Anyone with an opinion on Duke or Mayo? I loved both of these programs, and would like to hear what others' impressions were.
Just an MSIV, but I interviewed both places and know both of these programs pretty well (Duke moreso than Mayo). Both are fantastic programs. My impression is that Duke is traditionally considered a slightly higher-powered program than Mayo, but it's likely not a huge difference.
The biggest differences I observed:
1. Location. Depending on what part of the country you're from, the location of Mayo might be a plus for you, but I think many would argue that the Durham/the Triangle is a superior location to Rochester, MN. The weather is indeed more hospitable, the nearest big city only 20 mins away (versus 1-1.5 hrs in MN), and Durham is relatively cheap (though Rochester's probably slightly cheaper). On my interview at Mayo, I got the impression that the city is probably less diverse than Durham. While we're on the subject of Durham (bias alert), I think it's a really cool town that has undergone many positive changes over the last 10 years. There's a pretty good food and music scene (it's not Boston or NYC, but it's also markedly more livable than those two options). Durham was also recently ranked the most tolerant city in the US, which is pretty unexpected and cool: (
https://www.dtmi.duke.edu/news-publ...rham-ranks-1-for-most-tolerant-city-in-the-us).
2. Call system. Duke is on a night-float system. I believe that residents typically do 3-4 ~one week blocks of night float/year. Mayo (I think) does the typical Qsomething call system, and I remember that their call obligation seemed relatively benign.
3. Cases. I would wager that the case load is relatively similar between the two, though I think that Mayo currently has more ORs. Duke is building like crazy right now, putting up new ICU towers, more ORs, etc., so the volume will be even higher quite soon. I think you do more sick/high-risk OB at Duke. Both are strong in Cardiac, with Duke probably a bit stronger. Unsure how Peds compares, but I know that Duke residents do a fair amount of big whack Peds (craniosynostosis repairs, etc), there's only one fellow at Duke, so little/no competition there. Research is great at both places. CRNAs at both places allow residents to do the educational and cool stuff. Both places tend to get you out at a reasonable time, though Mayo probably gets you out a bit earlier each day.
4. Miscellaneous. When I interviewed at Mayo, I found it interesting that the residents said they generally don't call their attendings the night before to discuss the plan. Not necessarily good/bad, just different than what I'm used to. Finally, the resident that gave me the tour at Mayo remarked that they spent much of their cardiac rotation supervising cardiac CRNAs, which meant that as a resident, they would run two cardiac rooms with an attending. I'm not sure how universal that is at Mayo, but I definitely never heard that anywhere else. Again, not good/bad, just different.
Again, just a fellow med student, but these were my observations.
-beepbloop
