Hi SDNeuro,
I'm beginning my Neuro PGY-2 year, and my classmates are all thinking about which subspecialty field of Neurology they may be interested in. As a med student, I thought I mostly want to do general outpatient PP Neurology with some hospital call mixed in, joining a mid-sized group in a mid-sized city someplace. As such, I had not planned on doing a fellowship. I still feel this way. I'd like to learn enough neurophys in PGY3 and 4 to do basic EMG/EEG, but otherwise do not feel particularly strongly about any field of Neurology and would like to see it all.
However, there's this sense in my program (and, from what I gather, universally in Neuro programs) that everybody fellowships, and if you don't, you are hamstringing your chances of landing a job. Those of you who have applied for jobs, do you think this is true? I know the number of people choosing to fellowship has gone up from ~50% to ~90% in the past 10 years. Does this arms race mean everyone in the field has to stay in training for 5-6 years or more?
I'd like to have the confidence to say, "To hell with the crowd, I'm doing it my way," but at the same time I don't want to limit my family's options for locations. My wife is pursuing a social sciences PhD and will finish about the same time I finish residency. She will have the more limited job options between the two of us, so I'd like to be as flexible / competitive as possible for her, so that her career can dictate where we go next. If not fellowshipping is going to hurt us there, then maybe I'm doomed to spend another 2 years at PGY-pay.
Would love to hear from those of you who are general PP neurologists who didn't fellowship. Also interested in hearing from anyone who has been interviewing/hiring recently-graduated Neurologists, in any context (academic or PP). And anyone who is going through the job search now, or who's recently finished looking for jobs. Thanks for any advice you may have.
I'm beginning my Neuro PGY-2 year, and my classmates are all thinking about which subspecialty field of Neurology they may be interested in. As a med student, I thought I mostly want to do general outpatient PP Neurology with some hospital call mixed in, joining a mid-sized group in a mid-sized city someplace. As such, I had not planned on doing a fellowship. I still feel this way. I'd like to learn enough neurophys in PGY3 and 4 to do basic EMG/EEG, but otherwise do not feel particularly strongly about any field of Neurology and would like to see it all.
However, there's this sense in my program (and, from what I gather, universally in Neuro programs) that everybody fellowships, and if you don't, you are hamstringing your chances of landing a job. Those of you who have applied for jobs, do you think this is true? I know the number of people choosing to fellowship has gone up from ~50% to ~90% in the past 10 years. Does this arms race mean everyone in the field has to stay in training for 5-6 years or more?
I'd like to have the confidence to say, "To hell with the crowd, I'm doing it my way," but at the same time I don't want to limit my family's options for locations. My wife is pursuing a social sciences PhD and will finish about the same time I finish residency. She will have the more limited job options between the two of us, so I'd like to be as flexible / competitive as possible for her, so that her career can dictate where we go next. If not fellowshipping is going to hurt us there, then maybe I'm doomed to spend another 2 years at PGY-pay.
Would love to hear from those of you who are general PP neurologists who didn't fellowship. Also interested in hearing from anyone who has been interviewing/hiring recently-graduated Neurologists, in any context (academic or PP). And anyone who is going through the job search now, or who's recently finished looking for jobs. Thanks for any advice you may have.
