Hours & Lifestyle Differences across Neurology Residency Programs

Peds neuro may on the whole be a bit lighter than adult, but is still highly program dependent. The residents at Boston Children's work their buns off.

There really isn't such a thing as a family friendly residency, in my opinion. Call is not family friendly. Getting to work at 6AM is not family friendly. The goals of residency are pretty much never aligned with the goals of being a great parent (other than preventing death where possible and humane).

You're going to have to decide whether you want to go to a big and busy program, where you cover a big service at multiple hospitals but have lots of co-residents with whom you can arrange trades, and pick up the slack if someone gets sick or goes out on maternity, vs. a small program where there may be a lighter clinical load but essentially no safety valve if you need someone to cover your call -- or if your residency needs you to take more call to cover for someone who's on bedrest.

I recall in my intern year there was another intern who went off the reservation and basically disappeared in October, and two more who had kids early in the year. I had picked that internship because it seemed fairly humane, but it didn't feel that way when I was doing my third MICU month in a row taking q3 call and having my elective months all turned into service rotations to cover the gap. That stuff happens even if you think you've planned it out perfectly.

I would spend more time planning out your safety nets and arranging the help and support structures you will need when things get rough. Those things are easier to plan. Look at places where you have family nearby. Obviously, don't go to Columbia or MGH or Baylor or UCSF if you don't want to work really hard, but picking a residency based on its present call frequency or number of inpatient rotations could leave you very disappointed down the road. It's only a couple of hard years anyway.

And certainly don't choose peds neuro over adult neuro because you think the residency might be easier. You'll have a long career afterwards and you won't be doing your kids any favors if your miserable in your job for the rest of your life.

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Hours & Lifestyle Differences across Neurology Residency Programs