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Anyone know what it's like there? I've heard bad things...
Baylor neuro opinions?
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I just spoke with one of my good friends last night about the Baylor program. That friend is a PGY-3 in the program. We compared our programs. I was told that it is pretty rough in in the first year as can be expected but it significantly lightens up afterwards as a senior in the following year. Seems that my friend is pretty satisfied with the program.
What are the bad things? my friend is there, I can inquire and then make my decision to apply there or not.
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I am interested in Baylor and was curious if there was a more recent opinion of this program from someone who might have done a rotation there recently? On scutwork it doesn't get the greatest of opinions, but I realize you have to read everything skeptically. One thing the poster mentioned was:
"10 residents cover 6 Hospitals, often 2 at a time on call. Each hospital has up to 3 different administrative or documentation software programs. Each program requires different passwords, usernames etc... Outpatient rotations are limited. Residents on elective rotations are often pulled to cover for manpower shortages. Many inpatient Neurocritical care and stroke rotations are required at the expense of diverse, well rounded training. Patient diversity is great. Residents are often unable to maximize this strenght. Organization and guidance is limited. Didactics are heavily stressed but poorly supported. About half of the residents go into fellowship training. Applicants wanting to consider Neurocritical care, inpatient Neurology, Stroke or research would be most suitable for this program. Recent political turmoil has severely weaknened the system but may be subject to improvement in the near future."
The variety of places that you rotate at sounds intriguing, but I wonder if it wears you down too much. Sounds like it could be a great program, but that it just isn't yet. Any thoughts?
"10 residents cover 6 Hospitals, often 2 at a time on call. Each hospital has up to 3 different administrative or documentation software programs. Each program requires different passwords, usernames etc... Outpatient rotations are limited. Residents on elective rotations are often pulled to cover for manpower shortages. Many inpatient Neurocritical care and stroke rotations are required at the expense of diverse, well rounded training. Patient diversity is great. Residents are often unable to maximize this strenght. Organization and guidance is limited. Didactics are heavily stressed but poorly supported. About half of the residents go into fellowship training. Applicants wanting to consider Neurocritical care, inpatient Neurology, Stroke or research would be most suitable for this program. Recent political turmoil has severely weaknened the system but may be subject to improvement in the near future."
The variety of places that you rotate at sounds intriguing, but I wonder if it wears you down too much. Sounds like it could be a great program, but that it just isn't yet. Any thoughts?
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I just came across this new article which sheds some light about Baylor program. Hopefully it will provide some info. you were looking for:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/6113589.html
And they provide J-1 only.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/6113589.html
And they provide J-1 only.
Hi Doxtyp. I am an FMG. I did a 2 month elective at Baylor earlier this year. I believe that Baylor is still recovering after having split from Methodist. They are also going to separate from St. Luke's. And, the new hospital they are building has come to a standstill due to lack of funds. They are currently in a big financial mess. Also, the residents doing intern year told me that they are a strict J1 only. Hope this helps.
Just as a counter-opinion, I had read the negative scutwork review and comments on this site but was pleasantly surprised at my interview. The size, resources, and patient volume of the Texas Medical Center was really impressive to me and the diversity of the patient load between the county, VA, and privates was a great plus, not to mention MD Anderson. It also seemed like the residents were not seeing all of the patients at all the hospitals, but with so much volume (something like 4,000 beds) they must get a wide variety of pathology. It's not clear whether they are able to cherry-pick the interesting cases. The workload seemed to be average, especially now with the increased number of residents they don't cover multiple hospitals at night. PGY2s are essentially the neurology interns and do a lot of the paperwork but this was true in several other big name programs (other programs had PGY1s or medicine interns to help out). And the elective time did not seem to be any less than other programs although residents do take call on some electives to help keep the overall schedule q5 or so. There are FMGs in the program but I didn't get the impression that they were any less qualified than the AMGs. The Baylor residents were one of the most diverse and interesting groups of people I've met on the trail.
As for the Baylor-Methodist split and the political fiasco, yes it is a concern. However the Neuro residents still man the Methodist wards and consults as there are not enough Methodist residents to cover, and the famous Dr. Appel still has teaching rounds with Baylor residents. There was so much interaction and facility sharing with Methodist that it almost seems like a shell-game of faculty titles with bragging rights being the prize. At the administrative level, this is somewhat concerning since Baylor seems to be the odd one out with no world-class hospital, if they lose Methodist and St. Luke's, and just with the new Baylor hospital coming. If they are smart, they will set aside their ego and figure out a way to work with Methodist and St. Luke's, and/or complete the Rice-Baylor merger. But I would be shocked if Baylor went completely defunct and lost all of its hospitals. More likely the politicos will continue to play their game and the residency program will figure out a way to train their residents at the TMC hospitals.
In summary, I thought this program was a lot better than I had expected based on the comments on this website. In fact, I thought it had better clinical training, stronger subspecialty coverage, and more research and resources than some of the other higher ranked programs with supposedly better reputations in the Big-82 or US News list.
Hope this helps someone.
As for the Baylor-Methodist split and the political fiasco, yes it is a concern. However the Neuro residents still man the Methodist wards and consults as there are not enough Methodist residents to cover, and the famous Dr. Appel still has teaching rounds with Baylor residents. There was so much interaction and facility sharing with Methodist that it almost seems like a shell-game of faculty titles with bragging rights being the prize. At the administrative level, this is somewhat concerning since Baylor seems to be the odd one out with no world-class hospital, if they lose Methodist and St. Luke's, and just with the new Baylor hospital coming. If they are smart, they will set aside their ego and figure out a way to work with Methodist and St. Luke's, and/or complete the Rice-Baylor merger. But I would be shocked if Baylor went completely defunct and lost all of its hospitals. More likely the politicos will continue to play their game and the residency program will figure out a way to train their residents at the TMC hospitals.
In summary, I thought this program was a lot better than I had expected based on the comments on this website. In fact, I thought it had better clinical training, stronger subspecialty coverage, and more research and resources than some of the other higher ranked programs with supposedly better reputations in the Big-82 or US News list.
Hope this helps someone.
Thanks for this info. I was a bit concerned before but this helps to clear some of it!
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I am a Neurology resident at Baylor. I would have to say that the Scutwork reports is pretty accurate. Donesoon and every medical student need to remember that you are interveiwing the programs as much as they are interveiwing you. They want good people and will put their best foot forward at any interveiw. Dr. Schulz, Baylor's Program Director, is very good at this. He is very careful to hand pick tour guides etc... He is a very shrewd politician. Remember, listening to politicians and salesmen will have you buying oceanfront property in Arizona. Pick the place that is right FOR YOU and YOUR FAMILY!
Donesoon's observation; "The size, resources, and patient volume of the Texas Medical Center was really impressive" is accurate. It is a massive facility, ergo, lotsa work to do for "cheap Labor".
Also, "with so much volume (something like 4,000 beds) they must get a wide variety of pathology"
----This observation can be true. You occasionally see a "zebra", However for every Zebra, you see hundreds of L MCA strokes (and the mountain of paperwork etc..).
"It's not clear whether they are able to cherry-pick the interesting cases."
--You can try but plan to do it on your own time (thats what I do).
"The workload seemed to be average, especially now with the increased number of residents they don't cover multiple hospitals at night"
---I dont know what this means, the number of residents hasn't changed, the upper levels just get to be on call more, whoopeee !!!! for US !!!
"PGY2s are essentially the neurology interns and do a lot of the paperwork but this was true in several other big name programs"
--this is true but it doesnt stop at PGYII like some other programs, This is not really a "front loaded" program like you may have been lead to believe
"And the elective time did not seem to be any less than other programs although residents do take call on some electives to help keep the overall schedule q5 or so"
---Donesoon be smok'n ganja on this one. Electives are sparse. If you want to be EMG certified you can really forget about being "well rounded".
"There are FMGs in the program but I didn't get the impression that they were any less qualified than the AMGs."
----Baylor FMG's are just like the AMG's. Some are world class and some are slackers. Some people use the number of FMG's as a "measuring stick" to measure how desirable a program might be. I dont know if that is true or not. But there seem's to be more FMG's than prior years. Make whatever consclusions seem appropriate.
"the famous Dr. Appel still has teaching rounds with Baylor residents"
---The best part is he isn't as abusive as past years, Professor rounds is definitely worth while if you can get away from the wards...thats a big "IF".
If you want to learn Neurology, you can learn at ANY program that will allow you the time to learn. At Baylor, you will be expected to work the wards and be on call. If you keep up with your work, you may be able to attend lectures before work, after work, or during lunch. If you are looking for more than that you will be dissapointed. If you want to learn EMG, EEG and still be well rounded (trained in Neuro-Onc, NeuroOphth etc...) you can forget that too. Baylor is probably no worse than any other residency program but I might be hard pressed to recommend this place to too many people.
Donesoon's observation; "The size, resources, and patient volume of the Texas Medical Center was really impressive" is accurate. It is a massive facility, ergo, lotsa work to do for "cheap Labor".
Also, "with so much volume (something like 4,000 beds) they must get a wide variety of pathology"
----This observation can be true. You occasionally see a "zebra", However for every Zebra, you see hundreds of L MCA strokes (and the mountain of paperwork etc..).
"It's not clear whether they are able to cherry-pick the interesting cases."
--You can try but plan to do it on your own time (thats what I do).
"The workload seemed to be average, especially now with the increased number of residents they don't cover multiple hospitals at night"
---I dont know what this means, the number of residents hasn't changed, the upper levels just get to be on call more, whoopeee !!!! for US !!!
"PGY2s are essentially the neurology interns and do a lot of the paperwork but this was true in several other big name programs"
--this is true but it doesnt stop at PGYII like some other programs, This is not really a "front loaded" program like you may have been lead to believe
"And the elective time did not seem to be any less than other programs although residents do take call on some electives to help keep the overall schedule q5 or so"
---Donesoon be smok'n ganja on this one. Electives are sparse. If you want to be EMG certified you can really forget about being "well rounded".
"There are FMGs in the program but I didn't get the impression that they were any less qualified than the AMGs."
----Baylor FMG's are just like the AMG's. Some are world class and some are slackers. Some people use the number of FMG's as a "measuring stick" to measure how desirable a program might be. I dont know if that is true or not. But there seem's to be more FMG's than prior years. Make whatever consclusions seem appropriate.
"the famous Dr. Appel still has teaching rounds with Baylor residents"
---The best part is he isn't as abusive as past years, Professor rounds is definitely worth while if you can get away from the wards...thats a big "IF".
If you want to learn Neurology, you can learn at ANY program that will allow you the time to learn. At Baylor, you will be expected to work the wards and be on call. If you keep up with your work, you may be able to attend lectures before work, after work, or during lunch. If you are looking for more than that you will be dissapointed. If you want to learn EMG, EEG and still be well rounded (trained in Neuro-Onc, NeuroOphth etc...) you can forget that too. Baylor is probably no worse than any other residency program but I might be hard pressed to recommend this place to too many people.
WB- Thanks for the clarification. I often wonder how much of the true nature of programs we get to see on the interview trail. Visiting various places, one of the concerns I have is seeing a diverse range of pathology and wondering whether you can see everything at a smaller program, but it's clear that being at a big program can have major disadvantages in terms of workload.
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I dont mean to be the harbinger of doom but residency Really Sucks. You would be hard pressed to find a truly "lazy" resident. We all work harded than any other profession. We produce more and earn less. Life during residency is centered less on learning and more on survival. Your objective as a resident is to reach YOUR MAXIMAL potential despite the program not because of it. The program's objective is to maximize revenue while maintaining it's own reputation. Once established, the reputation of a "Big name" program is self-perpetuating. In other words, it becomes propped up by the quality of the student it attracts more than the Neurologist that it produces. Nowhere is this more true than at BCM. You guys need to look at a program from the vantage point of how well the people, city and support structure suits you and your family. Forget reputation, go where you are going to be happiest. In the end we all take the same board exam.
P.S. Just a thought. When interveiwing, scrutinize anything positive that a lower level says about a program. We would sell our grandmother's wooden teeth and walker if we thought it might attract a strong candidate. Next year, we need you to come to our rescue and make our lives easier! (You are the cavalry!
)
P.S. Just a thought. When interveiwing, scrutinize anything positive that a lower level says about a program. We would sell our grandmother's wooden teeth and walker if we thought it might attract a strong candidate. Next year, we need you to come to our rescue and make our lives easier! (You are the cavalry!
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Dr. Landis had a short lived career at Baylor as the chair of the neuro department in '08. Here is what he has to say about the whole thing:
http://dennislandis.com/Index.htm
http://dennislandis.com/Index.htm
I am currently a 3rd year medical student at UTMB (Austin). I am almost 100% sure I want to do neurology, and I'm starting to look into away rotations.
Has anyone done an away rotation with Baylor neurology? Are the faculty and residents pretty accessible?
Thanks for your help!
Has anyone done an away rotation with Baylor neurology? Are the faculty and residents pretty accessible?
Thanks for your help!
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Dr. Lai (The Methodist Hospital) is an amazing teacher. Email Dr. Owens (the director of the neurology rotation) to see whether you can rotate with him specifically. Many BCM students request him, however (both on our neurology core and for advanced clinical electives). In that sense, you may not be given priority (not sure about this). Ben Taub is also supposed to be a good experience in terms of the diverse pathology. Most everyone I know who wants to go into neurology at BCM does his/her core rotatation there (I chose Dr. Lai instead).
Dunkindona, this was very helpful. I'll look into both options. Thanks!
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Eugene Lia is a good instructor. However, much of his general Neurology is out of date. He is better at movement disorders. The most important thing that you can learn from Dr. Lai is how a Neurology team is supposed to work. He is organized and extremely efficient. His teaching style is clinical in that he works his lectures into cases seen on his service. This guy is a model instructor.
James Owen M.D., PhD is an assistant professor and epileptologist who works out of Texas Children's Hospital. He is a Pediatric Neurologist. He spends much of his time studying epilepsy in rats. He runs the Medical Student training. This guy is not your run of the mill, stiff-shirt Neurologist type. I have never seen him wear anything but shorts, hiking boots and a button down shirt. When it comes to Peds Neuro he is very up to date / State of the art. When it comes to training Medical Students dont bother looking for someone better because there isnt anybody. This guy knows how to teach. Talk to him about visiting rotations and he will know how to make it happen.
Joseph Shimon Kass M.D., J.D. runs Neurology at Ben Taub HCHD. I think he is the chair. If you can corner him, he is a solid teacher.
S. Laowattana M.D. often runs the inpatient service at Ben Taub. He doesnt understand American Culture well and his English is often hard to understand. He has an abrasive Socratic teaching style. I learn alot from this guy but know what your getting into with him. Your experiance can go either way. Remember, Ben Taub is a county hospital. You (MS3/MS4) will be the social worker, scut monkey, errand boy etc... The nurses are good but not as strong as Methodist or St. Luke's. The pathology can be very good but you wont have as much guidance. Overall it can be a good rotation if you work well with less guidance.
I hope that helps
James Owen M.D., PhD is an assistant professor and epileptologist who works out of Texas Children's Hospital. He is a Pediatric Neurologist. He spends much of his time studying epilepsy in rats. He runs the Medical Student training. This guy is not your run of the mill, stiff-shirt Neurologist type. I have never seen him wear anything but shorts, hiking boots and a button down shirt. When it comes to Peds Neuro he is very up to date / State of the art. When it comes to training Medical Students dont bother looking for someone better because there isnt anybody. This guy knows how to teach. Talk to him about visiting rotations and he will know how to make it happen.
Joseph Shimon Kass M.D., J.D. runs Neurology at Ben Taub HCHD. I think he is the chair. If you can corner him, he is a solid teacher.
S. Laowattana M.D. often runs the inpatient service at Ben Taub. He doesnt understand American Culture well and his English is often hard to understand. He has an abrasive Socratic teaching style. I learn alot from this guy but know what your getting into with him. Your experiance can go either way. Remember, Ben Taub is a county hospital. You (MS3/MS4) will be the social worker, scut monkey, errand boy etc... The nurses are good but not as strong as Methodist or St. Luke's. The pathology can be very good but you wont have as much guidance. Overall it can be a good rotation if you work well with less guidance.
I hope that helps
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Dr. Paul Schulz, Baylor's Program Director for Neurology was "asked to leave". He was allowed to "step aside" or "promoted out of the way" , (the Baylor equivalent to being fired). Joseph Kass M.D., J.D. has taken his place. It can only be an improvement but we will have to wait and see.
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Very interesting development. Dr. Schulz was a chair for a long time. What was the reason for firing?
Dr. Kass will be great for the program, I believe. He made a very good impression during the interview.
Dr. Kass will be great for the program, I believe. He made a very good impression during the interview.
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Paul Schulz was the Program Director, not the Chair. The Chair was Dennis Landis who was fired in 2008. Schulz was removed from his position due the the declining quality of the program. He is rather incompetent. His removal can only be a good thing. However, remember that Kass is a product of the program. He tends to lack an independant and objective approach to political issues and will frequently side with the "old guard". With that said, he seems to be committed to academic excellence and may work out very well. We should give him a chance, wait and see.
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Any truth to the following? Or is this the case of Silence = Confirmation ?
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I heard some unconfirmed rumors that the BCM Neurology dept is in serious trouble. There were talks that they will be losing some senior faculty members in the near future and the current chairman of the dept does not seem to have a clue on how to put Baylor back on the map. Anybody else got any news on this? I was thinking of applying there because of family reason but now I am not so sure any more.
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Any new opinions on Baylor? Reading scutwork's review and some of the above reviews for Baylor were scary. Have things changed since the new chairman and the new PD have taken over? Is the program front-loaded now as their website mentions? I wanted to go to UTSW-Dallas or Baylor, but after reading some of these reviews, I am second guessing myself. Can someone please address if any of the above mentioned issues have resolved/changed for the better or is it the same? Any honest opinions please (specially from those who are current residents)?
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I am a current resident, and, in my opnion, things have changed. Now we have a solid partnership with St Lukes, with a world-class neuro-icu (dr suarez is the head!!!) and also an inpatient service. Dr Kass is a tremenduous PD...he is really worried about teaching and he takes seriously our opinion regarding the program. The financial problems were almost completely resolved. Also, baylor is one of the few programs in the country that has ALL subspecialites represented (even neuro-otology, neuro-ophtalmology, neuro-hiv), with around 50 faculties. Among those faculties you can find world-known guys as Jankovic (movement disorders), Rivera and Hutton (MS), Suarez and Smirnarski (Neuro-icu/stroke), Mizhari (epilepsy), Appel (muscle-nerve) and many others. It is the third in the country in NIH funded neurological research (just behind hopkins and duke). It is really a front loaded program...the upper levels dont take calls!! So, you should really took a good look at baylor before deciding.
D
deleted102545
I interview at baylor in november so I was hoping I could get some more feedback on the program. Like all programs it looks good to me on paper. I just want to mainly know if the residents are overworked. I look at the salary on the website and it seemed a bit lower than other programs I'm applying too but cost of living is also lower in houston.
so yeah...any more thoughts? thanks neuro critical, i appreciate your feedback and it instills confidene in me.
so yeah...any more thoughts? thanks neuro critical, i appreciate your feedback and it instills confidene in me.
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Hey ReDox. I don't go to Baylor and I'm not a resident there, but here's my 2 cents.
I interviewed there earlier this month and I was really impressed with the program. I had done a lot of reading on SDN and was a little bit worried, but after visiting, I'm pretty positive I'll be ranking them somewhere in my top 3. The residents seemed very happy there and there were plenty of residents (from all years) stopping by on interview day to say hi. The PD Dr. Kass was really friendly and great, and I definitely got the feeling that the faculty are very supportive of the residents. Despite some of the financial issues baylor is going through, I felt from both the PD and Chairman that they really try to prioritize resident training. Rotating through 3 main hospitals seems as though it could be hectic, but the residents seemed to think that it only contributed to their training. They definitely see a huge variety of patients. The program is front loaded so that 2nd year , you take the most call (which is not more than 5-6 calls a month).
All in all, no one I talked to had any negative things to say about Baylor and everyone seemed to be really happy.
True, salary does seem lower, but Houston does have a lower cost of living (ie. 4 bedroom house in suburbs of Houston for 150,000$) I also found out that in Texas, you don't pay state income tax!!
I interviewed there earlier this month and I was really impressed with the program. I had done a lot of reading on SDN and was a little bit worried, but after visiting, I'm pretty positive I'll be ranking them somewhere in my top 3. The residents seemed very happy there and there were plenty of residents (from all years) stopping by on interview day to say hi. The PD Dr. Kass was really friendly and great, and I definitely got the feeling that the faculty are very supportive of the residents. Despite some of the financial issues baylor is going through, I felt from both the PD and Chairman that they really try to prioritize resident training. Rotating through 3 main hospitals seems as though it could be hectic, but the residents seemed to think that it only contributed to their training. They definitely see a huge variety of patients. The program is front loaded so that 2nd year , you take the most call (which is not more than 5-6 calls a month).
All in all, no one I talked to had any negative things to say about Baylor and everyone seemed to be really happy.
True, salary does seem lower, but Houston does have a lower cost of living (ie. 4 bedroom house in suburbs of Houston for 150,000$) I also found out that in Texas, you don't pay state income tax!!
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Neuro critical, really appreciate your view. I think it helped to put things in perspective and alleviate some concerns that I had.
Given that it's a front loaded program, and the new ACGME rules, did they mention how their new schedule (including calls) is going to pan out?
Given that it's a front loaded program, and the new ACGME rules, did they mention how their new schedule (including calls) is going to pan out?
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Any new opinions on Baylor. Any others that have interviewed there this year want to comment on the interview day and what they thought about the program?
I had an interview there early in the season. After attending other programs, I must say that in review there are some pros and cons to baylor:
Pros
Almost every thinkable elective/fellowship can be done there after residency (in case you want to stay in Houston)
Great Neuromuscular and Neurophys faculty
Working in several hospitals
The PD Dr. Kass is a very nice guy and cares for his residents very well
Cheap city, always good weather
Cons
Very heavy workload (I remember one PGY-2 at the dinner saying it was too much work for "only" 10 residents)
Houston is not really a nice city to live for years...
A lot of "electives" as presented on the interview day are not really electives, but obligate rotations that you have to take
I might add some more, but for now, that's what I had in mind from that day
Pros
Almost every thinkable elective/fellowship can be done there after residency (in case you want to stay in Houston)
Great Neuromuscular and Neurophys faculty
Working in several hospitals
The PD Dr. Kass is a very nice guy and cares for his residents very well
Cheap city, always good weather
Cons
Very heavy workload (I remember one PGY-2 at the dinner saying it was too much work for "only" 10 residents)
Houston is not really a nice city to live for years...
A lot of "electives" as presented on the interview day are not really electives, but obligate rotations that you have to take
I might add some more, but for now, that's what I had in mind from that day
D
deleted102545
I interviewed there not too long ago and that is pretty much the exact same impression I got from them. It's amazing that at 10 residents they are still to the point of almost being overworked. PGY2 is going to be rough at any program, as it should be, but I don't want to be overworked. Dr. Kass told me that he would like to expand to 12 as soon as he can but probably won't happen for a few years.
I remember him saying this, but as you said, this will not happen within the next 4 years, so it doesn't affect us.
I really liked the program, but a resident who admits that they are overworked is kind of a red flag for me. Because if they SAY they are overworked, it is probably much worse in reality. This became clear to me when we had our tour and they have to cover 4 (big) hospitals, which is just to much - even for 10 residents.
After all, fellows do have a lot of responsibility in this whole system. With regard to that and the huge fellowship possibilities, I believe that Baylor may be a very good place to do a fellowship though.
I really liked the program, but a resident who admits that they are overworked is kind of a red flag for me. Because if they SAY they are overworked, it is probably much worse in reality. This became clear to me when we had our tour and they have to cover 4 (big) hospitals, which is just to much - even for 10 residents.
After all, fellows do have a lot of responsibility in this whole system. With regard to that and the huge fellowship possibilities, I believe that Baylor may be a very good place to do a fellowship though.
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When I went to Baylor we covered 6 hospitals (Ben Taub / meth /St Lukes / De Bakey VA /TCH/ MD Anderson. ). PGY2's were alone on call and covered St Luke and Methodist at the same time (1/4 mile apart). We answered to many different attendings while on call (some I never actually met in person). My average cross -cover load was around 65 patients (No, I AM NOT kidding). My max admits was 13. My max emergency was one TPA and one hypothermia protocol simultaneously. Those 2 patients were 1/4 mile apart. My max inpatient load (alone) was 18 patients on NEURO ICU (I think 6-7 were on a vent). My max number of days in a movement d/o clinic (Jankovic) was 0. My max number of days in Neuromuscular clinic (Harati) was zero. I never stepped foot in a NeuroOptho clinic or lab. I did not perform a single EMG. So, Yes there is a lot to see. That doesnt mean you will ever get to see it. For example, one of our residents did 5 months NeuroICU because of a workload shortage. This meant loss of training elsewhere.....Thats the way it was 2 years ago. Have things changed? Possibly, Kass was a solid teacher once you got his attention. If Appelt is finally teaching professor rounds again, thats a plus. I was told that they no longer cover Lukes and Methodist simultaneously. That was a recipe for disaster. It sounds like they got rid of the Neurocritical care guy (George Lopez M.D., PhD), a definite step in the right direction. I heard good things about Suarez when he arrived.
Summary, is this. It sounds like it is going in the right direction. It may be world class in 5-10 years. Residents might still be overworked and undertrained until then....Who knows?
Summary: At first, Houston was one city I promised myself I would NEVER live in. Once, I moved there it was much nicer than I ever expected. The traffic moves well. The cost of living is low. There is no state income tax. I think state sales tax in around 8% (I dont remember). There are some good schools if you have kids. It has an international airport if you plan on traveling etc.... I would say Houston isnt bad. There is something for everyone, so choose your residency on its own merits. I hope that helps
Summary, is this. It sounds like it is going in the right direction. It may be world class in 5-10 years. Residents might still be overworked and undertrained until then....Who knows?
Summary: At first, Houston was one city I promised myself I would NEVER live in. Once, I moved there it was much nicer than I ever expected. The traffic moves well. The cost of living is low. There is no state income tax. I think state sales tax in around 8% (I dont remember). There are some good schools if you have kids. It has an international airport if you plan on traveling etc.... I would say Houston isnt bad. There is something for everyone, so choose your residency on its own merits. I hope that helps
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Great post wonkybog!
It is good, because we can show how things changed. As a current resident, what I can say is that most of those problems were solved...We do not cross-cover methodist and SL at the same time any more....We have now PROTECTED months of subspecialties (NM, MS and mov dis are OBLIGATORY). Dr Suarez is light years better than Dr Lopez. For sure, Dr Kass did a great job!!!
It is good, because we can show how things changed. As a current resident, what I can say is that most of those problems were solved...We do not cross-cover methodist and SL at the same time any more....We have now PROTECTED months of subspecialties (NM, MS and mov dis are OBLIGATORY). Dr Suarez is light years better than Dr Lopez. For sure, Dr Kass did a great job!!!
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Bumping this thread. The interview season is almost over, so what did everyone think about Baylor this year?
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Great to read about old colleagues and friends. It brings back memories. I completed a PGY-2 year at Baylor back in 2003-2004. Joe Kass was a year ahead of me in training. He's a good guy. It was relatively rough yea but I learned quite a bit. After a year, I left to become an anesthesiologist. Good times.
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So what is the new scoop regarding Baylor neurology? Are the residents still over worked? Several people who interviewed at Baylor the past few years said that they would recommend avoiding it as they felt the residents weren't happy.
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Reading this thread, It is such a shame that Baylor got such a bad rep
I am a current resident there and I don't know how things were before...but I can tell you now that this program is wonderful and all my friends in the program absolutely love it here
For starters, we only cover one hospital at a time and all hospitals are within close proximity....call is front loaded and basically with a few exceptions call is taken just about only by pgy2. The pt population is so diverse and you are bound to learn so much just by being on the wards or in clinic where YOU run the show.
I cannot tell you how many once in a lifetime cases we see at Ben taub and how efficient and state of the art the st Luke's neuro icu is( we run it)
There are SEVERAL months for electives in almost anything you can think of
All of the faculty are very knowledgable and all are our friends.
Dr Kass our pd is great and committed to what is best for us and will be your advocate. It seems that the program took a 180 since he arrived
Yes we are busy but that's what residency is for and I find that I do have time to pursue other interests and I honestly very rarely have felt overwhelmed
I am not one to post on public forums but I came across this thread and couldn't help but set the record straight...Baylor is one of the most well rounded programs you can find IMHO and I could not be happier with the program
I am a current resident there and I don't know how things were before...but I can tell you now that this program is wonderful and all my friends in the program absolutely love it here
For starters, we only cover one hospital at a time and all hospitals are within close proximity....call is front loaded and basically with a few exceptions call is taken just about only by pgy2. The pt population is so diverse and you are bound to learn so much just by being on the wards or in clinic where YOU run the show.
I cannot tell you how many once in a lifetime cases we see at Ben taub and how efficient and state of the art the st Luke's neuro icu is( we run it)
There are SEVERAL months for electives in almost anything you can think of
All of the faculty are very knowledgable and all are our friends.
Dr Kass our pd is great and committed to what is best for us and will be your advocate. It seems that the program took a 180 since he arrived
Yes we are busy but that's what residency is for and I find that I do have time to pursue other interests and I honestly very rarely have felt overwhelmed
I am not one to post on public forums but I came across this thread and couldn't help but set the record straight...Baylor is one of the most well rounded programs you can find IMHO and I could not be happier with the program
I think they expanded to 11 residents - at least it seems they've matched one more than previous years.
http://www.bcm.edu/neurology/index.cfm?NewsID=3173
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General Comments:
Currently ten residents per class
Multiple hospitals with great variety of exposure
Extremely busy environment. Duty hours constantly an issue.
Electives are plentiful but actual time to take them is not. This may change during my next year, but Im skeptical.
Very difficult program if your trying to start a relationship.
Multiple hospitals giving wide range of experience; however, maintaining computer access/training at so many different hospitals is very difficult.
You will become very efficient
Call was previously reserved for second year, but we are taking call too this year
Ben Taub General Hospital:
County hospital for Harris county
Gold Card system provides insurance for Harris County residents
Very large range of patient pathology and large psychogenic population of patients
Call is tends to be busy
Michael E. Debakey VAMC
Largest VA in the country
The neurology unit is a hidden gem with good nursing staff
St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital
Private hospital
Covers 20 ICU beds and 20-40 floor patients with high daily turnover
Our class has also started 24 hour consult coverage for Texas Womens hospital
Many resources and tests get done quickly
Partial night float system except for weekends. Call is extremely busy.
Very consult-heavy hospital. Expect multiple physicians to be following most patients.
Floor and weekend service sometimes feels more like a sweatshop than a residency program
MD Anderson
Large oncology population with lots of oncology exposure
Work with UTMB neurology residents
Can't comment on clinic month yet
Texas Childrens:
Largest pediatric hospital in the state of TX
Home call is frequent and is supposedly going to be easier for us this year
Currently ten residents per class
Multiple hospitals with great variety of exposure
Extremely busy environment. Duty hours constantly an issue.
Electives are plentiful but actual time to take them is not. This may change during my next year, but Im skeptical.
Very difficult program if your trying to start a relationship.
Multiple hospitals giving wide range of experience; however, maintaining computer access/training at so many different hospitals is very difficult.
You will become very efficient
Call was previously reserved for second year, but we are taking call too this year
Ben Taub General Hospital:
County hospital for Harris county
Gold Card system provides insurance for Harris County residents
Very large range of patient pathology and large psychogenic population of patients
Call is tends to be busy
Michael E. Debakey VAMC
Largest VA in the country
The neurology unit is a hidden gem with good nursing staff
St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital
Private hospital
Covers 20 ICU beds and 20-40 floor patients with high daily turnover
Our class has also started 24 hour consult coverage for Texas Womens hospital
Many resources and tests get done quickly
Partial night float system except for weekends. Call is extremely busy.
Very consult-heavy hospital. Expect multiple physicians to be following most patients.
Floor and weekend service sometimes feels more like a sweatshop than a residency program
MD Anderson
Large oncology population with lots of oncology exposure
Work with UTMB neurology residents
Can't comment on clinic month yet
Texas Childrens:
Largest pediatric hospital in the state of TX
Home call is frequent and is supposedly going to be easier for us this year
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I interviewed there last year and the residents were extremely rude to the applicants. Interviewers were relatively unfriendly and seemed rushed/ disinterested during the candidate interviews. In speaking with interviewees along the interview trail many of them felt that the program at Baylor was malignant and none of them, including myself, even ranked it on their match list. I will say I do not know if my misgivings about this program were true, but I will say that it was the only program at which I interviewed that I felt was completely scutting its residents and devalued didactics. I am sure clinical exposure is great at this institution as it takes so many residents per year and covers so many hospital. To me the clinical volume coupled with the city, atmosphere, and lack of emphasis on didactics made me feel as if this institution would not fit with someone wanting to pursue clinical neurology. My 2 cents.
I interviewed here this year. My overall impression was not positive. TMC is a world on its own with a great medical center. However Baylor does not seem to be a great program and I am ranking it lower than most of the low tier programs.
During the interview it seemed like interviewers were rushing and not much passionate for answering my questions. We just toured one of the 5 hospitals and tour guide seemed not so happy. She mentioned residents barely have time and are working a lot. During the noon conference didactics I just saw three residents that were not engaging much with the applicants am talking among themselves. Baylor is a great researxh center but honestly it seems during residenxy residents do not have any time for any of their interests.
During the interview it seemed like interviewers were rushing and not much passionate for answering my questions. We just toured one of the 5 hospitals and tour guide seemed not so happy. She mentioned residents barely have time and are working a lot. During the noon conference didactics I just saw three residents that were not engaging much with the applicants am talking among themselves. Baylor is a great researxh center but honestly it seems during residenxy residents do not have any time for any of their interests.
I have (nearly) finished my last year and can comment a little more. Baylor *could* be a great place to learn neurology and may be in the future. Many things make this an uphill battle. Staying on-topic during rounds was a continual problem for my last three years. I finished several rotations feeling like I had not practiced medicine for the last month. I got tired of hearing faculty proposals to make Baylor neurology better that just ended in telling residents to work harder and do more without a clear plan on how to accomplish that. I'm leaving with the feeling that the neurology residency program was a burden to a lot of faculty rather than the reason why they were academic physicians. I'm happy with my upcoming fellowship, but I really think the residency experience could have been better if residents weren't viewed as burdens to the program.
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Once you get an interview from Baylor, do all the applicants have an equal chance? Or do they do a point system based on scores, CV, etc (stuff prior to interview day)?
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Didn't apply to Baylor (no desire to live in Texas) but this is the only program I have heard of where it is apparently common practice for applicants to end up not ranking it.
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Coincidentally, this morning I had a conversation with a 2nd year neuro resident from another program that said similar things about Baylor. His friend didn't rank them either.
