Program "name"

[zipps999]

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Hi all! Curious for input on the importance of "name brand" programs for peds residency! I want to leave doors open for both fellowship and gen peds since I'm unsure at this point of what I want to do. I've ended up liking some programs that are not as renown for peds and feel weird to rank places like CHOP, Hopkins, UCSF lower than those less renown programs! I don't want to regret things down the road..

any input on the importance of names with regard to keeping doors open for fellowship opportunities?? I am confused if name helps
You get fellowships or if it's more how you do in the program you're at, wherever that may be be. For reference, the programs I've ended up liking that are "less renown" in my opinion are in the middle tier range - not below average but also not the very best programs!

 

[Giic]

Hi all! Curious for input on the importance of "name brand" programs for peds residency! I want to leave doors open for both fellowship and gen peds since I'm unsure at this point of what I want to do. I've ended up liking some programs that are not as renown for peds and feel weird to rank places like CHOP, Hopkins, UCSF lower than those less renown programs! I don't want to regret things down the road..

any input on the importance of names with regard to keeping doors open for fellowship opportunities?? I am confused if name helps
You get fellowships or if it's more how you do in the program you're at, wherever that may be be. For reference, the programs I've ended up liking that are "less renown" in my opinion are in the middle tier range - not below average but also not the very best programs!

I would say that how well you do in the program you end up at is more important. If you do well and get good references, you're likely to get into a fellowship program regardless of where you did residency. Of course, "name brand" or "big" programs will always get you a second look, but securing a fellowship will still require you to excel there.
I'd say go with your happiness. If you feel you will be happier in one particular program, then go for that. And actually being happier in a residency program helps you to perform much better (very important).

 

[Stitch]

I would say that how well you do in the program you end up at is more important. If you do well and get good references, you're likely to get into a fellowship program regardless of where you did residency. Of course, "name brand" or "big" programs will always get you a second look, but securing a fellowship will still require you to excel there.
I'd say go with your happiness. If you feel you will be happier in one particular program, then go for that. And actually being happier in a residency program helps you to perform much better (very important).

Yes. This.

 

[philodendron9]

I agree with the above posters. I'll add that while some programs (e.g., CHOP) carry a certain global name recognition to people with mainly cursory familiarity with pediatric residencies/children's hospitals, I have found that numerous other places carry name recognition to people who are actually engaged in the field. That may be for overall training/clinical quality, reputation within a niche subspecialty in which you want to pursue fellowship, or programmatic excellence in something like global health, quality/safety, or physician-scientist career development. Since there are actually a huge number of very strong pediatric residencies and people can largely stick around a certain region to get solid training if they desire, geographic familiarity also plays a role -- someone in, say, the Northeast, may have spent their lives training at and working with people who mainly trained only at other Northeastern institutions and thus have little reference point about Western programs other than a cursory knowledge of the prototypical big ones. Perceived reputation also seems to be generational when you go looking for advice; some of my advisors over a certain age were more dogmatic than the younger ones about picking a program with a certain name brand, and some also had very outdated impressions of programs for odd reasons (e.g., Program X must be clinically weak because it is affiliated with a private university hospital in a wealthy location; advisor did not know that the program leadership actively addresses this by having residents rotate at the county hospital, and that the patient catchment area is actually gigantic and diverse). During this season, I learned not to rely too heavily on the "awe factor" or lack thereof from people in my circle with this cursory knowledge when I interviewed at a place that got the "ooh! reaction" for overall prestige and reputation in my clinical interest area but was told during my interview day by a current resident that trainees going into my field actively try to go elsewhere for fellowship because the associated subspecialty division is not trainee-oriented. (I speak from the perspective of wanting to do residency and fellowship at the same place, so this was important to me -- if training there only for residency, it would be an awesome place which I am ranking accordingly.)

 

[zipps999]

Thanks everyone!!!! Very helpful, and also what I was hoping to hear! It's hard to not get swayed with the name recognition but I'm trying to remember this is three years of my life and it should be a place that meets my needs both in terms of my career goals and my personal goals.