need 4th year elective advice for neuro

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Vader

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I am a 3rd year medical student currently planning out my 4th year schedule, and am planning to apply in neurology this fall.

I'd greatly appreciate some advice on which electives would be good to take during 4th year. Are there certain electives that are especially valuable for preparation for the prelim year and/or neuro residency?

Thanks in advance!!

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I did an extra rotation in neurology and hung around sleep labs and emg-ncv during my fourth year elective time
 
I recommend doing an outside rotation in neurology at a place you'd like to go, or a place you'd like to get a recommendation from. I did 2 away rotations at two different places- one an inpatient neurology, one with clinics/research. One is enough. It looks good to have a well known person at an outside instituation vouching for you as well as your own school. Most outside letters are very generous as well.

Other helpful rotations are cardiology, radiology, psych, emergency med, ICU, and anything medicine related. If you are certain about neurology, it helps to have a logical series of electives prior to matching. You don't want a program director wondering if you will drop out your intern year because you haven't thought through your decision to be a neurologist. Avoid electives that appear random or not related to neurology or medicine, or delay these until after the match. I would front load your schedule, so you can get letters for your app in time. Research would be helpful if you need experience in that area. I did a neuropathology course and cut up a brain over 4 weeks, and that was very helpful.

Have some fun, too. However, I would not recommend slacking off too much prior to intern year. It can be a shock if you haven't thought about medicine in months.

Don't worry about it too much. You will most likely match where you want to go and have no regrets about elective choice.

Good luck with everything!
 
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I did a Neuropath rotation at a major academic medical center and it was totally worth it. Learned a lot about how to appropriately use the pathology consult.
 
Learned a lot about how to appropriately use the pathology consult.

:confused::confused::confused:

"appropriate use"???

You mean this?

Step 1: get tissue
Step 2: send tissue
Step 3: get report back

What else is there?

I agree that neuropath is a good rotation, mostly because it's high yield for the neuro RITE exam and boards.
 
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