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found this on the AMSA site from an interview with Leland Albright, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh:
If a medical student is interested in neurosurgery, I would warn them: beware the lifestyle. This is a very demanding high-stress field which does not leave much time for family life; the divorce rate is, I believe, around 85%. If, knowing that, you're still interested, one important thing is to work in the labs of neuroscientists - guys who are actually productive - during your summers to get some papers. During your fourth year, do 2-3 rotations at programs where you'd like to match. While it's true that you can hurt your match chances if you don't get along well with the faculty and housestaff, you wouldn't be happy in a place where you don't get along anyway.
Here's the link to the whole article: http://www.amsa.org/surg/neuro_int8.cfm
If a medical student is interested in neurosurgery, I would warn them: beware the lifestyle. This is a very demanding high-stress field which does not leave much time for family life; the divorce rate is, I believe, around 85%. If, knowing that, you're still interested, one important thing is to work in the labs of neuroscientists - guys who are actually productive - during your summers to get some papers. During your fourth year, do 2-3 rotations at programs where you'd like to match. While it's true that you can hurt your match chances if you don't get along well with the faculty and housestaff, you wouldn't be happy in a place where you don't get along anyway.
Here's the link to the whole article: http://www.amsa.org/surg/neuro_int8.cfm
