Neurosurgery

[Carbon Klein]

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Does anybody have any resources for students interested in getting a neurosurgery residency? I have done medline searches and have copies of articles discussing the Neurosurgery match as well as some other aspects of neurosurgery. I'm still looking for more information. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[buttercup]

carbon-have you checked out medschool.com?
Great site, with weekly PBls, images of the week, and an entire discussion forum dedicated to each specialty- the neurosurg one is particularily good.
Hope you like it!

 

[Carbon Klein]

I have been there before, thanks anyways BC!

 

[Pilot]

I read an interesting book last week regarding a neurosurgery residency. It is called "When the Air Hits the Brain", and is written by an Assistant Director of Neurosurgery. I can't remember his list name, but his first name was Frank. Spoke of his experiences in medical school and neurosurgery residency. I thought it was relatively interesting. I hadn't considered nuerosurgery prior to this book, but now I am looking into it more fully. The length of residency is daunting, and dealing with the pain management patients will be frustrating, but the surgery makes up for it. I purchased the book at Barnes and Noble. If you have trouble finding a copy, let me know and I wil send you my copy (when I get it back from a friend). Good Luck. Pilot

 

[buttercup]

speaking of pain management patients, Pilot do you know if neurologists see a lot of those as well? One of my old advisors was a neurologist and when I told him it was one of the specialties I find very interesting he said you end up seeing a lot of pain management and chronic pain patients...
just wonderin'

 

[Carbon Klein]

Hi Pilot

Thanks for your gracious offer. I actually borrowed that book from the library and read it. It was pretty interesting.

To Buttercups:

Are you interested in Pain Management? There's actually a Pain Cinical Research Center in San Francisco which is part of UCSF. I applied for a job there in early 99 and they are highly involved with drugs and cancer etc. There were a few MDs on staff there and they were psychiatrists and anesthesiologists (not sure if there were neurologists). They also have a webpage, but it's pretty small.

 

[Pilot]

Buttercup,

Neurologists do treat pain management patients, although I don't know what percent of their patient load is made up of pain management patients. I used to see a lot of scripts written by neurologists for diabetic neuropathy.. I think that in the book I spoke of previously that the neurosurgeon (his last name was Vertosick [sp], by the way)was sending the pain management patients to neurologists when the pain could not be resolved by surgical means or didn't appear to have a diagnosis corresponding to the level of pain that the patient was claiming to have.

We have quite a few pain management physicians in Oklahoma, but most seem to be psychiatrists who then specialize in pain management. Very hard to dispute a pain management physician prescribing *huge* quantities of CDS when the diagnosis is for a "mental condition." Pilot

 

[---123]

Pain management as I've seen it in the clinical setting is a subspecialty of Anesthesiology. Though granted the neuro scourges will do things like Baclofen pumps

 

[buttercup]

Carbon- I'm actually aware of the Pain Management Center linked to UCSF- we had a lecture from a anesthesiologist who worked at the clinic in a neuro class at Stanford (I went to undergrad there) He was terrific!
Thanks for the tip on the web site, though, I'll look it up.

I'm actually interested in demyelinating disorders more than anything, although chronic pain and pain management are recent pet projects of mine.

 

[buttercup]

Oh, and Pilot- thanks for the info! Much appreciated