I found the previous years very helpful so maybe we can start it this year. I know it's early and we are busy but maybe we can get it going now.
Neurology Interview Impressions, 2015-16
- Thread starter Borrow
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Happy to sticky once this picks up steam. Gets more hits down in the active threads section at first.
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I would be happy to participate in this as the previous years were of tremendous help, but will probably wait til after the match. To be honest, I have interviewed at 5 places so far and would be happy at any of them. Its really gonna come down to fit when it comes down to ranking.
I am also pretty impressed with fellow applicants. Lots of smart people and lots of people I am excited to work with in future!
I am also pretty impressed with fellow applicants. Lots of smart people and lots of people I am excited to work with in future!
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Agreed with StartingLine3. I've been pretty impressed my by (also 5!) interviews thus far, but will wait until the match myself.
I'll start with a couple , bummed this isn't active at all (other forums seem much more active) as these things are so helpful. Can post more if hopefully ppl start participating now that interviewing is finishing
USC- Truly embraces a county hospital system. Really have to buy into wanting that kind of experience if you come here and it seems to attract that sort of personality. Very busy time at LAC though residents didn’t feel overworked. Oddly county is not a primary stroke center. Facility at county is quite new and looked nice. Keck is a private hospital with lots of $$$ and a very different clientele, lots of NeuroOnc. USC is strong in NeuroICU with a focus on learning by doing. focus on Clinical training, less of a academic focus- research there but not sure how many people are taking advantage of it. PD was OK and Chair was very nice and a big researcher. Was asked where else I was interviewing which was a turn off and they really probe for "fit". Best dinner (fancy rooftop) but only a couple residents showed up. Still can't get a sense if residents are overworked, but no one seemed to be complaining. Area around the hospital not great, most residents wanted to be in LA area.
Cedar Sinai- Relatively new program so was dubious going in but very surprisingly impressive at end of interview day. PD is very proactive and seems passionate about resident education . All the faculty are very well accomplished and the chair is a huge name in stroke. Residents seem happy and I think they’re trying to push to get good school recruitment. A program that is very ambitious and on the rise for sure but still no where near a place like UCLA because of age. Has a respectable name in internal med and the region so this place could be really good in a couple years. Apparently not many private VIP celebrity patients as they go straight to private service and residents deal with a more "county" population then expected. Their residents seem happy, get to do a lot and first class of residents matched well. Research available if you want and there is so much $$$. There’s still is something to be said about being part of a university setting IMO and you are in Beverly Hills which can be a plus or minus for you. Felt that some faculty were really selling the program for something it wasn’t yet. Not a bad place especially if you want to be in SoCal.
USC- Truly embraces a county hospital system. Really have to buy into wanting that kind of experience if you come here and it seems to attract that sort of personality. Very busy time at LAC though residents didn’t feel overworked. Oddly county is not a primary stroke center. Facility at county is quite new and looked nice. Keck is a private hospital with lots of $$$ and a very different clientele, lots of NeuroOnc. USC is strong in NeuroICU with a focus on learning by doing. focus on Clinical training, less of a academic focus- research there but not sure how many people are taking advantage of it. PD was OK and Chair was very nice and a big researcher. Was asked where else I was interviewing which was a turn off and they really probe for "fit". Best dinner (fancy rooftop) but only a couple residents showed up. Still can't get a sense if residents are overworked, but no one seemed to be complaining. Area around the hospital not great, most residents wanted to be in LA area.
Cedar Sinai- Relatively new program so was dubious going in but very surprisingly impressive at end of interview day. PD is very proactive and seems passionate about resident education . All the faculty are very well accomplished and the chair is a huge name in stroke. Residents seem happy and I think they’re trying to push to get good school recruitment. A program that is very ambitious and on the rise for sure but still no where near a place like UCLA because of age. Has a respectable name in internal med and the region so this place could be really good in a couple years. Apparently not many private VIP celebrity patients as they go straight to private service and residents deal with a more "county" population then expected. Their residents seem happy, get to do a lot and first class of residents matched well. Research available if you want and there is so much $$$. There’s still is something to be said about being part of a university setting IMO and you are in Beverly Hills which can be a plus or minus for you. Felt that some faculty were really selling the program for something it wasn’t yet. Not a bad place especially if you want to be in SoCal.
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University of Maryland: Seemed to be a busy program, but residents didn't have too much to complain about in that regard. They seem to get a really broad neurological training and see lots of types of patients. Consult service in Shock Trauma, which is a pretty awesome trauma hospital that's connected to the University hospital. Opportunities exist for research, but clinical training is way more the focus at this program. PD seemed to be nice.
Georgetown: Great program, everyone seemed to be really excited to be here. The previous PD (everyone raved about him) is now the Chair, but seems to still be involved with the program. The new PD seems to be great as well. All the faculty seemed to be really laid back, and the residents were some of the happiest I've seen on the trail. They seem to get adequate training - they rotate at both Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center, a community hospital in DC. Biggest con I had was actually living in DC - housing is pretty crazy expensive, but there are other areas to live in outside DC if you wanted.
Baylor: I had high hopes for this one, but I came away a little disappointed. The PD (who seems to be new) just did not click with me, and a lot of other applicants I've spoken with have said the same thing. Program overall seemed to be very content with what they are right now and not interested in much improvement - the answer to most of my questions about future opportunities was to the effect of "this is the way things are, and we don't see that changing anytime soon". Most residents were there for the dinner and seemed pretty happy with the program, but did mention they work hard. Texas Medical Center was pretty darn impressive, and they do rotate (I think 1 month) at MD Anderson, which is pretty cool if you're interested in neuro-onc.
UT Southwestern: Starting with the pre-interview dinner, I loved the residents. Great group of people that were really interested in the program and happy. PD seems to be a great guy, and very supportive of just "making up" training and fellowship tracks tailored to resident's interests, which I thought was just plain awesome. Facilities are amazing (Parkland hospital - brand new and gorgeous). Somewhat annoying is that they admit in the ER at Cumberland hospital (their private hospital) at night, while caring for patients at Parkland and the private neuro hospital, so they sometimes have to drive over to Cumberland to admit someone from the ER in the middle of the night. Otherwise - very excited about this program!
I'll post some other programs when I have some more time.
Georgetown: Great program, everyone seemed to be really excited to be here. The previous PD (everyone raved about him) is now the Chair, but seems to still be involved with the program. The new PD seems to be great as well. All the faculty seemed to be really laid back, and the residents were some of the happiest I've seen on the trail. They seem to get adequate training - they rotate at both Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center, a community hospital in DC. Biggest con I had was actually living in DC - housing is pretty crazy expensive, but there are other areas to live in outside DC if you wanted.
Baylor: I had high hopes for this one, but I came away a little disappointed. The PD (who seems to be new) just did not click with me, and a lot of other applicants I've spoken with have said the same thing. Program overall seemed to be very content with what they are right now and not interested in much improvement - the answer to most of my questions about future opportunities was to the effect of "this is the way things are, and we don't see that changing anytime soon". Most residents were there for the dinner and seemed pretty happy with the program, but did mention they work hard. Texas Medical Center was pretty darn impressive, and they do rotate (I think 1 month) at MD Anderson, which is pretty cool if you're interested in neuro-onc.
UT Southwestern: Starting with the pre-interview dinner, I loved the residents. Great group of people that were really interested in the program and happy. PD seems to be a great guy, and very supportive of just "making up" training and fellowship tracks tailored to resident's interests, which I thought was just plain awesome. Facilities are amazing (Parkland hospital - brand new and gorgeous). Somewhat annoying is that they admit in the ER at Cumberland hospital (their private hospital) at night, while caring for patients at Parkland and the private neuro hospital, so they sometimes have to drive over to Cumberland to admit someone from the ER in the middle of the night. Otherwise - very excited about this program!
I'll post some other programs when I have some more time.
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I will add 2 that are already on here that I interviewed at also.
Baylor:
During my interview date only one resident showed up to the dinner which was disappointing. They do not pay for hotel stay but have a reduced rate at a nearby hotel. The program director is new and I really enjoyed meeting with her. She seemed like a nice lady with a lot of energy. The program chair was a nice man, but he does not seem to be involved much in the residency training (many of the residents alluded to this). The residents themselves seemed to be pleasant, but they made it clear that they work hard and that it can become easy to become overwhelmed. Of note, I noticed that resident's salary tends to be lower here than most other places. I had read in past Baylor was having financial difficulties but uncertain if low pay is ramification of this. The residents cover three hospitals which include: VA (one of largest in country), Memorial Herman (county hospital), and St. Luke's (catholic private hospital). Pediatrics rotation is done at Texas Children's (one of best pediatric hospitals in country ) and you can do an oncology rotation at MD Anderson (one of best cancer hospitals in country). The hospitals are all within the large Texas Medical Center. The program has a reputation for being malignant. My take is that the residents have a lot of responsibilities with resulting stress and fatigue. Houston, obviously, is a large city that has a lot to offer. The summers can be very hot and it is very humid year around.
Overall, was a little underwhelmed with the program. I thought it would be one of the top programs I ranked that was not on east or west coast but will probably rank in the lowest quartile.
UT Southwestern:
Like above, really enjoyed the interview dinner the residents are a friendly and lively group. The program pays for hotel stay and even gives a little gift basket that includes a pretty cool mug. The program director was one of my favorites along the interview trail and seems like a really nice guy. The department chair is relatively young and relatively new to the department. The department is currently in a stage of growth and in recent years has recruited not only new assistant professors but established professors from other universities. Lots of recent influx of money from philanthropy and state appropriations. Resident's salaries are on the higher end. This place has most impressive set of facilities encountered on interview trail. Parkland hospital is primary teaching hospital with 980 beds. The new Parkland just opened in last year and is a county hospital that could pass for a private hospital (all patients get single rooms). Clement's hospital is the universities private tertiary care hospital and this place just opened last year as well. The program also rotates at a VA which is located about 20 minutes from main campus. The university has a private neurosciences hospital called Zale Lipsy that houses neurology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery inpatient wards. I was told that historically the universities clinical reputation lagged significantly behind their basic science reputation but that in recent years that has started to change. Dallas is a large city that is like Houston, but less humid.
Overall, was very impressed with this program and it was tied with Wash U as my favorite that was not on a coast. Program seems to have a lot going for it and would not be surprised if it becomes popular choice in the future. I interviewed at a lot of great places and I think that this program, for me, will be ranked higher than what I initially expected.
Baylor:
During my interview date only one resident showed up to the dinner which was disappointing. They do not pay for hotel stay but have a reduced rate at a nearby hotel. The program director is new and I really enjoyed meeting with her. She seemed like a nice lady with a lot of energy. The program chair was a nice man, but he does not seem to be involved much in the residency training (many of the residents alluded to this). The residents themselves seemed to be pleasant, but they made it clear that they work hard and that it can become easy to become overwhelmed. Of note, I noticed that resident's salary tends to be lower here than most other places. I had read in past Baylor was having financial difficulties but uncertain if low pay is ramification of this. The residents cover three hospitals which include: VA (one of largest in country), Memorial Herman (county hospital), and St. Luke's (catholic private hospital). Pediatrics rotation is done at Texas Children's (one of best pediatric hospitals in country ) and you can do an oncology rotation at MD Anderson (one of best cancer hospitals in country). The hospitals are all within the large Texas Medical Center. The program has a reputation for being malignant. My take is that the residents have a lot of responsibilities with resulting stress and fatigue. Houston, obviously, is a large city that has a lot to offer. The summers can be very hot and it is very humid year around.
Overall, was a little underwhelmed with the program. I thought it would be one of the top programs I ranked that was not on east or west coast but will probably rank in the lowest quartile.
UT Southwestern:
Like above, really enjoyed the interview dinner the residents are a friendly and lively group. The program pays for hotel stay and even gives a little gift basket that includes a pretty cool mug. The program director was one of my favorites along the interview trail and seems like a really nice guy. The department chair is relatively young and relatively new to the department. The department is currently in a stage of growth and in recent years has recruited not only new assistant professors but established professors from other universities. Lots of recent influx of money from philanthropy and state appropriations. Resident's salaries are on the higher end. This place has most impressive set of facilities encountered on interview trail. Parkland hospital is primary teaching hospital with 980 beds. The new Parkland just opened in last year and is a county hospital that could pass for a private hospital (all patients get single rooms). Clement's hospital is the universities private tertiary care hospital and this place just opened last year as well. The program also rotates at a VA which is located about 20 minutes from main campus. The university has a private neurosciences hospital called Zale Lipsy that houses neurology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery inpatient wards. I was told that historically the universities clinical reputation lagged significantly behind their basic science reputation but that in recent years that has started to change. Dallas is a large city that is like Houston, but less humid.
Overall, was very impressed with this program and it was tied with Wash U as my favorite that was not on a coast. Program seems to have a lot going for it and would not be surprised if it becomes popular choice in the future. I interviewed at a lot of great places and I think that this program, for me, will be ranked higher than what I initially expected.
UAB Solid program. Extremely robust didactics, RITE score average was 90+ percentile. 100% board pass rate for over a decade. Extremely front loaded call schedule (unabashedly so), but as many residents told me, by midway through pgy3 year, nothing scared them and they felt comfortable with everything. UAB itself is the 3rd largest academic hospital in the nation, so huge variety and patient base. Solid program all around if you are willing to work.
Vanderbilt Very similar to UAB in a lot of ways. One thing that stuck out to me was the ability to declare an academic or private practice track in your training. Will pair you with an advisor to help you excel at both. Openly used the phrase "billable procedures," when discussing what differentiated between the two. Was refreshing to find a place with such academic prestige that was honest and open about preparing for a career in the private sector.
Vanderbilt Very similar to UAB in a lot of ways. One thing that stuck out to me was the ability to declare an academic or private practice track in your training. Will pair you with an advisor to help you excel at both. Openly used the phrase "billable procedures," when discussing what differentiated between the two. Was refreshing to find a place with such academic prestige that was honest and open about preparing for a career in the private sector.
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I'll start from the bottom of my list and work my way up over the weeks
Brown: Fine program, very stroke heavy. Are on forefront of endovascular treatment for stroke (INR guys are super aggressive). Super nice ER with multiple CT and MRI machines to get door to needle times to under 20 minutes. Chair is former stroke director for MGH. Recently opened new facilities so nice offices and outpatient facilities. Red Flags for me is that dinner was very lightly attended (no chief residents attended) and that a residents or two have been kicked out of the program recently. Also providence is WAYY to small for me to live in. 6 residents per year. Night float system.
UMaryland: Okay program but didn't get great vibe from PD or chair (major red flag for me on trail). People have been kicked out of program in recent years. Currently interim chair. Very nice facilities and within walking distance of Camden Yards, inner harbor, M&T bank. Downtown campus is major graduate school center so law school, dental school, etc are all on same campus to give variety. Program is 50% US seniors and 50% DOs. 6 residents per year, night float system. Not interested in living in Baltimore.
Temple: Did NOT like this program. Did not click at all with chair or PD at all. 4 residents per year (all IMG). Hospital located in worst part of philly and any cool cases get sent to Upenn or Jeff. Paper charts, overnight call. No fellowships in house
RWJ: Residents seem to really like this program. 4 residents per year (mix IMG & DO). Located in middle of jersey. Overnight call. Didn't click with PD and chair just gave a short 5 minute discussion. Likely merging with NJMS program in a few years. Later start time (sign out is at 730-8 so residents get to sleep in more).
Brown: Fine program, very stroke heavy. Are on forefront of endovascular treatment for stroke (INR guys are super aggressive). Super nice ER with multiple CT and MRI machines to get door to needle times to under 20 minutes. Chair is former stroke director for MGH. Recently opened new facilities so nice offices and outpatient facilities. Red Flags for me is that dinner was very lightly attended (no chief residents attended) and that a residents or two have been kicked out of the program recently. Also providence is WAYY to small for me to live in. 6 residents per year. Night float system.
UMaryland: Okay program but didn't get great vibe from PD or chair (major red flag for me on trail). People have been kicked out of program in recent years. Currently interim chair. Very nice facilities and within walking distance of Camden Yards, inner harbor, M&T bank. Downtown campus is major graduate school center so law school, dental school, etc are all on same campus to give variety. Program is 50% US seniors and 50% DOs. 6 residents per year, night float system. Not interested in living in Baltimore.
Temple: Did NOT like this program. Did not click at all with chair or PD at all. 4 residents per year (all IMG). Hospital located in worst part of philly and any cool cases get sent to Upenn or Jeff. Paper charts, overnight call. No fellowships in house
RWJ: Residents seem to really like this program. 4 residents per year (mix IMG & DO). Located in middle of jersey. Overnight call. Didn't click with PD and chair just gave a short 5 minute discussion. Likely merging with NJMS program in a few years. Later start time (sign out is at 730-8 so residents get to sleep in more).
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Ill do the 2 Pacific Northwest interviews today.
University of Washington:
This program had only 4 interview dates and this was reflected in it having the largest interview day group I had encountered (approximately 20 applicants). I was kind of let down by the pre-interview dinner as it was not at a restaurant, but at the main campus with catered food. They do not pay for hotel accommodations. The program director and department chair have been stable for many years and both seemed like friendly people. The department chair is a bit of a quirky guy but he seems to be really interested and involved in getting neurology residents involved in research. He is happy with where the program is at and does not anticipate any upcoming changes. Because of the volume of applicants, it did not appear that the director or department chair had really read through my application. This went along with the theme that the interview day was somewhat impersonal. I was really excited about this program, but along the interview trail when talking to residents from other institutions this place kept on coming up as a place that was malignant. I did not see this on the interview day and the residents seemed pleasant. One thing that might be a problem for people, and this was a problem for me, was that this program has three primary rotation sites and all three of them are separate from each other. The residents complained about this and said that it was common to have to drive from one to another on any given day. Given that it can be hard to navigate around Seattle and how expensive parking can be this was a red flag for me. Despite Seattle having excellent public transport, residents agreed a car was essential. Seattle for me is an awesome city, absolutely love it. However, while cost of living is not yet at NYC, SF, or Boston levels it is quickly catching up.
Overall, went in with high expectation, but was slightly let down. I am not the type of person that wants to be driving from site to site, for me this is an additional, perhaps unneeded, stress. I will probably rank in middle of pack with a bump upward because of location.
For future applicants, I had a couple of friends whom did not get interview here despite having better numbers than me. They may have unique screening method.
Oregon Health Science Center:
This interview day was the complete opposite of the UW interview date as they had 4 applicants total. The pre-interview dinner was at a nice restaurant and there was great resident turnout. The program provided hotel accommodations at a nice place. The program director and department chair interviewed applicants and both seemed like nice people. I had a difficult time holding a conversation with the department chair. The program is accepting 5 people this year compared to their usual 4. Not sure if this is going to be permanent. The institution as a whole has a reputation for not having a preference for internal applicants and for working hard to recruit from outside top institutions. On my date, the 4 applicants were all from top 25 medical schools. The institution has a beautiful campus and all rotation sites are on same campus. They sell that they have top 10 NIH research funding in neurology, but at the same time it does not appear that residents are taking advantage of this opportunity. The residents are a fantastic group and appeared the happiest encountered on the trail. This might be because the program may be a little less rigorous clinically than others. During PGY2, residents stated that they had a lot of free time and that they were only on call during wards 2-3 times per month with many golden weekends. This may be because they do not have the patient volume other institutions have. The hospital is located on a hill away from the city and therefore a lot of cases go to the hospitals in the city. After the lunch conference, many residents were preparing to go home. Residents stated that there were opportunities to do procedures, but you really had to push for it. Portland, again, for me, is an awesome city. Cost of living is significantly lower than peer cities on west coast.
Overall, loved this program and felt that my quality of life would be best here than any other program on my trail. I am uncertain if this program is as rigorous as I might want from a program though. Will probably rank somewhere in middle of the pack.
University of Washington:
This program had only 4 interview dates and this was reflected in it having the largest interview day group I had encountered (approximately 20 applicants). I was kind of let down by the pre-interview dinner as it was not at a restaurant, but at the main campus with catered food. They do not pay for hotel accommodations. The program director and department chair have been stable for many years and both seemed like friendly people. The department chair is a bit of a quirky guy but he seems to be really interested and involved in getting neurology residents involved in research. He is happy with where the program is at and does not anticipate any upcoming changes. Because of the volume of applicants, it did not appear that the director or department chair had really read through my application. This went along with the theme that the interview day was somewhat impersonal. I was really excited about this program, but along the interview trail when talking to residents from other institutions this place kept on coming up as a place that was malignant. I did not see this on the interview day and the residents seemed pleasant. One thing that might be a problem for people, and this was a problem for me, was that this program has three primary rotation sites and all three of them are separate from each other. The residents complained about this and said that it was common to have to drive from one to another on any given day. Given that it can be hard to navigate around Seattle and how expensive parking can be this was a red flag for me. Despite Seattle having excellent public transport, residents agreed a car was essential. Seattle for me is an awesome city, absolutely love it. However, while cost of living is not yet at NYC, SF, or Boston levels it is quickly catching up.
Overall, went in with high expectation, but was slightly let down. I am not the type of person that wants to be driving from site to site, for me this is an additional, perhaps unneeded, stress. I will probably rank in middle of pack with a bump upward because of location.
For future applicants, I had a couple of friends whom did not get interview here despite having better numbers than me. They may have unique screening method.
Oregon Health Science Center:
This interview day was the complete opposite of the UW interview date as they had 4 applicants total. The pre-interview dinner was at a nice restaurant and there was great resident turnout. The program provided hotel accommodations at a nice place. The program director and department chair interviewed applicants and both seemed like nice people. I had a difficult time holding a conversation with the department chair. The program is accepting 5 people this year compared to their usual 4. Not sure if this is going to be permanent. The institution as a whole has a reputation for not having a preference for internal applicants and for working hard to recruit from outside top institutions. On my date, the 4 applicants were all from top 25 medical schools. The institution has a beautiful campus and all rotation sites are on same campus. They sell that they have top 10 NIH research funding in neurology, but at the same time it does not appear that residents are taking advantage of this opportunity. The residents are a fantastic group and appeared the happiest encountered on the trail. This might be because the program may be a little less rigorous clinically than others. During PGY2, residents stated that they had a lot of free time and that they were only on call during wards 2-3 times per month with many golden weekends. This may be because they do not have the patient volume other institutions have. The hospital is located on a hill away from the city and therefore a lot of cases go to the hospitals in the city. After the lunch conference, many residents were preparing to go home. Residents stated that there were opportunities to do procedures, but you really had to push for it. Portland, again, for me, is an awesome city. Cost of living is significantly lower than peer cities on west coast.
Overall, loved this program and felt that my quality of life would be best here than any other program on my trail. I am uncertain if this program is as rigorous as I might want from a program though. Will probably rank somewhere in middle of the pack.
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so glad this is picking up! neuro community ftw and really interesting to see perspective on places I interviewed at (i.e. nobody mentioned the brown lost resident thing when I was there)
To tack on:
UW: Agree with above perspective. I had heard so much about this "malignancy" and I really didn't see any of it from the attendings or residents I met, either they're really good about hiding it or its a old. I definitely can see how they can be worked super hard- that's in some ways the UW mentality as an institution. They really downplayed the driving thing and said the vast majority of the time you are either at Harborview or UW and you commute for clinic, feel like a lot of programs require this extent of driving but idk. I didn't get to meet the chair which was a bummer and I agree that having 20 applicants on one day was a little overwhelming. Research is is there and super legit as a institution. Hard to tell if there is any subspecialtiy they are strong in, and their NeuroICU seemed a little weird. Overall i think Seattle is a huge pull for this place, if you are Seattle person I think location alone trumps lots of the possible negatives
OHSU: Also agree with above. Really happy and close group of residents. Very personalized experience and Portland is an awesome place in general. I think the biggest thing is that because they are on the hill I think they might get a skewed encachement, also it is very very rare for a resident to push TPA there. Something to consider if you are going into general/vascular as every other program gets to push lots and lots of TPA
DUKE: Really wanted to like this place. Durham is in some ways charming, seemed like a manageable place and living there is really cheap. It does have flairs of the south but has the research triangle going for it. Residents seemed chill and very happy to be there, and a good amt of southern med schools represented. The hospital was amazingly beautiful, quite big and everything is new and shiny. They are really strong in vascular, neuroICU it seems. Oddly their philosophy is to train good clinical general neurologist and have a higher proportion of private practice folks then other places. They really don't push research. Seems like a busy clinical experience, and residents felt that the "malignant" reputation of Duke only applied to surgery. They did a 2 (PD + Chair) vs 1 interview in which they asked behavioral and some borderline abrasive questions which was a turn off- not sure what they were trying to do with that, all the other interviews were very chill. Overall I felt that the place was decent but selling itself short because it has all the resources of Duke a giant academic powerhouse but don't seem to be using it to it's fullest for the residents.
WASHU: This is a powerhouse place for neurology for sure. Very extensive pre/interview day and I felt this was one of the places that put lots of time into their interview day to try and recruit people. I think as an academic institution it is right up there if not close to UCSF/Partners. The hospital itself is HUGE and kind of overwhelming. Residents were all very top notch (i.e. UCSF chief etc) and very personable people. This is a clinically BUSY place with q4 call your PGY2 year and being the only place in the region they get phenomenal exposure. You get to make the call as a resident on TPA without an attending which is super unique. Resident didn't seem overworked and seemed to really love the q4 system- I think you have to buy into grinding hard during residency. Strong in every subspecialty especially neuromusc. Insane research opportunities, and a very open elective time (11 months!!) in the last two years to do whatever you want. They send their people to top notch places for fellowship. Its biggest drawback is St. Louis, it is super affordable and there are nice areas but really leaves a lot to be desired- if it wern't there I would be ranking a lot higher.
To tack on:
UW: Agree with above perspective. I had heard so much about this "malignancy" and I really didn't see any of it from the attendings or residents I met, either they're really good about hiding it or its a old. I definitely can see how they can be worked super hard- that's in some ways the UW mentality as an institution. They really downplayed the driving thing and said the vast majority of the time you are either at Harborview or UW and you commute for clinic, feel like a lot of programs require this extent of driving but idk. I didn't get to meet the chair which was a bummer and I agree that having 20 applicants on one day was a little overwhelming. Research is is there and super legit as a institution. Hard to tell if there is any subspecialtiy they are strong in, and their NeuroICU seemed a little weird. Overall i think Seattle is a huge pull for this place, if you are Seattle person I think location alone trumps lots of the possible negatives
OHSU: Also agree with above. Really happy and close group of residents. Very personalized experience and Portland is an awesome place in general. I think the biggest thing is that because they are on the hill I think they might get a skewed encachement, also it is very very rare for a resident to push TPA there. Something to consider if you are going into general/vascular as every other program gets to push lots and lots of TPA
DUKE: Really wanted to like this place. Durham is in some ways charming, seemed like a manageable place and living there is really cheap. It does have flairs of the south but has the research triangle going for it. Residents seemed chill and very happy to be there, and a good amt of southern med schools represented. The hospital was amazingly beautiful, quite big and everything is new and shiny. They are really strong in vascular, neuroICU it seems. Oddly their philosophy is to train good clinical general neurologist and have a higher proportion of private practice folks then other places. They really don't push research. Seems like a busy clinical experience, and residents felt that the "malignant" reputation of Duke only applied to surgery. They did a 2 (PD + Chair) vs 1 interview in which they asked behavioral and some borderline abrasive questions which was a turn off- not sure what they were trying to do with that, all the other interviews were very chill. Overall I felt that the place was decent but selling itself short because it has all the resources of Duke a giant academic powerhouse but don't seem to be using it to it's fullest for the residents.
WASHU: This is a powerhouse place for neurology for sure. Very extensive pre/interview day and I felt this was one of the places that put lots of time into their interview day to try and recruit people. I think as an academic institution it is right up there if not close to UCSF/Partners. The hospital itself is HUGE and kind of overwhelming. Residents were all very top notch (i.e. UCSF chief etc) and very personable people. This is a clinically BUSY place with q4 call your PGY2 year and being the only place in the region they get phenomenal exposure. You get to make the call as a resident on TPA without an attending which is super unique. Resident didn't seem overworked and seemed to really love the q4 system- I think you have to buy into grinding hard during residency. Strong in every subspecialty especially neuromusc. Insane research opportunities, and a very open elective time (11 months!!) in the last two years to do whatever you want. They send their people to top notch places for fellowship. Its biggest drawback is St. Louis, it is super affordable and there are nice areas but really leaves a lot to be desired- if it wern't there I would be ranking a lot higher.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2012
- Messages
- 48
- Reaction score
- 15
Georgetown: Good program and residents seem to really love it there. Very collegeal and warm environment due to leadership of chairman (who was PD for 20+ years). Chair is a fantastic and warm person who sets the tone of the program - would go here just for him. Started partnership with NIH to allow residents significant opportunities for research at NIH during residency (unique opportunity). Hospital is on Georgetown campus, which is in the best part of DC. Negatives are hosptial itself is pretty old and currently using paper charts with no plans to change. Ranked middle of pack (but would place alot higher if from DC area)
Beth Israel: Small program in Union Square in NYC (great location). Only 4 residents per year so overnight call when not on floors (only short call when on floors). Great dinner- prob most fun I had on interview trail and residents are a fun and outgoing group of people. Most are DO/ IMGs. Program places extremely well for fellowship because PD is huge resident adovcate and starts connecting people with subspeciality mentors early in residents. Residents have alot of clinical research in chosen field by the time they apply (also seems lower volume than other NYC programs). PD is high energy and movement disorder specialist. Chairwomen is a huge name in movement disorders and BI is renowned for movement. Recently acquired by Mt. Siani hospital system so opportunities to do research/ electives throughout system. Although 4 residents, seem like they are less worked because only have to cover one hospital site (as opposed to Mt. siani) which has to cover three different sites in three boroughs (manhatten, brown VA, elmhurst queens). Although both programs strongly deny it, I got the sense that they will eventually merge and expand the two residency programs (to provide coverage for all the sites in system). Definate plans to merge fellowships in near future.
Jefferson: Solid program with 9+ residents. Residents were fun at dinner. Located in center city and has all the subspecialities expected of major academic center. Great PD- solid guy who is resident adovcate, very personable and greatly changed program. Expanded from 3 to 9 residents over past decade so has shed previous malignant/overworked reputation (although still front loaded). Resident size allows for 5 weeks vacation (4wks + 1 holiday). Also have either golden weekends or black (sat+sunday or saturday night shift) so even PGY2 have like 30+ golden weekends. Downside is paper notes.
Beth Israel: Small program in Union Square in NYC (great location). Only 4 residents per year so overnight call when not on floors (only short call when on floors). Great dinner- prob most fun I had on interview trail and residents are a fun and outgoing group of people. Most are DO/ IMGs. Program places extremely well for fellowship because PD is huge resident adovcate and starts connecting people with subspeciality mentors early in residents. Residents have alot of clinical research in chosen field by the time they apply (also seems lower volume than other NYC programs). PD is high energy and movement disorder specialist. Chairwomen is a huge name in movement disorders and BI is renowned for movement. Recently acquired by Mt. Siani hospital system so opportunities to do research/ electives throughout system. Although 4 residents, seem like they are less worked because only have to cover one hospital site (as opposed to Mt. siani) which has to cover three different sites in three boroughs (manhatten, brown VA, elmhurst queens). Although both programs strongly deny it, I got the sense that they will eventually merge and expand the two residency programs (to provide coverage for all the sites in system). Definate plans to merge fellowships in near future.
Jefferson: Solid program with 9+ residents. Residents were fun at dinner. Located in center city and has all the subspecialities expected of major academic center. Great PD- solid guy who is resident adovcate, very personable and greatly changed program. Expanded from 3 to 9 residents over past decade so has shed previous malignant/overworked reputation (although still front loaded). Resident size allows for 5 weeks vacation (4wks + 1 holiday). Also have either golden weekends or black (sat+sunday or saturday night shift) so even PGY2 have like 30+ golden weekends. Downside is paper notes.
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,868
- Reaction score
- 887
Good work, crew. Will sticky.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2016
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 7
Mayo Florida (categorical, 4 residents/yr):
City: Jacksonville. My uber driver said crime was a concern in the city, probably comparable to some of the bigger cities. They have a pro-football team and florida amenities. Traffic was average.
Residents: Residents seemed happy and had good things to say about the program. Mix of mid tier MD, DO, IMG. I had a poor experience in the interview with one resident in particular. He made a joke regarding treatment of a patient and doing invasive physical exam techniques out of spite of his dislike for the patient. I talked to some of my fellow interviewees about how inappropriate this was, and I considered it a red flag.
Hospital: Mayo resources are extensive and the facilities and clinics are beautiful. Mayo is known for catering to a more private-population.
Faculty: PD was middle of the road.
Program: I enjoyed the program of calls spread out over the 3 years as opposed to the front-loaded programs of most other institutions. Plenty of elective time with people having enough months to complete EMG certification in the program. I felt that this program was more private-practice focused then other big places, and the graduates have a higher percentage of people going into PP than others. This is helped with the neurophys diadactics/conferences. Some Big Mayo students will rotate through for neuro.
Interview specifics: Dinner at restaurant, hotel provided, some shuttle problems from the hotel, morning presentation with peds neuro, lunch was in Mayo Cafeteria.
Overall: If it werent for that unsavory resident, this program would be in my middle tier instead of my bottom tier. I enjoy the way the curriculum is set up, but there spectacular to draw me away, and the city didnt blow me away. The PD asked us about our awareness of Doximity. They are rated WAY TOO HIGH on doximity, imo (not a top 20 program). I noticed that all of the interviewees were of a pretty impressive caliber, and they must have applied due to those ratings as well.
MiamiJackson (8 categorical, 3 advanced/yr)
City: Miami. City was okay, but I'm a nerd in a committed relationship who is not hispanic and gets hot easily. Football team is pretty average too.
Residents: Enthusiastic and energetic to the point where it became something of a turn-off. Former residents have been put in there #1 choice of fellowship placements.
Hospital: Jackson is the countiest of all county hospitals. Resident estimated more than 50% of patients were spanish only or preferred spanish. Program draws a lot of volume and pathology from local areas as well as latin america. Good VA exposure, with VA right in the medical center.
Program: Known as a harder, tough working PGY2 year in a front loaded curriculum, but residents said it was a fun experience. PD is a UMiami homegrown attending. Chief is Sacco, prez of AAN. Attendings seemed nice, but I didn't mesh well with the PD.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant, I estimate 6-7 residents at dinner with 2 PGY2s. Hotel not provided. Lunch catered. Significant amount of walking, with a decent amount outdoors. I was sweating through my suit.
Overall: The city didnt mesh well with me and the program was a little bigger than my ideal programs 5-9 residents per year. Didn't have a great experience with residents and PD, but a solid program to train and set up a strong career.
City: Jacksonville. My uber driver said crime was a concern in the city, probably comparable to some of the bigger cities. They have a pro-football team and florida amenities. Traffic was average.
Residents: Residents seemed happy and had good things to say about the program. Mix of mid tier MD, DO, IMG. I had a poor experience in the interview with one resident in particular. He made a joke regarding treatment of a patient and doing invasive physical exam techniques out of spite of his dislike for the patient. I talked to some of my fellow interviewees about how inappropriate this was, and I considered it a red flag.
Hospital: Mayo resources are extensive and the facilities and clinics are beautiful. Mayo is known for catering to a more private-population.
Faculty: PD was middle of the road.
Program: I enjoyed the program of calls spread out over the 3 years as opposed to the front-loaded programs of most other institutions. Plenty of elective time with people having enough months to complete EMG certification in the program. I felt that this program was more private-practice focused then other big places, and the graduates have a higher percentage of people going into PP than others. This is helped with the neurophys diadactics/conferences. Some Big Mayo students will rotate through for neuro.
Interview specifics: Dinner at restaurant, hotel provided, some shuttle problems from the hotel, morning presentation with peds neuro, lunch was in Mayo Cafeteria.
Overall: If it werent for that unsavory resident, this program would be in my middle tier instead of my bottom tier. I enjoy the way the curriculum is set up, but there spectacular to draw me away, and the city didnt blow me away. The PD asked us about our awareness of Doximity. They are rated WAY TOO HIGH on doximity, imo (not a top 20 program). I noticed that all of the interviewees were of a pretty impressive caliber, and they must have applied due to those ratings as well.
MiamiJackson (8 categorical, 3 advanced/yr)
City: Miami. City was okay, but I'm a nerd in a committed relationship who is not hispanic and gets hot easily. Football team is pretty average too.
Residents: Enthusiastic and energetic to the point where it became something of a turn-off. Former residents have been put in there #1 choice of fellowship placements.
Hospital: Jackson is the countiest of all county hospitals. Resident estimated more than 50% of patients were spanish only or preferred spanish. Program draws a lot of volume and pathology from local areas as well as latin america. Good VA exposure, with VA right in the medical center.
Program: Known as a harder, tough working PGY2 year in a front loaded curriculum, but residents said it was a fun experience. PD is a UMiami homegrown attending. Chief is Sacco, prez of AAN. Attendings seemed nice, but I didn't mesh well with the PD.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant, I estimate 6-7 residents at dinner with 2 PGY2s. Hotel not provided. Lunch catered. Significant amount of walking, with a decent amount outdoors. I was sweating through my suit.
Overall: The city didnt mesh well with me and the program was a little bigger than my ideal programs 5-9 residents per year. Didn't have a great experience with residents and PD, but a solid program to train and set up a strong career.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2016
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- 8
- Reaction score
- 0
Rutgers/NJMS (4 categorical spots)
Location: Newark is very shady to say the least. The Rutgers campus area looked relatively safe. All residents live in nearby suburbs. Public transport available from Jersey City and Hoboken area, but not very reliable all the time according to residents. The closer you get to NYC the more expensive the rent is. New Jersey is underrated.
Residents: Seemed tired, though they say they're happy. Mostly IMGs. Been able to score desired fellowships in the recent years.
Hospital: University Hospital is located close to the Rutgers campus in Newark, seemed a bit old. Residents spend a lot of time at the VA which is a 20 min drive. In fact, half of the residents are paid by the VA, the other half by the hospital. Those who are randomly selected to be paid by the VA are paid more.
Program: Smaller program, looks like there is going be merge with RWJ at some point. Chair is for both programs. He seems really nice and approachable. Couldn't really read the program director, she was very blunt and honest, which might be a good thing sometimes? Have heard residents praise their PDs on all of my interviews with the exception of a couple and NJMS is one. Faculty seemed very smart, eager to teach and grow the program. Actively looking to add faculty. Work very closely with neurosurgery. They see A LOT of pathology. Front loaded PGY-2, residents say they got comfortable with stroke early.
Interview specifics: Pre-interview dinner at empty bar in Newark, poor resident turnout, only 2 showed up and looked tired. PC is very nice.
University of Chicago (6 advanced)
Location: Campus is located in Hyde Park, safe area on the south side of Chicago. Most residents live in Loop area, some live in Hyde Park. Pretty hard to get to through public transportation if you live in the Loop or downtown area. Chicago is a really cool city with a lot to offer. Whatever you're into, you'll be able to find a decent scene (food, arts, sports...). Weather can get brutal during the winter.
Residents: Very smart bunch of residents. Very sociable and approachable, seemed really happy with the program. Good turnout to pre-interview dinner. All have gotten #1 choice for fellowship at competitive programs in top names.
Hospital: Located on UofC's main campus which is beautiful. The hospital is big, recently added a new building where Neuro ICU is, very impressive facilities. No paper charts, supportive ancillary staff.
Program: Program director was my favorite from interview trail. The residents really love her and she's a big resident advocate. Relatively smaller program, people seemed to get along well. Very ICU heavy program with front loaded PGY-2. First few months seniors take in house call for support. Quite some time spent in North Shore in Evanston, which is far from main campus. Faculty eager to teach and saw first hand how they challenge residents during noon report. Research track available, however they lost the R25 and are reapplying this year.
Interview specifics: Pre-interview dinner at a nice restaurant and good food for lunch. Seemed like they invested a lot in the recruitment process. Faculty kept popping in and out of the room where applicants were sitting.
Location: Newark is very shady to say the least. The Rutgers campus area looked relatively safe. All residents live in nearby suburbs. Public transport available from Jersey City and Hoboken area, but not very reliable all the time according to residents. The closer you get to NYC the more expensive the rent is. New Jersey is underrated.
Residents: Seemed tired, though they say they're happy. Mostly IMGs. Been able to score desired fellowships in the recent years.
Hospital: University Hospital is located close to the Rutgers campus in Newark, seemed a bit old. Residents spend a lot of time at the VA which is a 20 min drive. In fact, half of the residents are paid by the VA, the other half by the hospital. Those who are randomly selected to be paid by the VA are paid more.
Program: Smaller program, looks like there is going be merge with RWJ at some point. Chair is for both programs. He seems really nice and approachable. Couldn't really read the program director, she was very blunt and honest, which might be a good thing sometimes? Have heard residents praise their PDs on all of my interviews with the exception of a couple and NJMS is one. Faculty seemed very smart, eager to teach and grow the program. Actively looking to add faculty. Work very closely with neurosurgery. They see A LOT of pathology. Front loaded PGY-2, residents say they got comfortable with stroke early.
Interview specifics: Pre-interview dinner at empty bar in Newark, poor resident turnout, only 2 showed up and looked tired. PC is very nice.
University of Chicago (6 advanced)
Location: Campus is located in Hyde Park, safe area on the south side of Chicago. Most residents live in Loop area, some live in Hyde Park. Pretty hard to get to through public transportation if you live in the Loop or downtown area. Chicago is a really cool city with a lot to offer. Whatever you're into, you'll be able to find a decent scene (food, arts, sports...). Weather can get brutal during the winter.
Residents: Very smart bunch of residents. Very sociable and approachable, seemed really happy with the program. Good turnout to pre-interview dinner. All have gotten #1 choice for fellowship at competitive programs in top names.
Hospital: Located on UofC's main campus which is beautiful. The hospital is big, recently added a new building where Neuro ICU is, very impressive facilities. No paper charts, supportive ancillary staff.
Program: Program director was my favorite from interview trail. The residents really love her and she's a big resident advocate. Relatively smaller program, people seemed to get along well. Very ICU heavy program with front loaded PGY-2. First few months seniors take in house call for support. Quite some time spent in North Shore in Evanston, which is far from main campus. Faculty eager to teach and saw first hand how they challenge residents during noon report. Research track available, however they lost the R25 and are reapplying this year.
Interview specifics: Pre-interview dinner at a nice restaurant and good food for lunch. Seemed like they invested a lot in the recruitment process. Faculty kept popping in and out of the room where applicants were sitting.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2015
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 14
I will give my impressions of the two California schools I interviewed at today:
UC San Diego
This is a program I really wanted to like given its location. Pre interview dinner had good resident turnout. Program did not provide hotel accommodations. Program is advanced and there is no coordination with internal medicine to get prelim interview. UC San Diego has strong reputation in basic neurosciences. However, the residency program makes a point to stress that their goal is to train clinical neurologist. Not many, if any, residents appeared to be involved in research. They have two primary teaching hospitals which are a county hospital and a VA. One resident had noted that there are several strong competing private hospitals in the area and this perhaps has prevented the growth of the university clinical enterprise. However, university in process of building new medical center, but uncertain how much neurology will be done there. The residents work hard, but noted that things were manageable. The residents all seemed happy. The program director is a nice lady whom stressed that they rank based not on numbers but whom they feel is the best match for their program. Most of the applicants interviewed had southern California ties. I was a bit confused as they kept stressing that they wanted to train clinical neurologist yet had a disproportionate number of MD, PhD applicants whom had strong interests in research. The program chair is a big researcher and the applicants meet with him as a group. It can be a little uncomfortable as he has your application and does a mini interview of you with other applicants present. San Diego is a beautiful city and cost of living is lower than peer cities in California.
Overall, I feel that this program does not use the resources around them to full potential and this prevents program from being stronger. I feel they have strong basic science background and could redirect some efforts to recruiting and training residents whom have basic science interests. I felt underwhelmed and will rank accordingly.
Stanford
This is a growing program in both infrastructure and personnel. The university just completed a new outpatient neuroscience center and is in the process of building two new hospitals. The program is currently growing from 6 to 8 spots for next year with plans to increase to 10 in the coming years. The program is advanced and there is no coordination with internal medicine to get prelim interview. They do guarantee that up to 2 neurology applicants who match can get a prelim. The pre interview dinner was well attended, but the program does not provide hotel accommodations. My advice is to find a friend to stay with during this interview as hotels here were super expensive. The residents all seemed very happy. Program has three teaching sites which include a university hospital, county hospital, and VA. 2 of the 3 sites have home call, but forgot which one has in house call. Program in the past has reputation for not being as clinically rigorous, but they try to sell hard that indeed it is. I felt that their program had fantastic clinical opportunities and that perhaps their reputation was somewhat outdated. It appears their goal is to put themselves in position to be directly compared to the most elite neurology programs and I feel that they are making progress in this regard. I personally feel they fall somewhere between 6-10 in terms of my ranking of neurology programs reputation wise. The department chair is a basic scientist, really nice guy and clicked really well with him. The residency director is also a really nice personable guy. Residency director noted to group how competitive it is this year compared to past years to get a spot. I think he said their goal was to interview 60 people for their 8 spots. Palo Alto is not cheap and most residents live in surrounding cities. The university recognizes that cost of living is expensive and there is 6k year living stipend and relocation stipend available. Pay is also on higher end.
Overall, I really liked this program and felt that I would be happy and would get fantastic clinical training and research opportunities. I enjoyed the residents and thought I meshed well with them. I will rank in top tier and am considering ranking over perhaps more traditionally higher ranked programs. I would be excited to match here.
UC San Diego
This is a program I really wanted to like given its location. Pre interview dinner had good resident turnout. Program did not provide hotel accommodations. Program is advanced and there is no coordination with internal medicine to get prelim interview. UC San Diego has strong reputation in basic neurosciences. However, the residency program makes a point to stress that their goal is to train clinical neurologist. Not many, if any, residents appeared to be involved in research. They have two primary teaching hospitals which are a county hospital and a VA. One resident had noted that there are several strong competing private hospitals in the area and this perhaps has prevented the growth of the university clinical enterprise. However, university in process of building new medical center, but uncertain how much neurology will be done there. The residents work hard, but noted that things were manageable. The residents all seemed happy. The program director is a nice lady whom stressed that they rank based not on numbers but whom they feel is the best match for their program. Most of the applicants interviewed had southern California ties. I was a bit confused as they kept stressing that they wanted to train clinical neurologist yet had a disproportionate number of MD, PhD applicants whom had strong interests in research. The program chair is a big researcher and the applicants meet with him as a group. It can be a little uncomfortable as he has your application and does a mini interview of you with other applicants present. San Diego is a beautiful city and cost of living is lower than peer cities in California.
Overall, I feel that this program does not use the resources around them to full potential and this prevents program from being stronger. I feel they have strong basic science background and could redirect some efforts to recruiting and training residents whom have basic science interests. I felt underwhelmed and will rank accordingly.
Stanford
This is a growing program in both infrastructure and personnel. The university just completed a new outpatient neuroscience center and is in the process of building two new hospitals. The program is currently growing from 6 to 8 spots for next year with plans to increase to 10 in the coming years. The program is advanced and there is no coordination with internal medicine to get prelim interview. They do guarantee that up to 2 neurology applicants who match can get a prelim. The pre interview dinner was well attended, but the program does not provide hotel accommodations. My advice is to find a friend to stay with during this interview as hotels here were super expensive. The residents all seemed very happy. Program has three teaching sites which include a university hospital, county hospital, and VA. 2 of the 3 sites have home call, but forgot which one has in house call. Program in the past has reputation for not being as clinically rigorous, but they try to sell hard that indeed it is. I felt that their program had fantastic clinical opportunities and that perhaps their reputation was somewhat outdated. It appears their goal is to put themselves in position to be directly compared to the most elite neurology programs and I feel that they are making progress in this regard. I personally feel they fall somewhere between 6-10 in terms of my ranking of neurology programs reputation wise. The department chair is a basic scientist, really nice guy and clicked really well with him. The residency director is also a really nice personable guy. Residency director noted to group how competitive it is this year compared to past years to get a spot. I think he said their goal was to interview 60 people for their 8 spots. Palo Alto is not cheap and most residents live in surrounding cities. The university recognizes that cost of living is expensive and there is 6k year living stipend and relocation stipend available. Pay is also on higher end.
Overall, I really liked this program and felt that I would be happy and would get fantastic clinical training and research opportunities. I enjoyed the residents and thought I meshed well with them. I will rank in top tier and am considering ranking over perhaps more traditionally higher ranked programs. I would be excited to match here.
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- Joined
- Jan 18, 2016
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 7
University of Kansas (categorical, 7 residents/yr expanding to 8 soon):
City: Kansas City, which is split by the Kansas-Missouri line. This can create annoying tax situations with hospitals on both sides of the line. City seemed like a charming mid-western town. Good professional sports and about an hour drive from the undergraduate KU campus. Traffic not bad. Great BBQ. Excellent cost of living
Residents: Residents were friendly and personable. Really remarked on positives about the program and were a diverse group. Mix of mid tier MD, DO, with occasional IMG. A lot of residents came from around the area.
Hospital: Kansas Medical Center, VA, with lots of construction. Facilities are quite nice and buildings will be coming up quickly, including a tower for neurosciences.
Faculty: Friendly and kind. Interviews were laid back. Didn't get the best vibe Dubinsky (program director), but his program is solid and on a good track.
Program: Is still changing. Looking to decrease inpatient months and get more exposure to outpatient in the next couple of years. Nightfloat system. ICU q4 call, VA homecall, Childrens homecall q4. Required research day, with projects of any size and topic. Fellowships: Neurophys, neuromusc, vasc, sleep, NCC, with behavior and movement starting next year.
Interview specifics: Dinner at restaurant with great bbq, hotel provided (shuttle provided to interview, which starts in some difficult to find office building), Interview day dragged on a little long. Coordinator was friendly and interviews were pretty chill. Lunch was with some residents and catered sandwiches.
Overall: Program was nice and residents were friendly. Kansas City is a solid midwestern city with things to do and a good exposure of different populations. I liked this program more than I expected, which were pretty low to start with (was originally planning on canceling). Reports of poor board pass rates have been kind of scary, but the residents I interacted with seemed very capable and enthusiastic
UVA (5 categorical + 1 advanced/guaranteed)
City: Charlottesville. Tiny, college town that is a short drive away from some other large metropolitan areas. My uber driver said the city was growing, but the traffic we faced was terrible for such a small town. Downtown mall was a short street with some local shops. Had a concert venue and residents enjoyed some of the local, small city amenities and events that Charlottesville had. Most residents had hesitations about the city, but have said it has been a great place to do training. Charlottesville airport is very small and can make it difficult to fly in and out of the city.
Residents: Some of the friendliest folks on the trail. Residents really loved the program and had great things to say about the city as well. Graduates go off to average-good fellowships. Most residents were firmly mid-tier MDs and quite often from the midwest.
Hospital: UVA, above average facilities. No VA
Program: Night float system in place. Stroke and General services. NNICU. Emphasis on teaching with friendly staff. Cool International opportunities in scotland and new zealand.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant with good bbq, I estimate 6-7 residents at dinner with 2 PGY2s. Hotel provided at Omni. PD gave us a tour of the undergraduate campus, but ran very long and was honestly not useful.
Overall: Program was a good place to train, but city may be small for some. Alumni are in places all over the country in academic positions.
City: Kansas City, which is split by the Kansas-Missouri line. This can create annoying tax situations with hospitals on both sides of the line. City seemed like a charming mid-western town. Good professional sports and about an hour drive from the undergraduate KU campus. Traffic not bad. Great BBQ. Excellent cost of living
Residents: Residents were friendly and personable. Really remarked on positives about the program and were a diverse group. Mix of mid tier MD, DO, with occasional IMG. A lot of residents came from around the area.
Hospital: Kansas Medical Center, VA, with lots of construction. Facilities are quite nice and buildings will be coming up quickly, including a tower for neurosciences.
Faculty: Friendly and kind. Interviews were laid back. Didn't get the best vibe Dubinsky (program director), but his program is solid and on a good track.
Program: Is still changing. Looking to decrease inpatient months and get more exposure to outpatient in the next couple of years. Nightfloat system. ICU q4 call, VA homecall, Childrens homecall q4. Required research day, with projects of any size and topic. Fellowships: Neurophys, neuromusc, vasc, sleep, NCC, with behavior and movement starting next year.
Interview specifics: Dinner at restaurant with great bbq, hotel provided (shuttle provided to interview, which starts in some difficult to find office building), Interview day dragged on a little long. Coordinator was friendly and interviews were pretty chill. Lunch was with some residents and catered sandwiches.
Overall: Program was nice and residents were friendly. Kansas City is a solid midwestern city with things to do and a good exposure of different populations. I liked this program more than I expected, which were pretty low to start with (was originally planning on canceling). Reports of poor board pass rates have been kind of scary, but the residents I interacted with seemed very capable and enthusiastic
UVA (5 categorical + 1 advanced/guaranteed)
City: Charlottesville. Tiny, college town that is a short drive away from some other large metropolitan areas. My uber driver said the city was growing, but the traffic we faced was terrible for such a small town. Downtown mall was a short street with some local shops. Had a concert venue and residents enjoyed some of the local, small city amenities and events that Charlottesville had. Most residents had hesitations about the city, but have said it has been a great place to do training. Charlottesville airport is very small and can make it difficult to fly in and out of the city.
Residents: Some of the friendliest folks on the trail. Residents really loved the program and had great things to say about the city as well. Graduates go off to average-good fellowships. Most residents were firmly mid-tier MDs and quite often from the midwest.
Hospital: UVA, above average facilities. No VA
Program: Night float system in place. Stroke and General services. NNICU. Emphasis on teaching with friendly staff. Cool International opportunities in scotland and new zealand.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant with good bbq, I estimate 6-7 residents at dinner with 2 PGY2s. Hotel provided at Omni. PD gave us a tour of the undergraduate campus, but ran very long and was honestly not useful.
Overall: Program was a good place to train, but city may be small for some. Alumni are in places all over the country in academic positions.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2016
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 7
I agree with most of what NeuroAppl2016 said for Stanford above^
Stanford (8 residents/year. Advanced. 2 internal medicine pre-lim years saved for neurology residents)
City: Bay area, Palo Alto. This is a really nice area that is heavily populated. With SanFran, SanJose, and Stanford in the area cost of living is quite difficult. Traffic is terrible. There are obviously plenty of things to do and the medical campus is quite nice.
Residents: Were really friendly and loved the program. They talked about how the program was starting to be more aware of the cost of living and increasing pay yearly, but were living at a comfortable level. Most residents that I talked to did their pre-lim IM years at Santa Clara Valley and said it was a good place. Mostly mid-top tier MD graduates.
Hospital: Stanford, Santa Clara Valley, VA. Stanford's facilities were nice. Stanford and VA are quite close, but SCV is a bit of a drive away. New buildings are popping up in their system currently.
Faculty: Some of the best teaching faculty I met on my interviews. There is a real dedication to resident education at this facility, which contrasts to a lot of the other upper tier schools that focus on research. I usually ask the chair at programs to tell me what they take pride of in their program, and the chair said he looks to hire people who can be good teachers first and foremost. PD is super friendly and was definitely above average on my interview trail.
Program: Rumored to be clinically less rigorous, although they deny, but it is difficult for anyone to compare program to program without being in both. Homecall except for Stanford hospital. Neuroscience scholar tracks offered. Good amount of exposure to subspecialties and fellowships offered.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant. 5-6 residents at dinner. Even distribution between PGY2-4. Housing not provided. Parking provided on day of interview. As NeuroAppl2016 said above, the PD said they were interviewing ~65 people this season, which makes it a good chance of matching if you interview.
Overall: I really loved this program and would rank it 1st or 2nd if I had more prelim interviews. Stanford originally wanted to try to guarantee more prelim spots, but Stanford anesthesia had recently taken up a large portion. I got the sense that Stanford's neurology program wasn't one of the more respected Stanford institutions. They make note that they have the largest group of medical students going into neurology. I read this as excellent teaching with energetic, charismatic attendings with little scut! Also, cost of living is quite high. However, I enjoyed the city, loved the weather, and loved the program.
WASHU: (Categorical 10 residents/year)
City: Saint Louis, MO. Larger midwest city, with a reputation for being more shady/dangerous. Good food and things to do, although they just lost their NFL team. Metrolink was really easy and pretty safe, which links the city right to the hospital. Weather recently hasn't been great, but residents say they enjoy the city a lot. Cost of living was good.
Residents: Were really friendly and invested in selling the program. But they were looking for people who were good fits to their program. Most do research, and quite a few of them are MD-PhDs. Most came from mid-high tier MD schools. Previous residents get great fellowship positions elsewhere. Class size increasing 1 spot this year, and also interviewing for a new PGY2 position this year as well.
Hospital: Barnes Jewish Hospital. Large volume. Huge, and we walked around the hospital over the course of the couple of days. No VA staffing, which is staffed by St Louis University Residents, per PD. Changing to Epic EMR soon.
Faculty: Some of the best teaching faculty I met on my interviews. There is a real dedication to resident education at this facility, which contrasts to a lot of the other upper tier schools that focus on research. I usually ask the chair at programs to tell me what they take pride of in their program, and the chair said he looks to hire people who can be good teachers first and foremost. PD is super friendly and was definitely above average on my interview trail.
Program: Strong academic institution. Clinically busy with one of the more known busy PGY-2 years. They liked saying they had a lot of CJD cases when talking about volume, zebras, and clinical exposure. Strong subspecialties and really cool research. Some of the most interesting electives with Medical Journalism and "Make your own electives". I asked the Chair here what he was proud of and he said he enjoyed his program's research successes.
Interview specifics: Definitely one of the best organized days on the interview trail. One of the longer interviews which typically starts at 3pm on day before interviews. They had a cute little spread for the "Taste of St. Louis" day, and then gave us an hour presentation about what past MD-PhDs had done in their program. Then another 2+ hours for reception with faculty and drinks at a bar with residents. This part was WAY too long. Interview day itself was short with one 30 minute interview and two 15 minute interviews. Optional additional "interviews" are available if requested. Lunch was catered panera with some frozen custard for dessert.
Overall: I liked it more than I thought I would. Obviously a strong neurology training and research institution. The staff and residents here were all super smart and really quite friendly, but obviously there was a strong research inclination similar to other top schools. I tended to avoid applying to those programs, but WASHU was nonetheless impressive. Saint Louis may be difficult to transition to for some.
Stanford (8 residents/year. Advanced. 2 internal medicine pre-lim years saved for neurology residents)
City: Bay area, Palo Alto. This is a really nice area that is heavily populated. With SanFran, SanJose, and Stanford in the area cost of living is quite difficult. Traffic is terrible. There are obviously plenty of things to do and the medical campus is quite nice.
Residents: Were really friendly and loved the program. They talked about how the program was starting to be more aware of the cost of living and increasing pay yearly, but were living at a comfortable level. Most residents that I talked to did their pre-lim IM years at Santa Clara Valley and said it was a good place. Mostly mid-top tier MD graduates.
Hospital: Stanford, Santa Clara Valley, VA. Stanford's facilities were nice. Stanford and VA are quite close, but SCV is a bit of a drive away. New buildings are popping up in their system currently.
Faculty: Some of the best teaching faculty I met on my interviews. There is a real dedication to resident education at this facility, which contrasts to a lot of the other upper tier schools that focus on research. I usually ask the chair at programs to tell me what they take pride of in their program, and the chair said he looks to hire people who can be good teachers first and foremost. PD is super friendly and was definitely above average on my interview trail.
Program: Rumored to be clinically less rigorous, although they deny, but it is difficult for anyone to compare program to program without being in both. Homecall except for Stanford hospital. Neuroscience scholar tracks offered. Good amount of exposure to subspecialties and fellowships offered.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant. 5-6 residents at dinner. Even distribution between PGY2-4. Housing not provided. Parking provided on day of interview. As NeuroAppl2016 said above, the PD said they were interviewing ~65 people this season, which makes it a good chance of matching if you interview.
Overall: I really loved this program and would rank it 1st or 2nd if I had more prelim interviews. Stanford originally wanted to try to guarantee more prelim spots, but Stanford anesthesia had recently taken up a large portion. I got the sense that Stanford's neurology program wasn't one of the more respected Stanford institutions. They make note that they have the largest group of medical students going into neurology. I read this as excellent teaching with energetic, charismatic attendings with little scut! Also, cost of living is quite high. However, I enjoyed the city, loved the weather, and loved the program.
WASHU: (Categorical 10 residents/year)
City: Saint Louis, MO. Larger midwest city, with a reputation for being more shady/dangerous. Good food and things to do, although they just lost their NFL team. Metrolink was really easy and pretty safe, which links the city right to the hospital. Weather recently hasn't been great, but residents say they enjoy the city a lot. Cost of living was good.
Residents: Were really friendly and invested in selling the program. But they were looking for people who were good fits to their program. Most do research, and quite a few of them are MD-PhDs. Most came from mid-high tier MD schools. Previous residents get great fellowship positions elsewhere. Class size increasing 1 spot this year, and also interviewing for a new PGY2 position this year as well.
Hospital: Barnes Jewish Hospital. Large volume. Huge, and we walked around the hospital over the course of the couple of days. No VA staffing, which is staffed by St Louis University Residents, per PD. Changing to Epic EMR soon.
Faculty: Some of the best teaching faculty I met on my interviews. There is a real dedication to resident education at this facility, which contrasts to a lot of the other upper tier schools that focus on research. I usually ask the chair at programs to tell me what they take pride of in their program, and the chair said he looks to hire people who can be good teachers first and foremost. PD is super friendly and was definitely above average on my interview trail.
Program: Strong academic institution. Clinically busy with one of the more known busy PGY-2 years. They liked saying they had a lot of CJD cases when talking about volume, zebras, and clinical exposure. Strong subspecialties and really cool research. Some of the most interesting electives with Medical Journalism and "Make your own electives". I asked the Chair here what he was proud of and he said he enjoyed his program's research successes.
Interview specifics: Definitely one of the best organized days on the interview trail. One of the longer interviews which typically starts at 3pm on day before interviews. They had a cute little spread for the "Taste of St. Louis" day, and then gave us an hour presentation about what past MD-PhDs had done in their program. Then another 2+ hours for reception with faculty and drinks at a bar with residents. This part was WAY too long. Interview day itself was short with one 30 minute interview and two 15 minute interviews. Optional additional "interviews" are available if requested. Lunch was catered panera with some frozen custard for dessert.
Overall: I liked it more than I thought I would. Obviously a strong neurology training and research institution. The staff and residents here were all super smart and really quite friendly, but obviously there was a strong research inclination similar to other top schools. I tended to avoid applying to those programs, but WASHU was nonetheless impressive. Saint Louis may be difficult to transition to for some.
UPENN: (Essentially Categorical at either Pennsylvania Hospital or HUP with option to do first year elsewhere)
City: Philadelphia was surprisingly cool. The Penn campus is very collegey and not sketchy. Center city and downtown very charming with lots of great restaurants. A very foodie place with lots of BYOB. People felt safe and said it was very obvious where the bad areas are. Most residents live in center city and walk/bike.
Residents: Very down to earth and happy people. all really liked being there. Representation of lots of top notch places and seems like lots of Harvard kids choose this place. Super accomplished smart people with lots of ambition- good amount of R25/PHD types.
Hospital: HUP, looked like a generic hospital, there is a newer portion that was recently built with really nice outpatient facilities.
Faculty: Overall seemed approachable. PD seemed very committed and passionate about his job, clearly knew our apps as he did the entire interview with no papers! The Chair is super legit but also one of the most polarizing aspects of the program- definitely a more intense interview. I know many coapplicants who were turned off or really liked the program because of the chair. The Chairs presentation on why neurology was the best talk I saw on the trail though. Overall friendly people with lots of research opportunities.
Program: Phenomenal training. This is one of the best structured programs I came across- they have several tracks (research, teaching etc) that you can enter based on interests. Sounds like they get great exposure due to their urban setting. A bit more intense vibe akin to WashU in that they really emphasized research. Getting a R25 was a huge thing there, but didn’t seem like every resident was doing hardcore research. They definitely made it clear that this was Penn and name dropped a lot- was a very east coast program imo. Good representation of subspecialties and residents seem to get a fair amount of autonomy/ are busy but didn’t seem particularly overworked.
Interview specifics: One of the longer interviews. Start at 3 the day before with introductions and overview with tour then a nice dinner. Definitely a fun and social group that liked hanging out. 6 or so interviews and lots of time to talk to residents. They try to pair interviewers by interests. Professor rounds was pretty impressive adding to the “ivy league” essence.
Overall: Really impressive place. For sure at the top of lots of place, and is in the big leagues with places like Partners and UCSF. Seems to have a push for dedication to research but many other avenues you can pursue. Great name too ! People seem to really like Philadelphia, which is a manageable city.
City: Philadelphia was surprisingly cool. The Penn campus is very collegey and not sketchy. Center city and downtown very charming with lots of great restaurants. A very foodie place with lots of BYOB. People felt safe and said it was very obvious where the bad areas are. Most residents live in center city and walk/bike.
Residents: Very down to earth and happy people. all really liked being there. Representation of lots of top notch places and seems like lots of Harvard kids choose this place. Super accomplished smart people with lots of ambition- good amount of R25/PHD types.
Hospital: HUP, looked like a generic hospital, there is a newer portion that was recently built with really nice outpatient facilities.
Faculty: Overall seemed approachable. PD seemed very committed and passionate about his job, clearly knew our apps as he did the entire interview with no papers! The Chair is super legit but also one of the most polarizing aspects of the program- definitely a more intense interview. I know many coapplicants who were turned off or really liked the program because of the chair. The Chairs presentation on why neurology was the best talk I saw on the trail though. Overall friendly people with lots of research opportunities.
Program: Phenomenal training. This is one of the best structured programs I came across- they have several tracks (research, teaching etc) that you can enter based on interests. Sounds like they get great exposure due to their urban setting. A bit more intense vibe akin to WashU in that they really emphasized research. Getting a R25 was a huge thing there, but didn’t seem like every resident was doing hardcore research. They definitely made it clear that this was Penn and name dropped a lot- was a very east coast program imo. Good representation of subspecialties and residents seem to get a fair amount of autonomy/ are busy but didn’t seem particularly overworked.
Interview specifics: One of the longer interviews. Start at 3 the day before with introductions and overview with tour then a nice dinner. Definitely a fun and social group that liked hanging out. 6 or so interviews and lots of time to talk to residents. They try to pair interviewers by interests. Professor rounds was pretty impressive adding to the “ivy league” essence.
Overall: Really impressive place. For sure at the top of lots of place, and is in the big leagues with places like Partners and UCSF. Seems to have a push for dedication to research but many other avenues you can pursue. Great name too ! People seem to really like Philadelphia, which is a manageable city.
Anyone have any perspective on the Partners program? I had been hearing so many negative things about residents being off and people being mean/overworked from co-applicants and away rotators. When I finally interviewed there I was very surprised to not find any of that and wonder if I was missing anything?
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I'll join, and follow other format too, i'll keep it short though.
Ohio State University
City: Loved this city much more than I was expecting. Contrary to what nearly all my friends and family thinks, it's not a cow town. Something like the 16th largest city in US and lots of things to do. Zoos, museums, camping. Would love to live there. The residents said it snows a lot, but not as much as Cleveland. Very cheap COL and not much traffic. Residents said the farthest person travels about 25mins at it's worst.
Residents: All really nice and smart. Seem like a good group of people. Most doing fellowships and some going into practice.
Hospital: Brand new hospital and soon to be opening up a neuroscience hospital. Beautiful neuroICU. The work rooms are clean and with lots of room.
Faculty: Lot of diversity (have a neurootologist). Residents said they are great attendings and excellent bed side teaching (they said)
Program: Seem to have really solid didactics, lots of exposure to stroke and early rotations in ICU
Ohio State University
City: Loved this city much more than I was expecting. Contrary to what nearly all my friends and family thinks, it's not a cow town. Something like the 16th largest city in US and lots of things to do. Zoos, museums, camping. Would love to live there. The residents said it snows a lot, but not as much as Cleveland. Very cheap COL and not much traffic. Residents said the farthest person travels about 25mins at it's worst.
Residents: All really nice and smart. Seem like a good group of people. Most doing fellowships and some going into practice.
Hospital: Brand new hospital and soon to be opening up a neuroscience hospital. Beautiful neuroICU. The work rooms are clean and with lots of room.
Faculty: Lot of diversity (have a neurootologist). Residents said they are great attendings and excellent bed side teaching (they said)
Program: Seem to have really solid didactics, lots of exposure to stroke and early rotations in ICU
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I didn't interview at Partners, but I've heard the exact same things on the interview trail. I think, at the end of the day, the actual interview day is not even close to being representative of the program itself. I would put the most money on the people who actually did away-rotations there - they have the most on-the-ground experience and can give you some real perspectives of what daily life is in the program.
I had an interview at a program that sounded amazing, both on paper and during the interview day itself - but when I spoke about the program with some residents who actually trained there, they said it was an incredibly malignant program (this was a prelim interview). So experience matters.
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Hey Guys
Have searched similar past forums and found that indeed the rumors about university of Maryland under the leadership of Dr Cronin and Dr Stern...are true. It is not only that three residents have been forced to leave in less than five years....it is also that at least one of those who was actually allowed to finish a year ago, was not made board eligible therefore not allowed to take the boards, despite finishing. The residents themselves do not know the full story but it seems that if any attempt was made on remediation or support , fellow residents would have been a part of it all and it would not have been kept so hush hush... don't you think ?
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Ok, so I originally made this profile because of a post in the reaction thread from 2014 bashed UM and I was pretty sure based on the details it was coming from the resident who was dismissed, and they were representing themselves as a current resident.
As you might imagine I was a senior resident at UM in 2014. I can't speak to anything that's happened since my graduation. Additionally, I don't represent the program in any official capacity. Just an alumnus who cares.
I would like to just set the record straight on a few points.
Last year's thread made some reference to transferring patients to Johns Hopkins for experimental testing, to my knowledge this has never been true. It's a full tertiary inpatient neurology service and I never saw a patient transferred to another inpatient hospital for additional workup.
Dr. Stern is interim chair, a title he has held since the passing of our former chair in 2012.
Two residents were dismissed during my time at UM. Not three. The process to dismissal was not taken lightly by the administration and residents were involved in the process (myself included). Extensive efforts for remediation were made and were not effective. As I've stated previously, I don't think it's appropriate to share the details of what transpired in a public forum or to strangers because that's the private business of the dismissed residents, and I don't imagine they'd enjoy someone else sharing them. It's not hush-hush, it's just not something you post online.
The residents who was "not allowed" to take the boards had not fulfilled all the program, nor the ACGME requirements of graduation-- some of this coming as a complication of transferring between programs (into UM).
My personal opinion is that the faculty at UM at large care more about how the residents are doing than the average program, and Drs. Stern and Cronin in particular. When I was at UM I cited their leadership in particular as much more responsive to resident input than the typical program. An example I'd often sited was the program was traditional overnight call for many years when the trend was for night float, this was based on resident input. While I was at UM we transitioned to a night float system, again based on resident input. The new coverage schedule was designed by the residents.
Bottom line is that any intimations that the UM neuro residency administration is not resident-supportive is patently and demonstrably untrue. I wish that the fact that there were dismissed residents didn't reflect poorly upon the program, and that the lack of posting gossipy details didn't compound any negative perceptions. If it matters, I supported the dismissal of both residents (neither of the circumstances were especially controversial).
If anybody would like to ask questions about UM feel free to PM me (I don't check the forums, but PMs alert my email). Obviously, I can only answer re: information through 2014, but if you'd like firsthand information rather than wild speculation I'm happy to help.
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Yea but the fact that two different residents (out of a relatively small program) is still a major red flag no?
Who cares
I don't understand why you're antagonizing him/her. The board requested more information, someone stepped up and took the time to answer the question thoroughly. It's like you're insulted/shocked he didn't criticize his institution. Some people like their institution (shock).
btw, I don't check the forums all the time either, but if someone was talking about my institution... I'll prob hear about it. I don't have to check it to know.
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Thank you UM senior for your reply both in the forum as well in a private message. You are correct that you can only testify to that which occurred during your time, and of course no one is blaming you for defending the institution that made you board eligible...thereby multiplying your annual income. My concern however is two folds :
1. have asked acgme directly and was told that any transferring resident must obtain prior approval from acgme. There is actually a letter which is issued by the board in which the accepting program director outlines his yearly plan and rotation for the incoming resident, and ABPN has to approve it. No transfer is accepted without such a letter. So to say that a resident who was accepted from a transferring institution, completed his time at UM and at the end when the resident wanted to apply for the Boards he/she was told that he did not complete the standard requirements raised too many questions.
2. even if I was to believe what you told me in the PM, ie that it was the fault of the transferring institution rather than the accepting institution...Truth is, it does not matter who's fault it is. We are talking about a resident who gave at least TWO years of his life to UM as a resident. A resident who worked with you side by side, day by day, waking up at 5 am to leave the house at 6am to be in the hospital by 6:30 to pre-round on inpatient so that she can be ready for morning report by 8am. Where is the mutual feeling for a friend who worked with you side by side for at least two years ? Together, you talk calls. Together, you echanged patient information. Together you sat for the rite exam. TOGETHER. Now all of a sudden its the problem of the accepting institution ? and you have no feeling for a resident who worked with you daily side by side for more than two year ? even if that was true, couldn't the program comes towards this resident ? she was off cycle, behind you by three months only, could the program not extend her off cycle status so that she too will graduate ?
have u no shame for not criticizing an institution who does that to your fellow coworker?
Sorry, but to me this looks weird . . .
and regarding defending the fact that it was 2 not 3 residents who were dismissed during your time....well not being eligible to take the boards has the same effect as a dismissal...so like it or not its a total of 3 residents during your time at UM, ie one resident per year, ie 33% chance of becoming board eligible despite giving your heart and soul to residency life, and later finding out that actually the fellow residents who work with you ...were against u all along.
Had this not been the case, had there been a more supportive atmosphere among residents, no one would have been left behind.
1. have asked acgme directly and was told that any transferring resident must obtain prior approval from acgme. There is actually a letter which is issued by the board in which the accepting program director outlines his yearly plan and rotation for the incoming resident, and ABPN has to approve it. No transfer is accepted without such a letter. So to say that a resident who was accepted from a transferring institution, completed his time at UM and at the end when the resident wanted to apply for the Boards he/she was told that he did not complete the standard requirements raised too many questions.
2. even if I was to believe what you told me in the PM, ie that it was the fault of the transferring institution rather than the accepting institution...Truth is, it does not matter who's fault it is. We are talking about a resident who gave at least TWO years of his life to UM as a resident. A resident who worked with you side by side, day by day, waking up at 5 am to leave the house at 6am to be in the hospital by 6:30 to pre-round on inpatient so that she can be ready for morning report by 8am. Where is the mutual feeling for a friend who worked with you side by side for at least two years ? Together, you talk calls. Together, you echanged patient information. Together you sat for the rite exam. TOGETHER. Now all of a sudden its the problem of the accepting institution ? and you have no feeling for a resident who worked with you daily side by side for more than two year ? even if that was true, couldn't the program comes towards this resident ? she was off cycle, behind you by three months only, could the program not extend her off cycle status so that she too will graduate ?
have u no shame for not criticizing an institution who does that to your fellow coworker?
Sorry, but to me this looks weird . . .
and regarding defending the fact that it was 2 not 3 residents who were dismissed during your time....well not being eligible to take the boards has the same effect as a dismissal...so like it or not its a total of 3 residents during your time at UM, ie one resident per year, ie 33% chance of becoming board eligible despite giving your heart and soul to residency life, and later finding out that actually the fellow residents who work with you ...were against u all along.
Had this not been the case, had there been a more supportive atmosphere among residents, no one would have been left behind.
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What exactly are you trying to accomplish? If they sent you something in a PM with the goal of answering your questions, why are you posting it here? You clearly have an issue with the program, and have managed to completely derail what is one of the most helpful threads on here for people going through the match this year.
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I disagree. This kind of information is important for applicants to know before they compile their rank list. Its unfortunate that specific residency graduation/ attrition rates from recent years are not public information because it keeps applicants at a significant disadvantage.
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Talking Texas Schools today. Really wish we had more of these reviews instead of the UM conversation, which I believes belongs (and actually was discussed) in another thread.
Baylor (10 residents/year. Categorical)
City: Houston. One of largest cities in USA. Everything to do. Traffic can be difficult and slow. Many live close, but those who own often live a bit aways. Humidity is very terrible here. Texas is hot most of the year, pleasant in the winter/spring. Parking in the medical center can be very expensive.
Residents: Most were friendly, but I got the sense they were worked pretty hard. Mixed class of IMG, DO, MDs. Very impressed with their clinical knowledge during lunch conference. Most residents have gone to do fellowships and the 2 most common seem to be neurophys and neuro-critical care.
Hospital: Texas Medical Center. Ben Taub (community), St Lukes (private), VA, MD Anderson. Hospital facilities were above average all around. All of the hospitals are within the same Medical center. Population with many spanish-only speaking patients.
Faculty: Didn't mesh well with program director, who is relatively new. Other faculty and interviewers were friendly, but nothing stood out.
Program: Tremendous reputation in the past that has waned somewhat recently with Baylor's previous financial problems, and still has some of the best fellowships in the world. Known to be a difficult program with previous classes having "malignant" qualities. There are threads on this forum discussing just specifically Baylor with concerns. Large number of electives available in any subspeciality. Large faculty.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant local. 4-5 residents at dinner. Even distribution between PGY2-4. Housing not provided, but discounted with shuttle. Interviews in morning, lunch conference, followed by tours.
Overall: I liked this program more than I thought, going in with worries of malignancy and miserable residents. This will be one of my higher ranked programs. It will definitely be a hard residency. I have heard from medical students at BCM, that they dont enjoy the rotations, which is something I keep in mind. Salary is a bit lower than I expected, but Texas has no state income tax!
UTSW: (Categorical 9 residents/year)
City: Dallas, TX. Even though it is one of the largest cities, it unfortunately lacks some cultural offerings that I look for. Area around the hospital is somewhat shady. Traffic can be really bad, which is sometimes made worse with VA being 20minutes away. Must have a car, as things are extremely spread out. Weather is okay, but recently had tornados in the area. Winters arent too cold, summers are hot. Residents really enjoy the city a lot, many live very close to the medical center. Cost of living was surprisingly good.
Residents: Were really friendly and heavily invested in selling the program. Good mix of IMG, DO, MD. They seemed pretty friendly, but talked amongst themselves a lot during the dinner, and some didn't even interact at all (kinda just sitting in a corner talking amongst themselves). Residents match pretty well, many stay at UTSW.
Hospital: Parkland (community), Clements (university private), Zale (neuroscience hospital), VA. Large volume. VA is about 20 minute drive from the medical center. Clements and Parkland are not walking distance. Parkland and Clements opened within the past 2 years and are new and shiny. Epic EMR in all of their hospitals. Again, large number of people are spanish-only speaking patients.
Faculty: Program director is a nice guy, kinda quiet. Received AAN award for best director a few years back. Rest of the faculty were a diverse mix and interviews were relaxed.
Program: Clinically busy with a frontloaded program and busy PGY-2 years. Large number of subspecialists and good elective exposure. Intern year is known as one of the hardest, as Parkland and UTSW's IM program is one of the top in the nation. Program seems to have outstanding funding with the, "customize your own" fellowships.
Interview specifics: Paid hotel. Dinner at a local restaurant. 6-7 residents at dinner, couple of PGY2s. Interview groups split in 2, with either morning or afternoon interviews. The other group goes on a tour, where some of the residents drove us around uptown/downtown Dallas to drive by some of the sites. Lunch was at their cafeteria with a few residents who were free. Left us with a nice little gift basket with a neurology mug. One of the better interview day experiences.
Overall: I enjoyed this program, and it checks off most things on my list. Salary is relatively high, again no state income tax. Up and coming, expanding neurology program. The staff and residents here were friendly, and Dallas is a nice city. They sold their program very well. Will be ranked pretty high on my list.
Baylor (10 residents/year. Categorical)
City: Houston. One of largest cities in USA. Everything to do. Traffic can be difficult and slow. Many live close, but those who own often live a bit aways. Humidity is very terrible here. Texas is hot most of the year, pleasant in the winter/spring. Parking in the medical center can be very expensive.
Residents: Most were friendly, but I got the sense they were worked pretty hard. Mixed class of IMG, DO, MDs. Very impressed with their clinical knowledge during lunch conference. Most residents have gone to do fellowships and the 2 most common seem to be neurophys and neuro-critical care.
Hospital: Texas Medical Center. Ben Taub (community), St Lukes (private), VA, MD Anderson. Hospital facilities were above average all around. All of the hospitals are within the same Medical center. Population with many spanish-only speaking patients.
Faculty: Didn't mesh well with program director, who is relatively new. Other faculty and interviewers were friendly, but nothing stood out.
Program: Tremendous reputation in the past that has waned somewhat recently with Baylor's previous financial problems, and still has some of the best fellowships in the world. Known to be a difficult program with previous classes having "malignant" qualities. There are threads on this forum discussing just specifically Baylor with concerns. Large number of electives available in any subspeciality. Large faculty.
Interview specifics: Dinner at a restaurant local. 4-5 residents at dinner. Even distribution between PGY2-4. Housing not provided, but discounted with shuttle. Interviews in morning, lunch conference, followed by tours.
Overall: I liked this program more than I thought, going in with worries of malignancy and miserable residents. This will be one of my higher ranked programs. It will definitely be a hard residency. I have heard from medical students at BCM, that they dont enjoy the rotations, which is something I keep in mind. Salary is a bit lower than I expected, but Texas has no state income tax!
UTSW: (Categorical 9 residents/year)
City: Dallas, TX. Even though it is one of the largest cities, it unfortunately lacks some cultural offerings that I look for. Area around the hospital is somewhat shady. Traffic can be really bad, which is sometimes made worse with VA being 20minutes away. Must have a car, as things are extremely spread out. Weather is okay, but recently had tornados in the area. Winters arent too cold, summers are hot. Residents really enjoy the city a lot, many live very close to the medical center. Cost of living was surprisingly good.
Residents: Were really friendly and heavily invested in selling the program. Good mix of IMG, DO, MD. They seemed pretty friendly, but talked amongst themselves a lot during the dinner, and some didn't even interact at all (kinda just sitting in a corner talking amongst themselves). Residents match pretty well, many stay at UTSW.
Hospital: Parkland (community), Clements (university private), Zale (neuroscience hospital), VA. Large volume. VA is about 20 minute drive from the medical center. Clements and Parkland are not walking distance. Parkland and Clements opened within the past 2 years and are new and shiny. Epic EMR in all of their hospitals. Again, large number of people are spanish-only speaking patients.
Faculty: Program director is a nice guy, kinda quiet. Received AAN award for best director a few years back. Rest of the faculty were a diverse mix and interviews were relaxed.
Program: Clinically busy with a frontloaded program and busy PGY-2 years. Large number of subspecialists and good elective exposure. Intern year is known as one of the hardest, as Parkland and UTSW's IM program is one of the top in the nation. Program seems to have outstanding funding with the, "customize your own" fellowships.
Interview specifics: Paid hotel. Dinner at a local restaurant. 6-7 residents at dinner, couple of PGY2s. Interview groups split in 2, with either morning or afternoon interviews. The other group goes on a tour, where some of the residents drove us around uptown/downtown Dallas to drive by some of the sites. Lunch was at their cafeteria with a few residents who were free. Left us with a nice little gift basket with a neurology mug. One of the better interview day experiences.
Overall: I enjoyed this program, and it checks off most things on my list. Salary is relatively high, again no state income tax. Up and coming, expanding neurology program. The staff and residents here were friendly, and Dallas is a nice city. They sold their program very well. Will be ranked pretty high on my list.
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MemberX I take no issue with you having a concern about residents being dismissed from the program. It's potentially relevant to how you view the program.
My purposes in posting here are to a) correct statements that are false regarding some of the circumstances of prior resident dismissals (to the extent professionally appropriate) and b) to give my opinion that despite having residents dismissed during my tenure the program vigorously supports its residents and I would attend again if given the option to remake my rank list all those years ago.
My posting schedule was mostly spurred by email alerts of PMs given by user neuro-applicant. User neuro-applicant clearly doesn't trust the program despite my input, and in that setting they probably shouldn't rank them.
I'll reiterate that the residents who were dismissed were not fit to advance in the program, and it would have been irresponsible to graduate them despite robust attempts by the administration, faculty, and residents to correct/remediate the relevant circumstances. If you think I wanted residents to leave if it were anything but absolutely necessary, or if you think my residency experience was improved by having people leave the program that is not the case.
I appreciate that there's some doubt about my motives for posting here. I'm not sure what realistic scenario would actually warrant concern. The idea that this is a shill account made by the administration at Maryland is comical. I'm an alum who cares enough about the program to recommend it out there to strangers. Maybe that should say something about my experience there.
I got a lot out of my time at Maryland. More than just a bump in income potential. I think I got a great clinical education, I bonded with residents there, and I formed professional and personal relationships with the faculty.
As always, I'm happy to address personal queries via PM. I'll probably check back here on the forums at some point, but sporadically. PMs give me email alerts, forum posts don't.
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I am sorry to find out that you had a negative experience when you visited the Mayo Clinic Neurology Residency in Florida. I am a resident currently in the neurology program. I can only speak for my own experience, but my program visit was very pleasant. There was nothing about the program, facilities, faculty, or residents that seemed anything less than excellent. The residents were very happy and were extremely welcoming. I would say the same about the current group. When I applied to the Mayo Clinic Florida residency, I was initially very impressed by the people and the educational opportunities, and I have only had my impressions confirmed over my last two years. Mayo Clinic is an institution that continually fosters an environment of teaching, but also of mutual respect and professionalism on all levels - between physicians and patients, residents and staff, and physicians and supportive staff - and my experience here has found that to be true on all levels.
During my time here, I have already had an opportunity to see a tremendous variety of pathology, participate in the care of a diverse group of patients, and learn from an extremely supportive and approachable group of world renowned faculty members. There is a two-month educational experience at the end of the intern year to prepare for neurology and make transition to PGY2 year very smooth. There is a nine-week neuroanatomy course, a two-month EEG and EMG course, a third-year neuropathology course, just to name a few highlights.
There is also extensive research being undertaken and boundless opportunities for residents to be mentored in the skills of research, participate in a variety of research studies, and present their work at national meetings. The hospital is a site for CREST2, SHINE, MISTIE, multiple ALS studies, and multiple dementia studies just to give a few examples. The hospital itself and the campus grounds are beautiful. I've heard multiple people comment on how it feels more like a resort than a hospital or clinic. Being able to go to the beach in November and swimming in our neighborhood pool in March are nice bonuses.
Overall, when I applied, I thought the neurology residency at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville was a top-notch program. I ranked it number one on my list and would do so again without hesitation. I am very proud to be training here.
Please note, I am writing this of my own accord. This pertains solely to my own experience with the program and in no way indicates the views of Mayo Clinic or the neurology residency program as a whole.
Best of luck with your training and future endeavors.
Sincerely.
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I'm not sure why programs feel that it is a good idea to post these clearly canned responses, almost certainly drafted by a chief resident and approved by a program director or other administration, in response to every minor negative or even lukewarm review posted about them on the internet. It reeks of insecurity and a distastefully corporate approach to running a residency program.
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Reading a lot of bad things here. Is this reflective of neurology or is it just that people with bad interview experiences are more likely to post? It feels unusually negative compared to threads like this for other specialties.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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University of Chicago has a very heavy service program with nearly 10 months of service the first year and two months of ICU the first and second year and little support.
The ICU fellow quit last year.
The ICU fellow quit last year.
ii
University of Chicago has a very heavy service program with nearly 10 months of service the first year and two months of ICU the first and second year and little support.
The ICU fellow quit last year.
The ICU fellow quit last year.
ii
