Hi,
I'm not sure how likely I am to hear from any neurosurgery residents or attendings, but I'd appreciate some insight.
I'm at an MD school in Chicago. I started last year and got through 1st semester alright, but decided with my Dean on an LOA at winter break. I'm returning in a few months to join this year's class.
We discovered a 1.5 cm vascular lesion on my right frontal lobe. It was showing signs of bleeding but looks stable now. The work-up was extensive and costly. The lesion will be my explanation for the LOA, but I'm not sure how well it's going to fly for competitive specialties, or whether my app will be tossed aside for a break in my education.
I want to convey that this incident sparked my interest in neurosurgery and that I'm fine now.
I'm also interested in neuro IR.
Apart from that, I was dealing with PTSD from an aggravated assault that occurred right before med school and resulted in a fractured knee and damaged peroneal nerve. I don't intend to talk about that any time in my future career--I'm trying to avoid stigma from here on out. At some point, I may get peripheral nerve surgery.
During my time off I had to work a lot with a hand surgeon to pay the medical bills. I'll have some neuro-psych research under my belt. I'm financially more stable now and have 4 months to use wisely until my return.
I feel like I'm on path to doing well on Step since I have this extra time. Is it worth aiming for this dream? I'll know more after the exam but am ready to put all chips in if it's possible. Thanks.
I'm not sure how likely I am to hear from any neurosurgery residents or attendings, but I'd appreciate some insight.
I'm at an MD school in Chicago. I started last year and got through 1st semester alright, but decided with my Dean on an LOA at winter break. I'm returning in a few months to join this year's class.
We discovered a 1.5 cm vascular lesion on my right frontal lobe. It was showing signs of bleeding but looks stable now. The work-up was extensive and costly. The lesion will be my explanation for the LOA, but I'm not sure how well it's going to fly for competitive specialties, or whether my app will be tossed aside for a break in my education.
I want to convey that this incident sparked my interest in neurosurgery and that I'm fine now.
I'm also interested in neuro IR.
Apart from that, I was dealing with PTSD from an aggravated assault that occurred right before med school and resulted in a fractured knee and damaged peroneal nerve. I don't intend to talk about that any time in my future career--I'm trying to avoid stigma from here on out. At some point, I may get peripheral nerve surgery.
During my time off I had to work a lot with a hand surgeon to pay the medical bills. I'll have some neuro-psych research under my belt. I'm financially more stable now and have 4 months to use wisely until my return.
I feel like I'm on path to doing well on Step since I have this extra time. Is it worth aiming for this dream? I'll know more after the exam but am ready to put all chips in if it's possible. Thanks.
