Vascular neurology programs ranking

[Stroke7]

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Hello,

Wondering if any one has any suggestions on ranking Emory vs Cleveland clinic vs UMiami vs BIDC for stroke fellowship. Did interview at these places but unfortunately all virtual. Need some input and help! Thanks!

 

[Hank Rearden]

All of these places are very good and it would be difficult to rank them. I would rank them based more on what you hope to get out of your fellowship training than overall reputation of one vs. the other. For example, Emory is very high volume for IR, enrolling lots of people in endovascular trials, so go there if that's your interest. If you plan to stay in academics and have a particular research area of interest within vascular neurology, go to the place that is doing the best work in that field and where you can find a good mentor. If your goal is just to get the vascular neurology fellowship under your belt to later be more of a clinician / stroke director, you can't go wrong with any of these places - just pick the one that works the best for your personal life.

 

[Stroke7]

Thanks 🙂

 

[Frozen-B]

I do think that the first 3 are stronger than BIDMC

I think Emory [ expanding to 4 fellows] and Miami [ 3 fellows ] are comparable in terms of exposure and training with a lot of volume and prominent people in the field.

You can't go wrong with CCF [ expanding to 4 fellows as well] clinically strong with a lot of support and money for research. The NIR group is very cohesive and has all 3 specialties represented although your volumes (thrombectomy) are not gonna anywhere close to the southern programs.

Both Emory and CCF have MSUs and Tele if that is what you are interested in.

All 3 (Emory/Miami/CCF) are part of stroke net and they all have sent fellows into NIR.

If you come from a program where stroke volumes are less then maybe Emory/Miami would be a better fit. Atlanat and Miami are better cities than Cleveland in my opinion

 

[Stroke7]

You are correct. I dont think BIDC is at the same level as the other 3 but I liked their 1 week on 1 week off (off service) schedule, and the fellows appeared to be happy with the volume as well with not being too busy. Obviously there is the harvard name to it. I do come from a stroke heavy program and so not entirely looking for a very busy fellowship but do plan on pursuing an academic career, so struggling to decide if I should go for a top notch program vs the harvard name!

Thank you for the input though. Really helpful!

 

[Stroke7]

Wondering if doing a stroke fellowship from a lesser known program (even though an IV league) eg Upenn, yale or bidc impact your future job search or places you on a lower level in any way?! Needing a waiver job!

 

[Frozen-B]

Tough question... I think that in the stroke world people know which programs are strong and which ones are not... From a job search perspective, I think you are probably better off doing a fellowship in the area where you want to end up practicing (for local connections) or a place that has a history of taking their own and sponsoring waiver jobs.

I do not think you need an Ivy league name to be in academia and/or successful and i don't think you can go wrong if you end-up at one of those programs and take advantage of most of the opportunities that those institutions have to offer especially if you come from a residency with a known/strong stroke division... what is more important is finding a mentor that is invested in your success.

PS can you post your impressions of those programs...

 

[Stroke7]

I did not interview at Yale. U penn is pretty much set up like ccf in terms of the call schedule (1 in 4, and 1 weekend call in a month). You do not have to come in for TPA's or thrombectomy (depending on your comfort level with the residents). They are very particular about their research (with Kasner being there) and they expect you to do most of the enrollments in clinical trials.
Over all I did like how the program was run. Fellows attend the ISC or European stroke conference depending on their preference, and also get an extra paid week off during christmas/new years, in addition to their 4 week vacation time, so fellows are very well supported.

 

[Staphylococcus Aureus]

How competitive are these ivy or “top” programs? Does coming from a big name residency weigh in for outside big name programs?