Seeking Residency Training Advice

[Spinothalamic]

Hello community,

I am a rising 4th year U.S. allopathic medical student interested in neurology. My application will be quite strong, and I believe that I could train at a top-tier institution. The reason for which I am seeking advice is that I currently am considering doing my residency at a newer, less "competitive" neurology residency for family/geographic/financial reasons.

My current thinking is that completing a residency at this institution will give me a well-rounded neurology education, and I will go somewhere more prestigious for 1-2 fellowships to be trained by subspecialist experts. For clarity, I am not currently interested in extremely competitive fellowships such as NCC or IR but rather neuromuscular, neuro immunology/neuro ID, or epilepsy. I should also say that the less competitive program still has great board passage rates and past success in matching residents to competitive fellowships.

I am aware that my research opportunities will be restricted during residency should I choose to complete my training at the less competitive program, but I am curious about your opinions on other pros and cons regarding this situation. Is there advantage to training at a location with few fellows as opposed to a prestigious institution with 15+? Do you think I am doing myself a disservice to not train at the supposedly "best" program I can? Is it realistic to think that completing a fellowship at a top-tier institution, regardless of residency training, produces similarly prepared graduates?

Feel free to give any and all advice along these lines. I greatly appreciate your time!

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[typhoonegator]

There are other threads on here about the pluses and minuses of big vs. small residency classes. Suffice it to say that they each confer non-overlapping advantages. If those family/geographic/financial reasons make a substantial difference in your choice, then it's pretty hard for anyone else to argue why you're "letting yourself down" by not gunning for Columbia. Do what you want. As long as the program you're considering is humane and reasonable, you can get a lot of great experience pretty much anywhere. Regardless of subspecialty, the very top programs in every sub-discipline are hard to get into, and many prefer their own graduates. But again, if non-medical concerns are driving a big part of your decision making, then that is simply a fact of life.

I would say that if you can rationalize the opportunity cost of training at a not quite top-tier program because of your own personal reasons, and are willing to live with the potential consequences that come with the trade-off, then you are making a good decision for your situation. Somehow, there are neuromuscular specialists in this world that didn't go to UCSF.

 

[MemberX]

I would worry about all this next febuary, when you have to submit a rank list. Until then, just apply to both types of progrs, see what interviews you get and which programs are a good fit, etc.

Hello community,

I am a rising 4th year U.S. allopathic medical student interested in neurology. My application will be quite strong, and I believe that I could train at a top-tier institution. The reason for which I am seeking advice is that I currently am considering doing my residency at a newer, less "competitive" neurology residency for family/geographic/financial reasons.

My current thinking is that completing a residency at this institution will give me a well-rounded neurology education, and I will go somewhere more prestigious for 1-2 fellowships to be trained by subspecialist experts. For clarity, I am not currently interested in extremely competitive fellowships such as NCC or IR but rather neuromuscular, neuro immunology/neuro ID, or epilepsy. I should also say that the less competitive program still has great board passage rates and past success in matching residents to competitive fellowships.

I am aware that my research opportunities will be restricted during residency should I choose to complete my training at the less competitive program, but I am curious about your opinions on other pros and cons regarding this situation. Is there advantage to training at a location with few fellows as opposed to a prestigious institution with 15+? Do you think I am doing myself a disservice to not train at the supposedly "best" program I can? Is it realistic to think that completing a fellowship at a top-tier institution, regardless of residency training, produces similarly prepared graduates?

Feel free to give any and all advice along these lines. I greatly appreciate your time!

 

[Spinothalamic]

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it.

 

[witzelsucht]

see if you can speak to a faculty member about it. particularly a faculty member who either is a recent grad, or someone who recently started there after working elsewhere and can give you good insight

 

[Nonphysiologic]

I don't think it makes a difference. As long as you fit with the people in the program you can go anywhere for fellowship. Neuro fellowships aren't very competitive


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