civilian vs. military school/ residency? how diverse it neurosurgery?

[browneyes124]

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I had never really considered the military before but I knew if I were to ever join I'd want to be in the Marines. My passion is neuroscience and i am majoring in that. I plan to go to med school to be a neurosurgeon. I know it is a very small field and especially in the military and i also know I'd have to be a naval surgeon if i wanted to work with the marines but do you think it would be a better option finishing school and residency then joining or doing med school through the military? I heard that military residency isn't as effective as civilian residency since there are few neuro cases and they usually send you on a tour to a different country to do normal family practice stuff before you even start school or residency. Also do they make you go through something similar to boot camp?
Also are neurosurgeons allowed to perform other surgeries like common general surgeries? I heard neurosurgeons are one of the best surgeons because their residency is so long and they deal with such delicate matter. If this is true then would the military also make you do general surgery or just neuro cases?

 

[deleted480308]

Undergrad is too early to join the military based on one specialty. Join if you want to join but consider that it's presumtuous to assume you'll be a neurosurgeon before you've had a day of med school

 

[HighPriest]

I wanted to be a cowboy billionaire astronaut at one time, too. Agreed with the above response. You will not be doing general surgery as a neurosurgeon. Residency training length is certainly not directly correlative with overal skill and ability. neurosurgery is technically challenging, but then again after clipping an aneurysm most neurosurgeons consider it a fair success if the patient remembers their name afterwards and still has use of 2-3 limbs.

 

[notdeadyet]

Statistically, most of us changed are desired specialties by the time we ended up matching. This is true through medical school, never mind before you even start medical school.

And of all of the specialties out there that folks tend to change their mind from, neurosurgery is most likely the most common…

If you are in undergrad, focus on taking courses you find interesting and doing well in them. Then consider medical school. Then consider specialty. Ideally, then consider the military.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sonofva]

I wanted to be a cowboy billionaire astronaut at one time, too. Agreed with the above response. You will not be doing general surgery as a neurosurgeon. Residency training length is certainly not directly correlative with overal skill and ability. neurosurgery is technically challenging, but then again after clipping an aneurysm most neurosurgeons consider it a fair success if the patient remembers their name afterwards and still has use of 2-3 limbs.

A cowstronaut.

 

[deleted480308]

A cowstronaut.

Can I still match to a cowstronaut fellowship without going to a top 20 med school?

 

[JubalHarshaw]

I had never really considered the military before but I knew if I were to ever join I'd want to be in the Marines. My passion is neuroscience and i am majoring in that. I plan to go to med school to be a neurosurgeon. I know it is a very small field and especially in the military and i also know I'd have to be a naval surgeon if i wanted to work with the marines but do you think it would be a better option finishing school and residency then joining or doing med school through the military? I heard that military residency isn't as effective as civilian residency since there are few neuro cases and they usually send you on a tour to a different country to do normal family practice stuff before you even start school or residency. Also do they make you go through something similar to boot camp?
Also are neurosurgeons allowed to perform other surgeries like common general surgeries? I heard neurosurgeons are one of the best surgeons because their residency is so long and they deal with such delicate matter. If this is true then would the military also make you do general surgery or just neuro cases?

I doubt you'll be assigned to a Marine unit if you're going to be a neurosurgeon. Most of the docs I had in the Marines were GMOs.

 

[Gastrapathy]

These cowpie in the sky dreams are totally unrealistic. I just want to be a pediatric cardio thoracic surgical oncogastroenterologist. And you all thought we just do egds and colos.

 

[browneyes124]

I wanted to be a cowboy billionaire astronaut at one time, too. Agreed with the above response. You will not be doing general surgery as a neurosurgeon. Residency training length is certainly not directly correlative with overal skill and ability. neurosurgery is technically challenging, but then again after clipping an aneurysm most neurosurgeons consider it a fair success if the patient remembers their name afterwards and still has use of 2-3 limbs.

Yes i know they have a high mortality rate and the hours are very long, but I fell in love with the brain when I was in 7th grade and unlike passing fantasies, I have been wanting to do this for 5 years.

 

[browneyes124]

I doubt you'll be assigned to a Marine unit if you're going to be a neurosurgeon. Most of the docs I had in the Marines were GMOs.

I heard that GMOs don't do much surgery, is this true? I heard they are more like family physicians and just treat basic things like colds and what not

 

[JubalHarshaw]

I heard that GMOs don't do much surgery, is this true? I heard they are more like family physicians and just treat basic things like colds and what not

GMOs don't do any surgery, as far as I know. They're similar to a general practitioner. I was just an enlisted Marine, the active duty physicians on here can give you better information than I can.

 

[browneyes124]

GMOs don't do any surgery, as far as I know. They're similar to a general practitioner. I was just an enlisted Marine, the active duty physicians on here can give you better information than I can.

How long were you in for? And I heard that females get kind of looked down in the military especially in the Marines... Do you know if this is true? If it is, do they still look down at female officers/ physicians?

 

[JubalHarshaw]

How long were you in for? And I heard that females get kind of looked down in the military especially in the Marines... Do you know if this is true? If it is, do they still look down at female officers/ physicians?

4 years. They're looked at differently by some Marines, I guess. If you're going to be a doctor, you probably won't spend enough time around Marines to care about their opinion of you.

 

[deuist]

I heard that GMOs don't do much surgery, is this true? I heard they are more like family physicians and just treat basic things like colds and what not

GMO's don't do any surgery. Doing so would be medical malpractice. They don't even perform inpatient work. They serve as the primary care physicians for flyers and their family members. They deal with colds, shaving waivers, immunizations, and paper cuts that are result of all the bureaucracy.

And I heard that females get kind of looked down in the military especially in the Marines... Do you know if this is true? If it is, do they still look down at female officers/ physicians?

Respect is earned in the military just as it is in any other profession. I've worked with women who are top-notch clinically, get along well with others, and can lift their own packs during missions. They get respect just as easily as any man can it doing the same work. I've also worked with women who backstab each other, are clinically incompetent, and drop equipment during missions because it's too heavy. Those ladies are going to be looked down upon – and for good reason – for causing problems in the corps.