Does Residency placement matters?

[Vacant]

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I didn't get my top choice for neuro residency but matched to a still desirable place, and I am content. But my question is, based on your own experiences especially the attendings and fellows, do you think it really matters where I get trained if I am just interested in being a general neurologist?

Based on my medical school education so far I'm thinking I will be self-training for the most part by comparing what attendings teach me with what texts say. Am I wrong in thinking this way?

If it doesn't really matters for clinical practice, then why so much fuss about getting into "top tier" residencies?

Sincerely thank you for your honest inputs.

 

[typhoonegator]

People will always compete for that which they have been made to feel is both desirable and scarce.

I went to a "top tier" program, and not a single member of my (rather large) class went into general clinical practice. Everyone did fellowship or jumped directly into research. This is self selection to some degree, and reflects the ability of big name institutions to jump start research careers or place people in competitive fellowships.

Can you be a great researcher or do an epilepsy fellowship at Columbia if you go to a less well-known training program? Absolutely. Can you train at a prestige program and go directly into private practice? Sure. But residencies are geared toward different things, and you'd do best to find a program whose desires match your own.

In fact, residency training is not that uniform, and you might have a hard time swimming upstream at a program that is streamlined for a different track. My residency program director and chair did not really have working relationships with community private practices in the area, and the residency training was relatively light on outpatient neurology exposure. If you know from the onset that you want to end up in private practice without a fellowship, then that would place you at a disadvantage, or at least put more responsibility on you to get the training and exposure you need. Additionally, many of the so-called "top tier" programs have a very high resident work loads, which if you are not interested in the big name and the trappings that come with it, could just be extra pain during residency for no benefit.

 

[Raggaman]

Depends on what you want. Our program is geared towards private practice and much less on research. Very heavy on stroke and seizures. We all do 3 months of EEG and EMG each (included seizure and neuromuscular clinic) to well prepare us for the private practice world. This is exactly what I wanted. Whenever a zebra is encountered, it is sent straight to the nearest "big boy" academic center. Remember, most neurological are not rare esoteric diseases but rather the bread and butter stroke/seizure/headache (etc) kind. Once you get past one of most favorite obsession with medical students that is "I want the (so-called) BEST program"; you will realize what you really like and will go accordingly.

 

[rocksheng]

well said. Even in a top-tier academic program, you still can gear yourself toward whoever you want to be.