General questions about peds residencies

[hector219]

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Just a pre-med here, I'll start med school next year. Looking for very general information, mostly out of curiosity.

What are the benefits of attending a top-ranked peds residency?

Are they geared more towards those subspecializing?

In a less competitive field, like peds, what are these residencies looking for?

I know the questions themselves are probably pretty ignorant, but that's what I am right now.

 

[twilightdoc]

Just a pre-med here, I'll start med school next year. Looking for very general information, mostly out of curiosity.

What are the benefits of attending a top-ranked peds residency?

Are they geared more towards those subspecializing?

In a less competitive field, like peds, what are these residencies looking for?

I know the questions themselves are probably pretty ignorant, but that's what I am right now.

There is no such thing as an official "ranking" of Peds residencies. There are various rankings of medical schools, hospitals, departments, and subspecialties, and I suspect that residency training may be a component of some of those rankings, but they are probably based more on research funding and reputation (research and clinical). The good news about Pediatrics is that there are a bunch of good residencies of various sizes in a wide range of settings (major city, college town, medium-sized city) and in just about any part of the country in which you might want to live, and most will prepare you for a variety of career paths. And don't be fooled by the perceived "less competitive" nature of Pediatrics- I suspect that the most competitive programs would have board scores, class rank, etc. not too different from those of other competitive specialties. The last time I checked, a higher percentage of Peds residency slots "filled" with U.S. grads on the Match than just about any non-surgical specialty.
It is hard to generalize about "what programs are looking for"- probably depends on the program. Some do tend to attract students from MD-PhD programs in higher numbers, and those programs may place more emphasis on training researchers, but not necessarily. Remember that the RRC for Pediatrics has placed restrictions on some of the clinical rotations that residents might undertake, such that the structure of different residency programs is much more similar than it was 20 or 30 years ago. And the work week/work hour restrictions further add to the similarities.
My advice to a new med student who wants to broaden his/her future options would be to concentrate on your academics, get involved in a community/humanitarian project that interests you, and to try to gain some quality research experience, ideally leading to a publication. And keep your options open when you start your clinical rotations; you may find something that appeals to you more than Pediatrics, or you may reaffirm your interest in this field.