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I am currently a PGY-2 in Neurology. I did look over this forum a few times while on the road interviewing for neurology, mostly because there is so little good information available out there for prospective neurologists ... Having now completed the search for a residency program, I feel I should return the favor to the forum... So here are my brief cautions/words of wisdom/two cents. Hope they are helpful. 
1. Get a copy of the ERAS program match list from the previous year your schools neurology residency program director should have this. This will tell you which programs had to scramble to fill slots. I guarantee you will be surprised by some of the programs that repeatedly do not fill all of their slots (some of the ones listed as top-tier on this site. While some good programs have to scramble from time to time, this is at minimum a good question to ask at your interview why they think they didnt fill?
2. Be honest with yourself about your priorities. Do you hate the setting of the program? For me, a priority was making sure my significant other would be happy with his/her life and career, knowing full well I would be at the hospital most of the time and I did not want him/her miserable at home. The programs that I ranked at the top offered to have him/her talk with potential employers and the significant others of current residents. The top three were less urban and more rural (one in PA, one in VA, and one in NH you can figure it out).
Also, in terms of lifestyle, one important factor in my decision to chose my current program was the fact that there is a 20 mile running and biking path that cuts right through the campus (ok, so maybe this wasnt #1 one my list, but it was in the top ten). Again, it is a very personal decision, but I realized during the interview process that aesthetics were far more important to me than I could have predicted some of the hospitals were downright ugly and depressing, and this bothered me more than I would have imagined. I have a one minute commute to work (yes, I said one minute) from my 2000sq feet of living space... on the other hand, I am NOT in a big city, I have to drive over an hour to get to DC, Baltimore, Philly ... but for me, thats fine I only want to go there once a month anyway. But for some people, that would not be fine.
I am glad that I paid attention to these seemingly minor things while ranking, because you will find out that the little things make all the difference in your quality of life during residency. Different strokes for different folks, right? Please, just be really honest with yourself about these little things that are really big in the end ...
3. Decide if you want more established or more up-and-coming programs (and also be weary of big-name programs on the down-turn...). Take a look at all the subspecialties of neurology (NeuroOptho, NeuroOnc, Epilepsy, MS, Cognitive, Stroke, Headache, Rehab, etc), and first off, make sure the program has a full-time attending in them ... more than one is a plus ... and also make sure there is a good mix of men and women (there are still some very old-boy programs out there), young and old. Ask if they are hiring faculty at the present time (and for what) growing programs are always looking for more talent. If they are not hiring, is the department stagnant? Are faculty leaving for some reason?
4. Are the residents what I call career clones that is, did they all come there because the program is known for something in particular, and they all want that fellowship slot? This was another subtle, not-talked about concept. I knew I was interested in research (but had no idea what I wanted to do clinically in terms of subspecialties), so the question I faced was if I should choose one of the well-known research-focused programs where all of the residents have an interest in academic medicine (and the school promotes research of all residents), or, if I should go to an academic program where I was one of only a few residents who wanted to pursue research as part of my career, and thus I would in theory be a sought-after entity by the research faculty looking for a young trainee. This is a tough question, whatever your interests. Ultimately, I chose a program with an eclectic mix of residents, some want private practice, some want academics as clinicians, and I am one of the few residents with strong academic research interests. I have my pick of several great mentors, a flexible elective schedule for research ... and there is no tension amongst my fellow residents, because research is not a goal of theirs ... best of both worlds, if you ask me
5. Do you like changing hospitals? Some of the places I interviewed had 4 sites where residents worked, many as far as 45 minutes away ... While I think different experiences are good to have, some (but not all) of them left me feeling like I would really be cheap labor being farmed out to different sites ... something else to think about in terms of your personality - do you like a lot of variety, in term of hospital systems, computer systems, staff etc?
So, I know people like here tend to like to be anonymous, but Ive got nothing to hide ... and since you are probably wondering if you got this far, I am a resident at Penn State (in Hershey, PA, aka, the sweetest place on earth and yes, the town does smell like chocolate ...). Feel free to email me with any questions ...
1. Get a copy of the ERAS program match list from the previous year your schools neurology residency program director should have this. This will tell you which programs had to scramble to fill slots. I guarantee you will be surprised by some of the programs that repeatedly do not fill all of their slots (some of the ones listed as top-tier on this site. While some good programs have to scramble from time to time, this is at minimum a good question to ask at your interview why they think they didnt fill?
2. Be honest with yourself about your priorities. Do you hate the setting of the program? For me, a priority was making sure my significant other would be happy with his/her life and career, knowing full well I would be at the hospital most of the time and I did not want him/her miserable at home. The programs that I ranked at the top offered to have him/her talk with potential employers and the significant others of current residents. The top three were less urban and more rural (one in PA, one in VA, and one in NH you can figure it out).
Also, in terms of lifestyle, one important factor in my decision to chose my current program was the fact that there is a 20 mile running and biking path that cuts right through the campus (ok, so maybe this wasnt #1 one my list, but it was in the top ten). Again, it is a very personal decision, but I realized during the interview process that aesthetics were far more important to me than I could have predicted some of the hospitals were downright ugly and depressing, and this bothered me more than I would have imagined. I have a one minute commute to work (yes, I said one minute) from my 2000sq feet of living space... on the other hand, I am NOT in a big city, I have to drive over an hour to get to DC, Baltimore, Philly ... but for me, thats fine I only want to go there once a month anyway. But for some people, that would not be fine.
I am glad that I paid attention to these seemingly minor things while ranking, because you will find out that the little things make all the difference in your quality of life during residency. Different strokes for different folks, right? Please, just be really honest with yourself about these little things that are really big in the end ...
3. Decide if you want more established or more up-and-coming programs (and also be weary of big-name programs on the down-turn...). Take a look at all the subspecialties of neurology (NeuroOptho, NeuroOnc, Epilepsy, MS, Cognitive, Stroke, Headache, Rehab, etc), and first off, make sure the program has a full-time attending in them ... more than one is a plus ... and also make sure there is a good mix of men and women (there are still some very old-boy programs out there), young and old. Ask if they are hiring faculty at the present time (and for what) growing programs are always looking for more talent. If they are not hiring, is the department stagnant? Are faculty leaving for some reason?
4. Are the residents what I call career clones that is, did they all come there because the program is known for something in particular, and they all want that fellowship slot? This was another subtle, not-talked about concept. I knew I was interested in research (but had no idea what I wanted to do clinically in terms of subspecialties), so the question I faced was if I should choose one of the well-known research-focused programs where all of the residents have an interest in academic medicine (and the school promotes research of all residents), or, if I should go to an academic program where I was one of only a few residents who wanted to pursue research as part of my career, and thus I would in theory be a sought-after entity by the research faculty looking for a young trainee. This is a tough question, whatever your interests. Ultimately, I chose a program with an eclectic mix of residents, some want private practice, some want academics as clinicians, and I am one of the few residents with strong academic research interests. I have my pick of several great mentors, a flexible elective schedule for research ... and there is no tension amongst my fellow residents, because research is not a goal of theirs ... best of both worlds, if you ask me
5. Do you like changing hospitals? Some of the places I interviewed had 4 sites where residents worked, many as far as 45 minutes away ... While I think different experiences are good to have, some (but not all) of them left me feeling like I would really be cheap labor being farmed out to different sites ... something else to think about in terms of your personality - do you like a lot of variety, in term of hospital systems, computer systems, staff etc?
So, I know people like here tend to like to be anonymous, but Ive got nothing to hide ... and since you are probably wondering if you got this far, I am a resident at Penn State (in Hershey, PA, aka, the sweetest place on earth and yes, the town does smell like chocolate ...). Feel free to email me with any questions ...
