of subspecialties with great exposure
-9 months of elective time or something like that, again lots of ability to make your own path.
Cons:
-although research pathway is offered, it wouldn't really be my cup of tea here. Although they do have some basic neuroscience, it is not as established as the other two programs and is more of a neurobiology focus, whereas I am much more interested in the cognitive/systems aspects of neuroscience.
-Rochester. Now I would not allow this to stop me from going here (hey its in my top 3) but it is definitely not as interesting a place to live as Cleveland or St. Louis for me. Apparently this place is supposed to take off with an influx of money, but that's going to take longer than my time in residency for sure. As bad as winter might be up there, it seems like the Clinic and downtown area are not really affected with a very elaborate skyway and subway system (it's pretty nice, shops and restaurants thoughout, etc). Also, my wife is from a bigger area than I, so it may be more of a negative for than me even.


Well there's the top 3 for me, like I said it's all relative. I'd be stoked to be at any of them, and would be quite happy with some on my list after this point at well. I do want to say that this site is very biased towards California and the East Coast. There's not anything truly wrong with that--they are fun places to be--but I think for upcoming students you should really be aware of this bias. There are excellent programs scattered through the Midwest which I didn't even mention here. You should not feel at all like you have to go to a California or Boston school or something to be competitive. You are not somehow a better neurologist for having trained close to an ocean!
 
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Disclaimer: I was seeking programs that offer 1) a good balance of inpatient and outpatient neurology, with dedicated exposure to EMG/EEG built in the curriculum 2) decent (and preferably early) elective time for subspecialty exposure 3) reasonable cost of living

Duke: (Advanced [Reserved] 6 residents/year)

City: Had never been to the triangle of Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, but it was beautiful. Downtown Durham was surprising with quite a bit of revitalization and good night life per the residents. Cost of living index was 97.

Residents: Perhaps my favorite group of residents on the trail, not sure why, but I really seemed to click with the ones with whom I interacted. They all seemed happy with their training. Showed up in good number to our pre-interview dinner.

Hospital: I've decided that most places at which I interviewed had very nice facilities. Most of the time I simply made a mental note of "adequate" facilities and didn't pay much attention beyond that. Duke was no exception. Stroke patients and ICUs were in new, shiny tower along with ORs. Other patients stayed not too far away in one of the older towers. Did have a beautiful skywalk view of Durham. Lots of natural lighting. VA was right across the street. Undergrad campus within walking distance.

Faculty: Faculty was very chill. Program director (epilepsy) was a very clear communicator with a solid idea of what he wants his program to look like. Very down to earth and does believe in educating general neurologists who then go on to subspecialize if desired. Chair (behavioral) was relatively new but doing a great job with the program given its fairly recent split from IM departmental leadership. Other faculty seemed very open to teaching and comfortable with the residents, as seen during an evening "interesting case conference".

Curriculum: Advanced program with reserved positions. Duke has a top-notch IM program. You will work very hard during intern year, as residents testified. Opportunities to rotate with neurology. In neuro residency, I liked the graduated responsibility. All of the PGY2s had mini oral boards several months into the year before covering nights solo. Very informal and educational per residents, also reassuring that you know your stuff. Very comprehensive EMG/EEG neurophys course during 3rd year (~70-90 EMG, >200 EEG). According to PD (epilepsy) the residents can get more comfortable than the majority of practicing neurologists with EEG during that time. Moonlighting is allowed later in residency and residents did take advantage of this to supplement income, which was already good. International rotation to Kenya available. Different "tracks" within residency (e.g. Education, general neurology, research, admin, etc). Plenty of outpatient possible within the curriculum if you would like. May be expanding to 7 per year in the near future. Strong in neuromuscular ultrasound, an interesting and developing modality in NM medicine.

Fellowships: Neurophys (EEG), Epilepsy, Neuromuscular, NCC, Movement, Sleep (neuro-controlled), Vascular, Headache, Neuro-onc, MS/Neuroimmunology

Alumni: Alumni represent many subspecialties with most but not all pursuing fellowship. Many have stayed at Duke but there are still the typical big name fellowships secured from here as well.

Overall: Great place, great people. Lots of support and direction to launch you into a variety of different career paths.
 
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Mayo Clinic (Florida): (Categorical, 4 residents per year)

City: Jacksonville. One of the biggest cities in the US geographically, very spread out. They said average age was around 35, apparently Florida's "youngest city". Mayo Clinic is a bit southeast of downtown and quite close to the beach. Cost of living index: 92.

Hospital: Beautiful campus with a very FL look to the buildings. Impressive facilities with construction starting on a new $100 million facility to house neuro/nsg/onc patients. Over $300 million has been put towards construction in the past couple years.

Residents: All of them seemed very happy with the program, feeling like they had good support from faculty/PD. Only four per year. Explained that their call schedule is more spread out over the 3 years than most programs, so if a resident couldn't be on service for any reason the rest from that year wouldn't be splitting calls just between the three others (as everyone is in the call pool, just less for later years).

Faculty: Like most neuro interviews, everyone was very pleasant. Lots of neuromuscular representation on interview day. PD (neuromuscular) was very personable and welcoming, calling each applicant the day of the pre-interview dinner to ensure that he or she arrived. Around 30 neurology faculty. On a related note, the chair of neurosurgery at Hopkins was recruited down to Mayo FL recently.

Curriculum: Prelim year is well-rounded with a neuro-specific track. Only 3 months general IM with some inpatient cards, ICU, ED, and 3 blocks of electives. The year is completed with two blocks of Transitions to Neurology (one of those is purely lecture without clinical duties). A good amount of outpatient training to be had here if desired. Like Mayo Rochester, there is a dedicated two-month rotation to EEG/EMG during 3rd year. There are also clinical neuroscience lectures broadcasted between the three Mayo campuses. Less front-loaded than other programs, which is unique. Seven months of electives currently, with the majority of those being during PGY2-3 for earlier subspecialty exposure. On call days, you are off until you come in at 3 pm, then stay to round on patients next morning before getting the rest of the day off. Some residents rotate at other Mayo sites occasionally if they desire. Mayo has an international health program which can fund international trips to developing countries. Biggest contacts for Mayo Florida are Ethiopia and a two week "Ecuador Neurology Project" for neurology education there.

Patient Population: The Mayo Clinics have a reputation for serving a more private, restricted population. Apparently, though, about 40% of all MCF neuro visits are actually local with about 30% regional/30% national with some international mixed in. There is a clinic for the homeless population where residents spend time at least once per year.

Research: Research opportunities available but not forced on residents. Brain bank. Opportunities available in many areas. Up to 10 conference days per year available for presenting.

Fellowships: Neurophys (EEG), Neurophys (EMG), Behavioral, Neurocritical Care, Stroke (approved) (sleep, interventional, pain, and palliative open to neurology)

Alumni: Many graduates go to Mayo Rochester for fellowship, occasional Harvard/Wash U/no fellowship sprinkled in. Traditionally more going into private practice.

Overall: Really liked this place and everyone I encountered. Flexible training with good potential for a variety of career goals; residents seemed very satisfied. Close to the beach, in Florida.
 
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UT Southwestern (Categorical, 9 residents per year)

City: Dallas, TX. (Very close to Ft. Worth, with a combined metro population of about 7 million.) Some residents live downtown, which is just a few miles south of the hospital. Neat city; warm weather. Cost of living index: 95.

Hospital: Impressive. The campus is huge, including a gigantic county hospital (Parkland) that is beautiful and has all individual rooms for patients. There is a more private hospital just down the street (Clements, consult only). And then there’s Zale—a dedicated neuroscience hospital. Apparently, they are building a new neuroscience hospital in 2020. New resident clinic building just opened. Children’s hospital on site. A smattering of other clinic/surgery/outpatient buildings on campus as well.

Residents: Seemed like a great group of people. Good number at our pre-interview dinner. Majority from Texas medical schools. They have a Facebook page you can check out to get more information about their out-of-hospital activities.

Faculty: Really is a top-notch academic center. Six Nobel Laureates on faculty (one was the former neuro chair). PD seemed very supportive, calm, and open to innovation. Won a PD award recently. Resident rounds with long-time editor of JAMA neurology.

Curriculum: PGY1 has 6 months of wards along with some cards, ICU, ED. 1 elective month and 1 month of neurology bootcamp. 4+1 system (which I gather is becoming very common from my interview experiences) with the 1 week of clinic comprised of neuro, PM&R, rheum, etc. PGY2 has 5 blocks of Q5 call (28 hours I believe). You will not sleep often during these calls due to sheer volume of patients. It’s a tough year, but residents feel very comfortable with inpatient neurology afterwards. A few blocks of elective time available PGY2. Generous elective time also in PGY3-4. There will start to be an increased focus on global neurology. A lot of MS4’s from UTSW going into neurology, so the program is doing something right. High-end salary.

Patient Population: Very diverse with different clinical settings. Populations include county, VA, private, tertiary neuro. Seemed like the best diversity of patients that I saw on the trail.

Research: Tons of research opportunities. Tons. JAMA neurology editorial office. Extensive list of resident scholarly activities given on interview day.

Fellowships: Neuromuscular, neurophys, epilepsy, movement, MS, headache, vascular, NCC, sleep, behavioral, neuro-oncology, autoimmune, autonomics, sports neurology. Pain and interventional open to neuro.

Alumni: A lot of residents stay on for fellowship, but some still go to the classic academic big names. Still a few going right into practice.

Overall: I was very impressed by this residency program and the institution as a whole. They win the prize for best recruitment materials (very underutilized by many programs in my opinion). Tougher PGY2. Perhaps I was slightly overwhelmed by it all—the opportunities seemed endless. I am unsure why this program has historically matched relatively less medical students from elsewhere in the country; they have nearly everything you could want and more.
 
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Any thoughts on Drexel neurology?
 
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Any thoughts on Drexel neurology?
Not having a good time at the moment. I will rank it anyway due to my geographical preferences (my wife's job) but haven't heard anything nice about it. Good news for me is they will gonna have more open spots soon as their current residents are looking for new places.
 
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Any thoughts on Drexel neurology?
Did a rotation here and was not impressed. Residents don't prepare for journal club/morning report/noon conferences and the hour becomes so unbearably long as everybody makes weak guesses at best. PD seems uninterested in engaging or bettering work flow. A lot of work shuffling instead of actually doing anything. Honestly don't think any of the residents wanted to be there. Pro: saw a lot of cool cases, everybody is nice (just very apathetic)
 
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I echo all your sentiments. I was absolutely blown away by CC. It totally looks like medicine of the future...

I am deciding between CC and UCLA for my #1 choice. I am interested in global health/Neuro-ID, which is stronger at CC (they have not 1 but 4 neuro-ID specialists!), but my family is in CA (and it is warmer there!). I feel like they have very comparable strengths and I loved the residents at both places (I did do an away at UCLA, not at CC). CC just has about everything one would ever want/need.

Cleveland Clinic:


Cleveland Clinic Program & Interview: Wow. THIS is a hospital - beautiful artwork on the walls, live music in the atrium, cosmopolitan patients and physicians milling about in the wide, shiny corridors. The whole complex takes up many blocks and is completely connected by spacious walkways. Construction doesn't stop - clearly they have lots of money. People talk about how you want to live in a place where you can enjoy the little time that you have off during residency, but why not go to a place where you can enjoy being at work? They have an experimental 7T MRI! That's almost half as many Teslas as are necessary to levitate a frog (and more than enough to give subjects gut-spilling vertigo)! Did they mention all their great insurance policies? How about interest-free down-payment on a home purchase? Strict electronic hour logging? Social events for family and spouses? Kosher/halal kitchen? You can take additional paid call instead of moonlighting - it's a sweet deal.
 
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