Ok, this whole interview/match process is getting rather confusing and rather tiring. I'd like to solicit your opinions on the Clinics...Mayo and Cleveland (the main campuses of both) in the following areas...
1) Depth and breadth of faculty/training
Equivalent. Both have outstanding faculty and scope of training. I know CC has had a bit of turnover recently with people leaving for Case Western, etc, and I'm not entirely sure how that's impacted the training, but I doubt it's had much impact on the quality of medicine that goes on there,
2) Bread and butter vs. too many zebras
Don't get sucked into the belief that places like Mayo and CC only see zebras. The vast majority of their patients are from the local population with regular neurology stuff just like everywhere else. Even a lot of the rich and famous who go there, go just to get regular stuff taken care of, they just make the trip 'cause they can afford it. Yes, you will probably see more zebras (and more cutting-edge diagnostics and treatments) than at other places, but you will see more than enough plain old strokes and headaches too.
3) Ability to come out of either to engage in a university academic practice
No problem at either.
4) Quality of research - bench, translation, and clinical - at each
Clinical research is pretty equivalent at both. Bench/translational, I might actually give CC the edge, but that's based on some limited exposure. You might want to get some input on this from one of the MdPhDs lurking around the forum.
5) The impact that the "private" experience has versus the pure university exposure
Both are "private," so I guess you mean comparing MC/CC to other places. Well, the facilities are generally nicer thanks to the huge amounts of donor $$ that get poured into these places. I think you might find you are treated a little better overall, more like a colleague and less like a cog in a machine at a multi-hospital university setting.
6) Is one truly in a different category than the other?
Yes. One is in a large urban inner city area with all the attendant issues that go with that. The other is in a small, rather isolated city with all the attendant issues that go with
that. In other words, you will get outstanding training at either place, so would you rather live in Cleveland or Rochester?
Any other comments are welcomed.
I interviewed at both places. Had friends who went through CC residency/fellowships. My take and theirs was that Mayo is in general somewhat more laid back than CC. CC people (i.e., residents and fellows, and even some of the attendings I've met) just seemed a bit more stressed out than their counterparts at Mayo. That being said, Mayo is a rather conservative place in terms of overall attitude (yes, you do have to wear a jacket and tie) and medical practice. It also has a lot of unique ways of doing things. There is a "Mayo way" to do just about everything. This might be true at CC as well, but it's pretty evident at Mayo.
Bottom line is that they're both top notch programs. You really can't go wrong with either in terms of training.
