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Hi,
Does anybody know anything about the pros and cons of Mayo Peds?
Thanks!
Does anybody know anything about the pros and cons of Mayo Peds?
Thanks!
Mayo Pediatrics
- Thread starter chigrl08
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I have a lot to say, and this doesn't even scratch the surface.
I really have no cons about the program--the location is less desirable for some, but it's for 3 years of your life!!
I am currently a PL2.
Pros
*****
(arranged in no particular order, so don't read into it!)
-Faculty are excited about teaching. Lots of individual attention!
-The program administration really cares about us and our thoughts--we are valued as humans and not as worker horses. Changes in response to our complaints and suggestions have been generated.
-Work load is VERY managable, the work hours are enforced and I have tons of free time to work on other interests (research, reading, shopping, working out).
-Residents on a whole are very friendly and happy
-Support for whatever you want to do (research, start a project)
-Daily lunches and $$$ for meals when on call
-Affordable housing, low taxes, safe area (I own a 4br house with my husband with a nice yard!)
-Family friendly
-AWESOME Dan Abraham Healthy living center. Just opened this fall. It's a huge gym with a pool, lots of cardio machines, weights, classes. It's about $30/mo with discounts if you go enough. They have free training sessions, a relaxation room, massages...
-Independence--the faculty and senior resident aren't breathing down your neck, but are available when you need help
-Very few fellows (so you're not fighting people for procedures)
-Mayo pays for medical license, DEA # (I don't know how common that is)
-Parking is paid for and is very close
-Yearly book allowance
-Library has document retrival system so we're not spending hours pulling journals (that are not on line) and copy them. They are sent via pdf's.
-1 national meeting/3 years is paid for. If you submit to a national meeting and will present, your trip is paid for.
-Mayo is intersted in training people from all over the world. Many people look unfavorably upon IMG's in programs. I disagree here. These people were at the top of their class in medical schools from around the world and are some of the smartest people I have met. Here IMG's=good.
-2 elective opportunites in your first year.
-Short commute (less than 10 min from door to door)
-Shuttle system from St. Marys to the clinic buildings (downtonwn) so you don't have to drive if you're in a hurry
-Discounts around town: I saved money on new tires, on my phone bill, at the movies...just because of where I work.
-Traffic. What traffic??
-We have the opportunity to rotate (THIS IS NOT MANDATORY! there were some rumors about this apparently) to the new children's hospital in Sioux Falls, SD (don't laugh, it's going to be sweet) or Mayo Jacksonville/Scottsdale if desired (different patient populations in different areas of the country). Your housing is paid for there.
-Opportunity to work with underserved in your continuity clinic and free clinic in town.
-Fellow's association organizes fun social events: Minor league baseball team deck party, movie nights, family activities, bowling nights
-CLOTHING IS TAX FREE IN MN!!
Cons
****
-Some may not love Rochester (approx 90k, could have some better shopping) but I'm from a very large urban area, and I do just fine!! (Twin cities are 1.5 hrs away)
-Any beefs I have with them are minor and are semantics--and are being addressed.
I it here....please PM me if you have any other questions. Going into my residency search this was not my first choice, but as soon as I did my interview, it was. I have never regretted my decision!!!
I really have no cons about the program--the location is less desirable for some, but it's for 3 years of your life!!
I am currently a PL2.
Pros
*****
(arranged in no particular order, so don't read into it!)
-Faculty are excited about teaching. Lots of individual attention!
-The program administration really cares about us and our thoughts--we are valued as humans and not as worker horses. Changes in response to our complaints and suggestions have been generated.
-Work load is VERY managable, the work hours are enforced and I have tons of free time to work on other interests (research, reading, shopping, working out).
-Residents on a whole are very friendly and happy
-Support for whatever you want to do (research, start a project)
-Daily lunches and $$$ for meals when on call
-Affordable housing, low taxes, safe area (I own a 4br house with my husband with a nice yard!)
-Family friendly
-AWESOME Dan Abraham Healthy living center. Just opened this fall. It's a huge gym with a pool, lots of cardio machines, weights, classes. It's about $30/mo with discounts if you go enough. They have free training sessions, a relaxation room, massages...
-Independence--the faculty and senior resident aren't breathing down your neck, but are available when you need help
-Very few fellows (so you're not fighting people for procedures)
-Mayo pays for medical license, DEA # (I don't know how common that is)
-Parking is paid for and is very close
-Yearly book allowance
-Library has document retrival system so we're not spending hours pulling journals (that are not on line) and copy them. They are sent via pdf's.
-1 national meeting/3 years is paid for. If you submit to a national meeting and will present, your trip is paid for.
-Mayo is intersted in training people from all over the world. Many people look unfavorably upon IMG's in programs. I disagree here. These people were at the top of their class in medical schools from around the world and are some of the smartest people I have met. Here IMG's=good.
-2 elective opportunites in your first year.
-Short commute (less than 10 min from door to door)
-Shuttle system from St. Marys to the clinic buildings (downtonwn) so you don't have to drive if you're in a hurry
-Discounts around town: I saved money on new tires, on my phone bill, at the movies...just because of where I work.
-Traffic. What traffic??
-We have the opportunity to rotate (THIS IS NOT MANDATORY! there were some rumors about this apparently) to the new children's hospital in Sioux Falls, SD (don't laugh, it's going to be sweet) or Mayo Jacksonville/Scottsdale if desired (different patient populations in different areas of the country). Your housing is paid for there.
-Opportunity to work with underserved in your continuity clinic and free clinic in town.
-Fellow's association organizes fun social events: Minor league baseball team deck party, movie nights, family activities, bowling nights
-CLOTHING IS TAX FREE IN MN!!
Cons
****
-Some may not love Rochester (approx 90k, could have some better shopping) but I'm from a very large urban area, and I do just fine!! (Twin cities are 1.5 hrs away)
-Any beefs I have with them are minor and are semantics--and are being addressed.
I
it here....please PM me if you have any other questions. Going into my residency search this was not my first choice, but as soon as I did my interview, it was. I have never regretted my decision!!!- Joined
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I interviewed at Mayo back in the day--was impressed with the program. However, I was concerned about the number of patients that they saw. I was worried that the volume wasn't that large, especially for general peds issues. This is why most Mayo peds residents have to go to Jacksonville, etc. to seek out more peds. In addition, I think that the anesthesiology residents at Mayo go to Jacksonville for more peds cases, and the surgical residents rotate elsewhere in MN in order to get their peds cases.
Without a doubt, Mayo provides an outstanding, prestigious name. I also believe that the clinicians there are wonderful teachers. You'll be able to get whatever fellowship you may want because of the name Mayo. However, Mayo is known for their adult medical expertise.
My ultimate advice is to go to Mayo if you think you may be unable to get into a competitive fellowship and need the name recognition, if you want to write a paper or 3 with some of the well-published Mayo attendings, prefer to save a bit of money by living in a inexpensive town, want to be an expert in some rare metabolic disease that no practicing gen peds doc ever encounters again in their career, or want to see Jacksonville/Scotsdale in the middle of winter on Mayo's tab. (Those perks are legit, indeed.)
Without a doubt, Mayo provides an outstanding, prestigious name. I also believe that the clinicians there are wonderful teachers. You'll be able to get whatever fellowship you may want because of the name Mayo. However, Mayo is known for their adult medical expertise.
My ultimate advice is to go to Mayo if you think you may be unable to get into a competitive fellowship and need the name recognition, if you want to write a paper or 3 with some of the well-published Mayo attendings, prefer to save a bit of money by living in a inexpensive town, want to be an expert in some rare metabolic disease that no practicing gen peds doc ever encounters again in their career, or want to see Jacksonville/Scotsdale in the middle of winter on Mayo's tab. (Those perks are legit, indeed.)
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You're definitely entitled to your own opinion about the program and I appreciate your constructive criticism. The program is not for everyone, and some people want the experience of admitting (insert large number of common pediatric diagnoses here) every night. That isn't my learning style. There is no shortage of bread and butter pediatrics, that's for sure.
However I won't let state things on an internet forum that aren't completely accurate. You said you interviewed "back in the day." That may have been an accurate statement then, but definitely not now.
No one that I know "has" to go to to Jacksonville or anywhere to get more exposure. It's an option that some people take, but it is probably less than 15% of the residents actually go to FL/AZ. So it is definitely not "most." It's there if you want, but if you don't want to go, you don't have to. I don't have any surgical residents around now, but I can't recall any who need to go elsewhere for peds surgery. May have been an issue before, but I don't think so now.
Just had to point that out, ok?
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"I don't have any surgical residents around now, but I can't recall any who need to go elsewhere for peds surgery. May have been an issue before, but I don't think so now."
Mayo still sends their surgical residents to St. Paul Children's Hospital (one of the Univ of MN pediatric residency program training hospitals) for pediatric surgery experience. However, I don't know whether this is a reflection of a lower number of total pediatric patients or just a lower peds surgery patient population at Mayo.
Mayo still sends their surgical residents to St. Paul Children's Hospital (one of the Univ of MN pediatric residency program training hospitals) for pediatric surgery experience. However, I don't know whether this is a reflection of a lower number of total pediatric patients or just a lower peds surgery patient population at Mayo.
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Thanks for clearing that up MNDOC31, I checked the program's website and it looks like they do 6 weeks in St. Paul. Shows how much I get to talk to Surgical residents about their program and what their requirements are!!!
So I don't want to get into the "medicine vs. surgery debate" but I think the way that "competency" is judged is different for a medical versus a procedural standpoint (ie surgery). I felt "competent" in managing common pediatric pathology (croup, bronchiolitis, dehydration) within a few times of seeing, diagnosing and managing it.
However, I want to make sure that I place as many umbilical lines/chest tubes/do LP's/suture/intubations/place IV's as I can (and have had ample opportunity here because I don't have to fight with fellows for the experience) because I think the n that is needed for "competency" and "confidence" is higher for procedures. I know surgical residencies make a point to say that as a chief you do typically do X number of cases, as a senior resident you typically do Y cases and so on. I think that's an important distinction to make about the training types here At least that is my personal preference. Plus I think that surgery is much more complicated (and much more can go wrong) than intubations and managing croup, and thus likely needs larger n's. That's just my personal feelings on why they may need to go away.
I assure you that we have a good board pass rate and I am definitely seeing enough (too much at times!) general pediatrics to make for an excellent experience. However, I'm a person that feels confident in diagnosis and management with smaller n's that are found at large programs. I knew that coming in, and it was a huge draw for me to come here. I like to see a patient, read about their pathology, discuss with my faculty and I'm able to do that here.
I think it's worth reiterating that no one HAS to go anywhere else than Rochester for Mayo pediatrics (be it, Sioux Falls, Jacksonville, or anywhere else). There are more than enough patients to learn from--we get a nice variety in the ER, clinic and inpatient service. A few residents (I would say less than 2-3/year) do go to Jacksonville or Arizona each year, but mostly in January/February to get some respite from the Minnesota winter...which is totally understandable. Brrrrr!!
To each his own. If you want/need a super busy program with 20-30+ admissions a night then Mayo pediatrics is probably not for you, but if you want a good teaching program with friendly residents who pass the boards easily, get their fellowships, and still manage to have a life and a decent standard of living, then it's definitely worth giving Mayo a look.
People come in different shapes, sizes and strengths, and residencies programs also come in all shapes, sizes and strengths. I think we can all agree on that!
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I agree with all of meconiumdelee's pros and cons (I'm currently a PL-3), and I have a few to add:
Pros:
- ample elective time, allowing for an international elective (+ scholarships available for this)
- Supportive environment, friendly atmosphere
- lots of support services such as IV team, urine cath teams, whith which you can spend elective time, but you don't have to do the tasks when you're on call
- direct interaction with the attendings, who are very approachable and love to teach
- you are your inpatients' primary physician while they're in the hospital - no dealing with separate attendings for every other patient
- Manageable patient load - you can hope to remember some of your patients with "common" as well as those with "uncommon" conditions - it's not just a blur (and therefore matches my personal preference - but no, you don't get to sleep every call night)
- You may get to do a relatively high number of procedures - per a recent graduate who is now a neonatology fellow and compared her numbers to those of her classmates
- At least quarterly practice of resuscitation etc. skills in the new state-of-the-art simulation center
- Teaching opportunities: NRP, PALS, school outreach program
- Bright medical students to work with
- Moonlighting opportunities for those interested
- All facilities are within a mile or so from each other, no time wasted on the road/ get some exercise and walk or bike to work and between buildings
- Lots of useful educational conferences (noon conference every weekday, three different morning conferences per week, radiology conference once weekly)
Cons:
- The Minnesota winter
Pros:
- ample elective time, allowing for an international elective (+ scholarships available for this)
- Supportive environment, friendly atmosphere
- lots of support services such as IV team, urine cath teams, whith which you can spend elective time, but you don't have to do the tasks when you're on call
- direct interaction with the attendings, who are very approachable and love to teach
- you are your inpatients' primary physician while they're in the hospital - no dealing with separate attendings for every other patient
- Manageable patient load - you can hope to remember some of your patients with "common" as well as those with "uncommon" conditions - it's not just a blur (and therefore matches my personal preference - but no, you don't get to sleep every call night)
- You may get to do a relatively high number of procedures - per a recent graduate who is now a neonatology fellow and compared her numbers to those of her classmates
- At least quarterly practice of resuscitation etc. skills in the new state-of-the-art simulation center
- Teaching opportunities: NRP, PALS, school outreach program
- Bright medical students to work with
- Moonlighting opportunities for those interested
- All facilities are within a mile or so from each other, no time wasted on the road/ get some exercise and walk or bike to work and between buildings
- Lots of useful educational conferences (noon conference every weekday, three different morning conferences per week, radiology conference once weekly)
Cons:
- The Minnesota winter
P
pedsgal
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I originally posted this message and am so thankful for everyone who responded and wrote such helpful facts about Mayo and it's program . I'll be interviewing there soon and I definitely have a great picture in my mind about what makes Mayo so special.
Thanks!
chigrl08
. I'll be interviewing there soon and I definitely have a great picture in my mind about what makes Mayo so special.Thanks!
chigrl08
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Can anyone comment on the feasibility of training at Mayo but having your spouse work in Minneapolis? Is this common/rare?
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Minneapolis is about an hour and a half from Rochester. I suppose it's possible but it's not very common and it's probably not something you'd want to do on a daily basis for a long period of time. There's the possibility of living midway between both but it's a long boring drive between the two that you (or your spouse) probably wouldn't want to do (particularly if you have to work really early or really late). That being said, Mayo is massive so there's a wide range of job opportunities, and there's also a big IBM complex in Rochester as well.
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I'm a peds intern at Mayo who has a husband who commutes to Minneapolis daily. It takes him over an hour each way, but he previously lived in a big city, and was in traffic for almost the same amount of time. It's not really the optimal situation, but he claims to not mind it, as he loves both his job and his Sirius radio.
We know residents whose spouses go in together on apartments in the cities (contingency plan for bad weather), and we have one friend who lives halfway between Rochester and the Twin Cities.
There is an intern who actually commutes in from Minneapolis daily (she rents a room from a friend in Rochester, and stays there if she's really tired). She wholehartedly feels that the commute is worth the benefits of the program.
Overall, it's do-able.
To reiterate the above posts- I think that Mayo is a fabulous place to train. The faculty love to teach, and are happy to give impromptu lectures on virtually any topic. The size of the program enables them to get to know us well, which is helpful with career planning, asking for letters of recommendation, etc. The clinical care is very evidence-based. And we see a good mix of general peds and rare diseases. If you want to get involved in research projects, you are wholehartedly supported. And, the residents are smart, fun, and friendly. Although Rochester isn't the most exciting city, it grows on you. I've never questioned my decision to do residency here.
We know residents whose spouses go in together on apartments in the cities (contingency plan for bad weather), and we have one friend who lives halfway between Rochester and the Twin Cities.
There is an intern who actually commutes in from Minneapolis daily (she rents a room from a friend in Rochester, and stays there if she's really tired). She wholehartedly feels that the commute is worth the benefits of the program.
Overall, it's do-able.
To reiterate the above posts- I think that Mayo is a fabulous place to train. The faculty love to teach, and are happy to give impromptu lectures on virtually any topic. The size of the program enables them to get to know us well, which is helpful with career planning, asking for letters of recommendation, etc. The clinical care is very evidence-based. And we see a good mix of general peds and rare diseases. If you want to get involved in research projects, you are wholehartedly supported. And, the residents are smart, fun, and friendly. Although Rochester isn't the most exciting city, it grows on you. I've never questioned my decision to do residency here.
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I think the entire residency program at Mayo is on SDN. . Why don't you get some faculty to join on too.
I took care of the double post for you. No problems. Sometimes it seems like posts don't go up and you hit submit reply twice while waiting...happens to us all.
. Why don't you get some faculty to join on too.I took care of the double post for you. No problems. Sometimes it seems like posts don't go up and you hit submit reply twice while waiting...happens to us all.
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Yesterday, one of our nurses showed me "her" TV clip on CNN. I agree with what she says - I'm happy to go to work in the morning, almost all the time.
So, find a place for residency where you will be happy, wherever that is!
http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fortune/2008/01/22/bpw.mayo.fortune
So, find a place for residency where you will be happy, wherever that is!
http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fortune/2008/01/22/bpw.mayo.fortune
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Can I semi-hijack here and ask the Mayo peds folks their impressions of the peds cardiology dept/service? I'd love some scuttlebutt. In a brief conversation with the fellowship director, he seemed like a nice guy. Thanks, all.
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I am a 3rd year Pediatric resident at Mayo, and I can only say wonderful things about my time here. Initially, I was a hard sell. I was pretty much dead set against Mayo before I visited. Let's face it, Mayo was very far from my home, it wasn't in a big city, and it was different than any place that I had pictured doing residency. However, one hour into my interview, and I knew that this was the place for me.
To address the "suit question" that people often ask....yes, at Mayo, people wear suits. However, the dress is pretty relaxed for the pediatric women. I never wear suits, and I still feel that I look very professional and appropriate. Men do wear suits when they are not on-call. The "suit" idea is built on a foundation of respect for your patients rather than on a business-like approach to medicine. Just as you demand respect from your patients, your patients should expect the same sort of "put together and respectful attitude" from you.
I am not sure where the rumor mill got started that says that our peds program doesn't see enough patients, but that is pretty silly. I am currently on-call in the PICU, and I can tell you that I would be more than happy to give up one or two of my patients from our busy unit. I will be honest and say that we aren't the bustling center that might happen in a busy inner city, but we see enough and handle enough. If you are the only intern on at night, then you will be in charge of a hospital service of about 20-25 patients (all by yourself). If you are in the NICU, then you are taking care of 20-30 babies by yourself. I think that is more than enough when you are by your lonesome. Seeing fewer patients has its bright spots. I tend to have actual teaching rather than trial by fire. It all depends what floats your boat.
All in all, a truly special experience. I wish that I could take Mayo with me wherever I end up next year.
To address the "suit question" that people often ask....yes, at Mayo, people wear suits. However, the dress is pretty relaxed for the pediatric women. I never wear suits, and I still feel that I look very professional and appropriate. Men do wear suits when they are not on-call. The "suit" idea is built on a foundation of respect for your patients rather than on a business-like approach to medicine. Just as you demand respect from your patients, your patients should expect the same sort of "put together and respectful attitude" from you.
I am not sure where the rumor mill got started that says that our peds program doesn't see enough patients, but that is pretty silly. I am currently on-call in the PICU, and I can tell you that I would be more than happy to give up one or two of my patients from our busy unit. I will be honest and say that we aren't the bustling center that might happen in a busy inner city, but we see enough and handle enough. If you are the only intern on at night, then you will be in charge of a hospital service of about 20-25 patients (all by yourself). If you are in the NICU, then you are taking care of 20-30 babies by yourself. I think that is more than enough when you are by your lonesome. Seeing fewer patients has its bright spots. I tend to have actual teaching rather than trial by fire. It all depends what floats your boat.
All in all, a truly special experience. I wish that I could take Mayo with me wherever I end up next year.
I realize I am reviving a pretty old thread...
Just wondering if anyone on here now has experience with Mayo Pediatrics? I'm curious as to the importance placed on research during undergrad/medical school during the admissions process. I'm very interested in the academic experience with a smaller town (small town girl growing up) but don't have much research experience. I do have good board scores (if that's an issue).
Just wondering if anyone on here now has experience with Mayo Pediatrics? I'm curious as to the importance placed on research during undergrad/medical school during the admissions process. I'm very interested in the academic experience with a smaller town (small town girl growing up) but don't have much research experience. I do have good board scores (if that's an issue).
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I'll try to revive it again - can any current residents speak to the program? I'd also love to hear about their cardiology program. Thanks!
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They have almost 6 months of NICU + nursery in their curriculum, which sounds like a lot (especially since there is only 1 month of general hospital during the second year). But maybe there's a reason
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Hi all, created an account to log in and add to the thread.
I'm a Mayo Pediatric Resident. I'm coincidentally applying for fellowship in Cardiology. In just the past 18 or so months of residency, I've had: a first author publication to a notable journal, an oral presentation at AAP, a poster presentation at PAS, spent one month overseas (with pay) after receiving a $2,500 Mayo International Health Program Scholarship, had two elective rotations dedicated to research, been invited to speak at a conference on Vaccine Hesitancy after giving a departmental lecture on the topic, and had amazing and varied clinical experiences in the hospital and our general pediatric clinic. This isn't to pat myself on the back by any means - I'm not special among our residents - it's a testament to how supportive our residency is regarding pursuit of career goals. For me, it was research and fellowship. For at least half our class it's community or hospital-based general pediatrics. A good friend of mine has an interest in working within child abuse, and our program made a custom elective for her. Dr Homme, our program director, has told us <paraphrase>, "We pride ourselves on being a resident-empowering program. We don't treat our residents as inexpensive physician coverage for the hospital. If you're here [in the hospital], it's because we've decided with you that it's a valuable work and learning experience for you to be here." That's certainly been true over the past year and a half. Not only that, but through balancing our inpatient and outpatient months, we work an average of 60 hours/week over residency, which is amazing, since that extra 20 hours can be spent with family, on hobbies, volunteering, or in scholarly pursuits. Our board pass rate is also very competitive. In our first year ITE I scored above the national average for PGY-2s but was just about average in my class. It's something like 96% or more over the past five years I believe.
Rochester has also been a great city to live in. My wife and I have a four-bedroom, two-bath house with an indoor, heated garage for the same price our rundown 1970s apartment cost in the major city we moved from. There's a great variety of cosmopolitan restaurants to choose from, and we've traveled to New York, Chicago, and D.C. since moving here as well, along with multiple trips to the Twin Cities (going to the Butcher and the Boar tonight in MSP, actually. An amazing restaurant). The ability to drive up to a nice restaurant downtown and park on the street is awesome! The winters here are legendary, but I was underwhelmed last year, it wasn't much worse than eastern Washington. My beautiful nerd wife actually made an excel spreadsheet for the cities of each residency I'd applied to, and entered in a point system across ~ 15 factors (ave # of sunny days, ave commute time, crime rate, employment, etc...), and even after giving Rochester -2 for weather it still won.
When, as applicants, we travel around for interviews, I'd often hear people describe the reason they chose their program was because "it just clicked." Mayo was certainly that place for me. I'd applied here almost on a whim after a friend of mine urged me too, and am extremely glad I did! I ranked it above my home program (which is notable cause it's one of the top peds programs) because of how special Mayo seemed, from the people, to the culture of the institution, and have repeatedly been proven right.
I'd strongly encourage anyone applying in Pediatrics to come visit us and see for yourself. I hope you'll come away with the same impression.
I'm a Mayo Pediatric Resident. I'm coincidentally applying for fellowship in Cardiology. In just the past 18 or so months of residency, I've had: a first author publication to a notable journal, an oral presentation at AAP, a poster presentation at PAS, spent one month overseas (with pay) after receiving a $2,500 Mayo International Health Program Scholarship, had two elective rotations dedicated to research, been invited to speak at a conference on Vaccine Hesitancy after giving a departmental lecture on the topic, and had amazing and varied clinical experiences in the hospital and our general pediatric clinic. This isn't to pat myself on the back by any means - I'm not special among our residents - it's a testament to how supportive our residency is regarding pursuit of career goals. For me, it was research and fellowship. For at least half our class it's community or hospital-based general pediatrics. A good friend of mine has an interest in working within child abuse, and our program made a custom elective for her. Dr Homme, our program director, has told us <paraphrase>, "We pride ourselves on being a resident-empowering program. We don't treat our residents as inexpensive physician coverage for the hospital. If you're here [in the hospital], it's because we've decided with you that it's a valuable work and learning experience for you to be here." That's certainly been true over the past year and a half. Not only that, but through balancing our inpatient and outpatient months, we work an average of 60 hours/week over residency, which is amazing, since that extra 20 hours can be spent with family, on hobbies, volunteering, or in scholarly pursuits. Our board pass rate is also very competitive. In our first year ITE I scored above the national average for PGY-2s but was just about average in my class. It's something like 96% or more over the past five years I believe.
Rochester has also been a great city to live in. My wife and I have a four-bedroom, two-bath house with an indoor, heated garage for the same price our rundown 1970s apartment cost in the major city we moved from. There's a great variety of cosmopolitan restaurants to choose from, and we've traveled to New York, Chicago, and D.C. since moving here as well, along with multiple trips to the Twin Cities (going to the Butcher and the Boar tonight in MSP, actually. An amazing restaurant). The ability to drive up to a nice restaurant downtown and park on the street is awesome! The winters here are legendary, but I was underwhelmed last year, it wasn't much worse than eastern Washington. My beautiful nerd wife actually made an excel spreadsheet for the cities of each residency I'd applied to, and entered in a point system across ~ 15 factors (ave # of sunny days, ave commute time, crime rate, employment, etc...), and even after giving Rochester -2 for weather it still won.
When, as applicants, we travel around for interviews, I'd often hear people describe the reason they chose their program was because "it just clicked." Mayo was certainly that place for me. I'd applied here almost on a whim after a friend of mine urged me too, and am extremely glad I did! I ranked it above my home program (which is notable cause it's one of the top peds programs) because of how special Mayo seemed, from the people, to the culture of the institution, and have repeatedly been proven right.
I'd strongly encourage anyone applying in Pediatrics to come visit us and see for yourself. I hope you'll come away with the same impression.
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Thank you so much for responding! I interviewed there recently and had a fantastic time. My impression there certainly fit with your description.
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Reviving an old thread. Anyone have any recent/updated experience with Mayo's peds program? I'm also interested in international work but couldn't find much on their site and was wondering if anyone had any insight.
