Why do you become a neurosurgeon, how do you answer?

[watermen]

If some neurosurgery attendings ask you why you want to do neurosurgery, how would you answer.

My answer: Because I like it from my heart.

This is my only answer and reason why i like it. so i m just saying the truth. however, i don't know what most people will think if i m going to answer like this in future interview. what do you guys think?

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[Tired]

If some neurosurgery attendings ask you why you want to do neurosurgery, how would you answer.

My answer: Because I like it from my heart.

This is my only answer and reason why i like it. so i m just saying the truth. however, i don't know what most people will think if i m going to answer like this in future interview. what do you guys think?

I appreciate your sentiment, but grammatically it's a little tortured. You might want to go with:

"Because I love it from the bottom of my heart."

Although even that I'm not so sure about. You might want to consider something a little more specific to neurosurgery . . .

 

[iwantneurosurg]

im actually curious as to all your reasons; here's mine:

1. i think neurosurgeons are truly the greatest in medicine; detailed knowledge, strong confidence, great skills. anything another specialty requires, neurosurgery requires to a greater level.

2. personal battle; i want to be the best, and what better place to be the
best than in a profession made up of the best and strongest

3. it's the final frontier. medical research will never stop, but heart disease and cancer are getting a lot of spotlight now. the brain's the only organ that hasn't really had its time in the limelight yet, and i want to be part of the show when it does

4. variety of operations. ive only seen a lotta spines, and i gotta say, they do a lot of different things in there. can't wait to see intracranial stuff too.

as far as answering to an attending as to why, 3 and 4 probably make good answers.

what are your reasons?

 

[cdql]

Answers 1 and 2 may not be pleasing to attendings in different fields, but I think you can make a valid argument that crazy surgeons who never sleep are probably the greatest docs in medicine

 

[watermen]

im actually curious as to all your reasons; here's mine:

1. i think neurosurgeons are truly the greatest in medicine; detailed knowledge, strong confidence, great skills. anything another specialty requires, neurosurgery requires to a greater level.

2. personal battle; i want to be the best, and what better place to be the
best than in a profession made up of the best and strongest

3. it's the final frontier. medical research will never stop, but heart disease and cancer are getting a lot of spotlight now. the brain's the only organ that hasn't really had its time in the limelight yet, and i want to be part of the show when it does

4. variety of operations. ive only seen a lotta spines, and i gotta say, they do a lot of different things in there. can't wait to see intracranial stuff too.

as far as answering to an attending as to why, 3 and 4 probably make good answers.

what are your reasons?

1 and 2 is really unimpressive. The reason is that you can be a great doctor in any specialty. You can the best in any fields...who says that neurosurgery is the smartest...I highly doubt neurosurgeons will like this kind of answer. They may think you are trying to suck up or ass kiss.

3 is a so-so answer only. If you going to answer this way, why not choose neurology or do a PhD in neuroscience? Why neurosurgery, most of the people in neurosurgery don't really have much time for basic science research, a neuroscience PhD will fit in more.

4. Is a reasonable way of answering, but everyone going to neurosurgery will be answering it that way...so, is not really outstanding....

 

[cdql]

ouch

shot down

 

[danielmd06]

You don't just need to like neurosurgery, you must love it passionately. Why? Because it's an extremely demanding, long-term career...a relationship unto itself. Neurosurgery will become your number one priority in countless instances for the next three decades if you choose it as a specialty, and you need to be clearly aware of that sacrifice/honor.

You should be unable to conceive of happiness in life without being a neurosurgeon...like considering the woman you would marry and spend the rest of your life with.

It's a commitment of that magnitude.

Good luck with your choice and the interview trail.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

Answers 1 and 2 may not be pleasing to attendings in different fields, but I think you can make a valid argument that crazy surgeons who never sleep are probably the greatest docs in medicine

when i first looked at nsg, i thought it was a sin that the majority of neurusorgeons ive come into contact with truly are married to their profession; but then i thought

i'm a patient; and some guy is gonna cut into my BRAIN. id much rather have the guy who operates all day every day for the last ten years because he'd be more experienced. after all, medicine involves lifelong learning, and its not a huge stretch to think the guy married to his profession is better than the guy who works 9-5. may not be true, but from a patient point of view; i'd pick the insane guy/gal.

and those four reasons above are my personal reasons. i already have convinced myself (it didn't take much) to brand neurosurgery as the greatest field. i'm sorry, but if you have to compare two fields, say, anesthesiology and neurosurgery, i think it's pretty clear which field is tougher, more intense, requires more out of you. not to say that anesthesiology is a walk in the park, but there's a reason why the anesthesiologists are chill and the nsg's a high-strung type A's (on average)

all those, tho, would probably make terrible answers to attendings;

good, attending-worthy answers:

1. i find it a personal challenge
2. variety of operations
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)

 

[cdql]

when i first looked at nsg, i thought it was a sin that the majority of neurusorgeons ive come into contact with truly are married to their profession; but then i thought

i'm a patient; and some guy is gonna cut into my BRAIN. id much rather have the guy who operates all day every day for the last ten years because he'd be more experienced. after all, medicine involves lifelong learning, and its not a huge stretch to think the guy married to his profession is better than the guy who works 9-5. may not be true, but from a patient point of view; i'd pick the insane guy/gal.

I would agree from a patient's perspective. I definitely want the most experienced doc cutting into my brain. As a physician though, I don't think I have the stones to put up with that kind of workload.

 

[trout]

when i first looked at nsg, i thought it was a sin that the majority of neurusorgeons ive come into contact with truly are married to their profession; but then i thought

i'm a patient; and some guy is gonna cut into my BRAIN. id much rather have the guy who operates all day every day for the last ten years because he'd be more experienced. after all, medicine involves lifelong learning, and its not a huge stretch to think the guy married to his profession is better than the guy who works 9-5. may not be true, but from a patient point of view; i'd pick the insane guy/gal.

and those four reasons above are my personal reasons. i already have convinced myself (it didn't take much) to brand neurosurgery as the greatest field. i'm sorry, but if you have to compare two fields, say, anesthesiology and neurosurgery, i think it's pretty clear which field is tougher, more intense, requires more out of you. not to say that anesthesiology is a walk in the park, but there's a reason why the anesthesiologists are chill and the nsg's a high-strung type A's (on average)

all those, tho, would probably make terrible answers to attendings;

good, attending-worthy answers:

1. i find it a personal challenge
2. variety of operations
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)

HA HA HA this makes me crack up....if you told me these reasons while I was interviewing you, I would laugh in your face

1. i find it a personal challenge
-there are a lot of things that are personally challenging
2. variety of operations
-look at the answer to #4 and you realize how little you know about the diversity of cases
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
-70% of ns do spine
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
-umm, every heard of baclofen pumps or brain biopsies....shunt, shunt, shunt
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
-actually interventionally cardiology is probably the most technological driven field right now
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
-this is is always my favorite...."i love the brain"
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
-ok this one was tops and just makes me what to roll laughing....in some technology reports and case series maybe but very very few ns have RO1 or extramural funding and the ones who do mainly have PhD
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
-I love this one too almost feels like star trek
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)
-God complex is the last reason to every go into this field and some attending will rip you a new one if you ever say this

 

[iwantneurosurg]

HA HA HA this makes me crack up....if you told me these reasons while I was interviewing you, I would laugh in your face

1. i find it a personal challenge
-there are a lot of things that are personally challenging
2. variety of operations
-look at the answer to #4 and you realize how little you know about the diversity of cases
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
-70% of ns do spine
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
-umm, every heard of baclofen pumps or brain biopsies....shunt, shunt, shunt
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
-actually interventionally cardiology is probably the most technological driven field right now
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
-this is is always my favorite...."i love the brain"
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
-ok this one was tops and just makes me what to roll laughing....in some technology reports and case series maybe but very very few ns have RO1 or extramural funding and the ones who do mainly have PhD
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
-I love this one too almost feels like star trek
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)
-God complex is the last reason to every go into this field and some attending will rip you a new one if you ever say this

makes me glad ur not interviewing me. how bout bringing ur lot to the table?
in response to your responses...
1. yes, many things are personally challenging, but we can't do 'em all lest you be a resident for life. so why not nsg?
2. you referenced number four as related to variety of operations but didn't say anything. i go into the OR once a month searching for residents and so far have seen maybe three of the same kind. of course, by the time ur outta residency, the idea is u've seen so many that theyre all one and the same (ie expertise) but hey, no harm in enjoying the variety when ur a newbie
3. again, 70% is spine, but i don't see urologists cutting into the brain. be reasonable; if you want to cut in the brain, you don't become an orthopod or dermatologist. u want brain, do nsg. u really like brain? do a cerebrovasc fellowship and thats a year or two of pure brain, MUCH more than any other specialty. face it, love the brain? nsg is ur field
4. for all the short operations, the true classic operative cases last hours and hours. no harm enjoying them either.
5. sure, but you can't deny neurosurg is getting its fair share. and we can expect more in the future.
6. some people really do love the brain. and i'm not talking neurons, i'm talking brain.
7. ive been working with neurosurgeons for a while now; not including case reports, technical reports and all that nonsense, its coming out to more than a paper a month. it's all clinical tho. and i sure hope ur not researching for money; and where i work, funds are definetely not scant in terms of neurosurgical research. i assumed that this was true for all schools, but i guess i was wrong; it's only the reputable ones
8. neurosurgeon's are geeks. star trek wasn't exactly my generation tho, guess i missed out on that. but yeah, its pretty cool.
9. it's no secret that neurosurgeon's are the Type A's of society. If you're a type A, congrats, ur a match. of course, the true type A doesn't flaunt it, its just picked up on.

so i guess we can compromise saying that lotsa fields offer what neurosurg has...so why not neurosurgery? when you put it all together, love research, love the brain, the only place ull get all that is...guess what? neurosurgery

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

I appreciate your sentiment, but grammatically it's a little tortured. You might want to go with:

"Because I love it from the bottom of my heart."

Although even that I'm not so sure about. You might want to consider something a little more specific to neurosurgery . . .

"Because I heard about it in that song on Country Music Television."

 

[trout]

by your post I am going to assume you are either a first or second yr medical student. If you are bragging that you are making an "impact" on the literature in the ns field (a paper a month???--deep insight from those preclinical years) and jefferson's chairman is awesome but the faculty is thin after that....maybe you should consider going to upenn where the research is stronger

makes me glad ur not interviewing me. how bout bringing ur lot to the table?
in response to your responses...
1. yes, many things are personally challenging, but we can't do 'em all lest you be a resident for life. so why not nsg?
2. you referenced number four as related to variety of operations but didn't say anything. i go into the OR once a month searching for residents and so far have seen maybe three of the same kind. of course, by the time ur outta residency, the idea is u've seen so many that theyre all one and the same (ie expertise) but hey, no harm in enjoying the variety when ur a newbie
3. again, 70% is spine, but i don't see urologists cutting into the brain. be reasonable; if you want to cut in the brain, you don't become an orthopod or dermatologist. u want brain, do nsg. u really like brain? do a cerebrovasc fellowship and thats a year or two of pure brain, MUCH more than any other specialty. face it, love the brain? nsg is ur field
4. for all the short operations, the true classic operative cases last hours and hours. no harm enjoying them either.
5. sure, but you can't deny neurosurg is getting its fair share. and we can expect more in the future.
6. some people really do love the brain. and i'm not talking neurons, i'm talking brain.
7. ive been working with neurosurgeons for a while now; not including case reports, technical reports and all that nonsense, its coming out to more than a paper a month. it's all clinical tho. and i sure hope ur not researching for money; and where i work, funds are definetely not scant in terms of neurosurgical research. i assumed that this was true for all schools, but i guess i was wrong; it's only the reputable ones
8. neurosurgeon's are geeks. star trek wasn't exactly my generation tho, guess i missed out on that. but yeah, its pretty cool.
9. it's no secret that neurosurgeon's are the Type A's of society. If you're a type A, congrats, ur a match. of course, the true type A doesn't flaunt it, its just picked up on.

so i guess we can compromise saying that lotsa fields offer what neurosurg has...so why not neurosurgery? when you put it all together, love research, love the brain, the only place ull get all that is...guess what? neurosurgery

 

[iwantneurosurg]

ur right, MSII guilty as charged. but give me some credit; when a great hospital like penn is down the street, why not look into it?

i did, multiple times, and their research isn't nearly as strong (clinical). it seems theyre desperate for ppl to help them; if anyone's interested. i'll assume that cuz its penn, they have a pretty damn good basic science research program in nsg to make up for it. (and as a lowly med student, nothing beefs up a resume like multiple publications, which are easier to come by with clinical research. the basic science research i did was way too long and tedious, and i'm not going back to that again)

also, certainly not bragging that my research is making an impact, tho i'd like to think that it does make somewhat of a difference (a good bit of jeff papers get published in places like spine and jbjs). just giving a reason that strong research is another great reason for nsg.

ur rite, the chairman is awesome, but i'm scared ****less of him, and he doesnt give med students the time of day. i've learned to stay outta his way to avoid getting yelled at. neurosurg spine rotates with ortho residents, which, i must say, is very strong at jefferson, and the volume of cases far outweighs penn (havent seen hard numbers, but even the surgeons at penn admitted to this). this gives more data to work with than penn, whose running databases of pt care aren't that well maintained to begin with. hopefully that'll change with time.

from ur response, it seems to me ur already a nsg resident. if you don't mind me asking, where are you training, and, what did you tell ur interviewer when he asked why nsg?

 

[cdql]

out of curiousity, how is the chairman awesome? (awesome surgical skill? awesome as in the amount of research funding he can command?)

typically, when MS1/2's refer to a chairman as awesome, it's because the chairman takes the time to include those students into research projects or at the very least, speak to the students

when you need to tiptoe around someone to avoid getting yelled at, awesome isn't the adjective that comes to mind

 

[Onco]

If some neurosurgery attendings ask you why you want to do neurosurgery, how would you answer.

My answer: Because I like it from my heart.

This is my only answer and reason why i like it. so i m just saying the truth. however, i don't know what most people will think if i m going to answer like this in future interview. what do you guys think?

Thats BS... your heart cannot 'like'.. it is an organ devoid of emotion

Say something like 'NSG is the most fascinating field and I love it'

Which is exactly the cae. You wanna become the most elite physician in the hospital.. you've got to have 'IT' in you..

Dont be just another avg Joe..

 

[watermen]

Thats BS... your heart cannot 'like'.. it is an organ devoid of emotion

Say something like 'NSG is the most fascinating field and I love it'

Which is exactly the cae. You wanna become the most elite physician in the hospital.. you've got to have 'IT' in you..

Dont be just another avg Joe..

But I really don't think that neurosurgeons are the most elite physician. Any physician can be elite regardless of field of specialty. Neurosurgeons need other specialty as much as other specialty need neurosurgeon. I like neurosurgery because I really just like it. IMHO every field of medicine is fascinating, I really don't feel like saying that NS is the most fascinating. I think medicine is most fascinating because of the wide variety of cases. If I have to fake up my feeling for NS to get into NS, then I will be an average Joe...I wish to present my most truthful self and yet not hurting my chance of getting into NS that is why I start this thread to ask for opinion.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

cdql - yeah surgical skill; research, i think...all the nsg i talked to in penn and jeff (i'm afraid of temple's locale, any philly dweller will know why) all mentioned how famous rosenwasser was. but, everyone also knows his intensity. i remember reading the nsmatch forum, and they talked a good bit about the program there. as a medstudent, i wouldnt know anything about him if i didnt look him up and ask around...i work with the spine guys and, once they know u want nsg, are very helpful.

waterman - i admire the integrity with which you present your case. however, keeping that sense of integrity as a brain surgeon with all your ideals would be truly great. if that same idealistic integrity prevented you from being what you want - i'm assuming nsg, then didnt you lose before you even started?

not saying that you won't get in with that attitude, but it's a hypothetical to think about. as the great oracle JD said in a scrubs episode, there's nothing wrong with playing the game once in a while to get ahead (season 1, my case report).
one of the more philosophical points of life.

 

[watermen]

cdql - all mentioned how famous rosenwasser was.

Is he still famous now? What is he famous for?

 

[wuffu1s]

got hit by a car and while i was in severe pain on the ground i promised that i would be a damn good neurosurgeon if i survived and did not become crippled for the rest of my life

 

[iwantneurosurg]

Is he still famous now? What is he famous for?

endovascular
nsmatch.com has good discussions on programs and hard-hitting neurosurgeons and spine surgeons.

 

[drbruce]

Hmm... a couple of questions; how can you love neurosurgery if you are not even a neurosurgeon? You can only love the idea of being a neurosurgeon, and too often expectations falls short of the hype.

For instance, the most interesting thing about the brain is how it functions cognitively; intelligence, imagination, mood. This area pretty much falls outside the neurosurgeons demain. Pyschiatrists and neurologists are the experts here. As a neurosurgeon, you will primarily deal with the more mechanical aspects of the brain, and roughly 60% of your cases will involve the spinal cord anyway. I'm not saying that you won't become a neurosurgeon but the "gatekeepers" will want realistic, well thought out answers to their questions. You have to be honest with your self, by asking the question, "why is this particular field more suited to your skills and interests than other specialities?". After all, surgery is surgery, right???

Secondly, i agree with Waterman. Although there is plenty to admire about neurosurgeons, their dedication, their confidence and skill, collectively they are not necessarily the best doctors in the world. This is an impossible assertion to make since the field, just like any other medical speciality, is made up of all sorts, from intellectual superstars to Average Joes with big dreams and the tenacity to work their socks off. Besides which, many of our top graduates are entering less demanding fields. e.g. dermatology, radiology, plastic surgery.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

but i think the demanding-ness of the field is one of the things that adds to its grandeur. i know its a preconceived notion, one that cannot be articulated well to an interviewer, but still, it's a reason i love it.

i think by medical school people know whether they are medical or surgical. i like hands-on, i want to spend less time interviewing and more time solving (i know everyone has clinic duty), i like seeing the results directly from my actions (also not guaranteed), and the idea of going into the body to physically fix something...well, i can't even put that into words

now among the surgical fields, which field constantly pushes you to your very core? which asks you to make life and death decisions, involves fine operations, that can either save a life, or be fatal? takes several hours to do, but if you pull it off...its just amazing? clearly not ophtho or urology, not even plastics. what can call on you at any time of the day and demand the best from you, whether 3pm or 3am? what field demands the most from your knowledge, skill, and constantly challenges you every day with unique cases requiring unique approaches?

a small subset remains; general/trauma, orthopedics-even that can be debatable, CT, transplant, and neurosurgery.

i think the above qualities are unique to people in those fields; after all, you often find medical students and general surgeons debating which of the above fields to go into, all because they demand these qualities.

one surgeon i talked to said not to pick a field because u love what they do. the purpose of residency is to do it so many times that you are sick of it by the end and any hint of "coolness" and wonder is gone. basically, if you think it's cool, you haven't done it enough times to be an expert. its better to pick a field that you have some interest in, but can actually see yourself doing it for many years, because you are a match for the qualities elicited by the field.

the "best doctor" is a relative term...it depends on how you define it. i define the best doctors as those who are prepared to come into the OR any time of day, make a decision that could spare or kill someone, do his very best when its needed most, and constantly push himself to work harder. that's not dermatology or plastics, that's one of the above fields, and was a benchmark i used when exploring the different fields. i'm sure you all, as well as members of the general surgery, transplant, and CT forum, could relate.

 

[Northerner]

HA HA HA this makes me crack up....if you told me these reasons while I was interviewing you, I would laugh in your face

1. i find it a personal challenge
-there are a lot of things that are personally challenging
2. variety of operations
-look at the answer to #4 and you realize how little you know about the diversity of cases
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
-70% of ns do spine
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
-umm, every heard of baclofen pumps or brain biopsies....shunt, shunt, shunt
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
-actually interventionally cardiology is probably the most technological driven field right now
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
-this is is always my favorite...."i love the brain"
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
-ok this one was tops and just makes me what to roll laughing....in some technology reports and case series maybe but very very few ns have RO1 or extramural funding and the ones who do mainly have PhD
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
-I love this one too almost feels like star trek
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)
-God complex is the last reason to every go into this field and some attending will rip you a new one if you ever say this

It sounds like he's one of those guys who kept hearing neurosurg was the most prestigious, competitive, and challenging specialty and decided that neurosurg was "for him". And then later (now) he's trying to come up with "reasons" why it's for him. He also sounds a little power-hungry.

We had a guy who since first year told everyone that he wanted CT surg at Stanford. Pretty specific. Pretty arbitrary. Pretty...unnecessary to tell people 1) what specialty so early, 2) what SUBspecialty so early, 3) WHERE you want to do your SUBspecialty so early....especially without having damn good reasons.
First off - it's best to keep an open mind so early in your education, for the most part, you don't know what you who, what, where, when, how, why you want to practice.
Second - even if you do have a good idea, you probably shouldn't go around telling everyone what specialty you're "going for" so you have the liberty to change your mind, which experience tells us you probably will
Third - any idiot can say they're going into some ultracompetitive specialty, that doesn't mean you'll get it
Fourth - it's pretty egotistical to imply to the entire world that you think so highly of yourself that you don't think you could compromise your profound contribution to medicine by going into anything but the most prestigious field you can think of
Fifth - picking a specialty based on your own perception of prestige is pretty stupid, and everyone knows that. Which is why people are asking you if you have good reasons for going into neurosurg. Since you don't, it's pretty clear that you don't know what you're getting into, which means you didn't pick it based on your own reflections of who, what, when, where, why, how you want to practice medicine. Which means you're likely to be unhappy, or change your mind, or get lucky and happen to like it once you have been exposed to it to the point where you can develop good reasons and happen to be competitive enough to match.

 

[cdql]

It sounds like he's one of those guys who kept hearing neurosurg was the most prestigious, competitive, and challenging specialty and decided that neurosurg was "for him". And then later (now) he's trying to come up with "reasons" why it's for him. He also sounds a little power-hungry.

Fourth - it's pretty egotistical to imply to the entire world that you think so highly of yourself that you don't think you could compromise your profound contribution to medicine by going into anything but the most prestigious field you can think of
Fifth - picking a specialty based on your own perception of prestige is pretty stupid, and everyone knows that. Which is why people are asking you if you have good reasons for going into neurosurg. Since you don't, it's pretty clear that you don't know what you're getting into, which means you didn't pick it based on your own reflections of who, what, when, where, why, how you want to practice medicine. Which means you're likely to be unhappy, or change your mind, or get lucky and happen to like it once you have been exposed to it to the point where you can develop good reasons and happen to be competitive enough to match.

Points 4 and 5 are excellent arguments.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

here are my responses:
1) i always knew i wanted to be a doctor. i got into med school, started shadowing to figure out what type (one rarely thinks what type in college or high school). my first week i saw a four year old die. it hurt a lot; i couldnt study, couldnt sleep, couldnt think, couldnt eat. i had to question my purpose in life, what the hell i was doing, and the point of it all. it was the first time i saw someone die. when i finally got through it, i got back into shadowing doctors weekly, throw myself as much as I could as a student. i didn't want any more surprises. it taught me the type of person i was, and what i liked. neurosurgery isn't the only field i'm in love with. i like transplant, trauma, and CT too. it's a neurosurgery forum, so i dont talk about the other stuff. i've seen as much as possible as a med student; i realize how competitive neurosurgery is, and, sadly, if it took me till year four to figure that out, i wouldnt have nearly as many publications, papers, chapters, and connections as i do now.
2) no one knows my specialty of choice. its an anonymous forum, so what's wrong with sharing my current thoughts anonymously? obviously if i decide that neurosurgery wasnt the best choice, well, i'd never be back on this forum again and it wouldnt be any sweat off my back. (i created this account because i had many questions, now i just use it whenever)
3) never said i'd get in. i did say i love it, and i'm going to try. that's all we can do, right?
4) i never said i cant contribute in any field of medicine. egotistical? maybe a little bit; i know whatever field i go into i'll be damn good at it. besides, these days prestige is associated moreso with money, and mohs pays the highest hourly rate. i define prestige differently, and who doesnt want to be proud of themselves? a field i like where i can respect myself? seems logical to me...
i think it's a cop out to specialize in skin disorders or learn about the entire body to only operate on a one centimeter by one centimeter eye. but ophtho and derm are prestigious fields, and i admire them because i know theyre intelligent, hardworking people who are skilled at the surgeries they do. is it for me? i dont think so.
ortho is prestigious among us, but still they are characterized as oversized idiotic apes with no knowledge of anything except being a failed ex-athlete. yet, i still have debates whether i should try for ortho...and i'm not even very athletic, save weightlifting
5) i gave a laundry list of reasons i liked neurosurgery. yes, prestige is one, but you focused only on the prestige. when we were in high school we all had trouble answering teh question why we wanted to go to _____ college. then we had to answer why we wanted to be a doctor, and why _____ medical school.
variety of ops, cool surgeries, breakthrough technology, opps for research, actually saving lives, and the brain is cool. surrounded by other intense people like you, constantly pushing you, demanding the best. its prestigious too.
feel free to read the other reasons when you get a chance instead of focusing on just one

 

[Northerner]

here are my responses:
1) i always knew i wanted to be a doctor. i got into med school, started shadowing to figure out what type (one rarely thinks what type in college or high school). my first week i saw a four year old die. it hurt a lot; i couldnt study, couldnt sleep, couldnt think, couldnt eat. i had to question my purpose in life, what the hell i was doing, and the point of it all. it was the first time i saw someone die. when i finally got through it, i got back into shadowing doctors weekly, throw myself as much as I could as a student. i didn't want any more surprises. it taught me the type of person i was, and what i liked. neurosurgery isn't the only field i'm in love with. i like transplant, trauma, and CT too. it's a neurosurgery forum, so i dont talk about the other stuff. i've seen as much as possible as a med student; i realize how competitive neurosurgery is, and, sadly, if it took me till year four to figure that out, i wouldnt have nearly as many publications, papers, chapters, and connections as i do now.
2) no one knows my specialty of choice. its an anonymous forum, so what's wrong with sharing my current thoughts anonymously? obviously if i decide that neurosurgery wasnt the best choice, well, i'd never be back on this forum again and it wouldnt be any sweat off my back. (i created this account because i had many questions, now i just use it whenever)
3) never said i'd get in. i did say i love it, and i'm going to try. that's all we can do, right?
4) i never said i cant contribute in any field of medicine. egotistical? maybe a little bit; i know whatever field i go into i'll be damn good at it. besides, these days prestige is associated moreso with money, and mohs pays the highest hourly rate. i define prestige differently, and who doesnt want to be proud of themselves? a field i like where i can respect myself? seems logical to me...
i think it's a cop out to specialize in skin disorders or learn about the entire body to only operate on a one centimeter by one centimeter eye. but ophtho and derm are prestigious fields, and i admire them because i know theyre intelligent, hardworking people who are skilled at the surgeries they do. is it for me? i dont think so.
ortho is prestigious among us, but still they are characterized as oversized idiotic apes with no knowledge of anything except being a failed ex-athlete. yet, i still have debates whether i should try for ortho...and i'm not even very athletic, save weightlifting
5) i gave a laundry list of reasons i liked neurosurgery. yes, prestige is one, but you focused only on the prestige. when we were in high school we all had trouble answering teh question why we wanted to go to _____ college. then we had to answer why we wanted to be a doctor, and why _____ medical school.
variety of ops, cool surgeries, breakthrough technology, opps for research, actually saving lives, and the brain is cool. surrounded by other intense people like you, constantly pushing you, demanding the best. its prestigious too.
feel free to read the other reasons when you get a chance instead of focusing on just one

Maybe once you do a rotation you'll have some real reasons.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

well, i'm glad that you decided to take my other reasons into consideration.
i'm assuming you've had the pleasure of doing real rotations, so tell me, what do you think are real reasons?

You probably have some idea of what you want to do, would you be so kind as to share with us how you chose it?

I haven't done a rotation, but I've given up every weekend since year 1 to be in the hospital and get as close to it as possible. I've seen many operations (admittedly mostly spine, and now, a crani too...it was sweet). the surgeries i've seen...they were cool. the residents are intense, and constantly discussing the latest research and procedures with each other, the attendings, etc. it's awesome to be that up on something. the crani i saw was an emergency; i'll find out tomorrow if they were able to save his life. and i do a lotta research, and i'm not sure if i just like hanging out with the docs, but i actually look forward to research-time. the reasons may not be "real", but theyre the "truth".

please give me a "real" reason to like neurosurgery.

 

[MDstudent79]

This thread is pretty funny. I'm just an MS1, so I have no clue what I want to do and can't answer the question. But I thought this would be a funny resposne in a residency interview....

"Because I want to be the CNN medical correspondent like Sanjay Gupta, and he's a neurosurgeon."

 

[iwantneurosurg]

This thread is pretty funny. I'm just an MS1, so I have no clue what I want to do and can't answer the question. But I thought this would be a funny resposne in a residency interview....

"Because I want to be the CNN medical correspondent like Sanjay Gupta, and he's a neurosurgeon."

no joke...when my researcher first asked me why nsg, i said i want to be sanjay gupta (i'm indian too btw). he burst out laughing. he calls his partner gupta once in a while when i'm around (he's indian as well)

 

[Northerner]

please give me a "real" reason to like neurosurgery.

Because it'll help you get laid. Come on, this is Medicine 101. There's a whole chapter about it in Iserson's.

 

[cdql]

http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries.htm

Go to ORS - Spine Surgery, observe that high end pay is $1,352,000, observe that no other specialty in medicine has a 7 figure payout, and bingo, there's the real reason MS1's and 2's are so quick to list nsg -> spine (or ors -> spine) as their field of choice.

Being old and cynical, I believe everything boils down to money. Even in medicine.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

i tend to agree that many people are money-oriented. i had a tough time figuring whether to go ors-->spine or neuro-->spine.

but now that there are more orthopedics, AMA reports the field is getting saturated, who knows whats in store for the future? ophtho or derm would be better, less hours, great pay. if they worked as much as spine surgeons, i'm sure they could beat spine's 7 figures. derm mohs pays most per hour; imagine doing that as much as the spine surgeons, they might even get to change that first number into a "2".

lotsa fields pay pretty well. some you work your ass off and make a lot, others you work a lot less and yet still make almost as much. so for the money oriented person, i think that's where the nuances come in, and for them, thats where interest has to pay a role.

have any of you heard dr. carson speak? he admitted growing up dirt poor that his primary desire was to make money, and was one of the first things that pointed him towards medicine. i grew up poor as well (lived in a studio) and thus learned that even tho money isnt everything, it sure does solve a lot of problems. i grew up wanting to be CT surgeons (my uncle was one...his house was ridiculous, compared to our studio)

when i got to college, i found out, money isn't a huge issue in medicine; i'm not going to have to live in a studio all my life as a doctor. i'd hope by then people start moving towards picking fields theyre interested in, rather than by money.

 

[MDstudent79]

Yeah, I have noticed at times at my school that many of the multi-generation doc kids are the most enthusiastic about going into lower paying fields like family practice, infectious disease, pediatrics, etc. And a couple people I know in particular who grew up relatively poor seem the most obsessed about fields like plastics, ortho, etc. Probably because if you grow up with little or nothing, you don't realize how little most people in the country make--even those with the fancy houses and cars. The average internists' $150k salary is hardly anything to sneeze at in the grand scheme of things. Everything can get a bit distorted when you have a bunch of 25-year-olds in a definite career plan with guaranteed six figures for life.

 

[Arthur12]

cdql - yeah surgical skill; research, i think...all the nsg i talked to in penn and jeff (i'm afraid of temple's locale, any philly dweller will know why) all mentioned how famous rosenwasser was. but, everyone also knows his intensity. i remember reading the nsmatch forum, and they talked a good bit about the program there. as a medstudent, i wouldnt know anything about him if i didnt look him up and ask around...i work with the spine guys and, once they know u want nsg, are very helpful.

waterman - i admire the integrity with which you present your case. however, keeping that sense of integrity as a brain surgeon with all your ideals would be truly great. if that same idealistic integrity prevented you from being what you want - i'm assuming nsg, then didnt you lose before you even started?

not saying that you won't get in with that attitude, but it's a hypothetical to think about. as the great oracle JD said in a scrubs episode, there's nothing wrong with playing the game once in a while to get ahead (season 1, my case report).
one of the more philosophical points of life.

this guy is a joke.

Wait a second, you're at Jefferson, and you're talking about ? Rosenwasser ?? being famous? Alex Vaccaro and Todd Albert would have a good chuckle at that one. I wonder who at Jefferson publishes all those articles...Oh yeah...Rosenwasser. Right. Ortho spine rules the academic spine world. So if you want prestige, why don't you use your BRAIN and do ortho.

Your reasons for wanting to do neurosurg sound like they came out of a high school journal: I want to be important, I want to be famous, I want to be prestigious, I want people to think I'm smart.

 

[FutureNeuroStud]

It sounds like he's one of those guys who kept hearing neurosurg was the most prestigious, competitive, and challenging specialty and decided that neurosurg was "for him". And then later (now) he's trying to come up with "reasons" why it's for him. He also sounds a little power-hungry.

We had a guy who since first year told everyone that he wanted CT surg at Stanford. Pretty specific. Pretty arbitrary. Pretty...unnecessary to tell people 1) what specialty so early, 2) what SUBspecialty so early, 3) WHERE you want to do your SUBspecialty so early....especially without having damn good reasons.
First off - it's best to keep an open mind so early in your education, for the most part, you don't know what you who, what, where, when, how, why you want to practice.
Second - even if you do have a good idea, you probably shouldn't go around telling everyone what specialty you're "going for" so you have the liberty to change your mind, which experience tells us you probably will
Third - any idiot can say they're going into some ultracompetitive specialty, that doesn't mean you'll get it
Fourth - it's pretty egotistical to imply to the entire world that you think so highly of yourself that you don't think you could compromise your profound contribution to medicine by going into anything but the most prestigious field you can think of
Fifth - picking a specialty based on your own perception of prestige is pretty stupid, and everyone knows that. Which is why people are asking you if you have good reasons for going into neurosurg. Since you don't, it's pretty clear that you don't know what you're getting into, which means you didn't pick it based on your own reflections of who, what, when, where, why, how you want to practice medicine. Which means you're likely to be unhappy, or change your mind, or get lucky and happen to like it once you have been exposed to it to the point where you can develop good reasons and happen to be competitive enough to match.

In my opinion, this is the best analysis presented on this thread. You really have to experience other specialties before you can say that neurosurgery is the one you want.

Here are my reasons for liking neurosurgery right now, broken down into what I see as being a logical progression (shoot them down as you will):

1. I want to go into medicine - my father is a physician, which has given me an incredible amount of exposure to the field; I have a propensity for the sciences and problem-solving; I enjoy helping people (cliche, I know, but it's true)
2. I want to be a doctor - I want to be more autonomous in my profession; I'd like to have the final say and not depend on others to give me the go-ahead; I have the ability to quickly come to decisions based on the information given to me and produce good results
3. I like the idea of surgery (or interventional) in general - I want to be able to physically do something to correct or improve my patients' condition; I've always been good with my hands; I have a high level of physical and mental stamina; I'm fine with the idea of spending less time with patients in order to be able to cater to the preceding skills/interests/attributes
4. I like the idea of being a neurosurgeon - I've observed many different surgeries in different subspecialties and neurosurgery has been the most interesting to me; neuro appears to be the field with the greatest amount that is yet to be discovered; I have personal experiences (family members and friends who have undergone operations) with neurosurgery that have some minor influence on my interest in this field; I have positive role models within this profession (that is not to say I don't have positive role models in other professions); I have a considerable amount of exposure to the field through working at a neurosurgery practice for a year and a half; I'm not bothered by the lifestyle and, actually, find it exciting

Not all of these are great reasons, but I feel like the whole is enough to justify my interest at this point in my medical career. However, I plan to keep my mind open, as I may find some other specialty during my time in medical school which better suits my skills, interests, and career goals.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

this guy is a joke.

Wait a second, you're at Jefferson, and you're talking about ? Rosenwasser ?? being famous? Alex Vaccaro and Todd Albert would have a good chuckle at that one. I wonder who at Jefferson publishes all those articles...Oh yeah...Rosenwasser. Right. Ortho spine rules the academic spine world. So if you want prestige, why don't you use your BRAIN and do ortho.

Your reasons for wanting to do neurosurg sound like they came out of a high school journal: I want to be important, I want to be famous, I want to be prestigious, I want people to think I'm smart.

Arthur12...before posting a response, i did a quick background check on your previous posts. i find it ironic you think i'm a high-schooler when you asked if women in urology have penis envy and why any heterosexual male would even consider a field like that...i don't think i even need to mention maturity much more than the following, semi-adequate sum-up...

but beyond your maturity, your skills of reading are more impressive. ignore the research, the operations, the techniques, the technology, and go straight to the prestige. nice one.

but i believe the clearest indication of your knowledge on this material is your lack of knowledge of...well, i guess everything you said.

Rosenwasser is endovascular; i have never seen him do a spine case, and frankly, i don't think he bothers. yes, alex vaccaro and todd albert are the big spine guys; most spine cases in philly go straight to the Rothman institute. but comparing endovascular to spine is like comparing apples and oranges. if you remember from algebra 1, which i'm assuming you must've taken second year undergrad, x+y DOES NOT NECESSARILY equal 2x or 2y or xy; x and y are like apples and oranges.

any neurosurgeon in the country...even world knows of rosenwasser. the guy who he trained under, the guys who trained with him (their names evade me, they have a discussion on nsmatch) are all pretty darn famous. look him up.

also, the neurosurgeons do their spine cases with...guess who? vaccaro. as a matter of fact, my research is mostly spine, and while my papers are published under Neurosurgery, i see and work with vaccaro on nearly a daily basis. come to think of it, vaccaro's name is on most...wait...all my papers too.

lastly, im going to assume (and i know, assuming makes an ass out of you and me, but you already proved yourself worthy of the title), that you think i'm into spine; or you are. well as an orthopod, you're going to need a spine fellowship. neurosurgery doesn't, and if you get into jeff's, you'll work with vaccaro and albert whilst on your spine rotations anyway. hmm.

give me some credit. as a med student, who would like neurosurgery, i'm not getting face time with the chairman (Rosenwasser). but i get plenty with vaccaro and his team of spine docs and neurosurg-spines. and they publish a lot too. so guess where i targeted my research?

in summation:
1. Rosenwasser is very famous...for endovascular. anyone who has spent any time even researching neurosurgical fields know that
2. albert and vaccaro are famous...for spine.
3. spine does not equal endovascular
4. my reasons for neurosurgery are delineated above, and i think a nested list in a list would be too much for you. the prestige, however, is an added plus. you know what's even more prestigious? working side by side with albert, vaccaro, and rosenwasser. try doing that in ortho. sweet deal.
5. you misinterpreted my desires for challenge and achievement as desire for prestige and fame, and that is high schoolish. what's more high schoolish is asking if women in urology have penis-envy.

a word of advice...research before your interviews to residency. if you're in one, thank your lucky stars, because its dangerous to shoot off without solidifying the ground you soften with your own BS.

 

[sykosomatik]

good, attending-worthy answers:

1. i find it a personal challenge
2. variety of operations
3. i love the idea of actually going in the brain
4. operating for five hours makes me feel accomplished (a 2hr ortho knee replacement makes me feel like im just installing a light fixture in an old house)--again, prolly not a good answer to orthos
5. new equipment and advances constantly improving the field
6. love the brain, love hands-on work
7. love research (it seems to me that hospitals with nsg residencies produce relatively more research than the other fields)
8. final frontier - other fields have research, it is true, but i still think brain has the most that still needs to be learned. you can read books and books on the kidney, the heart, the spleen, and we know how it works. not necessarily true for the brain.
9. this is probably comes to as close as it gets in holding the balance of life and death in your hands (along with the CT's and trauma surgeons, but another reason nevertheless)

seems like you're putting the effort to familiarize yourself with NS, but in general you strike me as being as naive as a first-year medical student. i mean some of your answers are absurd and are not necesarily unique reasons for going into NS over other fields.


1. There are lots of things that are challenging, not just NS...or even surgery for that matter. How easy do you think it is to maintain homeostasis for a CHF patient or patient with renal failure?
4. Accomplishment has more to do with restoring function than doing a
13-hour surgery. What matters more is that you did your job, whether it was a 2-hour knee surgery or a 13-hour brain surgery, and the patient is getting better
8. I highly doubt as a neurosurgeon that you will be revealing the mysteries of how the brain works. This is work mostly done by neuroscience Ph.D.s At my school, which has a pretty good NS program, the surgeons here don't do much "frontier" research. They do research, but its mostly dealing with practical clinical problems...not how memory works or what part of the brain is responsible for certain functions.
9. First of all, this is pretty egotistical. Like someone said before, God complex. Second, your statement in general reflects a very surgery-centric stance. Don't you think other doctors also deal with the balance of life and death? Apparently you've never heard of a field called oncology.

Anyways, it's good that you like NS and its admirable that you are putting the effort towards it...but you really need to work on the reasons for going into NS. You really sound like some kid who heard on TV, "Well, atleast its not brain surgery!" and decided that you were going to do it since its hard. It almost seems like you want to do it inorder to milk some respect and acknowledgment from others.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Interviewer, "Why do you want to be a neurosurgeon?"

soeagerun2or, "[straight faced dead pan] I want to be elbow deep in the brain.."

Interviewer, "[raises eyebrows, look of bewilderment] Really?"

soeagerun2or, "[cracks smile] no! [goes into real reasons]"

Interviewer, "[starts laughing] Well you had me there!"

 

[IceMan0824]

Interviewer, "Why do you want to be a neurosurgeon?"

soeagerun2or, "[straight faced dead pan] I want to be elbow deep in the brain.."

Interviewer, "[raises eyebrows, look of bewilderment] Really?"

soeagerun2or, "[cracks smile] no! [goes into real reasons]"

Interviewer, "[starts laughing] Well you had me there!"

I'm going to try this out one day. I'll just make sure my real reasons are solid first.

 

[newbie5971]

I would just caution people who will be interviewing next year to remember that a neurosurgery residency is more about surgery than it is about neurology/neurosciences (IMO); Surgery is about taking care of patients and fixing problems, whether it be an inflamed gall bladder, an odontoid fracture or a ruptured pComm aneurysm.

Wanting to figure out how the brain works is fine -- just remember to spend some time on your interviews talking about patient care and how rewarding it is treating patients with neurosurgical disorders.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What's the difference between God and a Neurosurgeon?

God doesn't think he's a neursurgeon.

 

[iwantneurosurg]

i agree with newbie; it's the aspect of patient care that brought a lot of us into this field. brains and patient care are pretty unique to neurology and neurosurgery. research is more PhDs and Neurologists.
Clinical research, however, is largely neurosurgery.

and i do know that not every reason is perfect, and no one reason will point you purely to neurosurgery. but it's the BIG PICTURE. no other field ties love of brains and hands-on experience.

syko - all doctors hold lives in their hands; but again, big picture. primary care docs save lives too, and probably have the greatest capacity to do the greatest good since theyre the ones who will be of most use when working in Kazhakstan with no equipment. but i like my hands (my me time hand! [scrubs]) and i love going hands on. i don't like taking histories, figuring out the case, guessing the diagnosis, ordering tests, giving drugs, check to see if i'm right. Don't get me wrong, House is awesome. but it's just not me. i want to see what's wrong, have a plan, go in and fix it, then step back and see if i did it right.
it's personality, and i think by now people know who they are. Doesn't necessarily constrict them to one field, which i think you ppl think i'm implying.

I think some people are just born surgeons. Not necessarily a certain field, and not that they can't do a primary care field, but their qualities suit them for it. Medical schools do those Myers-Briggs (sp?) and all sorts of personality profiling to give students a better idea of who they are. They tell you, you can do anything, but be prepared to face many many people who are radically different from you if your profile doesn't fit the "mold".

Some kids are born doers. They build, they tinker, they take apart computers, etc. And when they get into medicine, they realize that all along they loved hands-on stuff, its not something you can explain.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, it's not like everyone can do general surgery first and specialize into anything. it was the research that most drew me to nsg since it exposed me to the clinic, the patients, the operations, and i realized, if i want this, i can't do gen surgery first; the residency doesn't work that way. so naturally i'm going to develop my interests, dive in as deep as possible, attend conferences, and publish papers. and i love it.

If i don't want it, all that still looks great for a gen surg residency, and if i do, I'll have a great head-start than those who figured it out end of third year.

Meanwhile, my papers go with orthopods. One thing i'm certain of is i need a hands-on specialty. interventional stuff thru IM, or something surgical. it's just in me. is it neurosurgery? possibly, i sure do love it. but i'm playing the safe road now so when its time to decide, ill be ready. if not, i got an app for gen surg surgery whilst keeping orthopod in the open.

so for me and my interests, i think its a safe move. unless i do a 180 and go for psychiatry. but to be honest, i don't like listening to other people's personal problems for hours on end, and i'm very cynical of their work. but that's another discussion.

 

[Thievery Corp.]

3 good reasons:
1. Love surgery
2. Love the microscope
3. Love the variety (granted your bread and butter is ACSF, and Laminectomies but more variety than optho which would also match 1 and 2.)

 

[Blake]

This thread turned out well...

Maybe the answer isn't really complicated. Regardless of what some anonymous posters might say, neurosurgery is actually quite interesting and fascinating. I haven't ruled out ortho (doing it in april), but things are looking pretty good so far for a career in NS.

Some people enjoy this. True story.

 

[guga282]

to answer the question of this thread, i am interested in neurosurg right now because:

i want to do neuroscience research (stem cell based stuff, yes some neurosurgeons do this), i am certain that i want to do surgery of some kind (love to work with my hands, love tennis and ping pong, love the beauty of perfecting a stroke or mastering something technically), neurosurgery seems like the logical thing to do. also, i think my personality fits.

what is wrong w/ that final frontier argument? i think thats probably one of the most legitimate reasons the poster has. and finally, i think its kind of stupid for bashing the poster's reasons. a lot of people have these sorts of reasons, especially at such a young point in their medical career, and its not until later that their ideas and perceptions become refined. one thing though, that whole god complex, that's kind of dangerous. im not all about that.

ok, sorry for sounding ghetto, im super tired and need to get out of lab, been here all day. good luck everyone

i agree with newbie; it's the aspect of patient care that brought a lot of us into this field. brains and patient care are pretty unique to neurology and neurosurgery. research is more PhDs and Neurologists.
Clinical research, however, is largely neurosurgery.

and i do know that not every reason is perfect, and no one reason will point you purely to neurosurgery. but it's the BIG PICTURE. no other field ties love of brains and hands-on experience.

syko - all doctors hold lives in their hands; but again, big picture. primary care docs save lives too, and probably have the greatest capacity to do the greatest good since theyre the ones who will be of most use when working in Kazhakstan with no equipment. but i like my hands (my me time hand! [scrubs]) and i love going hands on. i don't like taking histories, figuring out the case, guessing the diagnosis, ordering tests, giving drugs, check to see if i'm right. Don't get me wrong, House is awesome. but it's just not me. i want to see what's wrong, have a plan, go in and fix it, then step back and see if i did it right.
it's personality, and i think by now people know who they are. Doesn't necessarily constrict them to one field, which i think you ppl think i'm implying.

I think some people are just born surgeons. Not necessarily a certain field, and not that they can't do a primary care field, but their qualities suit them for it. Medical schools do those Myers-Briggs (sp?) and all sorts of personality profiling to give students a better idea of who they are. They tell you, you can do anything, but be prepared to face many many people who are radically different from you if your profile doesn't fit the "mold".

Some kids are born doers. They build, they tinker, they take apart computers, etc. And when they get into medicine, they realize that all along they loved hands-on stuff, its not something you can explain.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, it's not like everyone can do general surgery first and specialize into anything. it was the research that most drew me to nsg since it exposed me to the clinic, the patients, the operations, and i realized, if i want this, i can't do gen surgery first; the residency doesn't work that way. so naturally i'm going to develop my interests, dive in as deep as possible, attend conferences, and publish papers. and i love it.

If i don't want it, all that still looks great for a gen surg residency, and if i do, I'll have a great head-start than those who figured it out end of third year.

Meanwhile, my papers go with orthopods. One thing i'm certain of is i need a hands-on specialty. interventional stuff thru IM, or something surgical. it's just in me. is it neurosurgery? possibly, i sure do love it. but i'm playing the safe road now so when its time to decide, ill be ready. if not, i got an app for gen surg surgery whilst keeping orthopod in the open.

so for me and my interests, i think its a safe move. unless i do a 180 and go for psychiatry. but to be honest, i don't like listening to other people's personal problems for hours on end, and i'm very cynical of their work. but that's another discussion.

 

[medstud15]

http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries.htm

Go to ORS - Spine Surgery, observe that high end pay is $1,352,000, observe that no other specialty in medicine has a 7 figure payout, and bingo, there's the real reason MS1's and 2's are so quick to list nsg -> spine (or ors -> spine) as their field of choice.

Being old and cynical, I believe everything boils down to money. Even in medicine.

im 15...this is the reason why i want to do this stuff..jk jk