Peds Neuro

[Cardsfan]

Hey gopher brain, how bout a sticky for peds neuro, I'm sure those of us applying this year would appreciate a place to discuss programs, interviewing etc. . . Thanks a bunch!

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[omores]

Hey gopher brain, how bout a sticky for peds neuro, I'm sure those of us applying this year would appreciate a place to discuss programs, interviewing etc. . . Thanks a bunch!

Maybe before it turns into a sticky, we should get a conversation going! The one on the peds board is exhibiting no signs of life.

 

[GopherBrain]

If you guys can get an active discussion rolling, I'd be happy to sticky it.

 

[Cardsfan]

Alrighty then, who all is applying this year and where? I'm sending my CAS to about 20 places, mostly on the eastern half of the US.
UAB
Vandy
Wash U
Childrens national
Wake
Boston childrens
CHOP
Hopkins
Michigan
Mayo
Med Col of Wisconsin
Cleveland
Cinci
Baylor
IU
UT SW
Arkansas
UVA
Miami

Anyone have any opinions on any of these programs?

 

[omores]

Alrighty then, who all is applying this year and where?

I'm applying (assuming I ever get my freaking personal statement written) to 10 places.
U of Wash
OHSU
Utah
U of Colorado
Mayo
WashU
Chicago-- NW
U Cincinnati
U Rochester
U Michigan

Two others are applying from my school as well, but they don't post here.

 

[med99]

3rd year looking into peds neuro. Any reason for picking these particular programs? I am pretty sure I would like to do peds neuro but am intimidated by the prospects. Does anyone have anything to say about any of these programs other than I am applying here, here, and here?

Another thing: Do most of the peds neuro programs piggyback the adult neuro. That is, does a strong adult neuro program mean a strong peds?

Med99

 

[omores]

Med99: My list was based on a few things:

Child neuro programs that I've consistently heard are excellent (Wash U, Cinci, Chicago NW, U Wash).

Programs that seem to have good adult neuro departments (Rochester, Utah, Mayo), which I'm hoping will extend to peds neuro as well.

And programs in cities that I can afford (which rules out Columbia, which is supposed to be excellent).

Since the field is so tiny, there's really not alot of information available -- I've managed to pick up a few snippets here and there from some of the folks at my home program, but at this point I'm making alot of judgements based on websites, e-mails from PDs, and how I feel about the city in which the program is located. The big test, for me, will be how the program feels when I check it out during an interview.

Cardsfan: how's it going? I only just got my app in this week, but my two classmates who were more on top of things have already gotten several interview offers. Only problem is, none of us has done ERAS yet. We're all stuck on the personal statement. Did you do yours yet? If so, did you just adapt your neuro one, or did you start from scratch?

 

[Cardsfan]

I also just got my application in, but did submit my ERAS early this month, I did not change my personal statement at all, I felt it was peds oriented enough for me. I have gotten 5 interviews for the gen peds programs, so now I'm just waiting for the neuro programs to get my CAS. I am couples matching as well, my fiancee is applying to Peds also. we're trying to make the match as logisticallty hard as possible anyway, I'm excited to start hearing from the neuro programs, I hope SF Match doesnt take forever to get my app out. Well good luck to all, any other questions let me know.

 

[omores]

Ah good. Glad to hear that you kept the same PS (obviously it's effective if you've gotten 5 interviews so far!). The more I try to chop mine up and reconfigure it, the worse it gets (and I've been doing just that for the past hour and a half). Think I'll take Kasiamagore's advice about prelim statements and just add a line or two about wanting "a solid foundation in pediatrics." As a whole, my statement is plenty peds-oriented, I think.

At least you're couples matching with a fellow ped and not, say, a future dermatologist. That'd make things even more logistically challenging!

Until next time...

 

[omores]

Or maybe not.

I had a major compulsive crisis and ended up writing a whole new statement. Just submitted it this morning.

In the meantime, looks as if SF Match just sent out a bunch of apps (apparently they do this every week to ten days). Just got an interview offer from Wash U. Trying to pick a date.

 

[Cardsfan]

they must have sent out a bunch of apps cause I got some interviews today too, Wash U, Wake, UTSW and Mayo, its good to have these finally coming in because I've gotten like 13 peds interviews and I havent been able to schedule dates waiting for the neuro people to get back to me.

 

[omores]

Yep -- just got Mayo too. Did you pick a date yet for them or for WashU?

 

[Cardsfan]

I'm interviewing at Wash U on Nov 7/8, got an invite from Michigan today.

 

[omores]

We'll probably just miss each other for the entire interview season.

I'm at WashU 31 Oct - 1 Nov, then Cinci 9 Nov-10 Nov, Mayo 1Dec, if I hear back from the Peds folks. Haven't booked Michigan yet.

 

[Cardsfan]

heard from Vandy, Cinci, CHOP, Chicago today, havent scheduled any of those yet though

 

[Cardsfan]

Anyone else having trouble squeezing in all their interviews, its rough because they are all two day evengts, so its hard to schedule more than one a week. omores, how many interviews are you planning on goin on? Have you heard anything about any of the programs, which ones are any good? My mentor went to Wash U and recommended that program, but other than that havent really heard much about any of the other places. Guess I'll find out when I interview.

 

[omores]

Anyone else having trouble squeezing in all their interviews, its rough because they are all two day evengts, so its hard to schedule more than one a week. omores, how many interviews are you planning on goin on? Have you heard anything about any of the programs, which ones are any good? My mentor went to Wash U and recommended that program, but other than that havent really heard much about any of the other places. Guess I'll find out when I interview.

Speaking for my other two classmates, we're all having trouble fitting them in. The hardest to schedule so far is U Mich, since the interview days are incompatible. My max is 6, I think -- but I'm not couples matching. Y'know, I was thinking about your situation, and it sounds like it's a major hassle, since you can't do a true "couples match" between sfmatch and NRMP.

As for programs, there's a huge LACK of information, isn't there? I've heard raves about WashU from several sources, and everybody seems to love Dr. Trevathan. Of the programs to which you're applying, I've also heard anecodotal good reviews of Cinci, Children's National, Hopkins, and Baylor. Mixed reviews of Boston and CHoP (PM for details).

 

[omores]

Hey Cardsfan -- did you get a separate offer from the Mayo Peds folks? If so, what was their turnaround time?

The reason I'm asking is that I've scheduled an interview with the Neuro folks, but have yet to hear from the Peds folks. Since they have an integrated program, I'm not sure if they're planning to contact me or not.

 

[omores]

And I would have been waiting forever, too. Turns out they hadn't gotten my USMLE transcript -- good thing I checked!

Of course, now that I've been offered an interview by the Peds folks, I've learned that they have no more dates that coordinate with neuro interviews. Not sure how to work around that one -- certainly can't afford to make two trips.

Still in the midst of scheduling-rescheduling madness. Already I'm feeling very biased towards those programs that offer coordinated, flexible interviews -- and towards the ones that offer hotels, too!

 

[Cardsfan]

Yeah, I have the same feeling about being able to interview with both departments during the same visit. I'm starting to look at my calander and feel bad about how much I'm gonna be gone from my last couple rotations, oh well. Any other peds neuro folks out there want to weigh in on their experiences, we'd love some more input.

 

[ARealist2]

im a MS3, and i know i want do peds, and i'm looking into subspecialties right now. what made you all choose pedi neuro?

 

[Cardsfan]

I was initially interested in neuro coming into medical school, after following around a couple of adult and peds neurologists I realized I was more interested in the pediatric pathology, stuff like epilepsy, CP, rare genetic syndromes, etc... Also I liked working with kids a lot more than adults.
Its a much needed subspecialty and you can pretty much find a job anywhere in the country. If you have any other questions your can PM me.

 

[Cardsfan]

Heard from UAB, Baylor and Boston Children's this week

 

[omores]

Here I am in Cincinnati, between interviews. Boy this program feeds you well.

Realist: like cardsfan, the interest in neuro came first for me -- the stuff I was seeing was just way more fascinating for me than, say, cardiology or dermatology. Not that those fields aren't fascinating, but somehow neuro was the only stuff I found myself thinking about -- wondering about -- on my days off. Then I did a pediatrics rotation and realized that it was way more fun and less depressing than adult neuro for me. It can be really really tragic, but somehow I have an easier time dealing with that than with demented or stroke-disabled adults. Actually, on second thought, I kinda liked the demented adults, but mostly because they can be very childlike.

Cardsfan: was at WashU last week, and am heading to Seattle, Utah, Colorado and Mayo in December. That may be it for me. Have been able to glean quite a bit more information from fellow interviewees (some of whom I'll try to get to add to this thread), and I think I may be able to narrow my focus. Also, After only two two-day interviews, I anticipate feeling both burned out and broke after six. But we'll see.

 

[shinkei]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum but I'm an MS4 currently applying in Peds Neuro. I've always been a neurology person but just like the kiddos so much more.
I'm just curious - where do you guys get your info about how programs compare, etc? I feel really in the dark about how the programs I'm interviewing at compare. So far: Columbia, UCSF, Stanford, Hopkins, UCLA, UCIrvine, Oregon, NYU. I only applied to 12 places but I'm a Cali girl and am trying to stay here if possible, but don't want to eliminate any of the east coast possibilities. Any opinions?
I'm also having a super hard time coordinating interviews with Peds. I feel like I'm going on double the number of interviews my friends in other specialties are going on because of the double application. Then again, I'm only interviewing at Cali peds programs and I'm on a vacation block so I can't complain too much, I'm not shuttling all over the country and missing rotation time. It's still going to be painful...

 

[omores]

Yay! Another person!

Hi Shinkei. I've used a mishmash of sources to try to figure things out. First, I asked the faculty at my home program and got some names that way. Then I asked the residents about programs they'd recommend. I happened to run into the head of NINDS one day (long story), and she told me to look for programs that have an NSARDA program, which I think I've spelled wrong. Basically, it's a grant to the institution to allow mentored research for folks who have finished their residencies, and provides for protected research time. ONly about 5 programs offer this, among them WashU, Hopkins and Columbia (I think).

For me it's critical to do peds + neuro at one place, so I'd also e-mailed a whole bunch of program directors to find out the story at each place. On the interview trail, I've mercilessly hounded fellow applicants about places they've visited or heard of. And I've also been soliciting opinions on Peds and Neuro programs, since that'll be 3/5 of my residency.

Some programs offer ready-made two day interviews (WashU, Cinci, UWash, etc) and others make it completely impossible to do a two-day interview (Columbia, from what I've heard). So that for me has been another way to judge programs -- at least in terms of their ability to coordinate between departments, and to understand and respond to the problems inherent in the application process.

 

[shinkei]

Hi omores, thanks for the input. I've asked around as well, but only have opinions from west coast people. I might try emailing the program director at my home program for advice as well.
As far as scheduling both Peds and Neuro, I found that Hopkins, UCSF, UCLA, and Irvine have been the most accomodating. At NYU there was no communication between the departments. OHSU asked me to wait for my Peds interview to schedule. It's just hard fitting everything in such a short time!
Going to Columbia and UCSF this week...