Under-rated residency programs

[GopherBrain]

OK, by now we all know who the top 5 or so residency programs are. But which programs are not given the respect that they deserve?

There have to be some programs that have made great strides over the past couple years but their reputation has not caught up with them yet...

For my part, I will submit the U of Minnesota as a very solid program, but I am biased...

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[Pinky]

Rush - Chicago (probably the best neurology program in Chicago but just doesn't have the marquee name).

 

[islander]

Mt. Sinai in NYC is an awesome program. I wouldn't say it's "under-rated" since it has a very good name in NY and surrounding states, but it doesn't have the national rep it probably deserves. Why is it awesome? 1) Very well-regarded and prominent attendings, 2) Very well-respected and powerful chairman, 3) Great mix of cases, from tertiary referrals for the wealthy to bread and butter among the underserved, 4) Excellent research activities. Very tight group of very happy residents - the exposure and workload of some of the more malignant programs in a high-morale environment.

 

[scm]

has anyone heard anything about these places? good places to be? competitive?

Oregon Health Sciences?
U of Wisconsin?
U of Colorado?
U of Washington?

thanks
scm

 

[tofurious]

I wouldn't consider U Washington underrated. Its national reputation is quite excellent, since on the west coast you can only think of UCSF, UCLA, Stanford, and U Washington as top programs.

 

[scm]

ok sure, what about the other programs i listed?
heard anything about them?
also, forgot to mention Brown?
anyone?
thanks
scm

 

[wahoo99]

Never heard of Brown as underrated! Esp. in Ob -- Brown, U Wash, Oregon, & U Colorado are all tops!

 

[scm]

Never heard of Brown as underrated! Esp. in Ob -- Brown, U Wash, Oregon, & U Colorado are all tops!

ob? has anyone heard anything about these programs for neuro?
thanks

 

[tont17]

Any thoughts about Einstein in da Bronx???

 

[islander]

Einstein is a very good program. It's generally seen as better than NYU but not as good as Columbia (definitely) or Sinai or Cornell (probably). Pretty humane call schedule & work hours, good subspecialty exposure, good alumni network. They have a new chairman this year - a very solid guy but as he's new to the chairman ranks I'm not quite sure how much pull his letters will have for fellowships or how many strings he'd be able to pull (outside of Einstein) in general. A recent rumor was that 2 non-Orthodox Jewish residents left the program because the Observant residency option may result in more weekend call for the non-Orthodox staff - I can't swear that actually happened though. The fact that they're not in Manhattan may be a plus or a minus for you personally - overall I think it's a minus for the program's image.

 

[freelancewriter]

Can't say much about the U Wisconsin program (not familiar with it), but Madison, Wisconsin is a great small city to be in. Population is somewhere around 200,000, the student population is somewhere around 40,000. State Street, which runs between the campus and the capitol building, is lined with ethnic restaurants, bars, record stores, etc. For a city of it's size in the Midwest, there's a lot of life and culture.

 

[Mitogen79]

Hey guys,

allrightie, i'm getting towards the end of my 3rd year of med school at SIU-School of Medicine/Springfield, and have definately decided upon Neurology as my career choice (with a fellowship in Neuro Oncology)...

i'm just an average student with average board scores, some research under my belt, and above average clerkship grades and evals... since our school is pretty small and since very few american grads wanna go into Neuro, there's not much advice i'm getting from the 4th year class... so what programs do you think I'd even have a chance at? I'd love to go to the west coast to California or to east coast - NYC/Boston... how many programs do you think i should apply for to make sure i get a place... am i going to be competitive at places like Stanford/NYU/Mt. Sinai (or should i not even bother waisting money to apply)...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks

vish~

 

[islander]

Any US grad will get into a neuro program somewhere, & quite possibly a very good program. "Above average" clerkship evals and "some research" are all to the good in terms of boosting your chances for the program of your choice. It's tough to predict your chances at the NYC/Boston/California-type programs without knowing how strong your LORs will be & how you interview (LORs are VERY important in Neuro - probably much more important than, say, board scores). I don't think being from a small med school would hurt - it may strengthen your app (it's a unique characteristic). While Neuro is getting more selective as more US grads choose it as a specialty, it's still sufficiently accessible that you should apply to your "reach" programs with some degree of confidence that you will do well in the match. Good luck!

 

[chirurgeon]

Where are my Southern brethren?!? I am picking up here on some serious Yankee bias here! Culture and intelligentsia do thrive in pockets of the South!

Anyway... sorry about my rant. Since no one has spoken up for the southern programs, allow me to endorse:

Wake Forest [formerly Bowman-Gray] - frequently overshadowed by Duke but one of the top 15 recipients of departmental NIH funding; modern hospital; well funded
Duke (top-notch neuro research)
Emory (tremendous clinical base + huge patient population)

Up and coming:
UAB (Birmingham) has a new neuro chairman who seems quite gung-ho; solid basic science foundation
MUSC (Charleston) - I keep hearing very positive things from various folks I've talked to about the MUSC program; disclaimer - have not personally visited Charleston so I cannot vouch for these paeans of praise

 

[mrmed]

I graduated from SIU and did fine in the match! Go to the deans office and request a list of alumni who matched in neuro. They will give you great advice coming from SIU. Don't worry you'll be fine.

 

[soon_md]

Hello. I am wondering what sort of details anyone knows about these programs:

RUSH
Univ. of Utah
U of Rochester (NY)

THanks!

 

[GopherBrain]

RUSH - I have no personal experience, but I went to dinner with the SIGN (Student Interest Group in Neurology) President from Rush a few weeks ago at the AAN annual meeting. She was very positive about the program, and had nothing but good things to say. Some of this is to be expected, but I have found that students and residents are usually pretty honest about the quality of their programs.

Univ. of Utah - I have a CD sitting on my desk "A Day In the Life...", which is an overview of a typical day of a neuro resident in Utah. It is about a year old, and I haven't actually looked at it yet. Email them and ask for a copy. I don't really know much about the program.

U of Rochester - A really great program. I've heard the education is outstanding, and the residents all seem very happy. It will certainly be near the top of my ROL. Are you listening Dr. Jozefowicz? The only negative is the location, but I grew up in northern MN, so what do I care?