Weakest Neurology Programs

[Dr House]

There's been a bunch of posts regarding top programs. Here's a list of programs to either avoid or seriously do some soul-searching before committing. By no means is this exhaustive. If anyone knows of other programs with serious problems, feel free to comment.

1. LSU. Faculty rarely see or examine patients. Program transitioning post-Katrina

2. Virginia Commonwealth/MCV. Malignant faculty (although the PD is okay). Electives = being pulled for scut. Mostly FMG's

3. University of Miami. Sweatshop-style clinics. Many FMG's

4. Baylor. 10 residents cover 6 hospitals (again, electives = being pulled for scut). Mostly FMG's

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[minstral]

I will comment on one place, since this post is out of the blue and you apparently have no record of posting here.

I did an elective at U of Miami. GREAT place. excellent residents and attendings, some were FMG some were not. Lots of teaching going on. THE DR. SACCO is new chairman. Yes, clinics were too short and with too many patients, major resident complaint. One Dr. Sacco is taking seriously. To claim this is one of teh weakest places (along with Baylor) pretty much makes your post untrustworthy.

 

[Dr House]

As I'm sure you are aware, residency programs are constantly in flux. This thread was started in an effort to spur discussion about weak Neuro programs (especially since there is great variation between each one). I have much experience with this (and agree- not as much with studentdoctor forums), so no need to slag my initial post as being un-trustworthy. The whole point of this thread is to assist those MS's and interns who may not be getting the whole story on Neuro residencies. Again, anybody out there who'd like to comment on weak or poor Neuro training programs.

 

[buckley]

what's LSU?

I know if you read on posts here, people always say NOBODY will post negative things about programs, thus we have "top programs" threads but not real "malignant program threads"...an the reasons have been stated over and over again...Of course I understand the inherent logic of these reasons.

Honestly though, as someone about to fill up those eras programs, knowing malignantly-horrid-and-despicable-nontrainers-to-avoid would be a BIG help. I have never even seen or known anyone from the hospitals I am applyng to. I'm relying on webpages and student network! And maybe if the coordinator seems nice...Hurrah!

Just as I take any program ranking with a grain of salt, I take red flags with a sack Dr House or anyone who would like to rant, if you don't want to do it publicly--if you have any more info, I would appreciate a private message...

I mean if it happened to you, and it's soooo horrible, would it lessen the pain knowing someone else will go through it? Believe me it doesn't. After my horrid internship back home--wupeee, look at me, i left the country!--I really warned all my friends who were a batch lower than me to think twice, thrice, quadruple...And I know some of my co-interns did the same. From what I hear, the hospital was a little surprised at the decrease in applicatons they got. I say that should make them look at how they treat their interns...

 

[buckley]

If it offends anyone, well then the offended party can always post back his/her counter arguments right? And thus the "best" parts of the program also become highlighted....



Well...that's what I think...danke schon for the advice!

 

[dopamine4me]

If you have solid scores and your an American grad, I would stick with the top two tiers on the "new 82" list!!! At least that is the pill I'm taking!!

 

[flumazenil]

does having "mostly IMG's make a program weak, or are you just describing the program's status currently?

 

[llogg]

does having "mostly IMG's make a program weak, or are you just describing the program's status currently?

There seems to be a perception that programs that take a lot of FMGs are "weak", but this is probably unfounded, or at least not as generalizable as some would have it. Honestly, when considering residency programs you should see which programs match your desires "on paper" and then make an effort to meet some residents on your interviews to find out what they think of the place and whether you would fit in there. Why am I suddenly writing only in run-on sentences, you ask, and I would tell you but I just don't know the answer myself.

 

[MadameLULU]

The information in the OP's post is completely inaccurate.

 

[Bill_Brasky]

This is the first bad thing I've heard about Baylor Neurology, everything else has been positive...?

 

[AznTrojan]

3. University of Miami. Sweatshop-style clinics. Many FMG's

i'm a resident (currently on call) from UM..

yes our wednesday clinics are busy.. but they have been improving... when your hospital sees patients from all over south florida, south america and the carribeans.. it tends to get a bit busy.. we also have one of the largest hospitals in the nation.. and it's always nearly full (1500+ beds)

PGY-4 class has 1 FMG..

PGY-3 class has 2 FMG.. both were attendings in their home country before doing their neurology residency (both scored the top 2 scores on the RITE from UM)

PGY-2 class has i think only 1 or 2..

the new neurology interns are all US grads

this is out of 22 neurology residents (6 PGY-4, 8 PGY2s and 8 PGY-3s).. 2 PGY-4s are gone as they have transferred out of the program when their husbands found fellowships in Tulane and NY

we have new chair (Dr. Ralph Sacco - a stroke guy from Columbia U) and he's been here for about 2 months now.. also heavily recruiting from NY to start up a neuro-intensivist programs.. the one in Columbia is one of the premier places to train neurointensivists.. the neurointensivist program at UM should be starting up November 15, 2007... i believe they will be starffed with faculty from Columbia (don't quote me on that one though)..

we also have a new program director (Dr. Richard Isaacson) just started this month and has made residency teaching his primary goal..

 

[exgatr]

what's LSU?

It's the school with the worst football team in the SEC.

 

[nola]

There's been a bunch of posts regarding top programs. Here's a list of programs to either avoid or seriously do some soul-searching before committing. By no means is this exhaustive. If anyone knows of other programs with serious problems, feel free to comment.

1. LSU. Faculty rarely see or examine patients. Program transitioning post-Katrina

2. Virginia Commonwealth/MCV. Malignant faculty (although the PD is okay). Electives = being pulled for scut. Mostly FMG's

3. University of Miami. Sweatshop-style clinics. Many FMG's

4. Baylor. 10 residents cover 6 hospitals (again, electives = being pulled for scut). Mostly FMG's

I am also interested in the neuro programs in louisiana ? did u got any info. on that? can u please reply. i am going to apply soon
Why do u say LSU is bad? did u worked there? should i not even apply there?
also do u have any knowledge about Tulane? which one to apply Tulane or LSU?

 

[BrainBuff]

The University of Miami Residency Program is actually one of the TOP Neurology Programs in the country!! During an interview with the Chairman of Neurology at John Hopkins a few years ago, I was asked which programs i was interviewing at. My answer was: Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, U Chicago, Loyola, Penn, Tufts, Boston U. I was told that the "peer" program to Hopkins was ...Miami!!

In terms of clinical exposure, there are few better programs than Miami. It is true that the clinics are a killer but then again, that will make you a better neurologist. You are bound to see cases there that you will not see ever again in your life and the diagnostic challenges are daily.

The credibility of the OP is highly questionable. I guess maybe he was rejected from Miami and Baylor.

 

[ndspider]

The University of Miami Residency Program is actually one of the TOP Neurology Programs in the country!! During an interview with the Chairman of Neurology at John Hopkins a few years ago, I was asked which programs i was interviewing at. My answer was: Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, U Chicago, Loyola, Penn, Tufts, Boston U. I was told that the "peer" program to Hopkins was ...Miami!!

In terms of clinical exposure, there are few better programs than Miami. It is true that the clinics are a killer but then again, that will make you a better neurologist. You are bound to see cases there that you will not see ever again in your life and the diagnostic challenges are daily.

The credibility of the OP is highly questionable. I guess maybe he was rejected from Miami and Baylor.

BrainBuff.... you better pick up those names you dropped.

 

[dopamine4me]

The University of Miami Residency Program is actually one of the TOP Neurology Programs in the country!! During an interview with the Chairman of Neurology at John Hopkins a few years ago, I was asked which programs i was interviewing at. My answer was: Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, U Chicago, Loyola, Penn, Tufts, Boston U. I was told that the "peer" program to Hopkins was ...Miami!!

In terms of clinical exposure, there are few better programs than Miami. It is true that the clinics are a killer but then again, that will make you a better neurologist. You are bound to see cases there that you will not see ever again in your life and the diagnostic challenges are daily.

The credibility of the OP is highly questionable. I guess maybe he was rejected from Miami and Baylor.

When was this??? I've had several residents tell me otherwise!!! Dont get me wrong, great city for sun and hitting the beach but it has dropped bigtime (it may have been decent years ago but things change as do programs and program chairs)!!! NO way is it the other JHU!!!! No way!!! And form what I've heard its not top 20!!!! You must be a Miami resident???

 

[ndspider]

Besides, I heard the weakest program is university of miam for sure.

In fact, they are a bunch of GIRLYMEN~~~!~

I mean c'mon. The program director can't bench 160 pounds.....

WEAK

 

[BrainBuff]

dopamine4me, I have nothing to gain here. I am stating exactly my experience and you quoted me correctly. I was asked to name the programs i was interviewing at and believe me, I was a little schocked myself when i heard that. I guess Miami gets a bad wrap from residents because it is a very hard program and PGY-2s are very busy. Clinical experience and pathology, is comparable to none.

What is it that you've heard about Miami? I am just curious now. They had Walter Bradley from Oxford, ( Neuromuscular, ALS guy ) for about 15 years and now the restructuring seems to revolve around Columbia staff.

I think that for some reason New England and California Programs are more popular among residents anyway, but it does not mean they are all the best.

 

[Stargaze]

Well, I have to say Baylor Neuroloy is a great place to work. Although 10 residents cover 6 hospitals, only 2 hospitals are completely covered by Baylor residents. In the private hospitals such as the Methodist Hospital, St Luke's Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, residents only rotate through 1-2 teaching services. They get the experience in many hospitals but they are not overwhelmed by the workload. And only PGY2 does in house calls, PGY3/4 only do home calls. In PGY3, they have 4-5 months electives and in PGY4, they have 7-8 months electives. There are some FMGs but they are only a small proportion of the program.

Their new chairman Dr. Mizrahi is a great person to work with!!

There's been a bunch of posts regarding top programs. Here's a list of programs to either avoid or seriously do some soul-searching before committing. By no means is this exhaustive. If anyone knows of other programs with serious problems, feel free to comment.

1. LSU. Faculty rarely see or examine patients. Program transitioning post-Katrina

2. Virginia Commonwealth/MCV. Malignant faculty (although the PD is okay). Electives = being pulled for scut. Mostly FMG's

3. University of Miami. Sweatshop-style clinics. Many FMG's

4. Baylor. 10 residents cover 6 hospitals (again, electives = being pulled for scut). Mostly FMG's