HELP, please! MS3 on Anesthesia vs neurology.

[koster35]

I’m an MS3 at a mid-tier MD. I’ve always been going for anesthesia but now I’m having second thoughts.

Honored all pre-clinicals but now that I have 2 kids, third year has been tough and I have all passes except for HP in IM and FM. I have 3 posters and have been working on a case report in anesthesia, another poster project for the ASA, and a random ophtho project that I don’t think will be published in time.

I somehow feel like anesthesias has become ultra competitive over the last 2 years and fear I may not be competitive enough to match.

This has caused me to consider dual applying with Neuro since I’ve always loved the subject matter.

The questions I have center on whether I’m competitive enough for anesthesia. If I’m borderline, so I dual apply? If so, can I dual apply to the same programs? Lastly, can I do away internships in gas without Neuro raising their eyebrows??

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

Are you geographically restricted?

 

[mrbreakfast]

Lastly, can I do away internships in gas without Neuro raising their eyebrows??

I mean, no. Everyone is going to know the person with anesthesia aways and a pass in neuro (if you did a neuro clerkship) is back-up applying.

Your plan is a little strange as neuro and anesthesia are nothing alike in practice. Have you done a neuro rotation?

 

[Dr. Basketball]

4th year who just matched into neuro here(also with children):

Eh, just apply to both. If your med school has a traditional curriculum and you do all of your electives 4th year, nobody is going to know you did 4 aways in anesthesia unless you tell them. Your 4th year grades won't be on your application while you are interviewing. As long as you have a good answer for when they ask "why neuro?", a good LOR from a neurologist, and you are willing to apply broadly, I think you'll be fine. Neuro isn't crazy competitive. Good luck!

Edited for grammar.

 

[cj_cregg]

Not familiar enough with the match stuff to comment on either specialty but just from a "you'll be doing this job for the rest of your life" standpoint, are you sure you would be equally happy with neuro and anesthesia? Liking the subject matter is one thing but the day to day tasks, acuity, procedural vs not, care setting, etc. is typically very different for these two specialties. Not saying it's impossible to enjoy both, they just feel like very different ends of the spectrum. What about like EM, PM&R, pain management (which you can get to from a variety of specialties)?

 

[Dr. Basketball]

Not familiar enough with the match stuff to comment on either specialty but just from a "you'll be doing this job for the rest of your life" standpoint, are you sure you would be equally happy with neuro and anesthesia? Liking the subject matter is one thing but the day to day tasks, acuity, procedural vs not, care setting, etc. is typically very different for these two specialties. Not saying it's impossible to enjoy both, they just feel like very different ends of the spectrum. What about like EM, PM&R, pain management (which you can get to from a variety of specialties)?

Good point:

Anesthesiology Residency = No rounds usually(with some exceptions), short notes, shift work(when you're off, you're off), your patients are sleeping, I would say comparing with other residencies it is on the more relaxed side but of course some programs will work you hard

Neurology Residency = Yes rounds, yes notes, physical exam is crucial, lots of patient interaction, complicated cases, neuro residents typically average the most hours worked among non-surgical specialties

So yes, very different specialties so make sure you like both.