top 10 residency psych vs neuro

[Yoyomama88]

overall in terms of competitiveness....do you think its harder to match at hopkins, harvard, ucsf etc in Neuro or Psychiatry?

More applicants per spot in psychiatry, but much lower board scores for psych.

Do you think the difference is neglible btw neuro and psych at the top?

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[TexasPhysician]

This is like asking if cake or ice cream tastes better. There isn't really an answer.

 

[notdeadyet]

This is like asking if cake or ice cream tastes better. There isn't really an answer.

Good reply.

 

[Yoyomama88]

it's not that subjective...it's just difficult to answer because you have to define which residencies are top 10 in each specialty... then you would need objective criteria for all applicants over the past few cycles accepted to those programs (which would be hard to get)...then all the intangibles blah blah which you could never measure really....so i agree it's a difficult thing to answer, but not as subjective as you say.

 

[billypilgrim37]

A very good applicant for neurology would likely also be a very good applicant for psychiatry, whereas the opposite may not be true. Not that the psychiatry programs are "less competitive," just some of the things valued in psychiatry applications are not similarly valued. I doubt neurology cares too much about your story of how you wanted to be a neurologist and how you got there. There aren't major life changing experiences that are going to change how good of a neurologist you are fundamentally. However, that's not true in psychiatry.

 

[nitemagi]

A very good applicant for neurology would likely also be a very good applicant for psychiatry, whereas the opposite may not be true. Not that the psychiatry programs are "less competitive," just some of the things valued in psychiatry applications are not similarly valued. I doubt neurology cares too much about your story of how you wanted to be a neurologist and how you got there. There aren't major life changing experiences that are going to change how good of a neurologist you are fundamentally. However, that's not true in psychiatry.

Exactly. Metrics are different.

A better question would be: what purpose does your your question serve? How does trying to answer this question serve your larger goals?

 

[notdeadyet]

A very good applicant for neurology would likely also be a very good applicant for psychiatry, whereas the opposite may not be true.

I would guess that it cuts both ways more than you might think. I've seen a lot of neurologists at top programs whose personalities might not pass the cut at better psychiatry programs. At the end of the day, good psych programs are selecting for interpersonal communication skills that are much lower on the priority ladder in neurology.

At the end of the day, it's definitely a "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" question. Top 10 psych program residents tend to be pretty committed to psychiatry and top 10 neuro program residents, I'd imagine, would be pretty committed to neurology. I don't think there's a lot of competition pulling between.

 

[Jorje286]

At the end of the day, good psych programs are selecting for interpersonal communication skills that are much lower on the priority ladder in neurology.

But how are you going to test for this? Evaluation letters tend to be very systematized and you can only get a glimpse from the interview. The only way is if you spend one or two months at the program you're applying to.

In general the skill set required for psychiatry is very different from that required in neurology. Step 1 and Step 2 are less important in psych not only because it's less competitive, but because they aren't likely to reflect much on how a psychiatrist you will become. You will not need 90% of the knowledge and the rate at which you memorize info isn't nearly as important as it is in neurology.

 

[shan564]

Ice cream is definitely better than cake, unless it's ice cream cake. And neuro is definitely more competitive than psychiatry.

 

[BobA]

overall in terms of competitiveness....do you think its harder to match at hopkins, harvard, ucsf etc in Neuro or Psychiatry?

More applicants per spot in psychiatry, but much lower board scores for psych.

Do you think the difference is neglible btw neuro and psych at the top?

Even if you could agree on a definition of "competitiveness" - just board scores? %AOA? etc - nobody knows the answer to this question. No one (save the NRMP which would be highly secretive of it) has access to that information for specific programs in different fields.

 

[gabaergic1]

Ice cream is definitely better than cake, unless it's ice cream cake. And neuro is definitely more competitive than psychiatry.

Psychiatry has a lower attrition rate thereafter.