So enlighten us all. Define the best training. Since you say they're all the best and obviously speak from experience (you would never give advice based on hearsay, right?) you must have rotated at all of them.
The best training involves opportunity. Those top tier places have the best opportunity.
1) Clinical experience- because they have the name, they also get sent the rare disease from across the country. You get exposed to things most programs just don't ever see. You cannot know something you have never seen.
2) Volume- they see a lot of volume- generally more than other programs
3) Teaching- you have leaders in the field teaching you, rather than just some guy. You have the opportunity to learn from the best. There are distinctions that cannot be gleaned from books and nuances that come from learning the art of medicine.
4) Autonomy- this is becoming more common but nonetheless the top programs have the most autonomy. This means the people mature faster so that the JARs are at the level off SARs at other programs.
5) Research- top programs have much more $ and many more opportunities in this regard. They also have the leaders in the field doing research there.
6) Travel- the top programs will send (and pay) for rotations in other countries and have numerous opportunities set up for you if you dont want to do the leg work yourself.
7) Other - these programs have money out the wazoo for things that just make your life easier- travel expenses to national meetings, lunches everyday, research grants or whatever.
8) Fellowships- Most importantly the top programs match everyone to their desired fellowship... very few programs can actually say that 100% of residents who want a particular fellowship, get that fellowship.
The locations they go to also aren't podunk hospital, they are well known programs which again gives you a wider array of opportunity after fellowship. Even more so than in medical school, you can tell a lot about a program by their match list.
In the end it is all about opportunity. If you end up going in to family practice then it probably wont matter whether you go to RVU or Harvard for medical school. However, very few people know for sure going into medical school. Keeping all doors open is the smartest thing you can do.
Wow. Just wow. I didn't allude to anything. Are you really that threatened by DOs that you are now making up lies about my residency program? I said no such thing.
Actually you did allude to the fact that there are people at your program who don't match. You said they match GI or Cards if they are qualified. So, there must have been some in the recent past who were "unqualified" and didnt match otherwise you wouldnt have said anthing of the sort.
To prove me wrong, why don't you post your program's fellowship match and match percentage for the last few years? I'm right aren't I?
Eventually you will grow up and realize life isn't about 'better' and 'worse'... Sounds like you have poor self esteem and need to prove something to others. I'm just as happy (if not more) at my allopathic university program as any resident at Harvard is...
Ahhh the old adhominem... Since I see obvious distinctions between programs I must have poor self esteem? That makes sense.
Life is about opportunity. Who is to say that a student (or resident) will not decide to pursue a competitive specialty or a competitive program. It is best not to close doors before you get to them.