How much time off before med school is too much for neurosurgery?

[Jolt21]

Hey all. I posted this in another forum, but this is the field I am interested in, so I am coming to you guys...

So I have a chance to take a great pediatric neurosurgery lab job where i would get clinical and research experience, but the boss wants a 2 year commitment. I was willing to do 1, but 2 is a big step. this is what i am thinking...

pros:

-the experience
-more time to study for mcat and can take it later this year rather than doing it in the school year (I am a senior now)
-better letter of rec
-i get time to just have 40-hour weeks before i start working hard for the rest of my life


cons:

-family is against it
-the paths in medical school i am thinking of going on take a reallllly long time already (neurosurgery and such...)
-my college down is very small and not a big city, so maybe could get boring
-i dont know if 2 years is better than one year


another thing people keep telling me is that its good to take something for a couple years b/c then you could really talk about and get into it in interviews and such.

so any opinions or anecdotes? i really don't know what to do...

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[-Goose-]

Hey all. I posted this in another forum, but this is the field I am interested in, so I am coming to you guys...

So I have a chance to take a great pediatric neurosurgery lab job where i would get clinical and research experience, but the boss wants a 2 year commitment. I was willing to do 1, but 2 is a big step. this is what i am thinking...

pros:

-the experience
-more time to study for mcat and can take it later this year rather than doing it in the school year (I am a senior now)
-better letter of rec
-i get time to just have 40-hour weeks before i start working hard for the rest of my life


cons:

-family is against it
-the paths in medical school i am thinking of going on take a reallllly long time already (neurosurgery and such...)
-my college down is very small and not a big city, so maybe could get boring
-i dont know if 2 years is better than one year


another thing people keep telling me is that its good to take something for a couple years b/c then you could really talk about and get into it in interviews and such.

so any opinions or anecdotes? i really don't know what to do...

Can you get in to medical school with your current MCAT/Grades? If so, then I would just go. Otherwise, it doesn't matter much, does it?

If you're going to do neurosurgery (or any surgical field, for that matter), you'd better like the journey, because its a long one. 2 more years isn't a big deal, especially if you're single.

Also, please consider the fact that you might not want to / be able to match in neurosurgery. I really think people that enter medicine for one field are potentially setting themselves up for complete disaster if they don't match. I know several people that came to medical school *ONLY* to become a orthopaedic surgeon. Some say this just means they know what they want, I think its a little short-sighted. You need to have an open mind & keep it open throughout school. Do the best you can & figure out what it is you want to do by looking at every possibility.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject:

"We start here, and we go there. But it's not that simple, is it? Our paths may be circuitous or direct. We may gaze excitedly ahead, or cast our eyes regretfully behind. Until we reach our destination it exists only in our own minds. It is what we have imagined it to be. And yet we tend to neglect the journey, which is real, in favor of the destination, which is not.
For too long I neglected this journey. It was an obstacle to be overcome, an ordeal to be endured; for I had never chosen the journey, I had chosen the destination. But now that the journey has ended, I have discovered that here isn't so important after all. I find myself looking back with particular fondness for how I got here."

 

[H_Caulfield]

I agree with the above post. Allow me to respond a little more distastefully. EVERYBODY who doesn't yet know anything about medicine wants to be a neurosurgeon, an othopaedic surgeon, or a cardiologist. That's why three-quarters of the posts on this board are from 12-year-olds and high-school students asking what electives they should take in place of study hall.

I think that there aren't many people in the general public speaking much about otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, or nephrologists, so THAT'S WHY these young kids "KNOW" they want to be neurosurgeons. They aren't familiar with anything else.

If you're set on neurosurgery without having stepped foot in medical school, you're being ridiculous. You'll realize this shortly after beginning, so don't go getting offended. Right now you are, by no fault of your own, completely ignorant.

And in answer to your question....I think that one year off looks good, but two might have some eyebrows raised. They may worry that your knowledge is "rusty," or that you simply weren't efficient in getting your stuff together.

 

[Jolt21]

Can you get in to medical school with your current MCAT/Grades? If so, then I would just go. Otherwise, it doesn't matter much, does it?

If you're going to do neurosurgery (or any surgical field, for that matter), you'd better like the journey, because its a long one. 2 more years isn't a big deal, especially if you're single.

Also, please consider the fact that you might not want to / be able to match in neurosurgery. I really think people that enter medicine for one field are potentially setting themselves up for complete disaster if they don't match. I know several people that came to medical school *ONLY* to become a orthopaedic surgeon. Some say this just means they know what they want, I think its a little short-sighted. You need to have an open mind & keep it open throughout school. Do the best you can & figure out what it is you want to do by looking at every possibility.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject:

"We start here, and we go there. But it's not that simple, is it? Our paths may be circuitous or direct. We may gaze excitedly ahead, or cast our eyes regretfully behind. Until we reach our destination it exists only in our own minds. It is what we have imagined it to be. And yet we tend to neglect the journey, which is real, in favor of the destination, which is not.
For too long I neglected this journey. It was an obstacle to be overcome, an ordeal to be endured; for I had never chosen the journey, I had chosen the destination. But now that the journey has ended, I have discovered that here isn't so important after all. I find myself looking back with particular fondness for how I got here."

i understand about keeping options opens, but this is just one of the options. if i get sucked into something else, great! it would probably be shorter than neurosurgery and then 2 years would not matter. it's just something i'm interested in as a possibility. i know there can be anything else.

 

[latinfridley]

Hey all. I posted this in another forum, but this is the field I am interested in, so I am coming to you guys...

So I have a chance to take a great pediatric neurosurgery lab job where i would get clinical and research experience, but the boss wants a 2 year commitment. I was willing to do 1, but 2 is a big step. this is what i am thinking...

pros:

-the experience
-more time to study for mcat and can take it later this year rather than doing it in the school year (I am a senior now)
-better letter of rec
-i get time to just have 40-hour weeks before i start working hard for the rest of my life


cons:

-family is against it
-the paths in medical school i am thinking of going on take a reallllly long time already (neurosurgery and such...)
-my college down is very small and not a big city, so maybe could get boring
-i dont know if 2 years is better than one year


another thing people keep telling me is that its good to take something for a couple years b/c then you could really talk about and get into it in interviews and such.

so any opinions or anecdotes? i really don't know what to do...

You need to figure out whether you like research that much. if you plan on research being part of your career then it could be a good thing. On the other hand if you are not that in to it, then you are just tacking on a few more years between now and actually practicing medicine. As far as getting in to your specialty of choice, unless you get a PhD or some major publications, you are wasting time.